TikTok’s algorithm is crazy accurate when suggesting content. But was it always like that? When you first create a TikTok account, the home feed shows you popular content based on standard factors: demographics, location, etc. As Lidia Infante points out, TikTok puts audiences into different “interest cohorts” based on engagement, and is able to surface …
After a hectic couple of weeks, we finally have some useful Twitter news. The platform launched ad objectives and ad targeting options that should help you reach certain audiences more effectively. Hello high intent, low cost: The conversion goal Website Conversions Optimizations (WCO) helps you promote offers to “users that are more likely to take …
If store floors weren’t scuffed up as much this year, it’s probably because phone screens and keyboards were getting smudged. According to Adobe, online sales hit a new $9.12B record in the US, beating last-year’s $8.9B record by 2%. Throwing greens on the black: There are some interesting trends that contributed to this year’s spending …
Discipline Is Destiny (2022) draws on Stoic virtues to make a case for a life guided by self-discipline. It shows how being in control of your body, thoughts, and emotions is a prerequisite to mastering anything else – and uses historical figures to illustrate how things like sleep, discomfort, and kindness tie into greatness.
How the World Really Works (2022) tackles a paradox at the heart of the modern world: we’ve never had so much information at our fingertips and never known so little about how things actually work. Of course, we can’t be experts in everything. But, Vaclav Smil argues, it’s our duty as citizens to be informed …
Spoiler: You can. Actually, you can make millions of dollars with an ugly website. But that’s no excuse for bad design, so let’s unpack this a bit more. Every once in a while, you come across a website that makes you go, “Really? This… makes millions of dollars?” And this is no shot at Ladyboss; …
There’s a scene in Top Gun: Maverick where Mav holds a fighter jet manual in front of his students and says, “This contains all you need to know” before throwing it in the trash bin. Why? Because it’s the same knowledge their enemy has. But what the enemy doesn’t know is the limits of the …
With the Twitter nest experiencing quite a shake up, some users are eager to settle under a different canopy. NPR recently published a list of the platforms that are growing in the face of Twitter changes, and some of them are… interesting. Names you don’t hear everyday: Outside of “legacy” networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, and …
You can’t be a stealthy ninja when you’re a giant. A developer recently noticed a change in the Google Maps domain, and if his explanation is correct, the implications could be enormous for advertisers. Please share: Apparently Google asked the developer for permission to access his location services “out of nowhere.” That’s when he realized …
Branding. It seems like a wildcard in marketing. Some people put lots of weight on it, others don’t. In general, though, there’s a tendency among mediocre brands to hire an agency, figure out their “brand identity,” and etch it in stone. Marketers often stick with this initial branding exercise for years and years, even when …
