As if Google’s social strategy didn’t have enough problems, one of its key product execs has jumped ship for a rival upstart. Benjamin Ling -- who The New York Times’ Digits blog calls a “high-ranking Google product executive” -- is joining Badoo as COO. New to Badoo? Well, “If Facebook is the social network that allows people to connect with their current friends, Badoo is the social network for meeting new people, including potential dating partners,” Digits explains. “The company founder has called it a ‘nightclub in your smartphone.’” Also championing an interesting business model, Badoo’s Facebook app is free, …

YouTube has never used its top-dog status as reason to stop refining and improving its video sharing services. In its effort to attract more skilled content creators, for example, the video hub has gone and refreshed its Audio Editing tools. Along with an updated user interface, YouTube has fleshed out its library of songs to include more than 150,000 tracks, which users can now mix into their videos at levels ranging from “soft background” to “completely replace.” Meanwhile, a new “featured tracks” tool helps users find the best songs across genres for a variety of moods. “One of the handiest …

In other mobile video news, Tango has just has raised another $40 million in a third round of funding from Qualcomm Ventures and Access Ventures. The news comes about a year after the cross-platform video chat startup closed its last round of $42 million. “Forget Apple’s Facetime,” VentureBeat half-jokes. “If there’s one app that shows the potential in the mobile video chat market, it’s Tango.” Encouraging backers, the startup continues to see incredible growth as well, reaching 45 million users a mere 18 months after its debut. Looking ahead, Tango CTO and co-founder Eric Setton says: “The round is a …

In the race to replicate Instagram’s success in the mobile video arena, Viddy this week arguably emerged as the clear frontrunner. Now the top free iPhone app on Apple’s App Store, the video-sharing service now claims 8 million users, and, more significantly, a sharp increase since Facebook launched its Timeline app back in February. “There are a number of startups vying to claim the ‘Instagram for Video’ title, with Socialcam, Viddy, Klip, Mobli, and even the infamous Color all in the running,” TechCrunch reports. “Yet, today brings evidence that Viddy may now be the one to beat, as the social …

Marking WPP’s first major move into ecommerce, the ad agency’s digital unit has led a $10 million investment in price comparison site mySupermarket. For its $7 million investment, WPP Digital is securing a minority stake in the company, which, to date, has raised a total of $32 million from other investors, including Greylock Partners and Pitango Venture Capital. As Globes, the Israeli news journal, reports: “WPP's investment in mySupermarket is considered quite an achievement for the Israeli company.” mySupermarket CEO Alon Bloch is excited about the support. "WPP works with most of the leading global brands,” he said. “They have …

Despite Apple’s recent successes, analysts are bracing for some sobering news next week when the company reports its second-quarter earnings. “Between major legal challenges across several continents, increasing competition from Google Inc's Android -- now the world's most-used mobile software -- and confusion over what its next groundbreaking product will look like, more cautious investors are re-evaluating their positions and cashing in some holdings,” Reuters reports. Fueling the fear is that fact Apple's shares surged nearly 60% to a high of $644, this year. To many Web watchers, that suggests a bubble, which will need to be popped at some …

Offering free courses at some of the countries most prestigious universities, Coursera launched this week with the help of a $16 million investment from Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers and New Enterprise Associates. Partner schools include Princeton University, Stanford University, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan. “Online educational marketplaces are on the rise, with tools like Udemy and Khan Academy allowing people of all ages to become an expert in any topic,” Betakit reports. “New company Coursera is targeting higher education by offering university-level courses from top institutions to students all over the world, all for free.” The company was …

There is literally nothing that NBC Sports won’t stream during its coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Indeed, the network promises that all 32 sports at the Summer Games will be streamed live at nbcolympics.com. “The hot topic is always, ‘Why don’t you show all your sports live?’” Rick Cordella, vice president and general manager of NBC Sports Digital Media, tells The New York Times’ Media Decoder blog. “We wanted to take care of that.” According to Media Decoder, the live streaming of every event represents a significant shift for the NBC Sports Group, which was formed …

Due to new parental controls, Amazon has decided to let developers charge higher prices for in-app purchases. “With our parental controls functionality now updated, in-app items over $20 may now be submitted via the developer portal,” the ecommerce giant explained in a email to developers. Some suggest that the higher pricing will contribute to the success of more app developers, many of whom rely on the additional revenue to turn a profit. “Developers depend on these pricier items to make their businesses work, since only a small percentage (usually in the single digits) of their users pay in their games,” …

Say goodbye to Read It Later, and hello to Pocket. Yes, the popular service that lets users bookmark Web pages and specific content from their personal computer, tablet or smartphone, has changed its name, and expanded its mission. Regarding to new and improved service, The Next Web writes: It’s “a Read It Later not just for pages of text, but videos, images and, in the long term, perhaps much more.” As such, “No longer will you ‘Read it Later’ but rather you’ll ‘Save to Pocket,’ or my personal preference, ‘Pocket it.’” Further, as company founder Nate Weiner explains: “The name …