A friend of mine, someone of advanced age, recently asked me to explain the concept of crowdfunding to them. I struggled for a moment. It is not always easy to explain something that you understand well until you are called…
Category: Social Media
Social Media Trends: Grandma and Grandpa Are Now on Facebook
Social media defines the many types of computer-mediated tools that enable billions of people to “create, share or exchange” ideas, pictures, videos or information in virtual communities. According to Wikipedia, social media is radically different from traditional media in part…
Facebook “Year in Review” Draws Complaints from Users
In a blog post published in 2011, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote, “I’m the first to admit that we’ve made a bunch of mistakes…I also understand that many people are just naturally skeptical of what it means for hundreds of…
Social Media Studies Often Misleading and Inaccurate
It’s something we hear all the time now, “Based on information from social media.” And we know that everyone from Google to cell phone companies are mining our surfing and social media information to try and make direct advertising effective.…
Twitter Plans to Monitor Your Mobile App Downloading Activity
Would you be willing to let Twitter know all the apps you download onto your mobile phone? Twitter recently disclosed its plan to monitor mobile app-downloading activity among its users. The social media company is trying to devise new marketing…
Facebook to Crack Down on Free Business Promotional Posts in News Feeds
Beginning in January, businesses that post certain types of promotional posts on their pages will find far fewer of their followers seeing those posts. Facebook is telling businesses that if they want to overtly advertise, they must do so by…
More Facebook Policy Changes Affecting Your Privacy
Once again social media giant Facebook has changed its privacy policy. Though it has asked for feedback from users and states the policy is a work in progress, the policies are already in place. They are explained with the use…
Facebook Messenger App Hits Half Billion User Mark
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg is celebrating success, sort of. His Messenger app hit the 500 million user mark, closing the distance between it and competitor WhatsApp, with its more than 600 million users. Even though WhatsApp is considered a rival app,…
Kickstarter Suspends $600k Crowdfunded Anonabox Project
The popular crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter, has suspended one of its campaigns after a controversy surrounding the prospective product. Anonabox was supposed to be a device promising an easy, anonymous alternative to regular browsing. An instant success, it far surpassed its original…
Snapchat Ads Debut This Weekend, but They Promise They Won’t Be Creepy
Snapchat is barreling into the advertising age and will go live with paid ads on its site by the end of the weekend. These ads are guaranteed not to be “creepy.” To deliver on that statement, Snapchat ads will be…
In a Disaster Area? Facebook Safety Check Tells Friends and Family You’re Okay
Fortunate enough to escape the tornado or hurricane that just hit your town? Facebook has just released Safety Check, a new feature that lets concerned people know you’re okay. Back in 2011, after the Japanese tsunami killed 15,884 people, Facebook’s…
Snapchat Blames the Snappening Nude Photo Leak on the Users Themselves
It seems to be an occurrence that’s happening more and more often. Hackers were able to access photos (including nudes) which were never supposed to be seen by anyone but the individuals, and then they posted them on sites like…
Facebook’s New Advertising Feature Knows Exactly Where You’ve Been
Is Facebook getting creepier or cooler? On Tuesday the social media site released “Local Awareness Ads,” a new feature that advertises local businesses to users depending if they’ve been physically near that specific venue. The ad may show up on your…
There’s a Facebook Payment Feature Hidden in Messenger App to Pay Friends
When was the last time that you had some cash in your pocket? You know, bills and coins, that seemingly out-dated mode of paying for something? Let’s face it, in today’s world of technology chances are that individuals pay with…
Facebook Wants You to Trust Them with Your Healthcare
While it may seem that Facebook has already infiltrated every aspect of our lives, there is one area which has conspicuously been missing, but that may not be the case much longer. Facebook is taking steps to dive into the…
TwitPic to Close Over Twitter Trademark Dispute
TwitPic, once the dominant photo sharing resource for Twitter, is closing its doors on September 25, 2014, due to troubles with their trademark and Twitter. The announcement came on their blog and indicated they would put in place a system…