Jack Dorsey

The reported but still-unconfirmed news that Twitter is moving into e-commerce is baffling to most people. There were unconfirmed reports of Twitter partnering with a New York-based startup called Fancy — where Jack Dorsey is an investor — and there was something about Twitter using Stripe for payments. These reports are also still unconfirmed, but they've been picked up by mainstream media. Twitter has been in the spotlight after its first quarterly report as a public company, so one can take the company's lack of denial as a reasonable indication there might be some truth to these reports. 

How retailers can use technology to help facilitate more in-store traffic was a popular topic at this week's National Retail Federation Big Show in New York City. From Matt Marcotte, senior vice president of global retail for Tory Burch, discussing customer centricity to David Gilboa, co-founder and co-CEO of Warby Parker, sharing how technology has enabled the brand to personalize its storefronts, there was a general theme that while technology integration is great, retailers have to remember it's meant to be used as a tool for success, not as an entire retail strategy.

In 2010, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey launched a second company called Square. Until now, it's been best known for a piece of hardware — a credit card reader that plugs into a smartphone or tablet. You've probably come across it at a local boutique or neighborhood coffee shop (or at Starbucks, for that matter — Square is the processor of all Starbucks’ credit and debit transactions in the United States). But this month, Square has expanded with the launch of Square Market, an online marketplace that might just revolutionize indie shopping.

Facebook hasn't yet confirmed whether it's the real Mark Zuckerberg, although it's a verified Fancy account, and the high-end Pinterest competitor has been generating a lot of buzz lately. The New York-based startup recently launched its own commerce platform, which is already seeing an average of roughly $50,000 in spending per week. It boasts nearly 1 million users, Kanye West's seal of approval, and a $100 million valuation thanks to the backing of PPR and angel investors such as Jack Dorsey, who sits on the company's board along with Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes.