Archive for the ‘Social Networking’ Category

The Top Social Networking App Development Companies, According to App Developers Rating Platform – Yahoo Finance

Currently, the global social network penetration rate is 49%, with a rate of 69% in North America specifically. AppDeveloperListing.com determined the top developers who can help brands create social networking apps that tap into this large and expanding market.

NEW YORK, April 21, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ --Currently, the global social network penetration rate is 49%, with a rate of 69% in North America.

AppDeveloperListing.com, a B2B marketplace connecting brands with app developers, identified the best app developers who can help brands build and maintain cutting edge social networking apps that appeal to users.

The top social networking app developers are:

1. Algoworks algoworks.com Expertise: Consulting, Website Design, Software Development and more

2. App Makers LA appmakersla.com Expertise: Creative Services, Market Research, Website Development and more

3. BlueMatrix Media bluematrixmedia.com Expertise: Website Design, E-Commerce Design & Development, Software Development and more

4. BoTree Technologies botreetechnologies.com Expertise: Website Development, Software Development, Digital Marketing and more

5. Code Inspiration codeinspiration.pro Expertise: Website Development, User Experience Design, Consulting and more

6. Coding Pixel codingpixel.com Expertise: Software Development, Website Development, Website Design and more

7. Cubix cubix.co Expertise: Software Development, Wearable Technology, Website Design and more

8. Decipher Zone Softwares decipherzone.com Expertise: Product Design, Graphic & Print Design, Website Design and more

9. DigiGround digiground.com.au Expertise: Logo Design Companies, Website Development, Website Design and more

10. Digital Silk digitalsilk.com Expertise: Graphic & Print Design, Digital Marketing, Software Development and more

11. Exaud exaud.com Expertise: Consulting, Internet of Things, Software Development and more

12. Groove Jones groovejones.com Expertise: Video Production, Creative Services, AR/VR and more

13. ICON Worldwide icon-worldwide.com Expertise: Graphic & Print Design, Digital Marketing, Website Development and more

14. KWebmaker kwebmaker.com Expertise: Creative Services, Website Design, Website Development and more

15. Next Big Technology nextbigtechnology.com Expertise: Logo Design, Website Development, User Experience Design and more

16. Riseapps riseapps.co Expertise: Product Design, Website Design, User Experience Design and more

17. Ziggle Tech Inc. ziggletech.com Expertise: Consulting, Website Design, Software Development and more

Brands can search and compare the best social networking app development agencies based on their location, team size, rates and budget on AppDeveloperListing.com.

About AppDeveloperListing.com: AppDeveloperListing.com is a directory of carefully screened and ranked app development companies in the US and abroad. Once vetted and approved by experts, the companies are listed by categories: technical, OS and industry expertise, as well as location.

SOURCE AppDeveloperListing.com

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The Top Social Networking App Development Companies, According to App Developers Rating Platform - Yahoo Finance

Facebook to reveal location of high reach Pages, accounts to users – The Hindu

In a bid to make messaging during election more transparent, Facebook is going to display the location of high-reach Facebook pages and Instagram accounts on every post they share so that people can have more information to help them gauge the reliability and authenticity of the content they see in their feeds.

The change is first coming to Facebook Pages and Instagram accounts in the U.S.

These changes are part of our broader efforts to protect elections and increase transparency on Facebook and Instagram so people can make more informed decisions about the posts they read, trust and share, the company said in a statement late on Wednesday.

We want to make sure people use our services authentically and can understand who is behind the posts theyre seeing. This is particularly important when it comes to elections, said Facebook.

In 2018, Facebook started giving people more context about Facebook Pages, including the primary country location of the people who manage a Page, so people can better understand whos behind it.

The social networking giant also launched About this Account on Instagram to provide additional context so people can evaluate the authenticity of an account.

Were also exploring ways to bring this transparency to more places, such as Facebook Pages and Instagram Profiles, said Facebook.

These changes are part of Facebooks broader efforts to protect elections and increase transparency on Facebook and Instagram so people can make more informed decisions about the posts they read, trust and share.

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Facebook to reveal location of high reach Pages, accounts to users - The Hindu

The future of social media at the turn of the decade – The Drum

At the close of 2019, the number of social media users worldwide had hit 3.5 billion. Social medias rapid growth has had a significant impact on our daily lives transforming how we connect with not only each other, but also with the media and brands. So, at the turn of the decade what future changes can we predict to see on the horizon?

Enforced regulation

Although social media has clearly brought benefits to society and companies, it also brings downsides and dangers such as cyberbullying, online harassment, depression, body image insecurities and fear of missing out (FOMO). Previously left to self-regulate, the UK government has recently announced that more power will be given to watchdog Ofcom to force social media companies to take increased responsibility for their content.

The pressure to regulate in the digital sphere will almost certainly restrict how advertisers can target and what content can be promoted, thus leading to greater transparency on how data is being used. For instance, Facebook already allows users to manage interest-based ads under account settings and we should expect more companies to follow this trend.

Enforced regulations could encourage users to increase trust in social media networks. This will potentially reflect in higher engagement. On the other hand, advertisers will have restricted targeting capabilities which might translate to media spend wastage, lower ad engagement and reduced opportunities for advertising customisation.

Organically, social platforms may see a diminished capability to serve users curated content if they are limited in data collection.

Data and privacy

Events such as the Cambridge Analytica scandal made us realise the power of social media and data as well as the limitations of current social media regulations. Users are becoming aware that data is power. One sign of this is that searches for My Activity on Google have been increasing year on year.

Users are already changing their privacy settings in order to include the minimum information on social media and accounts are being deleted. Users will continue to push for this with heightened privacy concerns as the world becomes ever more digital. Demographically, younger audiences are increasingly conscious of data privacy and security, which will further add to the soft and hard restrictions placed upon social media.

This trend may well open alternative commercial models for social media networks, such as subscriptions which allow a reduced need for personal data. Another possible solution would be to reward users that share their data.

WeChat-like social networks

As more people rely on their phones to make payments, store boarding passes and manage their finances, the opportunity for social media players to blend social and financial functionalities into one platform is growing.

WeChat is the perfect example of how social media, commerce and entertainment can merge. More than a social media network, it allows users to do day-to-day tasks such as storing their IDs, paying their utilities and getting access to public services, including booking doctor appointments, applying for visas and checking driving records.

Facebook is already experimenting in this space and it had plans to launch its own cryptocurrency named Libra this year. This service might not necessarily be integrated with the Facebook social media platform, but it gives a hint on future possibilities.

Western social platforms will inevitably try to follow WeChat but it is unlikely that they will be allowed to play the role as fully as WeChat does in China. This is because in most countries, data privacy concerns and increases in regulation will be pushing social networks in the opposite direction.

Multi-networking

The number of social media accounts per person has been growing among all demographics. The multi-networking effect is a response to the increase number of platforms options, but it's also being caused by a degree of specialization (e.g. Twitch, Pinterest, and TikTok).

Social media usage will continue to increase in developing countries, but it has generally plateaued among in advanced economies. As more specialised social media platforms arise, the number of social media platforms per user can still increase across all age groups, particularly among millennials and Gen X. However, time spend on social media will be similar to what it currently is.

How we consume content will change

The way we consume content is always changing and therefore new social media networks will emerge as a natural response to these changes. Younger demographics will be the earlier adopters, as we saw with Snapchat and are seeing with TikTok.

Video has become by far the most popular format. Views of branded video content increased by 258% since 2016, and on Twitter a video is 6x more likely to be retweeted than a photo. Its not hard to guess that new social media platforms will be focused on video and powered by AI.

Additionally, voice search is exponentially increasing which will also impact social media behaviour in the coming decade as people type less and start relying voice recognition systems to do this job for them.

While phones will remain the main device for accessing social media, the usage of AR and VR devices will also increase in the next decade as they get lighter and more versatile, expanding their usage beyond gaming.

Shifts from the current climate

At the close of the decade social media was making headlines for its negative impacts. Due to COVID-19, screen time will increase as individuals re/download apps to stay connected with friends and family, and to keep entertained. Some platforms will emerge from this dark time with a larger, more diverse and more engaged user base than ever before and perhaps social media will regain respect through reigniting its original charm as a way for us to all stay connected.

It can be challenging to predict the future of social media as its a fast-changing environment but hopefully it will move towards a safer and more democratic place.

Erika Mendes is head of biddable at Roast

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The future of social media at the turn of the decade - The Drum

Social network site TikTok fuels bullies, self-harm and paedophilia with victims as young as 10 – The Sun

POLICE have probed hundreds of crimes involving paedophilia, self-harm and bullying linked to social networking site TikTok.

A Sun on Sunday investigation found children as young as ten have been victims.

1

A girl of 13 was sent indecent images and asked for nude snaps.

Kids are harassed and urged to self-harm or even kill themselves.

Chinese-owned TikTok the worlds most downloaded app, with more than a billion users is particularly popular with children who love the fun clips shared on it.

It has a minimum age of 13, but does not require proof.

A Freedom of Information request revealed cops in England and Wales were called over incidents on it 142 times last year. But that total is likely much higher as forces including London, Thames Valley, Kent and Essex did not give figures and Greater

Manchester did not respond.

The coronavirus lockdown has since seen a huge surge in use.

Campaigner John Carr, a former government adviser on online child safety, said: TikTok is no place for children and these cases remind us why.

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David Spencer, of the Centre for Crime Prevention, added:

The TikTok trend is deeply troubling, and not just because of the links to the Chinese regime. Safeguards that the site does have in place are woefully inadequate. All parents should think extremely carefully before allowing children to use TikTok.

TikTok insisted: Keeping our community safe is a top priority. We are constantly strengthening policies.

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Social network site TikTok fuels bullies, self-harm and paedophilia with victims as young as 10 - The Sun

Who’s Zoomin’ who? How the coronavirus crisis is finally putting the ‘social’ into social media – The Conversation CA

The platforming of our lives on social media apps like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter is usually met with criticism. Interactive technologies, like video games and social media, were told, make us anti-social. Now, as a result of social distancing efforts in response to the coronavirus pandemic, online social networks and video conferencing platforms like Zoom are redefining what it means to be social through our technologies.

In a less-than-ideal situation, the Zoom conferencing platform has become central to many peoples everyday life during the crisis. Quarantining has forced us to move our social gatherings online; hangouts with friends and family have, for the past month, become virtually possible thanks to new media. My family, like many others, participated in a Zoom Passover seder this year.

Video-sharing apps like TikTok also help us to relieve boredom. The platforms dance challenges and lip-syncing memes provide a sense of fun and comic relief.

Social media networks and conferencing platforms may be compensating for the loss of social life in a moment of crisis, but perhaps we are getting more than we bargained for.

Working from home, and homing while at work, has become part of the routine for many white-collar workers: work life and family life are blending into one.

A couple of weeks ago, my five-year-old son wandered into my home office during a Zoom meeting. This embarrassing scenario is something now familiar to many of us working remotely via Zoom or other video conference platforms. An hour later, both of my children logged onto Zoom meetings of their own for a session of remote schooling.

Work-life balance was hard enough before the crisis. Now, social media is blending private life and work. For parents and caregivers, the extension of the office into personal space can be an added cause of stress. With no separation, we are forced to do it all at once.

The double duties of care and work, what feminists refer to as the double shift, isnt new. But bringing the office space into the home while managing care and the health crisis can be daunting.

Zoom may enable work life during the crisis. But is this really the best way to use our social technologies and media? Maybe this situation gives us an opportunity to see the problems of our culture differently through the prism of social technology.

Social isolation may have changed the way we interact online, but apprehensions about social media and other cloud-based social interaction technologies and platforms are justified. Not only do we fear the anti-social effects of social media, many of us are also worried about online surveillance, manipulation and trolling.

Zoom, too, is not exempt from these kinds of security fears. Like other cloud-based technologies, Zoom is not immune to the threat of data mining and surveillance, even from other platforms.

Using social technologies as a lifeline during the ongoing crisis helps us to see beyond the anti-social aspects of the technology. Looking past the interface, we should interrogate online anti-social behaviour less as a problem with the technology and more as having to do with the broader culture of neoliberal capitalism.

Like all media, platforms amplify the social, political and economic conditions in which they are used. Since corporate platforms profit from our usage and data, they all have an interest in keeping our attention and our active participation. This is what makes data mining, for instance, essential to all platforms.

Data has become a staple resource for the new economy of 21st century capitalism. And algorithms are designed to keep us plugged in, whatever the emotional cost.

As critical media scholars have said for years, if the product is free, chances are the commodity is you.

Scholars point to communicative capitalism or platform capitalism to identify the harmful aspects of platforms and social media. Platforms rely on user-generated content and data mining as part of their profit models.

Like traditional news media and communicative technologies, platform conglomeration risks limiting information freedom and media democracy. Already, Zoom appears to have cornered the market for video conferencing platforms.

The context of using social technologies during the coronavirus crisis should therefore force us to question the future of our media. Will platforms like Zoom help us to enhance our social relationships and the public good, or will they do more to amplify the needs of platform and neoliberal capitalism?

Against the background of the COVID-19 crisis, we see just how essential social networking platforms and online communication technologies have become for our social life. At the same time, these technologies extend and embed work into the home.

Can we imagine social media networks and apps designed for the public good? What might it look like if we removed platforms and social media from their corporate setting? Perhaps a social media that lived up to its name.

Given the ways were using social technologies and platforms to maintain our social lives during the crisis, we should reconsider our relationships to technology. Maybe technologies and social media dont make us anti-social, after all, and the cause of the problem lies in a culture that prioritizes profit making over people making.

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Who's Zoomin' who? How the coronavirus crisis is finally putting the 'social' into social media - The Conversation CA