September 9, 2016
Fall has unofficially started with the passing of Labor Day and the beginning of school for many – including Chicago students. However, the humidity and 90+ degree days that have been hitting Chicagoland seem to be feeling the summer fever. Despite the swelter, here are my favorite finds:
- Death to the jack: Apple’s fall event did not disappoint, and was full of luster with new products and software – including the new iPhone 7 – which, to the disappointment of many (and celebrated by some), will do away with the headphone jack. Instead, Apple will be including an adapter for older headphones, and has launched new wireless earbuds, AirPods, which have been mocked on Twitter – don’t forget the reaction to the Apple Pencil.
- No more newspaper? This week, the Newspaper Association of America, a trade group that has represented major newspapers since 1887, dropped the word that defined it: newspaper. The group will now be known as the News Media Alliance. As the media world continues to change, the news arena continues to evolve to keep up.
- #Zoom in: Instagram has launched a new feature – now individuals have the ability to zoom in on photos and videos by pinching the screen. Check out how some brands are already utilizing this to up their ‘gram game.
- Are you an upstander? This week, Starbucks unveiled its first content series, “Upstanders,” which is available via written stories, videos and podcasts. The series is designed to highlight 10 positive and inspiring tales from across the country. Rather than creating branded content to promote Starbucks, this is storytelling for the public interest from a Fortune 500 company.
- Measuring Connections: LinkedIn announced this week a new feature for conversion tracking for marketers’ text ads and sponsored content, offering tools to track the number of sign-ups, content downloads, leads and purchases from campaigns.
