A very happy birthday to our supreme overlord, Google, who turned 14 yesterday and celebrated with a special Google Doodle:

If you’re one of the people who’s not too happy with the Apple Maps experience, a new Google Maps app might sound the pick-me-up you needed this week. That is, until you use it. Mashable’s Chris Taylor discusses the Google Maps app and how it doesn’t live up to the Google Maps we know and loved on iOS 5 and earlier.

Sadly for iPhone users, it looks like the best use you’re going to get out of this is as a means to fool your Android-toting friends: look, I got Google Maps for iOS 6 early!

Because if you’re expecting anything like the Google Maps iPhone app we knew and loved in iOS 5 and previous releases, you’re going to be disappointed

That’s sad. If it makes you feel any better, iPhone users, Apple is really REALLY sorry:

At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.

We launched Maps initially with the first version of iOS. As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps. In order to do this, we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up.

There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you.

(Insert obligatory comment about how this never would have happened under Steve Jobs)

While we’re on the subject of Apple, maps aren’t the only thing that don’t work with iOS6. Apple’s UDID replacement for iOS 6, a more private ad tool dubbed the Apple Advertising Identifier that users can opt out of, isn’t working according to mobile app marketing platform Trademob. Any iOS 6 users who updated over Wi-Fi are showing IDs that are all zeros, instead of the unique number sequences being sent by those who plugged their devices in and updated via iTunes or Xcode.

So that should be lots of fun.

Speaking of maps, Google Maps has released an underwater street view option that allows you to have a closer look at the Great Barrier Reef, Hawaii, and the Philippines. Watch here.

Happy Friday!

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The post What We’re Reading: Some Maps Work, Some Don’t appeared first on 435 Digital.

While we prepare for our big afternoon. here’s a look at what we’re reading today
Our web development guru, Christy, is keeping tabs on touchscreen interfaces, which are sprouting up all over:

“Google has been sprucing up its Hangouts video calling service with an updated API for features like private messages, and the ability to block people and change a Hangout from private to public. A video celebrating Hangouts gives us a glimpse of even more changes that could be coming up ahead. . . .

— simplifying moves that could point to a more touchscreen-friendly version of Hangouts in the future.”

Over at Business Insider, they’re bemoaning the fact that Facebook took so long to get into ad retargeting:

… [I]n recent weeks, Facebook has begun selling ads in a new way that makes its massive inventory much more valuable—three times more valuable, according to one company buying the inventory and reselling it.

This new method is called re-targeting. It has been used by ad-sellers outside of Facebook for years now. 

Facebook, however, only began selling re-targeted ads this summer, when it opened something called the Facebook Exchange, better known as FBX in the industry. 

Happy Birthday to Firefox (web browser), who turns 10 years old this week! The first version launched on September 23^rd, 2002. Time flies when you’re busy browsing the internet.

Check out these ten secret features of Apple’s iOS 6. While the maps could use some work, these other features are pretty cool, but not very well-known.

Need some help getting organized? Here are 13 free iPhone apps to help improve your productivity. Your co-workers will love you for it.

Finally, we leave you with this great bit of advice from Social Media Week Chicago:

“Trust your social media voice, and don’t be afraid of a mistake. Be transparent; people are human.”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

The post What We’re Reading: Wednesday, September 26, 2012 appeared first on 435 Digital.

While most of the activity is checking posts from friends and posting one’s own updates, more and more people are interacting with brands and organizations on social networks. About 58% of users in the U.S. read posts from companies, and around 32% say they are likely to click on ads while networking.

The number of people engaging in social networks through mobile devices – phones and tablets – is massively increasing. The 64.2 million is up 77% from the year before, and the 38.2 million engaging daily is up 88%. With increasing smartphone adoption, these numbers will continue to grow rapidly.

With the upcoming Facebook integration with iOS 6, these numbers will soar even higher.

With iOS 6, Siri can now post Facebook status updates. If you had iOS 6 right now, you could ask Siri to post to your Facebook wall that you’re reading a great blog post from 435 Digital – or that you’re leaving in five minutes to try out the new Korean BBQ place just a few doors away.

In Apple’s new App Store, you’ll be able to “Like” a song, which will appear on Facebook. This might lead more people back over to Apple’s App Store.

Twitter is already integrated; with iOS 6, Facebook will also be integrated. If you want integration with Google +, you’ll surely need an Android device.

Whatever mobile platforms and devices people are using – mostly iOS and Android in the U.S. – any business that wants to reach people through social networking must get serious about not only their social presence but also their mobile-ready websites.

The post The Steady Rise of Social Mobile appeared first on 435 Digital.