People Are Choosing Uber and Lyft Over Buying a New Car
Whatever else we can say about Uber, it has dramatically changed the way the world gets from point A to point B. At this point, 39% of Americans have at least tried a ride-hailing service, and 27% use one multiple times a week. But it seems that more and more Americans are making apps like […]
Trump’s New Executive Order Aims to Re-examine H-1B Program
President Trump signed his “Buy American, Hire American” executive order on Tuesday, which will put the H-1B visa system under review. The order is designed to ensure that tech jobs that could be going to Americans are not being taken by cheaper foreign labor and to tighten restrictions on foreign contractors bidding on government projects, […]
Instagram Stories Beats Snapchat at Its Own Game
So many apps have ripped off Snapchat’s popular Stories feature that it’s become something of a joke among mobile app developers. Even Snapchat itself is in on it, as the company proved with its April Fool’s Day-exclusive Instagram filter. But the laughter may be catching in Snap’s throat. The company’s most direct competitor Instagram Stories […]
Facebook Looks for New Approaches to the Fake News Problem
Merriam-Webster’s word of the year for 2016 was “surreal.” The Oxford English Dictionary went with “post-truth.” The Australian Macquarie Dictionary settled on “fake news.” No matter what term social media app developers prefer to use to define it, 2016 was the year that the conspiracies, propaganda, and outright hooey that used to be the purview […]
Facebook Raids Snapchat’s Stories Feature for Its Main App
Facebook has not been subtle in its desire to cut into whatever edge Snapchat has in the startup world, blatantly copying the ephemeral messaging app’s Stories feature for Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. Now the company’s mobile app development team is rolling out its take on Snapchat’s innovations on the latest update of the main Facebook […]
Senate Dismantles Obama-Era Internet Privacy Protections
For app developers concerned with privacy, yesterday was a dark day. Senate Republicans passed a bill eliminating privacy regulations imposed on broadband providers by the FCC during the final months of the Obama presidency. Those protections would have required ISPs to get consent from the consumer before selling off personal information to a third party. […]
Google Vows Change After Ad Firms Exit Over Offensive Videos
Mobile app developers who have found themselves lost in a YouTube hole can attest to the existence of the platform’s dark corners. Really you don’t have to plunge all that far to find vile content — just look at the comments on even the most innocuous videos (although you’d be better off if you didn’t). […]
Dogtown Media & Craftsman Oyster Shuck a Huge Success
SXSW has rounded out to be a wild experience this year, and our Oyster Shuck event with Craftsman and Mongers Market was no exception. Thanks to everybody who came out to enjoy good food and great drink specials in the Texas sun! We got into app development to make great products, but it can be […]
Twitter Moves to Tackle Trolls with Marked Accounts
Twitter and trolls are a love story that goes back as far as Twitter itself. Even for diehard users, dealing with abuse and offensive content on the platform has been a turnoff, and it’s something that Twitter has struggled to fix even as competitors like Facebook and Instagram take hardline approaches that seem to please […]
Facebook Introduces Stories on the Heels of Snapchat IPO
Facebook has grown to the point where virtually every smartphone user on the planet has the app on their phone — and those who don’t almost certainly use it at home. That popularity has come at a price for the company’s app developers, though, as the original use cases that brought users to the platform […]