Twitter Is Adding A New Communities Section For Users To Embellish Upon In Their Professional Profiles

Twitter’s adding in a new Professional Profile option via which users can feature any Community that they are a part of.

As an individual who’s not all that active on Twitter, coming back to the platform once or twice a month, I’m always just a little taken aback by just how many new things are added to the interface. I just got used to Professional Profiles being a (sort of) thing, and now we have Spaces and Communities to boot. As far as I can comprehend, Communities are just the equivalent of Facebook groups on Twitter; a common ground via which individuals with overlapping interests can communicate with each other. Professional profiles, as I’m sure most Twitter users are aware, refer to a profile model that users can sign up for to make their accounts come off as professional businesses and such. This sort of business account method is something that Meta, Twitter, and even Snapchat have adopted to some extent, which goes to show just how much our professional and personal lives have managed to bleed into each other. Personally, not a fan of this happening, but hustle culture will either work us to death or drown us in the process.

Professional profiles allow users to feature a myriad of information about either themselves or their small businesses and startups, and this new Twitter feature that we’re discussing adds something new to the mix. Now, users can add Communities to their professional profiles, allowing users the ability to share a single space where they can discuss the business at hand. This can be especially useful to the likes of influencers or online personalities since such individuals have already amassed mass followings that would love to cohabit in an online dedicated space. If subreddits aren’t enough, maybe an officially created or endorsed Twitter Community is what everyone was looking out for.

H/T: Alessandro Paluzzi

Read next: Twitter Intends To Collaborate with Top Researchers To Curb Its Misinformation Struggles
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Instagram Releases New Version Of A Parents’ Guide For Better Support Of Kids On The App

It’s back-to-school time and to help keep kids in line with that theme in the digital world, Instagram is going public with its ‘back to school’ guide.

The app just released the new version of its parents’ guide that entails a full overview of the platform’s features linked to greater control and privacy. In the same way, there are plenty of notes that give parents the guidance they require for young users on the app. And yes, that’s super important, the company adds.

The news was recently announced by Instagram where they revealed how adults commonly assume their teenagers’ real lives and those witnessed on social media are very different. You might be appalled to learn how they’re both so well linked. This is where most teens love expressing their thoughts and emotions on the matter. Similarly, you’ll find them hanging out with friends while exploring some great ideas across this app.

And yes, it’s a mixed bag of emotions. Some you’ll love, others, not so much. But all forms of interactions are a part of life, be it drama, romance, or anxiety. Be it on the web or not, that’s the reality and the app wants parents to understand that it's not only linked to technology. However, the app does feel it might be exacerbated through this means.

It’s true that so many researchers are coming forward and talking about the great dangers linked to this app. And when you’ve got the added pressure of going back to school at hand, we can see why quite a few people are worried.

Social media can take a toll on mental health as people begin to compare their lives with so many others. It’s the dangers that such consequences have that experts worry about. So that’s exactly where the Guide from Instagram steps in. We do recommend grabbing a hold of it and going through it deeply. And there are around 40 different variations available, according to various regions and languages.

The guide entails a complete overview of the app’s options for both privacy and safety, including how each of these added features works. The most important one is how users can limit who sees what on the app and how sharing things with a limited audience is the key to success here.

Meanwhile, a separate section has been reserved linked to DM safety which many critics feel is a major area of concern for the younger generation. There are some notes that are a great way that parents can guide their kids and talk to them about how important online safety is in today’s day and age.

Instagram reiterates how there’s no better time than now to really put some great information out there. Now is the time we’re seeing kids get adjusted to new rules and regulations, not to mention new surroundings at school. Hence, making them aware at this critical time is important.

Read next: Instagram Begins New Test Of Replacing Its Shop Tab With A New Notifications Tab
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Microsoft Launches New Tool That Keeps Users Safe From Losing Their Passwords

There’s a new update for Windows 11 users and it arises in the form of a tool that keeps users safe from losing their passwords.

The tool is a part of the most recently put out Windows 11 update and is referred to as an Enhanced Phishing Protection functionality. It’s sending out a warning whenever users go about typing their passwords on a particular app or webpage that might be insecure. And that could entail Microsoft’s own applications such as Microsoft Word.

See, the company wants its users to stay protected all of the time. And that’s why the update has come about in the first place.

The company was quick to go public with the news by publishing it through a blog post. Moreover, it boldly declares how this new feature will alarm users when they’re writing out sensitive details like passwords and they’re in plan view. Hence, this will ensure it’s covered and safely kept away from both scammers and those trying to hack into their accounts.

For this to work, the tool will make use of a SmartScreen. This is another name reserved for saved passcodes that can be entered at any time. It usually comes up with a warning that states how it's not safe to store passwords on the app. They also send another alert that mentions how it’s important to remove passwords seen across this file.

Users that wish to utilize this will have to have the new feature toggled. Remember, those that do end up installing the update will notice how this feature is disabled and hence needs to be switched on.

If you wish to have it enabled, simply enter the Start menu, click on Settings and then enter your privacy and security. There will be a button for Windows Security so click on that, which will lead you to your app and browser control. And that’s where you can find the section for Phishing Protection in the reputation settings.

You’ll need to click on the option that says you’d like to be warned about the storage of unsafe passwords and passwords being reused.

In the same way, Microsoft mentioned how IT admins have the ability to customize alerts with their mobile devices through solutions such as MDM. This includes the likes of Microsoft Intune.

This new launch is a major one in the new security update seen for Windows 11 this year and one of the most talked about ones on the platform to occur for months.

There is another new update that makes use of AI-powered technology that halts users from having malicious apps run across Windows 11. This is known as the Control For Smart Apps. After getting refreshed on a daily basis, this will evaluate the types of threat at hand and in case it’s high, it’s not going to be given the chance to run.

In the same way, we’ll be seeing a new series of updates soon that separately work to shield the app from vulnerable drivers.

Read next: New Microsoft Index Shows the Dangers of Productivity Paranoia
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Instagram Begins New Test Of Replacing Its Shop Tab With A New Notifications Tab

Instagram is one app that we’ve seen evolve quite a bit in recent months. While some changes have been appreciated, others have not so much. And now, we’re hearing more news on how the app is busy making another change that’s being tested.

The test replaces the Shop Tab with a Notifications tab. This is seen on the app’s navigation bar and some users have stated that their Shop tab is missing and has been replaced.

As of now, the company has failed to announce the test publicly but one spokesperson from Meta did speak to a media outlet called The Verge. They confirmed the change and stated that it was a part of a significant test that was designed to further simplify the workings of the app.

Moreover, now that the test has gone live, the change is being seen by a few people but the exact numbers aren’t specific right now.

The Shop tab was first seen being included around two years back. At that time, the pandemic was in full swing and people were really shopping online. This way, the tab served as the ultimate for people to connect with one another on the app.

Be it a creator, brand, or tiny business- many were able to put up their goods and services for sale. That is what gave users the chance to instantly buy products that were marketed on their feeds.

In the same way, we saw the tab also provide a number of recommendations for products, a handful of picks from editors, and live streams of businesses, among others.

While we’re not quite sure how successful the Shop Tab was on the app for the thousands of creators as well as for the app, one thing is for sure. It’s quite clear now how the firm is searching for a way to move in the right direction through new means.

The changes may be seen coming forward, despite the company offering better shopping features over the last two years. We even saw Instagram debut its ability for users and sellers to allow for direct sales and purchases via their DMs.

Hence, we don’t see how the removal of a Shop tab could make much of a difference if any. See, now it’s been given the importance of being a sub-section located in the app’s Settings.

As mentioned by Meta’s spokesperson on the change to The Verge, commerce has always been an integral factor that makes it so much simpler for people to explore and purchase new goods found on apps through their newsfeeds, Reels, Stories, and other forms of innovations like drops or through live shopping streams.

For now, the current removal is limited simply to a few users but if reports from The Information come out to be true, we could see it removed completely by next year. Hence, that makes the whole user shopping experience less of a personalized venture.

Just like any other update on the app when a feature comes out, Instagram will evolve with time and with the number of its fantastic offerings. Hence, we’ll just need to search some more to see how the change rolls out to other users soon.

Read next: Meta Is Working On A New Profile ‘Switching Tool’ That Allows Users To Jump Between Instagram And Facebook
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Why Coaching Call Center Agents Is Important

When your call center employees don't feel like they are progressing, there is a higher chance that they leave their employment. Lack of opportunity for career progress or promotion is a factor in 32% of employees leaving their jobs.

However, agent retention rises in call centers with a coaching culture. Additionally, they benefit from increased efficacy in creating stronger client relationships and offering top-notch customer service. You must adhere to certain practices if you want to train your agents properly. In this article, let’s explore why coaching call center agents are important and tips to improve coaching efficiency.

What Is Coaching for Call Centers?

Call center coaching gives agents feedback, real-world cases, and performance evaluations to help them perform better and be productive. Agents can develop their skills and provide excellent customer service when they are aware of best practices to adhere to.

It's critical to distinguish between call center coaching and agent evaluations on their performance. The purpose of coaching must be to improve performance going forward and support continuing reviews.

Additionally, coaching gives agents the tailored feedback they require to function at their highest level. Employees should, in other words, be aware of the many jobs they must complete, their importance, and the specific tasks required to complete them. In the end, a significant portion of what makes consumers satisfied is an agent's improved performance.

Why Is Coaching More Crucial Than Ever?

You may use coaching to retain top people, tap into the tremendous human resource potential, and develop the next generation of leaders for your organization. If you are still unsure about the value of teaching call center agents, take a brief look at some major coaching benefits.

The greatest outcomes are frequently viewed by managers coaching their agents as a quality management method. Now is the moment to fix any problems you may have found after listening to call records or receiving consumer complaints. Providing excellent customer service must be developed through practice. Coaching is the method to assist in teaching that ability and provide guidance on what to do in certain circumstances.

Additionally, you have the chance to identify your best employees and recognize them while also motivating those with lower KPIs. Recognize agent abilities and capitalize on them to maximize everyone's potential. This is one method agents can work toward achieving their objective of moving ahead in the company as time goes on. Through coaching, you can identify employees who may not be the greatest candidates for this position and could be better off performing another task.

Tips for Effective Call Center Coaching

Call center coaching can be challenging, time-consuming, and sometimes emotionally taxing. The success of these sessions can significantly increase by following these tips.

Maintain Confidentiality

Giving direct criticism in a confidential, one-on-one context is beneficial. This makes it possible for agents to interact with your advice in a meaningful way, asking questions and providing justifications for why they find some parts difficult. While one-on-one training is the norm at most contact centers, group sessions have a place as well.

Positive Comments Should Be Shared Before Critical Ones

Starting with a positive attitude is the best approach to persuade your agents to take your recommendations and constructive criticism into account. Share the things that they have recently gotten better at or that they perform consistently well. They will feel appreciated and are more likely to be open to what follows if you do this.

End the discussion on a positive note by highlighting their strength after sharing the negative criticism. This guarantees that the agent is motivated and prepared to advance.

Create a Wallboard and Set Goals

Set goals that your agents can concentrate on and strive toward together. Particularly if they want to advance in their career or hope for a raise, this gives them motivation and a way to track their progress. Try to assist them in generating ideas and creating timetables that are reasonable for achieving these objectives.

A visual board is a fantastic addition to help your team remember their objectives and have something concrete to refer to. Wallboard with a large screen shows real-time project activities and setting it up in a communal area for everyone to observe is one approach to accomplish this.

Work Together to Develop a Strategy

Ad hoc programs are the weakest and least productive forms of coaching. Even for the most seasoned agents, coaching should be a continuous endeavor. This is particularly valid for the rising number of call center agents who operate from their homes.

Goals and activities for the following sessions should be discussed at the end of each session. Collaboration is important in achieving this. Agents are much more likely to internalize the objectives that they helped create.

Hold Private Tutoring Sessions

Some agents are reluctant to disclose their flaws in front of others. In your capacity as the owner or manager of a call center, you ought to limit your use of critical feedback in your one-on-one coaching sessions. Then, hold one-on-one meetings where you subtly highlight the drawbacks. It will boost their self-esteem and inspire them to improve.

by Web Desk via Digital Information World

Snapchat Forms Internal Team To Improve The App’s Lagging Performance

There is a lot of competition in the digital world and every app is searching for ways on how it can better its performance against all others in the industry.

This is why Snapchat is on a mission to develop an internal team that can better gauge where the platform is lacking and how it can return to normal views.

Remember, Snap has really been at the top of its game but that’s when TikTok started stealing the overall market share and screen time. The immense popularity of the short form video app can’t be denied and we feel Snap isn’t going to give up without putting up with a fight.

But where is the lacking and why have user habits changed? These are just some of the many questions on Snapchat’s mind.

The new initiative is called Project Sunshine and it entails a few engineers from the app that are reportedly a part of its growing team. They are trying to diagnose the problem and help get the app back on track. And by that, we mean growing the number of users that are seen engaging on Stories and also posting them too.

The news comes to us thanks to those familiar with the ordeal. They spoke to Insider and said that TikTok has really risen in recent times and something needs to be done before it's too late. The app is working to up its game and combat all the dragging down that has occurred.

People used to post frequently in the past and even engage in stories of those they didn’t know personally. But now, it’s very different. People are returning to the app to see those on their contact lists like friends or loved ones. And as you can imagine, it’s affecting the viewership greatly.

This habit of hopping in and out of the platform after taking a sneak peek of what certain users have posted is not helping Snap. And since increased usage and engagement are the app’s biggest priority at the moment, they’re making leading efforts to get it back.

• Also read: The World Of AR Technology Is Years Away From Mass Consumer Adoption, Confirms IDC

This new project Sunshine may have witnessed a few ups like perhaps getting more views on Stories belonging to close friends but it’s just not been peaking like before. Meanwhile, one spokesman for the firm says the company is constantly evolving and it’s their Stories product that really has the greatest viewership.

This past summer proved how many people were interested in metrics and also usage. And in this year’s Q2 results, the screentime for stories peaked and achieved more success than the previous year.

Q2 proves how daily active users on the app have risen by a staggering 18% but that’s not as great as the previous year which showed a growth of 23%. So as you can see, it’s a YoY decrease in terms of time spent by users watching the app’s stories. And this was directly linked to a fall in the volume of daily Story posts.

Snapchat’s biggest archrival is definitely TikTok. But there is the growing influence of apps like Instagram and Facebook as well. The app that’s owned by Byte-Dance is exactly where people tend to go to get the most entertaining forms of content.

In case you didn’t know, Snap decided to roll out its first-ever revenue stream that came in the form of Snapchat+. This was a monthly subscription that provided users with the best features that weren’t relying on the growth of users or even on engagement. It was linked to ads directly.

But internally, the situation is bad. We’re talking about a huge reorganization of the firm where priorities are getting reconsidered. And recently, Insider shed light on a really sticky mess that had more than 1200 employees laid off.

Read next: 30% of US Adults Now Use Visual Search for Shopping
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

What Country Creates the Most Space Debris?

The space race ended after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, but it is now starting to rise up again because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up achieving a space travel related goal can bring a lot of prestige to countries. In spite of the fact that this is the case, the quest to conquer space is creating a unique new problem, namely that of space junk or space debris.

Every object that is launched into space and left there is coming together to create a massive debris field that might collide with active satellites and potentially trap humanity on earth for the foreseeable future. However, what country is most responsible for this debris? It turns out that there are three main culprits behind the massive increase in space debris, namely the US, Russia and China with all things having been considered and taken into account.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Russia is responsible for well over 7,000 spent rocket bodies and other types of junk that is now orbiting the planet. The number for the USA is around 5,216, and China is currently sitting at around the 3,850 mark.

This problem will become increasingly pertinent in the future as major corporations start trying to launch consumer oriented space travel in low orbit. These shuttles will be at risk of getting crashed into by orbiting debris. One might assume that the solution is to slowly bring these pieces of junk down, but that runs the risk of depleting the ozone layer, generating a lot of heat as well as whatever the damage at the crash site was look like.

This is an issue that has no easy fix, and major world leaders would need to come together in order to figure out how to handle it. Humanity is starting to look to the stars once again, but we will only reach them if we approach this new era of space travel in a responsible way with all factors having been considered.

Read next: The World Of AR Technology Is Years Away From Mass Consumer Adoption, Confirms IDC
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World