10.28.2014

Where Have You Been? No, we have not been hiding from you.  After a short hiatus, we're 
excited and happy to announce that we're back in business! We continue to appreciate your 
support as we keep you posted on the top tech and Internet news-related stories to watch 
for the week.  Cheers! 

THE SKINNY.

Your Money’s No Good Here.

Yesterday, CVS and Rite Aid made a bold move and announced that they won’t be accepting Apple Pay – the tech company’s new mobile payment service.

Keepin’ It In the Family.

Though CVS and Rite Aid haven’t commented on their decision, turns out that Walmart, Best Buy, and about 50 other retail chains are developing their own in-house, rival systems. Interesting …

Never Let ‘Em See You Sweat.

In the first few days of Apple Pay’s existence, Apple saw more than a million credit cards registered.  Apple CEO Tim Cook says Apple Pay offers better privacy and security than other services. Cook also said, “Merchants have different objectives sometimes. But in the long arc of time, you only are relevant as a retailer or merchant if your customers love you.” #NoShadeButShade

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON THIS WEEK?

Back to the Future …

Back in August, Taylor Swift announced to the world that she’d be releasing a new album via a live stream on Yahoo .  ICYMI – pop is in, and country is out. Then, just last week, a portion of her already critically acclaimed album, 1989, leaked online. But, yesterday marked the official launch of her album. She teamed up with iHeartRadio for a secret session live streamed on Yahoo to celebrate with some of her closest fans on a NYC rooftop.  Needless to say, the Internet is freaking out. We’re calling it now, record sales by the end of this week! In the meantime, we’ll see how T-Swift continues to leverage online platforms.

It’s All About the Numbers…

The good news is Twitter’s users via mobile is growing, and it’s revenue outperformed projected estimates.   And now for the bad –  Twitter didn’t attract quite as many new users in the third quarter and existing users aren’t engaging with the service as much.  This means a lot on Wall Street.  The social media platform’s shares fell by 11% – losing about $3 billion in market value.  CEO Dick Costolo isn’t discouraged and says the company will continue to reach its ““aspirational goal to build the largest daily audience in the world.” Looks like continued innovation is key.

Facebook Takes on Journalism…

With about 1.3 billion people across the globe signing into the social network at least monthly, Facebook is looking to tap into the journalism and change how people consume news. Even the Washington Post’s Senior Editor for Digital News admits that people will no longer be going to his paper’s website directly but will instead opt for “search and social.”

The Streets Are Talkin’

Content is king, and Amazon knows it.  The e-commerce company just expand its digital content by purchasing online comedy service Rooftop.

YouTube is considering a paid subscription for those of us that want to skip the ads. This new approach being led by Google vet Susan Wojcicki, and the online platform is actively searching for potential content partners for this service.

Rumor has it that Roku streaming player is eyeing an initial public offering aka as an IPO.

You Should Know That…

This Friday is Halloween! We hope you enjoy the festivities and put in a little work to come up with a creative costume.  But, please do try to avoid costumes likes these.  You’re welcome!