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It’s been a month of ups and downs for many companies in the tech world. Facebook has launched its new video service, yet is bogged down by dropping post engagement. Google is as busy as usual, but embroiled in a controversy about its influence on the industry that’s set to roll on. In fact, Uber has probably had the best month, announcing a new CEO, which they will hope will allow them to put its recent troubles in the past...
Industry news
Facebook video hub launches in US
Facebook’s new video platform, called Watch, is currently rolling out to all US users. To start with, Facebook is paying creators to make 20 or 30-minute long videos, with a view to eventually opening it up to everyone. This represents a new advertising revenue stream, as the social media giant has effectively run out of advertising space in its popular news feed.
Read the full story (The Verge)
Apple and Google show off augmented reality tech
With a slew of tech launches happening in late 2017 (not least the likely arrival of one - or multiple - new iPhones), it seems as though augmented reality will prove one of the main battlegrounds. While AR has appeared in mainstream successes like Pokemon GO, Apple’s upcoming ARKit points to a more concerted effort to merge it into existing offerings.
Read the full story (The Guardian)
What are the most (and least) trusted news sources?
An interesting study of some of the most popular news sources in the US, which includes a number of international outlets, has shed light on what readers trust and do not trust. It is perhaps unsurprising that sources on the extreme side of conservative and liberal leanings fair poorly. However, Buzzfeed, having made a real drive to offer serious news coverage, is evidently still suffering from its ‘clickbait’ image.
Read the full story (Visual Capitalist)
The Uber chronicles
Uber has suffered its fair share of bad press in recent months, culminating in CEO Travis Kalanick’s forced resignation. Ben Thompson of Stratechery breaks down Uber’s dilemma and potential ways it can proceed. Thompson has also given his analysis of Uber’s new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, the successful former head of travel website Expedia.
Read the full story (Stratechery)
Google image search adds numerous new formats
Other than perhaps the core Google SERP, Google image search is one of its most well-known search capabilities. Image searches are getting a raft of new labels, with gifs and videos being clearly identified in results. Images linking to recipes will also be marked as such. This is designed to give the user an indication of if the image will aid them in the next steps of their search.
Read the full story (Search Engine Land)
What do people want to know ‘how to fix’?
As it turns out people to turn to Google for information on how to fix things an awful lot. Google has turned these searches into an interactive visualisation, breaking down the most popular searches of this type, illuminating how dependent we’ve become on the search engine for everyday tasks. It also looks at the top 100 ‘how to’ searches and when we search for them the most.
Read the full story (Tech Crunch)
Google under fire for 'silencing' researcher
After Google received its $2.7billion dollar fine from the EU commission, Barry Lynn, a researcher at the New America Foundation released a brief statement praising the ruling. In turn, Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt expressed his displeasure at the researcher’s statement. The result was Lynn and his team leaving the foundation, which is part funded by Google. Google has now come under fire for what some see as the search engine simply having too much power.
Read the full story (The Guardian)
Google emails webmasters with HTTP warning
Google has been warning us for a few months that HTTP sites will soon be marked as ‘not secure’ and that HTTPS is needed to avoid these warnings. Google has now sent emails to webmasters warning them of the impending change, expected to take place in October with the release of Chrome 62.
Read the full story (Search Engine Land)
Facebook engagement for brands and publishers falls 20%
Buzzsumo has analysed over 880 million Facebook posts published by brands and publishers and has found that the average engagement has dropped by 20% since January 2017. After hitting a peak of 340 average engagements per post, it has dropped to a low of 264 in May 2017. Image and link posts have been hit the hardest, with video posts faring much better.
Read the full story (Buzzsumo)
Distilled News
The SearchLove San Diego 2018 flash sale will take place on Tuesday 12th September, with tickets starting from just $799, while SearchLove London 2017 has now moved to headline price, with the full lineup also announced. Get your tickets soon, as we’re on track to sell out once again.
On the Distilled blog, London-based analyst Anabella Repond has created a four-step process to carry out a social media content audit, while interns Nina and Khadija have shared their experiences working in the Distilled creative team, plus what employers and interns alike can learn from it. Senior designer Leonie Wharton has gathered the very best creative pieces we’ve discovered (or rediscovered) this summer into a roundup that’s very useful if you’re in need of some content inspiration.
Over on the Moz Blog, senior consultant Tom Capper has been taking a look at SEO above the funnel. What can you do to get more traffic when you can’t rank any higher? Finally, NYC consultant Jeremy Gottlieb shows you how to setup Google AMP reporting.
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About the author
Andrew joined Distilled in March 2015 as a Junior Marketing Manager. His main responsibility is to get the word out about our great products and services, meaning he’s pretty much glued to TweetDeck and MailChimp. Away from his desk Andrew is a... read more
Source: Distilled