Sarah Perez
Sarah currently works as a writer for TechCrunch, after having previously spent over three years at ReadWriteWeb. Prior to becoming a professional blogger, Sarah worked in I.T. across a number of industries, including banking, retail and software.
Crunchbase profile →Featured Picks from Sarah Perez
Latest from Sarah Perez
-
Amazon opens its grocery delivery service to Amazon Business customers
Amazon Business, the retailer’s free program for business customers offering fast shipping, discounts and purchase approvals, is now expanding to include grocery delivery from AmazonFresh. That means businesses can stock their employee break rooms with fresh goods, like produce, plus groceries and other items from local stores. Read More
-
Roku is the top streaming device in the U.S and still growing, report finds
Roku isn’t only maintaining its lead as the top streaming media player device in the U.S., it’s increasing it. That’s the conclusion from the latest industry report out today from market intelligence firm Parks Associates, which states that 37 percent of streaming devices in U.S. households are Roku devices, as of the first quarter of this year. That’s up from 30 percent… Read More
-
Musical.ly’s redesign adds video recommendations, new user profiles
Musical.ly, an app best known for its lip-syncing music videos, but which has more recently begun to air shows from Viacom, NBCU and Hearst, is today rolling out an overhaul of its mobile app that will put an increased emphasis on personalization and recommendations. Most notably, the update includes a new “similar musical.lys” feature that uses computer vision to figure out what… Read More
-
Facebook will live stream over a dozen college football games this year
Facebook wants you to watch more video on its site – including those you can’t see elsewhere. To that end, the social network earlier this month launched a dedicated section for original video, called Watch. Now that’s being expanded with the addition of live-streamed college football games, broadcast in partnership with sports network Stadium. The deal will bring 15… Read More
-
Amazon’s TenMarks releases a new curriculum for educators that teaches kids writing using digital assistants, text messaging and more
Amazon is expanding its efforts in the education technology space today with the launch of a new curriculum from TenMarks, the company it acquired several years ago which previously only focused on math lessons and related activities. Now, the business is offering an online curriculum for teachers designed to help students learn how to be better writers. The program includes a writing coach… Read More
-
Walmart and Google partner on voice-based shopping
Walmart and Google are today announcing a new partnership that will enable voice shopping through Google Assistant, Google’s virtual assistant that lives on devices like its smart speaker, Google Home. Specifically, consumers will now be able to take advantage of Walmart’s “Easy Reorder” feature through an integration with Google’s shopping service, Google Express. Read More
-
Walmart expands its grocery delivery business, powered by Uber
Walmart is expanding a test of its grocery delivery service, powered by Uber, the company announced this week. The retailer is now offering grocery delivery in two new markets — Dallas and Orlando — which join Tampa and Phoenix as locations where consumers can shop online for grocery items, then opt to have them come to their home for an additional $9.95 fee. Read More
-
Over a third of millennials say they’ll pay for Disney’s streaming service, survey finds
Disney’s forthcoming streaming service may be able to carve out a niche for itself because choosing a subscription service is not a zero-sum game. A number of recent studies have already indicated that today’s consumers are willing to pay for multiple services in this market. But that’s especially true for millennials, according to new research out today from Morning Consult. Read More
-
Walmart’s streaming service Vudu hits Apple TV
As reported earlier this month, Walmart’s streaming service Vudu has now arrived on Apple TV… with a few limitations. The new app allows you to watch the movies and shows saved to your Vudu library, including those you’ve added by way of UltraViolet, the digital video “cloud locker” technology that lets you watch digital versions of your DVDs and Blu-rays. Read More
-
CNN follows NBC with launch of its own daily news show for Snapchat
CNN is launching its own daily news program on Snapchat. This is the second news show to arrive on the social platform, following NBC News’ early success with its twice-daily show “Stay Tuned.” CNN’s program, dubbed “The Update,” will differ in that it only runs once per day. However, breaking news will be delivered as it occurs. Read More
-
Facebook’s Safety Check feature gets its own dedicated button, can be accessed anytime
Facebook is giving its “Safety Check” feature a permanent home in its app and on the desktop, the company announced today. The feature, which lets you check to see whether friends and family are safe following a crisis, will now have its own dedicated button in the app’s navigation menu and will be available via the Facebook website on the desktop. Read More
-
Plex changes its new privacy policy after backlash, clarified it’s not trying to see what’s in your library
Popular media player software maker Plex has had a rough weekend. The company alerted users via email on Friday about an updated privacy policy due to go into effect in September. The new policy would remove users’ ability to opt out of data collection, said Plex. This move quickly resulted in much user backlash. Read More
-
Younger consumers use two or more apps for streaming music, mobile messaging, says Nielsen
Millennials’ reputation for a lack of brand loyalty extends to digital services, according to a new report out from Nielsen this morning. The measurement firm’s latest study looks into how the generation consisting of 18- to 34-year-olds uses communication apps and streaming music services, among other things. Read More
-
NBC’s Snapchat news show gains 29+ million viewers in its first month
NBC News’ first-ever daily show for Snapchat is seeing promising numbers after its first month on the air. In a release sent to reporters this morning, NBCU claims the show has grown its audience to over 29 million unique viewers. That’s roughly triple the number of viewers who tune into the top-rated “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” program. Read More
-
Rapportive founder’s new startup Superhuman is what Gmail would be if built today
Reinventing the email experience is an area numerous startups have tried to tackle over the years, with some apps focused more on triage, others on making a better desktop alternative to Outlook, and still more aiming to re-envision email as a mobile-first product, among other ideas. A new startup called Superhuman, from the founder of Gmail add-on Rapportive acquired in 2012 by LinkedIn… Read More
-
Y Combinator-backed VIDA turns artwork into fashion, accessories and more
VIDA, an e-commerce startup that allows artists to upload their designs to be printed on real-world materials – like fabric, leather, metal and more – which are then sold as unique products, has grown its community of artists to over 100,000 members since its launch a few years ago. The company is now participating in startup accelerator Y Combinator, following its recent… Read More
-
Twitch acquired video indexing platform ClipMine to power new discovery features
In an announcement about a set of new discovery tools, Amazon-owned video game streaming site Twitch also unveiled that it recently acquired Palo Alto-based video indexing platform ClipMine. The startup’s technology is now being put to use to translate visual information in videos – like objects, text, logos and scenes – into metadata that can help people more easily find… Read More
-
YouTube TV now available to 50% of U.S. households
Following July’s expansion which tripled its footprint, Google today announced that YouTube TV is now available to 50 percent of U.S. households, thanks to a rollout to 14 new markets. The company is also pre-announcing its plans to move into 17 more major metros in the weeks ahead, as it continues its rapid march towards nationwide coverage. YouTube TV is one of many “skinny… Read More
-
Reddit rolls out its own video platform
Reddit today is officially launching its own native video hosting across both desktop and mobile. The platform, still in beta, was one of the company’s promised initiatives following its recent $200 million round of funding that valued its business at $1.8 billion, announced earlier this summer. Video today, along with GIFs, make up a major part of the content shared across… Read More
-
Skype’s much-debated redesign hits the desktop
In June, Microsoft introduced a completely revamped version of its Skype app, designed with a heavier focus on media-sharing, and other social expression tools, like emoji, reactions, and even a Snapchat-like stories feature. Now that new experience is rolling out to desktop users, but in a more limited fashion, Microsoft announced this morning. The new desktop app introduces an updated… Read More
Message Us