The last couple of weeks have been pretty wild. News about Twitter, Google+ and Foursquare have got the marketing world all abuzz. Here is a short recap!
Google+
On April 24th, TechCrunch posted “Google+ Is Walking Dead” after news that G+’s Vic Gundotra had left the company. I’m sure a lot of people thought Google+ was aleady dead. But it’s alive, I tell you – ALIVE! And even if Google+ died as a social network, the Google+ platform has been woven into nearly every Google product. It’s easy to see the integration on YouTube, Local and Gmail. I can’t imagine those products without G+. In fact, I don’t think Google+ will die any time soon. Mark Traphagan wrote a post over at MarketingLand that has some interesting G+ predictions. Check it out here.
On April 30th, The Atlantic posted “A Eulogy for Twitter” after news that its Q1’14 losses were 4x the losses in Q1’13. Once those numbers hit the press, Twitter’s stock price dropped 12%. Combined with the report from a few weeks ago that 44% of Twitter users have never tweet, the whole situation was starting to get depressing. But honestly, I wouldn’t worry about Twitter. They are going to be fine. I just know it. And so does Slate.
FourSquare
On May 1st, Foursquare announced that the Foursquare app was splitting into 2 apps: the current Foursquare app and a new app called Swarm. According the Foursquare announcement:
“But, as it turns out, each time you open the app, you almost always do just one of those things. At home, you may be searching for a place for dinner. After dinner, you are probably looking to see what friends nearby are up to. That’s why today, we’re announcing that we’re unbundling these two experiences into two separate apps – Foursquare, and a new app called Swarm.”
It’s definitely an interesting, bold move. I’ve been a Foursquare user since 2009, and I have definitely become a big fan of Foursquare over the years. I have some big questions about this move to split the app. I wish them all the best. If you want to read more about the move, I recommend this article over at TheVerge.com.