Jason Abbruzzese says, “First, promoted tweets; now, promoted video. Twitter has announced the beta launch of promoted video, a new advertising option that allows advertisers to upload videos and track user engagement. “Video is an incredible storytelling medium and we’re thrilled to be giving brands, publishers and a subset of verified users the ability to share organic and Promoted Video on Twitter,” wrote David Regan, senior product manager of TV and video at Twitter, in a blog post”. Twitter Tests Promoted Video for Advertisers Mashable  [...]

Seth Fiegerman says, “Fiverr, the online marketplace for small tasks, just raised a big round of funding. The company announced that it has raised $30 million in a Series C round of funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, Accel and other investors. The round brings Fiverr‘s total funding to date to $50 million. Micha Kaufman, CEO and cofounder of Fiverr, told Mashable the investment is intended to “fuel our obsession for growth” and help the startup continue towards its goal of being “the next eBay for services.””. Fiverr Raises $30 Million to Grow the Gig... [...]

Quora team says, “Being a founder/CEO is nothing like you think it is when you watch as “just” part of the management team. You think it’s about making tough calls and making key decisions every day, every week, every month. It is. But what it’s really about is 24/7/365 accountability — in a way you have never experienced before. You are responsible for every functional area. Every [cent] of revenue; every dollar spent. Every mistake. Every terrible, horrible decision. Every moment of every day”. What Is It Really Like to Be a Startup CEO? Mashable  [...]

Seth Fiegerman says, “Bart Stein may not be a household name, but if you follow tech news, there’s a good chance you’ve seen his face before. In October 2012, Stamped, a mobile recommendations app that Stein cofounded, wasacquired by Yahoo. It marked the first acquisition by the Internet giant under Marissa Mayer, who had taken over as CEO three months earlier. In a picture circulated widely that day, Stein is seen smiling alongside Mayer and his two cofounders. That group would soon be responsible for helping Yahoo to catch up on mobile by building out a team in New York”. Ex-Yahoo... [...]

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai says, “Following Edward Snowden‘s revelations of widespread Internet surveillance, many technologists have been advocating for widespread encryption to counter the NSA, other spy agencies and hackers. “Encrypt all the things” has been their cry. Google listened, and now Yahoo is the second major email provider to join the movement. Alex Stamos, the company’s chief information security officer, announced Thursday that Yahoo users will have the option to send end-to-end encrypted emails next year, enabled via a browser plugin”. Yahoo... [...]

Karissa Bell says, “Facebook is hoping its latest acquisition will help protect users from malware and other security threats. The company announced Thursday it was acquiring PrivateCore, a security startup that focuses on securing remote servers. Facebook is hoping PrivateCore’s technology will help make its own systems more secure, according to Facebook’s chief security officer, Joe Sullivan, in this Facebook post”. Facebook Buys Security Firm PrivateCore Mashable  [...]

Karissa Bell says, “If you’re still not using Facebook Messenger, you may not have much time before your messages disappear from the main Facebook app. A Facebook spokesperson confirmed to Mashable that some users began to notice the change Wednesday — but that it is not yet affecting all of Facebook’s mobile users. The change will only affect users of the iPhone and Android app; messages will remain in the iPad and Windows Phone app. It’s not clearly exactly how long it will take for all of Messenger’s holdouts to see the change, but the spokesperson said it will... [...]

Christina Warren says, “ If your website runs on a self-hosted WordPress installation or on Drupal, update your software now. Nir Goldshlager, a security researcher from Salesforce.com’s product security team, has discovered an XML vulnerability that impacts the popular website platforms WordPress and Drupal. The vulnerability uses a well-known XML Quadratic Blowup Attack — and when executed, it can take down an entire website or server almost instantly. This is a big deal because WordPress and Drupal are used by millions of websites. The latest statistics from the World Wide Web... [...]

Jason Abbruzzese says, “Google’s YouTube has acquired Directr, a startup aimed at helping small businesses create promotional videos. Directr markets a mobile app on iOS that provides small businesses with a way to create and publish videos. Details of the deal were not disclosed, but Directr is a relatively small operation, having only raised $1.7 million in funding. The company will integrate into YouTube’s video ads division. “Our small band of scrappy film lovers set out 2 years ago to help regular folks make great video. Today, we are incredibly excited to take the next... [...]

Karissa Bell says, “Pinterest is stepping up its messaging game in a big way. The company announced that it is adding a new messaging feature that allow users to have one-on-one and group conversations about specific pins. The feature is rolling out on the web and to Pinterest’s iOS and Android apps. Pinterest first introduced the send-a-pin feature last May, but it was more of a sharing feature, as users couldn’t reply to the pins. Now, they can send a pin to one or more of their friends, who can reply with text messages or pins of their own”. Pinterest Now Lets Users Have... [...]