Google Maps Tests New Sidebar Feature On The Web Which Gives Convenient Access To Recently Seen Places

Maps for both Android and iOS are commonly seen giving visual updates. But the opposite stands true for maps witnessed on the Google webpage.

But it seems that things are soon going to change. The tech giant is right now testing new sidebars that give convenient access to places that users saw recently, as per 9to5G.

For some individuals, Google Maps is on the web featuring a rail for sports navigation toward the left edge. There is where you’ll find the hamburger button which opens a similar drawer to that seen in the past.

This includes two tabs that open a list of saved places and areas that you’ve visited recently.

And if that is not convenient, how about noticing that places seen recently including cities with locations are going to pop up across the sidebar. It gives users a chance to quickly return to places without spending hours searching and sifting across results of the past.

Separate locations open up on an immediate basis and they will take you to the likes of full listings. But Google Maps tends to group things together in just one place like a single city. So when you do click it, a list entailing a side panel pops up.

It’s quite like a manner featuring chat heads and enabling multitasking to be done quickly so users can easily switch from one place to the next.

• Also read: How Will Connected Cars Impact the Internet?

We see this as a great use for the likes of extra screens linked to real estate that is afforded by the web when using laptops and desktops. Moreover, the sidebar feature is great when compared to using multiple tabs featuring Google Maps that open up together. We also think it’s a wonderful addition to mobile platforms seen on Android Tablets and Apple’s iPad devices.

For now, this feature comprising a sidebar for Google Maps is not launched. Moreover, we’re seeing it appear on a single one of the accounts where users sign in. it’s a clear change that allows for location planning to occur so easily on websites as compared to the usual endeavor used on smartphone devices. Also, we see an element of excitement when there are new UI ideas, thanks to Google, popping up on large screens.

Clearly, Google is doing a great job we believe and we can’t wait for the rollout so stay tuned!

Read next: 87% of UK Adults Have Encountered Scams, New Survey Reveals
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

YouTube Studio Rolls Out Ability To Make New Podcasts And Set Up Existing Playlists As Podcasts

YouTube is all set for the launch of podcasts on the platform. But with that comes more great news about the YouTube Studio rolling out the necessary support with tools for Creators related to it.

This widely rolled-out feature gives creators the chance to make new podcasts and set new playlists as a part of that podcast endeavor. There is also going to be a new tab that’s restricted for this purpose and it would be seen on the Content page.

When done officially, such podcasts would showcase playlists and episodes from the podcast that include videos from the playlist. These would be eligible for the likes of playback through audio only.

Whenever the user marks the podcast, this content would be given an appropriate badge and it would appear with show cards in the user’s search results. And that was rolled out in 2022. Now, creators require users to include square-shaped podcast thumbnails that come with the title and entail descriptions that are more comprehensive in nature.

Creators will receive podcast-specific discoveries and even recommendation features that make it so much easier for audience members to look for the podcast in question. It would also be seen as an option that would be featured across the youtube page in the US.

Later on, you’ll find it available across YouTube Music. Today, you’ll see it continue being listed as a part of the ‘coming soon’ feature for creators in America.

YouTube mentioned in its blog post how it hopes to include dedicated analytics for all of the content that’s marked with the podcast tag. And that includes traffic sources, demographic details of the audience, retention metrics belonging to the audience, and data related to revenue.

Since then, the YouTube platform has given creators a lot of different practices that entail making public podcast playlists for all the podcasts on every channel. Next, you’ll see the podcast would be allowed to feature certain episodes that are full-length in design. And that would be organized in a specific order so users know how to view it.

The company also delineated how it hopes all podcasts would only entail full-length episodes that are organized in a sequence that consumes everyone involved. And in such situations when the podcast entails several seasons, it would entail them in that very same podcast.

During the setup process, YouTube tells users to add descriptive titles in the podcast and no extra words to it. And it’s never a good idea to entail generic terms like Full Episodes and New Uploads in it.

Just in case the podcast’s playlist is a little unclear when looked at at a first glance, you’ll see YouTube replace that with the channel’s name in the YouTube music app.

In cases when the show ends up being episodic, you can order the videos in a sequence that goes from newest to oldest. And if the show is seen in a serial, you can order that playlist in a manner that makes it go from the oldest to the newer version.

Read next: YouTube has added new features to help increase the number of views as well as give more monetization opportunities
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

How Will Connected Cars Impact the Internet?

Cars have long been considered highly innovative inventions, but in spite of the fact that this is the case the incorporation of various forms of technology have played a role in taking them to the next stage. Modern cars come packed with a wide assortment of technological features including an average of 200 sensors that collect data to help them perform better than might have been the case otherwise.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that this ends up creating a vast quantity of data that might put a strain on the world wide web. Companies that are in the business of manufacturing these so called connected cars plan to upload anywhere from 50% to 70% of the data they collect directly to the internet.

It is predicted that this could result in the amount of data going into the internet increasing a thousand times over with all things having been considered and taken into account. The total amount of data will be in excess of 10 exabytes, which is concerning because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up breaking the internet and its surrounding and related infrastructure.

Each individual vehicle that is driven on a regular basis could end up generating hundreds of terabytes of data. The question here is where is all of this data going to end up being stored? The current maximum capacity of storage serves and the like is about 8 zettabytes.

At the rate of data collection that is predicted, this entire capacity could be exhausted in as little as 2.2 years. While there are plans to increase this upper limit to 16 zettabytes, that would only buy a couple more years of time before things start to get risky.

Car manufacturers will have to figure out how they are going to deal with this issue. The internet is a necessary utility, and it needs to remain consistent otherwise the entire world could start to suffer a series of cataclysmic events that would compound on each other.

H/T: Visualcapitalist
Read next: Web data is a game changer for business professionals according to this study
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

FTC Demands Top Social Media Apps Including Twitter, Instagram, And YouTube Submit Data On How They’re Stopping Deceptive Ads

In case you haven’t noticed, there has been a dramatic rise in deceptive ads on various social media apps.

No matter how many probes have been conducted and new legislations have been introduced, the FTC revealed on Thursday how it was now working hard to investigate the ordeal.

This cited a large rise in consumers who were falling for fraud related to such ads online. Therefore, to tackle the ordeal, this American regulating firm is working hard to issue orders and demand the apps submit data to try and prevent this from arising in the first place.

The companies being outlined include Facebook, Twitch, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Moreover, the FTC says all of these firms are needed by the law to comply with the request.

See, by calling out all of these firms, the FTC is indirectly trying to produce a study that would examine the entire problem like how fraudsters are circulating the ads in today’s time.

So now, these companies are forced to submit their version of the report that includes data from 2019 to 2023.

The study is designed to assist the firm make sure all social media and video streaming firms do all that is in their power to keep scammers away. Similarly, they’re trying to keep deceptive ads off the app.

With reference to this own data, the FTC adds how consumers from 2022 mentioned losing nearly $1.2 billion to fund fraud schemes seen rolling around social media. And when you come to think of it, it’s more than any other means for contacting.

Most apps have plenty of safeguards in place that stop fraudsters from carrying out abuse on the system. But the FTC says it wishes to see which firms are carrying out an inspection for compliance, including those conducting human-based reviews of advertisements through automated systems.

Other than that, the American regulation will conduct an examination of the financial incentives of different social media firms that turn a blind eye to scam ads.

These orders also need the firms to report advertising revenue and the number of views each ad got, alongside so many more metrics being used today.

The crackdown is definitely appearing to be positive so far but only time will tell what benefits it brings to the table in the near future.

Read next: Ad Revenue Hits 5 Year Low, Here’s What That Means for the Industry
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

The Apple Watch Could Help Sickle Cell Disease Patients Feel Less Pain

Apple has done a great job of creating a brand new field of tech, namely that of wearables. The Apple Watch provides a wide range of features, with its health features usually standing out because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up informing people about impending crises.

Researchers working at Duke University in collaboration with Northwestern University have revealed that the Apple Watch can be especially useful with a particular chronic illness known as sickle cell disease. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that this Apple product could help users predict when they will get a painful flare up so that they can prepare accordingly.

Sickle cell disease causes a wide array of painful symptoms. Chief among them is something known as vaso-occlusive crisis. This can cause the most severe pain of all, but knowing about it in advance could make it cause less suffering than might have been the case otherwise.

Researchers hooked up test subjects with sickle cell diseas to Apple Watches and asked them to provide pain scores whenever there was a flare up. The various types of data collected by the watch allowed researchers to predict the pain well beforehand, and that enabled them to greatly reduce it with all things having been considered and taken into account.

• Also read: Web data is a game changer for business professionals according to this study

In spite of the fact that this is the case, more work will need to be done in order to determine the true efficacy of the Apple Watch in this regard. It will be interesting to see what kind of a role this wearable tech can play in the health industry. If the findings of this research end up proving accurate, it could be a game changer for Apple’s entire business model since it could become a critical component in an essential service.

All in all, the Apple Watch is clearly bringing a lot of new value to the table. This is despite people criticizing it as a superfluous new product when it was first launched for consumers.

Read next: Ad Revenue Hits 5 Year Low, Here’s What That Means for the Industry
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

According to "The State of Journalism 2023," report the two biggest problems facing journalists today are disinformation and lack of funding

Muck Rack recently conducted "The state of Journalism 2023," a journalism survey of 2,226 journalists from all around the world, including the U.S., Africa, Asia, and Europe, in collaboration with 15 other businesses. This survey was conducted between January 1 and February 6, 2023. The primary objective of this study was to inform people about the importance of journalism, its state now, and its growth potential.

About 50% of journalists expressed concern about inaccurate information and a lack of funding, which was the survey's most significant finding. Not just these two, but also declining readership (31%), declining media trust (40%), lack of time to cover their material (33%), lack of independence in news media (32%), and safety concerns (30%), too many stories to cover (17%), and news and media literacy (31%) are also contributing factors.

Also, the economy's unpredictability has impacted the content of many journalists, leading many of them to change employment (22%), while 33% have been unaffected. Despite this, journalism will likely remain very popular in 2023, as 58% of those polled said they are very enthusiastic about their future and career ambitions in this sector.

Also, according to 43% of respondents, there is currently no question that short videos like those on TikTok will be the most popular type of content in 2023.

As a reporter or journalist, there are a variety of sources you can rely on, with online newspapers and magazines ranking as the top ones (59%) followed by Twitter (14%), print newspapers and magazines (5%), radios, podcasts, and other social media platforms (2%).

The usefulness of Twitter as a social network has grown, and nearly all journalists rely on it. It received the most votes (78%) for "most valuable social network," beating out Facebook and LinkedIn. Several of the journalists who use Twitter stated that they use this platform to promote their work (78%), keep up with the news (83%), find sources for their articles (69%), stay in touch with fellow journalists (67%), and more.

Journalists are 7% more inclined than in the previous year's study to respond to pitches, although 53% of them will remain the same. However, 92% of reporters prefer to receive pitches via 1:1 emails, and the majority of them do not open these emails because they are too lengthy or come at an inconvenient time.

The study found that Gen Z and millennials are going to be the most targeted audiences, with 41% and 57% of respondents choosing these groups respectively, while 15% preferred audiences of all ages.

According to the survey, U.S. respondents reported their annual income as less than $40k (20%), between $40k and $70k (31%), between $70k and $100k (20%), and 15% said they would rather not disclose.

Read next: This Study Reveals Huge Gap Between PR Professionals and General Population
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

This TikToker Revealed How Easy It Is to Dox People in Just Half an Hour

Doxing can be a very dangerous thing to go through because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up exposing your private information to countless individuals. Unfortunately, recent innovations in tech have made it so that doxing has become a great deal easier than might have been the case otherwise.

A TikTok users by the name of Kristen Sotakoun has turned doxing into a type of content, since users often consent to her revealing personal information like their birth date. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that it only takes Sotakoun around half an hour at most to find this information and reveal it if she receives permission from the people requesting it.

Sotakoun does this by leveraging something called Open Source Intelligence, and it can be a huge problem for people who want to try to maintain some kind of anonymity or privacy online. While Sotakoun only does this with express permission, there are a number of malicious actors who use similar practices for far more nefarious purposes with all things having been considered and taken into account.

A writer at Engadget asked Sotakoun to dox her, and this led to her discovering just how easy something like this can be. Sotakoun was able to uncover her private Twitter account and Instagram, and she was also able to learn quite a bit about her stepmother as well as her sister who she shares a name with.

This just goes to show that maintaining any semblance of privacy in this modern age has become exceptionally difficult in ways that people might not be able to properly predict or expect. More work needs to be done to educate consumers about the dangers of sharing so much information. They do so under the assumption that their data will always be safe and sound, but Sotakoun and so many others like her are continuing to reveal that this just doesn’t seem like the case in the real world.

Image: freepik
Read next: What Is The Most Used Emoji In Each Country? This New Study Has The Answer
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World