Increase on Yelp Stock Price

Online local guide Yelp has appreciated remarkably over the last year, with shares gaining 80%. The company's key metrics have improved rapidly, and its focus on mobile should help it sustain that outstanding performance going forward. However, Yelp has raised a concern over the way Google lists search results, claiming the company gives preference to its own services. Will this hurt Yelp's growth significantly going forward, or should investors ignore this concern, given Yelp's mobile moves?

'Yo' Has Raised $1.5 Million At A $10 Million Valuation

Yo, the simple app that just sends a “yo” to your friends, has closed $1.5 million in seed funding with a $10 million valuation and is finally ready to talk about its investors. They include Betaworks, Mashable’s Pete Cashmore, and the founders of China’s Tencent, among others.

Instagram Is Already Bigger Than Twitter On Smartphones

This week, Mark Zuckerberg dropped the tidbit that Instagram has more than 200 million users, double the user base it had when Facebook acquired the photo-sharing service two years ago.

Pinterest Tacks On Paid Ads

Having succeeded in making scrapbooking a Web craze, Pinterest Inc. now has a new goal: to reinvent online advertising. The four-year-old digital scrapbooking website is preparing to launch ad sales in the second quarter with a bold pitch. Rather than Web ads that urge people to "click here!" or "buy now!," Pinterest wants to make artful Web ads that people actually love.

Line to Launch Kids Video App in Japan

Messaging app Line is branching out into video content in Japan, where it has announced plans for an app that caters to kids programming. The Bridge reports that the app — initially for iOS, an Android version is due in spring — will include over 1,500 programs from 28 animation series, including Doraemon, Pokemon, and Thomas and Friends.

Facebook Inc Expected to Bite Google’s Mobile Ad Market Share in 2014

The global ad mobile ad spending could increase by as much as 75.15 to $31.45 billion this year, according to e-Marketer, an independent market research firm providing insights and trends in digital marketing, media and commerce.

Pinterest Wants To Sell Ads For $2 Million

Pinterest's first advertising product isn't available just yet, but Ad Age reports the social network is asking for commitments of between $1 million and $2 million from marketers interested in buying ads on the platform.