a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

The minimalist’s guide to boosting brands’ Instagram engagement

Jun19
by on June 19, 2014 at 4:45 pm
Posted In: Analysis and Opinion, Around the Web, How-To's, Social Media

phone photography
Eric Dahan is co-founder and CEO of InstaBrand, the Web’s premier Instagram/Vine influencer platform. The recent release of Instagram 6.0 and its array of 10 new advanced photo editing features gives users more control over the look and feel of their photos with increased customizability. Now, in addition to choosing a filter, users have the option to straighten, adjust brightness (contrast, warmth, saturation, highlights, shadows), add a vignette, apply tilt shift, and sharpen an image. This is a big shift for the photo-sharing platform originally hailed for its streamlined UI and straightforward, user-friendly photo editing tools. For brands hoping to utilize…

This story continues at The Next Web

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

Skype updates iOS app with focus on helping you delete messages and chats

Jun19
by on June 19, 2014 at 4:24 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Insider, Mobile

Skype seems to be keeping its promise to regularly update its iOS app. Today the company pushed version 5.1 to the App Store with a focus on helping you delete messages and conversations. In a blog post, Skype posted the follow update information: You can now delete a conversation from the recent list with a long press on recents. You can also edit messages you’ve recently sent with a long press on the message. (Just as you can long press on an individual message to delete it.) Tap the “add favorites” link to easily fill your favorites screen with the…

This story continues at The Next Web

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

One of the Nokia teams not owned by Microsoft has built its own Android launcher

Jun19
by on June 19, 2014 at 4:07 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Insider, Product Launches

Screen Shot 2014-06-19 at 16.57.20
Now that its Devices and Services business is owned by Microsoft, Nokia is able to experiment more freely in the mobile space. One of its first big moves since the acquisition is Z Launcher, a new third-party Android launcher similar to Aviate, Cover and EverythingMe. Alongside the traditional app dock at the bottom of the screen, it shows the time and date in the top left-hand corner, as well as your next calendar appointment on the right. The bulk of the screen, however, is a list of shortcuts to frequently used apps, contacts and websites. The promise, according to the…

This story continues at The Next Web

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

Facebook’s new ‘anniversary story’ feature helps you gloat about your eternal happiness

Jun19
by on June 19, 2014 at 4:00 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider, Product Updates

It’s been a busy day for Facebook. Not only has it suffered some downtime, it has also given you a new way to brag about how happy you are in life and your relationship with a new ‘anniversary story’ feature. From today, users that have shared their relationship or wedding anniversary on the social network will now see an ‘anniversary story’ made up of five photos in which the happy couple are both tagged. However, it’ll only appear in your News Feed – from which you can share it with others – if you log in on the day of your anniversary. Naturally,…

This story continues at The Next Web

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

Google explains the different Android Wear notifications: Stacks, Pages and Replies

Jun19
by on June 19, 2014 at 3:32 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Design & Dev, Google

Moto-360-Cafe-786x305
Android Wear is an unknown quantity at the moment. Aside from the teaser videos and Developer Preview released back in March, it’s been difficult to imagine what the full smartwatch experience will look like. As a means of introduction, Google has released a video called ‘An Introduction to Android Wear‘ on YouTube. One of the most interesting parts explained the platform’s new notification system; Timothy Jordan, a developer advocate for Google, said there were three main types that developers could choose from: Stacks, Pages and Replies. Stacks group together multiple notifications into a single unit. So if a flurry of…

This story continues at The Next Web

└ Tags: ,