If 2016 taught us anything it’s that the internet isn’t fun anymore. It’s not that a soulless network of computers interconnected via TCP/IP was ever supposed to be fun. It’s that eventually fun overlaid itself on that network and created a world where nearly everyone could interact without fear. Kids grew up in a world where it was easier to talk to someone in… Read More100% Fun
If 2016 taught us anything it’s that the internet isn’t fun anymore. It’s not that a soulless network of computers interconnected via TCP/IP was ever supposed to be fun. It’s that eventually fun overlaid itself on that network and created a world where nearly everyone could interact without fear. Kids grew up in a world where it was easier to talk to someone in… Read More
Cola, a messaging app that integrates apps into chats, is opening up its developer kit today to enable anyone to build new apps.
Monotype, a publicly traded company focused on font design and technology, announced today that it’s acquiring Olapic, a startup that helps brands promote themselves with user-generated photos. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year — at that point, Olapic will operate as a division of Monotype. The purchase price is $130 million, plus $19 million in… 
Poke failed. Slingshot failed. But Facebook is still trying to mimic Snapchat with a new Stories-style feature it’s been testing called “Quick Updates”. These 24-hour ephemeral updates are buried in a special part of the app, and won’t show up in News Feed or on your profile. We received these screenshots from our reader Tiffany Zhong of Binary Capital who is one of… 
Get ready for a new era — Tinder is about to launch Tinder Social globally. What is Tinder Social, you might ask? Well, Tinder Social is exactly the social planning app that has failed in the past, but backed by the world’s biggest young adult dating app. Tinder, the dating app to rule them all, has long teased other verticals for meeting and creating connections with the people… 
Since the early 2000s, brands have experimented with social media platforms to communicate with customers and prospects — first through weblogs, then eventually through social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Although the capabilities and sophistication have continued to evolve, social media has remained a platform to facilitate human-to-human communication. Then the robots moved in. 
Warby Parker is offering its very first Snapchat-exclusive product — limited sunglasses that are only available for purchase to its Snapchat followers.
If you’re not already thinking about what your product looks like in a messaging application, it may be too late. Facebook Messenger crossing the 1 billion user mark today isn’t unexpected, but it is a huge blinking marquee telling us what we should already know: messaging is the platform of the future. 
Keyboard app maker Swiftkey, which was acquired by Microsoft for $250 million in February, has officially launched its first product since that acquisition — and it’s an emoji-predicting keyboard app, called Swiftmoji.