Shopify and Facebook team up after Canada’s competition bureau slaps Facebook with a small $9M fine, and social media gets chatty about email etiquette during the pandemic.
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Shopify is teaming up with Facebook to launch Facebook Shops, a new and free tool helping merchants create a customized online storefront through Facebook and Instagram. The two tech giants’ relationship dates back to 2015, and Shopify says it’s one of the first commerce partners to support this new, mobile-first shopping platform. Facebook Shops will become available in the coming months. Checkout will be powered by Shopify for merchants, with a select few merchants getting a chance to test Instagram Checkout.
But of course, you can’t talk about Facebook without mentioning some kind of fine. This week the Canadian Competition Bureau concluded that the company made false or misleading claims about the privacy of Canadians’ personal information on Facebook and Messenger. On top of that, Facebook got slapped with a $500,000 for the costs of the Bureau’s investigation.
And lastly, let’s talk about email etiquette. A story by the Wall Street Journal has sparked a lively conversation about the changes people are witnessing in our written messages. Turns out, “hope this finds you well” doesn’t really track well anymore, experts warn. Some even suggest asking people “how are you” isn’t a great idea considering the pandemic is still upon us.
The language of work emails is changing during the pandemic, The Wall Street Journal reports. Business communication has shifted as more people work from home during these uncertain times, and texts, emails and other written communications are becoming more personal. But “overt enthusiasm” such as “hope this finds you well” is also on the outs, one language expert warns — perhaps too cheerful for right now. Personally, if it’s daily correspondence, “Hope all is well” gets tired very quickly. If you haven’t reached out to someone in a while, a brief “Hope all is fine and that you’re dealing with this pandemic” isn’t a bad idea. It’s not an exact science, so some common sense is required.
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing.
