afternoonbuzz

Buffer, Firefox, Snapchat, More: Wednesday Afternoon Buzz, July 13, 2016

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Social media scheduling site Buffer now supports Instagram. Sort of. “As you may know, Instagram does not allow outside apps to post directly to Instagram. With Buffer’s Instagram support, you can create an Instagram reminder in the web or mobile app, and when it’s time to post, Buffer will send a notification to your phone that loads your photo into Instagram with your prewritten caption saved to your phone’s clipboard, ready to be pasted.”

Firefox is getting a makeover. “In the last two years, its share has dropped from 13 percent to 8 percent, according to analytics firm StatCounter. The next update to Firefox, however, represents the first step in Mozilla’s long-term plan to get you using its web browser once again. It hopes to rekindle the interest and influence it claimed a decade ago by revamping its core, which could make complex websites like Facebook snappier, but make it more difficult for attackers to launch attacks over the web.”

Snapchat is getting stickier and stickier, making it easy to follow celebrities. “Mashable has discovered Snapchat has rolled out a new feature that makes following celebrity accounts (a.k.a Official Story accounts a.k.a verified accounts) easier than before. A Snapchat spokesperson has confirmed the feature is rolling out on Official Live Stories.”

Google Fiber will have small business specific data plans. “The search giant on Tuesday announced new data plans specifically for eligible small businesses. There are three options: 100 megabits per second for $70 a month, 250 Mbps for $100 a month or 1000 Mbps for $250 a month.”

USEFUL STUFF

From Galaxybookjockey: Everything Librarians Need to Know About Pokemon Go. “You’ve seen the Facebook posts. You’ve seen the headlines, you’ve heard about it in conversation, and you may have seen groups of teens and young adults walking around in odd places with smartphones and simultaneously bewildered and overjoyed expressions. But what is is this game? Why is everyone so excited, and how can I use it at my library?”

Interesting stuff from Guiding Tech: 3 Chrome Extensions to Enhance Your Incognito Mode Experience. “Incognito mode is one of the safest ways to browse stuff that we wanna hide from prying eyes. Search queries that are very embarrassing. Many people even use it for security purposes, like an important banking transaction. Well, for whatever purpose you might use it for, it’s not easy an mode to navigate on. Many options get walled to provide you the best possible encapsulated environment. So, here I’d like to show you some cool Chrome extensions that will help you browse better, privately.”

For you Facebook Liveiteers: How to Get Great Sound With Facebook Live Using a $15 Gadget. This headline is a bit misleading – it’s about a cable that converts extant microphones to smartphone microphones, but still useful.

MakeUseOf Rounds up a bevy of Google Hangout tricks.

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

The University of Georgia is getting a huge trove of local news footage. “Hundreds of video tapes, loaded with stories that have aired on WTOC over the years, are headed to the UGA libraries…. The video tapes will be digitized and preserved for future generations.” “Some” of the contents, according to the story, will be made available to the public. Good afternoon, Internet…

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