Business Insider considers the “Facebook Audience Network” -- the social giant’s ad network. “The Audience Network is an important bet on Facebook’s ad-sustained future,” BI writes. “As Facebook's user growth eventually slows, the Audience Network will be a big factor in allowing it to grow its revenue without overstuffing ads on Facebook and Instagram.”

At a meeting hosted by the Justice Department on Wednesday, execs from Apple, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, and MTV reportedly met with top counter intelligence officials to discuss counterterrorism efforts. “An agenda for the meeting obtained by CNN labeled the project ‘Madison Valleywood’ -- an apparent combination of metonyms for the American advertising, technology and entertainment sectors,” CNN reports.  

Wired writer Cade Matz investigates Facebook’s ambitious virtual reality strategy. “Ever since Facebook acquired Oculus in the spring of 2014, [CEO Mark] Zuckerberg has described virtual reality as a ‘social platform’ of the future -- as the way we’ll not only play games and watch movies, but actually interact with each other,” Matz writes. “Perhaps … Zuckerberg’s vision now seems closer to reality because so many other tech giants have embraced much the same idea.”

Fandango is buying up Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes from Warner Bros. Entertainment. “The move solidifies the advance movie ticket vendor and movie news site as premier digital network,” Deadline reports. “This is the perfect marriage of brands that complement one annother [sic] other with their services.”

Skype is beginning to offer group video-calling in the Skype iOS and Android apps. “For starters, the capability is going to be available to Skype users in North American and western Europe, but full worldwide availability is planned for the end of the month,” Engadget notes. “At a high level, Skype's mobile video-calling feature supports up to 25 participants.”

Giphy just raised $55 million in a Series C funding round at a valuation of $300 million. “Giphy launched out of betaworks back in 2013 with one goal: to let the world search, discover, and share GIFs,” TechCrunch notes. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Om Malik thinks Facebook has been disingenuous in its positioning of Internet.org, a.k.a., Free Basics. “Facebook Free Basics isn’t a charity,” he notes. “People will pay for it with their data … It is a way for Facebook to gather more attention and sell services and advertising to those who get Facebook’s Free Basics.”

With the help of his little sister, Brooke, Buzzfeed’s Ben Rosen investigates how young people are using Snapchat. “I would watch in awe as she flipped through her snaps, opening and responding to each one in less than a second with a quick selfie face,” Rosen writes. “She answered all 40 of her friends’ snaps in under a minute.” Adds Rosen: “Is she a freak of nature, or is this just how things are done when you’re young?”

At Twitter’s expense, digital consultant and blogger Ben Thompson explains what Facebook and Google dominate the digital ad business. “Digital advertising is becoming a rather simple proposition: Facebook, Google, or don’t bother,” he writes. Why? Among other reasons, “Facebook and Google have the most inventory and are still growing in terms of both users and ad-load [and] there is no temporal limitation that works to the benefit of other properties.”

SoundCloud nearly doubled its losses from 2013 to 2014, ars technica reports. “The Berlin-based audio social network has been the darling of independent producers and DJs worldwide who use it to share and comment on each other’s work,” it writes. “But like some startups, it has struggled to turn its massive user base into meaningful revenue.”