RAAK

I checkin therefor I am

We have been sceptical about Foursquare in the past, to say the least, but this week's new release might mark a turning point in the location based service's life. Who you are as a person can be deduced from the sum of everywhere you've been and everything you've done. That is the premise of the new Foursquare. It claims to base its functionality on a massive amount of data points, "like what sandwich shops you've been to before, what time it is, where your friends have been, where the deals are, if you're new in town, if you're outside your neighborhood, and where other people like you tend to hang out."

Too cool for…

It's not that teenagers in the US are not signing up to Facebook anymore. They are. But with older folks, including parents, spending more time on the big blue network – kids are spending more time on platforms like Tumblr. Facebook is losing its cool. No wonder then that Facebook is rumoured to be launching a new version of their service to under 13's. Catch them young, they say …

The Pied Piper of San Francisco

Twitter is one of those services to which young users are flocking. Its growth in the 18 to 24 year old demographic in the US has been astounding, from 18% in May 2011 to 31% a year later. The theory is that with the rise of smartphones, the spartan Twitter is at a better placed advantage – particularly since Twitter is baked right into Apple's iOS operating system. That seems plausible. Lucky for Facebook, Techcrunch reports that Facebook will join Twitter in iOS6. Not a moment too soon!

Rubbing salt into mobile wounds

This week Twitter's Dick Costello boasted that Twitter is already – on specific days – making more money from ads on mobile than on desktop, declaring that they are primarily suited to an ad model. Facebook meanwhile announced easy mobile payments (already available accross all US & UK mobile network) for its new mobile app platform. Does that show a lack of focus or a sensible hedging of bets?

From the niche content works department

The Wall Street Journal can't produce enough video streams to keep up with advertisers' demand, while Slate is doubling down on its podcasts, because of growing audiences and ad revenue. Who said publishing is dead?

Food for thought

"Curation only exists because this is an incredible time for creation." A good blog post by Longreads founder Mark Armstrong asks a few important questions, like who are curators, and whether curation has and should have a viable business model.