Wednesday, 11 January 2017 07:09
Snap Inc. (Snapchat) announces London as its international HQ
Snap Inc. is the company behind the popular photo and video sharing messaging application Snapchat. The company announced on January 10 that it has chosen London as the location of its international headquarters, and highlighted the United Kingdom’s creative industries as the reason for its choice. Other tech leaders including Facebook, Google and Apple also announced their investments in London last year. The city has garnered a reputation for being a technology hub, which could stand it in good stead…
Wednesday, 28 December 2016 13:08
YouTube selects Dubai for its latest content creator hotspot facility
YouTube have chosen Dubai to open its tenth space which further illustrates the success the online video platform is enjoying in the MENA and UAE region. The Google owned company has expanded its business from funny cat video, to a broadcaster in its own right - producing high-quality shows that range from anything such as fitness experts uploading their fitness regimes - to culinary enthusiasts sharing their recipes for tasty meals. Dubai will now get its very own YouTube state-of-the-art…
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Wednesday, 21 December 2016 12:39
European Commission claim Facebook provided misleading information over WhatsApp deal
The European Commission has accused Facebook of providing them with false and misleading information in relation to its takeover of WhatsApp in 2014. At the time of the proposed takeover, the European Commission queried the social media giants on the topic of data sharing. Facebook insisted at the time of the takeover that it would be unable to establish automated matching between users ID’s on its social media platform with those on WhatsApp. However, the European Commission has highlighted the…
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Wednesday, 21 December 2016 08:36
Digital analysts express surprise at huge success of ‘Snapchat’ in Middle East
Digital analysts have expressed their surprise at the explosion in popularity of video and messaging app Snapchat in the Middle East region. A global study by a leading research consultancy firm established that the proportion of internet users in the UAE who use Snapchat increased from 15% in 2014 to 53% this year. These statistics significantly outpace the global trend of growth for Snapchat which has risen from 12% to 23% during the same timeframe. Analysts claim that Snapchat, an…
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Monday, 19 December 2016 13:15
Apple and Google reject app designed to allow women to post nude photos on Instagram
Technology giants Apple and Google Play have rejected an app which would enable women to upload nude photos on social networking service Instagram. Model Melina Di-Marco has accused the online photo-sharing platform of double standards. Instagram currently allows men to post topless photos, but prohibits women from doing so. However, both the App store and Google Play Store say her app promotes explicit content. Instagram's policy on nude photos has come under fire in recent years, and high-profile stars such…
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Monday, 19 December 2016 13:09
Facebook create new tool aimed at curbing issue of ‘fake news’
Facebook have announced that they’ve created a new tool which enables users to report fake news stories that appear on their newsfeeds. Facebook is the market leader in social networking with over 1.7 billion registered accounts. However, it has been heavily criticized in many quarters for its failure to prevent the volume of fake stories going viral on its platform. The new tool will give users the opportunity to report stories they believe may be fabricated. Articles suspected of being…
Monday, 21 November 2016 10:10
Facebook purchases FacioMetrics facial recognition startup to rival Snapchat
Facebook isn’t shy about its desire to compete against Snapchat. In a bid to attract some of Snapchat’s audience who enjoy the app’s fun facial filters, Facebook has purchased facial recognition startup FacioMetrics, which could boost Facebook’s ability to create photo and video effects similar to Snapchat. "How people share and communicate is changing and things like masks and other effects allow people to express themselves in fun and creative ways," a Facebook spokesperson said in an email reply to…
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Monday, 14 November 2016 10:40
Facebook purchases CrowdTangle which specializes in analyzing quality of content
Facebook has received criticism in the past for pushing weak content on its social media platform. Therefore, the company recently announced its acquisition of CrowdTangle, a start-up which specializes in tracking quality content on social networks for media agencies. CrowdTangle confirmed the acquisition in a message at its website, but neither company disclosed financial terms of the deal. Speaking to AFP, a Facebook spokesperson said: “Publishers around the world turn to CrowdTangle to surface stories that matter, measure their social…
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Thursday, 10 November 2016 05:22
Facebook announces Flash app in another effort to trump Snapchat
Just one year after Facebook first attempted to entice its large audience with a Snapchat-like app called Slingshot, it recently announced the release of a similar app called Flash. This app is aimed specifically at developing markets because of its small download size which is 25MB – much smaller than Snapchat’s 70MB. It can also work well in areas of low connectivity. The new app, according to a report by Recode, was built by a professional team within Facebook in…
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Monday, 10 October 2016 09:07
Snap Inc. (Snapchat) reportedly prepping for 2017 public share offering
Snap Inc., the new parent company of the popular Snapchat app, is said to be preparing for a 2017 share offering, which would bring to Wall Street one of the most prominent of the venture-backed tech ‘unicorns’, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. Snap Inc. could be ready for its initial public offering (IPO) by March next year. The IPO is likely to value the Californian tech company at over $25 billion, according to the report, which…
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Tuesday, 04 October 2016 10:24
‘Marketplace’ platform launched by Facebook allowing trade between users
Facebook has launched its first ‘Marketplace’ trading platform which will allow users to buy and sell goods to one another. It could challenge the likes of eBay and Craigslist. According to Facebook, the new platform is a way to formalize what its some 1.7 billion users have already been doing in Facebook Groups for years – buying and selling goods with other users. “Facebook is where people connect, and in recent years more people have been using Facebook to connect…
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Tuesday, 04 October 2016 10:22
Facebook launches Messenger Lite app for devices running on weak networks
In a post for Facebook’s newsroom, the social media giant announced the introduction of its new app on October 2, called Messenger Lite – a slimmed-down version of the traditional Messenger app. The app offers the core features of Messenger for markets with slower-than-average internet speeds and a prevalence of basic Android smartphones. According to the blog post, Messenger Lite will enable people to “quickly and easily send text, photos and links to anyone using Messenger or Messenger Lite.” The…
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