We’ve got a number of stories we’re eager to share this week so let’s jump right into What’s Hot Wednesday for Digital Marketers:

• We’re not hearing as much about Clubhouse these days, but that’s not stopping the competition from launching their own audio-focused services. Spotify announced the launch of Greenroom, here’s info from Tech Crunch. And Facebook is saying ‘us too!’

• MediaPost reports that Amazon is allegedly blocking Google’s FLoC tests and WordPress has stated it would treat FLoC as a security concern. What is FLoC and why should you care? MediaPost has you covered here.

• Forward-thinking, forward-acting Hootsuite (yes, we’re fans here at DBE), announced it’s closing down for a week in July so that ALL employees can take a break to focus on mental wellness and health. Here’s more about what they’re doing, why, and how.
• WordStream says this year’s Google Live Stream was confusing, but they still did a great job of recapping it:. There’s a lot of good info in here, so get a cup of coffee and plan to spend 20 minutes with this one.
• Brandwatch recently published its 2021 Customer Loyalty Report, which includes findings about why consumers advocate for or detract from brands online. It’s not a surprise there were 20% more detraction posts than brand loyalty discussions, but it is a little surprising that the volume of Customer Service detraction posts ranks 5th. (Delivery issues get more than 5x the volume of Customer Service, though they could be related).
• Search Engine Land just published the 10th edition of its popular SEO Periodic Table. For those not familiar, this table provides a weighted view of SEO best practices in six groups: Content, Architecture, HTML, Reputation, Links and User. The table now also includes Toxins and Niches groups. It’s fascinating to see how the number of SEO signals has grown over years and it is a testament to the complexity of doing “Real SEO” as we refer to it here at DBE.

• It may seem like a scene out of Ready Player 1, but the future is here in reality, or should we say, virtual reality. Facebook announced last Wednesday that it will begin testing ads on its Oculus VR headsets in the popular game Blaston from Resolution Games. This could be the beginning of a new wave of digital advertising. Are you ready?
• U.​S.​ Adults are spending more time on digital media while TV usage is falling. See the latest data in media usage from eMarketer in this article and report.

• According to The Verge, YouTube is no longer allowing alcohol, gambling, or political ads in their “masthead” aka, their most prominent ad slot. Why? Here you go.

Do Good Spotlight on:  National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)

We’ve been donating to this organization for years and wanted to put it back on your radar too. The nation’s resource for issues of missing and sexually exploited children, The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation whose mission is to help find missing children, reduce child sexual exploitation, and prevent child victimization.

Since 1984, NCMEC has served as the national clearinghouse and resource center for families, victims, private organizations, law enforcement and the public on issues relating to missing and sexually exploited children.

You can learn more as well as donate via this website (the website donate button was malfunctioning earlier this week—if it’s still wonky, you can donate via their Facebook.

How did we do this week? Good stuff, right? Hope the rest of your week is smooth sailing and that you’ve got good plans for the weekend.