Social Media changes so much in a week that it can be hard to keep up. Check back every week for our roundup of what we think you should know about.
As many have already heard, Facebook bought instant messaging service WhatsApp for $19 billion this week. (That’s 19 times what the social network paid to aquire Instagram, by the way.) Mark Zuckerberg claims nothing will change anytime soon for WhatsApp, but industry analysts say this is another move by Facebook to expand even further into the mobile space.
Facebook data scientists made an announcement this week about the network’s ability to predict love connections. About three months before a couple makes their relationship Facebook-official, timeline activity between their two accounts typically increases until they change their statuses to “In a relationship” and then declines sharply. The good news is even though their posts slow down, their content tends to be happier.
Tired of being bothered by spammers or other unwelcome advances on LinkedIn? The site just announced a new ability for users to block or report accounts they wish to cease contact with. When this feature is used all endorsements and recommendations between the two accounts will disappear and the blocked person will not be notified.
After analyzing millions of Tweets, the Pew Research Center and the Social Media Research Foundation recently shared six types of Twitter conversations: brand clusters, specialized groups, community groups, broadcast networks and support networks. Read more about the conversations and where you or your company fit in this article.
If you’ve wanted to keep up with the Winter Olympics but haven’t had time to watch these past two weeks, just sign onto Twitter. The Oregonian recently recognized five accounts as social media stars of the 2014 Olympics. They’ll give you insight into our athletes’ experiences in Sochi, as well as the humor of the Twitterverse.
Happy weekend,