{rss:content:encoded} Facebook tests reaction and Dislike button (!) on messages http://ift.tt/2mq9zeP http://ift.tt/2mZxgar March 04, 2017 at 07:39PM 
Facebook finally has a Dislike button, but it’s not where you’d expect. How do you reply to a specific message in a rapid-fire chat thread? Facebook wants you to attach emojis to your friends’ messages the same way you do with News Feed posts. TechCrunch reader Hoan Do sent us a tip that Facebook Messenger is showing some users a Reactions option. When you… Read More
Facebook finally has a Dislike button, but it’s not where you’d expect. How do you reply to a specific message in a rapid-fire chat thread? Facebook wants you to attach emojis to your friends’ messages the same way you do with News Feed posts. TechCrunch reader Hoan Do sent us a tip that Facebook Messenger is showing some users a Reactions option. When you… Read More
Demo Days are not the best way to help most entrepreneurs get the funding they need. And in the long run, they are not helpful for investors, or the broader ecosystem — in fact, they aggravate blind spots that investors already face. We need to rethink how we innovate, not just what type of innovation we’re looking for. 
With retro phone brands Nokia and Blackberry remerging at Mobile World Congress this year you’d be forgiven for thinking Mistress Fortune was up to her old wheel-spinning tricks again. And as old tech becomes tech news again, it’s a sign — say some — that smartphone innovation is on the scrap heap. But a commoditized smartphone market offers fresh opportunities if you… 
In preparation for Disrupt New York in May I’m going to hold a few pitching workshops in New York for you all. We’ll listen to and critique ten pitches on March 13th at 7pm at the Knotel space at 22 West 38th Street, 3rd Floor. This is an informal pitch-off but the two best teams will get two tickets to Disrupt New York and the undying admiration of millions of people (actually… 
The time U.S. users are spending in mobile apps is continuing to grow, and now, according to new data released this week by analytics firm Flurry, we’re up to 5 hours per day on our mobile devices. This follows on news from January which said the time spent in mobile apps had increased 69 percent year-over-year. Five hours per day is a 20 percent increase compared with the fourth quarter… 
Atom Bank, a startup out of the UK that has built a mobile-only bank targeting consumers between the ages of 18 and 34, has raised another £83 million ($102 million) in funding led by BBVA, the Spanish bank and owner of Simple in the U.S. BBVA also led Atom’s previous $128 million round in November 2015. The plan is to use the funding to continue building out its customer base and… 
Traders who have an idea for a money-making algorithm have two choices: learn to code themselves, or hire a great engineer. But neither of these two options are realistic, especially for part-time traders who don’t have a large bankroll behind them. Meet Algoriz, a startup participating in Y Combinator’s Winter 2017 batch. 
Since 2013, The Associated Press has been making an intentional effort to put data in the hands of local reporters. In the last few years, this meant assisting with Freedom of Information Act requests and putting a team of four engineers to work building visualizations and extracting insights from massive spreadsheets. Today the AP is announcing a partnership with Data.world to equip… 
Facebook has been busy with the app updates, as of late. In recent months, it has added new sections for finding nearby Wi-Fi, meeting new people, checking the weather, and more. Now, it’s rolling out yet another addition to the “More” menu inside the Facebook app: City Guides. A potential challenger to Foursquare, Facebook’s guides will show you a list of cities and… 
Google’s Pixel smartphone this year was a significant reset for the company’s mobile hardware strategy – and one that earned a lot of praise from customers and critics. Good news for those who liked it: Pixel’s successor will arrive sometime in 2017, as confirmed by Google SVP of Hardware Rick Osterloh to Android Pit at MWC this year. It sounds like the Pixel 2 will… 
NBCUniversal is now the only U.S. media company that has an official stake in Snap. Today, NBC Universal (which is a unit of Comcast) revealed that it invested $500 million in Snap as a strategic investment partnership during yesterday’s IPO. Snap shares popped 44 percent in the first day of trading. NBCUniversal has been pursuing digital media aggressively in the past year, including… 
Uber can’t seem to avoid headlines for the wrong reasons right now, as it gets slammed for its toxic work culture, its connections to a polarizing U.S. President, and its CEO’s attitude to Uber drivers. But despite all that, the transportation company — currently valued as high as $68 billion — continues to grow and is expanding its business into ever more areas. 
OpenRent, one of a number of online letting agents (or realtor, as it might be described in the U.S.), has picked up £4.4 million in backing from Rocket Internet’s venture arm Global Founders Capital. 
Facebook’s Messenger bots may not be having the impact the social network desired. Just yesterday, online retailer Everlane, one of the launch partners for the bot platform, announced it was ditching Messenger for customer notifications and returning to email. Following this, Facebook today announced an upgraded Messenger Platform, which introduces a new way for users to interact with… 
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