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Instagram is adding yet another way to liven up your Reels recommendations. The app is rolling out Blend, a feature that allows you to create a custom feed within a DM that combines your recommendations with a friends. If that sounds familiar, its because Blend has been in the works for some time. It was first spotted in the app more than a year ago, but was only an internal prototype at the time. Now, Meta is finally making it official, describing it as an invite-only Reels feed for you and your friend(s). Anyone can invite a friend or a group of friends to join a Blend from within a direct message or group chat on Instagram. Once someone accepts the invitation, Instagram generates a custom feed of Reels made up of video recommendations tailored to each person. As you scroll, you can view who each suggested clip is for, giving a window into what types of Reels Instagrams algorithm serves your friends. The feature is the latest way Meta has been allowing instagram users to gain more insight into their friends Reels-watching habits. The company also recently introduced a dedicated tab that shows videos liked by your Instagram friends. Whether that sounds like an intriguing way to find new niches of content, or potentially massively embarrassing is another matter. (Its also yet another reminder that your Instagram likes were never actually private.) But, if youre Reels suggestions have been feeling a little stale, or youre just curious about how some of your friends experience the app, it could be an entertaining way to spice up your recommendations.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/instagram-now-lets-you-combine-your-reels-recommendations-with-friends-160023003.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
A federal judge has ruled that Google is a monopolist in online advertising. The New York Times reported on Thursday that Judge Leonie Brinkema of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia said the company broke the law to maintain its ad tech dominance. In addition to depriving rivals of the ability to compete, this exclusionary conduct substantially harmed Googles publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web, the judge said. The case stemmed from a January 2023 lawsuit from the US Justice Department and eight states. They accused Google of illegally monopolizing the ad market and using that power to charge more and take a higher portion of sales. "Competition in the ad tech space is broken, for reasons that were neither accidental nor inevitable," the government said in its complaint. "One industry behemoth, Google, has corrupted legitimate competition in the ad tech industry by engaging in a systematic campaign to seize control of the wide swath of high-tech tools used by publishers, advertisers, and brokers, to facilitate digital advertising." The government says Google holds an 87 percent market share in ad-selling tech. Judge Brinkema's decision follows another in August, when a federal judge ruled that Google monopolizes online search. Judge Amit Mehta of the US District Court for the District of Columbia said in 2024 that the company "is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly." Judge Mehta is considering a DOJ request to break up the company based on that ruling. Now, Judge Brinkema will face a similar decision about the nearly $1.9 trillion company's dominance in advertising. The DOJ's lawsuit already asked the court to make Google sell portions of its ad tech business. Much of the company's future will rest on what those two judges decide in the coming months. Developing...This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-is-a-monopoly-in-online-ad-tech-federal-judge-rules-151531919.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
Looking for a good VPN service? ExpressVPN is offering one heck of a deal right now. You can snag a 28-month subscription, which is well over two years, for 61 percent off the typical price. This boils down to $5 per month, but theres one catch. You have to pay up front, which comes out to $140. Thats a hefty initial payout, but having access to a good VPN service into late 2027 sounds pretty dang nice. To that end, ExpressVPN is one of the more reputable companies out there and it easily made our list of the best VPN providers. We appreciated the speedy connections offered by the service. This isnt always the case with VPNs. We also didnt encounter too much lag during our testing. It works on a variety of devices, so this isnt just for the living room desktop. ExpressVPN integrates with mobile gadgets, smart TVs and game consoles, among other items. Its really the best solution for gamers who travel a lot. It also comes with an in-house password manager, which would eliminate the need for a standalone subscription. Truly the only real downside of this service is the price. The regular cost is $13 per month, which is mighty steep. This sale alleviates this concern, at least for 28 months. Spending $5 per month for a VPN of this caliber is something of a no-brainer. Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/expressvpn-two-year-subscriptions-are-61-percent-off-right-now-150758431.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
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