Trending News

• NASA Discovers 7 Earth-Size Planets 40 Light Years Away: NASA has discovered 7 Earth-like planets in another solar system (230 trillion miles away) with one of those planets possibly containing liquid water. (NASA)
• #NationalMargaritaDay: I didn’t even know this was a thing, who’s complaining? Head over Twitter for pictures of creative concoctions and inspiration if you need new recipes. (Twitter)
• Apple Park: Apple has finally acknowledged the existence of campus 2 in Cambridge, England which has been dubbed “Apple Park.” With the campus set to open in April. (Apple Insider)

• Netflix Acquires the Rights to Scorcese De Niro Film: Not only did Netflix snag the streaming rights to the mob drama which is set to feature Al Pacino, they were also able to get the exclusive theatrical rights to the film as well. The film goes into production later this year. (Forbes)

Social/Content News

• International Money Transfers Come to Facebook Messenger: Facebook recently partnered with peer-to-peer transfer service Transferwise to bring international wire transfers to Facebook Messenger via a bot. (Social Media Week)
• Snapchat Releases Spectacles Online: At a retail price of $130, Snapchat’s parent company SNAP Inc. has released the glasses publicly meaning users no longer have to get lucky to get their hands on them. (WeRSM)

• Instagram Introduces Carousel Album Posts Features: Instagram comes with another huge update that allows users to do batch uploads of up to 10 photos or videos and have them viewed carousel style. (9to5 Mac)

• YouTube Unskippable Ads Getting Shorter: YouTube knows that we don’t like the 30-second unskippable ads so they’re on the road to making them shorter. (WeRSM)
• WhatsApp Incorporates Status Updates: In an effort to go back their roots, WhatsApp now allows users to include images, gifs etc. in their status updates. Like its competitor Snapchat, the updates will disappear in 24hours. (WeRSM)

Dope Reads

• How to Optimize Video for Different Social Media Channels: One of my favorite marketers Gary Vaynerchuk consistently says that you have to create for the platform you’re on. That goes for memes, gifs, and in this case full videos. Luckily, Hootsuite provides us their point of view on how to optimize your video for each platform. (Hootsuite)
• How A 26 Year Old Started a 7 Figure Business from Her Van: Mariah’s home used to be 35-square feet, and a gas guzzler. But with hard work and the 7 tips that she graciously gives us in her article, she explains her rise to success. (Inc)

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