Facebook wants the video ads it shows us to keep quiet, and it’s helping advertisers do it. The social networking will now automatically generate written captions for video ads that advertisers submit. The reason? Because almost everyone hates it when an ad (or almost any video) automatically plays with sound, especially on a phone.
Facebook says that nearly 80 percent of its users react negatively when an ad plays over their speakers or headphones. By keeping videos silent, it the social network’s research team thinks that we’ll watch an about 12 percent more videos, according to The Drum. To some, that might not sound like much, but every second counts to advertisers, and Facebook.
We can expect to see more typography, graphics, and subtitles in upcoming ads on Facebook as advertisers learn how to get our attention visually.
“Numerous studies and campaigns have made it clear that capturing people’s attention at the very beginning of a video is the most effective way to advertise in a mobile feed environment,” said Matt Idema, Facebook’s vice president of monetization product marketing. “Video advertisers that tailor their creative with visuals that get people to stop scrolling and watch will drive the best business results on Facebook.”
The news comes just hours after Twitter announced its new timeline feature, which adds recommended tweets at the top of your tweet feed, if you opt in — a very Facebook-like feature. Like Facebook, Twitter is also starting to place sponsored posts and videos into people’s timelines. It’s noticing an increase in tweets and retweets with its new feature, which it hopes will make users, and advertisers, happier.
Facebook’s latest video add-on will also let advertisers see the percentage of people who have viewed their video with sound.
A virtual private network (VPN) encrypts your internet traffic and routes it through a server run by the VPN provider. Websites see the VPN server’s IP address instead of yours, and you can get around geo-blocks, censorship, and ISP throttling. The best VPN services are paid, but there are still a handful of free options that do the job well.
Most free VPNs come with a hidden cost, because running servers isn’t cheap and a company that doesn’t charge you has to make its money somewhere else. Many do so by logging your browsing activity and selling it to advertisers, while others flood you with ads and track you across apps.
There's nothing quite like curling up with a good book on a cold evening. As much as I love the feel of a physical book, books take up a lot of space, and carrying more than one on a trip quickly becomes a chore. That's where e-readers come in, and the Amazon Kindle remains one of the best options.
Amazon just refreshed its Kindle lineup with thinner, lighter designs, a new flush-front display, and colors that wrap from front to back. Add the Kindle Scribe and the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft to the mix, and you have more choices than ever before.
A good Android app should earn its place on your phone. It might make an everyday task easier, handle something the built-in software can't, or let you change an experience that never quite worked for you.
These 20 apps cover everything from quick notes and password management to automation and local file sharing. Some are free, others charge for advanced features, and a few take some effort to figure out. The point isn't to install them all. It's to find the ones that make your phone work better for you.