Google Ad Boycott, More News on Google App, Mobile Usage, What’s Hot in Digital, Building a Foundation for Content Monetization, TFP’s Infographic Pick of the Week, Adobe Experience Manager Mobile v2017.3 Release

Welcome to Technology for Publishing’s roundup of news, stories of interest, and tips for media industry pros! This week, we’re sharing posts about fallout from ads running next to “offensive” YouTube content, Google’s plan to add more news to its News & Weather app, a big (and fast) increase in the amount of time users spend on smartphones, Adweek’s list of what’s hot in digital, and more.

  • AT&T, Verizon, and other major brands are pulling advertising from YouTube and other non-search Google platforms until the company can ensure their ads won’t run next to hate speech videos and other extremist content, an issue that surfaced last week. In response, Google said it would “take a tougher stance on hateful, offensive and derogatory content,” including tighter restrictions and increased manual and automated moderation. But apparently Google’s promises haven’t provided the assurances advertisers are looking for: According to a Guardian report on Thursday, 250 companies have joined the Google boycott so far, a list that’s continuing to grow.
  • Meanwhile, the search giant said in a blog post that it’s adding more news to its News & Weather app. More than 200 news stories will now be included on the home screen in a browsable stream called More Headlines. The section will load stories on demand as users scroll down, it said, “ranked and classified for easy reading.” The company added it’s also increasing the speed of Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), noting the list of publishers using the format is growing.
  • Admit it. We’d be lost without our smartphones. Now, new comScore research on cross-platform media consumption underscores that fact: It found that in just three years, the time we spend on our devices has more than doubled. Of course the biggest takeaway for publishers is that brands are increasingly putting their ad dollars there, according to Media Life. That’s not surprising, given other study findings: Millennials now spend more time on their phones than watching TV, desktop numbers are continuing to fall, and mobile accounts for 70% of all time users spend consuming digital media. For more, check out Adweek’s article on how advertisers are preparing for the mobile-only frontier.
  • Also on Adweek’s site, find out what’s hot in digital, including 2017’s “buzziest” apps, gadgets, and startups. The magazine’s Hot List named Facebook Live digital brand of the year and Teen Vogue top digital publication. Mental health check, anyone? There’s hottest startup Talkspace, an app that connects users with licensed therapists. On the music scene, teens are going nuts for Musical.ly, a lip-synching app that lets anyone be a rock star. And hottest digital obsession? @POTUS and @RealDonaldTrump.

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Posted by: Monica Sambataro

Monica Sambataro
Monica Sambataro is a contributing editor and copyeditor for Technology for Publishing. Her publishing background includes work for leading technology- and business-related magazines and websites.
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