Twitter has officially launched its “retweet with comment” feature, which enables users to embed a tweet in a tweet — and bypass the social platform’s 140-character limit in the process. This will allow users to share and comment on tweets without the need to shorten the original tweet, while preserving context and meaning. (However, users are not able to embed the full retweet and comment.) The new feature is currently accessible via the Twitter site and iPhone app; an update to the Android app is expected soon. Continue reading New Twitter Feature Offers Workaround to Character Limitation

Facebook recently launched an app called Riff that enables users to create collaborative videos with their network of friends. Each finished project is a composition of short clips that are added to the video as it gets shared among friends — and friends of friends — on social media. For Facebook, Riff is another attempt to further encourage its users to watch and share video content on its social platform as part of a larger ongoing strategy to better leverage advertising opportunities.  Continue reading New Facebook App Intros Collaborative Video and Ad Potential

Meerkat and Periscope are two apps that have brought live streaming into the spotlight, and some experts worry that these apps may be a breeding ground for copyright infringement. It may be as simple as someone trying to livestream a TV show or a public performance, but without the proper licenses, these users may be breaking copyright laws. Fair use laws probably will not offer these companies any defense, but constant monitoring should help them avoid potential legal problems. Continue reading Live Streaming Apps Could Face Copyright Infringement Issues

Snapchat is now valued at $15 billion, and as it continues to grow, the company is taking more steps to keep users’ data safe and generate revenue by selling video ads. For the first time, Snapchat released a transparency report to show how often government agencies ask for user content. Also, the company will pay coders to help identify security bugs and shut down third-party apps that compromise privacy. With the rollout of the Discover feature, Snapchat has also started selling video ads. Continue reading Behind Snapchat’s New Privacy Protection Efforts and Ad Sales

Twitter unveiled its new Curator media tool this week designed to make more tweets available to a larger audience outside of its own site — and ideally build upon its base of 288 million users that log in at least once a month. The tool will help media organizations locate tweets and Vine videos that can be posted with stories and broadcasts. Publishers regularly create and share compelling content related to live events and breaking news. Twitter aims to leverage these publishers to help address its slowing user growth rate. Continue reading Curator Tool Will Help Media Publishers Share Tweets and Vines

Facebook has long expressed its goal to connect as many people as possible. The company already has a reported 1.4 billion users, but has plans to expand well beyond these numbers by launching drones that can provide high-speed connectivity to even the most remote areas of the world. The drones would resemble a Boeing 767 in width, weigh less than a small vehicle and help Facebook connect with the roughly 5 billion people that it does not already reach on a global scale.  Continue reading Facebook Hopes Drones Will Expand Global Internet Connectivity

Twitter wants to put an end to cyberbullying on its popular social platform. CEO Dick Costolo recently addressed the issue in an internal memo and mentioned plans to intervene against abusive Twitter users whenever possible. Among those plans is the “quality filter,” a feature designed to help verified users remove inappropriate, offensive and abusive Tweets from their notifications timeline. As of now, the new feature is only available to iOS users with verified Twitter accounts.  Continue reading Twitter Launches “Quality Filter” to Help Combat Cyberbullies

A new app called Whipclip is making it easier for people to find, extract and legally share their favorite video clips from TV shows and music videos. At any given time, users can open the app, choose from a list of shows playing in real time and create snippets using the last two minutes of footage previously played from that show. It is reportedly that simple for users to create clips to be easily shared with friends through the app or across various social media platforms. Continue reading New iPhone App Lets Users Share TV and Music Video Clips

Last year, Facebook acquired LiveRail, a video ad technology that essentially serves as a platform for the automated sales of video ads for publishers. In a move to better contend with Google, Facebook is now looking to use LiveRail as a way to help publishers manage their ad inventory more effectively and make smarter sales across various platforms, including websites and mobile apps. The company has reportedly already partnered with Dailymotion, Univision and A+E Networks. Continue reading Facebook Extending LiveRail to Display and Mobile Advertising

At this week’s F8 developer conference in San Francisco, Facebook announced that it is opening up its Messenger app with a platform for creating apps. This will allow developers to build apps that can integrate with the social network’s instant-messaging service, which presently touts 600 million users. Nearly 50 integrated apps have been created under the program, including those from Bad Robot, ESPN and The Weather Channel. The service also supports 360-degree video with Facebook’s Oculus VR format. Continue reading Facebook Wants Developers to Integrate Apps with Messenger

Following the positive response to the Meerkat app that enables users to temporarily broadcast live video via social media, and the restrictions placed on it by Twitter (which is likely readying its own similar service with the acquisition of Periscope), live-streaming startup Ustream announced that it is opening its internal API to anyone interested in building their own broadcasting app. This could potentially lead to alternatives for individuals and companies looking to broadcast video without the need for embedded media players. Continue reading Ustream Offers SDK for Those Interested in Live Broadcasting

Facebook is adding a new feature that allows its users to send each other money through Facebook messages. Users link their debit cards in order to send their friends money. Unlike PayPal or Venmo, users do not have to “cash out” the funds. The payments transfer directly between debit cards. The new service, which is free to Facebook Messenger users, will roll out in the U.S. in the next few months. It will show up in the Messenger app as a dollar sign, next to the icons for text, photos and thumbs up. Continue reading Facebook Unveils Peer-to-Peer Payments on Messenger App

Palo Alto-based BetterWorks, a company with funding and public support from venture capitalist John Doerr, has developed software that not only measures worker performance but also helps employees set individual goals to become more efficient in the workplace. The company’s software makes use of tactics and practices found in social media, fitness trackers and video games to encourage employees to set and accomplish goals in a process that is transparent to bosses and co-workers. Continue reading BetterWorks Designed to Track and Improve Work Efficiency

Disappointed with the direction of his video startup Yevvo, Ben Rubin replaced it with a simplified iOS app for sharing live video via Twitter. Launched in February, Meerkat grabbed 28,000 users in its first week. In less than two weeks, that number had surpassed 100,000. Now the app is being used for everything from office tours and church services to skateboard videos and live event coverage. Meerkat, which reportedly took Rubin a mere eight weeks to build, has become a social sensation and the latest in the push for ephemeral apps. Continue reading Meerkat App on Twitter: Disappearing Videos a New Sensation

With assistance from DataSift, a leader of brand analytics, Facebook recently launched Topic Data, a product that lets marketers tap into the social media’s hub of user data. For marketers and brands, information about what users are sharing on their Facebook accounts is especially valuable when trying to determine how to best reach key demographics. Facebook says that while marketers will have to this type of data, users’ personal information and identities will remain anonymous. Continue reading Facebook Looks to Compete with Twitter for Data Monetization