Business Critical: HTTPS and “Liking” Everything
By Ryan Parlee
Business Critical is our weekly collection of what’s new, exciting, and insightful for business leaders from the world of the web, marketing, social media, and more.
Google Seeks to Boost HTTPS Rankings
Everyone likes to stay safe. Helmets while cycling, life jackets while boating, and thick, restrictive snowsuits for the impending Iowa winter are par for the course. So why not keep that same level of security on the web?
We’ve all come across things on the Internet that look shady — sites that want us to pop in our Social Security number, home address or other confidential info. While it’s not a perfect indicator of safety, HTTPS is a great way for visitors to know you’re serious about protecting their information.
HTTPS (HTTP Secure) is a communications protocol for secure transmission over the Internet. In other words, the information you’re sending and receiving over these sites is safe. Lots of sites stepped up their security already – you’ll notice that Google products like Mail, Google Search and Google Drive all use HTTPS by default. (So does FlyingHippo.com!)
Still, there’s a nearly infinitesimal section of the web that’s not playing safe. On Wednesday, Google announced that they would slowly start giving preference to sites that use HTTPS versus sites that don’t. It’s not going to be an overnight switch, and the benefit is yet to be proven, but kudos to Google for doing their best to keep our info safe.
We “Like” everything
Facebook, whether you know it or not, loves it when you “like” things. It gives them an idea of what sort of content you enjoy, so it can target other content toward you. It’s their way of keeping you engaged.
So what happens when you “like” everything? Facebook’s algorithm goes a little nutty, and you see less and less of your friends, as one Wired reporter found out:
“My News Feed took on an entirely new character in a surprisingly short amount of time,” he wrote. “After checking in and liking a bunch of stuff over the course of an hour, there were no human beings in my feed anymore.”
Airport 4G Speeds
We spend a lot of time at airports. (We do have a flying hippo, after all. Those things require a runway.) And it seems that every airport we visit has crummy Wi-Fi. $15 an hour for glacially slow Wi-Fi internet access? No thanks.
Accordingly, 4G wireless connection is pretty important for checking our email and keeping up with clients on the go. A recent survey of major US airports revealed some pretty surprising statistics about 4G speeds — bigger airports don’t always mean faster speeds.
The top five airports: Fort Myers, FL (RSW), Chicago, IL (ORD), Orange County, CA (SNA), Memphis, TN (MEM) and Milwaukee, WI (MKE).
Did you notice any other important news stories this week? Let us know in the comments!
Photo courtesy Perspec_photo88 via Flickr Creative Commons
