Category: Digital
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Google Antitrust Ruling: No Breakup, But… Changes Ahead and Unresolved Issues
Federal Judge Amit P. Mehta delivered a landmark ruling this week in the long-awaited Google antitrust case, but the decision reveals the complex challenges of regulating Big Tech in the AI age. While Google avoided the breakup many expected, the ruling introduces significant new oversight measures that could reshape how…
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The ChatGPT Referral Traffic Paradox: 52% Decline Reveals Shifting AI Citation Patterns
The artificial intelligence search landscape is experiencing a seismic shift, and the latest data reveals a surprising contradiction in ChatGPT’s role as a traffic driver. While AI-powered search has been hailed as the future of information discovery, recent analysis shows that ChatGPT’s referral traffic to websites has experienced a dramatic…
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What Is LLMS.txt and Do You Need It?
UPDATE: Google says not to worry about LLMS.txt for its AI. No word on other AI platforms though. For decades, the web has relied on standardized files to help machines understand websites. XML sitemaps became critical for search engines to discover and index content efficiently, while robots.txt files provided essential…
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Google’s Watermarking of AI Images and Text
In a significant move for digital content integrity, Google has introduced SynthID, a tool designed to watermark and detect AI-generated images. This innovation addresses a growing challenge in the digital age: distinguishing between real and AI-created visuals. As the capabilities of AI evolve, it has become increasingly difficult to identify…
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How Data Strategy Services Are Shaping the Future of Web Hosting
Are you looking to start a website in the next few months with a web hosting company? This offers a lot of advantages, such as improved website performance, as well as increased website security and even being more cost-effective as your website scales up. However, in 2024, you may be…
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10 Billion Passwords Exposed: Should You Worry?
In a recent cybersecurity incident, an unprecedented leak of nearly 10 billion unique plaintext passwords has surfaced on a widely-used hacking forum. This enormous collection, dubbed “RockYou2024” due to its filename (rockyou.txt), is believed to have been compiled from various past data breaches. Assessing the Threat Level While the sheer…
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Google Research Paper: Is Generative AI Ruining the Internet?
“Google researchers publish paper about how AI is ruining the internet” “Google: AI Potentially Breaking Reality Is a Feature Not a Bug” I saw these headlines in Futurism and 404 Media. They’re powerful statements and came from a review of a paper by researchers at Google’s DeepMind titled Generative AI…
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July 1st Deadline: Act Now or Lose Years of Analytics Data Forever
If you haven’t already made the switch to Google Analytics 4 (GA4), you’re about out of time. Google is set to retire Universal Analytics, its long-standing web analytics platform, ushering in a new digital analytics era with GA4. The Countdown to July 1st Time is of the essence as we…
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GDPR Violators Pay Fines Exceeding $1 Million Daily in 2024
European countries have continued fervently pursuing the implementation of General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), with violating companies paying more than $1.2 million each day in penalties on average through the first 120 days of 2024, according to the data compiled and analyzed by Finbold. The cumulative penalty sum – totaling just…
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Is This Finally the Beginning of Some National Online Privacy Legislation?
The American Privacy Rights Act of 2024 would set clear data privacy rights and establish robust enforcement mechanisms. The bipartisan effort was introduced by House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA). “It reins in…
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Google’s New Algorithm Update Crushing Sites With AI-Generated Content: My Experiment
Google’s March 2024 core algorithm update is cracking down on low-quality, AI-generated content across the web. Google wants to “reduce unhelpful, unoriginal content on Search and keep it at very low levels.” Google says the update involves adjusting its rankings “if webpages are unhelpful, have a poor user experience. or…
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Google Begins Phase Out of Third-Party Cookies for Chrome Users
According to a new report by Engadget, Google has disabled third-party cookies for 1% of Chrome users globally on January 4th, marking the start of its Privacy Sandbox project that was first introduced years ago. With Chrome accounting for over 50% of the worldwide browser market share, this initial rollout…
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AI Writing: Muted Tones, Lack of Persuasiveness
B2B sellers using AI for content need to know this: A study by Originality.AI shows that large language models (LLM) – i.e. generative AI models – tend to “move sentiment scores closer to the neutral part of the scale.” What’s that mean? AI tends to mute tones and feelings. Sentimental…
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Major Tech and Research Organizations Launch AI Alliance to Promote Open Innovation
A new alliance aimed at promoting open innovation and scientific progress in artificial intelligence was announced today. The AI Alliance brings together over 50 leading technology companies, academic institutions, and research centers to collaborate on advancing AI in an ethical, inclusive, and transparent manner. The founding members of the AI…
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Forrester: AI Content Not Meeting B2B Buyer Needs
Laura Ramos, VP & Principal Analyst at Forrester says B2B marketers are in a wild ride in 2024. While generative AI will play an increasing role in B2B marketing and product launches in 2024, there will also be significant downsides. She warns that “thinly customized generative AI content will degrade…
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The Powerful Benefits of Performing Content Audits
For brands publishing content regularly, it’s easy for old outdated posts to pile up over time. Periodically auditing and refreshing that content takes effort but delivers incredible value. Let’s look at some of the biggest benefits of making content audits a regular habit. Improved Visitor Engagement Stale, irrelevant content is…
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Easy SEO Wins to Improve Your Website Rankings
Improving your website’s search engine rankings may seem daunting, but there are several relatively simple SEO tactics you can implement to help move the needle in the right direction. As an experienced SEO practitioner, you know that driving organic growth takes a comprehensive strategy – but you can make incremental…
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Major Technology Companies Join Forces on Responsible AI Development
Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI have formed the Frontier Model Forum, a new consortium focused on advancing safe and responsible AI. The Forum aims to benefit the AI community by developing best practices, evaluating capabilities and risks, and enabling research access. Key goals include: Membership is open to organizations developing…
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Apple, Google Privacy Changes May Disrupt Tracking, Attribution
Both Apple and Google are anticipated to implement new privacy enhancements alongside the release of their upcoming platform updates. In the case of iOS 17, which will enter public beta in July before its official launch in September, Apple plans to automatically eliminate link trackers from URLs transmitted through Message…
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Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Updates Endorsement Guides
The FTC has recently revised its endorsement guides for influencer marketing and online reviews, marking the first update since 2009. The objective of the guidance is to prevent deceptive practices in consumer reviews and paid endorsements that appear as genuine feedback. The FTC continues to emphasize the disclosure of “material…
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Facebook, Instagram to Block News in Canada Due to New Law
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has announced that it will block access to news articles on Facebook and Instagram in Canada. This decision comes after Canada passed the Online News Act, a new law that requires internet companies to pay news publishers for their content. Meta had initially protested against…
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FTC Warns About Deceptive Practices in Using AI in Marketing
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize marketing by offering businesses the ability to create personalized campaigns and improve customer targeting. However, as with any new technology, there are potential concerns for unethical or illegal use of AI in marketing that companies need to be aware of to avoid…
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Ten Ways to Protect Yourself from Click Fraud
Depending on who you to believe, click fraud is either a minor inconvenience or crime on a global sale. Statisa says that 11% of global ad traffic is invalid, causing $65 billion in damages every year. Other sources say that as many as one-third if all ad spending for digital…
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AI Detection Tools: Not Ready for Prime Time Yet
With all the buzz about AI tools like ChatGPT generating content, I want to offer a word of warning for people using AI detection tools. They don’t work. It’s as simple as that. I’ve now tested more than 100 different articles on several different AI checkers including the most popular…
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Improving Engagement on LinkedIn | How Often Should I Post to LinkedIn?
One of the keys to getting engagement is to increase activity and distribution. LinkedIn provides broader distribution to posts that get early engagement when first posted. One way to do that is to encourage friends and co-workers to comment and engage. One friend I have has fostered a small network…
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92% of Companies Still Not Compliant with CCPA that Ramps Up January 1st
According to a study of nearly 10,000 companies, data privacy security company CYTRIO reports the marjority of companies have still not taken proactive measures to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). CCPA and the enhanced CPRA becomes fully enforceable on January 1, 2023 and includes employees’ rights to…
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Unsealed Court Documents Reveal Data Anarchy at Meta, according to Open Market Institute
Letter to European Commission highlights new material about Meta’s internal data systems, and how Meta infringes the DMA & GDPR. A letter sent by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) reveals a regime of data anarchy at Meta with data misuse so profound that it would be impossible for…
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5 Tips for Optimizing Your PPC Campaign
There are various ways business owners can advertise their products or services. The internet is one of the most useful and cost-effective tools if you know how to advertise well. One of the most popular advertising methods on the internet is pay-per-click advertising, also known as PPC, and you can…
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Website and Cross-Site Tracking Is Out of Control
I know I’m not the first to point this out, but tracking by websites is out of control. After an hour of being online today, all at mainstream websites, I somehow managed to accumulate more than 8,000 trackers. After clearing it, a journey to a news website, a Google search,…
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Maps Reimagined if Streaming Services Were Countries
A new study by Mackeeper has analyzed which streaming services are bigger than entire countries! The US dominates global tech and is home to the majority of tech giants including streaming services, but this study shows which of these mammoth services are bigger than countries by comparing population to subscriber…
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Maybe the Largest Data Leak of Passwords Ever – Is Yours One of Them?
It may be the largest data leak of passwords of all time. According to Cyber News, the leak may have exposed more than 8.4 billion passwords. The person posting the leaked passwords on a hacker forum claimed originally to have access to 82 billion passwords. “The compilation itself has been…
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Why Don’t Marketers Target People with Money to Spend?
You would think that marketers would want to target the people with disposable income that can most easily afford your products. Instead of constantly targeted the people in society that hold more than 60% of all wealth, there remains an obsession with going after the youngest group of consumers. That…
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First Results: Users Overwhelmingly Opt-Out of Online Tracking
For years, many in the advertising community have maintained that consumers want targeted marketing with relevant advertising. It appears, however, that as consumers get an increased say in how they are targeted, that idea isn’t holding up. When Apple updated its iOS operating system for iPhones and iPads, it came…
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Two-thirds of Search Clicks Come from Mobile Devices
Whether you’re buying PPC ads to get to the top of search engine rankings or using SEO to rank high organically, it’s all about mobile these days. More than two-thirds of search ad clicks (67.8%) in Q4 2020 happened on a mobile device — primarily smartphones — according to a…
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The World’s Top Websites in 2020
With people stuck inside their home, they relied on technology to stay connect more than ever. Businesses had to adapt to this online shift. It resulted in new online habits and the way people used the internet in 2020. A study done by the UK Domain has revealed the top…
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DOJ v Google: Don’t Expect Action for Years
It’s going to be a very long time before the government gets a day in court against the big tech firms, at least if you look at the Department of Justice complaint against Google as an indication. The tentative trial date for court action is September of 2023. “If anybody…
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Google’s Top Searches in 2020
Google says people asked “Why” in searches more than ever before. They also asked “What day is it?” a lot. Overall, here are the top five searches in 2020 in the US. Election results Coronavirus Kobe Bryant Coronavirus update Coronavirus symptoms Globally, results were similar: Coronavirus Election results Kobe Bryant…
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US Is the Data Theft Capital of the World
A new report by Uswitch has revealed which countries have been the worst hit by data breaches and the US ranks first with nearly 19 million data records stolen. That’s more than 4X the next closest country (South Korea). Canada, the UK, and Australia rounded out the top five. China and…
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Which Companies Have the Most Personal Data about You?
The folks at Clario have put together a fascinating chart that breaks down which online platforms and brands collect the most data and what they know about us. I thought it was worth sharing. Facebook and Instagram top the list (no surprise). We all do it – click ‘accept’ on…
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When Can I Measure the ROI of My B2B Campaigns?
When you launch an advertising campaign, you want results. For B2C products, a digital ad with an incentive, such as a discount or limited-time sale, can lead ROI in short order. The sales cycle is short. Sales can also stop the minute you stop advertising. For B2B businesses, the sales…
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House Reports Claims Anticompetitive Behavior by Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook
“Our investigation leaves no doubt that there is a clear and compelling need for Congress and the antitrust enforcement agencies to take action that restores competition, improves innovation, and safeguards our democracy.” Rep. David Cicilline After reviewing more than 1.3 million internal documents and interviewing more than 240 people and…
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Big Changes Coming to Digital Ad Tracking: A Cookie-less Future?
We’re in for some big changes when it comes to tracking and advertising. While government regulators are making noise about taking action against major tech companies, the industry has not-so-quietly been making a couple of key changes that could lead to a cookie-less future. Cookies are those things websites use…
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SEM: Is There Value in the Google Guaranteed Program?
Here’s a new wrinkle to Google search for local businesses. Advertisers on Google can now display a green checkmark, which Google will tag businesses with either “Google Screened” or “Google Guaranteed.” It’s only available right now for certain categories of business, such as law, financial planning, and real estate for…
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Facebook Threatens to Stop Allowing News Sharing over Pending Legislation in Australia
Facebook is publicly ramping up the battle with the Australian government over pending legislation that would force it to pay royalties for use of copyrighted news content. It’s a battle being watched closely in both media and tech circles because the implications go farther than just what’s happening in Australia.…
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California’s Consumer Privacy Act: Regulations are Final, Enforcement to Begin
It’s amazing how slowly government works some times. The California Consumer Privacy Act was passed in 2018. With more than a year warning for companies to comply, it went into effect in January 2020. Enforcement was held off were the regulations were being finalized. There have been many changes, including…
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Seven Tips for Email Marketing
If you’re investing your time and resources into an email marketing campaign, you want it to be a success. Email marketing is a vital element of any business marketing strategy, and when done right, is extremely effective at building brand loyalty and increasing conversions. Here are some email marketing tips…
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Anti-Trust Hearings Against Facebook, Apple, Amazon, and Google: What’s at Stake
Nearly half of Americans now believe major tech companies should face more regulation. That was one key finding in a new survey by the Pew Research Center. The survey was released as a House Judiciary Committee is looking into tech companies. Specifically, they are examining anti-trust concerns. Google, Facebook, Amazon,…
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More than 1,000 Advertisers Have Now Joined the Facebook Boycott
More than a thousand advertisers have now stopped spending on Facebook. Those behind the efforts say Facebook hasn’t made a commitment to changing anything. Jonathon Greenblatt with the Anti-Defamation League, along with leaders of other civil rights groups (NAACP, Color of Change, Free Press), organized the Stop Hate for Profit…
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California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA): First Warning Letters Are Being Sent
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) went into effect on January 1st, but enforcement efforts were put on hold until July 1, 2020. Now that the deadline has passed, CA AG Xavier Becerra has issued warning letters to companies over alleged violations as reported by MediaPost. It’s the toughest law…
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Mobile Speed is Crucial in Today’s Mobile World
Google and Deloitte combined forces to look at mobile load times for 30 days across four verticals: Retail Luxury Travel Lead generation (such as insurance or auto sites) The results, published in a Whitepaper titled “Milliseconds make Millions,” were clear: 1. Faster sites mean more customers will reach checkout 2.…
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More than 200 Advertisers Join Facebook Ad Boycott
Facebook’s facing a revolt among advertisers. Where will it end up and will it have a real impact? The campaign is asking businesses to stop advertising on Facebook in July to send a message. “We are asking all businesses to stand in solidarity with our most deeply held American values…
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Bipartisan Legislation to Hold Internet Companies Accountable for Moderation Practices
SOURCE: News Release U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet, and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), ranking member of the subcommittee, in introducing the Platform Accountability and Consumer Transparency (PACT) Act, new bipartisan legislation to update Section 230 of the Communications Decency…
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Splitting the Digital Pie: An Open Letter to the AdTech
BPA Worldwide is a not-for-profit organization that provides independent audits of audience claims for media publishers and media buyers. Today, they’re taking on the programmatic ad tech establishment along with a number of partner companies. The group is writing an open letter to the digital advertising agencies and asking for…
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Two-Thirds of Links on Twitter are Done by Bots
Call it the attack of the bots. The majority of tweets linking to the most popular websites are not handled by human beings, but bots that post content without human involvement. That’s the findings of a Pew Research Center random sampling of 1.2 million tweets last year to answer this…
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Marketer Study: Will COVID-19 Change Everything? Umm, No.
You can’t go online without bumping into an article about how the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has changed everything and how it’s all changed forever. When it comes to marketing, however, just 13% of marketers surveyed think COVID-19 has permanently changed branding, according to a study by Bynder. 57% agree that…
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Advertising During Uncertain Times: 11 Research Projects Tell the Same Story
If you’re looking for hard data on what’s happened to brands that increased or decreased marketing during and after a crisis or recession, I’ve compiled the results of 11 studies into this article. Every single one shows the same thing: the companies that stayed the course or increased their marketing…
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Senators Ask for Relief for Journalists Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
“Local news is in a state of crisis,” said a letter written by a group of 19 Senators in a letter to Senate leadership. The senators warn that the widespread impact of the COVID-19 pandemic – including plummeting advertising revenue – could decimate local and regional news outlets even as…
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Take Control of Your Brand Conversation or Someone Else Will
Not surprisingly, when you don’t control the conversation, it happens without you. Brands that stop advertising and sending positive messages are seeing huge drops in brand sentiment because they only thing people hear about you is nothing or negative. Those that continued to market saw a drop (people are thinking…
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NY State Data Tax: Legislation Would Tax Companies that Make Money from Consumer Data
A new bill working its way through the NY state legislatures wants to tax companies that sell or make money from the use of consumer data. Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato wants to create a mutual fund from taxes that would pay a yearly dividend. New York State Assembly Bill A9112:…
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Data Privacy: What Defines “Personal Information”
Weeks before new privacy rules go into effect, California AG is asking for significant changes to CCPA California’s Attorney General Xavier Becerra has proposed revisions to the regulations implementing the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The law itself went into effect on January 1, 2020 with an enforcement deadline of July…
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Streaming Video Services See Massive Churn in Race for Dominance
When video streaming services offer free trials, there’s a lot of interest. When the trials run out, however, the customers run away. As Christopher Palmeri reported in Bloomberg Businessweek, two-thirds of these users leave when the free trial runs out. Another 10% of all streamers ditch the service every month.…
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A New Era in Online Privacy Rights Begins: Have You Made the Required Changes to Comply?
January 2020 brings a new year and a new decade. It also brings new privacy laws for business. Have you made the changes you need to avoid being out of compliance? CCPA California’s CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) is one of the strictest laws in the U.S. and goes into…
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Have an Unlimited Data Plan? You Might be Overpaying
A new study of U.S. mobile consumers finds that 90% of consumers overpay for unlimited data plans. The report, which surveyed 400 U.S. consumers on major carrier unlimited plans, finds that 1 in 3 respondents use less than 5 GB per month, and 85% use less than 10 GB. The…
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Report: Fake Accounts and Bots are Proliferating Online; Social Media Companies Aren’t Stopping Them
Let’s say you were able to positively identify more than 15,000 fake social media accounts. You reported a significant number of them to social media platforms as fake. Nearly a month later, who many do you think would still be on the platform? If you said 95% of the fake…
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TV’s Influence on Purchase Decisions Exceeds All Other Media Combined
Once again, consumers cited traditional television advertising as having the strongest influence on their purchasing behavior, greater than the influence of all other media combined. That was the key takeaway from a research study, 2019 Purchase Funnel, conducted by GfK which measured the influence of media on consumers during their…
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Are You Willing to Pay More for 5G Wireless Service?
5G is coming soon to a neighborhood near you. As telecoms build out their 5G networks and start to look at services, the Wall Street Journal reports that it will likely cost you more. The cost to build out 5G nationwide is enormous. Companies are spending billions. 5G waves don’t…
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A Game-Changer for Internet Privacy
You’ve probably never heard of it, but a new protocol called DOH could be a game-changer for online privacy. DOH stands for DNS-over-HTTPS. It would encrypt DNS traffic within your browser and hide requests and responses. When you enter a website’s URL into a web browser, it’s sent to the…
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Growing Concerns about Facial Recognition Technology
Nearly 90 organizations and experts from 30 countries are calling for a moratorium on further deployment of facial recognition technology. In making a public declaration, the group says that the tech has evolved from a collection of niche systems to a “powerful integrated network capable of mass surveillance and political…
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When Can I Measure the ROI of My B2B Campaigns?
When you launch an advertising campaign, you want results. For B2C products, a digital ad with an incentive, such as a discount or limited-time sale, you can expect to track the ROI in short order. The sales cycle is short. For B2B businesses, the sales cycle is much longer. 74%…
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Google says New Algorithm Update is “One of the Biggest Leaps Forward in the History of Search”
“With the latest advancements from our research team in the science of language understanding–made possible by machine learning–we’re making a significant improvement to how we understand queries, representing the biggest leap forward in the past five years, and one of the biggest leaps forward in the history of Search,”…
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More Bad News for Organic Search + New Research on Paid Search, Social Media, and Mobile Ads
If you’re hoping organic search is the way to increase conversions on Google, we’ve got some sobering news for you: organic search on Google is producing just 22% of site visits, according to the new 3Q 2019 Digital Marketing Report from Merkle. Here are a few of the others insights…
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Content Omnivores: Video Consumers Want It All
With the increased attention focused on OTT (Over-the-top) TV and streaming services, there are some interesting trends developing. 65% of US consumers say they stream content at least once a week. Two-thirds say they stream more video online than they watch of broadcast, cable, or satellite, according to Horowitz Research’s…
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Marketers #1 Goal in 2019? Get That Email Address
“Personalized experiences are about delivering contextually relevant experiences to your prospects and customers, based on what you know about them, where they are in the purchase journey, and what they are looking to achieve. It is becoming more evident that marketers who consistently deliver personalized cross-channel experiences are seeing moderate…
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Changing Channels: Direct to Consumer Brands Are Moving Digital Dollars Back to Traditional Advertising
Many D2C brands are moving digital dollars back to traditional marketing channels. Rising costs of digital mediums Need to build brand awareness, trust, and credibility They are finding out that the direct response type campaigns that can work on search and social media channels will only take you so far. …
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Using Facebook’s Like Button on Your Website May Violate EU Laws
This could change a lot of things. If your website has Facebook’s like button on it for content or comments, you could be liable under the European Union’s privacy rules regardless of where you do business. The EU Court of Justice handed down the ruling this week in a case…
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Digital Divide Affects 100 Million U.S. Consumers: How Your State Stacks Up
Cell phones, apps, connected TVs, tablets, streaming media devices: they all need broadband internet connections to be used to their full potential. Yet, according to the a study by The NPD Group, nearly a third of Americans don’t have that kind of internet connection. NPD defines broadband as having at…
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Online Gamers Face Consistent Harrassment
You’re right in the middle of an online battle when suddenly someone starts threatening you. It goes way outside the bounds of any acceptable behavior. The harasser might target your ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. They might spew hate speech or start rambling about extreme views. If you’ve done…
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Facing a $5 Billion Fine, Facebook Adds $10 Billion in Market Value
“Facebook’s infringements of the 2011 consent decree and its pattern of violating user trusts have been both vast and brazen.” – Letter to FTC from Sen. Ed Markey (D-Massachusetts), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) The Senators are reacting to word that’s leaked out that Facebook will by…
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IAB: TV Ads Are Still the Best for Generating Awareness
When the TVB (Television Bureau of Advertising) puts out a study that says TV ads are the best marketing solution for businesses, some critics say the results are skewed because it’s a TV-focused organization. If that happens in the future, you can now point to the survey done by the…
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GDPR vs CCPA: How Privacy Regulations Affect Businesses
New privacy laws on the world stage are impacting businesses that have any online presence and capture personally-identifiable data. GDPR The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has already had a significant effect on companies doing business in the EU or doing business with EU residents. It’s affected most U.S.…
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Does your B2B website attract buyers? Apparently not
How effective is your website for building awareness and consideration? Most people would say it’s pretty good. In fact, the majority of B2B marketers say it is their most effective tool for the early stages of the buying funnel. In a report by Forrester, most B2B marketers said their business…
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Internet Trends 2019: Mary Meekers’ Annual Report Shows Big Changes
Mary Meeker is a venture capitalist and former Wall Street security analyst. She’s ranked by Forbes as one of the top 100 most powerful women in the world. When she unveils her annual presentation on Internet trends, it makes news. This year’s report is no different. You read the full…
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Should Content Creators Share in the Wealth from Search Engines?
Here’s an idea: tech companies pay you for the data you provide. State lawmakers in California, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom have proposed assessing a financial value on the personal data companies collect about their users. The LA Times reports that there is a research team looking at the issue…
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The Justice Department Investigation into Google: What We Know
Facebook’s gotten a lot of attention lately by legislators and regulators, but now the attention is shifting towards Google. The Justice Department is focusing on advertising and search, but the exact focus is unclear according to the Washington Post. CNBC reports that investigation is about whether the tech company violated…
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Photos of men appear twice as often as women in news stories
A new study by the folks at the Pew Research Center turned up an interesting finding: Men appears twice as often as women when it comes to being featured in news photos on Facebook. The research group analyzed posting from 17 national new outlets with at least 20 million unique…
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Despite What You Hear, TV is still the Dominant Medium
Despite all the talk about cord cutting, streaming, social media, and digital marketing, it’s easy to forget that TV remains the dominant medium. Here are four facts that demonstrate the continued power of television as the dominant medium. People spend more time with TV than computers, smartphone, and tablets combined……
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Restaurants Are Spending Significantly More on Digital Ads
A new study shows that independent restaurants are dramatically increasing their spending on digital advertising. Within the last year, 68 percent of those surveyed report they are spending more on digital ads than ever before to attract customers. The restaurant business has never been easy. 17 percent of new restaurants…
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Study: Half the Business Listing Online Contain Inaccurate Information
It seems so simple. How hard is it to get your name, address, phone number, and website URL right online? Apparently, it’s not so easy. A new study by Uberall and reported in Search Engine Journal analyzed 73,000 online business location listings in the Boston metro area. They found nearly…
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The Ethical Troubles Of Digital Marketing Tactics
Thanks to Facebook and Google, we all have access to more data than we probably should have access to in real life. The field of advertising in particular is becoming very inappropriate in certain cases, pushing digital marketing tactics to their ethical limits. Read More: The Ethical Troubles Of Digital Marketing…
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When It Comes to Digital, Consumers Say One Thing and Often Do Another
Consumers overwhelming say privacy concerns are starting to have them rethinking rethink how they interact online. At the same time, however, their actions are telling a slightly less convincing story. People say one thing to researchers, but their actions demonstrate something else. A third of those surveyed think digital is…
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Ever Wonder Why Posts Show up in Your Facebook Feed? Inside Look at the Algorithm
Ever wonder why certain posts show up in your Facebook feed and others never do? Facebook is hoping to be able to give you some insight into that with its new “Why am I seeing this post?” tool. When you’re looking at a post, click the three dots in the…
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Amid Privacy Issues, Facebook Promises Privacy Will Be the Foundation for the Future
“I understand that many people don’t think Facebook can or would even want to build this kind of privacy-focused platform — because frankly we don’t currently have a strong reputation for building privacy protective services and we’ve historically focused on tools for more open sharing,” wrote Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.…
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TV is still the #1 choice for news consumers
The Pew Research Center did a deep dive into local news consumption in a study of more than 35,000 adults. Here are a few of the key takeaways it revealed: Television is the preferred source of news although online sources are catching up. Weather is the number one topic adults…
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New EU Copyright Rules Could Be a Major Disruptor for Google, YouTube, et al
New copyright rules have been voted in by the European Parliament that could be a major disruptor for Google, YouTube, and other digital platforms. Musicians and content creators have pushed for the legislation. Others argue that it destroys user-generated content. Here are the two clauses that are generating the attention:…
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Google+ May Be Saved After All… Kind Of
If you’re one of those folks (like me) that embraced Google+ when it started out, you may have been surprised (like me) when the company announced it was shutting down. It was an ambitious project for the internet giant, but they admitted defeat in October. People, it seemed, just didn’t…
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Vast majority of video viewing still taking place on TV sets
Yes, there’s a fair amount of viewing these days on mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers, but 70% of all viewing is still through the TV set. A survey of OTT consumers conducted for Nevion reports that 70% of those responsing still watch the majkority of programming on TV. …
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Facebook Will Eliminate Ad Targeting Options to Settle Lawsuits
For businesses that rely on Facebook’s micro-targeting options, there’s a significant change coming. To settle pending lawsuits for violations of federal law, Facebook will take away some targeting options for advertisers. These targeting options violated federal Fair Housing, Employment, and Credit laws by discriminating against protected classes. Advertisers targeting jobs,…
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Advertisers have a problem, and it’s worse than they thought.
Quick Read: Cord Cutting by Younger Consumers Making It Harder for Advertisers to Drive Conversation and Engagement with Their Brands, Especially in Tech, Telecom, Automotive SOURCE: Engagement Labs Advertisers have a problem, and it’s worse than they thought. The decline of ad-supported television is driving down audience engagement with brands.…
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Brands, Agencies say Lack of ROI Proof & Ad Fraud are Biggest Threats to Digital Budgets
Digital advertising was supposed to give us more transparency. Better insight with a slew of metrics on clicks and conversions. The ability to draw a straight line from campaign performance to ROI. A way to stop wasting advertising dollars through micro-targeting and geo-targeting. Report after report show the incredible waste in…
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Study: 18% of all online ad traffic is fraudulent
Cybersecurity company CHEQ is led by Guy Tytunovich, a former Israeli military intelligence officer. He says the amount of online advertising fraud is grossly underestimated. A new study released by his company estimates that 18% of all online ad traffic is a fraudulent. That cost cost advertisers as much as…
Paul Dughi.com 