How TikTok is becoming a powerful consumer marketing tool

Jul 16, 2021
The app can cause certain products to blow up overnight, Vox's internet culture reporter Rebecca Jennings says.
Photo by Nelson Almeida/AFP via Getty Images

Social trading apps are seeing an influx of young investors during the pandemic

May 19, 2021
Commonstock CEO David McDonough says many young people saw last year's stock-market meltdown as a wealth-creation opportunity.
The Commonstock app enables investors to share information about their holdings and market news.
Photo courtesy Megan Stinson

Conservatives flock to Parler, social media app funded by GOP donor Mercer

Nov 16, 2020
One issue for influencers is that joining a perceived ideological site like Parler could turn off some online fans.
In the past week, the number of people using Parler has rocketed to more than 8 million.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

Facebook, Twitter and more crack down on violent rhetoric, election misinformation

Social media companies are now in the business of trying to swat down misinformation, as is clear from the 2020 election.
Since Election Day, Twitter has put about a third of President Donald Trump’s tweets behind a fact-check label.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

App wars between China and U.S. caught in tit-for-tat dynamic

Oct 1, 2020
Chinese officials seem to ignore the fact that they put up many obstacles for U.S. tech firms to operate in China.
Chinese smartphone users in Shanghai are largely blocked from accessing U.S. social media apps because of longstanding trade barriers.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

Immunity for social media platforms is challenged

Sep 24, 2020
The Trump administration and some lawmakers on Capitol Hill want to change the way companies like Facebook handle problematic user posts.
A person looking at tweets from President Trump's account that were flagged by Twitter. The Trump administration is proposing that Congress limit immunity given to internet companies.
AFP via Getty Images

The next TikTok could well be on the way to the U.S. before long

Sep 22, 2020
The wildly popular video-sharing app may be the beginning of a new era in Chinese tech.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

The WeChat ban will have economic effects, too

Sep 18, 2020
In addition to the bans on downloads and updates, users in the U.S. won’t be able to make payments through WeChat.
Millions of Americans use the WeChat app to send money to family back in China.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Oracle may be left out of TikTok's razor-sharp algorithm

Sep 14, 2020
The wildly popular app relies on algorithm-based customizing that's helped glue users to their screens.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

How TikTok and WeChat escalated the U.S.-China trade war

Aug 7, 2020
President Trump's executive order restricts Chinese tech platforms. Correspondent Jennifer Pak discusses the future of competition in developing markets.
A man rides past the offices of Tencent, the parent company of Chinese social media platform WeChat, in Beijing.
Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images