Welcome to My Blog
The Consequences of Social Media Shaming [Video]
Believe it or not, in the early days of social media, Twitter was a healing place.
People used Twitter as a platform to share their shameful secrets with the world, and to connect with one another when they realized they were no longer alone. It gave voiceless people a voice — and became a place not for shaming others, but for radical de-shaming, de-stigmatizing, and building up a strong network of support.
And then, things shifted. Because Twitter gave everyone the opportunity to have a voice and be heard, over time, people started hunting for each others’ shameful secrets instead of supporting one another. Whenever anyone transgressed, whether they were a celebrity or a journalist or a high school classmate, Twitter became a platform for “getting” them; “hitting them” with the weapon of words.
And it worked.
In his INBOUND15 Spotlight talk, Jon Ronson — journalist, humorist, documentary filmmaker, and author of several best-selling books — talks about the evolution and consequences of social media shaming on Twitter. Check out the video of his Spotlight talk below. (And click here to watch him and researcher/storyteller Brené Brown continue the conversation about shaming on social media.)
What do you think about the issues around social media shaming? Share with us in the comments.
Apple Watch coming to India on November 6 as Maps hints at Apple Pay launch in Australia
Apple Watch may have first launched all the way back in April, but the roll out in more countries around the world is still taking place. Availability for India now appears to have an official date with Apple’s website confirming a release scheduled for early next month on November 6th.
Details are limited on Apple Watch pricing and retail availability just yet, as only the date has been added to the India listing. The news comes as Apple CEO Tim Cook met with India’s Prime Minister last month, discussing Apple Pay and possibly bringing Apple Stores to the country, which would require manufacturing in the country, where Apple currently relies on resellers for distribution.
While Apple Watch is set to hit even more countries, signs that the Apple Pay could be expanding too have surfaced…
A year since launching, Apple Pay is currently only available in the United States and United Kingdom. The UK roll out in July marked the first international expansion since Apple Pay first launched in the US last October.
Reports have put both Canada and China as next for Apple Pay’s debut with a Canadian bank even listing the service as coming soon on its website.
Apple Maps may be the latest to offer hints at where Apple Pay could be coming next, however, as listings for businesses with Apple Pay support have been spotted around Australia where the mobile payment service is not yet available.
You're a tease, Apple.
Looks like some locations in Australia now show Pay accepted icons in Maps. https://t.co/47V2HXUXB3
—
Beau Giles (@BeauGiles) October 21, 2015
iOS 9 added Apple Pay badges to partnered businesses to promote Apple Pay availability, and several readers have mentioned seeing these badges in Australia recently.
Back in the US, Apple Pay rolled out to over 70 more banks and credit unions across the country earlier this week.
Filed under: Apple Pay, Apple Watch Tagged: Apple Maps, Apple pay, Apple watch, Australia, India
Check out 9to5Mac for more breaking coverage of Apple watch, Apple Watch, and Apple pay.
What do you think? Discuss “Apple Watch coming to India on November 6 as Maps hints at Apple Pay launch in Australia” with our community.
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer calls 1997 investment saving Apple “craziest thing we ever did”
In a Bloomberg interview this morning former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer spent some time discussing competition with Amazon for talent in Seattle and then moved on to Apple and Tesla.
With regard to Apple, Ballmer first said that Apple has “Done a good job” and took credit for saving Apple with an investment in 1997 when Steve Jobs returned – which was part of a patent dispute over Windows 95. Ballmer went on to say that that investment you could say that “In a way you could say that was the craziest thing [Microsoft] ever did.”
Ballmer went on to the current landscape where he said that Microsoft is the only company (with Samsung) really competing with Apple with its Surface Book in a new category.
Ballmer currently is the owner of the Los Angeles Clipper Basketball team and now owns around 4% of Twitter stock. The relevant clip can be found here with Apple conversation starting halfway through.
Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Apple Inc, Microsoft, Steve Ballmer
Visit 9to5Mac to find more special coverage of AAPL Company, Apple Inc, and Microsoft.
What do you think? Discuss “Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer calls 1997 investment saving Apple “craziest thing we ever did”” with our community.
Ecommerce Holiday Marketing Calendar [Free Download]
Between the changing leaves, pumpkin spice everything, and football season, fall is here. This also means that the holidays will be here before you know it! As ecommerce marketers head into the busiest time of the year, there are a lot of dates to plan campaigns around, from shipping deadlines to the holidays themselves.
Instead of spending time and effort keeping track of dates, you should be focused on driving revenue this season, whether you’re planning your 360 degree holiday campaigns well in advance or throwing together a last minute email strategy during the height of the holiday season to boost sales. To make it easier for you to focus on driving revenue, we created the Ecommerce Holiday Marketing Calendar to keep track of holidays and shipping deadlines for Holiday 2015.
The Ecommerce Holiday Marketing Calendar is one-page printable calendar, that can also be installed on Gmail and Outlook, that compiles the upcoming holidays and shipping deadlines for USPS, FedEx and UPS, as well as resources to help you make the most of the season. You’ll be glad you have the information at your fingertips!
Want to keep track of the important holidays and shipping deadlines? Download our Ecommerce Holiday Marketing Calendar to keep you organized this holiday season.
Xiaomi, the Chinese company behind the Mi Phone & Mi Pad, reportedly plans to clone 3D Touch next
Following the rumor that Samsung plans to bring 3D Touch style features to next year’s Galaxy phones, it’s no surprise to hear a report that Apple’s greatest fan – the Chinese company Xiaomi – plans to do the same.
The report from a well-known Chinese tipster says that Xiaomi has patented a technology similar to 3D Touch, notes GforGames. It’s believed Samsung plans to use a Synaptics touchscreen controller, while it’s unclear whether Xiaomi plans to do the same or has created its own technology.
Known as ‘the Apple of China,’ Xiaomi has made a living copying everything Apple, from the Mi Phone, with an iOS-like Android skin, to the Mi Pad, a clone of the iPad mini. CEO Lei Jun even took to copying Steve Jobs’ trademark blue jeans and black turtleneck shirt at one point, later using his ‘one more thing‘ line in Apple-style product launches.
Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: 3D Touch, Apple Inc, Mi Pad, Mi Phone, Synaptics, Xiaomi
For more news on iOS Devices, Apple Inc, and 3D Touch continue reading at 9to5Mac.
What do you think? Discuss “Xiaomi, the Chinese company behind the Mi Phone & Mi Pad, reportedly plans to clone 3D Touch next” with our community.
PSA: Steve Jobs movie goes nationwide today, as cast discusses the man’s legacy [Video]
If you’ve been waiting impatiently for the Sorkin/Boyle movie Steve Jobs to reach a theater near you, your wait should be at an end as the phased rollout completes today, going nationwide.
Universal Pictures yesterday posted a video of a brief roundtable discussion of the cast and others discussing the legacy of the man. Jeff Daniels, who plays John Sculley, said that Jobs was a creative genius who could be spoken of in the same breath as Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell.
A creative genius, a pioneer, one of the great figures of certainly American, maybe world, history.
You can watch the five-minute video below.
Filed under: AAPL Company, General Tagged: Steve Jobs, Steve Jobs movie
Continue reading more about AAPL Company, Steve Jobs, and General at 9to5Mac.
What do you think? Discuss “PSA: Steve Jobs movie goes nationwide today, as cast discusses the man’s legacy [Video]” with our community.
The Essentials of Project-Centric Resource Execution for Improved Resource Management
The Essentials of Project-Centric Resource Execution for Improved Resource Management
By Tushar Patel
Resource management should start with resource planning. Prioritizing and scheduling people to ensure they are working on the right projects at the right time is critical because it does not matter if you are executing well, unless you are executing on the right things […]
from Project Management Articles – PM Hut http://ift.tt/1W96yMj
via pmhut.com
Microsoft’s claim that Surface Book is twice as fast as 13-inch MacBook Pro misleading, show benchmarks
When Microsoft launched its first full-on laptop, the Surface Book, it made a big point of claiming that the machine was twice as fast as a 13-inch MacBook Pro. Benchmark tests by PCWorld show that this claiming is misleading, though the dedicated graphics card available in certain models does pay off for some uses.
The site’s tests showed that in pure CPU benchmarks, the MacBook Pro was actually slightly faster than the Surface Book. This remained true for Geek Bench 3 tests, which simulate real-life usage …
Where the Surface Book started to pull ahead – though still a long way short of Microsoft’s claims – was in benchtests involving processing tasks that can be shared with the GPU. While the 13-inch MacBook has an integrated GPU, the particular model Surface Book PCWorld tested had a dedicated GPU, so unsurprisingly performed better here.
It should be noted that this isn’t a like-for-like test, as the base model Surface Book, priced at the same $1500 as the 13-inch MacBook Pro used, doesn’t have the dedicated GPU – the model tested here costs $1700. Even so, there was still no sign of the doubled speed claimed by Microsoft. That difference showed up only in a pure graphics test.
Microsoft did, though, underclaim in some respects, says PCWorld: running Tomb Raider, where the Surface Book achieved 74fps against the 23.6fps of the MacBook. But that’s what a GeForce graphics card will get you.
What would be interesting to see is the same tests run against the MacBook Pro 15, with its dedicated AMD graphics card.
Filed under: Mac Tagged: 13-inch MacBook Pro, GeForce, GPU, Graphics processing unit, MacBook Pro, Microsoft Surface Book, Surface Book, Surface Book vs MacBook Pro
For more information about Mac, MacBook Pro, and Graphics processing unit continue reading at 9to5Mac.
What do you think? Discuss “Microsoft’s claim that Surface Book is twice as fast as 13-inch MacBook Pro misleading, show benchmarks” with our community.
How to Write a Perfect Cold Outreach Email: 5 Elements to Consider Before Hitting Send
As marketers, we typically send and receive hundreds of emails a week. Occasionally, those emails are sent to people we don’t really know that well — or don’t know at all.
This is cold outreach, and, for better or for worse, it has its purpose.
Sometimes, in order to further our marketing campaigns, it’s helpful to send a few cold emails. But how do we do this without being seen as spammy? How do with do this and actually get results?
I’ve identified five elements of the perfect cold outreach email, as well as expert examples to go along with each one. Ready to see them in action? Keep reading.
5 Outreach Elements Used By The Pros
1) Relevance
I recently received an email from BackLinko’s Brian Dean.
The pitch was simple. Aware that I had both shared and professed my admiration for his link strategy, The Skyscraper Technique, Dean thought it would be worthwhile to let me know that he had a new, related case study coming out.
Here’s the exact script:
What I love about this outreach email from Brian is that it is relevant.
- He phrases it as though he’s just giving me a heads up. The article isn’t even live yet and he’s asking permission to send it to me when it’s done.
- He notes that I’m a fan of the strategy because he’s seen me comment on the post and share it, and offers to let me be one of the first to see it.
In short: Everything adds up. Needless to say, I agreed to see the post when it was launched and ended up sharing that too.
Takeaway: Think about how your pitch relates to something relevant to the blogger or business. For example, mention an article they wrote, a recent social media share/comment, or a project they are working on.
2) Timing
Many people undervalue the benefits of an aptly timed pitch. This is because timing is very difficult to scale, and you can’t force it whenever you want. Some opportunities just present themselves at the perfect time, and if you can capitalize on them, it will greatly increase your chances of success.
For example, I was recently browsing Product Hunt and came across Noah Kagan’s new course, Traffic1m. After taking a look at the website, I instantly knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. They had 16 featured experts … but no one was talking about influencer marketing. I wondered: Did they have room for one more?
So I shot them an email that looked like this:
There aren’t a heck of a lot of words in this pitch, but in essence, it says everything it needs to say.
They’re gearing up to launching this course. They want to make it as epic as possible. They’re looking for experts. And here I am, presenting myself and our tool as something that could add benefit to their course.
Perfect timing.
A couple of back and forth conversations ensued, and I earned my spot as lucky #17. My write up was sent out to thousands of people on their email list and produced great exposure for us.
Takeaway: Think about how to relate your pitch to something that is top of mind to the recipient. Are they working on a new case study, or did they recently launch something? If you can tie your pitch into that, they will take it more seriously.
3) Creativity
I recently read an article by VideoFruit’s Brian Harris that shared one of the simplest and most creative strategies for outreach I’ve read this year. The process is so simple it’s easy to be overlooked, and everyone I’ve mentioned it to thus far has said, “I’ve got to try that.”
Here’s what you do:
- Subscribe to the newsletter for the person/company you want to connect with.
- Reply to the first email they send.
- That’s it.
Here’s an example of Harris using it in action with Neil Patel from QuickSprout:
By responding to the newsletter, Harris is showing that he is a “true fan” of Patel and his work. Most marketers cater to their newsletter subscribers first and foremost, and the fact that the email is sent as a reply provides a subtle distinction that makes it feel less like cold outreach, and more like a conversation.
As a result of this conversation, Brian was able to secure video production work for KissMetrics.
Takeaway: In order to stand out from the hundreds of emails people receive weekly, you have to be creative. What’s one channel that you can go through that most people are overlooking?
4) Credibility
When your pitch asks someone to expose their audience to your brand, you want to make sure you build in a lot of social proof. This is particularly important if you’re looking for:
- A guest post
- A product review
- An affiliate relationship
Or anything else that effectively turns the recipient into a carrier of your message and brand.
An example of this being done well is Alex Turnbull from Groove’s pitch to Buffer for a guest post:
Can you see how Turnbull builds credibility into his pitch?
Firstly, he mentions that they have 7K subscribers. This is no small number and proves that they have a strong brand.
Secondly, he references the guest posts he did on KissMetrics and Shopify — two well-respected brands.
Finally, he builds in additional credibility for the post itself by citing the 300% increase they received as part of this case study.
Above all, I like that it doesn’t come across as bragging, but is mentioned in a very subtle fashion. If you aren’t paying attention, you’d almost miss it entirely.
This outreach resulted in a guest post on Buffer’s blog that sent them droves of traffic and sign-ups.
Takeaway: If you’re asking someone to take a chance on you and your brand, build credibility by referencing your following as well as additional brands you’ve worked with.
5) Personalization
Of all the five elements, I imagine personalization is the one you could have guessed. After all, every outreach script you’ve seen so far has some degree of personalization — some more than others.
But in this case I wanted to highlight an email that really does it right, which is from Gregory Ciotti of SparringMind to well-known entrepreneur, Derek Sivers.
Sivers has got to be one of the busiest people around, but this personalized email got his attention.
Can you see it?
It’s beyond just relating to the fact that Sivers is a musician, and that Ciotti is acquainted with CDBaby. It’s beyond the fact that he referenced Siver’s philosophy on customer engagement. It’s that he wrote an article entirely dedicated to it. This article was meant for Sivers, meaning that the outreach was planned before the article was even written.
That’s personalization.
As a result, Sivers shared the post and it took off with zero additional outreach to thousands of visitors.
Takeaway: Just because you hear a lot about personalization, does not mean that it should be viewed as cliche. Take it seriously and you can dramatically reduce your outreach efforts by focusing on some key prospects.
Implementing Your Own Outreach Campaign
It’s unlikely that every email you send out is going to check the box on each of these five elements. Even the above examples don’t.
Regardless, if you can keep these five elements in mind, you’ll likely find more opportunities than you realize to improve your outreach scripts and inevitably your results.
What else makes for a good outreach script? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
iPhone 6s goes on sale in Samsung’s home market to long queues after earlier online pre-order sellout
The iPhone 6s/Plus seems pretty popular already in Samsung’s home market of Korea, despite only going on sale today. All three major carriers earlier reported that they quickly sold out when the new iPhones were made available for pre-order on Monday. Now Patently Apple notes queues of hundreds of people at retail stores, with some having waited in line for 24 hours …
Local brands Samsung and LG were clearly concerned, having both dropped the prices of their flagship devices prior to the iPhone 6s/Plus going on sale in Korea, and Samsung making its Galaxy Note 5 available in a similar pink color to Apple’s rose gold. The Korea Herald reports that more than 30% of iPhone 6s/Plus pre-orders were for rose gold models.
Samsung and Apple enjoy a rather uneasy relationship as both competitors and partners, the two having had endless patent battles in court while the company is one of two suppliers of the A9 chip used in the latest iPhones.
The new iPhones went on sale in India and Malaysia last week, with Apple promising they will be on sale in more than 130 countries by the end of the year.
Filed under: AAPL Company, iOS Devices Tagged: iPhone, iPhone 6s, iphone 6s plus, Korea, Samsung
For more news on AAPL Company, iOS Devices, and iPhone continue reading at 9to5Mac.
What do you think? Discuss “iPhone 6s goes on sale in Samsung’s home market to long queues after earlier online pre-order sellout” with our community.
Initial Apple Music holdout Adele brings her new single ‘Hello’ to the service from today (iTunes too)
Adele, who initially declined to allow her music onto Apple Music, has brought her new single ‘Hello’ to the streaming music service. The single is also available on iTunes.
Adele hasn’t had the easiest of relationships with streaming music services. She refused to allow Spotify to stream 21 until long after its release, and didn’t sign up to Apple Music until the company did a U-turn on its initial plan not to pay royalties to artists during the three-month free trial. Apple changed its mind after Taylor Swift wrote an open letter to Apple.
It’s been four years since Adele’s last album, 21, and her follow-up, 25, is scheduled for release on November 20. The singer-songwriter said she was sorry it had taken so long.
“[25] is about getting to know who I’ve become without realising,” Adele added. “And I’m so sorry it took so long, but you know, life happened.”
25 can be pre-ordered from iTunes from today.
Filed under: Apple Music Tagged: Adele, Adele (singer), Apple Music, Hello, iTunes, Spotify
Check out 9to5Mac for more breaking coverage of iTunes, Apple Music, and Apple Music.
What do you think? Discuss “Initial Apple Music holdout Adele brings her new single ‘Hello’ to the service from today (iTunes too)” with our community.
YouTube Strategy: How to Plan Your YouTube Marketing Success
Do you create videos for your audience? Are you curious about what works on YouTube? To discover more about YouTube video strategy, I interview Owen Hemsath. More About This Show The Social Media Marketing podcast is an on-demand talk radio show from Social Media Examiner. It’s designed to help busy marketers and business owners discover what […]
This post YouTube Strategy: How to Plan Your YouTube Marketing Success first appeared on Social Media Examiner.
Social Media Examiner – Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle
from Social Media Examiner http://ift.tt/1Nr2Ndv
via socialmediaexaminer
How Long Should It Take You to Write a Blog Post? [New Data]
It’s no secret that if you want to drive traffic to your website, convert that traffic into leads, and establish thought leadership, you should be publishing blog posts on a regular basis. The more often you blog, the more opportunity you have to drive traffic and leads, right?
But … when it comes to writing a new blog post, how much of a time commitment are we talking? How long should it take to write a typical blog post?
That’s a totally fair question. After all, a lot of marketers are creating content with limited resources. Knowing how long other marketers are spending on a single post can help you benchmark your own blogging efforts.
To help answer this question, we pulled some blogging data from our State of Inbound 2015 report. The SOI report comprises research we collected from 4,000 marketers and salespeople around the globe. We asked how long it typically takes them — or someone on their marketing team — to write a 500-world blog post.
This is what we found.
How Long Should It Take You to Write a Blog Post?
According to our research, in every region of the world, most marketers spend 1-2 hours writing a 500-word blog post.
Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the only region where roughly an equal number of marketers are spending either 1-2 hours, 2-3 hours, or 4+ hours on a single blog post.
In Australia and New Zealand (ANZ): The majority of marketers (42%) spend 1-2 hours writing a typical blog post. In the same region, 27% of marketers spend 2-3 hours per post, 17% spend 4+ hours per post, and only 5% spend less than one hour per post.
In Asia-Pacific (APAC): 27% of marketers spend 1-2 writing a typical blog post — but not far behind them are the 26% of marketers who spend 2-3 hours per post and another 26% who spend 4+ hours per post. Only 11% of folks in Asia-Pacific spend less than an hour writing a blog post.
In Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA): The majority of marketers (35%) spend 1-2 hours writing a typical blog post. In the same region, almost a quarter of marketers spend 2-3 hours per post, 17% spend 4+ hours per post, and 10% spend less than an hour per post.
In Latin America (LATAM): The majority of marketers (32%) spend 1-2 hours writing a typical blog post. In the same region, 21% of marketers spend 2-3 hours per post, 18% of marketers spend under an hour per post, and 12% spend 4+ hours per post. Latin America was the only region where more marketers reported spending under an hour per post than marketers who spent 4+ hours per post.
In North America (NORTHAM): The majority of marketers (38%) spend 1-2 hours writing a typical blog post. In the same region, 29% of marketers spend 2-3 hours writing a blog post, 29% spend 4+ hours per post, and only 8% spend less than an hour per post.
Does that mean 1-2 hours is the “right” amount of time to spend on a blog post?
The question of how long to spend writing a blog post is related to the question of how long your blog posts should be. The answer? As long as it needs to be.
Blog posts should be as long as they need to be to serve their purpose — whether that’s thought leadership, driving leads, explaining a new concept, etc.
Some quick posts could take under an hour to write; others might take several hours if they require you to go really in-depth. The time to write each individual blog posts can vary, but we’ve found that — on average — marketers are spending 1-2 hours per post.
(Want more in-depth blogging tips? Read this blog post for more on how to write a blog post — complete with blog post templates.)
How long does do marketers on your team spend writing a 500-word blog post? How does that compare with the marketers who responded to our survey? Share with us in the comments.
Pandora reaches $90M settlement to continue playing pre-1972 music
While revealing its Q3 earnings earlier today, Pandora announced that it will pay $90 million to labels in royalties as a settlement to play music released prior to 1972. Federal copyright laws didn’t start protecting sound recordings until 1972, meaning that copyrights of clips released prior to then are governed by state laws (via WSJ).
Pandora stopped paying royalties on pre-1972 music a few years back and was subsequently sued by the Recording Industry Association of America. Pandora says that pre-1972 music accounts for just 5 percent of the music its service plays. The settlement prevents the parties from suing until the end of 2016, after which Pandora will have to negotiate a licensing deal.
Among the music companies settling with Pandora are Vivendi SA’s Universal Music Group, Sony Corp.’s Sony Music Entertainment, Access Industries’ Warner Music Group and ABKCO Music & Records. The settlement, which was negotiated over the past two weeks amounts to about 10% of Pandora’s annual revenue.
Pandora today noted that its quarterly loss increased in Q3 of 2015, but active listeners increased and revenue rose 30% to $311.6 million. Active listeners rose to 78.1 million, up from 76.5 in the year ago quarter. Total listener hours rose 3 percent in Q3 2015. The growth comes despite the recent launch of Apple Music, which currently has 6.5 million paying customers and 15 million users total.
Filed under: Apps Tagged: Apple Music, Music, Pandora
Visit 9to5Mac to find more special coverage of Apps, Apple Music, and Music.
What do you think? Discuss “Pandora reaches $90M settlement to continue playing pre-1972 music” with our community.
iTunes U updated w/ iPad Pro support, grade book improvements, more
Apple today, just a short while after updating iMovie, has pushed an update to its iTunes U app on iOS. The update bumps the app to version 3.1 and includes a handful of new features, enhancements, and under-the-hood fixes.
For one, posts made in iTunes U can now include images. This will be incredibly useful for students and teachers to easily show the progress being made on a certain task or how to do something. The grade book has also been refreshed to display a student’s average grade within a course, a capability that probably should have been there from the beginning. The grade book can also now display minimum, maximum, and average grades in a class for an assignment.
Perhaps most notably, this update a design that better takes advantage of the larger display of the forthcoming iPad Pro. The iPad Pro will likely be incredibly popular among the education market, so it makes sense that Apple updated one the top education apps prior to the device’s launch. Finally, Apple also notes of various stability and performance improvements, as well.
iTunes U 3.1 for iOS can be downloaded now from the App Store for free. The full changelog can be seen below:
What’s New in Version 3.1
- Posts can now include images
- Grade book displays student’s average grade within a course
- Grade book displays minimum, maximum and mean grades for an assignment
- iTunes U is now designed to take advantage of the larger canvas of iPad Pro
- Includes minor stability and performance improvements
Filed under: iOS Tagged: Apple, iOS, iPad Pro, iTunes U, update
Check out 9to5Mac for more breaking coverage of Apple, iOS, and iOS.
What do you think? Discuss “iTunes U updated w/ iPad Pro support, grade book improvements, more” with our community.
Facebook starting to fix iPhone battery drain issues with latest app update, explains why its happening
Facebook has taken to, shocker, Facebook to explain some of the issues causing significant iPhone battery drain when using its app. The app has received a lot of criticism in the community in recent weeks with users reporting incredibly high levels of background activity time for disproportionally low time with the app actually in use. This included when iPhone users had explicitly turned off Background App Refresh in Settings. Facebook says it has started to fix battery drains issues with the latest version of the app in the App Store, version 42.0.
Ari Grant says there are two main problems with the app as it stands. One of which is a CPU spin state where the app would be instructing the CPU to be constantly doing ‘something’, even if the activity was unnecessary. Hence, the app would be using battery unnecessarily as it was keeping the CPU working without achieving any task for the user.
The other issue is related to improper management of audio sessions. This explains the prolonged background audio sessions. According to the post, if you left the Facebook app whilst watching a video the app would continue audio playback of the paused video. This effectively meant the app was playing silence indefinitely, through the background audio session. Facebook claims the app isn’t doing anything nefarious whilst it is in the state.
The second issue is with how we manage audio sessions. If you leave the Facebook app after watching a video, the audio session sometimes stays open as if the app was playing audio silently. This is similar to when you close a music app and want to keep listening to the music while you do other things, except in this case it was unintentional and nothing kept playing. The app isn’t actually doing anything while awake in the background, but it does use more battery simply by being awake. Our fixes will solve this audio issue and remove background audio completely.
The update released today includes improvements for both of these problems. They are committed to continuing improving battery usage of their app, which will benefit the iPhone platform as a whole — the Facebook app is the #1 most popular app for the phone.
Filed under: AAPL Company, iOS, iOS Devices Tagged: App Update, Facebook
Continue reading more about AAPL Company, iOS Devices, and iOS at 9to5Mac.
What do you think? Discuss “Facebook starting to fix iPhone battery drain issues with latest app update, explains why its happening” with our community.
AAA study ranks mental distraction of using iPhone voice commands on the road vs other platforms
In its continued research into distracted driving, the American Automobile Association (AAA) today published the results of its latest study that aimed to show the level of mental distraction related to using voice commands on the road. The study included using the iPhone’s Siri voice commands for making calls and changing music while driving and compared those results with using voice activated systems from car manufacturers and other smartphone makers.
Researchers found that potentially unsafe levels of mental distraction can last for as long as 27 seconds after completing a distracting task in the worst-performing systems studied. At the 25 MPH speed limit in the study, drivers traveled the length of nearly three football fields during this time. When using the least distracting systems, drivers remained impaired for more than 15 seconds after completing a task…
The researchers discovered the residual effects of mental distraction while comparing new hands-free technologies in ten 2015 vehicles and three types of smart phones. The analysis found that all systems studied increased mental distraction to potentially unsafe levels. The systems that performed best generally had fewer errors, required less time on task and were relatively easy to use.
In the study (visualized in the chart below), Apple scored a 3.4, which puts it in AAA’s “high distraction” category and behind Android’s Google Now feature and several car manufacturers. Products coming in with a better score than Siri included the Ford Taurus, Android’s Google Now feature, the Toyota 4Runner, the Buick Lacrosse, and the Chevy Equinox. On the side of the chart, the study showed Volkswagen, Chrysler, Hyundai, Microsoft’s Cortana feature for Windows smartphones, and Mazda with systems that result in more distraction than Siri.
While the study used smartphones docked within the car to test the platforms, it didn’t make mention of whether or not it considered Apple’s Carplay platform, which allows use of iPhone features from in-dash systems in select vehicles. It’s likely not yet including the platform since it’s only available in a handful of select vehicles, but it didn’t specify what specific features it used to test platforms from the car manufacturers. For the most part, however, the voice command experience with CarPlay is comparable to using a docked iPhone.
To go along with the data, AAA published some video showing how it performed the tests:
Earlier this year AAA launched a road safety campaign that showed real videos of young people getting in accidents while the results of its smartphone related distracted driver study was published last year.
Filed under: Apple Car, iOS Tagged: AAA, American Automobile Association, mental distraction
For more news on iOS, Apple Car, and mental distraction continue reading at 9to5Mac.
What do you think? Discuss “AAA study ranks mental distraction of using iPhone voice commands on the road vs other platforms” with our community.
Apple supporting anti-bullying campaign with mysterious new eye emoji in iOS 9.1
Apple yesterday released iOS 9.1 to the public with a handful of improvements, but the one that the general public was most excited about was new emoji. While most of the emoji additions were self-explantory, one piqued the interest of many users: an eye inside of a speech bubble. Wired and Jeremy Burge both now note, however, that this emoji is Apple’s way to show its support for a new anti-bullying campaign launched today by the Ad Council.
Called the “I Am A Witness” campaign, the movement hopes to give teenagers the courage they need to speak up whenever they see or experience bullying. The Ad Council hopes that Apple adding the emoji to iOS 9.1 will help raise awareness for its campaign and bullying in general.
The design of the emoji is actually the combination of two already existing emojis, the eye emoji and the left speech bubble. By creating the emoji from preexisting images, Apple was able to fast track the emoji’s addition to its keyboard.
“When we first asked about bringing this emoji to the official Apple keyboard, they told us it would take at least a year or two to get it through and approved under Unicode,” says Wittmark. The company found a way to fast-track it, she says, by combining two existing emoji.
In addition to Apple, companies including Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Tumblr, and Google have expressed their support for the I Am A Witness anti-bullying campaign.
Filed under: iOS Tagged: Apple, bullying, emoji, iOS 9.1
Check out 9to5Mac for more breaking coverage of Apple, iOS, and emoji.
What do you think? Discuss “Apple supporting anti-bullying campaign with mysterious new eye emoji in iOS 9.1” with our community.