Spotify invests in podcast advertising with Chartable, Podsights acquisitions

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Spotify has just announced it bought two major podcast ad tech companies, Chartable and Podsights, to offer more features to its podcast advertisers and podcasters. Podsights will help its advertisers view more detailed information on who clicked on an ad and what actions they took (like buying the product).

As for Chartable, Spotify will offer the company's two promotional tools (SmartLinks and SmartPromos) to its podcasters. SmartLinks offers "shareable, trackable URLs that automatically route listeners to their podcasts." It'll provide data on both podcast clicks and downloads. While SmartPromos lets podcasters see which ads result in the most downloads, allowing them to measure the success of ad campaigns.

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Samsung to host another event at MWC 2022

Source: Samsung

Samsung seems to have a lot to announce this quarter. The company plans to hold another event at this year's Mobile World Congress. It's another entirely virtual event taking place on February 27. You can watch through Samsung's website or its YouTube channel.

You don't have to be a techie to know that Samsung just recently unveiled its newest flagship phones and tablets. And that recently concluded Galaxy Unpacked event typically coincided with MWC. So, it's a bit surprising that the company has another one following up so soon. The first graphic associated with the event only shows the outlines of its products, including Galaxy S, Galaxy Tab, Galaxy Fold, Galaxy Watch, and Galaxy Book. Are we getting software-related news? Guess we'll have to wait and see. 

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Twitter expands Safety Mode beta test in Canada

Source: Twitter

After testing out its anti-abuse tool with a small group in September, Twitter has started rolling out the beta version of Safety Mode for more users across its English-speaking markets, including Canada. Extending testing means the company can get more insights into how the feature works and make necessary adjustments. Aside from expanding the rollout, Safety Mode can now prompt users when the app thinks you might need it enabled.

As TechCrunch wrote, Safety Mode is a defensive tool instead of one that proactively nudges conversations in the right direction. The idea behind the feature is to give users under attack a way to put up a defensive system without manually blocking each account harassing them. That can be difficult when a tweet goes viral, exposing the poster to potentially elevated levels of abuse. It doesn't just cover celebrities or public figures, but it could be members of marginalized communities, female journalists, and sometimes even ordinary folk.

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Instagram adds option to send private Story likes

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Instagram wants to help you clear out your DMs while still making sure you get the love from your followers/loved ones. The company has begun rolling out the option to send a private like on someone's Story post. Before this new feature was introduced, you could only react to Stories by either sending the creator a direct message or an emoji reaction. Either option would show up on their inbox, which can fill the inboxes of creators.

This new like option is a heart icon between the Send Message pill and airplane icon. When you send someone a Story like, the creator will see this in their viewer sheet. There will be a heart icon there for those who liked the Story. As with seeing who has viewed Stories, the Story likes will remain private to those who posted the Story.

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