On Snapchat, if you’re under 35, you’re in good company. A whopping 71 percent of Snapchat’s US-based users are between the ages of 18 and 34, a new study from research firm ComScore shows. That easily topped Facebook and Twitter, which are made up of 38 percent and 41 percent of users in that age group, respectively. Popular Yahoo-owned microblogging service Tumblr wasn’t so far behind, with 53 percent of its users falling between the ages of 18 and 34. Snapchat, which was founded in 2011, is a mobile app that allows users to take photos or videos that automatically self-destruct after a set time. The service was reported last year to have over 100 million users worldwide, but a report in January suggested that it may be closing in on 200 million active users.

 

Whatever the case, Snapchat is big and continues to grow at a rapid pace due in large part to its younger users. Last year, ComScore reported that Snapchat was the third-most-popular social-media app among people between the ages of 18 and 34, trailing only Facebook and Instagram. That study looked at the cumulative number of users and not the makeup of each company’s individual user base. Snapchat’s success hasn’t been lost on other companies. 

 

Twitter has launched Periscope, an app that lets users broadcast live video recorded on their smartphone directly to their followers on social media. The micro-blogging site bought Periscope earlier this month for a reported $100 million. Periscope is Twitter’s answer to Meerkat, a month-old live broadcasting app that made a splash at SXSW festival this month. "Periscope lets you broadcast live video to the world. Going live will instantly notify your followers who can join, comment and send you hearts in real time. The more hearts you get, the higher they flutter on the screen," the company said in its iTunes listing. "Hearts" are equivalent to "likes" on Facebook.

 

When a broadcast is finished, a replay is available to watch and exists for 24 hours before it is automatically deleted. Users can tweet a link to their live broadcast and streams can also be made private. The app is currently only available on iOS. Earlier this month, Twitter blocked Meerkat’s access to its so-called social graph - essentially preventing Meerkat users from importing their Twitter followers, making it hard to connect with people. Periscope and Meerkat are two of a number of broadcasting apps. Ustream and Livestream have also popped up to take advantage of improving data coverage on smartphones. 

 

Ford is to sell a car that can read road signs and adjust its speed accordingly to ensure the vehicle is not driving too fast. The speed-limiting tech can be activated via the steering wheel and briefly overridden by pressing firmly on the accelerator. The car company suggests the facility will help drivers avoid fines and could reduce the number of accidents. However, one expert said the innovation might only serve as a "stopgap". "There's a plan for speed restrictions to be beamed to your car's computer systems and controlled from there, rather than requiring street sign visual recognition systems," said Paul Newton, an automotive industry analyst at the IHS consultancy. "This would be part an extension of the networks that will connect vehicles, allowing cars to warn those behind them if they are slowing down, which is all part of a move toward autonomous vehicles that drive themselves."

 

Such a system, however, is some way off. Ford's technology will become available to the public this August, when it launches the second generation of its S-Max cars in Europe. A spokesman for the US car company told the BBC the facility would probably be extended to other models around the world. 

 

Apple CEO Tim Cook is giving hundreds of millions of dollars to charity. Cook, who is close to becoming a billionaire, says he will pay for his nephew's college education, then donate the rest of his wealth to philanthropic projects, according to Fortune. Cook isn't the first top executive to give his money away. Warren Buffett and Bill Gates launched The Giving Pledge in 2010 -- a campaign to persuade billionaires to give at least half of their fortunes to charity. More than a hundred have signed up so far, including Michael Bloomberg and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg.

 

Others, like Cook, are going their own way. Last year, Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma started a multi-billion dollar charity. Cook certainly has plenty of funds to give away. His pay at Apple more than doubled last year to USD 9.2 million, according to a regulatory filing. In 2014, USD 145 million worth of stock awards vested, and he's got another USD 536 million in stock awards to come. Cook, who came out last year, also told Fortune that he felt his sexuality was a "yawner," especially internally at Apple. He remains the only publicly gay CEO in the 700 largest corporations. John Brown served as CEO of BP from 1995 to 2007, but only acknowledged he was gay after he was forced to leave office when a former boyfriend outed him. Cook took the reins at Apple in 2011 after Steve Jobs resigned.