Pinterest hits 150 million monthly users, but no cigar Pinterest excitedly announced that it has hit the 150 million monthly user milestone last week despite the fact that this is a figure it predicted it would hit by the end of 2015 and which was used to secure investment. Don’t worry Pinterest, I didn’t achieve my 2015 resolution to be able to play Nutbush City Limits on ukulele either ?.
Facebook to share data between the EU and US Following in the footsteps of Microsoft and Google, Facebook has signed up to a new EU data pact called Data Shield that allows the transfer of personal data from Europe to the US. The pact has come under scrutiny by privacy groups as it appears similar to an earlier treaty, ‘Safe Harbour’, which was abolished by the European Court of Justice following legal action against Facebook by privacy campaigners.
Spotify launches vertical video ads with new ‘Branded Moments’ Branded Moments are Spotify’s first vertical video ads. Spotify has been busy promoting the new ads to agencies in Madison Avenue, claiming that its knowledge of consumer music choices gives a unique insight to what users are up to. Ads will be grouped into six categories: chill time, workout, party, dinner, focus and sleep. I, however, feel this approach is shortsighted. ‘Don’t Stop (wiggle wiggle) by the Outhere Brothers is perfect for every and any occasion and simply cannot be placed into such a limited category.
Facebook Messenger to introduce Data Saver mode Facebook Messenger is introducing Data Saver mode which will stop the pesky app gobbling all your data by auto-downloading pictures and videos. Once in Data Saver mode, users will have to select which pictures and videos they actually want to download. The app will then update users on how much data they’ve saved so they can boast to their friends about their extra pub money. On WiFi connections, everything will just work as normal. Instagram releases an app for Windows 10 tablets Tablets running Windows 10 will now be able to use the Instagram app to snap all their favourite brunch pics. This has come as a slight surprise as there’s still no app for iPad. What gives, Instagram?
Google Maps for Android lets you view traffic around you Android users can now view any traffic problems nearby with a one-tap shortcut which can be added to their home screen. You can use it without even entering a destination, handy for if you’re just planning a joy ride.
Google introduces ‘fact-check’ label for news stories Google has added a new ‘fact-check’ label to it’s News Service. The site already uses tags such as ‘opinion’, ‘local source’ and ‘highly cited’ and has added this new one due to the rise of fact checking sites. Google algorithms will sort out which articles contain fact checks using the schema.org ClaimReview system. It will also look for sites that follow commonly accepted criteria for fact checks. Periscope Producer allows streaming with professional equipment Hot on the heels of Facebook and YouTube, Periscope is getting a new feature called Periscope Producer which allows live video to be streamed using professional equipment. The move should take the platform’s content away from solely shaky phone cam footage. Hopefully #DrummondPuddleWatch3D will be with us shortly.
This happened while Wikileaks was busy publishing email archives from Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager John Podesta. Wikileaks has said a contingency plan is in place to get him back online. He’ll just have to busy himself with a good book in the meantime.
Twitter sale stalls as Salesforce pull out of the running The sale of Twitter no longer seems quite as imminent now that Salesforce has bowed out of the race, following the lead of Google and Disney. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff simply said: “In this case we’ve walked away. It wasn’t the right fit for us.”. The search for Twitter’s own Daddy Warbucks continues…
