Read this article this morning from The Atlantic, it was a very interesting take on vacation, PTO, and the comparisons of American vs European work-life balance.

The article begins by diving into the 26% decrease in vacation and PTO requests through Zenefits (a popular HR platform) and why so many felt uncertain of their futures at organizations if they did take time off, not to mention the inability to actually go anywhere and do anything.

However, with vaccine rates increasing, many plan to take extended PTO and to begin more normaltraveling behaviors this summer.

Judge vaccinations as you will, this trend could have huge implications ahead for companies as their staff plan to take longer PTO at the same time. Are you planning and... See More

Today Wix and Google announced they'll be partnering up to create an integration directly within the platform. This seems like a fantastic opportunity for individuals and small business owners using Wix to manage their websites in order to be more apparent in Google search performance as well as managing things such as Maps and reviews.

It will also create an integrated experience for dashboards and data collection, including views on GMB, search performance, and CTAs from a GMD page such as phone number, website, and directions to a location.

This seems like a big deal for Wix website users, what are your thoughts? Does this make Wix more desirable or still sticking with other website platforms? See More

In this article from Forbes, we learn the secret truths about the data popular internet browser Google Chrome is collecting about you.

This article has sparked some difficult conversations about the need and usage of our data online. In comparison to other browsers such as Safari or Edge, Chrome is definitely walking a fine line that is dangerously close to going the wrong way from a collection and usage standpoint.

Overall, it's clear that Chrome is collecting much more data about YOU than it needs to be functional. The real question I'd ask is if we care to know and act vs accepting the ease of use it provides. Mix opinions all around, so let us know your thoughts!

Find the full article here See More

Link to a full article from The Wall Street Journal
The NFL just signed a deal valued at over $100 billion with new players including Amazon exclusive Thursday Night Football starting in 2023 and an increased focus on streaming platforms for viewership.

After a 7% decrease in viewership during the 2020-2021 season, it seems they are taking a more radical approach to increase viewership with younger audiences.

I'm curious how other sports will follow as they become more exclusive and streaming-focused. Stay tuned! See More

For a long time, this feature was included on Samsung and Google Pixel devices, but now anyone on a Chrome browser has access to these live captions generated on the platform.

This is a huge win for those looking to make the internet more accessible. At the same time, however, does this mean that there will be serious competition for caption software programs that currently exist?

Check out the full article from The Verge: Chrome now instantly captions audio and video on the web
Here's an example from the article! See More

YouTube is making it easier than ever for YouTube content creators to track the performance of their videos as well as their audience engagement with their video content.

Some of the new tracking features include: Living Room data - This means is impressions derived from sources like TV and video game consoles will be available in channels’ analytics count. New and returning viewers - This new metric is going to be helpful because it will allow creators to see who is returning to a channel and who is viewing its content for the first time.

Check out the full article from Search Engine Journalto see more!

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Social Media Today asked the question: How do we reduce trolls, manipulation, and abuse on social media? The answer they found may surprise you.

In the UK, there is a petition with well over 100,000 signatures asked Parliament to require identity verification with social media.

If you ask me, this sounds like a huge identity and data risk waiting to happen. While yes, itcould reduce the spread of online bullying and abuse, most people, at least in the adult age group (18+) don't really try to hide their identity as is when online.

I'm interested to see the type of legal battle that comes from a conversation like this and if it will set the tone for future conversations about legal regulation of social media platforms.

Check out the full... See More

This article from Search Engine Journal was a great read if you are having issues getting your website crawled. In it, it shares the 5 most common issues as well as solutions for them! Think your site is having issues getting crawled? Here are the 5 core issues from the article:

Crawled – currently not indexed (Quality issue). Duplicate content. Discovered – currently not indexed (Crawl budget/quality issue). Soft 404. Crawl issue.
Do you agree? is there something missing from the list? Share your thoughts below.

Here's a link to the full article
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In light of International Women's Day, Burger King launched a controversial campaign on Twitter, saying "Women belong in the kitchen."

Following the tweet is a message about providing scholarships to females pursuing careers in culinary, however, as you may imagine, the Tweet was not received well.

Shouts of Sexism and poor taste rang across the internet over the following days and the Tweet was later deleted on March 8th with an apology issued by the account.

While the intent was good, it certainly missed the mark in my eyes and the eyes of most. Shock tactics in marketing are very much a hit or miss strategy and this one was a flop.

What would you say about this campaign?

Here's a link to a full article by AdAge to get the full story.
... See More

Sure, stats are cool all on their own, but you can learn quite a bit from what they have to tell you beyond the pie charts and percentages.

If you're struggling to fully understand SEO or want to stay in the loop on some SEO tips and tricks, check out this article. (Teaser: the version of this article was born from stat #25!)

Check out the SEO article to learn more! See More

Following up on Stephanie Baiocchi 's post yesterday, read an article by Marketing Landthat went a bit further to discuss how data from targeted advertising campaigns are impacted.

My takeaways so far is it doesn't seem crazy or unbearable and given that the law goes into effect January 2023, brands should have enough time to prepare themselves and their strategies in order to safely and legally use targeted advertising data in the state of Virginia.

Looking forward, I do wonder how this will influence national advertising spends when organizations either have to avoid Virginia or plan for more states to implement these regulations and plan ahead to abide by them.

Check out the full article here! See More

My friends at Termageddon shared an article covering the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act last week. I love that states are taking it upon themselves to protect residents' data but I'm starting to get overwhelmed by all the laws out there and can only assume more are on the way.

I'm thinking about creating some sort of spreadsheet/table that has all the laws, the required privacy elements, and putting Xs on the ones that apply for each law. That way I can easily cross-reference my content to see if I've covered all of my bases.

I know Termageddon automatically updates our privacy policy accordingly with laws like this but that only works if we also update our practices if needed.

Anyone else have great ways of keeping track of... See More

"Twitter announced a pair of big upcoming features today: the ability for users to charge their followers for access to additional content, and the ability to create and join groups based around specific interests. They’re two of the more substantial changes to Twitter in a while, but they also fit snugly into models that have been popular and successful on other social platforms." - Jacob Kastrenakes

As someone who doesn't use Twitter, I wonder (and perhaps worry) how this will translate to a platform built on the pace of content. What content are people going to Twitter for that they can't find on other platforms, and what role will both influencers and brands play in using something like this?

Full article from The Verge: Twitter... See More

Fewer Desks, More Green: What Amazon's HQ2 Says About the Future of Office Design - Inc.

The $2.5 billion location in Virginia won't be full of corporate feeling offices but instead will have 2.5 acres of land with daycares, running paths, and more. While I know Amazon has had its fair share of workplace issues, this seems like a move in the right direction on paper. We will see what comes of it as construction continues.
Remote work has kickstarted a hotel subscription-living movement - DigiDay
With the brutal hit on the hospitality industry, hotels are pivoting to join the growing popularity of a subscription model. Hotel chains are offering their rooms and spaces as alternative office locations for those who need a new space. Will... See More

Good afternoon,

I know this is a bit off-center based on the forum (so if too far astray, please feel free to remove) but I know there are business owners, executives, mangers, etc. on IMPACT+ and their businesses more than likely use email in some capacity.

www.zdnet.com

The four zero-day vulnerabilities being exploited in the wild are considered critical and affect Microsoft Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, and Exchange Server 2019. Currently, it reportedly does not impact Exchange Online.

A "zero-day" bug/vulnerability is a security flaw in hardware/software that is attacked by a (typically malicious) entity before the makers of that hardware/software have defenses in place for it. The hardware/software maker then releases a... See More

Liz Moorehead did a great write-up on what you can expect come May from Google's next update. While some are saying this next update won't be a big deal, she is saying otherwise. With the new page metrics coming out for Core Web Vitals, you have until May to get those issues sorted until they significantly damage your performance on the world's number one search engine!

Here's a link to the full article:
Google's May 2021 algorithm update is a very, very big deal Google's May 2021 algorithm update is a very, very big deal See More