Sales for compact, point-and-shoot, digital cameras have declined 42 percent in the first five months of 2013, according to the Camera and Imaging Products Association. Most major manufacturers have been affected, such as Canon, Sony, Panasonic, Olympus and others. The declines are primarily due to smartphones that are replacing the need for stand-alone compact digital cameras, driving manufacturers to focus on premium digital camera lines. Continue reading Point-and-Shoot Cameras Face Decline in the Smartphone Era

We recently reported that Nokia unveiled its Lumia 1020 Windows 8 smartphone, with its most notable feature, a 41-megapixel camera. The ultra-high resolution surpasses most, if not all, smartphone and point-and-shoot cameras. In its thorough hands-on review, The Verge describes the 1020 as a decent device that is awkward to handle and short on third party apps, but its performance and camera may make up for any shortcomings. Continue reading Review: Nokia Lumia 1020 Windows Phone with 41MP Camera

About 25 percent of North American consumer Internet traffic is served by Google, more than that of Facebook, Netflix and Instagram combined, an increase from 6 percent three years ago. Estimates are that the majority of Google’s traffic is from YouTube — the rest involving searches, analytics, and advertising. To deal with the increase in Internet traffic, the company has data centers in the Americas, Europe and Asia, and has other distribution strategies. Continue reading Google Serves Quarter of Internet Traffic in North America

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Graph Search earlier this year, a new way for users of the social network to access information. Considered the network’s third pillar, along with its News Feed and Timeline, Graph Search is based on Facebook’s social graph, which is essentially a map of more than a trillion connections between users. After six months of beta testing, the product is now available to those who use the American English version of the site. Continue reading Graph Search: Facebook Rolls Out Radical New Social Tool

Photo sharing and social media are paving new ways to communicate, simply and without words. They are forming a new online language, one that is universal and overcomes language barriers. Most major social media platforms offer photo and new video sharing services, and they are receiving major investments to do so. These new services are starting to chip away at established text messaging, but some are concerned of this new communication’s effect. Continue reading Social Media Photo Apps Creating a New Internet Language

According to a new study from social video tech firm Unruly Media, six-second Vine videos have experienced a massive popularity spike. The study indicates that nine videos are being posted to Twitter every second, up from five per second in April. The new numbers arrive shortly after Facebook’s Instagram announced the launch of its own short video service. Some have speculated that the move could impact Vine, which is owned by Twitter. Continue reading Vine Videos Shared via Twitter Nearly Double in Two Months

Earlier this week we reported that Facebook had scheduled a press event for Thursday, and if rumors were true, the company was expected to unveil a video service similar to Twitter’s Vine for its photo-sharing app Instagram. It’s now official. The popular Facebook-owned app features a new video-sharing tool that allows users to shoot and share 15-second clips (possibly ideal for advertising), choose from 13 video filters and create a cover photo. Continue reading Facebook Confirms Rumors, Unveils Instagram Video Tool

Facebook’s introduction of hashtags to its network may open new marketing possibilities for targeting the growing audience that uses mobile devices as second screens. According to Nielsen, nearly half of smartphone and tablet owners currently use their devices during TV viewing, often accessing content directly related to the shows they are watching. This demographic is ideal for planting ads, similar to what Twitter is doing with promoted tweets. Continue reading Facebook Hashtags All About the Second Screen Audience

If rumors prove true, Facebook’s photo-sharing app Instagram may soon include the ability to take and share short videos, similar to how Vine works. Following the company’s release of a hashtag feature and the rollout of its new iPhone and Android features, Facebook has scheduled a product launch event for Thursday in Menlo Park. “A small team has been working on a big idea,” reads the invitation. “Join us for coffee and learn about a new product.” Continue reading Mysterious Facebook Press Event to Unveil Instagram Video?

Last week, Facebook officially unveiled hashtags to its social platform, following months of speculation. Hashtags are immensely popular on Twitter, while gaining momentum on other social services such as Google+ and Instagram. The move could have significant implications regarding advertising potential and search engine optimization. Facebook is already encouraging brands to start including hashtags in their Facebook ads.  Continue reading Facebook Borrows from Twitter Ad Playbook with Hashtags

Reality series “Summer Break,” scheduled to premiere on Monday, is taking a nontraditional approach by distributing its content exclusively via social media sites such as Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram. Producer Peter Chernin of the Chernin Group sees the future of entertainment in social media and his new show will test this theory, targeting a younger audience he hopes will turn to their mobile devices to follow the unscripted stories. Continue reading Summer Break: Reality Series Exclusively for Social Media

While Yahoo’s planned $1.1 billion acquisition of Tumblr drew all the headlines yesterday, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer also unveiled a new Flickr experience for desktop and Android users. During Monday’s press event in New York City, Mayer announced that in addition to a redesign, an impressive terabyte of storage is coming to Flickr users. Yahoo purchased the photo-sharing site in 2005; today it touts more than 8 billion photographs. Continue reading Will Flickr Upgrade by Yahoo Help Calm Tumblr Concerns?

Yahoo announced early this morning that it has agreed to pay $1.1 billion for Tumblr, the six-year-old blogging site that touts more than 100 million users, but little in the form of revenue. While Tumblr users have already expressed concerns that the site could end up cluttered with ads, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer promises “not to screw it up.” The deal marks the largest social acquisition in years, surpassing last year’s $1 billion purchase of Instagram by Facebook. Continue reading Yahoo Announces $1.1 Billion Acquisition Plan for Tumblr

Social giant Facebook is in discussions to acquire mobile navigation service Waze, according to people familiar with the matter. The purchase price has been reported by some outlets as high as $1 billion, which would rival the amount Facebook paid last year to purchase mobile photo-sharing service Instagram. The Waze acquisition would provide Facebook with the opportunity to efficiently deliver local ads and content to its 1.1 billion users. Continue reading Facebook in Talks to Purchase Mobile Navigation Startup

The Chernin Group is producing an unscripted reality series that plans to skip television distribution in favor of a new social media model. The series will be distributed entirely via social platforms including Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Tumblr. The concept is a bold experiment that hopes to target younger viewers on the devices and platforms that have replaced their traditional television viewing. Continue reading Reality Series to Play Out Entirely on Social Media Platforms