Facebook gets bigger

Facebook hits 2 billion-user mark, doubling in size since 2012

By David Ingram | SAN FRANCISCO

Facebook Inc said on Tuesday that 2 billion people are regularly using its flagship service, marching past another milestone in its growth from a college curiosity in the United States to the world’s largest social media network.

Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg disclosed the number to his followers in a Facebook post. “It’s an honor to be on this journey with you,” he wrote. (bit.ly/2sefWFL)

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The user base is bigger than the population of any single country, and of six of the seven continents. It represents more than a quarter of the world’s 7.5 billion people.

Facebook defines a monthly active user as a registered Facebook user who logged in and visited Facebook through its website or a mobile device, or used its Messenger app, in the past 30 days. It does not include people who use the Instagram or WhatsApp networks but not Facebook.

The company said in May that duplicate accounts, according to an estimate from last year, may have represented some 6 percent of its worldwide user base.

The social network’s user population dwarfs that of similar companies. Twitter Inc reported in April monthly active users of 328 million, while Snap Inc’s Snapchat had 166 million daily users at the end of the first quarter.

WeChat, a unit of Tencent Holdings Ltd and a widely used service in China, said in May that it had 938 million monthly active users in the first quarter.

Facebook had 1.94 billion people using its service monthly as of March 31, an increase of 17 percent from a year earlier. It reached 1 billion in October 2012.

The company, which Zuckerberg started in 2004 in his college dorm room, uses its huge size advantage to lure advertisers, offering them highly targeted marketing capabilities based on its data about users.

June 27, 2017 0

Seattle Housing Torrid Pace Continues

It looks like like Seattle continues to make history according to the market index updates from local sources See full story and link below

Hopeful home buyers in the Seattle area are up against the toughest purchasing prospects in the country as the market again posted leading price gains while diminished inventory has made the competition fierce.

Multiple reports Tuesday morning showcase just what buyers are up against as they look to purchase something — anything — that comes up for sale in Seattle. The Seattle Times cited the monthly Case-Shiller home price index, which showed a 12.3-percent year-over-year increase for single family home prices in the metro area in March. It’s the fastest growth in more than three years and easily outdistances increases in Portland (9.2 percent), Dallas (8.6 percent), Denver (8.4 percent) and Boston (7.7 percent).

Seattle also more than doubles the national average for price gains, which are at 5.8 percent.

Seattle-based real estate company Redfin released its Demand Index on Tuesday, and it shows what buyers are certainly learning the hard way as prime selling season approaches — there just aren’t enough houses available for interested parties.

Seattle is the most inventory-constrained metro, as measured by months of supply, but it also has the third smallest amount of inventory, following Oakland and San Francisco, Redfin said. Seattle posted the largest year-over-year decrease in inventory, down 35 percent from last April. In the same period, the number of Redfin customers making offers climbed by 36.9 percent, an indication that the market is more competitive for buyers this year than it was last year.

“There’s no indication that this market is going to see a drastic increase in supply or a drop in demand, so waiting isn’t an option for a serious buyer,” said Redfin Seattle agent Kyle Moss in the company’s blog post. “People intent on purchasing this season should be discerning and focus on the one or two criteria that are most important to them, like commute time and/or schools. From there, carve out a list of homes that meet your qualifications and work alongside an agent who has experience winning offers in competitive situations to build and execute a competitive strategy that fits your budget.”

June 27, 2017 2

Seattle sets new record and its not a housing market record this time

I dont need to tell you how warm it was this weekend. But it seems as we all were baking in the sun a new a weather record was being set according to recent reports

Now that’s a scorcher: Seattle ties all-time warmest June day on record

by KOMO Staff

Sunday, June 25th 2017

Seattleites flock to Alki Beach on a record-warm June day (KOMO Photo)

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SEATTLE — Seattle has sizzled like (almost) no other June day in the past 72 years since records have been kept at Sea-Tac Airport.

Just after 4 p.m., the temperature reached 96 degrees, tying the all-time hottest June day on record there. The only other times it’s been this warm in June was on June 30, 1995 and June 9, 1955.

It also shattered the daily record high of 88 degrees, set in 2006.

Seattle averages a 95 degree or warmer day about every other year.

But Seattle was not alone, Olympia also tied its hottest June date on record with a reading of 98 degrees, last done on June 18, 1982. Everett hit 87, Arlington hit 90, Renton hit 95, Gig Harbor hit 94,and Vancouver (WA) hit 101!

But much cooler air was on the way as the ridge of high pressure and its ensuing thermal trough have moved east of the Cascades and ocean breezes were making their way into the Western Washington interior. The temperature dropped from 75 to 64 in just 20 minutes at the Coast Guard base in Port Angeles. The coast was socked in with fog and in the mid 60s.

Expect rapid cooling later this evening with low clouds moving in overnight. Monday will feature a solid dose of clouds in the morning and highs “only” in the low 70s.

June 26, 2017 0

Ryan Lewis of Macklemore fame still trying to sell Seattle Manse

Seems our hot real estate market does have a down side at least according to a recent article On Seattle Curbed. Musician and performer Ryan Lewis is still trying to unload his home In Magnolia a neighborhood of Seattle. Read the full story

In 2014, Macklemore cohort Ryan Lewis snapped up a four-bedroom, 3.75-bath home in Magnolia for $3.3 million. Turns out he doesn’t have the Same Love for it now because he’s put it back on the market, but this time he’s asking $9.45 million! Looks like somebody wants to Make The Money.

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This isn’t just some kind of attempt to cash in on the market, there’s clearly been work done on the 7,610 square-foot estate overlooking Puget Sound. Those gold leaf ceilings certainly weren’t there back in 2014. The distressed wood floors are new as well. Other touches such as Venetian plaster, flamed granite, and polished marble have been added or buffed up to bring this place up to snuff. Those White Walls, however, look relatively the same.

The master suite is a bright & white shrine that leads into the all-marble-everything master bath. Waking up in there will make you feel like you’ve got Wing$.

June 23, 2017 0

Gravity May be on to something with employee compensation plan

As it turns out the Gravity’s generosity to his employment seems to be paying dividends according to recent Komo news. read the full story

SEATTLE – The Seattle business owner who got national attention two years ago for giving all his employees at least $70,000 salaries may have a new reason to celebrate– his company, Gravity Payments, is seeing growth and his employees a “housing boom.”

“It’s been really crazy because I was here since before the announcement was made, and so kind of seeing everything happening from the announcement on has been kind of a whirlwind,” said Phillip Akhavan who is on Gravity Payment’s Merchant Relations Team.

Akhavan said after the announcement, he and his wife had their first child and also became first-time home buyers.

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http://komonews.com/news/local/seattle-company-with-70k-salaries-for-employees-doubles-office-space

June 22, 2017 0