Stay up-to-date on the top tech news and trends each week with our Weekly Top 10 Tech. See something we missed? Tag @swebdevelopment on Facebook and Twitter! Here’s our top 10 for this week:
1. Facebook Reportedly Creating App to Bring Videos to Television
In an effort to shift beyond being a mobile-first entity, and expand its ad revenue offerings, Facebook is believed to be developing an app to stream video content through set-top boxes like Apple TV.
2. Snapchat Launches Ad Tech Platform 2.0 Inspired by Facebook’s Model
Snapchat is launching its updated ad platform, now allowing agencies and brands to license its API to do their own ad buys.
3. Snapchat Lets Businesses Create Custom Snapcodes That Launch Their Websites
Until now, Snapchat hasn’t allowed users to include clickable links in their snaps. In an effort to stay competitive with Instagram Stories, they are now allowing businesses to include a link in their Snapcode, taking users directly to their websites within the app.
4. Google opens the code for Chrome on iOS
Google’s Chrome browser has always been open-source–except for iOS. That has now changed, and developers can now build on the iOS app, making it more comparable to the Android version and an overall better experience for users.
5. Did Instagram Just Ruin Instagram?
Change doesn’t always come with roaring fanfare, and in this case there are mixed feelings about Instagram’s beta photo album feature. Instagram is currently testing a feature that would allow users to share multiple photos in a post via a photo album. Some argue that this takes away from the beauty of Instagram’s less-is-more approach to social sharing.
6. iPad Sales Decline Amid Tablet Slump
In Apple’s first quarter results it became painfully clear that iPad sales are seeing a sharp decline. In the past, many consumers have used tablets as a laptop alternative, but with this slump, businesses should consider what this means for how their brands are being viewed online. More and more users are going mobile-first, and the importance of having a mobile-ready website only continues to grow.
7. Facebook Will Prioritize (Some) Longer Videos in the News Feed
Facebook is looking to even out the playing field for both long and short-form videos. Previously the completion levels of shorter videos bumped those videos up in relevance over longer videos that may have had the same percentage of viewing time. With the new algorithm, it looks like Facebook will be prioritizing longer, more relevant videos in the newsfeed.
8. Facebook Introduces ‘Discover People’ to Help You Break the Ice with Strangers
Facebook has long been a place to connect with friends you already know offline, but it looks like Facebook wants to focus on making it a place for you to make new friends, similarly to apps like Tinder Social. The question, however, is whether this new Discover People option will come off as odd or a great friend/networking experience.
9. YouTube Now Lets You Double-Tap on Videos to Skip Ahead or Go Back 10 Seconds
YouTube users can now easily skip ahead or move back on mobile. Although it’s still rolling out to all users on iOS and Android, it goes hand-in-hand with the ever growing need to catch and retain a viewer’s attention early on in video content.
10. This is How Far Web Development Has Come in Twenty Years
Web Development has changed immensely over the last twenty years. One interesting common theme among all these changes? “In the programming community, the ideas that seem wacky at first are typically the ideas that end up being the most useful.”
