Google’s AMP project expands beyond news

by

Google’s AMP project expands beyond news

google-amp-speed-fast-ss-1920

Google is a multinational corporation that specializes on the internet –related products and services. The company has introduced revolutionary technologies over the last few decades. Among these include Google search that provides users with fast access to online information; knowledge graph that allows Google users to search for people, places, and things as well as build speech-recognizing systems capable of understanding natural experience; Google Now, and the latest addition is Google’s AMP project. Google’s AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) is set to roll out to non-news related sites in coming months. In short, the AMP project is a Google project introduced for news sites that would allow the building of web pages with static content that enables them to render fast when compared to non-AMP pages. To create an AMP, three different sections are involved which are the AMP HTML, the Google AMP Cache, and the AMP JS.

Less than six months after the introduction of the project, which was intended for news sites only, it has become clear that Google’s AMP pages are expanding beyond news sites. The concept of Google’s AMP pages expanding beyond news is expected to revolutionalize the way pages for non-news sites will load on search engines, as it is already clear that the AMP pages are loading much faster than non-AMP pages. The AMP project gives developers an opportunity to utilize their design skills to create more content with restrictions for reliable performance.

Google’s AMP pages expanding beyond news will create more opportunities for developers to build content with additional extensions to make richer and faster rendering content beyond basic HTML. According to a Google spokesperson, the AMP project will be moving AMP to other mobile sites by introducing a demo site like the one they did with the rollout for the news sites. The opportunity will give developers a chance to fine tune AMP support for their sites before it rolls out the feature to all Google users.

According to Rudy Galfi, a product manager with the AMP team, already Google’s AMP project has more than 150 million AMP documents on the web originating from around 650,000 domains within the Google’s index. Although majorities of these pages are not available to users yet, the AMP project shows that it is a viable project.

The standard AMP lightning bolt symbol appears next to most instant-loading pages with AMP support. The demo site has been of great help, and that is why Google plans to expand the project to other non-news related content/pages. The project team is still making efforts to improve support for AMP pages especially in finding out ways that they can be accelerated to support e-commerce platforms.

One important feature of AMP is its ability to load faster than standard non-AMP pages loading up to four times faster. According to Gulf, the median load time for AMP pages is less than one second. Another advantage of the AMP pages is that they do not affect the Google rankings for specific pages. This means that there are no changes to the search results whether you have an AMP page or a non-AMP page. However, knowing that non-AMP pages are much slower to load and that they are cluttered with several blocks through the ads, users may be inclined to tap on the AMP pages, as they will be aware of the AMP’s benefits.

“Another advantage of using AMP pages is that they do not affect a user’s browsing experience because they load faster and have customized support for ads,” says Devin Schumacher from SEO Firepower. Mr. Schumacher says his agency provides seo help to firms in most major cities in the United States and has been revamping the AMP pages of over 85% of his clients over the last quarter. He provides additional help on his blog, seoexpertonline.info.

With these developments, Google’s AMP pages expanding beyond news sites will be welcome to the bigger internet user’s community as faster speeds and fewer distractions will translate into lower costs and better quality pages. However, it is important to note that although the expectations are high, it is still important to take precautions, as no one knows what the results will be. Thus, may be creating two sets of pages during the trial phase may be a welcome idea. Using such a strategy may allow internet users to enjoy the benefits of Google’s AMP pages before the final rollout to all users is finally made. As an open source initiative from Google, Google’s AMP pages may end up being a universal system acceptable to all within a few months. Within the next few months, we will probably be enjoying Google’s AMP pages on a much wider scale.

INSTAGRAM INTRODUCES A NEW FUTURE WHICH IS A RECYCLED VERSION OF SNAPCHAT’S “STORIES” FEATURE

by

Instagram announced the release of a new feature which is deemed to be the solution to “overposting.”

The new feature which will be known as Instagram stories will offer users the chance to share various videos and photos daily with their followers. The feature comes with an option to add text and drawing tools, and will disappear after 24 hours.

 

In 2013, Facebook tried a $3 billion takeover of Snapchat, but the 26-year-old founder and CEO Evan Spiegel rebuffed the acquisition offer. Since then, its valuation has escalated to $19 billion according to private funding rounds. It seems that the young generation has increasingly gravitated to the secretive nature of disappearing videos and photos, and Instagram doesn’t want to be left behind.

It appears that Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, is starting to take its stab at Snapchat. Their new feature, Instagram stories bears a resemblance to Snapchat stories, a feature they introduced in 2013. The move by Instagram to poach the stories feature is expected to ignite a battle between these two social giants who have secretly lurked each other’s territory without bringing the face off into the limelight.

Both apps are mobile based and concentrate primarily on visual media. Both apps popularity stems from the young people and each and every day; they are devising new means of improving the interaction among their users.

In this “new” feature which is currently present in the Instagram update, you will see circular avatars on the top of your feed. Once you tap on anyone profile picture, you’ll be taken to that person’s story. The story will feature a series of photos and videos augmented with texts, stickers, and drawings. You can’t comment or like someone’s story, the only possible means to appreciate the story is by sending a direct message.

It has been stressed enough that the feature is a perfect carbon copy of Snapchat. This is not media hype because even Instagram representatives have openly acknowledged the similarities. When Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom was interviewed about Instagram stories, he agreed that the idea was from someone else but obliquely failed to mention their name and kept referring to them as the “competitors.” He acknowledged that other companies deserved the credit of popularizing disappearing photos and videos but confirmed that this had been an area of interest for Instagram for some time.

“It has been our mission to help our users capture and share their daily epic moments and not only the world’s beautiful moment,” he said. He added that this was a brilliant chance to alleviate tons of pressure and stress piled on people when trying to post their best stuff. The CEO further argued that the matter wasn’t about the invention but is more about the format and the way you tailor it to a network and put a personal touch on it.

 

Check out SnapChats filters if you havent seen them yet!

 

The move by Instagram is seen as a gambit by Zuckerberg as he tries to grapple with the rise of Snapchat which is estimated to have more than 150 million users. Despite recent survey which indicates that Instagram has surpassed the 500 million mark in its monthly active users, reports have shown a decline in its usage recently. The move to have Snapchat’s Stories feature has been seen as a desperate move by Instagram to try and match the ever expanding Snapchat’s popularity among the youths.

Different experts have differing opinions regarding the matter. A mobile analyst at eMarketer by the name Cathy Boyle feels that Instagram’s move is a validation of what Snapchat is doing. She affirms that marketers and advertisers are finding Snapchat more attractive since it offers the chance for you to connect with the users in a very personal way.

The question that is lingering in many people’s mind is whether it is morally or socially correct for a social network to use someone else’s innovation for their personal gain. It seems that this is not the first time, and I doubt it would be the last. A few months ago, Twitter unveiled Snapchat-like stickers. Before that, Snapchat was the villain having added photo storage similar to that of Instagram. Before buying Instagram for a billion dollars, Facebook tried to rip of Instagram with an app known as the Facebook camera, but sooner than later, they had a change of heart and decided to acquire it.

Social networks are bloated beyond recognition. They are suffering from sameness. This is becoming detrimental to smaller companies which are in left in significant uncertainty in the ecosystem. Whether it is right or wrong to be copycats, it is up to enterprises to focus on spurring creativity and bring in new innovative ideas. In the meantime, Instagram account holders should have fun with the new feature without caring where it came from.

Tips To Be Successful with Social Media Marketing

by

Social media has become one of the selling forces in the marketing world, and marketers have taken great advantage of it. The way we conduct our business and maintain customer relationship has drastically changed because of social media. For you to succeed in social media marketing, you need to plan properly by devoting some time, setting out a clear strategy and working hard before thinking of selling in this type of media. Below are two tips every marketer should follow to be successful in social media marketing.

Defining brands, products or services

Before you start anything on social media, you first have to identify your brand products and services. This means how you would want your brand to be seen and also whether you have the best quality with the lowest cost. Additionally, you will also want to find out if you can offer the best quality product with the lowest price and finally in case you would want your audience to see you as the best expert in a certain field. All this have to be defined and by doing so, you can determine how you want to be seen in the eyes of your audience. Thus you will know the right source of the social network you may want to use.

 

Identifying your target audience 

There are various ways of searching for your targeted audience on social media networks today; one example is the LinkedIn. It is a great tool for marketing because it allows you to search for people according to their demographic, e.g., their regions, specific departments, industries, etc. The same thing can be done with Twitter and Facebook thus you need to have updated postings that will target your specific customers to increase their engagement.

In conclusion, social media has become the buzz phrase in the marketing world because it provides the solution to all marketing challenges for it is fast and cheap.