Proving that every photo-sharing app can’t be a success, AOL plans to shut down Hipster.com late next week. Some of the hyper-local services staff are expected to find homes working on other AOL projects, the company tells TechCrunch. Why did AOL lose faith in Hipster? According a spokesperson, the app just didn’t fit into the company’s “strategic roadmap.” 

In other Google news, the search giant has acquired Channel Intelligence for $125 million in cash. “Channel Intelligence tracks online retail sales for a number of categories, ranging from computing to consumer packaged goods,” reports Business Insider, citing the company’s blog. “We're unfamiliar with Channel Intelligence, but we assume it will be a part of Google's efforts to ramp up shopping.” 

YouTube is reportedly in talks with Vevo over a $50 million equity investment in the popular music video service. Per the terms of the would-be deal, YouTube parent Google would own less than 10% of Vevo, giving the company a valuation of at least $500 million, Bloomberg reports, citing sources. “The investment would be part of a broader contract to keep Vevo’s music videos on YouTube,” Bloomberg writes. 

Hailo has closed a Series B funding round worth $30.6 million, and led by Union Square Ventures. Hailo is an “e-hailing” app, which lets users see the real-time locations of nearby cabs, and then beckon one of their choosing. Slowly rolling out in the world’s biggest cities, The Next Web reports that Hailo could make its New York City debut within weeks. 

Well known as a hotbed of social media activity, The Wall Street Journal revisits Brazil and the promise it holds for expansion-hungry social networks like Facebook. “Brazil's expanding middle class is increasingly going online, and social media are particularly popular because of Brazil's hyper-social culture,” WSJ reports, citing comments from social-media executives. “That makes Brazil a bright spot for social-media companies as they seek more growth outside the U.S. and Europe.” 

To the delight of local businesses everywhere, Facebook is reportedly readying a mobile app designed to track users’ every physical move. “The app, scheduled for release by mid-March, is designed to help users find nearby friends and would run even when the program isn’t open on a handset,” writes Bloomberg, citing a source. “The app is reportedly being developed by engineers from Glancee, a startup that Facebook acquired in mid-2012,” according ZDNet. “In its broad details, the new project resembles apps like Foursquare, Highlight, Google's Latitude, and Apple's Find My Friends,” writes CNet. “At their best, the …

Spun, a mobile app pulling together news stories relevant to a particular city, has signed several content deals with well-known publishers, including A+E Networks, AskMen, Gothamist, Untapped Cities, The Awl Network, CultureMap, and “dozens” more. Spun doesn’t need to partner; it just needs full stories to appear in the RSS feed, or on mobile-optimized Web pages that Spun can display in the app.

Facebook is taking news discovery into its own hands with “Articles Related To…” This special feed story shows you popular links that lead to topics that cite Pages you Like. It could be the next step in Facebook’s master plan to take on apps like Flipboard, Pulse, and Zite, keep users on the site and make publishers pay. It could also lay the groundwork for a “Sponsored Articles Related To” ad unit.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has launched a year-long Web series, 82nd & Fifth, that lets the museum’s curators talk about “100 works of art that changed the way they see the world.” There will be 100 episodes, each two minutes long and posted two at a time on Wednesdays through December 25, 2013. (The title of the series refers to the Met’s address in NYC.)

The "new News Corp," as it is now know, set aside $1B to fuel an acquisition spree. It will apparently use the money to experiment with new digital ideas to rocket growth, which means buying up digital companies and video rights. Will Lewis, who heads up News Corp’s investigation into the News of the World phone hacking scandal, has been appointed chief creative officer and is responsible for buying.