David G. Johnson

Buzzfeed is reporting that Twitter is planning to launch an algorithmic feed -- as soon as next week.

It is unclear whether Twitter will force users to use the algorithmic feed, or it will merely be an option.

My prediction: whether they phase it in or just force it on everyone, the algorithmic feed will become the default.

Why? 

Because as Facebook's record profits last quarter have proven, algorithmic feeds drive revenue. Brands and small businesses alike will spend money to get their content in front of users when the distribution is no longer free.

Unfortunately for Twitter, they aren't Facebook. So if it's true that they're bowing to pressure from Wall Street to "grow, grow, grow," and this move is a "me too" effort to drive ad sales the way Facebook did, then they may be in for a rude awakening.

<iframe width="1280" height="720" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bd4pUSTsS_w?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Results from animal studies. Relevance to humans is unknown. 

They were drawing a diagram on a human at the time, so clearly whatever they were actually communicating was the opposite of the fine print. We had the sound muted at the time.

But we allow this stuff to be advertised.

You just can't make this stuff up!

Thanks again to @LeoLaporte & @KevinMarks for demonstrating all this #IndieWeb stuff. So I'm posting from https://quill.p3k.io to my @WithKnown site. Love it!

Haven't sorted out syndicating to Twitter from Quill just yet (it works beautifully from my @WithKnown site), but I must need to configure something.

http://www.leoville.net/2015/posting-this-on-my-site-and-syndicating-it-to-twitter

Apparently there's actually a formula for producing big movie trailers. Here it is broken down for you with examples:

On the heels of last year's 25th Anniversary, Good News Pest Solutions in Sarasota does not disappoint!

This year, in advance of their 26th, they've launched an aggressive Pest Control for Life giveaway, which will undoubtedly create a good bit of buzz and generate visibility and further goodwill for their brand. Situated near Sarasota, Florida, the company services a 50-mile radius covering the cities of Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, and the surrounding communities.

To enter, homeowners must post to the company's Facebook page. A simple "selfie" gains them one entry. A video, on the other hand, gives them 3 entries at one shot. The kicker is: the video must contain the homeowner saying, "I wanna go green with Good News for life!"

It's a great campaign that reinforces the company's "green" brand, and the St. Patrick's Day launch was another fantastic tie-in. A special St. Patrick's Day version of the video went live today and is already generating a good number of views and high engagement levels.

All in all, there's a lot to love about this campaign. What could your business do to help generate buzz like this?

Since SSL v3 is now compromised, web servers should be configured to disable the protocol entirely. This is true even if you don't rely on it, because the attack vector involves forcing your server (and apps that rely on SSL) to fallback to this outdated protocol.

Big thanks to Digital Ocean for once again preparing a fantastic guide to protecting your web server. Here's their guide to disabling SSLv3.

It took a fair amount of research, because the necessary upgrade is particularly cumbersome if you have Sprint as your mobile carrier. Here's the full write-up on how to get mobile data working on your Samsung Galaxy S3 after updating to Cyanogenmod M11.

Imagine logging in to Facebook and seeing an ad about a bizarre problem you face based on your rare hobby and an issue that almost no one could even know about.

That's what happened to Brian Swichkow's roommate, who happened to be a sword swallower, but who also had trouble swallowing pills.

The writeup in Adweek details how Swichkow executed a Facebook ad campaign with only one possible Custom Audience member, bypassing some of the systems restrictions designed to safeguard users' privacy. It's a brilliant prank, but also a fun lesson in super-fine targeting of your marketing!

Well this is one I'll be hanging on to. I've heard other versions, of course, but author Walter Isaacson just sprung this one on the audience in a segment on CBS Sunday Morning today. His interview focused on the 40-year history of the digital revolution, and the nature of collaborative innovation. It was a fascinating piece, and I'm very interested in picking up his new book, The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution.