Digg is coming back, thanks to its founder — and Reddit’s

image via theverge.com
image via theverge.com

Rose and a group of what he calls “brainstorming partners,” which included Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian, design and product exec Justin Mezzell, and even folks like Blogger and Twitter cofounder Ev Williams, started to talk about whether AI might be able to help them build a better social platform. “I would call Alexis up and we would chat,” Rose says, “and we’d be like, ‘hey, what if, what if, what if?’ And a lot of those things started giving us both that butterflies-in-the-stomach situation, where you’re like, ‘oh, this could be cool. This could be really cool.’”

https://www.theverge.com/social/624073/digg-relaunch-2025

How Facebook Marketplace is keeping young people on the platform

image via cnbc.com
image via cnbc.com

Meta’s Facebook’s influence remains strong globally, but younger users are logging in less. Only 32% of U.S. teens use Facebook today, down from 71% in 2014, according to a 2024 Pew Research study. However, Facebook’s resale platform Marketplace is one reason young people are on the platform. “I only use Facebook for Marketplace,” said Mirka Arevalo, a student at Buffalo University. “I go in knowing what I want, not just casually browsing.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/08/how-facebook-marketplace-is-keeping-young-people-on-the-platform-.html

LinkedIn amps up vertical video tools as uploads jump 36%

image via techcrunch.com
image via techcrunch.com

The Microsoft-owned social network for the working world has yet to go full TikTok. But with a big boost of usage — today it said that video uploads jumped by 36% compared to last year, while video creation on the platform itself grew 100% — LinkedIn is adding more features to woo more video activity: a new full-screen vertical video display for all users (not just those on mobile), along with a number of new tools to boost viewer engagement.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/04/linkedin-amps-up-vertical-video-tools-as-uploads-jump-36/

Automattic and others back Openvibe, an app that’s unifying the open social web

image via techcrunch.com
image via techcrunch.com

As CEO Matej Svancer explained at the time, the idea behind his app was to offer users a more friendly and “easy-to-use gateway” to the open social web. Because of the different protocols these networks utilize, it can be difficult for newcomers who end up having to switch apps or limit their engagement to just their preferred platform.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/28/automattic-and-others-back-openvibe-an-app-thats-unifying-the-open-social-web/

Instagram’s shifting to rectangles, messing up your perfect, square grid

image via mashable.com
image via mashable.com

"I know some of you really like your squares. And square photos are sort of the heritage of Instagram," Instagram chief Adam Mosseri said in an Instagram story. "But at this point, most of what’s uploaded, both photos and videos, are vertical in their orientation. And it just is a bummer to overly crop them. I know it's a change. I know it's a bit of a pain, but I think it's a transitional pain."

https://mashable.com/article/instagram-rectangle-square-grid

TikTok users flock to Chinese app RedNote before US ban

image via bbc.com
image via bbc.com

TikTok users in the US are migrating to a Chinese app called RedNote with the threat of a ban just days away. The move by users who call themselves "TikTok refugees" has made RedNote the most downloaded app on Apple's US App Store on Monday. RedNote is a TikTok competitor popular with young people in China, Taiwan and other Mandarin-speaking populations.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2475l7zpqyo