SEO

The Danger Of Apple iMessage’s New Features

Published

2 years ago

June 9, 2022

The Danger Of Apple iMessage's New Features

The opinions expressed within this story are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of Search Engine Journal or its affiliates.

This week at WWDC 2022, Apple announced a ton of new features, enhancements, and hardware making techies across the globe drool in unison.

Its new messaging edit and unsend function, however, may have significant consequences far outside the tech space.

Apple proudly announced it’s releasing three of the most common requests when it comes to iMessage: mark unread, an unsend option, and edit feature. And people are thrilled.

Unfortunately, I have concerns.

Messaging, Autocorrect, Business, And The Dangers Hiding Within

Lockheed Martin likely would have rejoiced at the thought of the edit button. It might have saved them $70m in 1999 when the company misplaced a comma, forcing them to honor an unintentional discount price.

Taylor & Sons had been in business for 124 years when a press release went out notifying the public of insolvency for Taylor & Son. The UK government was ultimately found liable and was ordered to pay an estimated $17.2m, but the damage was already done.

In 2021, for example, Simon Silwood claimed that autocorrect changed “buffoon” to “baboon” when he was jailed for a Facebook post.

These weren’t via messaging apps, but they could have been.

Facebook and Instagram generated many heated discussions when they originally announced their edit features. Most recently, Twitter announced a long-awaited edit feature of its own to a plethora of cheers and criticisms.

Would it be used for deceptive purposes?

How misleading could editing tweets really be compared to simply deleting and reposting them?

Would edits make it easier for those who have shared the tweets to see the updates?

Will it increase or decrease misinformation on the platform?

Some suggested Twitter could avoid many of these issues by allowing users to see a log of changes and edits, but that comes with its own set of issues. For example, users generally edit a tweet or a message with the intention of not having the original version seen.

It would also open the door to the “oopsy” defense–send out a hateful or false message, claim it was a mistake, and edit it. While it may seem innocent, the damage may already be done.

Think about certain individuals tweeting about stock and how that affects price, for example. Or change the last two letters in “kiss” to Ls and the meaning behind the message morphs into something very different.

Personally, I love the idea of finally being able to avoid embarrassing work-related texts when using the word “assess,” but it’s not worth what this feature may cost.

Because in some instances, it may cost lives.

I was once in an unhealthy domestic situation that resulted in a trip through the court system. Text messages became crucial when presenting my case.

And here is the scariest part:

Those text messages were the only real form of proof I had. Without them, it would have just been a lot of he-said-she-said, with a few witnesses on both sides testifying that the other person was lying.

Had I not had months of accurate text messages and emails, I may not have been here today.

The Dark Side Of Text Messaging

Messages and texts have played a vital role in our daily lives for almost two decades. Sometimes, with serious consequences.

In 2008, for example, Kwame Kilpatrick, then mayor of Detroit, was found guilty of perjury and breaking whistleblower laws. He was ordered to pay $6.5 million in damages.

In 2015, Inflategate became almost instantly infamous when Tom Brady and the New England Patriots were found to have deliberately manipulated the air pressure in footballs to give them an advantage in the AFC championship game.

Earlier this year, former police officers who regularly worked with domestic violence victims became subjects of investigations for sexual offenses.

In each of these cases, investigations, charges, and convictions were all triggered by text messages.

Someone Will Always Find A Way To Abuse A System

In 2012, iMessage already had more than 140M users sending over 1B messages daily. In Apple’s own words, “It’s integral to how we communicate to the people who matter most.”

We use it to discuss business deals, coordinate parenting activities, market a product, argue with intimate partners or line up a date, and even contact 9-1-1.

In this context, the thought of unsending drunken messages you accidentally sent to your mom at 2 a.m. sounds fantastic. But what about other situations?

Through heartbreaking confessions and court transcripts, we know it’s not unheard of for women to be stalked, threatened, and harassed for months via Instagram or text messages.

For better or for worse, police use them to catch bad guys. Divorce lawyers love text messages, too. They even made an appearance in the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard case everyone’s been buzzing about recently.

Edited Message in Apple's iMessenger - WWDC 2022

Apple has thought about this at least to some degree. It’s possible to see that a message has been edited with a small comment on the bottom. However, it’s unclear if you will be able to see how the messages are edited.

The tech giant also placed a time limit on the feature, making comments editable for only 15 minutes. However, that is enough time to send a nefarious or threatening message, have it read by the victim, and edit it to something asinine.

(Reading them once is enough for them to be burned into your memory for a long time. Provided the offending party doesn’t follow through with the threats you can’t prove, of course.)

Some may argue that you simply need to take screencaps as you read the messages, but here’s the thing:

Sometimes, you don’t know how important a message is at the time. And no one plans to be double-crossed by a business partner, abused, or stalked. It may simply be too late by the time you realize the significance of something.

Even if you see signs that there may be trouble on the horizon, it’s human nature to disregard them and explain them away.

As one expert put it, “…when a woman feels her relationship spinning out of control, it is unlikely to occur to her that her partner is an abuser.”

The general public needs to be concerned about editing, too, particularly when it comes to social media and mass texts.

In March 2022, for example, Snopes.com found one scammer hijacked an account and edited 10 years of messages and posts to include links and ads for their scams to make the account appear legitimate.

And because these accounts are people you know and trust, it gives the ads and the scammer legitimacy.

Other Dangers In The Palm Of Your Hand

The dangers of technology have gone far beyond just messages.

Experts warned the public about stalkerware long before Google removed seven of these apps from the Google Play Store in 2019.

Online harassment has also skyrocketed, with an estimated 41% of all U.S. adults reported having been victims at least once.

In 2019, for example, 75-year-old James Taylor shot and killed 70-year-old Catherine Taylor after he found her at her son’s home. Catherine had escaped him after a domestic abuse incident and thought she was safe until Taylor tracked her down using iCloud.

Apple has attempted to solve this issue with today’s announcement of an emergency kill option that disconnects everything and prevents you from being tracked through your phone. At least by people connected to your accounts.

Why wasn’t this option added immediately with the original feature?

iOS is often chosen because it’s more user-friendly and highly rated by the less tech-savvy crowd. So, how many iPhone or iPad users know it’s there? Do they know how to use it?

For Better Or Worse, Text Messages Changed Human Behavior

Text messages have been an important part of disease prevention, management, and public health campaigns for well over a decade now.

Health providers of all kinds are using text messages to deliver test results, send appointment reminders, check on individuals living with addictions, provide diet or smoking interventions, and more.

Schools are using text messages to help reduce information gaps between teachers, institutions, and parents.

Physically, smartphones have led to an increase in a range of injuries with some studies estimating that as much as 82.38% of the population has experienced discomfort due to prolonged smartphone use.

You may have also heard of the Google effect. It means we’re now forgetting information that can be easily searched in Google or found on our mobile devices including birthdays, factoids, and even directions. On the other side of the equation, studies find simple texts can make you feel more confident in your performance.

How will all of this change with the ability to unsend and edit messages already sent? Will we trust less? Will we move towards other mediums? I don’t know, but I will certainly be more careful in the future.

Featured Image: antoniodiaz/Shutterstock

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Google Further Postpones Third-Party Cookie Deprecation In Chrome

Published

7 mins ago

April 25, 2024

Max

Close-up of a document with a grid and a red stamp that reads "delayed" over the word "status" due to Chrome's deprecation of third-party cookies.

Google has again delayed its plan to phase out third-party cookies in the Chrome web browser. The latest postponement comes after ongoing challenges in reconciling feedback from industry stakeholders and regulators.

The announcement was made in Google and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) joint quarterly report on the Privacy Sandbox initiative, scheduled for release on April 26.

Chrome’s Third-Party Cookie Phaseout Pushed To 2025

Google states it “will not complete third-party cookie deprecation during the second half of Q4” this year as planned.

Instead, the tech giant aims to begin deprecating third-party cookies in Chrome “starting early next year,” assuming an agreement can be reached with the CMA and the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

The statement reads:

“We recognize that there are ongoing challenges related to reconciling divergent feedback from the industry, regulators and developers, and will continue to engage closely with the entire ecosystem. It’s also critical that the CMA has sufficient time to review all evidence, including results from industry tests, which the CMA has asked market participants to provide by the end of June.”

Continued Engagement With Regulators

Google reiterated its commitment to “engaging closely with the CMA and ICO” throughout the process and hopes to conclude discussions this year.

This marks the third delay to Google’s plan to deprecate third-party cookies, initially aiming for a Q3 2023 phaseout before pushing it back to late 2024.

The postponements reflect the challenges in transitioning away from cross-site user tracking while balancing privacy and advertiser interests.

Transition Period & Impact

In January, Chrome began restricting third-party cookie access for 1% of users globally. This percentage was expected to gradually increase until 100% of users were covered by Q3 2024.

However, the latest delay gives websites and services more time to migrate away from third-party cookie dependencies through Google’s limited “deprecation trials” program.

The trials offer temporary cookie access extensions until December 27, 2024, for non-advertising use cases that can demonstrate direct user impact and functional breakage.

While easing the transition, the trials have strict eligibility rules. Advertising-related services are ineligible, and origins matching known ad-related domains are rejected.

Google states the program aims to address functional issues rather than relieve general data collection inconveniences.

Publisher & Advertiser Implications

The repeated delays highlight the potential disruption for digital publishers and advertisers relying on third-party cookie tracking.

Industry groups have raised concerns that restricting cross-site tracking could push websites toward more opaque privacy-invasive practices.

However, privacy advocates view the phaseout as crucial in preventing covert user profiling across the web.

With the latest postponement, all parties have more time to prepare for the eventual loss of third-party cookies and adopt Google’s proposed Privacy Sandbox APIs as replacements.

Featured Image: Novikov Aleksey/Shutterstock

SEO

How To Write ChatGPT Prompts To Get The Best Results

Published

20 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Max

How To Write ChatGPT Prompts To Get The Best Results

ChatGPT is a game changer in the field of SEO. This powerful language model can generate human-like content, making it an invaluable tool for SEO professionals.

However, the prompts you provide largely determine the quality of the output.

To unlock the full potential of ChatGPT and create content that resonates with your audience and search engines, writing effective prompts is crucial.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the art of writing prompts for ChatGPT, covering everything from basic techniques to advanced strategies for layering prompts and generating high-quality, SEO-friendly content.

Writing Prompts For ChatGPT

What Is A ChatGPT Prompt?

A ChatGPT prompt is an instruction or discussion topic a user provides for the ChatGPT AI model to respond to.

The prompt can be a question, statement, or any other stimulus to spark creativity, reflection, or engagement.

Users can use the prompt to generate ideas, share their thoughts, or start a conversation.

ChatGPT prompts are designed to be open-ended and can be customized based on the user’s preferences and interests.

How To Write Prompts For ChatGPT

Start by giving ChatGPT a writing prompt, such as, “Write a short story about a person who discovers they have a superpower.”

ChatGPT will then generate a response based on your prompt. Depending on the prompt’s complexity and the level of detail you requested, the answer may be a few sentences or several paragraphs long.

Use the ChatGPT-generated response as a starting point for your writing. You can take the ideas and concepts presented in the answer and expand upon them, adding your own unique spin to the story.

If you want to generate additional ideas, try asking ChatGPT follow-up questions related to your original prompt.

For example, you could ask, “What challenges might the person face in exploring their newfound superpower?” Or, “How might the person’s relationships with others be affected by their superpower?”

Remember that ChatGPT’s answers are generated by artificial intelligence and may not always be perfect or exactly what you want.

However, they can still be a great source of inspiration and help you start writing.

Must-Have GPTs Assistant

I recommend installing the WebBrowser Assistant created by the OpenAI Team. This tool allows you to add relevant Bing results to your ChatGPT prompts.

This assistant adds the first web results to your ChatGPT prompts for more accurate and up-to-date conversations.

It is very easy to install in only two clicks. (Click on Start Chat.)

Screenshot from ChatGPT, April 2024

For example, if I ask, “Who is Vincent Terrasi?,” ChatGPT has no answer.

With WebBrower Assistant, the assistant creates a new prompt with the first Bing results, and now ChatGPT knows who Vincent Terrasi is.

Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023

You can test other GPT assistants available in the GPTs search engine if you want to use Google results.

Master Reverse Prompt Engineering

ChatGPT can be an excellent tool for reverse engineering prompts because it generates natural and engaging responses to any given input.

By analyzing the prompts generated by ChatGPT, it is possible to gain insight into the model’s underlying thought processes and decision-making strategies.

One key benefit of using ChatGPT to reverse engineer prompts is that the model is highly transparent in its decision-making.

This means that the reasoning and logic behind each response can be traced, making it easier to understand how the model arrives at its conclusions.

Once you’ve done this a few times for different types of content, you’ll gain insight into crafting more effective prompts.

Prepare Your ChatGPT For Generating Prompts

First, activate the reverse prompt engineering.

Type the following prompt: “Enable Reverse Prompt Engineering? By Reverse Prompt Engineering I mean creating a prompt from a given text.”

Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023

ChatGPT is now ready to generate your prompt. You can test the product description in a new chatbot session and evaluate the generated prompt.

Type: “Create a very technical reverse prompt engineering template for a product description about iPhone 11.”

Reverse Prompt engineering via WebChatGPT

Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023

The result is amazing. You can test with a full text that you want to reproduce. Here is an example of a prompt for selling a Kindle on Amazon.

Type: “Reverse Prompt engineer the following {product), capture the writing style and the length of the text :
product =”

Reverse prompt engineering: Amazon product

Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023

I tested it on an SEJ blog post. Enjoy the analysis – it is excellent.

Type: “Reverse Prompt engineer the following {text}, capture the tone and writing style of the {text} to include in the prompt :
text = all text coming from https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-bard-training-data/478941/”

Reverse prompt engineering an SEJ blog post

Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023

But be careful not to use ChatGPT to generate your texts. It is just a personal assistant.

Go Deeper

Prompts and examples for SEO:

Keyword research and content ideas prompt: “Provide a list of 20 long-tail keyword ideas related to ‘local SEO strategies’ along with brief content topic descriptions for each keyword.”
Optimizing content for featured snippets prompt: “Write a 40-50 word paragraph optimized for the query ‘what is the featured snippet in Google search’ that could potentially earn the featured snippet.”
Creating meta descriptions prompt: “Draft a compelling meta description for the following blog post title: ’10 Technical SEO Factors You Can’t Ignore in 2024′.”

Important Considerations:

Always Fact-Check: While ChatGPT can be a helpful tool, it’s crucial to remember that it may generate inaccurate or fabricated information. Always verify any facts, statistics, or quotes generated by ChatGPT before incorporating them into your content.
Maintain Control and Creativity: Use ChatGPT as a tool to assist your writing, not replace it. Don’t rely on it to do your thinking or create content from scratch. Your unique perspective and creativity are essential for producing high-quality, engaging content.
Iteration is Key: Refine and revise the outputs generated by ChatGPT to ensure they align with your voice, style, and intended message.

Additional Prompts for Rewording and SEO:
– Rewrite this sentence to be more concise and impactful.
– Suggest alternative phrasing for this section to improve clarity.
– Identify opportunities to incorporate relevant internal and external links.
– Analyze the keyword density and suggest improvements for better SEO.

Remember, while ChatGPT can be a valuable tool, it’s essential to use it responsibly and maintain control over your content creation process.

Experiment And Refine Your Prompting Techniques

Writing effective prompts for ChatGPT is an essential skill for any SEO professional who wants to harness the power of AI-generated content.

Hopefully, the insights and examples shared in this article can inspire you and help guide you to crafting stronger prompts that yield high-quality content.

Remember to experiment with layering prompts, iterating on the output, and continually refining your prompting techniques.

This will help you stay ahead of the curve in the ever-changing world of SEO.

More resources:

Featured Image: Tapati Rinchumrus/Shutterstock

SEO

Measuring Content Impact Across The Customer Journey

Published

2 days ago

April 23, 2024

Max

Measuring Content Impact Across The Customer Journey

Understanding the impact of your content at every touchpoint of the customer journey is essential – but that’s easier said than done. From attracting potential leads to nurturing them into loyal customers, there are many touchpoints to look into.

So how do you identify and take advantage of these opportunities for growth?

Watch this on-demand webinar and learn a comprehensive approach for measuring the value of your content initiatives, so you can optimize resource allocation for maximum impact.

You’ll learn:

Fresh methods for measuring your content’s impact.
Fascinating insights using first-touch attribution, and how it differs from the usual last-touch perspective.
Ways to persuade decision-makers to invest in more content by showcasing its value convincingly.

With Bill Franklin and Oliver Tani of DAC Group, we unravel the nuances of attribution modeling, emphasizing the significance of layering first-touch and last-touch attribution within your measurement strategy.

Check out these insights to help you craft compelling content tailored to each stage, using an approach rooted in first-hand experience to ensure your content resonates.

Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or new to content measurement, this webinar promises valuable insights and actionable tactics to elevate your SEO game and optimize your content initiatives for success.

View the slides below or check out the full webinar for all the details.