What’s New This Week?

Must Be the Algorithm
The Chicago Tribune chronicled the decline… of their Facebook post reach. This detailed case study (so many charts!) portrays a conundrum faced by many publishers: their content isn’t being surfaced by Facebook’s algorithm. (And we learn that Facebook formally recommends “24 to 48 posts per day.”)

#Resistance’s Data Love Affair
This newsletter has talked a lot about the role of data in political campaigns. And, yes, this is yet another article on the topic. But this Wired piece feels empowering, making the claim that data is the solution to finally understanding our elections process. Or as the article puts it: “Donors have no way of knowing whether it’s polls, personality, or backdoor politicking leading the party to back one candidate over another… founders want to bring transparency to the process.”

Big News for Google Analytics Nerds
I have been working in Google Analytics for a long time, so this is a big one. GA is getting a new homepage dashboard and will no longer open to the “Audience Overview” report. Bounce rate is gone! Here’s the update with screen shots.

And on a Lighter Note
I have to love any article that complains “the nerds have taken over marketing.” This Forbes fluff piece cracked me up, even though it contains zero actual information.

And in other links….
An adult coloring book features climate change data. (Color in maps of land loss and graphs of rising temperatures.)  Google asks 10K people to contribute their health data, so they can calculate “normal” human health. And finally, the “mother of all ad blockers” is coming for us.

Advice of the Week

#StopMakingEverythingaHashtag
Social media agency Scribble Social gives their hashtag pet peevesand how to correct them. Tip #1: The point of hashtags is to help your content get discovered.

Cool Visualization of the Week

Kids These Days
What do teens think is cool? Well, Google found out for us. (Thanks, Google!) And the answers are: YouTube, Oreos and reading. And the least cool? Wall Street Journal, Sprint and Yahoo!