Messaging app Snapchat announced some significant updates this week, including the introduction of two-factor authentication to improve security, a new way to add a group of friends with Add Nearby, and an upgrade to Snapcode that lets users add selfies and add screenshots of Snapcodes through the Add Friends feature. Perhaps most significantly, Snapchat users should be interested in the new Tap to View function that eliminates the need to press and hold the screen in order to view a Snap or Story, an improvement that Snapchat says, “means no more tired thumbs while watching a several-hundred-second Story.”

Blogging platform Tumblr recently launched Tumblr TV, a new feature designed to help users discover and share GIFs. The rollout follows the introduction of Tumblr’s GIF search engine in early June. “The addition is a combination of a search and viewing feature for GIFs, which helps you find the animated images housed on Tumblr and then view them in a full-screen mode,” according to TechCrunch. “The ‘TV’ part of the feature’s title refers to the fact that the interface offers player controls, like play, pause, forward and backward.” The Tumblr GIF search engine is only available to logged-in users, while Tumblr TV is open to all. Both are desktop only for now.

The new net neutrality laws had a real-world impact when Sprint announced it would no longer throttle speeds for unlimited data customers. Sprint chief executive Marcelo Claure made the move in reaction to customers disgruntled by the fine print of a new $80/month unlimited text, talk and data plan, noting that video would be delivered at lower speeds. The 600 kilobits/second speed recommended by a consultant to Sprint would have particularly impacted high definition video, which runs at three to four megabits per second. Continue reading Sprint Stops Throttling Speeds as Net Neutrality Takes Effect

A growing number of YouTube stars — who are often more popular among teens than mainstream celebs such as Seth Rogen and Jennifer Lawrence — are making their way to Hollywood. By the end of 2015, at least a dozen movies featuring Internet celebrities will be released online and in a handful of theaters. Whether or not this transition works will have its first test in mid-July when “Smosh: The Movie,” “Bad Night” and “The Chosen” — three movies featuring popular YouTube personalities — are released. Continue reading YouTube Stars Learn How It’s Done in Hollywood Productions

Civis Analytics, founded by Dan Wagner, the former chief analytics officer for President Obama’s 2012 campaign, has rolled out a set of big data tools through Amazon Web Services. The year-old Chicago-based firm says it can eliminate much of the time and cost associated with marketing campaigns, in particular using cloud computing but without the need for customization. The service will start at about $5,000 a month, which Wagner claims will be “80 percent cheaper in most cases” than competing services. Continue reading Amazon Unveils Data Science Used By 2012 Obama Campaign

For its upcoming Shark Week, Discovery Channel plans to allow third-party sources to post content via live-streaming app Meerkat. “Finbassador” educators, conservationists and marine experts are scheduled to post clips on SharkWeek.com to complement the content being broadcast on the network. The Meerkat content is not expected to appear as part of the television broadcasts. “There’s a stream planned around a live shark feeding from the National Aquarium in Baltimore,” reports USA Today. “And Discovery plans to stream various parties and promotional events leading into Shark Week, which officially commences on air July 5.” According to Discovery, no money exchanged hands to launch the collaboration.

Facebook is rolling out a new option allowing marketers to pay for video ads only after users view the ads for a minimum of 10 seconds. According to The Wall Street Journal, “The social network previously charged advertisers immediately when their video ads came into view, but marketers have been calling for ways to ensure consumers actually see their video messages, as opposed to simply scrolling past them in the Facebook News Feed.” The option is available through the Power Editor and API buying tools. “We don’t believe it’s the best option in terms of capturing the best value and brand objectives marketers care about, but we want to give them control and choice over how they buy,” said a Facebook spokeswoman.

Facebook has been in discussions with major labels such as Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group about its potential interest in the music industry. “To what extent the social network wants to get involved is still up in the air — while the popular assumption may be a streaming service, sources say that Facebook hasn’t yet decided precisely what it wants to do,” according to The Verge. Facebook is likely interested in growing the engagement of its users (who spend over 40 minutes per day in the U.S.), while one source mentioned that the company is looking to do something unique with its video platform.

As part of its ongoing rivalry with Amazon, Google has begun highlighting low prices in some of its product search results. The company is testing a feature designed to provide users with access to special deals and helpful pricing info. Some searches steer users toward merchants that list products considerably lower than others. “For a recent search for a KitchenAid mixer, for example, Google highlighted that Macy’s $299.99 price was 14 percent lower than average,” notes The Wall Street Journal. “The notations are added to items in so-called Product Listing Ads that typically include pictures.” While merchants bid to include products in these ads, Google adds the price notations independently, free of charge.

HBO’s standalone streaming service HBO Now, a $14.99 per month over-the-top option for accessing HBO’s premium content without the need for a cable or satellite TV subscription, is atop the iTunes App Store revenue rankings. According to analytics firm App Annie, the HBO iOS app was the highest grossing app on the market in May. While June’s figures have not yet been released, App Annie indicates HBO Now is still performing well. Since Apple has an exclusive launch agreement for HBO Now, this could be the best insight into the service’s traction thus far. Continue reading HBO Now Tops iOS Revenue Charts, Big Hit with Cord Cutters

Binge-watching television shows is becoming a less shameful activity, according to a March survey of TiVo users. While 53 percent of respondents in 2013 characterized the activity in a negative light, only 30 percent of recent respondents felt the same. “People who are binge-viewing are feeling better about themselves,” said Jonathan Steuer, chief research officer for TiVo. Interestingly, 92 percent of respondents indicated that they have engaged in binge-viewing at some point, and 32 percent said they often wait to watch an entire season at once. Continue reading Survey: Stigma Associated with TV Binge Viewing is Declining

A federal appeals court has upheld an earlier ruling that determined Apple conspired with publishers to raise digital book prices. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit voted 2-to-1 in agreement of Judge Denise Cote’s 2013 decision when the case originally played out in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Apple and five publishers had been accused by the Justice Department of conspiring to increase prices above Amazon’s standard for new e-books through an ‘agency pricing’ model. The publishers settled prior to the trial, but Apple opted to fight the accusation. Continue reading Appeals Court Agrees That Apple Conspired on E-Book Pricing

Sony has launched its own crowdfunding platform called First Flight that plans to help finance projects developed by the company’s employees and promote new business ideas. The platform also provides backers with the opportunity to directly purchase and pre-order new products. “First Flight currently offers pre-orders for two Sony-affiliated projects — the MESH Smart DIY kit, and the FES e-ink watch,” reports The Verge. “A third, a sleek all-in-one remote called the HUIS Remote Controller, is already 20 percent of the way to its 5 million yen (about $40,820) crowdfunding goal.” First Flight is initially available to Japanese consumers only.

Uber plans to purchase assets from Microsoft Bing, including about 100 employees presently involved with image collection activities. The deal, confirmed by both companies, is expected to help Uber bolster its mapping efforts. “A firm doesn’t hire 100 specific-focus engineers in a single move if it doesn’t have large product aspirations,” suggests TechCrunch, also speculating that Microsoft is selling some of its image collection with plans to retain licensing rights. “The new Uber kids are the folks who worked to get image data into Bing, meaning that the search engine’s 3D, aerial and street footage is in large part their doing. You can therefore start to presume what Uber has in mind.”

More than 21 million gaming fans tuned in to Twitch during the Electronic Entertainment Expo, nearly twice as many viewers as the year before. Concurrent viewership peaked at 840,000, according to Amazon-owned Twitch. The streaming site’s coverage included live press events and action from the Los Angeles Convention Center showroom floor. Roughly 1,800 streamers provided their own commentary, the first time Twitch allowed them to do so from its E3 channel. “Last year, Twitch became the fourth-largest source of U.S. Internet traffic, trailing Netflix, Google and Apple, according to research firm DeepField,” The Wall Street Journal reports.