Parler is back online with its web app but is still blocked by Apple and Google’s app stores
The Parler social network was dropped from Amazon Web Services (AWS), Apple's App Store, and Google Play in early January, but its web app is back online after finding a new hosting provider.
Facebook and Instagram now accept Shop Pay from Shopify
The social media apps are Shop Pay’s first appearances as a third party payments tool.
Facebook tries to outmaneuver Apple’s privacy pop-up with its own tracking prompt
Facebook will prompt users of its mobile app to opt-in to device tracking services prior to the Apple opt-in page that will ship with iOS 14.
Twitter buys Revue, a newsletter service that’s similar to Substack
The company’s investment adds long-form content to their famously short-form platform and will help writers and publishers grow and connect with audiences.
Twitter’s ‘bluesky’ releases Ecosystem Review of decentralized protocols and apps
The Bluesky initiative, a project focused on creating a decentralized social network backed by Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey, shared a 61-page Ecosystem Review of viable protocols and apps.
WordPress.com now builds small business websites
The CMS rolls out agency services to compete with drag and drop website builders Squarespace and Wix
Episode 11: Fabric CEO Faisal Masud and Co-founder Ryan Bartley discuss startups, the problem with low-touch platforms, and the unique capabilities of headless commerce
Fabric Co-founder Ryan Bartley discusses how Fabric went from an idea to a startup company, and CEO Faisal Masud reveals Shopify Plus’ Achilles heel. Then they talk about what companies can do with headless commerce.
Tech companies scramble to protect themselves after the Capitol riots
Companies ban incendiary posts and drop support for apps that promote violent content that violate their terms of service. We can expect to see more of this as purported “free speech” platforms arise after Parler’s demise.
Adobe Flash Player now blocks all Flash content from playing
The twenty-five-year-old Adobe Flash Player is now “end of life” (EOL) and will no longer play Flash content. Adobe is urging all users to uninstall it immediately.
Signal AMA on Reddit: Team reveals future plans and discusses privacy, security, and funding
The privacy-focused messenger, Signal, is experiencing record growth, partly due to WhatsApp's changes, its usage in the Hong Kong protests, and Elon Musk promoting it. To better engage with their users, many of which are new, they held an AMA on Reddit to answer questions about the app.
Google awarded patent for dynamic knowledge panels in productivity apps
A U.S. patent recently awarded to Google describes integrating dynamic knowledge panels into apps, like Google Docs. The feature enables users to research without leaving the app and provides Google another channel for its shopping and ad networks.
FTC to investigate whether ad-tech like real-time bidding is too invasive with our data
Recent reports have shown that apps and real-time bidding tools may have unrestrained access to location, demographic, and personal interest data. Federal legislators have called on the FTC to investigate the depth of data collected by technology and the potential for misuse by data brokers, government agencies, and tech companies.
Facebook adds support for uploading AVIF images
Chrome and Firefox users can now upload AVIF images to Facebook posts. Facebook automatically converts the AVIF images to JPEG format.
Updated: Tim Cook responds to Facebook’s attack ads against Apple’s App Tracking Transparency
Facebook paid for a full-page ad in the New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal that accuses Apple will reduce small business revenue by 60%.
Pixelmator Pro adds ‘Export for Web’ for the WebP image format
A much-anticipated feature, exporting optimized WebP images, is coming to the next version of Pixelmator Pro. The new feature will enable web designers and developers on macOS to switch from using JPG and PNG images to solely using the WebP image format for sites.
WordPress adds support for video captions and subtitles
The release of WordPress 5.6 contained several accessibility improvements, including the ability to add captions and subtitles to videos using the Web Video Text Tracks Format (WebVTT).
‘Big Mail’ continues the endless fight to make email better
'The Not So Big Company' opened up its beta registration for their new email app called Big Mail. They are the latest company attempting to fix how we experience email.
Squarespace announces ‘Member Areas’ for paywalled content
Member Areas can be used to put courses, webinars, white papers, and more behind a one-time or subscription paywall.
CM Group adds Selligent Marketing Cloud to its growing list of brands
Selligent Marketing Cloud’s enterprise and mid-market omnichannel tool is known for personalized insights driven by AI and machine learning. The company will retain its brand and continue normal operations after the acquisition by CM Group.
DOJ suit against Google renews Apple search engine speculation
The Department of Justice lawsuit against Google has the tech industry further speculating that Apple may be readying the launch of a new search engine.
