Welcome to the introductory KnowEm Social News Digest!  Every once a week or so we plan to send you the latest breaking news in Social Media.  There’s no shortage of changes happening in the social world, so it’s important you as a brand stay on top of it.  This week we have a bombshell from Pinterest, and some very interesting acquisitions by Google and Twitter.

Pinterest bans all affiliate links, asks power users to monetize in other ways
from Venturebeat.com, February 12, 2015

As Pinterest’s monetization plans materialize, the social network is pulling the plug on affiliate networks. Pinterest warned select “power pinners” this evening that it will now “automatically remove all affiliate links, redirects and trackers on Pins.”

Twitter Acquires Niche, a Talent Agency for Social-Media Stars
from Wired, February 11, 2015

Twitter has agreed to acquire Niche, a startup that facilitates advertising deals for social media stars.

Facebook Adds Legacy Contact Option in the Event of Death
from Facebook, February 12, 2015

“Today we’re introducing a new feature that lets people choose a legacy contact—a family member or friend who can manage their account when they pass away. Once someone lets us know that a person has passed away, we will memorialize the account”

Google Acquires Photo Storage App Odysee, Is A Major Google+ Update On The Way?
from Search Engine Journal, February 9, 2015

Google announced Monday that it had acquired photo storage app Odysee. The app, which automatically backs up photos and videos taken on your smartphone, will shut down on February 23rd. As a result of the deal, Odysee’s development team will be joining the Google+ team, a move which has led to speculation that Odysee’s unique features will eventually be integrated into G+.

Why Twitter launched Curator, a Storify competitor
from Mashable, February 11, 2015

Curator makes it easier for media outlets to figure out which topics are popular. A search function sifts through tweets, vines and other data, with fine grained filters to narrow things down by location, word count, the feelings expressed in the tweet, and even by device.

Facebook Adds A New Way To Sell Items In Groups
from TechCrunch, February 10, 2015

“Facebook on Tuesday announced the addition of a new feature for Facebook Groups designed to make it easier for members of a “For Sale” group to list their items. The new “Sell” feature, which is now starting to roll out globally to more groups, will allow members to create a post where you can add a description of the item for sale, set a price and set a pick-up or delivery location.”

KnowEm’s Valentine’s Day Sale is coming!

Stay tuned – tonight, tomorrow?  Who knows when it will start – check back and see when KnowEm starts offering 20% off some of our most popular packages this Valentine’s Day weekend!