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apps-and-software

09.18.17 Credit Cards

Download this: Facebook’s redesign makes more sense than you might think

Image: brittany herbert/mashable

Facebook’s app is looking a lot different and, surprise surprise, not everyone is a fan.

The company showed off the redesign back in August, when it introduced its latest News Feed updates. But the revamped mobile app is still gradually rolling out to everyone, so many people are just starting to see it. 

SEE ALSO: The video chat app that should scare the hell out of Facebook and Snapchat

Predictably, as with most major Facebook updates, there’s been a strong reaction even though the update isn’t finished rolling out yet. 

The app is now really gray, and looks much flatter, with comments looking more like chat messages than a threaded conversation. 

Facebook says the update is meant to make News Feed “easier to navigate,” but not everyone is convinced. While a significant redesign can always be a bit jarring the first few times you see it, many are calling the new look, with its redesigned icons and rounded corners, “cartoonish.” 

The new navigational icons in the Facebook app.

Image: facebook

But Facebook’s reasoning holds more weight than you may think, explains Kori Handy, VP of Design at Shyft.

“The grey ‘dull’ colors are on purpose, Because of its neutrality, it is frequently used as a background color. It makes other colors pop,” he says.

And those round “cartoonish” avatars? It’s more simple than you might think, according to Handy, who previously lead design teams at Microsoft and PayPal.

“Why make an avatar image round? Well your face is more round than a box, right? Also, from a visual design perspective, the content is boxed, and if the avatars are boxed too, it makes the user have to divide content from people’s faces.”

Though Facebook users may be particularly sensitive to these types of changes, the social network is far from the only company retooling its look. As we pointed out when the update first released, Twitter also redesigned its app to feature round avatars and new fonts.

In Handy’s view, both companies have drawn inspiration for their new look from what may seem like an unlikely source: Instagram. It’s easy to forget now, but in May 2016 the company rolled out a major redesign. That revamp brought users a cleaner, flatter look complete with more subtle navigational icons and a minimalist black and white design. 

“Both Facebook and Twitter have been influenced by Instagram’s past design changes,” Handy says. “This new design thinking is basically the next ‘safe’ design, when 1-2 yrs ago it was a risky design.”

Though Instagram’s update was controversial at the time, it’s difficult now to imagine anyone wanting to go back to the previous look, which actually felt closer to a cartoon than Facebook’s current app.

So while some people are likely continue complaining about Facebook’s latest makeover for some time, the bulk of users could adapt to the new look faster than you’d think.

WATCH: You can now pay for your fried chicken with a smile because credit cards are so 2016

Read more: http://mashable.com/2017/09/10/facebook-app-redesign-download-this/

09.06.17 banks

WhatsApp launches new business features for customer service messages

WhatsApp is rolling out some new business-friendly features.
Image: brittany herbert/mashable

WhatsApp is now open for business(es).

The Facebook-owned chat platform just announced that it will test some new features designed specifically for business-to-customer messaging, following up on the rumors that it would expand on its offerings.

The new features include the closed pilot of a new WhatsApp verification program, which tags corporate accounts with green check marks just like Facebook’s verified business Pages, and a whole new WhatsApp Business app.   

SEE ALSO: How to use WhatsApp on your computer to message more

The Business app will launch for free as a means for WhatsApp to test out its new initiatives with small companies, but it’s not clear exactly what types of services it will offer outside of general customer service communications.

WhatsApp is also planning on launching an “enterprise solution” for large companies with international presences (think big banks, airlines, etc.) so they can better connect with their customer bases for direct updates on statements, delivery confirmations, and other communications. 

Importantly, the service will give WhatsApp another opportunity to monetize, which has been a challenge for the messaging-heavy platform since it was acquired by Facebook. Chief Operating Officer Matt Idema told the Wall Street Journal that WhatsApp will charge a fee for the enterprise solution, but admitted that “We don’t have the details of monetization figured out.”  

WhatsApp, with its daily user base of over a billion people, could become an integral point in customer service initiatives, especially in areas where it’s already being used for that purpose. The new Business features might mean that corporate accounts will start sliding into your DMs — but it was inevitable for the platform to bring in some money on its own.   

WATCH: An army of robots planned, designed, and built this 3-story house from the ground up

Read more: http://mashable.com/2017/09/05/whatsapp-for-business-enterprise-service-apps/

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