Google’s New Year Party

The world’s biggest search engine is up for a dance to welcome the new year. Google’s doodle says it all. Google comes up with one of the most craziest doodles ever. It is an animated Google dancing with the year 2013 and the ‘4’ in 2014 is waiting for its turn to come.

Further down on the page Google also offers a reminder of how we searched in 2013 with its annual Zeitgeist page, launched a few weeks ago.Even Google is up for some advertisement along with some zeal and excitement.

This particular year has been simply splendid for Google, with some of the most amazing devices like the Google Glass stealing the attention it was a good year. On every occasion Google’s doodle prove out to be the star on social media, be it the new years or halloween.

After all the wonderful things that happened to Google this fall it surely is a time for it to the disco dance.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/31/googles-new-year-party/

Sharks now on Twitter

Twitter is not only going to inform you about what the famous celebs and personalities have to say but will also warn about any shark that is approaching the Australian beaches and is 1 km far from the limit line.Several hundred sharks in Western Australia have been issuing their own warnings to beachgoers via Twitter.

Scientists have tagged more than 300 sharks with area transmitters in the Australian region. Each time a shark swims around 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from the beach, signals trigger a tweet to automatically publish on Surf Life Saving Western Australia’s Twitter account, @SLSWA.

Twitter is not only going to inform you about what the famous celebs and personalities have to say but will also warn about any shark that is approaching the Australian beaches and is 1 km far from the limit line.Several hundred sharks in Western Australia have been issuing their own warnings to beachgoers via Twitter.

Scientists have tagged more than 300 sharks with area transmitters in the Australian region. Each time a shark swims around 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from the beach, signals trigger a tweet to automatically publish on Surf Life Saving Western Australia’s Twitter account, @SLSWA.

Considering the odds of the occurrence, the project has already flagged a number of incidences of mostly tiger and bronze whaler sharks but also a few white sharks approaching Western Australian beaches since June. Tweets describe the time, type of shark and its approximate location.

Fisheries advise: tagged White shark detected at Meelup receiver at 10:26:00 AM on 20-Nov-2013

— Surf Life Saving WA (@SLSWA) November 20, 2013

In the past two years, the same Australian belt has seen many deadly attacks with the most recent being the 35-year-old surfer Chris Boyd’s death after an attack late last month in November. The number of mishaps were ranging higher when there came a necessity to demarcate kill zones that could warn and protect the beach goers and surfers about the presence of a shark.

Although the number of sharks in the world are reducing every now and then with 100 million sharks dying every year due to human efforts still the use of social media to caution every individual is one of the most innovative ideas that has been well accepted.

Considering the odds of the occurrence, the project has already flagged a number of incidences of mostly tiger and bronze whaler sharks but also a few white sharks approaching Western Australian beaches since June. Tweets describe the time, type of shark and its approximate location.

In the past two years, the same Australian belt has seen many deadly attacks with the most recent being the 35-year-old surfer Chris Boyd’s death after an attack late last month in November. The number of mishaps were ranging higher when there came a necessity to demarcate kill zones that could warn and protect the beach goers and surfers about the presence of a shark.

Although the number of sharks in the world are reducing every now and then with 100 million sharks dying every year due to human efforts still the use of social media to caution every individual is one of the most innovative ideas that has been well accepted.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/31/sharks-now-on-twitter/

Lawsuit against Russia’s Facebook

VKontakte, which is often dubbed on social media as “Russia’s Facebook” because it bears a striking resemblance to the Mark Zuckerberg production should brace itself to face a lawsuit from the nine music making companies like Sony Music, Universal Music, Warner Music and EMI for streaming licensed music from various artists, including Beyonce and Madonna, without acquiring the rights.

The litigation would be among the first to use Russian anti-piracy legislation that was recently broadened to include music. Leonid Agronov, Head of Russia’s National Federation of the Music Industry, told Russian newspaper Izvestia that the labels had been unable to reach an agreement with the social network, and his agency was prepared to intensify its pursuit of piracy. The suits would put in jeopardy the streaming of some 6,000 tracks.

VKontakte is the largest social networking site in Russia with a total of 236 million members. Although VKontakte has kept mum in the entire scene, it is clear that soon enough, the famous website of Russia will have to face a tough round of question and answers in the court of law.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/28/lawsuit-against-russias-facebook/

The Awesome GoodBye

Google has come up with a answer to Facebook’s ‘Year in Review’ feature. Google has modified its Auto Awesome feature to create automatically create video montage for its more active users.

Facebook’s ‘Year in review’ feature showed an amalgamation of 20 pictures and posts by user in a beautiful interactive timeline. Google’s Auto Awesome feature creates videos for certain users to showcase year 2013 for them in a one-minute video. These videos are only sent to active users who have shared their special moments (or something) on Google+.

These videos are shared with the users who can either share it or keep it for their private collection. Sometime back, Google made another two additions to auto awesome feature that added snow and twinkle effect to images that contained snow and lights respectively to add some holiday awesomeness to the platform.

In the holiday season when people are enjoying and celebrating with family and friends, it is nice to reliving the memories of the year, we all are ready to bid goodbye. Nice work Google+!

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/28/the-awesome-goodbye/

Instagram is for everyone

Everyone is on Instagram. Not just people but now their pets also have Instagram accounts. Charlie and Gibson, the two cute pups have their own Instagram account. People are following them to get adorable and lovable feeds on their Instagram. Their ‘humans’ are using Instagram to share every adventure of this dynamic duo. Charlie and Gibson have more than 2000 followers who are engaged by the wonderful adventure stories of these pups.

The two dogs love getting themselves clicked and their owner who has created an instagram account in their names enjoys updating the app every now and then.

Charlie and Gibson are not the first ‘non-humans’ who has created a stir on social media. Boo the dog already has more than 8.8 million fans on Facebook.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/26/instagram-is-for-everyone/

Twitter Share Cross $70 Mark

December is the month of Twitter. The social media giant has implemented many changes and rolled out several updates on all its platforms. Seems like the efforts are paying off as Twitter stock touched $70 mark on December 24, 2013.

On December 24, Twitter stock peaked at $70.79 before closing at $69.96 registering a growth of 8.4%. This jump is not an isolated event. Twitter stock has surged 169% since its IPO at $26 on November 6. The current market capitalization of Twitter is more than $38 billion registering a growth of nearly 60% since its IPO on November 7.

Twitter has done a lot this year to deserve this feat. Its sales in digital advertising has been the key to success for quite some time now. The company has rolled out several updates on all its platforms including revenue boosting updates such as promoted accounts and broad search for Twitter ads. Introducing new features on its mobile app and desktop version has also helped Twitter in growing its user-base.

Blake Harper, an analyst at Wunderlich Securities Inc. in Baltimore says, “While the company is growing revenues faster than its fastest-growing peers and we do recognize the potential for the company to capture larger portions of the mobile and TV advertising market, it appears valuation metrics are irrelevant and that investors are betting aggressively on Twitter being the next great media-technology platform.”

Twitter is performing beyond expectations and is showing great potential. However, we will only be able to get actual figures when Twitter will file the results of its first quarter since IPO.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/26/twitter-share-cross-70-mark/

Facebook To Face Lawsuit

Facebook may face a lawsuit for providing misleading information to investors prior to its IPO. According to a recent statement by a U.S. District Judge, Facebook investors can pursue loss claims, arising from non-disclosure of some material information, related to internal projections.

The company didn’t want to disclose how an increase in mobile usage could lower revenues of the company. According to the statement, company’s risk warnings should have included the revenue cut as it had already materialized. This is a clear case of material misrepresentation, which misguided investors.

Facebook investors include pension funds in Arkansas, California and North Carolina, who claimed to have suffered from the concealment of the material facts by the company in the IPO registration statement distributed to underwriters’ analysts. These people can now claim damages on the company resulting from the sale or holding of the shares as they fell below the IPO price and bottomed to $17.55 on Sep 4, 2012.

Although no fraud charges have been laid upon the company, 40 defendants were sued including big names such as Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg and lead underwriter Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Facebook states that the lawsuit lacks merit but the law may disagree.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/26/facebook-to-face-lawsuit/

Twitter says Pics First

The recent update rolled out by Twitter shows the vision of the company. This update would change the way everyone tweets. Now when the user composes a new tweet using Twitter’s iOS app, instead of the keypad, the photo gallery will appear first. If users do not want to add a picture to their tweet they can simply tap the empty space and the keypad will appear for them to type their tweet.

According to a Twitter spokesperson, these changes are implemented as default settings and currently users are not provided with an option to change the settings back to ‘keypad first’. Users will now have to get used to the view that their pics might be more engaging than their text.

Sharing photos just got easier on your iPhone – now it takes just one tap to select from your photo gallery. pic.twitter.com/Wj0m2CIrk6

— Twitter Mobile (@twittermobile) December 23, 2013

This particular update emphasizes the fact that social media is shifting the focus from status/tweet to pictures. With the success of apps that focuses on photos, like Snapchat and Instagram, Twitter’s minor tweak is a message that the company wants users to focus on sharing photos.

If we notice the trends, Twitter’s last year updates and modifications were primarily related to pictures, be it image filters, image-sharing via direct messages which somehow mimics updates rolled out by photo sharing apps like Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat.

The IPO has surely given the boosts (read funds) Twitter needed to realize its true potential and transform company’s vision into a reality.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/24/twitter-says-pics-first/

Facebook reaches new levels

Facebook joining S&P indices surely boosted investors morale since the company gained about 4.81% on December 23, its first day of trading after joining the S&P indices on December 20,2013.

The company is also planning to issue about 27 million new shares at $55.05 a share, to raise another $1.48 billion on top of the $16 billion it raised from the IPO last year. The company is expected to use the proceedings for future acquisitions.

With much efforts and the regular updates, Facebook is scaling new heights. The recent testings of the video ads have also acted as a catalyst to boost the value of shares. Stock price of the company have more than doubled in past year. Youssef Squali at Cantor Fitzgerald upped his price target for the stock to $65 on Monday, due to company’s increased focus on advertising revenue.

Right now, Facebook is at its all-time high. Can Facebook maintain this growth? We’ll just have to wait and watch.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/24/facebook-reaches-new-levels/

Justine Sacco Apologized

Does one tweet have the capability of ruining the whole career of a respected PR professional? Apparently, it does. One Tweet costed Justine Sacco, Senior Director, Corporate Communications at IAC(ex), her job and all the respect she earned with her talent as a PR professional.

It all started when Justine made this Tweet “ Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!”. The one tweet managed to be racist and insensitive to people suffering from the horrible disease. Needless to say that while her friends took the tweet in a sporting manner, the tweet was condemned by almost everyone who came to know about it. Ever since, Justine has been trying to make amends for one mistake she and many others will never forget.

As expected, Justine made an apology tweet, but it was too late. Sacco was fired by her employer and her Twitter account was deleted. Her Facebook account is still active and she is using it to do anything to undo what she did. But the damage has already been done. As per her Facebook account, she has been receiving threats even after she apologised countless times.

Twitter is swarmed with tweets condemning Justine’s racist remarks. People are using #HasJustineLandedYet to register their response to this event. One of the most popular of them is

Going to North America. Hope I don't get shot by George Zimmerman. Just kidding! I'm white.#HasJustineLandedYet

— Ellie Mac (@ellenmc) December 21, 2013

People are all furious by the tweet. Some reacted in a constructive way by donating funds to AIDS research while the others have shown their anger as tweets and comments. Visitors to JustineSacco.com are redirected to Aid for Africa, while another website that references Sacco’s tweet is accepting donations for AIDS relief.

One mistake of a PR professional is turning out to be the social media fiasco of the year.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/23/justine-sacco-apologized/

Facebook Review of 2013

Another year has passed and time has come to bid 2013 goodbye. Don’t you want to see how 2013 was for you? You cannot review yourself in the past year (unless you are monitoring yourself) but you can review your last year on social media.

Last year, Facebook had launched Personal Year in Reviews which was liked a lot by its users and social media critics alike. This year, Facebook has added a separate Year in Review feature that highlights the top 30 moments and life events from users’ Facebook friends.

Although the original feature ‘Year in Review’ is still present where users can see their top Facebook moments in the past year, people are excited about the friend review and are viewing as well as sharing it on their own and their friend’s timeline. To find out your friend’s year in review, first create your own. On your year in review page, you will find the link to get your friend’s year in review page.

The top 30 moments selected are calculated based on the number of likes, comments and shares on posts. Users can also interact with posts and images of from their friend’s review to revisit those moments. If a friend visits your Year in Review page, they will only be able to see the moments and posts that were shared with them.

Facebook’s effort to attract users and create a holiday magic sure deserves applause.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/21/facebook-review-of-2013/

Vine’s Vanity URL

Vine users will now get their own Vanity URL. All verified users have almost got their personal URL and the feature will be rolled out to other users December 23 onwards. This feature will create a sense of ownership among users by allowing them to claim their identity as their Vine URL.

Vanity URLs are optional for every user. With this feature, users will now be able to showcase their Vine collection using personalized urls ‘vine.co/username’. Twitter has also given its users the option to claim their Twitter username as Vine URL. Twitter will automatically reserve those and offer them to users, who’ll still have to register to confirm it.

Just log into vine and claim your URLs before somebody beats you to it.

Vine has also launched a new version of their android app that will run on Android 2.3 Gingerbread users. Gingerbread users will not be able to create videos, but atleast they will be able to see it.

Twitter surely is making the best use of its IPO proceeding. This is also reflecting on company’s stock which has gained more than 50% is past 25 days

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/21/vines-vanity-url/

Social Media Campaigns Take A Turn

These days social media has become the integral part of every marketing campaign and branding effort. Every brand is trying to harness the power of social media and many of them has received incredible results as well. Initially, social media marketing was all about status updates on famous social networking websites and uploading infographics. Now, the trend is shifting towards social media campaigns.

The traditional way of running social media campaigns have become the mantra of success for many brands. However, with the evolution of social media and society, the social media campaign was also bound to evolve. Now, brand managers do not limit their imagination to just offline or online media, they want to create a strong impact in the mind of their customers by combining the power of both

Smartphones have made the work easy for us, no matter what we do. many brand managers have made effective use of these mobiles and organise some out of the box events that not only create widespread awareness of a product but also result into an extravagant responses from the users.

Everybody loves some kind of creativity and innovations during the holiday season. To collect some extra fund for WWF Canada, Telus, a Canadian telecommunications company used the effectiveness of social media campaigns using the power of social media. Telus sponsored a vending machine loaded with pandas, the official logo of WWF. You just tweet #hometweethome with a unique pin displayed on the screen of vending machine to enable the machine. Once you tweet, the machine will give you a Panda (plush toy, not the real one) and Telus donate $1 to WWF Canada. So, you basically get a free panda and the WWF Canada gets a $1. The campaign gained much acceptance in Vancouver, where people got panda, WWF got funds and Telus generated the buzz that would’ve cost it millions otherwise.

A similar kind of campaign was run by Pepsi in 2012 where they installed a vending machine which vended a drink everytime you liked the brand’s page. People could use their smartphones to do that or could also like the page via the touchscreen provided. Social Media coupled with such real life events provide a larger perspective to the users and bind them stronger.

In Sweden Mcdonald’s also did something similar. They used social media to create a game called “Pong” that was constructed on a large-screen billboard. Just by using a smartphone and geo-location information, one’s phone could be directly connected to the billboard game. After 30 seconds of successful playing, players win a free coupon for a McDonalds food item of choice. Consumers were then asked to redeem their prize at the nearest McDonalds location. This simple strategy was able to engage the customer, cheer them up for a meal, promote the brand image of the company while boosting their sales by bringing their customer directly to their restaurant. A simple strategy, free food and a fun game can always be a method to bring in a crowd.

Social Media campaigns have undoubtedly transformed the presence of almost all brands on social media and have helped them evolve a great deal. However, they only way they can ensure future success is to evolve with time.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/20/social-media-campaigns-take-a-turn/

Twitter Alert Now Live

On December 19, 2013, Twitter announced the launch of Twitter emergency alerts in Australia and Brazil. Several new features have also been added to the service. Twitter emergency alerts initially launched in US, Japan and Korea in September 2013, were expanded to UK and Ireland in the month of November.

Now, User can subscribe to the alerts of the organization who have partnered with Twitter for this program. To do so, a new bell shaped icon has been added next to the follow button on the organization’s profile on Twitter. Clicking on the button subscribes the user to alerts from that organization, and also follows that organization if the user wasn’t already doing so. Twitter has updates the feature for iOS and Android as of now. iOS users will also be able to see notification of the alerts on an orange bar shown at the bottom of the app.

Twitter has now also joined hands with Centro de Operações da Prefeitura do Rio de Janeiro (COR) in Brazil and more than a dozen organization in Australia. As of now, more than 120 organization in 7 countries have joined hands with Twitter to provide emergency alert to their followers under this initiative.

With this feature, Twitter has taken the society one step closer to their goal to harness the true power of social media.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/20/twitter-alert-now-live/

Ever-Evolving Google Glass

Enough has already been said and done about Google Glass, one of the hyped and sensationalised products of today. The device has raised various concerns and has also been a matter of concern for many regarding various issues that have been hovering the device largely. Ever since the first ticket for driving wearing the glass was given people/prospective users are apprehensive about the fact that the glass might not be the right choice after all.

Glass Explorer Programme has already given much exposure to the product in terms of how the product is to be used and what shall it appear like to the various volunteers who were selected to be a part of the programme. The Glass got updated a number of times and Google is making sure that they come up with a product that remains unmatched before they roll it out in the market for customers to buy. The Glass has been given some of the most different and unique features and even now the search and testing is on to look out for even better concepts to incorporate in the wearable device.

Indiana-based Longe Optical Company on 18th December revealed that they are going to be the first opticians to unveil lenses for the Glass applying a new technology of which the company is proud. The company is proud of their prescription glasses add-on for Google Glass and took immense pride in announcing it on their website. Inspiration for the design and construction of the add ons is taken from Google’s existing sunglass shade offering which are attached to the Glass such the device can be used by all without any exceptions.

Although there are a very few Glass owners in the market as of now, all of them want excellent new and innovative things to do with their device. In order to quench their thirst Google has unveiled Wink Feed Rss and Weather Alert Apps for the device. By addition of these new app the device has been customised further and suits the needs of its users. Winkfeed allows Glass users to pull in their favorite RSS news feeds to display on their devices. Although its name suggests so, the app has nothing to do with the winking functionality. One never knows, in their next update Google might come with the winking functionality as well just as it has to click pictures.

Now a wink through the glass can result into taking a snapshot. Though a controversial feature, it was initially enabled by an app Winky which got the Congress to send the company a letter on privacy grounds, the feature is once again back in the latest update of the Glass.

Apart from these, Screen Lock and Hangout messages features have also received some updates to make them better.

The Glass team writes, “We’re starting with pictures, but just think about what else is possible. Imagine a day where you’re riding in the back of a cab and you just wink at the meter to pay. You wink at a pair of shoes in a shop window and your size is shipped to your door. You wink at a cookbook recipe and the instructions appear right in front of you –- hands-free, no mess, no fuss. Pretty cool, right?”

With such statements, Google’s motive and aims are quite clear. Would you be interested in such devices that would allow you to sit and just wink to get all the work done?

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/19/ever-evolving-google-glass/

Social Media On Mobile- Is It Safe?

Of course there is a huge hue and cry about Facebook mobile. Every individual is most of the times glued to their mobile handsets checking on their Facebook updates and messages. People all over the globe are addicted to some social networking websites and find it a privilege to stay connected with the world through them every now and then.

Facebook, the social media giant is one of those sites that has been able to gain maximum mobile visitors over the years and has been able to create maximum users per hour via its mobile app. Facebook mobile app is the main focus of authorities at the company because of the great insights that it is bringing to them and the huge revenues being generated by it.

All said and done, the question of concern is whether using the mobile phone for surfing Facebook and other social networking websites all the time by users is safe or not. According to reports, a Taiwanese women fell from a pier and plunged into the sea, while she was checking Facebook on her phone in Australia on 16th December. Dangers of using the cell phone while driving have already been highlighted in the past, students using their mobiles to check updates and notification while walking in the campuses of schools and colleges are prone to accidents and injuries.

There have been incidences and many issues have been raised about people not being able to wait before replying to an email or checking up for notifications, tweeting about your latest experience. Many researchers have reviewed this and their widespread love for the social media domain increasing at a constant rate only to reach injurious heights especially among youngsters. A recent study conducted by researchers connected to Ohio State University shows that pedestrian cell phone-related injuries have more than doubled since 2005. On college campuses, places that usually abound with cell phones and pedestrians these figures can be alarming.

The saying that ‘Students can’t resist distraction for two minutes’ stands true when their cell phones beep indicating a new Facebook update or a new tweet. According to a columnist in NBC, ‘Interruptions are the scourge of modern life. Our days and nights are full of gadgets that ping, buzz and beep their way into our attention, taking us away from whatever we are doing.’

Keeping in lieu with the recent happening the lady who fell off the pier while checking her mobile phone said, “I was checking my Facebook page on the phone and I’ve fallen in,” according to a policeman quoted by the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Being unable to swim she was rescued by the local police after 20 minutes and was rushed to a hospital and is now safe.

Using the mobile phones to stay connected to the world is good but it can hamper with your functioning and cause injuries and ill health. What is your take on the rate at which use of social media on mobile phones is increasing. Share with us in the comments section below.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/19/social-media-on-mobile/

Facebook Dislike ‘Button’

Finally Facebook has rolled out a dislike feature. However, it’s not a dislike button. It’s a dislike sticker for Facebook messenger. Now, users will have the ability to give ‘thumbs down’ to something they don’t like, at least on messenger.

Facebook Messenger has just received a new collection of stickers, including an image of ‘thumbs down’. The new stickers can be downloaded from the Sticker Store inside the Facebook Messenger on version or mobile app.

Finally, Facebook has paid heed (though not completely) to the years of petitioning by giving the users of the networking platform a dislike sticker. Though, one can still not use it for disliking posts.

Looks like Facebook is so uncomfortable with the feature that it is taking baby steps to reach the dislike button.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/18/facebook-dislike-button/

Facebook Video Ads

Facebook is planning to launch its much anticipated (by advertisers) video advertising very soon. This will be one of the biggest moves Facebook has made with a focus on revenue generation. Some analysts have predicted that video ads could be a billion-dollar market opportunity for Facebook, but it comes with a huge risk of potentially alienating users.

With this feature, video ads in news feed will automatically begin to play in mute mode whenever they are on screen. The video will unmute and switch to full screen mode when the users click on it.

In its blog Facebook has revealed the fact that they have been testing this since September and have seen engagement of video ads increase by more than 10%. Mark Zuckerberg, Co-founder and CEO of Facebook wants to make sure that this feature is perfect before it launches, as it has the potential to be the biggest source of revenue for the company.

Although the average click through rate remains low, Facebook is presently daring to believe that once they incorporate the video ads it shall rise and increase to a bare minimum.

However, the risk arises when this feature is seen from a user’s perspective who may find the autoplaying video annoying.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/18/facebook-video-ads/

Facebook acquires SportStream

Facebook has acquired SportStream for an undisclosed amount. Facebook disclosed the news in a note on their Facebook + Media fan page on December 17, 2013. The news was also confirmed by the team at SportStream on their website.

Founded in 2012, SportStream is a social startup offering a second screen experience to its users and enhance the social media experience for sports fans through their proprietary platform, SportsBase.

Facebook’s acquisition of SportStream speaks volumes of what the social media giant is planning ahead. When Twitter started focusing on news, Facebook acquires SportStream. It seems like Facebook is planning to give Twitter a tough competition to be the ultimate source of real-time information and conversation around major events, especially the ones related to sports.

According to Justin Osofsky, Vice-President, Media Partnerships and Global Operations at Facebook “SportStream’s demonstrated track record of surfacing interesting and engaging content, along with their deep understanding of our products, means that we will be able to build a better experience for the people who use Facebook, and for our partners who depend on us for real-time insights”.

The SportBase shall benefit the page in more than one way. A team page made by putting together social content from Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, with more authentic and credible information on scores and stats will boost the fans engagement. However, the gem of the deal will be the first hand news regarding the play making Facebook an ultimate destination for every sports fan.

In almost every part of the world, one or other sports is becomes the second religion to the people. By acquiring SportStream, Facebook has made it clear on how it wants to boost the social media engagement on its platform. Who knows, it might even help them in reconnecting with the teen following they have been loosing continuously in the past year.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/18/facebook-acquires-sportstream/

Beyonce’s Album generates 1.2 million tweets

Beyonce’s surprise album release received around 1.2 million tweets within 12 hours of its launch. What’s interesting is that the album was released on iTunes without any marketing promotion. The new album has 14 songs and 17 videos.

Apparently, the lack of marketing promotion itself became a promotion strategy as the album became viral on social media as soon as it launched. The release created a lot of buzz on social media resulting in 5300 Tweets per minute, higher than the previous records by hubbub around Syfy’s Sharknado (5,000 Tweets per minute).

The song ‘Blue’ featuring Beyonce’s daughter Blue grabbed maximum attention of the viewers, The top five most trending songs on Twitter, as of 2 p.m. ET, were: 1 “Blue”; 2. “Mine”; 3. “Drunk in Love”; 4. “Flawless”; and 5. “Partition”. According to a Facebook spokesperson, “Beyonce” spiked more than 1,300% in the hours after the album dropped.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/17/beyonces-album-generates-1-2-million-tweets/

Now promoted accounts will come to your Twitter timeline

Ever since its IPO, Twitter has been introducing new additions or modifications to its platform continuously. On December 16, 2013, Twitter announced that users will soon begin seeing promoted accounts on their mobile timelines.

Twitter launched promoted accounts in 2010 for promoting business and advertisers accounts. This came on the desktop version as “who to follow” recommendations. Though, in desktop version,the ads are displayed in a dedicated space above “Trends”, on mobile, they will appear in the timeline.

Tarun Jain, Product Manager, Revenue at Twitter said in a blog post, ‘Twitter has been running a beta program with a few businesses for the new ad unit and is satisfied enough with the results to take it global.’

This year Twitter has made several huge decisions which will define the future of the company to a great extent. From Twitter’s IPO to a huge number of minor and major modifications on the all platforms of the social networking site which so far have worked in favour of Twitter. Let’s see if this trend continues.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/17/now-promoted-accounts-will-come-to-your-twitter-timeline/

Facebook’s Donate Now Button

In an effort to make a better Facebook, the company has decided to do something noble. Facebook has added a ‘Donate Now’ button on that allows users to contribute donate to nonprofit organizations using their credit/debit cards or PayPal accounts directly through the platform.

The embedded ‘Donate Now’ feature can be used to donate preset amounts of $10, $25, $100 or $250. If users come across a post from these organizations in their News Feed, they can donate using the same button embedded on the post. However, this button gives you the flexibility to choose your own amount instead of opting from the preset amounts.

Currently, Facebook has partnered with only 18 different nonprofit organizations including Boys & Girls Club of America, Livestrong Foundation and the World Wildlife Fund. But, Facebook is hopeful that the number will rise in the coming weeks.

Facebook first tested this feature in November enabling users to donate to Red Cross via Facebook for the deadly Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

The feature has been rolled out to users in US on December 16, 2013. However, neither the date for rollout for other countries, nor for mobile integration of the feature is declared.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/17/facebooks-donate-now-button/

Google Glass comes in for New Year’s

Google made a promise to the Glass users that they will get a onetime option to upgrade their glass to the latest model by just filling a simple form. And Google always keeps its promise. The new model is ready to be rolled out.

The new Glass though appears identical to the old one it is made faster and more durable. The most frequent complaint made regarding the earlier model was that the bone-conducting audio was difficult to hear. Google listened and now, the new Google Glass comes with removable earbuds.

The new model will be sent to the users who registered for the upgraded version. Members of the Explorer Programme still have time to register. Google says the window is open for 60 days after you get the email, or until Feb. 5, 2014. However, there is still no official date for the rollout of the Glass for public.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/17/google-glass-comes-in-for-new-years/

Google Updates Everything

It seems Google always is on the move with new update rolling out everyday in one product or other. Google has now unveiled a new update for Google Map app for iOS, with flight and hotel reservations. Gmail has also been modified to never request a user to allow display of images within the mail.

Google Maps’ iOS users can now get all the information about reservations in flights and hotels on the app. If, for example, you have a flight reserved at the JFK, when you search for that airport in the app, you’ll get info about your reservation. However, this will only happen if the flight confirmation is sent out to your Gmail account which is linked to the Google Maps on the same device. The feature is enabled on the desktop version as well.

Gmail account has also undergone a lot of modifications in the past few months. Gmail will no longer wait for your permission to “display images below.” Google, on December 12, rolled out improvements which involved removal of seeking permission to display images. This permission was to make sure that the user’s mail was not infected with any virus. Now, all images are checked for viruses and malware ahead of time, so it doesn’t matter whether the picture came from someone you don’t know. This update has already been rolled out for the desktop versions but mobile apps will not be updated before 2014.

Google might be doing a lot of research because the new features are going to be sensational.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/13/google-updates-everything/

Now block anyone on Twitter

Twitter users will now have the ability to blindfold themselves to the users they don’t like. Now, you can simply block other users such that you will not be able to see their tweets even though the tweets would be active on the platform. Earlier users could block any other user and then the later could not have interacted with blocker’s tweet or mention them either.

Twitter announced the feature in their blog on December 12, 2013, “If your account is public, blocking a user does not prevent that user from following you, interacting with your Tweets, or receiving your updates in their timeline,” the company says in its amended “blocking users on Twitter.” According to a spokesperson the change in the feature had been made because, “people would see they had been blocked and get mad,” resulting in “antagonistic behavior.”

The new as well as the old feature have their own chunk of comments and dislikes, some wish the older service to be retained such that certain users could be completely blocked and some think that the new initiative is worth giving a try.

Just a few hours back owing to the widescale disagreement of users with Twitter’s new feature, the company has reverted the change and once again everything is like it was. As before users will once again be able to block another user and the blocked person will not be able to interact with him. The blog post that made this announcement says, ‘Earlier today, we made a change to the way the “block” function of Twitter works. We have decided to revert the change after receiving feedback from many users – we never want to introduce features at the cost of users feeling less safe. Any blocks you had previously instituted are still in effect.’

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/13/now-block-anyone-on-twitter/

Instagram Direct

On December 12, 2013 in New York city, Instagram unveiled its new update Instagram Direct at a mystery press conference As many in experts in the social media industry expected, it is a direct messaging and photo sharing app that allows a user to share a particular picture with some specific group or a single user on the platform.

The app is now available for Android and iOS . This is Instagram’s giant step towards becoming the ultimate photo-sharing site and can be considered as Facebook’s first blow to Snapchat for rejecting their $4 Billion offer.

With this app you will also have the ability to share images and photographs with users whom you do not follow or who do not follow you. Now, when a user who does not follow you sends you a picture, it will go to Instagram Direct Inbox awaiting your approval to remove its Pending status. You can send an Instagram Direct to as much as 15 users at once. Private pictures can also be shared with a particular group of people. Most commonly and frequently used groups can be saved and used.

You can use the Facebook Connect to find your Facebook friends on Instagram, but the two groups and services are still separate. This new service has brought the app a bit closer to Snapchat.

Snapchat Beware!!!

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/13/instagram-direct/

Flickr follows Yahoo mail outage

Flickr, Yahoo’s photo sharing app temporarily crashed on December 12, 2013. Users worldwide were unable to access the website for 10 minutes or more. Already, Yahoo mail users has been facing the same outage since December 9.

The site showed its signature ‘Bad Panda’ error message for some users, while others were told that the site couldn’t load due to ‘inactivity timeout’. “Flickr was unavailable for a very short amount of time and this issue has been resolved. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. The Flickr outage is not related to the Mail issue,” a Yahoo spokesperson said.

The timing couldnt be worse when two of the most used platforms of Yahoo went down together. Although the Flickr issue was resolved quickly, Yahoo is still trying to rebound from a hardware issue at one of its mail data center.

Yahoo’s blog on December 11,2013 said that it delivered over 30% of messages sent during the outage. It also said some users started experiencing email issues as far back as November 25.

Yahoo has apologized for the inconvenience caused and are trying to restore IMAP and POP access for users so that they could check their mails using Outlook or other app.

The anger in users is bursting. The issue may be temporary, but the damage will be permanent.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/13/flickr-follows-yahoo-mail-outage/

Facebook in Standard and Poor’s

Facebook is all set to join the big leagues. The social media giant will be joining Standard and Poor’s 100 & 500 index on December 20 according to the announcement made by S&P on December 11, 2013. The announcement boosted pre-market price of Facebook by 4% to $51.40 on December 12.

Facebook has already reported their 4th consecutive profitable quarter in October 2013. Facebook’s market capitalization is well above $120 Billion, making it the largest company not to be included in the index. Facebook will replace The Williams Companies Inc. and Teradyne Inc. in S&P 100 and 500 respectively.

Facebook is already a part of Nasdaq 100. However, the inclusion in S&P indices is a huge leap for the company.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/12/facebook-in-standard-and-poors/

Pinterest’s iOS 7 Update

Pinterest released a new version for iOS 7 on December 11, 2013, for iPad users. The new app has a new look and some pretty handy feature for a better user experience.

The new app comes with a new permanent menu across the bottom of the screen for easy navigation. The app now contains shortcuts for locating and sharing boards. Users can simply tap and hold down on a pin they like, and a small menu will pop up with option to share that pin, or search for other related content.

For the holiday season, Pinterest announced three additional secret boards to plan gift ideas. These secret boards are also added in the new app. Like Pinterest’s mobile app, which was updated for iOS 7 in October, the new iPad app has slight design changes like shadowing and transitions that are new for the operating system.

The new app for iOS 7 is much more advanced and has almost all features of the web version. It’s a must for Pinterest lovers.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/12/pinterests-ios-7-update/

Twitter’s new Broad Match

Twitter is making some serious additions to its advertising feature to get attract advertisers and make advertising more relevant. To catch up with Facebook and other platforms, Twitter has come with a new feature ‘Broad Match’ keywords, which would find the relevant ads by “matching the tweets containing keywords in any order, including words in between. Includes related terms, stem variations, synonyms, misspellings and slang.”

Nipoon Malhotra, Product Manager, Revenue at Twitter announced the move in a blog post along with his favorite coffee example.

If the advertiser is does not want to use Broad Search, they can use + sign between keyword to ensure just specific keywords are targeted. Use Love + Latte to target just latte lovers and not espresso lovers.

Twitter has already rolled out the feature, which is available through ads.twitter.com and Twitter’s advertiser API, along with other enhanced targeting tools including keyword targeting.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/12/twitters-new-broad-match/

Snapchat files a restraining order

Snapchat has filed a restraining order against Frank Reginald Brown IV, who claims to be a co-founder of the company. A former fraternity brother of CEO Evan Spiegel, Reggie reportedly leaked a video deposition to Business Insider, in which CEO Evan Spiegel admitted that Brown came up with the disappearing photo idea, and also says he “may deserve something for some of his contributions.”.

As per the order filed on December 6, Reggie Brown cannot share deposition videos of the Snapchat CEO as such video can do ‘irreparable injury to Snapchat’ and that the information is ‘highly confidential’.

Brown and Snapchat have been in and out of the court for past 10 months. Brown had initially sued the company saying that Snapchat was his idea. Now on Friday, the company went against him claiming that the videos leaked by Brown to strengthen his claim were confidential and a part of the ongoing lawsuit.

Snapchat is not the only company facing such accusation. Anyone who knows about Facebook’s history or has seen ‘The Social Network’, knows the Winklevoss brothers who sued Mark Zuckerberg for stealing their idea of a social networking website. Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss accepted Facebook’s $65 million settlement offer and waived their claim on the social media giant.

“Snapchat will suffer great or irreparable injury if plaintiff is permitted to disclose Snapchat’s confidential information to the public. A temporary restraining order is therefore necessary,” the document read.

If Brown loses his claim on Snapchat, it will be a big blow for him. The company has already turned down a $3 billion offer for Snapchat, one third of which can be Brown’s.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/11/snapchat-files-a-restraining-order/

Twitter App Update

Twitter has updated its Android and iOS app and has also added several new features to its web version. Now, you can send images as direct messages to others. Some other unique features have optimized the experience of browsing for users.

The modifications include the ability to swipe between the ‘Home’, ‘Discover’ and ‘Activity’ timelines within the app. The app now shows a messages tab across the bottom navigation bar, making it easy to access Direct Messages from the home screen. This bar is only added for Android and iOS versions and not for the web version.

Now Twitter’s Android app users can click on the star icon next to the follow button on a profile page to set up notifications for that particular user. This can be done for any profile, not just celebrity profiles.

Update your Twitter app right now to enjoy these new features.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/11/twitter-app-update/

Twitter’s stocks go up

Its happy time for Twitter. After a successful IPO, the newly public company did see a dip in the stock market in last week of November 2013. But the company is back with a bang. The stocks of the social networking site are at an all time high. On December 10, the stock price of Twitter reached $51 a share a gain of more than 6%. The company also gained 9% a day earlier on December 9, its biggest single-day gain since its IPO on November 7.

With the current updation and addition of new and innovative features, Twitter is making some serious changes (good of course) to both its mobile and web version for a better user experience.Now, with the concept of ‘tailored audiences’, the company is expected to generate some serious revenue through advertising.

Twitter debuted at $45.10 on November 7, 2013 and briefly topped $50 that day. The stock declined to as low as $38.80 on November 25, as some analysts argued that the stock was highly overvalued. With the new feature rolled out this week, the tables are turning again as the company has gained about 33% in past 15 days.

It seems that Twitter is learning from its experience in stock market and is doing everything to keep the ‘ticker’ healthy.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/11/twitters-stocks-go-up/

George Bush Senior joins Twitter

George Bush Senior is on Twitter. George H.W.Bush becomes the third U.S. President to join Twitter after President Barack Obama and President Bill Clinton. He created his account on December 10, 2013. As expected, the account got verified within minutes and was confirmed to be the former President’s account by his son and other spokesperson.

Within a day of its creation, the account has got a 40,000+ followers. The former President is currently following his son, former Governor of Florida Jeb Bush and daughter-in-law, former First Lady Laura Bush among others.

The first tweet made by Bush was to express his sadness and grief for not being able to accompany the delegation to South Africa to attend President Mandela’s memorial service.

Bush Senior seems to have beaten his son, George W. Bush, to Twitter, also becoming the first Republican President to join Twitter.

The increasing presence of political leaders acknowledges the fact that the impact of social media on the society has increased to such an extent that even the retired politician are joining the social networking sites.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/11/george-bush-senior-joins-twitter/

Pinterest to overpower Facebook and Twitter

Recent studies reveal that users are sharing newsworthy content freely via Pinterest and the number of shares have marginally grown. 20% of all news related content shared on social networking websites in the third quarter was shared on Pinterest. Facebook and Twitter though maintained leads with 40% and 30% respectively in the category, but Pinterest gained some ground after accounting for 18% of media and publishing shares in second quarter.

The Pew Research Centre study had revealed that majority of Americans use Facebook to gather news and stay updated with the things going on under the sun. It seems that Pinterest is all set the surpass that research and change the way everything was working until now.

Pinterest was able to rule the charts when it came to e-commerce related information with a percentage of 44 which comes out to be more than any other platform. A share means that a user used a page’s share plugin or clicked on the “share” button, which is mostly located near the top of the page. It is found that the pinterest plug in is incorporated in many more sites and is leading to a way more number of shares.

With new features like article pins, users have a better incentive to upload and share articles. Articles posted to the site now include more details like the title, author and short description of the article. So it seems that soon the website will be able to overpower the two social media gaints.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/10/pinterest-to-overpower-facebook-and-twitter/

Google+ ads not for Google+

What would you think if the ad service offered by Google using Google+ content will not be displayed on Google+. +Post ads, the new ad service launched by Google will be displayed on Google Networks but not on Google+. The ‘+post” ads will run on Google networks and would appear just as Google+ posts with the only exception that they will not be seen on the platform.

The Google+ ads don’t include recommendations, though — only public posts from Google+ users. A comment from someone in one of your circle won’t jump to the top, like one in Facebook’s Sponsored Stories will do.

Eran Arkin, a product manager at Google explained how some of the big names are testing ad units. Toyota USA, Ritz Crackers and Cadbury UK are carrying out the analysis in order to gauge its effectiveness and its credibility. Social annotations on the ads increase the click-through rate. Ads get 50% higher “expansion rates” than average, referring to the frequency with which the reader hovers over an ad for more than two seconds to expand it.

Google+ plans to open this service for more advertisers by next month, once the initial testing and evaluation phase is over. Lack of participation on Google’s social network has been the sole motive behind such measures and initiatives, +Post ads are Google’s latest hedge against new native advertising and socially enabled ad units from the likes of Facebook and Twitter.

Google is expected to earn$3.1 billion from its display ads this year, compared to Facebook’s $2.8 billion.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/10/google-ads-not-for-google/

Its a new tweet for Stephen King

Celebrated American Author and one of the most loved fiction writer, Stephen King is finally on Twitter. Author of New York Times Bestseller ‘Under The Dome’ posted his first tweet, “My first tweet. No longer a virgin. Be gentle!”

With just 13 tweets, the writer already has a strong base of 172,000+ followers in less than 3 days. The writer’s handle received a quick verification tick mark and just as quickly changed from @StephenKingAuth to @StephenKing.

He is a big fan of the social media. Though he kept aloof from one of the social media giant for quite long, he has always been an enthusiast when it comes to online work. Riding the Bullet, the world’s first mass market commercial e-book was his accomplishment. In 2009, King wrote a novella called UR, specifically tied to the launch of Kindle 2.

Let’s see what the legendary writer, whose bestselling novel ‘Under The Dome’ was 1,074 pages long, can do with 140 characters of Twitter.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/09/its-a-new-tweet-for-stephen-king/

Rebecca Black on ‘Saturday’

After ‘Friday’, Rebecca Black has struck again with her new single ‘Saturday’. The American pop singer and dancer who gained extensive media attention with the 2011 single “Friday” has released her latest single on YouTube on December 7, 2013 (a Saturday of course). Black gave fans a teaser last weekend on Twitter, telling her million-plus followers to keep an eye out for a new video coming Saturday instead of Friday, which is her usual release date.

The video has already crossed 8 million views mark on YouTube within just 48 hours of its release. The video is expected to create the same kind of craze as “Friday,” which debuted in the fall of 2011, and got more than 61 million views.

Following up on the chorus from “Friday,” where Black trumpets that “Everybody’s looking forward to the weekend,” her new song features the tagline, “I don’t want this Saturday to end.” The artist gave fans a teaser last weekend on Twitter telling her million-plus followers to await Saturday and sing to its tunes.

Looks like Sunday is next, after all it is the last remaining day of the weekend the pop singer hasn’t touched.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/09/rebecca-black-on-saturday/

The Today Show with Dick Costolo

Twitter’s CEO, Dick Costolo, the man behind Twitter’s successful IPO, had a candid interview with Matt Lauer in “The Today Show” on Friday, December 6, 2013. The CEO shared jokes and an important goal: bringing a few high-profile female comedians to the service.

When asked about Costolo’s ‘white whale’ he shared his desire to bring Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Melissa McCarthy to the social media platform. Having a background of stand up comedy himself, Costolo’s desire was not surprising. When asked about him being the oldest man in the trio, he said, “To work with people who see what’s coming next because they use it every day is invigorating, it’s exciting.”

“It’s the 140 character constraint itself that makes the creativity of operating in that constraint beautiful.” “From a specific account, you have to speak with an authentic tone of voice, because in this day and age, with the ubiquity of communication we have, people can sense inauthenticity.” These were Costolo’s words who also feels that what creativity and what sanity a tweet can offer is totally dependent on the user, irrespective of any guidelines and rules imposed on them.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/07/the-today-show-with-dick-costolo/

Nelson Mandela remembered on the social media

Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa and destroyer of apartheid, passed away on December 5, 2013, at the age of 95. Fondly known as Madiba, Mandela touched the many lives in his non-violent struggle against apartheid. People showed their respect for one of the most loved and respected leader of the world on social media.

Users generated 7.2 million tweets about his demise, including a peak of 95,000 tweets per minute. On Facebook Thursday, the traffic was even higher. A total of 39 million people generated more than 80 million interactions related to Mandela’s death. As to be expected, South Africa was the second most active country in terms of posts about its former president, following only the United States.

The US President, Barack Obama tweeted, “Let us pause and give thanks for the fact that Nelson Mandela lived—a man who took history in his hands and bent the arc of the moral universe toward justice.” Former US president Bill Clinton tweeted his picture with the leader saying “I will never forget my friend Madiba”.

His soul may have departed this world, but his ideas will always be cherished and followed keeping his spirit alive.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/07/nelson-mandela-remembered-on-the-social-media/

‘Sympathize’ on Facebook?

Ever felt weird and awkward when clicking like button on a sad post on Facebook? Apparently Facebook thinks the same way, or at least its engineers do. In this year’s Facebook’s annual Hackathon, a Facebook engineer created a sympathize button for the social networking site.

When friends update statuses telling you that they’ve been fired; they’ve had a death in the family; maybe they just had a bad day, you cannot go ahead and like it. You want to show that you care and are there to support them. With sympathize button, now you can show them more appropriate emotions.

You will not see sympathize button on the posts along with the like button. The button would replace the like button when you add a negative emotions from Facebook’s predefined list.

The button has not been rolled out by Facebook. “A lot of people were very excited about it, but we made a decision that it was not exactly the right time to launch that product.” said Dan Muriello, Engineer at Facebook.

So Facebook understands its users need to ‘sympathize’ but not their need to ‘dislike’?

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/07/sympathize-on-facebook/

Yahoo overtakes Evntlive

Evntlive, an online platform for live concerts,has been acquired by Yahoo. The news was disclosed by Evntlive team on their website.

“Since launching our beta service in April 2013, we have live streamed hundreds of performances from amazing artists and festivals to fans all over the world,” although our service will no longer be available, we are excited to be joining Yahoo’s video team” the company wrote on its website.

Founded in late 2011, Evntlive was launched in beta in April 2012 after raising $2.3 million in funding from notable investors including Vint Cerf .

First hiring Katie Couric and now acquiring Evntlive, it seems that Yahoo is preparing its arsenal for an ultimate war.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/07/yahoo-overtakes-evntlive/

Google+ Holiday Awesomeness

This year Google is adding a special ‘twinkle’ to the holiday season. The company is planning to two new additions to Google+ ‘Auto Awesome’ feature. Now, with ‘Auto Awesome’ your picture will twinkle like your Christmas trees, holiday lights, or a Menorah. Images that feature snow will look like snow is actually falling over the picture.

Once a user uploads a picture on the platform, the original image is analyzed and a new GIF image will be created with that some spark to it. This new image will be automatically created and user will be notified once it is created. However, your original images will remain intact and unharmed as you uploaded.

For those who are unfamiliar with ‘Auto Awesome’, its a feature on Google+ that analyzes the images uploaded on the social networking site to automatically create visual effects and animations from visually similar images. This feature can be enabled by going on Google+ settings page.

The two new additions were announced by Erik Murphy, Engineer at Google, on his Google+ profile.

“We hope these features help you celebrate the ‘wonder’ in winter wonderland!” said Murphy in a post.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/07/google-holiday-awesomeness/

Google Glass used for a friendly prank

Everyone is using Google Glass in their own way. Some using it as a cool gadget, other using it for getting traffic tickets (not intentionally) and Ed Bassmaster is using it for his YouTube pranks.

YouTube prankster Ed Bassmaster though not original, was quite amusing to both the victims and the bystanders. The prankster hung around a shopping mall, speaking loudly into his Google Glass and giving an impression to bystanders that he is talking to them. The prank is a takeoff of Bassmaster’s Bluetooth Man prank, in which he strikes up conversations with nearby strangers, only to claim that he’s talking to someone else on his Bluetooth device.

Google Glass has certainly become the center of attraction in past few months. Google version of wearable technology has create quite a stir in the market. The company has already rolled out its product to Glass explorers twice. And thanks to Glass explorer and PRserve founder Chris Barrett, Ed got Google Glass and his new prank.

Although it was just a prank, Ed used it to educate people about this new gadget who were totally unaware of its existence. “The only challenge of filming with Google Glass, he added, is the device’s tendency to draw a crowd.” said Ed Bassmaster.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/05/google-glass-used-for-a-friendly-prank/

Instagram’s Business Lead to become Snapchat’s COO

Emily White, Director of Business Operation at Instagram division at Facebook, is leaving to become COO of Snapchat. Emily was in charge of bringing advertising to Instagram.

After rejecting a $3 billion acquisition offer from Facebook, Snapchat have now poached a senior Facebook executive. Emily was Director of Mobile Partnership at Facebook and Director of Online sales and Operations at Google before that. Her joining Snapchat strongly indicates the company’s preparation for inclusion of advertisement on this platform.

“I have always been captivated by the creativity that has gone into the product … and I think that Evan has been looking for someone who can help him grow and scale what is already something that has changed a lot of the way people think about the mobile experience.” said Emily White.

Snapchat’s growth has been phenomenal. In June, the company announced its 100 million users had sent more than 110 million snaps in total. By October, users were sending 400 million “snaps” per day, Snapchat’s CEO Evan Spiegel declared in a closed door meeting at Goldman Sachs.

Is poaching Facebook’s top executive a declaration of independence or is it just an innocent way to prepare Snapchat for entering into advertising?

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/05/instagrams-business-lead-to-become-snapchats-coo/

Youtube’s Subscription not coming up this year

It seems like YouTube’s engineers need more time to set up the music subscription services. Google announced its plan to launch a subscription-based music streaming service on YouTube by the end of 2013. But according to reports, the subscription service will not be launched before the first quarter of 2014.

YouTube already has all the licensing, deals in place and is legally approved to have the service live this December. However, it seems that its creators need more time to add this feature to their platform.

Google, Youtube’s parent company has already launched one subscription music service this year — the Google Play Music All Access. The service offers music streaming for $9.99 a month. So, YouTube already know what to do. The only thing it needs to figure out is finding is the best way to integrate user-generated content with professional contents.

Youtube’s team of creators have always tried to come up with something innovative and out of the box. Let’s see what solution do they come up with this time.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/05/youtubes-subscription-not-coming-up-this-year/

Brian O’Conner, you shall be missed

The Fast and Furious fame, Paul Walker or fondly known as Brian O’Conner met with a fatal accident on November 30, 2013. The actor was leaving a charity event with a friend, riding in the passenger seat of a Porsche Carrera GT, when his friend lost the control of the car and slammed into a lamp post and burst into flames, according to a report.

The actor played the lead role of undercover police officer turned fugitive Brian O’Conner in the five of the soon-to-be seven films in the Fast and Furious franchise. All his co-stars and friends from the Fast and Furious family expressed their grief on the social media platforms as well.

His co-star Vin Diesel, aka Dom Toretto, expressed his grief on Instagram, saying he was “absolutely speechless.” Tyrese Gibson, who plays Roman Pearce, a childhood friend of O’Connor’s in the films shared their last conversation on Instagram, adding, “At least I got to say I love you.”

Rapper Ludacris, a long-standing Fast and Furious cast member who plays Tej Parker, another friend of O’Connor, shared a photo of the cast on Instagram(see image above) with a caption that read, “Your humble spirit was felt from the start, wherever you blessed your presence you always left a mark, we were like brothers & our birthdays are only 1 day apart, now You will forever hold a place in all of our hearts @paulwalker legacy will live on forever. R.I.P.”

Dwayne Johnson, aka Hobbes and Jordana Brewster, aka Mia Toretto also shared their grief on the tragic demise of the actor.

via SocialAppsHQ Blog http://www.socialappshq.com/blog/2013/12/02/brian-oconner-you-shall-be-missed/