Editor’s Note: Related Tickers: Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD), Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA), Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN)
Facebook’s Finch stickers put livelier face on messaging (CNET)
Facebook is rolling out a new animated sticker pack created by illustrator Matt Jones as part of a much larger effort to make messaging more human.
Stickers, which are essentially a character-driven interpretation on emoticons, made their first appearance in Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s iOS application in mid April. The social network has since added its warm-and-fuzzy, and sometimes kooky, digital machinations to the Messenger application for Android. Facebook will eventually bring the characters to its other messaging apps as well. Facebook announced Friday the release of a new sticker pack based on a character Jones created called Finch. The pack features 16 facial expressions such as surprise, sympathy, sadness, and cheerfulness. It’s available as a free download in Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s Sticker Store.
LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) unveiled a new contacts application for Web and mobile users this week with the goal of helping members manage the relationships they build on the professional social network. The company is billing LinkedIn Contacts as a digital personal assistant. It will pull information from user address books, calendars, emails and previous LinkedIn activity to create a single virtual Rolodex. To simplify the information, users can access it through filters such as recently added contacts, or those that have been out of touch for a while. LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) determines all that by accessing data from user e-mails, phone conversations and calendar events.
Zynga’s downward spiral continues as it shutters four more games (Digital Trends)
Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) COO David Ko confirmed during Wednesday’s earnings call that it was closing down four social games that were at one time pillars of the company’s business. These include Facebook titles The Ville, Empires & Allies, and Dream Zoo as well as the company’s foray into China, Zynga City, on the Tencent gaming platform. It also confirmed the cancellation of two unreleased games that were meant to be a big part of its future. CEO Mark Pincus said those games would have brought “better short-term performance” but they wouldn’t have provided long term stability.
Gotham Cigars Partners with Groupon to Offer 2 Great Deals! (PR Web)
Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) launched a new Gotham Cigar offer this morning through their Groupon Goods promotional channel. The is the second Groupon that Gotham Cigars has run within the last 6 months, and this time there are two different deal options. There is an unbelievable Spring Sampler which includes 7 cigars and a cigar cutter for only $24.99 (retails at $51.40). This offer is the perfect assortment for any cigar lover. The second Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) offer is five sticks of Gurkha Legend Toro Maduro Cigars and a custom Gotham Cigars lighter with Lifetime Warranty and a can of butane for only $49.99 (retails at $110.00).
Facebook Inc (FB): This Underrated Metric Is Screaming ‘Buy, Buy, Buy’ (Insider Monkey)
Is Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) undervalued? Prominent investors are in a bullish mood. The number of long hedge fund positions inched up by 19 lately. Heading into 2013, a total of 67 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 40% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably. When looking at the hedgies we track, Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital had the biggest position in Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), worth close to $290.9 million, comprising 1.8% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Steven Cohen of SAC Capital Advisors, with a $226.2 million position; 1.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company.
match2blue presents new radar app for LinkedIn at the start-up alley of TechCrunch Disrupt in New York (The Herald)
For users of the world’s largest business network, LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD), there is now a new app that makes networking more mobile and more effective. As the first app of its kind, mapp2link (http://www.mapp2link.com) sends users a push message on their smartphone whenever relevant LinkedIn contacts are…
…located nearby, without compromising their privacy. The app is being launched worldwide and is available in English. match2blue will be presenting the application to the public for the first time at the prestigious technology conference TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2013. LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) was launched in 2003 and now boasts over 200 million registered members in over 200 countries, making it one of the world’s largest social platforms and the most influential network for business relationships.
Zynga Launches ‘Draw Something 2’ With New Tools, Social Features (ABC News)
Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) has officially launched Draw Something 2, the followup to its highly-successful Pictionary-like mobile app Draw Something, which was released last year. Unveiled during the company’s earnings call Wednesday, the latest version of the popular game brings new ways to play, a number of new drawing tools, as well as patterns and textures that can be incorporated into drawings. In addition to drawing features, the game includes a live social feed where players can follow friends, celebrities or artists. Users can also like and comment on pictures that aren’t part of the game in which they’re specifically involved.
Groupon Shares Hoovering Near Eight Month Highs (Daily Deal Media)
Shares of Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN) are hovering near eight-month highs, and one large trader apparently sees the online-discount service holding recent gains. More than 21,200 GRPN options have traded, more than twice their daily average for the last month. Most of that volume came in a single print. optionMONSTER systems show that a trader sold 15,000 July 6 puts for the bid price of $0.61. The volume was far above the strike’s open interest of 1,303 contracts before the session began, clearly indicating that this is a new position.
Mobile Will Push Facebook to $37: Analyst (CNBC.com)
Strength in Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s mobile advertising performance will boost shares to $37 within 12 months, Aaron Kessler of Raymond James said Friday on CNBC. “I think in the near-term there is going to be upside to Q1 estimates here,” he said. “I think a few things are going on.” On “Fast Money,” Kessler said that Facebook was showing improvement in advertising and its ad-exchange service, FBX, was “gaining some traction.” Kessler’s price target was $1 lower than at Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s initial public offering on May 18. “We think mobile will be strong in the quarter,” he added.
Search Control Helps San Diego Business Owners Optimize LinkedIn (WebWire)
Business owners around the world depend on Search Control to fully optimize the most popular social networks to leverage their business. Search Control has three U.S. offices and offers a range of Search Engine Marketing services. LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD) is one of the most popular social networks in the world, yet many entrepreneurs don’t know the proper way to optimize their LinkedIn profile with a professional company profile, recommendations, backlinks, and informative content. Search Control, is a social media marketing agency which helps business owners utilize the many benefits that LinkedIn offers for business pages.
Zynga Trying to Stay Alive Until Online Gambling Is Legalized (Yahoo! Finance)
Despite the minor triumph, Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) took a hit after-hours, at one point dropping more than 10% to under $3 a share. Investors were disappointed by a warning for the current quarter and a substantial drop in the number of people using its online games. Jon Najarian, cofounder of optionMONSTER.com says the company is basically trying to stay alive long enough to get a piece of the online gambling business, which is slowly being legalized in the U.S. Though the company won’t talk about it much, they did set up an online casino of sorts in the U.K. last quarter.
