a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

Snapchat gets rid of Brand Stories, its original ad platform

Apr14
by on April 14, 2015 at 5:02 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Insider, Product Updates

snapchat_android_3
Snapchat has stopped selling Brand Stories in a bid to shake-up its young ad business, according to Marketing Week. The feature wasn’t axed due to lack of interest; instead a spokesperson for the company confirmed that the service has been pulled and put into re-development so it can be improved to give users the best experience. It is unclear if this will be a cosmetic makeover or a more in-depth transformation. Brand Stories were debuted last October and allowed companies to publish stories and content to users who weren’t following them. Since the launch, Snapchat has unveiled additional ad platforms…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: , ,
a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

Reddit launches Upvoted Weekly newsletter to highlight the best of the site

Apr14
by on April 14, 2015 at 4:59 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

Earlier this year, Reddit launched its first official podcast, Upvoted, and after 600,000 downloads, is announcing its first weekly newsletter. Upvoted Weekly is a new opt-in newsletter which will feature the best content from Reddit each week, curated by people, and delivered on Sundays. The company says that signing up for the newsletter won’t affect your privacy in any way and the company will not be connecting your email address to any Reddit usernames you might have. Reddit says that it plans to use both Upvoted Weekly and its Upvoted podcast to broadcast stories from the site to a wider audience “while…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: 
a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

Apple’s ResearchKit is now available to all developers and medical professionals

Apr14
by on April 14, 2015 at 4:38 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

Screen-Shot-2015-03-10-at-6_19_32-am-798x310
There was more than a new MacBook and smartwatch at Apple’s Spring Forward event last month. The company’s open-source ResearchKit software – a set of developer tools to allow medical researchers to turn Apple devices into research and diagnostics tools – was one of the most interesting announcements to come out of the conference. Today it’s become available to medical professionals and developers everywhere. Apple had previously trialed the software with select partners, but this is the first time any developer can take advantage of the technology. Some of the initial modules available include elements for participant consent, surveys and ‘Active Tasks’…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: 
a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

Google is making it easier to find family-friendly apps in the Play Store

Apr14
by on April 14, 2015 at 4:26 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

YouTube Kids
There was a time when parents would be wary of letting their kids use electronics, but today pre-loading your tablet or phone with some games and apps and handing it to your kid your seems like a general way to keep them distracted. Of course, not all the apps available on App Stores are exactly family-friendly, so Google is today announcing a new Designed for Families program to let developers label their app as appropriate for all ages. The program is opt-in, so not every app-maker has to go through the additional review, but the “family-friendly” designations will eventually make their…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: 
a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

The fundamentals of running a successful remote team

Apr14
by on April 14, 2015 at 4:11 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, How-To's, Insider, remote team, working remotely

working remotely
Dainius Runkevičius is Marketer at TrackDuck, a visual feedback tool for developers and designers that simplifies remote collaboration on web projects. People who doubted that remote, geographically dispersed teams would ever substitute co-located ones, can finally be proven wrong. With a rapidly increasing number of tech companies employing remote employees from around the world (as you’ll see below), this shift in work practices could change how companies function in the 21st century. Many of us, including myself, have been quite sceptic about remote teams for a long time. We have never thought that online communication can ever replace the traditional…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: