Hasta La Gadget!

The Google Display Network houses some 2 million websites of all kinds, thus it offers advertisers a broad reach and more bang for their buck. The company says that it has seen growing interest from advertisers in ad formats that are designed around engagement, getting people to interact and engage with their ad which is why it has started testing +Post ads. The format lets advertisers turn any content posted to their Google+ page, content that is public, and turn it into an ad that can be shown across the Google Display Network. Content can include photos, videos or even a Hangout. ”The lets brands think of the entire web as their social stream,” says Eran Arkin, product manager of Google+.

+Post ads are focused on increasing engagement, so advertisers will be able to start conversations within the ad, consumers will be able to reshare video, comment or even join a live Hangout from within the ad. At this point in time, +Post ads are only being run with a select group of partners which includes Toyota USA, Cadbury UK and Ritz crackers. Google says that these brands are seeing 50 percent higher expansion rates than the industry average for rich media ads. The company says that it will open up this format to additional advertisers over the next few months.

Google Testing +Post Google+ Content Ads With Select Brands original content from Ubergizmo.

So we heard that Facebook was looking to introduce an Unfollow option to its social network soon which sounds like a great way of unfriending someone without offending them. While we’re on the subject of new features for Facebook, we know that many people out there are asking for a “dislike” button, a feature which we’re not sure will ever manifest itself, but it seems that Facebook could be considering a “sympathize” button. There are times when posts are made about a death of a celebrity, family member, the loss of a job, a breakup, and etc., and while it is understood that the “like” button does not actually mean you’re basking in their misery, we suppose having a “sympathize” button would be more accurate.

The “like” button can be used to convey various meanings, such as acknowledgement of your post/comment, a thank you, or a “that’s funny, I liked that”, just to name a few. The concept of a “sympathize” button was conceived by a Facebook engineer during the company’s hackathon that was held a while back. The idea was apparently well-received by fellow staff members, but unfortunately Facebook decided it was not the right time to launch such a feature, for now. What do you guys think of this idea?

Facebook Is Open To The Idea Of A “Sympathize” Button original content from Ubergizmo.

December is here and 2013 is slowly coming to an end. A lot of advancements in the technology sector were made this year and a lot of amazing products were released as well. Search habits changed as well, as 2013 was full of different events, trends and high-profile trials. Yahoo has revealed the top Yahoo searches in 2013, the company has launched its 2013 Year In Review page which looks back at daily search habits of million of internet users around the globe.

The top search on Yahoo in 2013 was singer, songwriter and actress Miley Cyrus, who has caused quite a few controversies this year. We can image that internet searches spiked after her rather controversial performance at the VMAs. Cyrus dethrones reality star Kim Kardashian, who was at the top of the list back in 2012, she comes in at second this year trailed by model Kate Upton in third. Minecraft, Obamacare (the affordable care act) and the iPhone 5 take fourth, sixth and ninth spots respectively. Top two obsessions on Yahoo’s Year In Review include Duck Dynasty and Breaking Bad, in that order. One of the most popular food related searches was the Cronut, a combination of croissant and donut that took New York by storm. That just about wraps it up for 2013. With 2014 around the corner, we can surely expect a lot of new things to search for come next year.

Top Yahoo Searches In 2013 Revealed original content from Ubergizmo.

Facebook’s News Feed, depending on the user, can get pretty cluttered at times, and sometimes it’s cluttered in a messy sort of way where you are getting updates from all sorts of pages you’re following. Well Facebook is hoping to change that and make it more organized as they have announced updates to your News Feed where they have started to show more relevant articles in your Feed. For example one of the changes they have made is in the screenshot above, where the main article is followed by three additional articles that Facebook has deemed to be relevant to what you view.

Facebook is also working on trying to differentiate what they determine to be high quality content because naturally people prefer getting their news from reputable and high quality sources, as opposed to any Tom, Dick, and Harry who owns a blog. By doing this Facebook hopes that they will be able to do a better job at curating high quality posts by showing them more prominently on your News Feed, whilst hiding less important stuff, such as jokes, funny images, and etc. Facebook will also be updating bumping in posts, meaning that the post will resurface even after you’ve read it when comments are made on it, allowing you to keep track of comments made on a particular post.

Facebook Wants To Make Your News Feed More Relevant original content from Ubergizmo.

When it comes to Android apps, one size does not fit all, unfortunately. This is due to Android devices being extremely varied in the sense of hardware as well as software, with some devices running on older builds of Android, while some have the latest version. Well perhaps in a bid to help optimize their app for Android devices across the board, ranging from low-end to high-end, word on the street has it that Facebook is looking acquire an Indian startup company called Little Eye Labs. The company provides performance analysis and optimization tools for Android developers, and according to a report by India’s Business Standard, Facebook and Little Eye Labs are reportedly in advanced talks.

While it is unclear as to what Facebook might want with such a company, like we said earlier, it has been speculated that Facebook could be looking for a way to better optimize its app across the wide range of Android devices out there. While the app runs fine on high-end devices, low-end devices might tell a different story, and if Facebook can create an optimized app and experience, they will be able to attract more users onto its network. This acquisition might not be such a surprise either as Google had acquired Flexycore, a company specializing in Android optimization as well.

Facebook Rumored To Be Interested In Acquiring Indian Startup Company original content from Ubergizmo.