MARKETING IN THE DIGITAL AGE: NEWS ROUND-UP (WEEK ENDING DEC 28, 2017)

Last round-up of 2017! Guess what the must have app is for millennials?  And, no, it's not a social media app...

New comScore study: Five of the top ten “must-have” apps among millennials are utility apps

Summary: And the #1 most downloaded app amongst 18-34 year olds is... Amazon! Five of the top ten most downloaded are utility apps. 

Tech Trends to Watch Out for in 2018

Summary: VCs are moving away from productivity apps or games and more towards entrepreneurs looking to solve global problems. 

Google Extends Practices Stemming From U.S. Antitrust Case

Summary: Google is voluntarily removing restrictions on use of AdWords (online search advertising platform), which the FTC was concerned would make it more difficult for advertisers to coordinate campaigns on AdWords and on competing platforms. 

Apple Finally Issues an Apology after its iPhone Battery Fiasco

Summary: In response to recent backlash on older iPhones being slowed down intentionally by Apple, the company has reduced the price of replacement batteries from $79 to $29 starting Jan 2018. 

Marketing In The Digital Age: News Round-Up (Week Ending Dec 22, 2017)

This week's highlights include why your old iPhone really is slow, Instagram comments, using Universal's music library on Facebook, Magic Leap's first product reveal, and fake news on Facebook. 

Apple Slows Down Old iPhones

Summary: Apple has confirmed it is throttling processor speeds when a battery capacity deteriorates over time. While users may feel this is a ploy to get customers onto newer phones, Apple has stated that the performance of older devices is sub-optimal due to its lithium-ion batteries which become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions. 

As of about an hour ago, a class action lawsuit was filed against Apple.  

Instagram now Quietly Nudges you to Comment on Posts In Your Feed

Summary: Instagram has quietly rolled out an "add comment" section to posts on Instagram, but you have to hover on a post for a few seconds before this new addition appears.  

Facebook, Universal Music Strike Multi-Year Licensing Deal

Summary: Universal Music Group is the first major label to sign-up a deal with Facebook allowing users to use upload videos to Facebook, Instagram, and Oculus. Facebook has done this in an effort to keep users on its site and attract advertisers.

Magic Leap: Founder of Secretive Start-Up Unveils Mixed Reality-Goggles

Summary: Magic Leap, which has been operating in a secretive mode, announced its virtual reality googles called Lightwear. This is the first piece of working technology the $6B valued company has revealed publicly. 

Facebook Changes Approach to False News

Summary: Instead of using "disputed flags" to indicate a story may be spreading false information, Facebook will rely on its "Related Article" feature. 

Marketing in the Digital Age: News Round-Up (WEEK ENDING DEC 8, 2017)

Starting today, I will provide a periodic round-up of newsworthy updates that affect marketing in the digital age.

Instagram updates its Stories Feature, copying Snapchat Again. 

Summary: Stories will automatically be saved to a user's archive page. Previously, you could not save Stories and could only manually save photos and videos.  This is a copy of Snap's Memories function.  

A new Highlights area will allow users to tout particular Stories on their profile page.

Patagonia Gets Political: A New Era of Retail Activism? 

Summary: Patagonia's CEO, Yvon Chouinard, and company website, took a public stance against Trump's plan to dramatically reduce the size of two national monuments in Utah.  The CEO plans on suing the president.  This move signals that brands may no longer be able to sit on the sidelines, though the move can have considerable risks.  

YouTube to Start Music Streaming Service 'Remix' in March

Summary: This will be a paid music streaming service incorporating elements from YouTube, like video clips.  The service is an attempt to catch up with Spotify and Apple.

Facebook Built a Version of Messenger Specifically for Children

Summary: Messenger Kids is aimed at those kids under 12 who are too young to use Facebook due to age restrictions.  Parental approval will be needed to setup an account and add new contacts.  It's available on iOS in the US only currently.  

Apple Is Buying Shazam at a Big Discount

Summary:  Be on the lookout next week for a formal announcement of Apple's purchase of music-recognition technology, Shazam.