In its IPO filing, Snap Inc. revealed that an average of 158 million people use the Snapchat app — sending more than 2.5 billion messages and images — every day. The company’s annual revenue grew from $58.7 million in 2015 to $404.5 million last year. Nearly all its revenue comes from advertising, especially on mobile. Expected to seek a market valuation of $20 billion, Snap may receive $4 billion, which, according to Standard & Poor’s Global Market Intelligence would make the company one of the biggest tech offerings ever in the U.S. Continue reading Snap Inc. Files for IPO, Describes Itself as a Camera Company

According to Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom, the Facebook-owned photo- and video-sharing site plans to add live video streaming. Systrom believes live video could help strengthen user relationships; however, he did not specify how or when Instragram would introduce the feature. “Reports indicate that Instagram has already been testing live video streaming with some of its users, displaying live streams from contacts similar to the way it currently surfaces the recently-launched Instagram Stories feature,” explains Variety. Introduced in August, Instagram Stories is similar to Snapchat in that its images and videos disappear after 24 hours. Continue reading Facebook’s Instagram Plans to Integrate Live Video Streaming

Sources indicate that Snapchat will cut its advertising prices for brands, due in large part to its new ad platform that enables more options and experimentation. With the new API launched earlier this month, Snapchat can deliver ads through third party companies. Snapchat is dropping the cost of its ads API from a minimum of $500,000 when the platform first opened to ads, to a minimum of $100,000, say insiders. Advertisers have expressed concern regarding the high cost of working with Snapchat — and interactive ads in general — both of which are now coming down. Continue reading New Snapchat Ads API Helps Brands Lower Advertising Costs

For the first time, a U.S. broadcast network is allowing distribution of Olympics highlights off its own platform. Snapchat just inked a deal with NBC to do exactly that for the 2016 Summer Games. The social media app will create a dedicated mobile channel. Content will come both from BuzzFeed, which will curate short clips and behind-the-scenes content to the Snapchat app’s Discover channel, and from Snapchat itself, which will create daily “live stories” from content from NBC, athletes and sports fans at the games. Continue reading NBC and Snapchat Sign Landmark Deal for Summer Olympics

Snapchat is finally letting users share stories with their friends directly from the app’s news portal. Users simply have to hold down a news story, add a comment or some emoji, and then send it to friends just like a regular Snap. The Discover portal has seen viewership drop since it debuted earlier this year, and Snapchat is betting on sharing to attract more loyal viewers. Many other media companies such as BuzzFeed rely heavily on social sharing to drive Web traffic. Continue reading Snapchat Adds New Tool to Share News from ‘Discover’ Portal

Flipboard has grown popular as a personalized digital magazine, allowing users to flip through articles from multiple sources across 30,000 topics. While Flipboard was initially designed for Apple’s iPad, the phone app is now used by 70 percent of its users. Flipboard’s acquisition of Zite has introduced the ability to easily recommend personalized articles in more specific subjects. Now, Flipboard 3.0 is available for tablets and smartphones running iOS, Android and Windows Phone. Continue reading Flipboard Mobile App Focuses on Personalization, Navigation

Facebook unveiled its hyper-local advertising feature this week. “Local Awareness” ads are designed to be more targeted and cost effective by allowing businesses to select a specific area for advertising and the age and gender of the desired audience. Meanwhile, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel says, “People are going to see the first ads on Snapchat soon.” The LA-based startup, which makes a mobile app for sharing brief photo messages, attracted investors this year at a $10 billion valuation without any revenue. Continue reading Facebook Debuts Hyper-Local Ads, Snapchat Ads Coming Soon

During its upfront presentation in New York last week, CNN introduced a live news service called Watch CNNx that allows viewers to choose content in real time. The service will be available on iPads and on TVs through set-top boxes later this year. Alongside the live CNN feed, CNNx offers a rundown of stories that appear on the right side of the screen, while a menu of digital features, including photo galleries, appear at the bottom. Additionally, CNN plans to use Flipboard’s display ad format on its applications. Continue reading CNN’s Interactive Product Offers News Viewers More Control

Last week the Tribune Company released a new iOS and Android app called Newsbeat, which plans to change how we consume our daily news by offering a more personalized podcast-like experience. Newsbeat has access to more than 7,000 sources from major newspapers to smaller blogs. Users can specify what types of stories and publications they are interested in, and the app will create a customized newscast by using Pandora-like artificial intelligence technology. Continue reading Newsbeat Creates Custom Radio Show Based on Your Interests

Marvel Comics is launching a beta version of an API and developer platform, which will give developers and fans access to its massive library of comics for building apps. The API will include artwork, character bios, expanded stories and more from the original creators spanning 75 years. There are more than 30,000 comics, 7,000 series and 5,000 creators in the database, and developers can even build mini-apps around their favorite characters, titles and creators. Continue reading Marvel Comics Launches API Featuring 75 Years of Content

Snapchat rolled out a significant update to its iOS and Android apps on Friday that offers support for new services such as swipeable photo filters. The update supports “smart filters” that can overlay information on pictures including the current time, temperature (using data supplied by the Weather Channel), and how fast a user is moving. Additionally, a new Replay option enables users to view one of their incoming messages one more time. Continue reading Snapchat Unveils App Updates with Filters and Replay Option

On Tuesday, Facebook announced that it will now regularly publish blog postings about the algorithm that runs the display of posts on the home screen of its users. This is a reversal for Facebook, as it has previously kept its algorithms secret. This openness is an attempt to improve credibility among its users and businesses. The company is also debuting a new “Story Bumping” feature, which will push missed stories ahead of ones already read. Continue reading Facebook To Open Up on Changes to News Feed Algorithms