Teens aren’t fleeing Facebook as quickly as we thought

The technology world moves fast, especially where social media is concerned. Sometimes it can seem like there's a new "Facebook-killer" on tap every week -- especially if you have a tech reporter's inbox. And the rumors of that ten-year-old network's death seem to be even more frequent, with reports saying that teenagers are killing its growth prospects by turning to other options.

But, with the Meerkats, Periscopes and Snapchats of the world now vying for attention, it's not always clear how teens are really using social media these days. To explore the question, The Pew Research Center asked over 1,000 respondents, between ages 13 and 17, for their thoughts, and included them in a report published Thursday.

Here are few key takeaways:

It may sound silly to talk about differences in use between teens who are so close in age, Amanda Lenhart, associate director of research at Pew, said that researchers are seeing "micro-generations" form on social media.

"An older brother uses [social media] differently than his younger sister," she said, hypothesizing that could be because younger kids tend to get smartphones at a much younger age, she said.

Lenhart said that it's a little early to tell how these behaviors -- particularly the movement between platforms -- will affect the social media world down the line. Younger teens may be starting a new pattern, she said, but they may also eventually shift their behaviors to be where the older teens are down the line.

What we are seeing for sure is a "diversification of social media platforms," she said. Teens are "not leaving Facebook; they hold onto those profiles," she said. They don’t necessarily use them as much, though, and instead spend time on Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Vine and many other social media platforms, she added.

The report also reveals interesting trends in how media use changes when looking teens at different socioeconomic levels, For example, those of lower incomes tend to use Facebook most, while those of higher incomes tend more toward services such as Snapchat.

Researchers also found that teens in general feel that sites that focus more on pictures rather than text tend to feel cleaner and easier to manage than text-heavy networks. In that way, a picture really may be worth a thousand words. (Or emojis. Whatever.)

Lenhart said that when looking at social media, it's important to remember that social networks are an ecosystem, and that growing use on one doesn't necessarily mean that others aren't being used, too.

Facebook is "an important part of the ecosystem that teens swim in, though the ecosystem is now much busier than it used to be," she said. "But social media is not just one island, it's an archipelago. And teens are swimming from site to site."

Hayley Tsukayama covers consumer technology for The Washington Post.

summary: But there is a "micro-generation" of younger teens that's not using it as much.

Q:
Man Utd: Why Â£89m Paul Pogba deal is a bargain
Manchester United paid a world record £89m to sign Paul Pogba from Juventus - a player they let go for only £1.5m four years ago.

The deal has been cited as the final example of a sport gone money-mad, and described as former manager Sir Alex Ferguson's biggest mistake.

But with the Old Trafford club expected to announce annual revenues of £500m next month, paying such a huge sum for a world-class midfielder they used to own could make perfect business sense.

Because as a percentage of turnover, Pogba was a snip compared to the £155,000 purchase of Denis Law in 1962.

United's commercial success has underpinned a vast growth in income since the Glazer family took over the club in 2005. And with global stars Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahmovic added to a squad managed by Jose Mourinho, that will only increase.

"This is a new era on the field but commercially as well," said football business expert Kevin Roberts.

Wayne Rooney's arrival from Everton for £27m in 2004 represented 17.2% of the club's overall turnover of £157.2m a year before the Glazer family takeover. Twelve years on, the cost of buying Pogba from Juventus is a similar 17.6%.

Relative to the purchase of Law from Torino 54 years ago, and the £1.5m spent on buying Bryan Robson from West Brom in 1981, these percentages are small.

Scotsman Law cost 61.4% of United's annual turnover of £187,178. In Robson's case the figures are 56.6% and £2.65m.

From £49m in 2005, the club's commercial revenue rose to £196.9 in 2015, a rise of 401%. In the same period, United's matchday revenue has increased by 31% and their broadcast income by 123%.

United now operate a three tier system of sponsorship. The biggest deals are for shirt sponsorship and kit manufacturing. The second level are the global agreements with organisations such as EA Sports, who on Wednesday became United's official football video games partner, the third are regional deals which cover all manner of product areas, from financial services, to tyres and noodles.

"If you are flogging sponsorship to Japanese noodle companies you really need to mean something to fans in a country that is 14 hours away on a plane," said Roberts, co-founder of Sport Business.

"Manchester United's digital strategy allows them to collect massive amounts of data which can be used to sell to fans things directly to do with the club. Simplistically, it might be to ask whether people had thought about buying a new shirt for their birthday.

"If you have data about people watching you worldwide, you can put together a more compelling pitch to sponsors and ratchet up the value of deals."

United's carefully choreographed and branded announcement of the Pogba deal was as glossy as a multi-million pound advertising campaign, marking a new level in the evolution of the modern-day football transfer.

"The thing we focus on is engagement," added United's managing director Richard Arnold. "The content and communication we have with the fans has to resonate, so it causes them to respond. That they like. They share. They comment.

"That is as true of the fans in Stretford as it is in China."
What was this article about?
A:
Why Manchester United's world record Â£89m purchase of Paul Pogba is not quite as costly as it first seems.

The Ponzi scheme hall of shame

A Las Vegas financial advisor, Edwin Fujinaga, and two of his associates were indicted July 8 by a federal grand jury for allegedly running a $1.5 billion Ponzi scheme.

If convicted, this may be the latest example of a scam popularized by con man Charles Ponzi in the 1920s. In fact, Ponzi schemes remain so widespread that a new case was discovered every five days in 2014 on average, according to Ponzitracker, amounting to $1.5 billion in potential losses for victims.

Read More Investor lessons from alleged $1.5B Ponzi scheme

Here's a look at some of the most infamous Ponzi schemers caught in cons that were too good to be true.

—By CNBC's Zack Guzman Posted 10 July 2015

summary:
Charles Ponzi popularized the scam in 1920s, but these schemers still thrive today.