David Carr credits Twitter for forcing the mainstream media to focus on the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri. “Often derided as a platform for banalities, [Twitter] has become much more than that in the age of always-on information,” Carr writes in The New York Times. “For people in the news business, Twitter was initially viewed as one more way to promote and distribute content … But as the world has become an ever more complicated place … Twitter has become an early warning service for news organizations, a way to see into stories even when they don’t have significant reporting assets …

Adapting to the industry’s lighting speed of innovation, tech giants are increasingly basing their acquisition strategies on pure instinct. Google CEO Larry Page, for instance, puts potential targets to a toothbrush test, The New York Times reports. “Is it something you will use once or twice a day, and does it make your life better?” The approach, as NYT notes, “highlights the increasing autonomy of Silicon Valley’s biggest corporate acquirers -- and the marginalized role that investment banks are playing in the latest boom in technology deals.” 

Ahead of its official launch date, the Moto 360 has been spotted in the wild -- or at least on a Best Buy page, which has since been taken down. With the new device, Motorola and Google are hoping to get the Smartwatch revolution underway. Targeting a mainstream audience, the Moto 360 is priced at a reasonable $249, according to preview reports and Best Buy’s page. “We are also seeing mentions of a heart rate monitor, water resistance … and an ambient light sensor,” Droid Life reports. 

Windows Phone users still can’t download Snapchat, but Microsoft is doing them one better (or worse, depending on one’s preference) by releasing an ephemeral messaging app of its own. Dubbed WindUp, the new app was developed internally by Microsoft Research, as Neowin.net reports. By most measures, Snapchat seems to be thriving, but Neowin suggests the startup has alienated many users. “From exposing nearly 5 million accounts, to the FTC ruling that the company was deceiving users, the app may still be popular but many people no longer trust it.” 

Windows Phone users should now have access to Fourquare’s Swarm app, which basically does what we’ve always associated with Foursquare. “The app combines Foursquare's trademark check-ins with new location-sharing features that aim to make it easier for users to discover where their friends are,” Mashable reports. “While Foursquare's iOS and Android users must use Swarm for check-ins, Windows Phone users now have a choice between the two apps.” 

Worldwide, WeChat and sister mobile messaging app Weixin now boast 438 million monthly active users, according to new data released by parent company Tencent. “The new figure … means that it is closing in on rival WhatsApp’s 500 million active users,” The Next Web reports. “However, it can also be seen that WeChat’s growth is flattening quarter-on-quarter, which means it may struggle to catch up to its Facebook-owned competitor.” 

Microsoft was widely believed to have reconsidered its mission to market Xbox One as a centralized entertainment system. Yet, the software giant continues to add multimedia features to the console, including a new streaming feature that lets users watch TV on a Windows, iOS or Android phone or tablet using a SmartGlass app on a home network. “Microsoft says the streaming TV feature will be available initially in countries where its digital TV tuner will be available, so it looks like the U.S. might have to wait to stream TV,” The Verge reports. 

Yo is no longer a messaging app that simply sends the word, “Yo.” Rather, as The Next Web reports, the app “now gives you the option to show a photo and your full name,” as well as “Yo” any existing hashtag. Also, “the updated app now lets you attach any link saved to your clipboard. There’s also the Yo Index, which transforms the app into a more advanced notification system.” 

The New York Times gets a glimpse inside Apple’s top-secret internal training program, which the tech giant uses to groom new talent, and pass on its core business and design principles. “Although many companies have such internal programs … Apple’s version is a topic of speculation and fascination in the tech world,” NYT reports. “It is highly secretive and rarely written about, referred to briefly in the biography of Mr. Jobs by Walter Isaacson.”   

SmartNews, the Japanese news-reading app, reportedly just raised $36 million from Atomico, mobile-social gaming company Gree, and others. “It uses learning algorithms to surface trending news stories, much like Flipboard, and connects to Twitter to figure out what people are talking about,” Re/Code reports. “Former Wall Street Journal editor Rich Jaroslovsky is reaching out to Western media in advance of an American version of the app, planned to launch this fall.”