Weekly Digital Roundup (2.3.14)

Facebook is all kinds of winning this week, from shutting Princeton down to releasing their slick new app, Paper. Without further ado, here’s what we found to be the biggest news, so you may comfortably remain snuggled under a rock.

Facebook Nation

Facebook’s active user base could exceed China’s population in the coming year. The growth rate is steady, and based on a report of Q4 earnings, the social network shows no signs of slowing down (despite this). A fun chart made by Statista compares Facebook user count and growth to China's and India’s populations, proving that Facebook really is the number one global community.

Paper App

Speaking of Facebook, they released their new application today, Paper, the first stand-alone app to come from the Facebook Creative Labs initiative. Paper will redesign the standard news feed by showcasing a variety of stories, chosen by Facebook editors and algorithms. Product designer Mike Matas believes it’ll encourage users to slow down their rapid social media scrolling, saying, “You really want people to spend a little bit of time with it and appreciate the content.” We love it so far—download and see for yourself!

Twibal Trial

Courtney Love’s high-profile civil case over Twitter has been cleared. The singer was previously accused of defaming her former lawyer on Twitter. The case verdict remains, despite ruling in other jurisdictions that holds Twitter users liable for libel damages of defamatory statements. However, it’s not crystal to what degree tweets in the US can or should get protection as a form of online speech. Oh, democracy!

Do-Re-Mi-La-Social

American Idol is enticing fans by adding social voting options into the mix. Google users will be able to elect their winner from within Google’s search results, while Facebook users who vote using the service could then see their profile pictures featured on TV. AI is hoping to utilize these platforms in real time to boost user engagement and participation. After all, it’s now about that second screen.

Twitter In-app Photo Editing

Twitter released an update for Android this week that showcases new photo editing tools to help users share photos easier and pull focus away from competitive apps such as Instagram. The second change aids in event discovery with real-time trend monitoring to user timelines. We’ll see if it makes a dent.So how about that Super Bowl?