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  • Experience the new Links Report on Google Search Console

    Experience the new Links Report on Google Search Console

    Digital marketing experts have seen a flurry of new reports being ported from the legacy version of Google Search Console to the new beta Search console that has completed development and is seeing a limited trial run for now. They now have three more reports added last week. These are the mobile usability report, the Links Report, and the site and user management report.

    Let’s take a look at what these reports do and how it helps marketers gain useful insights:

    What is covered in the Links Report?

    Google has made the results accurate so the number of visible results will be lesser and precise. Google wants to elaborate on this since the users might be naturally inclined to think of an issue when the number of links drops from old console to the new beta console.

    Some of the types of links that a user can get insights on include –

    • Top linking domains

    Which sites are linking to my site the most?

    • Top linked pages

    Which web pages or site does my site link to the most?

    • Which are my top linked pages from a specific site
    • Top linking text

    What link text points to my site?

    • Listing of the links from a specific site to my page
    • What are the top sites linking to my page
    • Top linked pages

    Which of my pages are linked the most from within my own site

    What is covered in Mobile Usability Report?

    Another valuable addition is the mobile usability report. With mobile being a highly influential ranking signal in recent times, it was only a matter of time before this made a presence on the search console. This helps users to score well on mobile ranking factors by checking for this specific error from this report. Want to request Google to re-index the page once the errors have been rectified? The new search console does that as well. This was a feature that was lacking in the legacy version of the console.

    What is covered in site and user management?

    You also get the facility to add and verify new sites and manage a property’s permissions and different users. So, in the new console, you can work with these 4 features:

    1. Manage different types of permissions via the beta version of Google Search Console.
    2. Manage multiple users via the beta version of the console.
    3. Add additional sites through the beta version of the console
    4. Validate the ownership of the newly added sites

    At the time of publishing this post, the feature was not yet available to everyone but is expected to be there in a matter of days. You can see if it is available to you by clicking on https://search.google.com/search-console/links

    Currently, users can continue using both features – the new search console as well as the older search console. Google plans to keep the older version alive till it is necessary to get the porting done and configured for the new interface.

  • Positive News Stories Now Made Available by Google Assistant

    Positive News Stories Now Made Available by Google Assistant

    The occurrences of depressing news stories is a way of life we surely want to avoid. Google too feels the same way and has made efforts to empower its tech solutions towards the same. Its voice-based Google Assistant will now dole out feel-good stories that will make you feel good and positive all around you.

    How does it work?

    Google Assistant users will have to request ‘Ok Google, tell me something good’ to get their daily dose of motivating stories that look on the bright side of life. The stories are curated from Solutions Journalism Network, a US-based non-partisan organisation that collects uplifting and feel-good news from across the globe. The not-for-profit organisation helps train journalists on enabling better coverage of how people are responding to problems and how their efforts are leading to motivating results.

    The results link to stories that come from diverse media sources like NY Times and BBC. The tech giant maintains that the organisation is a great fit to get started as it empowers and energises journalism and thus, helps to tackle negative news fatigue.

    When you say “Hey Google, Tell Me Something Good”, you get a stream of good news like how more volume of voluntary health information is aiding research on Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s or how Utah managed to reduce its homelessness by 91 per cent.

    Why the need for this move?

    Talking about the new feature, the Creative producer of Google Creative Lab, Ryan Burke said that the users need to have a well-balanced media consumption diet. But currently, the scale is heavily skewed towards bad happenings and depressing news stories. The need of the hour was to rectify this skew and have users get some good stories as well that help inspire and motivate people all over the world. This is how the feature of receiving daily good news wad conceptualised and implemented. This new feature comes on the heels of steady expansion of voice-tech device range offered by Google.

    From another angle, it may also have some positive impact. Psychologists are of the opinion that such uplifting news stories would have a great effect on mental health, bring down stress, and reduce anxiety in some cases. They commented that there is a better scope for improvement in case the readers come to know about the emotional angle of the stories they present.

    Try it out now

    Currently, the service is in a trial but may be expected to reach Google Home devices soon. Even phones that have this technology (for example Android phones) will be able to use this new roll-out.

    Check out the official Google announcement here.

  • Weekend Digital Media Round-up: Google’s first retail store, Facebook’s Custom Audience list management terms, Adobe’s new email features and more..

    Weekend Digital Media Round-up: Google’s first retail store, Facebook’s Custom Audience list management terms, Adobe’s new email features and more..

    1. Google is getting ready to open its first retail store

    The company is reportedly close to finalizing a lease on a 14,000-square-foot property in Chicago. The store will be located in Chicago’s Fulton Market district and will be a permanent venue. [Source: Fast Company]

    1. Facebook clarifies Custom Audience list management terms for agency-advertiser relationships

    Previously, Facebook stated advertisers may not sell or transfer their Custom Audiences or authorize any third party to sell or transfer custom audiences. The company is now updating that specific term to clarify that an advertiser with an independent relationship with an agency off of the platform can allow those agencies to manage their Custom Audience lists. [Source: Marketing Land]

    1. Adobe adds enhancements to boost the venerable channel of email

    Adobe is announcing or previewing several new email features like new email message designer with a drag-and-drop interface, as its fourth annual Consumer Email Study shows some movement in consumer attitudes toward digital marketing’s oldest channel. [Source: MARTECH TODAY]

    1. Google to automatically verify your Google Search Console account if you are the property’s owner in Google Analytics

    Google has announced that it will soon automatically verify you for a website in Search Console if you are already a verified owner of the same property in Google Analytics. [Source: Search Engine Land]

    1. 2-Factor Authentication for Page Managers Unveiled by Facebook

    With an aim to expand the existing transparency levels, Facebook has been reported to bring forth modifications in the authentication and authorisation procedures for users managing large Facebook pages. This new authorisation procedure will allow the users to publish posts on the pages with enhanced transparency and authority. [Source: Logicserve Digital]

    1. To stop rumour mill, government readies rules for Internet companies

    The union government is likely to introduce new guidelines by September to heighten the accountability of internet and social media companies under Indian law and to ensure they react quickly to stop the spread of rumours or offensive content on their platforms. [Source: ET Brand Equity]

    1. Facebook goes back to old technologies to connect the next billion

    After abandoning its plan to develop a solar-powered drone called Aquila and grounding a helicopter drone project to connect people in remote areas, Facebook has gone back to the basics, working on technologies like mesh Wi-Fi and Express Wi-Fi in partnership with equipment manufacturers and operators. [Source: ET Brand Equity]

    1. Google Analytics shows how to find Google Image search traffic when Google Images changes the referral URL

    Google Analytics has posted a useful document that tells users what to expect when Google Image search engineers flip to the new referrer URL sometime in the next month or two. [Source: Search Engine Land]

    1. Facebook Will Remove More Than 5, 000 Ad Targeting Options to Stamp Out Discrimination

    As Facebook continues its efforts to clean-up its platform and lessen its capacity to be used in divisive and damaging ways, The Social Network has this week announced that around 5,000 of its advanced ad targeting options will be removed as it seeks to stamp out discriminatory ad targeting. [Source: Social Media Today]

    1. Instagram makes a play to keep users scrolling with new ‘Recommended For You’ posts

    Instagram is testing a new feature that recommends posts to users based on their follower lists and photos and videos they have liked. The recommended posts will show up in a section at the end of a user’s Feed under a “Recommended for You” label. [Source: Marketing Land]

  • Google to Integrate 3 New Features in Search Results

    Google to Integrate 3 New Features in Search Results

    In a wave of updates, Google aims to launch not one, but three new features to the search results dedicated to Q&A, FAQs, and How-to content. These are some of Google’s most searched results and the upcoming updates sweeten the experience for the end user all the more. Or will they?

    These upcoming features were announced by Google’s Gary Illyes at Google Dance event in Singapore.

    What are the updates?

    From what the first look reveals, one could safely say that Google will be highlighting its Q&A, FAQ and How-to features, with customised results. An example of this could be that the results will now appear at the top of the page, not unlike how the featured bits of search results are displayed.

    These new search results appear to occupy most of the screen space, owing to the fact that each result has its own drop-down menu. These could be estimated to end up expanding across multiple screens too. This means that you would need to scroll more to know more, as a considerable amount of your page would be occupied by these enriched search results, which Google expects to be a welcome update soon.

    This update aims to put more content out in the search result page itself, saving users the effort of entering the site entirely to know basic information. In case of the Q&A, you happen to see a “more” link, you do not have the full answer, but merely a snippet. The result would be condensed to a bare minimum, as compared to what is shown on the actual webpage.

    Data markup and Google

    However, one of the biggest questions that stares at Google right in the face is, “will Google render these customised rich results on its own or would Google depend on data markup which site owners implement?

    Recently, Google introduced a newer type of data which is structured for marking up tables which are intended to be utilised by news articles and data analysts all across the world. So it is only understood that Google may be deciding to introduce more such types of mark-ups in the future.

    Would this update affect publishers?

    The ease that came with more content displayed on the search result page was that there was less of a need for end users to click through to the actual page. Bearing that in mind, if results are starting to get structure dependent, then how does it even make it worth implementing?

    Considering publishers, if these result types are automatically generated, would publishers be able to opt out of it?

    There are many questions owing to the nature of these rich results that are to come into play soon through Google’s search engine result page (SERP). The answers to a lot of these questions would come in when Google’s search results officially go up with these newer updates.

    Do let us know how these changes will impact your querying and search marketing behaviour. We would love to hear from you.

  • How to Get True Google Analytics Insights On Single Page Visits?

    How to Get True Google Analytics Insights On Single Page Visits?

    Content has immense power as far as engagement is concerned. With compelling content, the target readers stay hooked on the site for longer. They read through the entire article and act upon the call to action. However, there is a strange contradiction that your Google Analytics ends up reporting. Yes, the search engine analytics reports this as a bounced page with 0-second session duration.

    Here’s how:

    1 – Bounce rate is when there is a ‘back’ button click, a browser window is closed, manual URL feeding, or a click to an external link.

    So every single type of visit is classified as a bounce if the user doesn’t click to another page on the site (which is what usually happens when a reader reads a blog or article)

    2 –Time on page is computed only when the entry and exit pages are different. If the reader reads through the article and exits from the same page, the time is calculated as zero seconds, even if he took (suppose) 3:25 minutes to read a content.

    This is because it needs the initiation time of the 2nd page to compute time on page (which will not exist in case of single-page sessions)

    Why is this important?

    Google Analytics is the Holy Grail for digital marketers all over the world. Their success and performance is determined by the numbers thrown up by the GA site. The GA site tracks awareness, which leads to engagement, which in turn, leads to conversion. However, the fact remains that its in-built ranking signal determiners itself cannot be taken at face value every single time. As smart digital marketers, we need to know this limitation about Google Analytics. Otherwise, we would end up making terrible strategy decisions.

    How to overcome this limitation?

    1 – To rectify the Bounce Rate metric

    It is easy to update the Universal GA parameters with the below line of code

    setTimeout(“ga(‘send’, ‘event’, ‘nobounce’,’45_sec’)”,40000);

    So for your content, an engaged user will be anyone who is on the page for more than 45 seconds. Some bugger organisations may set the benchmark higher and use 60 second or more to classify a page as a non-bounced visit.

    2 – To rectify time-on-page metric

    Using Google Tag Manager, we can set up a trigger to improve the reporting on this particular metric. The trigger will be the timer type. Here set the interval as either 15000 (15 seconds) or 30000 (30 seconds). Then by using the code below, you can set the trigger to go off on every page of the site.

    Page URL

    Matches RegEx

    .*

    Then create a ‘timing event’ tag by populating the fields – ‘Category’, ‘Action’, and ‘Label’. Lastly, select the trigger created some moments back and publish the changes.

    You need not be troubled in case you see a high occurrence of bounce rate and zero time on page reporting. With these tips, you can easily tweak the setup of Google Analytics to reflect the true state of engagement on your website. This is done by factoring in single-page visit session too for your organic search performance.

  • Google My Business Gets Subjective Attributes Update

    Google My Business Gets Subjective Attributes Update

    If users are analysing Google My Business, they would’ve noticed an exciting update to the analytics package. Some businesses are now showing ‘subjective attributes’ in My Business insights dashboard. They give qualitative information to users about what the business is known for. This addition is primarily seen for cafes and restaurant businesses currently.

    What are subjective attributes?

    Any verbatim information that helps give more information about the product, service, servicing quality, facilities, or overall user experience can count as subjective attributes. These characteristics or experiences assigned to the business enable other users to know more about the business. Common attributes worth noting are ‘cozy’ or ‘nice beverages’ or ‘signature dishes’.

    It works in a simple way – Google analyses the various subjective comments put by users. It then sees which attributes are commonly / more frequently occurring. It then displays these attributes for others to see. On the business owners’ end, they can see the different attributes posted about their business or brand. This way, they come to know what the customers are thinking about them and their product/services.

    Releasing this update on Twitter, Google mentioned that the subjective attributes update provides more information on the insights tab. Customers can choose from a list of attributes – good for groups, good for kids, popular for lunch, casual, popular for dinner, and serves healthy options.

    What are objective attributes?

    Subjective attributes can be added by the users as they are highly opinion-based. However, there is another set of attributes – objective attributes – which can be added by the businesses themselves. These consist of factors about a product or service and show users what they have/ serve. So if a restaurant doesn’t serve alcohol, it can put it down as an objective attribute, as it is a fact and helps inform the users. Some examples include ‘has Wi-Fi’ or ‘Good for Sports’.

    How will it pan out for businesses?

    Customers’ opinions are based on the experience they receive at a café or a restaurant. These opinions are hence classified as subjective. Some examples of subjective attributes can be ‘good for groups’, ‘popular with locals’.

    Google says that these subjective attributes will remain on a business listing unless proven false. Needless to say, this characteristic is going to have a tremendous impact on the reputation of a business. Businesses will have to be wary and push up the service delivery quality. This way they can hope to earn more positive subjective attributes to be associated with their businesses.

    Who is the eventual winner?

    It is obviously the end user who is going to use the service of a business establishment or has used it in the recent past. Subjective attributes will expose the user to 3 sets of advantages as below

    1. He can see what parameters are in favour of a business establishment

    2. He has the power to influence decisions with his opinions (post his experiencing the service)

    3. He can make informed buying decisions based on the subjective attributes displayed

    What are your views about this exciting new update? Will you be using this facility to know more about the hotel or café you intend to visit in the upcoming days? Do write to us and let us know.

  • Google comes up with a New Update for Brands allowing them to edit their Knowledge Panel listings

    Google comes up with a New Update for Brands allowing them to edit their Knowledge Panel listings

     

    Google has a dynamic interface. It learns and improves by itself every time. It has now come up with a relatively small but an integral update nonetheless. This update is regarding changes one can make to knowledge panel results. This is an attempt to provide better information to users. It now allows brands to have command over what their knowledge panel result speaks about the brand. For this, Google now has conjured a way.

    A background about Knowledge Panel result

    For those of you who would not know what a Knowledge panel result is, here is what it is. It is the information box you see at the right end of the desktop search screen. This pops up as a Search Engine Result Page (SERP), especially for brands. In order to get a better understanding of this, try typing a multinational brand name and hit search. The right hand section of the page would be the knowledge panel for that specific brand. It pops up above the main search results on your mobile phone search.

    Many companies these days qualify for such listings as it vouches for credibility. Simply because these brand listings hold value and command a considerable amount of web traffic. A minor link juice leak from these brands on to your page would significantly up your SERP ranking.

    What Google’s new update brings to these brand listings?

    Google is now handing over the capacity to control information to brands. In their own words: “Individuals and organizations with Knowledge panels can use our verification process to claim their panels and provide authoritative feedback on the information and images presented. Now we’re updating that process as well as extending verification eligibility to more entities.”

    How do you do it?

    As mentioned, you need to have a Google verified page first. Once you have that, irrespective of individual or brand, you need to run a simple Google search with your page’s name. The Knowledge panel that will pop up will have an option that would read, “Do you manage the online presence of X?” where X represents your brand’s name.

    Clicking that would take you to a verification process, where you have to select that medium on which you have a verified marking. You can then update the information on your knowledge panel. As Google puts it, “you can suggest factual changes to information in your knowledge panel and suggest a featured image.”

    This update eventually gives brands more control over their online appearance. Usually, how the knowledge panel looked and the facts it read were controlled by Google’s algorithm, which would have a tendency to be slightly incorrect at times. This can only be remedied when you give the person or brand the panel is about, command over what is shown and how it is shown in the knowledge panel.

    Something similar to this update had come up last year. Google added Google My Business posts, small text updates and image updates which would be specific to Google. This would make search results very specific. Considering how Google-centric business has gotten, this would render a huge boost to companies who would like to refine their online presence.

  • Weekend Digital Media Round-up: Google’s ‘Neighbourly’, DoubleClick’s audio ads, WhatsApp’s digital payments and more..

    Weekend Digital Media Round-up: Google’s ‘Neighbourly’, DoubleClick’s audio ads, WhatsApp’s digital payments and more..

     

    1. Google launches a Q&A app for neighborhood communities in India

    Google is increasing its focus on India after it released a new social app that’s aimed at building neighborhood communities within cities in the country. Neighbourly is a Q&A app for sharing local knowledge. The basic goal is to give local communities an outlet to seek answers to practical questions about local life, routine and more. [Source: TechCrunch]

    1. DoubleClick Bid Manager opens up digital audio ad buying globally

    Google’s DoubleClick Bid Manager is rolling out support globally for buying audio ads programmatically across a handful of streaming services. The company announced that advertisers can now buy ad inventory programmatically from Google Play Music, Spotify, SoundCloud and TuneIn, and soon Pandora. [Source: Marketing Land]

    1. WhatsApp to enter digital payments in India next week, partners with 3 banks

    WhatsApp Pay has partnered with HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank for transaction process. State Bank of India (SBI) will also join once it has the necessary systems in place, according to people privy to the information. [Source: Moneycontrol]

    1. Google A65 – The New Age AR Headsets In The Making

    Google is known to be the market leader when it comes to new age innovations. One of the exciting highlights of the recently concluded I/O conference was its standalone Augmented Reality (AR) project. It is a headset that goes by the codename “Google A65” and that it will use new Qualcomm chips. [Source: Logicserve Digital]

    1. Google Maps is testing interface with categories of local search suggestions

    Android Police reports Google is testing a new Google Maps interface for Android showing category search suggestions based on where you are looking at the map. At the top of the map interface, there are search suggestions that show several categories. [Source: Search Engine Land]

    1. Facebook Tests a New, Simplified Way to Create Instant Articles

    Facebook is testing a new tool which simplifies the process of creating Instant Articles. The Instant Articles Builder tool provides a simply formatted UI through which you can see the exact tags and elements which will be linked to your subsequent Instant Article. [Source: Social Media Today]

    1. Google Brings ‘Optimize’ Integration to New AdWords Experience

    Google’s latest edition to the new AdWords experience is integration with Optimize, the company’s visual editor for landing pages. Optimize gives marketers an easy way to change and test the landing pages related to their AdWords ads. [Source: Search Engine Journal]

    1. Google to strengthen AdWords intelligence with Feefo partnership

    Google has partnered with online reviews company Feefo to bolster its AdWords network with the incomer’s review-based advertising expertise. The keywords drawn out by Feefo can also be used to spruce up brand copy and landing pages to reflect the language and sentiment used by consumers in their reviews. [Source: The Drum]

    1. Video and mobile advertising lead surge in digital advertising

    Video and mobile advertising increases have driven a 13.2 per cent year-on-year growth in digital advertising, according to the latest Australian Online Advertising Expenditure Report released by IAB/PwC. [Source: CMO]

    1. Google is testing horizontal app switcher for Chrome browser on Android devices

    Google recently announced Android P which comes with horizontal app switcher. Horizontal app switcher, as the name suggests opens the list of previously opened apps in a horizontal format. The apps or previously opened programs are stacked horizontally instead of vertically. The feature is now also being tested for Google Chrome browser on Android devices. [Source: Firstpost]

  • Google A65 – The new age AR headsets in the making

    Google A65 – The new age AR headsets in the making

    Google is known to be the market leader when it comes to new age innovations. Be it search engines, Virtual Reality (VR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), or Augmented Reality; its products have captured the world’s attention. The recently concluded I/O conference too showed a glimpse of the key happenings inside the Google tech labs working on the futuristic technology.

    An emphasis on Augmented Reality (AR)

    One of the exciting highlights of the event was its standalone Augmented Reality (AR) project.  It is a headset that goes by the codename “Google A65” and that it will use new Qualcomm chips.

    The Qualcomm chips used in the Google A65 – QSC603 – are four-core system chips that are also estimated to be a part of the next-gen Microsoft HoloLens. Google A65 is said to be built by Taiwanese computer giants, Quanta. The project is still said to be in its making stages, according to the documents that have been obtained by WinFuture.

    A background about Quanta

    Quanta is the same company that was involved in the making of the esteemed Pixel C tablet, which was launched in 2015. It is said that the QSC603 can power an output video at an unbelievably stunning WQHD (Wide Quad HD) resolution, at display 3D overlays and supports other major graphic interfaces like OpenGL, OpenCL and even Vulcan.

    Highlights of the AR headset

    The headset that Google is coming up with is rumoured to include camera sensors and microphones that allow users to operate the device using the Google Assistant, as reported by CNET. “The headset is supposedly based on custom quad-core internet-of-things (IoT) focused Qualcomm QSC603, supporting up to 2,560 x 1,440 resolution and 1080p and 1030p video capture, 3D overlays, rendering interfaces, Bluetooth 5.1, GPS and the Android neural networks application programming interface (API)”, the CNET report added.

    Google is already in the process of manufacturing AR headsets called the “Google Glass,” that comes in with a heads-up display and camera. Google glass was launched in 2013. However, Google A65 is said to resemble Microsoft’s “HoloLens” in ways more than one. Firstly, the operation style, then the advanced RISC machines (ARM) – powered design and lastly the Qualcomm chipset that we have already mentioned about as being a part of the next-gen HoloLens. These characteristics are very similar to the Microsoft AR product.

    Bearing in mind the advances made by Google in terms of bettering AR, mainstreaming Augmented Reality in the next couple of years does not seem like an impossibility, especially when companies like Apple and Samsung are also leaping at chances to make the most of this.

    There is no confirmed release date for Google A65 (we refer to the codename for now). However, Google assures that this would be made public soon since it is still in its formative stages.

  • Weekend Digital Media Round-up: Google Trends get new features, Facebook’s new influencer marketing platform, Twitter’s expanded programmatic offerings and more..

    Weekend Digital Media Round-up: Google Trends get new features, Facebook’s new influencer marketing platform, Twitter’s expanded programmatic offerings and more..

    1. Google Trends gets updated with new features and design elements

    Google Trends has updated its feature set and design to provide a simpler navigation and more ways to explore data and stories around one of the world’s biggest journalistic datasets. The purpose of the new design is to help journalists build stories around data they can find in this tool. [Source: Search Engine Land]

    1. Facebook’s Coming Up With A New Influencer Platform To Expand Collaboration Options

    The market is brimming with influencers these days. Sensing the immense scope in this, Facebook – known for foreseeing trends sooner than others – is now trying to come up with new ways to attract more influencers to its network. [Source: Logicserve Digital]

    1. Twitter looking to expand its programmatic offerings with Timeline Ad network pilot program

    Twitter has started recruiting publishers to take part in a pilot programmatic ad network that will place ads in Twitter Timelines embedded in publishers’ sites. [Source: Marketing Land]

    1. Facebook and Twitter announce stricter political ad guidelines ahead of midterms

    Facebook and Twitter are clamping down on political ads ahead of the 2018 midterm elections in an effort to close loopholes that were exploited during the 2016 presidential campaign. [Source: CNBC]

    1. Microsoft acquires Semantic Machines, signaling a deeper move into ‘conversational AI’

    With the recent acquisition of Semantic Machines, Microsoft is bolstering its commitment to conversational artificial intelligence (AI). With this move, Microsoft underscores its dedication to being on the leading edge of conversational AI and commitment to Cortana, its struggling-for-market-recognition voice assistant product, and other conversational products and platforms. [Source: MARTECH TODAY]

    1. Facebook’s latest on fake news, misinformation campaigns & user privacy

    Facebook published three separate announcements covering its current efforts to stop the spread of fake news, fight misinformation campaigns and protect user safety. The overlap between these three issues has been a focus for Facebook since the company announced in March that it had suspended Cambridge Analytica for exploiting user data. [Source: Marketing Land]

    1. Gmail Adds New Tagging Options to Streamline Email Composition

    If you use Gmail – which you probably do, considering the email option has more than a billion active users – you might be interested in the app’s latest update, and specifically, some of the new functionalities they’ve added in. [Source: Social Media Today]

    1. Instagram Tests New Tools to Help Users Track Time and Usage In-App

    Instagram is testing two new features that will keep users informed of how much time they’re spending in the app, helping to improve mental wellbeing and eliminate some of the FOMO that’s come with the introduction of the Instagram algorithm. [Source: Social Media Today]

    1. New Advances Could Point to the Future of LinkedIn’s Digital Assistant Tools

    Back in 2016, LinkedIn showcased a range of then coming new features, including their LinkedIn ‘Inbot’ personal assistant tool, which, when synched with your calendar, would be able to automatically arrange meeting times for you. Thus far, we’ve not seen any real progress on this front, but this week, we may have been given a hint of where LinkedIn’s digital assistant tools are headed, with Microsoft showcasing its advanced ‘Xiaoice’ digital assistant tool which is currently in use in China. [Source: Social Media Today]

    1. Facebook Updates Two-Factor Authentication Options to Improve Account Security

    Facebook is adding new measures to improve account security, with additional two-factor authentication options now available to all users. [Source: Social Media Today]