The year 2012 was a big moment for social media. These include Facebook going public, and Facebook buying out Instagram, Yahoo's appointment of Marissa Mayer as CEO, PSY's Gangnam Style sensation on YouTube and Twitter's biggest moments. We take a quick look.
For Instagram, 2012 has been a pretty important year. Facebook acquired the company in April for a reported $1 billion. Towards the end of the year, Instagram announced that it would be launching its own website and also pulled off Twitter cards which had allowed people to view Instagram images on Twitter. And if that wasn’t enough on 17 December, Instagram announced changes to its terms of service stating that it would sell users’ photos to advertisers causing a public outcry. Instagram later retracted this particular clause. Getty Images
For Facebook too this was a big year. Beyond the Instagram acquisition, the social networking giant went public in May. However, the IPO was a disaster and the stock soon tanked. But things soon turned around with Zuckerberg announcing in October that Facebook now had 1 billion active users. Facebook Q3 revenue also showed that mobile advertising for the company had proved successful and the company launched a bunch of new apps as well in the course of the year such as Facebook Camera, Poke and a revamped Android and iOS app. AP
Marissa Mayer’s appointment as Yahoo’s CEO is probably one of the biggest turning points for the company. She is the youngest CEO for a Fortune 500 company and the only one who was appointed while she was pregnant. Mayer has already made some major changes to Yahoo. She revamped Yahoo Mail to give it a cleaner design and outlook and launched new Android, iOS app for the service. Under her guidance Flickr’s iOS got updated with new photo filters and other features. Mayer has emphasised that mobile is where Yahoo needs to focus and she’s been ensuring that it does just that. Reuters
For Twitter too this was a pretty eventful year. Twitter’s new API rules caused outrage among app developers who saw it as an attempt to squeeze them out. But it wasn’t all bad. Obama’s victory tweet became the most re-tweeted overall while the Pope also joined the Twitter universe. AFP
South Korean rapper PSY’s Gangnam Style video became a worldwide phenonmena. The video has the distinction of being the first video on YouTube to hit 1 billion views. AP
The average IPL fan isn’t outraged by the spot-fixing scandal. It merely confirms what we already suspected about the junk food of sports.
Not burdened by the baggage of caste or dogma, Sonia Gandhi has the opportunity and capacity to make a real difference to Indian society.
If the three can’t thrash out an out of court settlement, the sexual harassment case is likely to result in long litigation in the full glare of the media.
Preity Zinta embodies a lot of what is wrong with the IPL – irresponsibility and compromising the dignity of cricket as a sport.
Given the huge legal, moral and ethical stakes, Srinvasan and Meiyappan should have voluntarily clarified their position and should have offered to face an investigation.
For Muslims in Britain, there comes one thing after another to get defensive about, and at quite short intervals. The Muslim community will be cornered into paying a price for the brutality of these two killers.
Chidambaram ‘s soothsaying may not work when the markets are driven largely by foreign institutional investors (FIIs)
Rejecting the talk about two power centres and differences between them, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi today said there is “collective leadership” between her and Manmohan Singh and “we all stand by” the Prime Minister who will complete his term.
From across the Hindu Kush, a plea for Indian help. Hamid Karzai wants New Delhi to provide artillery and military transport aircraft. It won’t cost India much—but New Delhi is worried about upsetting Pakistan, and wary of making commitments before it becomes clear which way the political wind is blowing in Kabul.
With the glut of information regarding the IPL spot fixing scandal and the three cricketers how much of it can we really trust?
This is the second time the IT industry veteran has been involved in a sex scandal.
Opinion polls show the BJP and the NDA ahead of the Congress and UPA. But it is the regional parties that are likely to make the biggest gains. NDA and UPA are post-poll creatures
India’s discourse with China has traditionally been trapped in the Mao-ist maze that defines how “friends” ought to conduct themselves. But Chinese statecraft has evolved, and India too must up its diplomatic game.
In that sense the poverty line of India is cruel. It is merciless and doesn’t allow the majority of Indians any money for shelter or access to education or healthcare or sanitation or anything else that civilised nations would consider as essential as food.
Can the party resolve internal discord and take a call on Modi’s PM candidature?
Try following a game on twitter or with friends or at the ground. At every step of the way, the spot-fixing question raises itself.
If you forget the politics and just look at the film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist doesn’t fare much better. It’s a thriller that lacks tension and suspense.
After monitoring a phone call, the investigation had virtually turned pan-India with some of the bookies based in Gujarat and Mumbai.
JM Financial will nominate Pandit as the non-executive chairman of the proposed bank. Pandit and Aiyar will have the right to purchase shares up to the amount prescribed by the RBI in this entity.
The great American dream is an integral part of America. It’s ‘great’ in that it symbolises not truth, but hope when the truth is disillusioning; it symbolises not facts, but ideals when facts are unnerving; it symbolises not likelihood, but promise when likelihood is all but bleak.
We’re tracking the Google I/O conference 2013 live – what will be unveiled?
The summary of the response in his Sreesanth’s home turf is that of incredulity. They are unwilling to believe that the pacer is guilty.
The original promise of the Dreamliner has failed to materiallise due to limitations in its flying range. Will Air India continue to pay a price for this?
The UPA ads eulogising MGNREGA as a a huge success needs to be taken with bags of salt. The scheme did make a difference, but not as is claimed.
