Digital Information World

As you all know, web hosting is a thriving ecosystem and everyone is striving to make the best out of it. The high-competition landscape allows companies to innovate technologies to help webmasters have the best sites possible.

Let’s explore some of the most important and insightful web hosting statistics that will help you choose a better web hosting provider for your website.

Key Takeaways

Below are the crucial facts and stats that you will come across as we navigate through. If you are going to grasp a few things, take note of the following:

There are over 330,000 web hosting companies globally.
The largest number of internet users are from Asia, although North America houses the largest number of web hosting companies.
Mobile devices generate over 60% of the total online traffic.
With more than 30% of websites built on WordPress, the platform stands as the weapon of many internet users.

Graphic Source: Hostingtribunal.

These are just some basics to warm your feet – the cumulative web hosting stats and facts will captivate you more. Take a look. Want to know what kind of hosting providers we’re covering.

Web Hosting Domain Stats

A fact to take home is that no website can stand complete without a domain name. and domain names-markets are often intertwined with the web hosting industry. Now let's focus on some of the notable domain names facts and stats:

.com is the popular domain name with over 81% of the domain names registered.
On average 900,000 domain names are registered in a single week.
When the internet was first born, only nine domain name suffixes existed (.com, .gov, .co.us, .net, .us, .org, .co.uk, .co.il, and .edu.

Global Web Hosting

Let us start by looking at the geographical popularity of web hosting. Which are the most populated regions? Is this population sparse or dense? These are among the questions we shall be looking to answer in this part of the journey.

Web hosting service came into life around 1995. By this period, the idea of the internet had already spread its roots to the public. Three United States-based companies – Angelfire, Geocities, and Tripod realized the opportunity and struck in. This is how the multi-billion-dollar industry was born. So what are the web host stats as of today?

With almost 5000 active web host companies, North America hosts the majority of the web host providers. It's followed by Europe and Asia with the most internet users comes third.
In terms of countries, the US leads the way with a whopping 58.08% followed by Germany at 8.55%
In terms of the highest market penetration, Iceland takes the day.
In India, only 34.4% of the population use the internet– about 463 million people.

Image Source: HostAdvice

Web Hosting Industry Stats

Through the years, web hosting as a service has become useful in lots of ways including but not limited to storing data and website housing.

The industry has created solutions like VPS, shared hosting, cloud hosting among others. Stay put as we navigate on how the inhabitants of this industry rose to power.

The web took less than five years to hit the 1 million users mark. On the other hand, telephone to more than 75 years to achieve the same status.
There are more than 1,690 million websites online right now– all in need of a hosting service.
The US economy incurs a loss of $500 million annually from slow websites – website speed is vital.
Mobile devices are taking over the industry with nearly 60% of traffic traced from tablets and smartphones.
The fastest-growing technology service is cloud computing – having grown by 17.6% in 2019.

Web Hosting Technology Stats

Web hosting incorporates all kinds of the modern state of the art technologies. So, in this part of the stats, we will be looking at technology. Here we go!

With a 60% share, WordPress nearly controls the CMS market.
Almost all online projects use shared web hosting, but big companies are shifting to the cloud.
Windows is the preferred OS for laptops and desktops but in web servers, the story is purely different. More than 96% of the top websites prefer Linux Configurations.

Looking at the Web Hosting Future

Looking at our destination—web hosting, the industry is doing pretty well. It's attracting more and more citizens and technological progress is still playing on its advantage.
According to IDC, 49% of data will be in the cloud by 2025.
Web hosting service is expected to retain a stable revenue increase of 15.5%.
Cloud hosting services will always exceed expectations as the Forrester report predicts it as a $191 billion industry by 2024.

Before You Leave

How has the journey through the web hosting environment been? Was it an eye-opener? I hope you enjoyed the whole adventure and now you have all the facts and stats to help you choose a better web host.

Featured illustration: Freepik / Upklyak

On Tuesday, Google announced several security features headed for G Suite services, however, one of the most significant announcements is about Google’s Gmail. The company announced last year that Google has joined the BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) group, which is pushing an email specification that includes brand logos to authenticated emails.

Google announced that it is adding support for verified brand logos on Gmail as standard. BIMI is an emerging email specification that enables companies to deploy their logos consistently across email clients. Until now, BIMI had only been completely adopted by email clients of Verizon. However, as Google’s Gmail is one of the most widely used email clients across the globe, the inclusion of Gmail indicates a landmark for the Brand Indicators for Message Identification specification.

In the case of Gmail, brand logos will appear in the existing Gmail avatar slot next to the name of the sender and address in the top-left corner of a message when being viewed on the web. In comparison, while viewing on Android or iOS, brand logos will have even more prominence showing up directly in Gmail’s inbox.

The Brand Indicators for Message Identification specification is meant to enhance user confidence in the source of emails, and part of Google’s efforts to enhance the email ecosystem and keep users safe. Companies will also get a new place to surface their brand logos, and companies will be able to automatically update branding via one system if the adoption of BIMI grows.

Behind the scenes, emails are verified using the existing Domain-based Message Authentication Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) system, and then there is a certification that applies the associated brand logo. The DMARC system is designed to tackle spammers that forge the ‘From’ address.

Using the DMARC system, Brand Indicators for Message Identification will allow companies to validate ownership of their corporate brand logos, and securely transmit their logos to Google. While the BIMI specification is partly about developing a consistent brand image across email clients, Brand Indicators for Message Identification has also been designed to bring some peace of mind to recipients. Email recipients will be able to instantly see that the sender of the email is who they claim to be.

CNN is among the companies on board for the initial rollout of the new feature, and Google stated that the company will officially start rolling out the BIMI pilot in the upcoming few weeks. The company has two logo certification authorities on board for launch including DigiCert and Entrust Datacard. A full-scale launch of Google’s BIMI pilot is expected later this year.

Read next: How To Stop Receiving Spam Emails In Gmail?

It has come into the notice of Tencent, a Chinese tech giant that our electronic devices are at risk due to many different reasons other than viruses. For example, our devices can be held at stake even when we are charging them.

When we use a USB cable to charge our device, the device and the USB cable form a connection, with the help of both the firmware to safely charge the device with the strongest power. But it has recently been discovered that if the charger is jeopardized in some way, it would allow more than the safe amount of power to be transferred into the device which could lead to the device getting ruined or catching fire.

This attack taking place can be very simple as the malware can be loaded into the device when it is connected to the charger and would then overwrite the firmware of the device. An unsafe code would be transferred into the device by the attacker. When you plug a device into the charger once again after that, it would get overloaded.

This is a very grave weakness in many fast chargers that are being sold in the market these days. This problem is called “BadPower” and Tencent stated that all the devices which have been a victim of BadPower are exposed to attacks of many ordinary sources, such as smartphones and laptops. Tencent has made a video that would help people understand how a device can be attacked.

35 out of 234 chargers were tested and 18 of them (8 different brands) were BadPower and 11 of them were exposed to simple attacks. Interestingly enough, this risk is more in normal chargers than the fast chargers and it is advised to not use 5V devices with fast chargers that have a USB to USB type C cable.

Tencent’s researchers informed this to China National Vulnerability Database and would also get in touch with the manufacturers. The standards for these chargers need to be revised. People should only buy their chargers from well-known and trusted brands to reduce the risk of damaging their devices. These BadPower chargers can also expose you to various online threats as well as data theft. You should be very careful when sharing the charger cables.

There are countless electronic devices found in your homes such as kitchen appliances, washing machines, toys, etc. other than computers and mobile phones. These devices require to be connected to the internet nowadays and we pay little attention to these appliances. Connecting them to the internet would also expose them to the electronic world and could result in data theft. We should be careful about these devices as well.

This week, Pinterest released some new insights into rising search trends on Pinterest’s platform during the pandemic. The key search trends focus on wellness, positivity, and surprisingly, searches about starting a new business have also increased.

It seems that the coronavirus lockdowns have forced many people to re-assess what they want in life, and how they can enhance their mindset as well as focus. According to Pinterest, several people know its platform as a place for home décor ideas, DIY, and recipes. But as the coronavirus is creating new life stressors, an increased number of individuals are turning to the platform for wellbeing and self-care.

Recently, the platform has seen the highest scores ever around mental wellness ideas. The platform recorded a 44% increased searches for meditation, 60% increased searches for gratitude, and a 42% increase in searches for positivity, between Feb and May of this year.

According to Pinterest, wellness is a key focus, and the platform notes that searches for ‘stress relief activities’ increased 4.7x. In comparison, searches for home exercise routines are up 12x. However, it seems that Pinners also remain positive about the future. According to Pinterest, challenges, and uncertainty also spark new ideas.

Interestingly, more people are searching for ‘starting a new business’ as Pinterest says that on average, these searches are up 35%. While searches for ‘future life goals’ are up 2x, searches for life bucket list increased by 65%, family goals future searches are up 30%, and lastly, searches for future house goals increased by 78%.

Additionally, the platform also notes that searches about home improvement projects remain popular during the lockdowns, and inspiration for private parties has also been a key focus in particular regions where gatherings are not allowed due to the lockdowns.

Searches related to garden bar ideas increased 6X, bohemian grand party up 7x, while searches about backyard privacy ideas on a budget increased by 75%. Pinterest users are 20% more likely as compared to the rest of the population to have mental and emotional wellbeing top of mind during the pandemic, according to Pinterest.

As people are dealing with a level of mental fatigue during the pandemic, Pinterest is introducing new elements within the app’s compassionate search feature. The additions can be accessed by typing #PinterestSelfCare into the search bar. The new additions are created in conjunction with Brainstorm, the Stanford Lab for Mental Health Innovation.

They are designed to help people with exercises that can ease stress and anxiety. The latest data published by Pinterest on rising search trends amid the pandemic might be beneficial for you if you are looking to connect with Pinners.

Read next: Pinterest Donates $300,000 to Struggling Hospitality Workers

Android Go or Android Go Edition is a specially designed version of Android for low-end and high-budgeted smartphones with low specifications. It was initially released in 2017.

However, recently, the Android 11 Go Edition’s configuration guide got leaked, and as per sources, the news is that Google is thinking to make Android Go a mandatory requirement for all the new launching devices with 2GB RAM or less. As per the report by XDA Developers, some blurbs from the leaked Android 11 Go Edition Device Configuration Guide suggest that Google is most likely going to implement this change from the fourth quarter of the year 2020. All the devices with new Android 10 or 11 configuration and products that have a RAM of 1GB to 2GB maximum will be launched as an Android Go device only. However, any device that has already been launched with 2GB of RAM with any of the regular Google applications will not be able to convert its configuration to Android Go.

This report also mentioned another change that Google is bringing in from the fourth quarter of 2020 and it is that from Android 11 onwards, any device having a 512 MB of RAM will not be able to preload Google Mobile Services (GMS), even if it includes upgrades.

XDA Developers also think that this document that was leaked in April 2020 has probably become outdated and Google may even have reviewed its decision to bring these changes by now. It will not be a surprise if they even decide to retract the above requirements from the new launching devices. All these are speculations based on a leaked document and Google itself has not come up with any official announcement.

But even if Google implements these changes, it will not be a bad idea. The devices will perform better and faster than before with Android Go, now that their RAM limit has been maximized up to 2GB. And on the other hand, there is also a chance that the manufacturers will design new devices with 3GB or more of RAM to keep the normal, standardized Android configuration, rather than converting it to Android Go.

So far, nothing can be said with absolute clarity and surety because as mentioned above, Google has not released any official statement regarding this matter. Let us wait and see what happens in the fourth quarter of this year, and how our future devices will turn out to be?

Photo: Google.

Read next: Google Chrome 86 for Android Will Allow You to Postpone Downloads To Reduce Data Usage

4.7 billion people across the globe have now access to the internet which accounts for 59% of the world’s total population of 7.776 billion. The latest report suggests that 3.96 billion people in the world now use social media. WeAreSocial and HootSuite published their latest Digital 2020 July Global Overview, and the report suggests that more than half of the world’s population now use social media platforms.

Despite several social media companies restrict the use of their platforms to people who are aged 13 years and above, 65% of the world’s total ‘eligible’ population now use social networks, the report claims.

Tom Keiser, CEO at Hootsuite, stated that the data confirms that the world has seen a huge shift in social and digital behavior since the coronavirus lockdowns began across the globe. The use of social media and messaging apps have been skyrocketed during the pandemic, and even digital advertising has been forced to become more adaptive as well as agile during these tough times.

CEO Hootsuite also stated that organizations from business to nonprofit organizations to government agencies to healthcare organizations are facing challenges on how to manage these rapid shifts in the social and digital behavior of people. Keiser explained that organizations need a holistic approach to manage their digital and social communication to stay connected during the pandemic while also listening to the changing social conversation to help make sure they are purposefully engaging with people.

The increase in the number of social media users represents a 10% growth over the past year. The data also revealed that on average, more than one million individuals use social media for the first time every day since July 2019. More than 376 million new users have joined social media since this time last year. This means that nearly 12 new users joined social media every second.

According to the report, Instagram and LinkedIn have been among the most successful social media platforms. Both the platforms have seen notable growth recently, and brands can now reach 1.08 billion individuals using ads on Facebook-owned Instagram. Instagram has been adding 111 million new users to its advertising reach during the last three months. The number indicates that Instagram added over 1 million new users each day to its advertising reach in the last 3 months.

Also read: Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Google: These Are The 10 Most Valuable Global Brands Of This Year

In comparison, LinkedIn has now reached nearly 700 million registered users. The global user base of LinkedIn grew by over 25 million during the last three months, which represents nearly 4% quarter-on-quarter growth.

Here are some important charts from the study to give your more insights on the state of the digital world in 2020.

More than half of humans on globe now use social media

Read next: Where consumers are spending more time on social media?

In a significant stride towards financial inclusion in one of the biggest markets, India, Facebook’s WhatsApp plans to offer products including credit, insurance, and pension to lower-income people and those in rural areas in India, and help digitalize local SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses). The WhatsApp messaging service has been working with Indian banks such as ICICI, HDFC, and Kotak Mahindra, for more than one year to explore new ways to bring financial services to users who have yet to become part of the banking population.

On Wednesday, WhatsApp’s head in India, Abhijit Bose, made the announcement during the Global Fintech Fest conference through video conference. The company’s work over the last year has already proven that banks in India can leverage the reach of the instant messaging app. Bose stated that Kotak Mahindra and ICICI Bank have reached over three million new users. WhatsApp’s head in India announced that the Facebook-owned company now plans to work with more partners to offer credit, micro-pension, and insurance to lower-income individuals and the informal economy over the one-and-a-half year.

The company will pilot many projects with partners to test products to bring these services to users, Bose explained. He explained that the company will co-invest and scale based on the results, and even a minor conversion of the demand will result in an infusion of significant savings into the financial system.

The collective aim of the company over the next two years is to be able to help lower-income workers to easily access the three above-mentioned products. Bose stated that with a reach of more than 400 million users in the country, the WhatsApp messaging app is uniquely positioned to bring more individuals into the financial ecosystem.

Back in 2018, Facebook launched WhatsApp Pay to a small number of users in India, however, the project has been stuck in a regulatory maze since 2018, and the company could not roll out the feature to all users in the country. Facebook announced that the company has complied with all the requirements mandated by New Delhi’s central bank which indicates that the service could receive the final approval for a wide rollout of the feature any time soon.

Facebook-owned WhatsApp also plans to digitize businesses and help them secure working capital. In April, the social media giant invested $5.7 billion in Reliance Jio Platforms, India’s top telecom operator. Earlier this year, Ajit Mohan, Facebook India head, told TechCrunch that Facebook has always focused on helping small businesses.

On Wednesday, Bose stated that he is hopeful some of its financial services bets will work in the country and that the company will be able to replicate those models in other markets as well. UPI is of those Indian platforms that Facebook wishes to help bring to other markets.

Read next: WhatsApp Business Is Rolling Out QR Codes and Catalog Sharing Option

TikTok has very quickly become a rising star in the world of social media and tech, and according to some projections it will have about forty five million users in the USA alone, which is something that indicates what a strong foothold the company is about to get in the region. However, there have long been security and privacy concerns surrounding the platform, and with the US paranoid that TikTok might be censoring content at the behest of the Chinese government as well as recent attempts to derail Donald Trump’s rallies that originated from TikTok users, the government is coming down hard and it seems like TikTok is responding in kind.

A spokesperson for the company by the name of Josh Gartner spoke about TikTok’s plans to hire around ten thousand people in the US across a wide range of departments and sectors. This is being done in an attempt to secure TikTok’s place in America, and it is making it so that it will be more difficult to kick the company out. This hiring process will occur over the course of three years and it will be interesting to see what it ends up leading to.

TikTok has been using strategic hiring for quite some time now. A good example of this is its hiring of Kevin Mayer, a top level Disney executive, as its new CEO, as well as the Chief Operating Office of its parent company ByteDance. TikTok has also gone about assembling a small army of lobbyists with thirty five having been enlisted so far. These lobbyists along with the company’s impressive CEO choice is going to make it a lot more difficult for the US government to achieve its goal of a nationwide ban on the social media platform, although it might also mean that TikTok is being forced to play by the United States’ rules.

Read next: TikTok Collaborates With Top Creators to Combat Misinformation

LinkedIn’s parent company, Microsoft, released its Q4 report for the year 2020 and recorded $38 billion in revenue. The net income of Microsoft was $11.2 billion, while earnings per share were recorded at $1.46. The revenue of LinkedIn increased 10% during the quarter, while user engagement continued to increase, as LinkedIn navigates the various impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

Microsoft is one of the first tech giants to report results for a complete quarter during the COVID-19 crisis. Last quarter, the company stated that the coronavirus pandemic had a minimal net impact on the total revenue of Microsoft. Microsoft stated that similar business trends to the last quarter continued.

Unlike other giants such as Facebook and Google, Microsoft does not generate the majority of the company’s revenue from ads, and thus it doesn't see much drastic decline in overall business growth. While we no longer get more detailed insights into the usage and engagement of LinkedIn after it was acquired by Microsoft. Previously, the professional social media platform provided more details into LinkedIn’s usage and engagement.

However, Microsoft’s report provides few keynotes on how the professional social network is placed, and how LinkedIn is performing in the current uncertain times of coronavirus pandemic. From a usage standpoint, the most prominent point of note is that LinkedIn continues to see growth in its user sessions.

According to Microsoft’s report, LinkedIn Sessions grew 27% during the fourth quarter of this year, continuing to build on many quarters of usage growth for the professional social media platform. Back in April of this year, LinkedIn also reported that it experienced record levels of engagement, which aligns with what most social media platforms are experiencing as the global coronavirus lockdowns have forced people to spend more time indoors.

However, LinkedIn is also seeing increased attention because of the impacts on worldwide hiring trends during the pandemic. As more and more individuals are out of work during the coronavirus lockdowns, LinkedIn is seeing more usage, as people look to expand their networks and make more professional connections.

Unfortunately, that has not been equally reflected in job listings, as Microsoft stated that LinkedIn was negatively affected by the weak job market and reductions in ad spend. Recently, the professional social network announced that it would reduce its worldwide workforce by 6 percent, largely because of the slowdown in job listings as well as recruitment activity.

Overall, the platform still posted double-digit revenue growth during the quarter, however, the varying impacts indicate how some sectors can still be impacted. LinkedIn still remains in a strong position, particularly considering the likely resumption of large-scale hiring in several regions once the lockdown orders are lifted.

In terms of overall users of the platform, LinkedIn officially remains at 690 million registered members, however, it is not the same as ‘active users.’

Microsoft’s Q4 Report Shows That the Revenue of LinkedIn Increased 10 Percent, and Sessions Grew 27 Percent

Consider that it's a pandemic and people are being told to stay at home. Purchasing the products they need would mean visiting the websites of certain brands and buying the goods there. For sure, there are a ton of reasons why you should focus on investing in search engine optimization in order to improve your business's online visibility.

Indeed, SEO is nothing new to businesses that have already realized the importance of digital marketing. And with competition for the best search engine rankings heating up, it's crucial to lay out a proper SEO strategy. With the right tools and techniques in mind, you will be able to maximize your resources and give your brand a boost in the Search Engine Results Page.

For this, you just have to focus these key strategies for giving your SEO efforts a boost:

Double-down on content

Consumers are always hungry for information. Seeing as many of them are kept from making in-store visits to appraise a product before purchasing, they might want to check out a brand's website in order to learn about a certain offer. Content helps a great deal along these lines. You just have to use the right formula to plan, create, and publish the kind of content that supports your brand's online visibility.

Here are a few proven ways you can use content to boost your search engine marketing:

1. Create content that matters to your audience

Some businesses think about content as something that just appears on a website and not as something that actually makes them visible to organic users. But with search engines giving merits to websites that produce quality content, you might want to focus on creating content that's informational and highly engaging. This requires knowledge about the kind of information your audience wants to know and not just information that's already out there.

2. Diversify your materials

You don't always rely on text-based content to get your audiences hooked. You also need to throw in other types of content like videos and infographics. Pages that are rich with such visual materials are proven to have lower bounce rates compared to pages that only have text-rich content. That said, you might want to produce a video series of your own or publish graphic resources that can get your audience hooked.

3. Optimize your content

The digital world is constantly changing. One moment your audience gets hooked on a certain type of messaging, the next they shift their attention to something else. That being said, you should be able to focus on updating your content regularly in order to stay competitive.

Use schema markup

Now, this may seem like a term straight out of a nerdy dictionary, but if you are looking to give your brand an edge in the SERPs, you need schema markup in order to attract the right audience. That’s because a schema markup gives search engines instructions on how the information in your website should be displayed. So, if you want your product to gain a better position in the SERPs, a schema markup gives users details about the keywords they are searching.

It’s because of such features that businesses are using schema markup to attract the right customers. You only need to know how you can add schema markup for boosting your SEO. Here’s how:

Step One: Simply go to Google’s structured data markup helper. From there, you can choose the kind of information the search engine should display.

Step Two: Enter the URL of the page you want to markup and, using the provided workspace, add markup items by highlighting certain portions of the text and tag them accordingly (that is, whether the highlighted text is the title, name of the author, date of publishing, etc.).

Step Three: Once you are done creating your markup list, make sure to generate and download the HTML code and add it to your website’s source code.

After you are done, it’s important to optimize your schema markup regularly. You also need to fix certain errors along the way that will impact your brand’s online position. You can use certain tools like the Google Structured Data Testing Tool to test valid product schema markup. This should give your products proper rich snippets that can provide people with the information they need to buy your product.

Other strategies to consider

Apart from these strategies, you might also want to invest time and resources on effective keyword research and link-building. After all, keywords remain the most important factor for boosting your website’s rankings. When it comes to link-building, guest posting on authority websites can expose your brand to referral traffic.

Indeed, there are loads more you can use to improve your brand’s searchability. You only need to find the right strategy that aligns with your SEO goals, whether it’s decreasing your bounce rate or generating more organic traffic.

Photo: Pexels

Would you like your voice assistant to open your daily iOS and Android apps for you? Well if you are that lazy then Amazon is all ready to make that possible with Alexa voice assistant - with hopes of coming on top as a preferred option for all smartphone users, of course when compared with Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant.

Currently called as Alexa for apps, the feature has already launched in the preview form and Amazon is still working on making better use of it with selected developers.

With the help of the new feature, Amazon is basically imagining the iPhone and Android users asking Alexa to open apps like Twitter and then orally dictate the assistant to search for a hashtag as well. Alexa in return for the commands given will launch the app and also input the search term only to provide relevant results on the screen instead of reading out aloud unlike the competitor’s assistants. Another example also includes TikTok users who would then only have to ask Alexa to open the app and then begin a hands-free video recording as well.

This new type of interaction is basically making Amazon’s Alexa challenge Siri and Google Assistant where they are known as the best - since both the assistants are not only home-made but also deeply baked into the operating systems and it is obvious that they will have better access to the apps and system-level features too. May be, Amazon is adamant to make a strong entry into the smartphone world after failing miserably with their own forked version of Android-based phone back in 2014 and hence this feature can turn out to be their chance to make that possible without going Apple and Google’s way.

People already enjoy the option of using Siri to order an Uber or request Google Assistant to play an episode of BoJack Horseman on Netflix. These functionalities have been tailor-fitted relatively long time ago by developers and to make the similar integration possible with Alexa too, they might have to reorient all the work done and that is the reason why Amazon also released the feature in preview format. The company wouldn’t like plans to come out as half baked with such stiff competition.

In the Alexa Live Presentation, Amazon has also announced more Alexa related features which include a beta for a more powerful conversational AI model that will let users talk more casually with the assistant and there are also much-needed updates in the technology side that is directly contributing towards building Alexa experiences (more commonly known as APL) which will enable the possibility of better audio apps and browser-based Alexa games as well.

There is also a skill resumption feature on cards that will basically let you pause the video for a while so that you perform your task and then continue by checking in with Alexa on the update of the previous request. Moreover, another addition is also the quick links feature in Beta that Amazon will launch to allow developers to release Alexa skills from mobile apps, websites and even ads, along with making purchases a reality from Echo devices with screens or Amazon.com as well.

Read next: This Survey Reveals How Popular Voice Search Is Among Consumers

On the 21st of July, Apple pledged that it would work hard towards a more environmentally sustainable business model. The havoc that unbridled capitalism is wreaking upon the world is pretty easy to see, and most businesses aren’t all that interested in changing this and a big part of the reason why that is the case has to do with the fact that they will have to sacrifice their profit margins in order to end up doing so. However, things are changing and Apple’s pledge is a sign that the modern corporation is definitely more interested in sustainability than its more traditional counterpart.

Apple’s pledge essentially involves reducing its carbon footprint, aiming to have net zero emissions by 2030 and thereby become more or less completely carbon neutral all in all. This includes its various stores as well as its manufacturing plants where the majority of its products end up being made. Reduction of carbon emissions is quite difficult and it will probably cost a lot of money, so it is very heartening to see a big corporation trying to do so anyway regardless of how it might affect its other short term goals.

Apple intends to start using a lot more recycled material in its products as well which will further help it meet its environmental goals. However, it is important to note that it is more or less impossible to completely eliminate all carbon emissions, and Apple is aware of that. The company will also be investing in solutions that would help remove carbon from the atmosphere so that the little carbon that it does continue to produce will be dealt with in a much more sustainable manner than might have been the case otherwise. Apple has always been a trendsetter in this regard, and this will place pressure on other companies to follow suit as well.

Also read: Apple's Tim Cook Is One Of the Highest-Paid CEO in the Tech Industry, Earned More Than $133 Million In 2019

Read next: Apple Starts Moving Towards Racially Neutral Coding Terms

After being first announced for the ARM-powered Surface laptop in 2019, Microsoft is all ready to introduce the AI-powered “eye contact” feature in the new Surface Pro X.

The company is currently rolling out the new feature as an inclusion in Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20175 which also directly hints towards the fact that the feature can have a broad release very soon as well.

Going by the words of Microsoft, the “eye contact” feature’s working will depend heavily on the artificial intelligence capabilities that now reside in Microsoft’s new SQ1 processor. Once the feature is enabled for any of the video calling apps like Zoom Skype or Google Meet, the system will automatically adjust the frame according to the positioning of your eyes in the screen to make sure that you always appear in the center and have direct eye contact with the camera.

This eye-contact correction will remain applicable for when he lens if off to the other side or you’re sitting way above the display and the only option is to look down and use the computer.

However, the feature is exclusive for Surface Pro X in the landscape mode only because the kind of processing involved in making the feature possible will require too much power from a normal x86 Windows Computers.

For some, the idea might sound very similar because Mircosoft isn’t the only company working on AI-corrected gazes. Their biggest competitor Apple has already launched the early versions of “FaceTime Attention Correction” feature in iOS 13 betas last year and iOS 14 includes it as a wider release which means that iPhone and iPad users can soon attend Facetime calls with fake attention.

Furthermore, if you are to ask an average user honestly, then doing eye contact and positioning yourself right in the middle of the screen has always been the toughest part of video calling.

Read next: Microsoft's Skype Rolls Out A Much Needed Group Calling Feature To Catch Up With Zoom

A key element to maximize reach and response on Facebook is understanding what generates engagement on the platform, however, the company is not overly forthcoming with Facebook’s usage insights. This can make it challenging to determine what is getting the most traction with users.

Over the past years, Kevin Roose, a journalist at the NY Times, has sought to shed some light on this by posting listings of the most shared Facebook posts on Twitter. The new listings tweeted out by Roose are based on data from Facebook’s CrowdTangle analytics dashboard.

However, those listings have not exactly painted a positive image of how the social media platform facilitates some particular elements. The company decided to step in this week, and clarify some key points about lists shared by Roose, which many people have used to criticize Facebook’s negative, divisive impact.

Today's top-performing Facebook link posts by US pages are from:

1. Fox News
2. Fox News
3. Occupy Democrats
4. Fox News
5. Ben Shapiro
6. Ben Shapiro
7. Ben Shapiro
8. An0maly
9. Blue Lives Matter
10. Dan Bongino
— Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) July 20, 2020

According to Head of News Feed at Facebook, John Hegeman, there are some important things that need to be considered about Roose’s lists. Hegeman stated that while some link posts get a lot of engagement, likes, or comments, this content is a small percentage of what most users see on Facebook’s platform.

Facebook’s head of News Feed explained that while the information used by Roose to source his lists is accurate, the information does not take into account the entire scope of how users see content on Facebook, as it only measures interactions on Facebook posts from publisher Pages, and does not factors in shares between Facebook users.

Hegeman stated that posts from these Facebook Pages do not represent the most-viewed news stories on the platform. He explained that CrowdTangle calculates interactions and not impressions. Facebook Pages in these listings see high engagement because followers are passionate, however, it should not be confused with what is most popular on the platform. So, Hegeman states that these posts might perform well as compared to other Pages, however, this is only an element of the broader engagement puzzle.

Hegeman posted some comparative examples of Roose’s lists and the actual most popular content on Facebook on selected days. The actual lists include a mix of news from mainstream outlets, GIFs, and other pop culture posts. Hegeman’s lists indicate that news stories dominate Facebook discussion followed by listicles along with celebrity gossip and comedy content, two of which are GIFs.

6/6 As you've noted, some authoritative sources on COVID information (ie UNICEF, AARP) get more amplification by us. We are removing them from this list since you did, but the fact remains that these posts still get high reach and would otherwise be included in the Top 10. pic.twitter.com/92dWtpKtii
— John Hegeman (@johnwhegeman) July 20, 2020

Nearly 12 of the news posts included in Hegeman’s list were overly political, while others looked at local crimes and updates about the coronavirus. In terms of considering how marketers can utilize the insight in their approach, listicles and humorous content should be on their radar.

Facebook has become a key news source for many people, and therefore, the content displayed by the platform can definitely influence opinions.

Stories format is without a shadow of a doubt the most important feature that Instagram has right now and a big part of the reason why that is the case has to do with the fact that Instagram is trying to hold onto its younger demographics many of whom are turning to TikTok or going back to Snapchat. With all of that having been said and out of the way, it is important to note that Instagram has added several new features to Stories over the years all of which have come together to vastly improve the kind of experience the average user has with this feature.

The latest update that has come in will change the way you scroll through content. Stories is quickly becoming a vehicle by which content creators and news publishers are able to get information and content across in a manner that would make it so that users can more easily digest them and get regular updates. Now you will have a sort of carousel of content creators or news agencies and you can scroll through this carousel sideways to pick whose Instagram Stories you want to see.

This is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, it indicates a shift in Instagram’s approach since this is essentially a recommendation system that a lot of content creators can use to make it so that their stories are seen by a larger number of people. It can also help change the practices of various news agencies so that they can make it so that they can end up informing people of what is going on in a much better way. The users are the ones that are going to benefit from this the most of course, as they will now have easier access to a much wider range of content than might have been the case otherwise.

#Instagram is working on a new way to choose which stories to watch 👀 pic.twitter.com/DvCIbwRsn9
— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) July 27, 2020

Featured Photo: Esra Hacioglu/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Read next: New Data Reveals Users Spend More Time on TikTok Than on Instagram

Facebook-owned messaging service, WhatsApp is always adding new features to enhance the user experience. Now, it seems that the company is working to solve one of the biggest issues with groups which is that WhatsApp does not allow you to mute a WhatsApp group permanently. The company is reportedly testing a new ‘Mute Always’ feature.

Sometimes, you are added to a WhatsApp group that can be annoying for you, and while leaving that group can solve the issue to some extent, but things can turn into a nightmare if you have been added into a group that you cannot (or don't want to) exit. Well, the only thing you could do to avoid receiving notifications from WhatsApp groups that you do not like and cannot leave, is to mute those groups. Currently, WhatsApp offers three options while muting a WhatsApp group - 8 hours, 1 week, or 1 year.

A good development is that the new Mute Always feature will allow you to permanently block WhatsApp group notifications, and you will not have to mute groups again and again. According to the WhatsApp feature tracker website, WABetaInfo, the messaging app is beta testing the feature, and it is currently in development phases. WABetaInfo reported that the company will roll out the new feature once the option is ready for prime time.

The new option is currently available in the latest beta version of WhatsApp on Android - 2.20.197.3, reported WABI. The WhatsApp feature tracker website also posted a screenshot displaying how the new option appears. The 1-year option has been replaced by the option that says ‘Always.’

Although the new update is not a major feature, it will definitely help those who are not interested in a particular WhatsApp group and they cannot leave that group. As the company is still developing the new feature and fixing all the issues before the option is widely rolled out to all users, you cannot find the option in the settings menu. However, you can use it if you download the beta version 2.20.197.3 of WhatsApp on Android.

A more better approach that Whatsapp can adopt here is tabbed list, just like Telegram's folders feature, that allows users to have important contacts in a separate tab/list while 'not so important' contacts and groups in another folder. Although Whatsapp boasts a similar feature AKA Labels in its business app but seeing its importance the Facebook-owned app should consider adding the Labels feature for basic users as well.

The company is also developing several other important features such as advanced search mode. In addition to muting group notifications, WhatsApp also offers a privacy feature that allows you to decide who can add you to WhatsApp groups. In the Groups Settings menu, you can decide if everyone can add you to groups, or only your contacts. It is yet not clear when the Mute Always feature will be rolled out, but WABI suggests that WhatsApp will launch it in the upcoming updates.

WhatsApp Is Developing a New ‘Mute Always’ Feature That Will Allow You to Permanently Block Annoying Group Notifications

Instagram is reportedly making lucrative offers to TikTok stars to join the company’s new rival service to TikTok- Reels, an Instagram feature that allows users to post short-form clips just like the TikTok app.

On July 28, the Wall Street Journal published a report stating that the company may be looking to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to lure famous TikTok content creators to Instagram’s new short-form-video service. While the Wall Street Journal did not mention the names of particular content creators who were approached by the social media giant, this indicates a direct escalation in competition between the world’s largest social platform, Facebook, and China-based ByteDance-owned short video platform, TikTok.

Facebook plans to roll out the short video feature, Reel, in the United States in August of this year, and the feature seems to be a direct rival to ByteDance’s TikTok. The company is testing this feature in various countries including France, Germany, and Brazil. Furthermore, the feature is also being tested in one of the largest Instagram’s market, India, and it will live inside the Stories feature of the Instagram app.

So, what makes Reels different from the TikTok application? The short videos of the Reels feature are limited to only fifteen seconds, while the TikTok app offers a limit of 1 minute. The popular users of TikTok’s platform have gathered a large following of audiences on TikTok’s platform, and several companies pay these popular TikTok creators to reach those large audiences. Companies ask TikTok stars to use particular songs, wear branded shirts, or sometimes directly promote their products in short videos.

The Facebook-owned platform has approached a diverse range of content creators about the Reels feature in various markets where the company is currently testing the feature. The ByteDance-owned TikTok app has posed a major challenge to Facebook. In terms of downloads, TikTok surpassed the Instagram app, and the TikTok app was downloaded 2 billion times across the globe during April of this year. TikTok is particularly popular among younger users. According to Jiminy, in the United States, 70% of 10-year-old girls who have smartphones use the TikTok app. However, the China-based company is under considerable scrutiny in the United States due to privacy and security issues.

Mark Zuckerberg is set to appear before a congressional antitrust committee this Wednesday. Facebook is not the only company that is seeking to launch an alternative service to TikTok as Google’s YouTube is also testing a similar service. Last week, YouTube announced that the company is testing a feature called Shorts that resemble video options and tools available on the TikTok app.

Photo Credit: Alamy

Read next: 47 Percent of Americans want the Government to keep the Social Media Firms in Check, Pew Report Suggests!

It is expected that Samsung Unpacked will launch a trio of Android-powered gadgets next week. Google and Samsung are two of the largest tech companies in the world, and according to a recent report, both tech giants are now negotiating a major deal that would provide Google a more prominent place in Samsung smartphones.

If this major deal between Google and Samsung goes down, the upcoming, and even the existing Samsung smartphones would see that Google’s Assistant is getting priority over Bixby, Samsung’s own virtual assistant. The report was published by Bloomberg, and talks about this deal will give Google’s Assistant more prominence as opposed to Samsung’s Bixby.

Samsung is the largest smartphone manufacturer across the globe, and it is the leading smartphone manufacturing company in the United States. The South Korean company ships all smartphones with the Google-owned Android operating system. Samsung sold nearly 300 million mobiles in 2019. The new deal will promote Google Assistant and Google Play Store for applications on Samsung devices and will provide Google with more daily access to Samsung consumers. It means that Bixby would be less integrated on Samsung’s own smartphones, and the move will be capitulation for South Korean smartphone manufacturing company.

However, the drop in smartphones’ demand due to the pandemic has intensified Samsung’s need for profit. According to some reports published back in the year 2018, Google paid Apple $9 billion in 2018 to remain the default search engine in Apple’s Safari browser.

Samsung has been trying to develop an eco-system in which Samsung’s own applications and services are promoted since the company launched its own app store, Galaxy Apps Store, and recently, its voice assistant, Bixby.

In the new deal, Samsung’s Bixby could still be offered as an option if some users want to use it. In an email, Google’s spokesman wrote to Bloomberg that like all other Android smartphone manufacturers, Samsung is free to develop its app store as well as digital assistants. While Samsung notes that the company closely operates with Google as well as other partners to offer the best smartphone experiences to its customers.

The IDC researcher suggests that Samsung shipped 58 million phones during Q1 of this year. These deal talks are happening amid antitrust investigations into the United States internet giant, Google. Its Play Store is one of the many Google’s services at the center of this scrutiny, and this deal may provide Google more power over app developers as Google and Apple widely control how developers users.

Photo: Zana Latif / Unsplash

Read next: Google is working on a shortcut for ‘Google Lens’ in the Google app’s search bar

On Wednesday, the United States lawmakers took on the CEOs of the world’s largest tech companies- Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook, during a high-stakes antitrust hearing. It could lay the groundwork for stronger regulation of the dominant platforms.

The CEOs of Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google appeared, by video, before a House of Representatives panel investigating the market dominance of these platforms. Tim Cook, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sundar Pichai were questioned for more than five hours during the antitrust hearing which was mainly called to focus on whether these tech giants abuse their dominancy in the market, however, the hearing veered quickly into topics such as dealing with China, political bias, the privacy of consumers, and how the major internet platforms deal with misleading information.

The executives were asked, are you guys too powerful? The US lawmakers came up with evidence in the form of documents as well as individuals to hold the executives of major internet platforms accountable. Clearly, many had done their research, and Zuckerberg of Facebook and Pichai of Google had to face a flood of questions on whether Facebook and Google are biased against conservatives.

Tim Cook of Apple faced fewest questions and was confronted on policies of App Store, while Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, was questioned on how Amazon uses competitive data from 3rd-party sellers. The antitrust hearing culminates a one-year-long investigation into the four major tech companies by the House Judiciary Committee.

Representative David Cicilline chairs this panel, a Democrat from Rhode Island, and he said that these tech giants have too much power. Cicilline believes that these firms have a monopoly, and while some need to be broken up, all firms should be properly regulated.

He added that the pandemic has strengthened the dominancy of tech giants, and these companies are likely to emerge stronger from the coronavirus pandemic. However, a Republican from Wisconsin, Jim Sensenbrenner, stated that being big isn’t inherently bad, and you should be rewarded for success in the US.

CEO Google was pressed about whether the ad platform tactics of Google hurt other players like news outlets. CEO Apple said that the company treats all developers the same, and Bezos defended Amazon by stating that there are several options for small companies. Bezos said that he thinks Amazon is the best option.

On the other hand, President Trump said that if Congress fails to bring fairness to Big Tech, he will do it himself with Executive Orders.

Read next: Survey Reveals the Top-Rated Tech CEOs Who Create Inclusive Cultures for All

At Wednesday’s US House Judiciary antitrust hearing looking into big four tech companies- Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of the world’s largest social media platform didn’t hesitate to point out that Facebook lags behind rival companies on various aspects. Zuckerberg began the hearing by pointing to the success of ByteDance-owned TikTok, Apple, and Google. He argued that the competition is still alive and well in the industry.

Each executive had 5 minutes to share their opening remarks before answering questions being asked by the Judiciary Committee. Surprisingly, the CEO of Facebook used this opportunity to make Facebook appear weaker as compared to other tech giants, and thus less of an antitrust threat than Google, Apple, and Amazon. Interestingly, these comments were not in the prepared comments of Mark Zuckerberg.

Mark Zuckerberg stated that Apple’s iMessage is the most popular messaging app in the United States. It is worth noting that particular Apple applications such as iMessage are not a focus of the antitrust concerns for Apple, instead the antitrust concerns are how Apple operates the App Store such as the 30% commission fee charged by Apple. However, Facebook CEO’s comment infers that the popularity of iMessage is something that should be under investigation by the Judiciary Committee. He said that don’t worry about Facebook, look at ‘them.’

He also added that the China-based TikTok app is the fastest-growing application, while Google-owned YouTube is the most popular video application. In terms of ads, Zuckerberg said that Amazon is the fastest-growing ads platform, while Google is the largest one. Mark Zuckerberg explained that for every $1 spent on advertising in the United States, less than 10 cents in spent with Facebook.

Also read: Google Is Reportedly Negotiating with Samsung to Give Play Store and Assistant More Prominence on Samsung Mobiles

Such remarks come as Facebook is being scrutinized for the company’s acquisitions of other social services such as Instagram, WhatsApp, and Giphy. Particularly, Zuckerberg was pressed about Instagram’s acquisition. A NY Democrat, Representative Jerry Nadler, pressed the company’s CEO about Instagram’s acquisition in 2012. Nadler cited emails shared by The Verge of Zuckerberg stating that Instagram’s acquisition could help to neutralize a rival.

Facebook CEO said that the deal was reviewed by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), and Instagram was a tiny photo-sharing platform at that time, he added. Facebook CEO is also framing tech giants such as Apple as the company’s main competitors since questions have also risen around whether Facebook’s reach and distribution make it a competitor to smaller news outlets.

Read next: Report: Facebook-owned Instagram Offers Popular TikTok Creators A Lot of Money to Leave Its Rival Platform and Use Reel

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Before You Leave

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What SEO Strategies Should You Be Using Right Now?

Double-down on content

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Other strategies to consider

Alexa Will Soon Let Users Open Apps On Your iPhones & Androids With Single Voice Commands

Apple Pledges Complete Environmental Sustainability by 2030

Surface Pro X Will Now Have Microsoft’s AI Powered “Eye-Contact”

News Content Dominates Facebook Discussion, Reveals Facebook's Own Data into Most Shared Posts on Its Platform

Instagram Tests New Content Carousel to Stories

WhatsApp Is Developing a New ‘Mute Always’ Feature That Will Allow You to Permanently Block Annoying Group Notifications

Report: Facebook-owned Instagram Offers Popular TikTok Creators A Lot of Money to Leave Its Rival Platform and Use Reel

Google Is Reportedly Negotiating with Samsung to Give Play Store and Assistant More Prominence on Samsung Mobiles

CEOs of Tech Giants Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google Grilled For Over 5 Hours During the Antitrust Hearing, Lawmakers Questioned Everything from Antitrust to Political Bias to Platforms’ Dealing with Disinformation

Zuckerberg Points to the Success of Other Big Tech Giants During the Antitrust Hearing, Says Amazon, Google, YouTube, TikTok and Apple Might Be More Powerful As Compared To Facebook