Instagram’s Content Factories Are Huge—And That’s a Problem for Facebook
The draw of 1 billion monthly users has spawned an aggressive behind-the-scenes advertising economy that threatens the site’s originality and appeal
Tracking Talk The Blog of ReferDigital. How Marketing Works Now.
Influencers are fighting for attention as Instagram tests removing likes from its platform
The platform has been testing out what it would look like without the “like” feature, claiming the feature will help to reduce its associated impacts on mental health and societal pressure. The “like” feature won’t be...
How Digital Advertising Markets Really Work
They’re shaping our market, our democracy—our entire reality. If we’re going to fix them, we need to understand them.
America’s DIY Phone Farmers
Ordinary Americans are using armies of phones to generate cash to buy food, diapers, and beer through ad fraud.
Sunsetting Sip: A Post Mortem
The most successful consumer products often have distribution built into the product itself… Distribution should be considered on day one and built into the product.”
Google Ads is mysteriously disapproving ads and sites for “malicious or unwanted software”
From a thread in Reddit today: Google Ads – anyone noticing sites getting disapproved for "malware" recently? from PPC
Superhuman is Spying on You
…Superhuman, has decided to embed hidden tracking pixels inside of the emails its customers send out. Superhuman calls this feature “Read Receipts” and turns it on by default for its customers, without the consent...
Millions of Business Listings on Google Maps Are Fake
Google Maps is filled with false business addresses created by firms pretending to be nearby.
Cost of global ad fraud could top $30bn, says new report from Cheq
The World Federation of Advertisers estimates that up to 30% of advertising is unseen by consumers, affecting about 21tn online ads annually. Anthony Hitchings, the Financial Times’ digital advertising operations director, said, “The scale...
How I Found the Right Referral Partners and Reached $35K/Month
“After picking up several clients we decided to explore other avenues to bring in leads. Referral partners — I can’t stress this enough — can be some of the most important aspects of growing...
AdTech Sucks
AdTech sucks. I quit the industry because AdTech sucks. AdTech will continue to suck for the foreseeable future. The reasons for this are not primarily technical, but systemic.
Distribution – Reaching Customers – is the #1 problem facing any tech startup
Gone are the days when throwing up a website would guarantee traffic if it was novel or useful enough. Equally gone are the days of cheap online advertising.
Twitch Streamers Are Getting Paid $50,000 An Hour To Play New Games
The Wall Street Journal has published a new report that details how top streamers, those who attract 15,000 or more viewers simultaneously, can earn between $25,000 and $50,000 an hour when publishers pay them...
In India election, a $14 software tool helps overcome WhatsApp controls
WhatsApp clones and software tools that cost as little as $14 are helping Indian digital marketers and political activists bypass anti-spam restrictions set up by the world’s most popular messaging app, Reuters has found.
Can reviews on Amazon be trusted?
“The way Amazon presents reviews to you is a form of hypnosis,” says Saoud Khalifah, who runs the fake review detection site, Fakespot. “They put a glowing 5-star review right in your face. They...
Amazon’s Rise in Ad Searches Dents Google’s Dominance
Advertisers are starting to shift spending on search ads from Alphabet Inc.’s Google toward Amazon.com Inc., a sign of how the online retailer is capitalizing on becoming the top destination for consumers’ product searches.
Drunk shopping is a $48B industry
Consumers are spending on average $440 a year on purchases made while intoxicated, and most of those sales are made on Amazon, according to a survey from The Hustle. E-commerce is encouraging the trend, with...
The Most Important Writing Lesson I Ever Learned
Advertising teaches its own lessons. For starters, everyone hates advertising. Advertising lies. Advertising misleads. It’s evil, phony, it’s trying to sell us crap we don’t need. I can’t argue with any of that, except to observe that for a...
