Mobile Minutes: Facebook goes into healthcare; Tinder seeks revenue; Online recipes go tech; Mobile retail's future
On the heels of fellow Silicon Valley technology companies Apple Inc. and Google Inc., Facebook is plotting its first steps into the fertile field of healthcare, said three people familiar with the matter.
Tinder, which has been connecting love-seeking, smartphone-swiping millennials for more than a year, has narrowed its money-making plans to three possible matches. Barry Diller, chairman of Tinder-backer IAC/InterActiveCorp, said the dating app is considering three approaches: subscription, advertising or ?freemium,? where basic access is free and additional services cost extra.
There are meal-kit companies like Blue Apron and Plated, which will send me weekly recipes, complete with perfectly portioned ingredients, in refrigerated boxes. Now, another New York-based startup is joining the fray, with a service that could not only benefit lazy consumers (myself, included), but could also become a powerful marketing tool for consumer packaged goods companies.
Not long ago, on Sept. 26 to be precise, I wrote a piece which spoke to the ongoing ?battle? marketers are having when it comes to the topic of mobile marketing. I use the word ?battle? for it is very much a battle marketers face in trying to get their hands around something that is obviously something that is vital to their long-term success.