Social Media Newsfeed: Facebook Rooms App | Finding Influential Customers

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Facebook’s Rooms App Is a Flashback to Internet Bulletin Boards (The New York Times)

Facebook took the wraps off an app, called Rooms, on Thursday. And it is far more like Reddit or Ning (remember that?) than Whisper or Snapchat. The Telegraph Rooms lets users interact on Facebook without using their real names. The aim is for people to feel free to discuss sensitive issues, when normally they would not be comfortable doing so. TechCrunch It’s a bit like forums inside an Instagram-style vertical feed. Rooms doesn’t require a Facebook account or even an email address to sign up. It employs an innovative QR-code invite system where people take a photo or screenshot of a Room’s code to gain entry. Business Insider Rooms are easily customizable in terms of privacy settings, color backgrounds and even like buttons. For example, if you would rather have forum contributors express appreciation with a beer mug emoji and the word “Cheers!” than a thumbs up and “Like,” you can set that up. USA Today For Josh Miller, product manager for Rooms, the app is a throwback to the early days of the Web when people from all over gathered in forums, message boards and chat rooms and used pseudonyms to discuss topics they had in common. As people spend more time on their phones, they are drifting away from the idea of the Internet as a place to connect with people they don’t know in real life, said Miller.

3 Tips for Finding (and Retaining) Influential Customers [Infographic] (SocialTimes)

Influencing customers can be very tricky, especially because consumers are so aware and dismissive of advertising. Turning customers into influencers may be the more profitable path, because of increased peer influence on social networks. Ninja Metrics has released an infographic that details the power of influential customers.

Are Brands on Fleek With Slangy Tweets? IHOP Explains Its Hip New Voice (Adweek)

Who knew IHOP was so hip? The pancake chain has found its voice on Twitter, and it sounds an awful lot like a teenage hip-hop fan. That’s why most adults might not have any idea what the food company is saying in its messages, but the kids do.

ABC News Town Hall on Ebola Reaches 10M+ Facebook Users, Tallies 1.5M+ Video Views (AllFacebook)

With Ebola continuing to be a top health concern, ABC News turned to Facebook to host a town-hall event on the topic, and manager of strategic partnerships for broadcast news Beth Loyd said in a post on the Facebook Media blog that highlight videos posted to the social network by ABC News have reached more than 10 million users and been viewed more than 1.5 million times. The town-hall event was anchored by George Stephanopoulos, and featured guests included ABC News chief medical editor Richard Besser.

Buffer Update for iOS Brings New Sharing Features and iPad Optimization (The Next Web)

Social scheduling tool Buffer has updated its iOS app with new tools to make sharing easier across social networks, as well as an optimized version for iPads. The company said that among the headline new features is the ability to manage your entire Buffer dashboard while on-the-go and new sharing features baked into the app, thanks to new functionality added by iOS 8.

Paid, Owned and Earned Media: What’s the Difference? [Infographic] (AllTwitter)

Paid media. Owned media. Earned media. No doubt you’ve heard these terms. You might have even used them, perhaps to impress a potential client. But what do they actually mean?

Pandora Q3 Profit Climbs, Despite Slower Listener Growth (CNET)

Pandora Media on Thursday reported higher sales and profit in the third quarter, while growth in the number of people listening to the Internet’s largest radio service continued its apparent slowdown. Underlying profit nearly doubled to 9 cents a share, more than expected, and revenue jumped 42 percent to its highest level yet.

The Young Turks Experiment With Exclusive Content for Members (LostRemote)

In the wake of the Bill Maher and Ben Affleck debate on radical Islam on “Real Time With Bill Maher” a few weeks ago, The Young Turks streamed an interview between Cenk Uygur and Sam Harris last night, author of “Project Reason” and another at the desk during that “Real Time” discussion. It’s a talk show feedback loop: Uygur had Reza Aslan on the show, Aslan challenged Harris, Harris is invited.

This Is Ello’s New Charter and What It Means (BetaBeat)

Thursday morning, Ello officially closed a deal for $5.5 million in venture capital funding. Normally, this would be alarming — VC money typically indicates an exit strategy, which for social networks usually means ad-mongering and selling user data to the highest bidder. But Ello’s found a way to permanently head those complaints off at the pass.

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Social Media Newsfeed: Facebook Rooms App | Finding Influential Customers