SOCIAL MEDIA

Instagram debuted “New Ways to Share and Connect on Instagram.” Sharing to stories, the camera effects platform, video chat and the re-organized explore page are all new features of the app, which were incorporated to make usage more efficient. Explore these new additions here.

Instagram has vowed not to tolerate bullying-related comments. Click to learn how Instagram is taking the next step in their commitment to keep Instagram an inclusive, supportive place for all voices.

Facebook is minimizing bad experiences that get in the way of connections. Learn how Facebook is doing this by introducing new tools on mobile for people to report conversations that violate their Community Standards.

LinkedIn launched new “How You Match” tool. Check out the new feature that tells you how your experience matches up with what employers are looking for.

Snapchat announced “Yellow.” Yellow will serve as a new platform for creative people to be able to advance and evolve their media companies. Learn more here.

Snapchat updated their privacy policy.  Click here to learn how Snapchat is protecting privacy regarding what information they keep, how long they keep it, and how they want users to have control over the information they provide.

SEARCH

Google Releases Fourth Batch of Mobile-First Index Notices. Google is slowly but surely moving all sites over to mobile-first, whether they’re ready or not. Being mobile-friendly is not a requirement for moving to the mobile-first indexing process – they are two different things. Learn more here.

Google AdWords Sets Parallel Tracking Deadline & Warns Advertisers to Switch to HTTPS Landing Pages. Parallel tracking will be required by October 30 2018. Parallel tracking helps speed up landing-page load times by separating tracking parameters from the landing page URL. Separately, in the next few weeks Google will start to warn advertisers in AdWords when they’re using HTTP addresses for landing pages. Read more about the announcements here.

Google Says That Site Changes Can Take Months to be Reflected in Search Results. It’s a lengthy process to recrawl, reindex, and reprocess a site. It may take several months for Google to figure out where a site should appear in search results following any major changes. Learn more here.

Google Confirmed There Is No Fixed Length for Meta Descriptions. A new test shows meta descriptions are now shorter on average, even though Google extended the potential length of descriptions back in December. It says the length of meta descriptions are dynamic, and may be shorter or longer depending on the query. Read more here.

Google Chrome Will Mark All HTTP Websites As Not Secure, and Drop the Secure Label for HTTPS.  Starting in September 2018, Google will be removing the “Secure” wording and HTTPS scheme in Chrome version 69. Plus, in July 2018 in Chrome version 68, Chrome will mark all HTTP sites as “not secure.” Learn more about the changes here.

Google is Testing “Similar To” Carousel For Local Search Results. On both mobile and desktop the feature shows a carousel of other options which Google calls “similar to” the local result they are showing by default. Read more.

Google Maps to Deliver More Personal Recommendations Based on Machine Learning. Maps has four new features rolling out soon, including recommendations for top trending activities, which are centralized around the area you’re currently looking at in Maps. Learn more here.

Google Trends Gets Updated With New Features. 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,” says Google’s Gavri Smith. Read more.