The Google+ application for iPhone got an update yesterday, according to a Google+ blog post by Vic Gundotra, Senior Vice President at Google. The new version of the application includes several user experience enhancements such as larger profile images, easier browsing of photos and videos and visual cues that make it obvious what your options are.
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Facebook is Getting its Own App Store for All Devices, All Platforms, All Prices (VentureBeat)
Facebook is launching a new App Center, “a place to find social web, desktop, and mobile apps” — and not just Facebook apps. The App Center will bring Facebook’s 900 million users all the best in iOS apps, Android apps, web apps, mobile web apps and even desktops apps. Facebook Developer Blog Many developers have been successful with in-app purchases, but to support more types of apps on Facebook.com, we will give developers the option to offer paid apps. This is a simple-to-implement payment feature that lets people pay a flat fee to use an app on Facebook.com. CNET The challenge, for a platform like Facebook, is that it has to build a store on top of other existing stores. It is especially tricky to build on top of the Apple App store, which remains the only legitimate channel for users to get apps onto iOS devices. AllThingsD Ironically, on Wednesday, the company submitted another amendment to its S-1 filing to the SEC, further outlining its weaknesses in the mobile realm. The company’s daily active users has grown fast over the past year. But the corresponding number of ads delivered isn’t matching the pace of the daily-active-user growth. CNN Money Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg won’t be the only one collecting billions from Facebook’s initial public offering: Uncle Sam and the state of California are also poised to cash in big. Tax collectors will be taking a giant bite out of the paper millions that thousands of Facebook employees will soon gain. The average tax hit: $1.1 million per employee. Read more
When you find a good thread in Google+ and want to keep abreast of what people are saying, you need to have your email notifications set to “on”. That way, whenever someone replies to the post, you’ll get an email keeping you up to date on what people are saying about that item. Google has just improved Google+ so that when you get that email, you can reply right back to any comments directly from Gmail.
Machinima is in the process of raising a new round of funding and Peter Kafka of All Things D reports that Google will be one of the investors.
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Government Advises Americans to Create ‘Social Media Wills’ (New York Daily News) If you haven’t thought about what will happen to your Facebook account when you die, the government suggests you get started. Creating a “social media will” is now one of the government’s official personal finance recommendations, listed on USA.gov along with advice on home ownership and money management. USA.gov Like with a traditional will, you’ll need to appoint someone you trust as an online executor. This person will be responsible for closing your email addresses, social media profiles, and blogs after you are deceased. The Atlantic Sounds good, but legally it’s tricky territory. As Naomi Cahn, a professor of law at George Washington University, explained, “Formal wills become public. So you need to be careful what you put in a will, because anyone in the world could have access to it.” Read more
The Google+ Hangout feature is one of the main selling points for the burgeoning social network. By easily allowing people to start a multi-person video chat from any thread within Google+, users are able to finally realize a convenient way to quickly get on a chat with a certain group of their friends around a certain topic.
Google enhanced the Hangouts service last year when they introduced Hangouts on Air to a limited group of popular users. The service allows a person to hold a Google+ Hangout to a group of their friends and have the video available live to the web at large.
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Facebook IPO Pitch: Can it Win Big Investors? (Mashable) Looking ahead toward its much-anticipated IPO later this month, Facebook has produced a 30-minute video pitch to show big-time investors why sinking money into a publicly traded Facebook will be a good idea. It’s an interesting take on the normal business investment pitch video — instead of a heavy emphasis on dry finance numbers, Facebook plays to the heartstrings. Reuters In the presentation, chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said mobile is a key area of growth for Facebook, and that the company would use sponsored stories to generate more advertising income. Advertisers pay Facebook to highlight certain stories. These sponsored posts recently started running on the News Feeds of Facebook mobile users. Financial Times Pricing for Facebook’s premium “social” advertisements continues to rise, two recent studies have found — a positive indicator that could offset concerns about a dip in advertising growth and help sentiment towards the internet company’s initial public offering. A report to be released today by Marin Software, a digital marketing platform that processes more than $100 million worth of spending on Facebook, found a 26 percent increase over the last year in the cost per click for “premium” ad formats. AllFacebook Facebook’s initial public offering slated for May 18 hasn’t slowed its acquisition frenzy, as the social network gobbled up location-based mobile application Glancee for an undisclosed amount. Glancee, an app for Apple iOS and Android devices, allowed users to sign in with Facebook and discover other users within a specified distance with similar interests. Fortune The economy is improving. Berkshire Hathaway’s stock is undervalued. And Facebook is a crapshoot. That was the general feeling at a gathering of investors on the eve of Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting. Read more
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LinkedIn Spends $119 Million on SlideShare — the YouTube of Slide Shows (Mashable) Professional social network LinkedIn on Thursday snagged presentation-sharing platform SlideShare for $118.75 million. SlideShare now attracts 29 million monthly visitors, while LinkedIn sees 107 million unique monthly visitors. GigaOM The acquisition, which involves 45 percent cash and 55 percent stock, gives LinkedIn another way to connect its users, who are often communicating and promoting themselves through PowerPoint presentations, slide shows and other content. TechCrunch The move makes a lot of sense from a product point of view. SlideShare recently deepened its integration with LinkedIn, and the two companies have compared their relationship to chocolate and peanut butter for professionals. The San Francisco Chronicle The Mountain View-Calif. based company, whose shares have more than doubled since its initial public offering last May, said membership increased to 161 million from 150 million in the fourth quarter. The company is signing up more professionals for its subscription services and attracting advertisers who want to reach the growing user base. CNBC LinkedIn reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street’s expectations. The company posted first-quarter earnings excluding items of 15 cents per share on revenue of $189 million. Net income rose to $5 million, from $2.1 million in the same quarter a year ago. Read more
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Source: Facebook’s IPO Show to Hit the Road May 7 (Reuters) The roadshow for Facebook’s initial public offering is scheduled to start on Monday, meaning the company’s shares should begin trading on May 18, a source familiar with the process said on Tuesday. Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who has mostly operated in the background during Facebook’s closely watched journey to public markets, will be involved in the roadshow, another source said. Mashable However, Zuckerberg will only be present for some of the roadshow, sources said. COO Sheryl Sandberg will handle the rest, along with CFO David Ebersman. San Francisco Chronicle Numerous details remain unknown, especially the range where the Menlo Park company expects to price its stock. MSN Money Some are beginning to question whether the social networking giant is worth the investment. Revenue growth is a major issue for investors, according to Boston University professor N. Venkat Venkatraman, chairman of the Information Systems Department of BU’s School of Management. “Other [investors] will focus on Facebook’s monetization machine and question if Facebook could create and maintain the growth in revenue and profits,” Venkatraman said in an email. Read more
Google+ has introduced a new series called VC Office Hours, where prominent venture capitalists and angel investors will participate in live Google+ Hangouts and answer questions about starting new businesses and arranging investments. It’s still a small program, but notable Googler Bradley Horowitz announced that some pretty major VCs will be participating in the weeks to come.
