Smartphones are behind all the growth in web traffic

Google and Facebook are taking most of the ad revenue generated from mobile web traffic. At the same time, people are starting to neglect apps in favor of mobile websites. Rani Molla of Recode cites a new study from Adobe Analytics that shows Americans are using apps on smartphones about 22 percent less than they did last year, and those numbers more than double when it comes to tablets. The big apps like Google, Facebook, and Amazon are still plenty popular, but the bulk of mobile traffic is shifting back to the mobile web. As it turns out, news websites were the biggest beneficiaries of this latest shift.

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BBC made an audio drama for Amazon Echo and Google Home

We’ve covered the various ways news organizations have been using smart speakers like the Amazon Echo and Google Voice in previous editions of this newsletter. Most publishers have been using the emerging audio devices to distribute headline news and other forms of on-demand audio content. But Lucinda Southern of DigiDay says the BBC’s research and development lab is trying to bring something different and more interactive to the platform: a choose-your-own-adventure-style audio drama called “The Inspection Chamber.” The story runs about 20 minutes and, while the general narrative remains the same, there are several different ways for the listener to solve the riddle.

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OneSignal offers simple (and free) push notifications for digital publishers

There aren’t many options when it comes to subscriber management or analytics, but if you’re looking for a quick, easy and simple way to create push notifications for your digital news outlet, OneSignal is a great place to start. We’ve been experimenting with the OneSignal WordPress plugin at the Center for Cooperative Media for a few months, and one of the best aspects of the tool so far has been its simplicity and ease-of-use.

The biggest downsides have been the general lack of subscriber management tools and audience customization options. The tool is free to use — as long as you’re willing to share some data with large brands and advertisers — which makes up for some of what it lacks in functionality and customization. OneSignal recently secured $7 million in Series A funding to continue to develop its push notification tools, which you can read more about at the link below.

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Survey: Journalists’ most urgent training needs are mobile, data and video

A new survey from the Reynolds Journalism Institute found that 75 percent of respondents urgently want to learn mobile, data and video journalism skills. Linda Austin published the results of her study late last month, in which respondents also said they would be willing to try to learning those skills in bite-sized lessons on their mobile phones. Among the most sought-after skills and training topics were creating better stories for mobile audiences and learning how to edit video using a smartphone.

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