Will Augmented Reality Drive the Next Big Social Media Platform?

It wouldn’t be hyperbole to say that social media is going through a bit of a rough spot. More people than ever are abandoning Facebook over issues of data distrust. It also wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the development of augmented reality (AR) is still in its experimental stage. But one startup is […]

Blockchain Could Solve Social Media’s Problems

By now, you’ve probably heard of blockchain technology. Thrust into the spotlight last year, blockchain development forms the backbone of popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. In fact, many celebrated facets of Bitcoin are actually due to blockchain — security, decentralization, and validation all stem from this technology. But blockchain is quickly growing out of its cryptocurrency niche […]

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 […]

Apple’s New Clips App Creates Another Way to Tell Stories

It seems as if everybody wants to play the Snapchat game these days, which is understandable given the ephemeral image messaging app’s popularity with young people (and investors, of course). Instagram and Facebook have already looted the Stories feature, and now it appears as if Apple is doing a little borrowing of its own with […]

EU Cracks Down on Consumer Rights Violations on Social Media

In this era of “fake news,” hateful trolling, and increasing privacy concerns, the negative aspects of social networking have never been more clear. While social media app developers scramble to address these issues, governments around the world are becoming more involved with proposed laws and regulations designed to turn up the heat on the major […]

Facebook Mobile App Developers Re-Prioritize your Feed

Tired of dodging clickbait traps while you scroll through your Facebook feed on the subway? So are the app developers at Facebook, who’ve been experimenting for months with new ways to prioritize the stories you see when you open the ubiquitous Facebook mobile app. To date, it’s mostly been a process of tracking likes and […]