Facebook just announced something fans have been wanting for a long time: in addition to the ubiquitous “like” button, fans will have other icons to express emotions. The new emoji, designed after months of research to find expressions that would work globally, include surprise, anger, love, laughter, sadness and a supportive cheer. Although many users have lobbied for a “dislike” button, Facebook declined to add one. The tests in Spain and Ireland are just the first of a round before the emoji are widely released. Continue reading Facebook Testing New Emoji in Ireland, Spain for Wide Release

Cartoon Network plans to launch a “micro-network” later this year that will feature 15-second content bites that only play through a smartphone app. The purpose of these videos, polls, games and trivia is to deliver device-specific content. Unlike the current Watch Cartoon Network app, which requires a cable subscription, Cartoon Network Anything will be accessible to everyone. The short form content will be updated regularly to match consumers’ reduced attention span common during smartphone use. Continue reading Cartoon Network Anything App to Experiment with Micro-Content

Twitter is testing a new timeline for its mobile app based on location, called “Nearby,” which shows users recent tweets that originated in the user’s vicinity. The Nearby feature has occasionally appeared on the smartphones of users who allow the service to use their location (users can also opt out of location sharing). Twitter has yet to comment on the feature, which some suggest could be attractive to advertisers, but says it experiments regularly to provide a better user experience. Continue reading Twitter Runs Location Sharing Experiment with Nearby Feature

A team from Disney Research Zürich led by Wojciech Jarosz has developed a new rendering technique that is expected to save animators significant time in the editing process of feature films. The new computational algorithm, which is being presented at this week’s ACM SIGGRAPH Asia conference in Hong Kong, can reduce rendering times for scenes that are affected by light — like those with water and smoke — by a factor of up to 1,000. Continue reading New Animation Technology to Save Production Time and Cost

Google recently released a software update for its Glass device. It is a preview that suggests how Google plans to monetize its wearable technology. The update now allows backwards swiping on Glass’ side touchpad and voice command control. These updates give users more information options, along with its contextual search service, Google Now, to make restaurant reservations, book hotels, order concert tickets and find nearby movies. Continue reading Glass Updates Hint at Monetizing Opportunities for Google

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

Google’s Internet-connected Glass device will soon feature seven new apps, which the company hopes will makes the glasses more functional. The Glassware apps, announced at the I/O developers conference yesterday, include Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, reminder notes from Evernote, news alerts from CNN and fashion features from Elle. The seven additions join Path and The New York Times as the only apps currently available on Glass. Continue reading Glassware: Google Announces New Apps for Glass Device

Twitter hosted an invite-only, closed-to-press developer event this week. According to angel investor Dave McClure, founder of business incubator 500 Startups, Twitter is expanding its Card options for developers to help build features for its site and apps. The Cards will allow developers to display photo galleries, media players and deep-links to apps within an individual tweet. Flickr, Path and Foursquare expressed their support at the event. Continue reading Twitter Cards Enable Developers to Display Media Content