Instagram is the social media app where photos can be shared. Effective June 20, they will be known for something else. It’s speculated that on this day Facebook will reveal people can now make and share videos through Instagram.
But experts and reporters are skeptical. This event has been so guarded from leaking it the date could be a rouge. Last month, a story broke saying this Vine?style?video technology?was in testing phase. Instagram has over 100 million users. The Vine app allows users to take six second videos with their?Apple or Droid device and share it on their network. Since early May, Vine’s links and popularity has almost doubled.
So I say to Facebook and Instagram: it’s about time you take this next step. Plus, videos through Instagram are expected to be 10 seconds long, which would be another plus. While links to Vine are skyrocketing, likes to ‘gram are steady at best if not stagnant.?In October 2012, Facebook?bought Instagram for over $700 million?dollars. So now they’re just doing something with it? I know it takes time to test certain things, but for it to take this long raises questions. Yes, FB usage has increased since last October, but what’s there to show for it? I hope Instagram can make this happen. Will you be using them to make and share your 10 second video?
Since 2007, Zynga has provided gaming services for Apple and Android products?and social media sites. They pride themselves on bringing people together through gaming. Now, they’re being known for a dubious honor: downsizing.
Zynga is set to lay off over 500 people. For major corporations, that may not sound like much. But for this gaming service, that’s one in six of it’s work force! They’re expected to shut down offices in LA, New York and Dallas. Of course, their international offices in China and India will remain open. Their activity on Nasdaq stopped for a time. Sources say Zynga didn’t anticipate how quickly the rise of it’s mobile business would be, or how quick the decline it’s web business would be. They even shut down games that weren’t doing well.
This is an example of what happens to businesses that can’t keep up with technological trends. As quickly as they are happening, I guess this can serve as a lesson for companies everywhere. But I’m wondering if this is an overreaction. I’ve read reports that they’re doing these lay-offs to refocus toward mobile, not because they’re filing for bankruptcy.?I don’t see why they have to cut so many jobs to do that.?I noticed they’re cutting just American offices and not the foreign ones, so that raises my eyebrows. One?of my favorite games is Farm Ville,?so I hope Zynga can get it together. How do you think?Zynga will fair out from this crises?
I don’t care what the Wall St. board says, it’s hard to get a job out there. It’s often harder keeping that job. This is the sediment around the world. I saw one RT report saying? British university graduates are struggling to find even menial work. Amercan prospects are hardly better. Now we got something else to worry about…
What we put on our social media pages! According to On Device research, 10% of American young adults (9% in the UK) were removed from their current job or rejected from a prospect because of the Facebook page’s content. One report said?nearly half?of employers?will screen FB and social media sites to screen employees and potential employees. Then there’s the case of the high school teacher who held up a pint of beer (before you ask, she wasn’t contributing to minors) and glass of wine. She was forced to resign. And in Michigan, someone was fired for refusing to turn over her Facebook account to her superiors.
You’ll rarely hear me say this, but thank goodness for government intervention. California and a handful of other states have passed laws stopping employers from snooping on Facebook pages. I’m glad to hear it. Also, 70 % young adults don’t care if their posts could harm their careers. I’m glad to hear that too, maybe employers will get the message.
So this lets me know there is hope. You can tell by now I don’t agree with employers checking Facebook?pages for content. It breeds violation of our First Amendment rights and a whole host of social problems. I believe a person should be hired because of their merit. I believe a person should be promoted because of their work, dedication and results. This Facebook business creates a junior high atmosphere where people are getting work because ‘they fit in’. Plus, if employers are allowed to check FB pages, this almost gives them the power of God. Whose to say they won’t fire someone because of someone’s religion, politics, social beliefs, even their favorite sports teams? Don’t think they won’t do it!? Do you think the employer Facebook check policy is a good, or even fair one?
Here are some historic company rivalries for you: Coke vs. Pepsi, McDonalds vs. Burger King, All State vs. State Farm, Exxon Mobile vs. BP. Can we add Google vs. Microsoft to this list?
This isn’t the first time Google and Microsoft have butted heads, and it probably won’t be the last. One time, Google sued the US gov’t for not recognizing it’s bid for a cloud email system. Google probably wouldn’t have sued if a contract hadn’t had gone to Microsoft first. Now they found something else to fight about. Google is now asking…no…make that demanding Microsoft take You Tube off their Windows phone app list.
This time the root is advertising. Google claims the You Tube app’s lack of ads is in violation of the You Tube API. They also claim Microsoft created the app without Google’s consent or knowledge, and did so to deliberately cut into their profits. The lack of ads also hurts the advertisers. This is going to cut off a great source, thus increase competition and prices elsewhere, causing harm to the system itself. Google CEO Larry Page hardly?held back about his feelings for Microsoft : “…we struggle with people like Microsoft.”
Will this rivalry ever end? I doubt it. There’s been some collaboration, like Google’s talk support and Microsoft’s webmail service coming together.?Hey, sometimes we have to work with people we don’t?like. But I have a?feeling this dispute is?going to trump this attempt. So I close by asking, can they both get along?
Gone are the days where Twitter was simply ?a place to send 140 word messages. Now, you can listen to music and watch photos and videos. And if sports cable TV giant ESPN has it’s way, you’ll be able to do even more.
Today ESPN will flaunt their relationship with Twitter to advertisers at an event. You see this on ESPN Sportscenter, when fans and pro athletes broadcast their tweets. Now they want to show highlights of major sports on Twitter. Don’t expect to see children’s diving though. These major sports will include the 2014 World Cup, the big 4 sports (football, basketball, baseball, hockey) and the X Games. I didn’t know X Games were that popular, but I guess they are. ESPN’s goal is to sell? Twitter space to advertisers before the highlight; picture an ad coming on before a You Tube video. According to ESPN exec Eric Johnson, the goal is to push content wherever the fans are.
Twitter is growing up. Five years ago, few of us ever heard of Twitter. Today, it’s the fastest growing social media site of them all. ESPN and other media are taking note, so are advertisers. Plus, like I said in a previous blog, why spend so much on a TV show? A Twitter ad will reach more people. Which team will deliver a sports moment for you to tweet?
Later this week, Google is holding a conference for the ages. I’m no fortune teller, so I can’t predict what they’re going to say. But here are a few expectations, and they are high!
One is a new updates for their Android system. There’s a lot of talk of?the 5.0 Key Lime, but don’t get your hopes up, at least not this year. Some are expecting?Google’s version?of the 7-Inch Nexus tablet to come out,?and there’s talk of an 11 inch tablet. We could even see Google and Motorola’s first major collaboration. Changes in?Google maps can?also be expected. And you know Google Glass is going to be a topic, if not the main event.
Well, I have mixed reactions about this conference. Obviously, Google?has made a huge difference in all our lives. Those Google maps?sure do a?better job than those paper maps. And which would you rather use for research, Google search engine or an encyclopedia? And these changes in?these online powerhouses can be for good. Note I said?can be.?I’ve read a lot?about Google putting projects off. That can increase expectations, or that can?just turn?consumers off. Remember the Boy Who Cried Wolf, and when the wolf did come people didn’t care anymore because?of the previous false alarms? Learn that?lesson Google. And the maps…Google has lead the world in quality mapping. If?they change that, what if it turns into Apple maps? And don’t even get me started on this Google glass thing. But what?do you think??Will Google’s expectations be blessings or curses?
