Working from home: How to use smart lights to keep family from interrupting conference calls
The best way to stop family members from being too loud and interrupting video and phone conference calls is to use smart lights around your home.
Facebook confirms advertisers will not be required to use Campaign Budget Optimization (CBO)
Last year, the company said all ad campaigns would eventually be migrated to the CBO platform, but Facebook now says CBO is an option, not a requirement.
New ‘Facebook Shops’ enables SMBs to create ecommerce stores on Instagram and Facebook App
Businesses can now create mobile-first online stores that are accessible on Facebook App and Instagram. A unique feature of Facebook Shops is the ability to do Live Shopping, which enables stores to sell products during a live stream with influencers.
Google significantly changes how it measures page performance with the release of Lighthouse 6.0
A new version of Google’s Lighthouse auditing tool dramatically changed how it calculates its score by removing two metrics and adding three new ones. The change in metrics signals a major shift in how Google is determining page performance.
Facebook and Instagram launch COVID-19 resources as usage spikes, while others follow suit
Facebook and Instagram have launched new features to help with coronavirus pandemic relief efforts and reduce the spread of misinformation related to the outbreak.
ICANN rejects sale of .org to private equity firm citing public interest
In a dramatic chain of events, the ICANN Board unanimously blocked its consent for Internet Society (ISOC) to change ownership of the non-profit Public Interest Registry (PIR) to the private equity firm Ethos Capital.
Shopify launches Shop app to better compete against Amazon
The new Shop app by Shopify consolidates stores into a cohesive shopping experience. Unlike its competitors, Shopify made the service only available as a native mobile app, which is reminiscent of Quibi’s recent launch.
Facebook app and Instagram start exposing locale of users and Pages to help protect U.S. election
Posts from high-reach Facebook Pages and Instagram accounts outside of the U.S. will now list the account owner’s primary country location at the top of the post.
Facebook Messenger policy update requires businesses to respond within 24-hours
At the beginning of March 2020, Facebook instituted new response time rules for businesses using Messenger. The policy changes coincided with record Messenger usage due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chrome 81 breaks the ability to bold system fonts on Macs
A style bug in version 81 of the Google Chrome browser was discovered before it was released, but a decision was made to not fix it until the next version. Sites that default to the system font can no longer fully bold text for users on macOS Catalina.
Speedtest VPN adds paid tier and now supports iPadOS
Ookla ended beta testing of its Speedtest VPN and added a $4.99/mo unlimited data plan. The newest release now supports iPadOS in addition to iOS and Android.
COVID-19 makes Google Ads delay controversial changes to its Partners badge program until 2021
Agencies unhappy with the upcoming changes to the Google Partners badge program received a temporary reprieve from Google Ads. Google emailed its partners to inform them that the new changes were delayed until 2021 because of the impact coronavirus has had on businesses.
LinkedIn Conversation Ads: How they work and should advertisers use them
The new messaging-based ad format by LinkedIn, which is similar to Facebook Messenger Ads, allows advertisers to target prospects with personalized messages based on audience segments.
Facebook giving $100 million in grants to SMBs impacted by coronavirus
The $100 million earmarked for Facebook’s SMB Grants Program includes cash grants and ad credits for small businesses around the world.
Mozilla launches Firefox Better Web, a service that removes ads and tracking from news sites
Mozilla debuted a new subscription service with Scroll that provides an ad-free experience on partner sites and enhanced tracking protection with its Firefox web browser.
Is it Time to Get Your Brand on TikTok? A Quick Primer For Advertisers
TikTok was the second most downloaded app last year with 738 million installs, giving advertisers more reason to pay attention to the short-form video platform.
Analysts expect the 2020 election to generate over $1 billion in digital ad revenue
To keep ad campaigns running smoothly, political advertisers will need to stay informed on social media ad policy updates and verification processes.
Most web developers are using inaccessible number inputs on forms and here is how to fix it
A common form input type that's used by most web developers to make filling out numbers on forms easier isn't fully accessible. The GOV.UK Design System team published the correct way to make entering numbers accessible for everyone.
Fastmail is beta testing more powerful email Rules and Filters
Fastmail customers that have opted into using beta features can now access more robust email Rules and Filters. The upgrade includes the ability to block individual emails or entire domains and allows more actions per Rule.
Twitter is testing disappearing Tweets called ‘Fleets’
Twitter enabled a new feature called Fleets in Brazil. Fleets capture fleeting thoughts, and they disappear after 24 hours, similar to Facebook and Instagram Stories.
