(This post originally appeared on Forbes)
Here are five things in technology that happened this past week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them?
1 — A business owner who spent nearly $46 million on Facebook advertising says he’s been booted from the platform without explanation.
An Ontario-based business owner who spent almost $46 million on Facebook ads over the years is sharing that he has been kicked off of Facebook without explanation or warning. Jordan Nabigon who is the CEO of Shared—which is a site that curates content—found that Facebook deleted the business page of Shared with no explanation or warning. Hundreds of business owners— like Nabigon— have recently been impacted by Facebook’s stricter guidelines and policies regarding advertisements on the platform. (Source: Business Insider)
Why this is important for your business:
Facebook has its guidelines and if you want to play, you have to play by the rules. If you believe that your business could potentially be at risk, it’s important to address those issues before you too get taken down. It also helps to make sure you have a good personal relationship with your Facebook representatives in case problems come up. Obviously, just because you spend a lot doesn’t mean you get priority.
2 —Amazon is set to buy the podcast maker Wondery.
Amazon shared this past week that they will be acquiring podcast platform Wondery. Wondery— which was founded 5 years ago— has created many well-liked podcasts over the last several years and has over 10 million different listeners month-to-month. The move will allow Amazon to grow its library of audio material and more strongly compete with podcast giants Apple and Spotify, all who have been adding podcasts to their platforms in order to secure a dominant spot in the competitive market of podcasts. (Source: CNBC)
Why this is important for your business:
Podcasting continues to grow in popularity and has created a big opportunity for brands and small businesses to get their messaging out and help establish credibility. Amazon’s entry only underscores this growing trend. Perhaps you’ve got a podcast to start?
3 —Slack started 2021 with a massive outage.
Slack experienced a major outage this past Monday which— for many— was the first full day of work of the new year. Customers reported having difficulty with connecting and channels loading. Issues began being reported at approximately 10am ET. Around 12:30pm ET, Slack began to gradually get back to normal operations for some. Later that afternoon, the company announced that a majority of the issues were rectified, while certain Outlook and Google calendar and email notifications and integrations were still down. A cause for the outage has not yet been determined. (Source: The Verge)
Why this is important for your business:
Yet another reminder that cloud based services go down. And when they do, so does your business. Those companies that rely on Slack for their communications and collaboration were stuck until the company could get things back into normal operations. The good news is that Slack got up and running fairly quickly, which underscores the importance of working with an established cloud provider that has the resources and procedures to deal with issues when they inevitably occur.
4 — Venmo’s mobile app can now cash your checks.
Venmo recently announced that they are rolling out a Cash a Check feature for both their iOS and Android apps, allowing users to deposit checks directly without having to use bank mobile apps or visit a brick-and-mortar bank. According to Venmo, the majority of checks will take moments to be approved, though some may take an hour. While fees will be required to deposit most checks— due to COVID-19— Venmo is going to be waiving fees temporarily in order for users to deposit stimulus checks without having to pay. (Source: Engadget)
Why this is important for your business:
Venmo generally can’t be used for business but that doesn’t stop countless small contractors, freelancers and business owners from doing just that. If you’re in that group, then you can now accept actual checks in addition to electronic Venmo payments.
5—Microsoft will be replacing its many mail variants with ‘One Outlook’
Microsoft is in the process of replacing its Windows 10 Mail Calendar apps in addition to the Legacy Win 32 Outlook client through developing a single version of Outlook that will operate both on Mac and Windows. Microsoft’s “One Outlook” rollout will be developed out of the current web version of Outlook and all users could potentially see a preview of “One Outlook” by the end of this year. However, Microsoft shared that fully replacing the Windows 10 Calendar and Mail apps that are built in will not happen until 2022. (Source: ZDNet)
Why this is important for your business:
This move will create headaches for some of your Outlook users, but overall it’s a good thing. With a consistent, common platform support, upgrades and training will be easier for everyone in the long run.
