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. Tech Companies Slam Homeland Security On Social Media Screening
The Obama administration has proposed that foreign visitors to the U.S. be asked to disclose their social media accounts and usernames as a way of spotting potential terrorist sympathizers. But leading tech companies have said the proposal could have an immense effect on social media use, and in the end, free speech.
2. Pokémon Go Just Got An Update That Adds A Lot More Strategy To Collecting Pokémon
For those of you who are still die-hard Pokémon fans, you’ll be happy to hear that you can now check the individual values (IV’s) of your pocket monsters directly within the app, adding a little more depth to the strategy needed to play your favorite augmented reality game.
3. Google Will Soon Start Punishing Mobile Sites That Show Hard-To-Dismiss Popups
As more sites are mobile-friendly, Google will be eliminating the mobile-friendly label that once appeared in search results. In the same vein, Google is aiming to improve the mobile user experience and will begin giving lower rankings to sites that make content less accessible because of pop up ads.
4. Facebook Tests Video Ads With Sound Automatically Turned Up
Up until this point Facebook videos have autoplayed sans sound, but now Facebook is toying with auto sound in video ads as well. Facebook prided itself for putting the user first when it kept ads from autoplaying sound, but as Snapchat becomes a bigger rival luring advertisers away, Facebook has to struggle with keeping the advertisers happy, too.
5. 4 Ways To Use Instagram’s New Stories Feature For Your Business
Many businesses have been hesitant to join the unfamiliar territory of Snapchat, but now that Instagram has created its own version of stories, it’s easier than ever to share in the moment video with your customers and audience. Click through for the scoop on how it works, and some clever ideas on how you can leverage the new feature for your business.
6. Re-Designing Your Logo? Avoid These 3 Common Mistakes
Thinking about a redesign for the most visible part of your business? Social Media Week gives some examples of redesign fails by major brands, and three common mistakes to avoid before you take the leap.
7. Pinterest Acquires This Popular ‘Save It For Later’ App
Pinterest recently acquired Instapaper, a service for saving online articles to read later. Instapaper will continue to function independently as their team also works to help Pinterest in developing new products and features.
8. Facebook Messenger Now Allows You To Connect Without Connecting
If you’ve ever dug into the deep dark corners of your Messenger inbox, you may have noticed old messages from people you are not currently friends with, although you may want to be. Facebook is testing a new feature that allows you to send direct messages to people you aren’t currently connected with, which will show up in their main inbox instead.
9. Former Facebook Live Product Manager Launches Alively For Private Video Livestreaming
Interested in livestreaming your life, but not so sure about letting all of your friends and the world see it? There’s a new app called Alively, created by former Facebook Live product manager, Vadim Lavrusik, which makes your live videos private by default.
10. How Mobile Technologies Are Innovating The On-Site Retail Experience
Brick and mortar stores often have to compete with online shoppers for business, but retailers are using their online presence to their advantage to increase foot traffic–and sales.
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