Want to catch up with what happened in the digital world this week? Our weekly cheat sheet will fill you in on everything you missed while you were scrambling to meet deadlines and put out fires.
Read about Sprightly, the new platform for women, the widespread use of the Google+ login button, the expansion of Twitter Cards, ads that talk back, and the new Facebook Home Android experience.
1. Sprightly, the new Reddit for women
Sprightly is a new startup website designed specifically for women. The company focuses on categories such as fashion, décor, beauty, and more. Unlike Pinterest and Flipboard, the content on the site is determined by the most recent trends. The data is based on social indicators such as tweets, Pinterest pins, Facebook likes, etc. Rather than having users vote on the material, Sprightly gathers its information from nearly 900 websites, including additional posts that user’s may want to add-on. Sprightly is currently invite only, but individuals are more than welcome to request an invite and patiently wait to become a member.
2. Google+ login button builds a positive reputation
The Google+ login button is spreading like wildfire. During the launch of Google+ sign-ins a few weeks ago, there were approximately 10 companies who used the service, but that number has now increased significantly. Partner sites that have joined since then include Fox Broadcasting Company, American Idol, Universal Music Group, and hundreds more. The login button is assisting brands by serving as a great promotional tool that encourages Android users to download the app version of a web application in order to continue their experience on-the-go.
3. New additions to the Twitter Card collection
This week, at a developer’s only event in San Francisco, Twitter announced the development of three additional Twitter cards: App, Product, and Gallery. The App card allows users to exhibit specific content from their Google Play. The Product card will attach a brief synopsis and a picture to every tweet that is sent out. Gallery will be available for tweets that consist of more than one image. Twitter, during the event, also introduced a new feature for mobile apps called Deep-linking which allows users to link tweets to other applications which in turn helps make customization much easier. With over 10,000 developers using Twitter Cards, one can only expect an increase in development for more.
4. Interactive voice ads
Forget about old-fashioned banner ads because the future of advertising proves to be more engaging. This week, Nuance revealed a demo for a voice interaction feature that hopes to make mobile advertising more effective when reaching consumers. One of the examples was the option of embedding ads with a magic eight-ball type feature that would respond to viewers with witty answers and ending with a brief description of the product. Even though there are a few barriers that the company will have to eventually face before fully being able to launch this platform, the voice-interactive feature will ultimately help create richer media ads.
5. Facebook Home feels at home with Android
First things first, Facebook is not making a phone. Rather, the company is partnering with HTC’s new android phone, the HTC First, to bring updates to both the home and lock screens. Facebook’s focus is not on the phone; instead they are concentrated on the content that is displayed. One new gesture that Facebook Home offers is Chathead, a new means of simplifying the way user’s message. This medium treats SMS and IM messaging exactly the same without causing the consumer any hassle. Simply click on the small image of your friend’s face to switch between conversations. If you’re interested, you will have to wait until April 12, 2013 to get your hands on this $99.99 device to actually see if all the hype was really worth the wait.
