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#MidweekMinute: Spark, more Groups, REAL NEWS, and a not-phone
Are you using Amazon Spark? Have you joined a "group" for a page yet? Will you pay Facebook for news? And, last but not least: is Facebook developing a modular smartphone?
Last week, I caught the news about Amazon developing Anytime, but somehow missed the big Spark announcement...
Facebook, in the meantime, has a few updates: groups for pages, development of a subscription option for news, and a mysterious patent application for a modular device that may or may not be a smartphone (my money's on "not").
Amazon Spark:
Amazon’s New Social Network Is Looking a Lot Like Pinterest (New York Times)
Amazon Launches an Instagram Clone Because Shopping (Mashable)
Facebook: Groups for Pages
Facebook Is Now Letting Brands and Media Companies Create Their Own Groups Within Pages (Adweek)
Facebook Lets Brands, Publishers Connect Groups to Their Pages (Marketing Land)
Facebook: News Subscriptions
Facebook Is Launching a Subscription News Product (Investopedia)
Facebook To Start Supporting News Subscriptions (USA Today)
Facebook: Mysterious Patent Application
Facebook Patent Spells Rumors For a Future ‘Modular Device’ (The Daily Dot)
New Patent Reveals Facebook is Exploring a Modular Phone (Mashable)
No, Facebook isn't making a modular smartphone (Techspot)
#MidweekMinute 7/19/17: Alexa, let's chat
Three major players are dipping their toes into new formats.
In this week's social media headlines, three major players are dipping their toes into new formats:
Amazon is entering the messaging arena with development of a new app called Anytime.
Facebook takes the popularity of its new GIF feature to the natural next step: enabling users to create their own looping videos.
And LinkedIn is releasing auto-play video posts (FINALLY!).