2. SOCIAL STANDINGS
FACEBOOK
1.19 BILLION
YOUTUBE
1 BILLION
TWITTER
500 MILLION
LINKEDIN
INSTAGRAM
PINTEREST
FOURSQUARE*
SNAPCHAT
259 MILLION
150 MILLION
70
MILLION
40
MILLION
26
MILLION
*MEASURED BY MONTHLY
ACTIVE USERS.
5. Graph Search was rolled out as a preview for some US-based users. The new
search feature was available to all Facebook users by July.
6. Twitter bought Vine, a mobile service that lets you capture and share sixsecond looping videos. The acquisition allowed Twitter users to include
embedded Vine videos in their tweets.
8. Facebook began enforcing a “20 Percent Text Rule” for cover and promotional
images in February. Images in ads and sponsored stories may not include more
than 20% text in the image; this includes logos.
10. Pinterest added Web Analytics on March 12 for verified Pinterest pages in
March. The analytics allow website owners to gain insight into how people
interact with pins that originate from their sites.
11. Just a week later, Pinterest revamped their site on March 18. The redesign included a cleaner
and simpler look and new discovery features, such as “Pins from the same source” and “People
who pinned this also pinned.”
12. YouTube
announced that it
reached more
than 1 billion
unique users
every month. This
number is roughly
equivalent to ten
Super Bowl
audiences.
13. Google+ announced a new
application sign-in feature. This
feature allowed app and website
developers to allow their users to
sign in using Google+, creating a
more seamless online experience.
25. Facebook introduced embedded posts in July, allowing users to click on a link in
whatever they publish, get a code, and embed that content elsewhere on the
web–just like you can already do with YouTube, Twitter, Vine and Instagram.
28. Twitter updated its site and mobile apps, adding Twitter
Conversations, in August.
29. Facebook changed their Pages Terms, allowing business and organization pages
to run contests directly on their timelines.
30. LinkedIn launched University Pages in August, which allows students
to get campus updates, learn about alumni, and connect with alumni
who have similar interests or career paths.
33. Google linked Google+ Sign-In with their Authorship Program. The
integration meant that if you link your WordPress account with Google, your
articles will automatically be linked to your Google+ profile too.
43. Twitter finally went public
in November, setting its
initial IPO pricing at $26.
The share price opened at
$45.10, however, due to
strong investor demand.
44. YouTube hosted its first-ever YouTube Music Awards hosted by Jason
Schwartzman and Reggie Watts. The show was streamed exclusively on YouTube.
46. YouTube merged their interactive
features with Google+. This
change allowed comments to be
sorted by people you care about
first, plus is meant to discourage
trolls with comments coming
from your Google+ account.
