Pinch away, people! Yes, Instagram is finally inviting users zoom in on photos and video in the feeds with a single pinch. "Zoom is one of the most requested features from the community, and it's finally here," a company spokeswoman tells me.

There are few things that American consumers love more than Facebook and deals. Trying to align these national pastimes, the social giant just redesigned Offers, a mostly mobile service that helps consumers claim, organize and redeem coupons and promotions.

Think Snapchat's popularity is peaking? Think again. The creative messaging app is poised for at least two more years of double-digit growth, according to a forecast from eMarketer.

If you want a successful app, be prepared to "commit to flawless execution," Robert Brown, senior manager of interactive marketing at Nissan North America, told his envious audience at MediaPost's Brand Insider Summit.

When Facebook gobbled up WhatsApp in 2014, everyone assumed that the social giant would wreck the app by betraying its strict privacy standards. It was believed to be only a matter of time before Facebook began mining WhatsApp user data for all it's worth -- and flooding the app with ads.

Google announced a couple of updates to its mobile search results this week, including downgrading sites that show mobile interstitial ads.

This forward-leaning segment captured 24.3% of all ad dollars spent on performance campaigns during the second quarter. Among those campaigns, the most successful have been for apps that offer daily utility to users, such as those that increase photo storage or track stocks.

Remarkably, considering all the bad press leading up to it, people had mostly good things to say about the XXXI Olympiad. In fact, about 81% of all social mentions were positive.

What took you so long, Twitter?! As with so many features that Twitter takes forever to develop, that was my response to a new quality filter that the social giant is rolling out this week.

Google announced on its blog this morning that it had made changes to its Maps JavaScript API to make the mobile experience better for those using it. Changes include smoother rendering, touch support, motion tracking, better controls and cleaner street names, labels and targets.