TECH CRUNCH - Hank app is the first platform focused on matching adults over the age of 55 with events like art workshops, pickleball, coffee meet-ups, and skydiving. The New York City-based startup has raised $7M in seed funding. Hank is now available in the New York City area but will expand during the second half of this year to markets including New Jersey, Florida, and Texas. by Catherine Shu See full article at Tech Crunch Continue reading

COIN DESK - Zigazoo, a kid-safe social network that recently launched a NFT collection, has raised $17M in a Series A funding. The company plans to expand Web3 offerings while building towards becoming the leading social network for kids to interact directly with creators and brands in the kids' media space. The Zigazoo app lets users make and share video responses to challenges from vetted children's brands and talent. by Brandy Betz See full article at Coin Desk Continue reading

CNET - Google Hangouts is shutting down in November. Google is prompting people still using Hangouts to migrate over to Chat as part of its plan to retire the aging messaging platform. Google is also encouraging users to use Google Takeout, the company's data exportation tool, to download their data before Hangouts ceases operation this November. by Imad Khan See full article at CNet See the top news on Google Continue reading

TECH CRUNCH - Facebook introduced new features for Facebook Groups, including "Channels" that will let users connect with each other in smaller settings to have more focused discussions. There are three types of channels that admins can create: chat, audio and feed. Facebook also announced that it's testing a new sidebar that will help users find their favorite groups more quickly. by Aisha Malik See full article at Tech Crunch See the top news on Facebook Continue reading

SCMP - ByteDance has acquired Chinese VR start-up PoliQ, the latest move in the tech giant's foray into the metaverse as interest in the sector continues to grow. PoliQ, the operator of the once-popular virtual social platform Vyou that allowed users to create their avatars, was bought by ByteDance for "tens of millions of yuan." The start-up was absorbed into VR headset company Pico, which was acquired by ByteDance in August last year. PoliQ founder Ma Jiesi is now the head of the social center department at Pico, according to his CV on the Chinese social media platform Maimai. by Jiaxing Li See full article at SCMP Continue reading

BE IN CRYPTO - WeChat will restrict or ban accounts that issue, trade, or finance cryptocurrencies or NFTs. Such digital assets are now considered "illegal business." If a violation is found from one of the accounts, the account will be asked to correct it within a certain deadline. The account can be restricted. Or, WeChat can permanently block the account in question. by Adi Wira See full article at Be in Crypto See the top news on WeChat Continue reading

WEST FAIR ONLINE - MyConnect is an online platform that caters to parents of children with special needs by providing them with a community outlet and a directory of providers, services, and resources. The community is further enhanced by MyConnect's Intellimatch System, described as a "primitive version of AI," which uses data members provide during the onboarding process to match them to local providers and with other parents who have similar concerns regarding their special needs children. by Edward Arriaza See full article at West Fair Online Continue reading

WEBPRONEWS - It is revealed that LinkedIn is now one of Microsoft's biggest growth drivers. The Business & Productivity segment (comprised of Office Products, LinkedIn, and Dynamics) makes up 32.1% of its total revenue in 2021. While LinkedIn only represents a small percentage at 11% of the selected Social Networking Sites' total users, compared to Facebook and Instagram, which has a higher growth rate in terms of average revenue per user, LinkedIn had a stable average ARPU growth of 23% since 2017. LinkedIn's value to Microsoft is also driven by the results it delivers, providing 4.4x higher cost-per-click than Facebook, 12.84x higher than Twitter, and 0.48x higher than Instagram. Similarly, is 277% more effective at lead generation than Facebook and Twitter. by Matt Milano See full article at WebProNews See the top news on LinkedIn Continue reading

TECH STORY - A study revealed that the moderation activities done on Reddit by the unpaid moderators are worth a minimum of $3.4M per year. These volunteer moderators make sure that inappropriate content which includes issues such as hate speech, racism, etc doesn't spread without control on the social discussion website. Reddit got ~$100M as revenue in 2019. Therefore, the amount of work done freely by content moderators on Reddit is close to 2.9% of Reddit's annual revenue. by Thomas Babychan See full article at Tech Story See the top news on Reddit Continue reading

TRADE ARABIA - Lootverse, the first discovered parallel world, has announced its social media Lootfeed, an alpha product that can be accessed directly from the interactive map by clicking on the news icon on the top bar. Lootfeed stands out from the other similar platforms by using an innovative payment system created to solve issues like spamming, bots, trolls, and many others. See full article at Trade Arabia Continue reading

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TECH CRUNCH - A startup called JobGet is announcing $52M in funding to fuel its ambitions to build a similar kind of go-to hub for a related sector of the labor market: waged or hourly workers. Built specifically for them, JobGet provides them with listings for jobs and an opportunity to connect with others doing similar work; access for recruiters to tap people for openings they might have; and down the line more tools such as training and development to help them along with their own career ladders. JobGet has racked up 2M downloads of its mobile app, with a further 10M using its website. by Ingrid Lunden See full article at Tech Crunch Continue reading

BLOOMBERG - Clubhouse is experimenting with a new feature that lets users join private groups. The feature, known internally as Social Clubs or Houses, would let anyone in a group join the conversation. With Houses, Clubhouse appears to be encouraging friendlier social interaction within private groups of users. Instead of only live, ephemeral audio rooms, members of a House can post in a written group chat, where messages stay visible for a week before disappearing. by Ellen Huet & Ashley Carman See full article at Bloomberg See the top news on Clubhouse Continue reading

TECH CRUNCH - Reddit Talk, the social site's Clubhouse-like social audio product, is rolling out a handful of updates aimed at allowing hosts to better engage with listeners. Among these is a new soundboard for audio effects and a topic selector, that allows hosts to select up to three topics for their talks. It's also testing a way for hosts to start a live show straight from their profile. The company also announced its Reddit Talk Host Program, which helps new hosts have their audio shows found, will kick off on July 11th. by Lauren Forristal See full article at Tech Crunch See the top news on Reddit Continue reading

WALL STREET JOURNAL - Meta said that if users of Instagram try to edit their dates of birth so that they are deemed to be over 18, it will now require additional verification. Instagram is testing three options: requiring users to upload IDs; ask adult Instagram friends to vouch for their ages; or submit videos of their faces that will be analyzed to estimate age. Instagram is adding these extra steps as part of its efforts to ensure an "age-appropriate" experience for minors. While children under 13 are prohibited by the network's terms of service, those who say they are ages 13 to 17 can use it with some limitations. by Maddie Ellis See full article at Wall Street Journal See the top news on Instagram Continue reading

TECH MONITOR - Tencent has created an 'extended reality' division that will develop hardware and services for the metaverse. Tencent's extended reality division was set up last year, insiders said, but has so far been "shrouded in secrecy". The unit will eventually have 300 staff despite an ongoing cost-cutting drive at the company. Tencent's extended reality division is working on a headset, marking its first venture into hardware, as well as software. The division is a "passion project" of Tencent founder Pony Ma, who has described the metaverse as an "all-real internet". by Ryan Morrison See full article at Tech Monitor See the top news on Tencent Continue reading

PR NEWSWIRE - MyPlace, the fast-growing social network connecting friends to share their homes, has hired Aaron Zifkin to fill the newly created role of President and COO. Zifkin has most recently held roles as the Managing Director for Lyft in Canada and the Regional Director of the Americas at Airbnb. In this role, Zifkin's priority will be to effectively scale MyPlace's mission to help people share their homes with their friends and communities around the world. After raising $5.8M in Seed Funding earlier this year, MyPlace is focused on its global launch. See full article at PR Newswire See the top news on MyPlace Continue reading

ECONOMIC TIMES - Decentralized social network Soclly has announced the launch of its beta version for Web3 creators, influencers, and educators. Serial entrepreneurs Prayag Singh, Naresh Katta, and Charan Kumar Borra launched Soclly when they realized that Web3 creators need a platform where they can engage with their followers and monetize the same. As an initial offering, Web3 creators can register and mention their available time slot along with their fee. To book their favorite Web3 creator for 30 minutes, requesters need to pay fees via stable coins such as USDT, USDC, and DAI. See full article at ET Online Continue reading

NFT EVENING - MetaJuice has announced the launch of a fully merged NFT Marketplace onto the social media IMVU metaverse. The official statement comes during the NFT.NYC gathering, and in Q3, ~1M daily active users will have access to the NFT marketplace. The NFT marketplace will give IMVU users the ability to monetize their platform in several ways. IMVU is an online virtual world and social networking platform founded in 2004. Now, it is a metaverse space with ~200K active IMVU creators. It is a top 5 grossing app in the iOS/Apple App Store and Google Play Store. by James Ellis See full article at NFT Evening See the top news on IMVU Continue reading

TECH CRUNCH - Twitter announced a new partnership with Shopify. The deal will see Twitter launching a sales channel app that will be made available to all of Shopify's U.S. merchants through its app store. The app allows merchants to onboard themselves to Twitter's Shopping Manager, the dashboard offered by the social media company where sellers can access product catalog tools and enable other shopping features for their profiles. by Sarah Perez See full article at Tech Crunch See the top news on Twitter Continue reading

TEKEDIA - Afropolitan, a community-as-a-service startup that wants to build a digital nation for Africans in Metaverse, announced that it has raised $2.1M to build an Afro Digital Nation. Afropolitan was founded by Eche Emole and Chika Uwazie to build a network comprising the best that Africa and the diaspora offer across art, finance, tech, health, sports, and media. Afropolitan wants to be the first-ever internet country in the future. Afropolitan's objective is to solve the Crisis of Legitimacy experienced by Africans worldwide by building a new source of Legitimacy embodied in Digital Nation. by Samuel Nwite See full article at Tekedia Continue reading

TECH CRUNCH - Twitter's board wants the $44B Elon Musk takeover completed, which is why it's asking its shareholders to approve the deal, according to a new regulatory filing. The board states in the document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it "unanimously recommends that you vote the adoption of the merger agreement." The $44B deal is still hanging in balance over the issue of the number of bots on the platform. by Ivan Mehta See full article at Tech Crunch See the top news on Twitter Continue reading

TECH CRUNCH - Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company is rolling out more ways for creators to make money on Facebook and Instagram, and is also expanding some of its current monetization tools to more creators. Zuckerberg announced that Meta is testing a designated place on Instagram where creators can get discovered and paid for content. Meta notes that the creator marketplace allows brands to share new partnership opportunities. Once a brand finds a creator that they want to partner with, they can send a project with the details to them, including information about deliverables and payment. by Aisha Malik See full article at Tech Crunch See the top news on Meta See the top news on Facebook See the top news on Instagram Continue reading

FORBES - Several years ago, Strava, a data-hungry, fitness-cum-social network app, published a heatmap showing every activity ever logged, over 3 trillion data points. The visualization appeared to give away the location of secret U.S. Army bases and spy outposts in locations like Afghanistan and Syria. The company published a blog post urging users to review their privacy settings and said it would review "features that were originally designed for athlete motivation and inspiration to ensure they cannot be compromised by people with bad intent." by Abram Brown See full article at Forbes See the top news on Strava Continue reading

FORTUNE - LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky revealed how the end of 2021 brought on a surge of professionals jumping ship to new employers following a period of great uncertainty which he refers to as the Great Reshuffle. The surge in job-hopping was mainly driven by Gen Z and millennials, who moved at a record pace in what represented an unprecedented shift in the advertising industry. While Roslansky’s findings specifically refer to the advertising industry, it serves as a warning to every sector that retaining Gen Z talent is not as straightforward as it once was with previous generations. by Massimo Marioni See full article at Fortune See the top news on LinkedIn Continue reading