CrunchWeek: Instagram Debuts Messaging, Twitter’s Blocking Debacle, Snapchat Banks $50M


The weather outside is frightful, but CrunchWeek is so delightful. So since we’ve no place to go, why don’t you watch the show… that brings three TechCrunch writers together to dish the dirt on the most interesting tech news stories from the past week?

In this episode, Leena Rao, Alex Wilhelm and I talk about the launch of Instagram’s first ever messaging feature called Instagram Direct and the impressive new usage figures announced by Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom, Twitter changing how its blocking feature works (and reverting back to the original block system after a swift public outcry), and Snapchat confirming that it has closed $50 million in a Series C round of funding from New York hedge fund Coatue Management, leaving out the usual Silicon Valley venture capital firms.