R eplaced Contacts, Explain the Feed and More Data Cable
How Instagram Replaced the Contacts List
By Taylor Lorenz from The Atlantic
- “As Instagram has grown to more than a billion monthly users, it has also morphed into people’s default public internet profile and communication method.”
- “Instagram provides much more context—and conversation fodder—than a random string of 10 digits. Because iMessage and SMS don’t come with public profiles, when someone texts you from a number outside your contacts, you have little to no information on who that person is or where you met.”
- “…adding people on Instagram is like scanning a digital business card into your address book. You get their full name and bio, and a direct line of contact through Instagram DM. Plus, you have the added benefit of scrolling back on their profile for additional context on who they are and what they’re into.”
Facebook’s News Feed is starting to explain itself
By Jon Porter from The Verge
- “Facebook has announced a new feature called ‘Why am I seeing this post?’ which allows you to see information about why a specific post has appeared on your News Feed from within the Facebook app.”
- “…the new feature will also give you shortcuts to tools that control whether you see posts like it again in the future. These include See First and Unfollow options, as well as linking to your News Feed Preferences.”
- “The changes are rolling out starting this week, and are expected to be available to all users by the middle of May.”
How Google Is Cramming More Data Into Its New Atlantic Cable
By Klint Finley from Wired
- “…the current growth in new cables is driven less by telcos and more by companies like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft that crave ever more bandwidth for the streaming video, photos, and other data scuttling between their global data centers. And experts say that as undersea cable technologies improve, it’s not crazy for companies to build newer, faster routes between continents, even with so much fiber already laying idle in the ocean.”
- “Having more cables means there are alternate routes for data if a cable breaks or malfunctions. At the same time, more people outside Europe and North America are tapping the internet, often through smartphones. That’s prompted companies to think about new routes…”
- “The cost to build and deploy a new undersea cable isn’t dropping. But as companies find ways to pump more data through these cables more quickly, their value increases.”
Nick Cotton is a project manager based out of Los Angeles, California. He’s got a background in the entertainment industry, and uses his talent at online messaging to extol the virtues of content marketing, interactive fiction and sentences measuring 280 characters or less.
FOLLOW