Google this week debuted a new YouTube app for Google+ Hangouts. To date, users have been able to start a “hangout” from a YouTube video page, but, with the new app, they can control, save and share playlists from inside the hangout itself. “This also gives YouTube creators more ways to connect with audiences, as we work to build the best platform for the next generation of channels,” a YouTube spokesperson tells WebProNews. Bigger picture, “Google continues to expand the presence of Google+ throughout its other products, but it is also finding ways to expand the presence of its other …

How much of a stranglehold does Apple have on the tablet market? Well, according to new data from the Chitika Ad network, the iPad accounted for 91% of the hundreds of millions of Web traffic impressions sampled during the week of June 4 -10. Not bad, but that actually represented a decline of 3.5% from 94.6% in May, Chitika found. “Coming in at a very distant second place was Samsung's Galaxy Tab, which captured only 1.7 percent of tablet Web traffic, followed by Acer Iconia, Toshiba Thrive, and Asus Transformer Pad,” CNet notes. There appears to be a new leader …

Prior to Facebook’s IPO, it now appears as if the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was after the company to explain how a user shift to mobile devices could impact profits. “Assuming that the trend toward mobile continues and your mobile monetization efforts are unsuccessful, ensure that your disclosure fully addresses the potential consequences to your revenue and financial results rather than just stating that they ’may be negatively affected,’” the agency wrote to Facebook in late February, according to a document made public on Friday. As Bloomberg points out, “Facebook amended its IPO filing on May 9, about a …

Partly out of fear of government regulation, Web giants are rallying behind a nonprofit campaign that aims to crack down on “bad ads,” malware and other schemes that exploit the trust of online consumers. Google, Twitter, Facebook, and AOL are among those supporting the Ads Integrity Alliance, which will will work to educate, tackle and promote awareness of issues in the Internet advertising space. “The alliance members have pledged to pool their collective talents, share best practices and formulate policy recommendations to tackle problems,” The Next Web reports. “The initial five will share information about trends and ‘bad actors’ with each …

Like the portals of old, Web leaders like Google, Facebook and Twitter fight  to promote their positions as gateways for online content. To that end, Twitter is partnering with an array of online media companies to expand the variety of content users can preview within tweets. The microblogging site has introduced an enhanced version of "expanded Tweets," which lets users preview stories, images, and videos linked to within tweets. “While Twitter already offered the ability to see Instagram photos or watch YouTube videos, the site is now partnering with a ‘diverse and growing group’ of media sites such as The …

As the online industry has learned, all roads still lead through Washington. The latest sector to do the Beltway boogie, online video companies are reportedly racing to lobby-up and build ties with lawmakers and regulators. “Both Netflix and Amazon.com are on pace to sharply increase the amount of money they spend on lobbying this year,” The Wall Street Journal reports. They have added veteran Washington hands to help them in the capital, where Comcast Corp. and other Internet-service providers already spend millions of dollars a year.” Problem is, as WSJ points out, “Their adversaries -- traditional cable-TV companies and Internet-service …

Six months after Zynga's successful IPO, why is it’s stock sinking? Very simply, because many of its high-profile gaming products are “tanking,” according to ReadWriteWeb. At the time of its IPO in mid-December, Zynga had the top five games on Facebook by daily active users, RWW reminds us. Now, according to app tracking Web site AppData, three of those five apps have declined dramatically in Daily Active Users (DAI) since then. In fact, “all of Zynga's main ‘ville’ products have lost a lot of users over the past six months … None more so than the previous leader in Facebook's …

To prevent piecemeal laws like SOPA and CISPA from over-regulating the Web, some industrious U.S. Congressmen have started work on a crowd-sourced digital bill of rights. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) have created a Web site called keeptheweb#open, where everyone is encouraged to contribute. “In its current from, the digital bill of rights would mandate first and foremost that ‘digital citizens have a right to a free, uncensored Internet,” The Verge reports. The second item on the list says that “digital citizens have a right to an open, unobstructed Internet," which, as The Verge notes, reads …

The Justice Department is reportedly conducting a broad antitrust investigation into whether cable companies are crossing legal lines to suppress competition from online video. “Justice Department officials have spoken to several online video providers, including Netflix and Hulu,” The Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources. Investigators have also reportedly questioned Comcast, Time Warner Cable and other cable companies about setting data caps, and limits to the amount of data a subscriber can download each month. As WSJ notes, “Cable companies provide both television channels and high-speed Internet access for many consumers in the U.S.” Increasingly, “with broadband Internet, consumers can …

From Bing to its famous software offerings, Microsoft has never cut corners when it comes to marketing prized products. How is it getting the word out about the Nokia Lumia 900 -- which runs latest version of Windows’ mobile operating system? Along with a massive multichannel ad campaign, the company is working with Nokia and Seton Hall University to get a Lumia 900 into the hands of every member of the incoming Class of 2016 -- for free. As part of its Mobile Computing initiative, the New Jersey school has given out mobile devices in the past, “although in much …