Karissa Bell says, “Facebook is redesigning the way its iOS users share content from third-party apps inside of Facebook. The social network showed off a new share extension for iOS Wednesday that makes it easier for people to control what they are sharing and who they share updates with. Share extensions are used by third-party apps to allow their users to share content back to Facebook. While this functionality has existed within iOS for some time, the experience up until now hasn’t always been great, Facebook product manager Alyssa Levitz explained. “We knew we had a lot... [...]

Karissa Bell says, “Verizon is making a bigger push into the Internet of Things. At a press event in San Francisco Wednesday, the company revealed its far-reaching plan to make a dent in the rapidly growing space. Verizon’s strategy revolves around a new web-based platform for developers, new partnerships and using its LTE network to help companies get devices online faster. At the heart of Verizon’s strategy is a new web-based developer platform called Thingspace, which helps companies create apps services to manage connected devices. During the event Wednesday, Mike Lanman,... [...]

Tracey Edouard says, “What makes a digital marketing campaign successful? As a consumer, it’s very easy to differentiate between the brands that hit the bullseye and the others that flounder and flop. There has to be a balance between quality and creativity, innovative use of media, engagement, strategy and effectiveness of the message. But as a creator of a campaign? Where does one start? Join us Wednesday, October 28 at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT for a special #Mashies Twitter chat. We’ll be discussing how your business or agency can achieve digital marketing success. Joining us... [...]

Julie Crabill says, “The press release has essentially remained the same since it came into use in the early 1900s: Headline, dateline, body, boilerplate and contact info. Of course, there is still a time and a place to use these to share your news with the world, but there are so many more creative ways than a press release to tell a story today, especially considering the plethora of new technologies at our disposal. For the average startup or private company, here are four storytelling methods that help you break free from press release monotony and find new ways to share your story... [...]

Karissa Bell says, “Facebook search just got a lot more useful. The social network is updating its search features to make posts easier to find. The update is beginning to roll out to Facebook’s website and iOS and Android apps now, the company says. Once live, Facebook users will see three major improvements in search: personalized search suggestions, the ability to search posts shared publicly or by friends and the ability to search for what people are saying about specific topics. Previously, entering a search term would turn up results for pages, people, groups, events, apps... [...]

Andy Mizerek says, “Swipe right, swipe left — for many people, that’s all it takes to get a date these days. I’m talking, of course, about people who use the dating app Tinder. With 50 million active users and 1.7 billion swipes per day, Tinder is a veritable cultural phenomenon. It’s hard to believe, but the average Tinder user spends 77 minutes every 24 hours perusing profiles on the app (and we wonder where all the time in our day goes). Yet Tinder hasn’t only revolutionized dating and relationships (or lack thereof); it’s also taught brands lessons on how to... [...]

Jan Rezab says, “Of all the content creators on social media, it can seem like brands are the red-headed stepchild. They don’t get as much attention as YouTube stars or Instagram celebrities, they aren’t followed as closely as news and media organizations and they get low reach without paying. It doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, the best-performing brands on social reach a huge audience and don’t spend much in promoting their posts. The reason? These brands emulate publishers when it comes to their content strategy“. 4 social media lessons brands can... [...]

Adario Strange says, “Facebook is preparing to launch its own real-time news notification app in a bid to lure people away from Twitter. A source familiar with the matter confirmed to Mashable that the app is indeed in development, although a specific launch date has not been revealed. Rumors surrounding the app surfaced earlier this week on The Awl, which stated the app would be called Notify. The report also showed screenshots of the app on what appears to be iOS. Instead of focusing on aggregating the news itself, the app appears to pull together the next best thing: headline notifications... [...]

Patrick Kulp says, “Facebook will soon start looking more and more like an online shopping mall. The social network said Monday that it is adding a new mobile “shopping” tab where you can buy clothes, electronics and other items without ever leaving Facebook’s confines. The company is also rolling out new ad formats that let customers buy things directly from retailers’ pages and making its “buy” buttons more widely available. For example, click on a shirt featured in a Target ad and the site will immediately direct to Target’s shopping page where... [...]

Karissa Bell says, “If your Facebook News Feed isn’t already filled with videos, that may soon change. A series of new experimental video features, which Facebook announced Tuesday, include a dedicated feed for videos and a new picture-in-picture player for multitasking. The new features are meant to “give people more flexibility when watching videos,” according to Will Cathcart, VP of product management for Facebook. The company is in the early stages of testing a dedicated section for videos within its app and website, which will ideally help users “discover,... [...]