Daily Minute Master Series – August 21, 2019
Social Media
Facebook Finally Launches its ‘Clear History’ Tool, Starting in Ireland, South Korea and Spain
Facebook has finally announced the initial rollout of its promised ‘clear history’ tool, which will enable users to see the websites and apps which send Facebook information when they use them, remove that information from their account, and turn off Facebook’s ability to store the same going forward. The tool will give users more capacity to manage how their data is utilized by Facebook and advertisers.The new option is being launched, with users in Ireland, South Korea and Spain getting first access to the functionality, ahead of an expanded push. The functionality will also have some level of impact on Facebook’s ad targeting tools. How much of an impact, exactly, will be dictated by how many users take up the option to delete their history, but Facebook warned marketers back in May that the implementation would lessen its capability to provide in-depth tracking for advertising purposes.
For the full article click here
Facebook Looks to Launch WhatsApp Payments in Indonesia
At the Libra launch event in June, Facebook clarified that India was not part of its initial rollout plan, which may, in part, be due to concerns around cryptocurrency from Indian regulators. Instead, Facebook has since switched focus to WhatsApp Pay, which it’s now planning to roll out to all of its Indian users toward the end of the year. And while Facebook waits for Indian regulators to assess WhatsApp Pay, Reuters has reported that WhatsApp is now also in talks with multiple Indonesian digital payment firms over plans to offer WhatsApp Pay in that market as well, potentially reaching another 100 million users. Which would be good for WhatsApp, helping it to build its eCommerce capacity, and good for Facebook overall. But it also leaves a question mark of the viability and potential of its Libra currency. Facebook will likely still push ahead with its plans, and the implementation of WhatsApp Pay could serve as a good precedent for regulators, and example which shows that Facebook can be trusted in this respect. But it may also spark a re-think of Libra, and the way it’s used. If it’s not going to be accessible in Facebook’s largest user markets, maybe it’s not as valuable as Facebook may have initially hoped.
For the full article click here
LinkedIn Outlines its Improving Efforts to Eliminate Fake Accounts and Spammers on its Platform
This week, LinkedIn has outlined its evolving efforts to detect and remove fake profiles, which can be used to make connections, and then steal personal contact info from unsuspecting users. Given the professional focus of LinkedIn, it seems like it would be less of a focus for misinformation campaigns in particular, but as noted, there are numerous known LinkedIn scams which involve fake profiles making connections in order to steal personal information, and gain insights into your LinkedIn network. So while it may seem less of a focus, LinkedIn is actually just as susceptible to such use as other platforms. In this sense, it’s good to see LinkedIn improving its systems, and working to better protect its now 645 million member base.
For the full article click here
Marketing
Bing Webmaster Tools adds Domain Connect verification integration
In order to make it easier for some webmasters to verify their web sites with Bing Webmaster Tools, Bing added support for verification through Domain Connect. This allows those using 1&1 IONOS, GoDaddy, Media Temple or Plesk easier access to verify their web sites with Bing Webmaster Tools. Google also did some forms of automatic verification for Google Search Console and has worked with domain name providers to make it easier. But Google does not work with Domain Connect. Making it easier to set up a verified site with Bing Webmaster Tools will mean more web site owners will be able to use the tools. This will lead to more reporting, more debugging and more informed site owners. It will help sites find indexing and ranking issues faster and give site owners more access to advanced search engine reporting.
For the full article click here
