The document provides a detailed overview of social media developments and user statistics from 2014, including major updates and acquisitions from platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others. Key events include Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp for $19 billion, the launch of new features by various platforms, and significant user engagement events like the #ALSicebucketchallenge. Additionally, it highlights the changing dynamics and competition between social networks throughout the year.

1. © ANCHOR MEDIA LLC 2014

2. SOCIAL STANDINGS: Monthly Active Users
COMPARED TO 2013
NETWORK USERS*
FACEBOOK 1.19 BILLION
YOUTUBE 1 BILLION
LINKEDIN 259 MILLION
TWITTER 218 MILLION
INSTAGRAM 150 MILLION
PINTEREST 70 MILLION
FOURSQUARE 40 MILLION
SNAPCHAT 26 MILLION

3. JANUARY MARCH MAY JULY SEPTEMBER NOVEMBER
FEBRUARY APRIL JUNE AUGUST OCTOBER DECEMBER

4. On January 3, Vine
introduced Vine on
the Web. The app’s
online platform allows
users to view their
home feeds, like and
comment on loops,
and share videos, as
well as visit and share
profiles.

5. Twitter launched a web
profile page redesign
intended to better resemble
the mobile app’s look.

6. @mentions
On January 14,
Tumblr
announced that
after many user
requests, it would
finally add @
mention
capabilities to
its site.

7. JANUARY MARCH MAY JULY SEPTEMBER NOVEMBER
FEBRUARY APRIL JUNE AUGUST OCTOBER DECEMBER

8. Twitter began rolling out yet
another web profile page
redesign in mid February. CEO
Dick Costolo described this
effort as “media-forward.” Many
social media users pointed out
similarities to Facebook Timeline
or even Google+ pages.

9. Facebook announced on February 13 that US users would now have the
option to list their genders as “Other” and choose which pronoun the
site should use to describe them. The change also allowed users to
decide who would be able to view the gender section of the profile.

10. Facebook purchased Israeli-startup
mobile messaging app WhatsApp
for $19 billion on February 19.

11. JANUARY MARCH MAY JULY SEPTEMBER NOVEMBER
FEBRUARY APRIL JUNE AUGUST OCTOBER DECEMBER

12. Google introduced
the ability to
advertise Google+
posts in late March.

13. Instagram released an update for Android that halved the app’s
size, doubled its speed, and redesigned the entire user experience.

14. JANUARY MARCH MAY JULY SEPTEMBER NOVEMBER
FEBRUARY APRIL JUNE AUGUST OCTOBER DECEMBER

15. In April, Twitter
added several
new
advertising
options,
including the
ability to create
targeted ads
directing people
to download
apps.

16. Hootsuite updated its AutoSchedule
feature to allow users to edit the site’s
algorithm-based posting times.

17. JANUARY MARCH MAY JULY SEPTEMBER NOVEMBER
FEBRUARY APRIL JUNE AUGUST OCTOBER DECEMBER

18. In May, Facebook launched
Facebook Business Manager, a tool
for users who manage multiple pages,
apps, or ad accounts.

19. Yahoo acquired self-destructing text
messaging app Blink on May 13.

20. JANUARY MARCH MAY JULY SEPTEMBER NOVEMBER
FEBRUARY APRIL JUNE AUGUST OCTOBER DECEMBER

21. In June, Instagram added new photo-editing features, including the ability to adjust
brightness, contrast, saturation, and warmth.

22. In June, Facebook added a menu feature,
allowing restaurants to directly upload their menus
to their Pages.

23. Google+ added a “Stories” feature in June which
automatically sorts photos, videos, maps, and time-stamps
into an instant photo documentary.

24. On June 30, mobile ad
retargeting company
Tapcommerce announced
that it agreed to be
acquired by Twitter.

25. JANUARY MARCH MAY JULY SEPTEMBER NOVEMBER
FEBRUARY APRIL JUNE AUGUST OCTOBER DECEMBER

26. On July 17,
Facebook
announced
that they
began
testing an
in-stream
“Buy”
button
feature to
help
business
drive sales
via the
social
network.

27. After successfully launching ads for consumer goods a
few months earlier, Instagram featured its first ads
for television shows, including TNT’s new drama
“The Last Ship” as well as two of Showtime’s returning
series: “Masters of Sex” and “Ray Donovan.

28. JANUARY MARCH MAY JULY SEPTEMBER NOVEMBER
FEBRUARY APRIL JUNE AUGUST OCTOBER DECEMBER

29. The #ALSIceBucketChallenge took over social media in
August, raising $88.5 million for the ALS Association.

30. JANUARY MARCH MAY JULY SEPTEMBER NOVEMBER
FEBRUARY APRIL JUNE AUGUST OCTOBER DECEMBER

31. In September, the self-
declared “anti-Facebook”
and invitation-only social
network Ello went viral.

32. Facebook experienced a
massive world-wide outage on
September 3 lasting about 20
minutes. Reports estimate that
Facebook loses roughly $22,453
for every minute it’s down.

33. In September, Facebook began
testing Snapchat-like expiring
posts on its iPhone app. Select
users had the option to schedule
posts to delete after intervals ranging
from one hour to seven days.

34. Pinterest introduced the Pin It button for mobile users in September, making
mobile pinning much easier for iOS 8 users.

35. JANUARY MARCH MAY JULY SEPTEMBER NOVEMBER
FEBRUARY APRIL JUNE AUGUST OCTOBER DECEMBER

36. On October 6, LinkedIn launched an insights component to its
existing “Who’s Viewed Your Profile” feature, allowing users to see
which actions you took that led to that specific increase in engagement
(including making various updates to your profile, endorsing a
connection, joining a group or expanding your network).

37. In October, Facebook launched
Rooms, a chat-room app made of
feeds with photos, videos, and text
focused on a topic determined by
whoever created the room.

38. In mid-October, Facebook launched Safety Check, a
notification system that allows users near disaster zones to
alert their friends that they are safe and check on others.

39. The first ad appeared on Snapchat in mid-October. The sponsored snap story,
which appeared as a 20-second trailer, advertised for movie “Ouija.”

40. On October 22, Twitter
hosted #TwitterFlight, its
first annual mobile
developer conference in
San Francisco, CA.

41. JANUARY MARCH MAY JULY SEPTEMBER NOVEMBER
FEBRUARY APRIL JUNE AUGUST OCTOBER DECEMBER

42. In November, Facebook
updated its Groups feature
by completely redesigning it
as a stand-alone app.

43. In November, Facebook
banned like-gating,
changing how brands run
contests on the platform.

44. Instagram
released an
app update
allowing users
to edit the
captions of
images that
have already
been posted.

45. JANUARY MARCH MAY JULY SEPTEMBER NOVEMBER
FEBRUARY APRIL JUNE AUGUST OCTOBER DECEMBER

46. Twitter’s chief
communications officer
designated Ellen’s Oscar
selfie “The Golden Tweet
of 2014” in December. The
famous celebrity selfie was
retweeted over 3.3 millions
times – more than any other
tweet ever.

47. YouTube released REWIND
2014, compiling the most
viral moments and trends on
the platform into a video
helping us “Let Go” of 2014
and look forward to 2015.

48. Facebook updated Graph Search
to allow users to search for text
within posts. The search results
are personalized and unique to
individual users, and they can only
find things that have been shared
with them. Previous Graph Search
capabilities continue to work as they
have in the past.

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