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Tag: Carousel

  • Dropbox Shuts Down Carousel And Mailbox

    Dropbox Shuts Down Carousel And Mailbox

    Dropbox announced on Monday that it is shutting down its Carousel and Mailbox products on March 31st and February 26th respectively.

    From the sound of it, key features and ideas from these products will be utilized in the Dropbox app. A post on the company blog says:

    In 2013, we acquired Mailbox because we believed in the way it was making mobile email better. In 2014, we launched Carousel to create a new way to experience and share photos. With both, we aspired to extend the simplicity of Dropbox to other parts of our users’ lives.

    Building new products is about learning as much as it’s about making. It’s also about tough choices. Over the past few months, we’ve increased our team’s focus on collaboration and simplifying the way people work together. In light of that, we’ve made the difficult decision to shut down Carousel and Mailbox.

    Dropbox says it will aid in making the transitions from both Carousel and Mailbox as painless as possible. You can find relevant information for Carousel here and for Mailbox here.

    Image via Dropbox

  • Shirley Jones: Husband Marty Ingalls Dead at 79

    Shirley Jones, the actress known for her role as Shirley Patridge on The Partridge Family, is mourning the loss of her husband Marty Ingalls. Ingalls died on Wednesday at home in L.A., of complications from a prior stroke.

    “He often drove me crazy, but there’s not a day I won’t miss him and love him to my core,” Shirley Jones said in a statement to the media.

    Marty Ingalls met Shirley Jones in 1974 during a party at the home of the late Michael Landon.

    “He pursued her relentlessly, and many in Jones’ inner circle were initially put off by Ingels’ gruff demeanor and brazen approach,” the statement reads. “As he himself said, ‘I was a Jewish kid from Brooklyn and she was Miss America. A lot of people never got that. But Shirley always did.’”

    Ingalls and Jones married in 1977. They wrote a book together. Shirley & Marty: An Unlikely Love Story hit bookstore shelves in 1990.

    Marty Ingalls appeared on TV shows including The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Phyllis Diller Show, and Bewitched. He voiced the role of Pac-Man in the 1982 animated series. Ingalls also ran a talent agency that booked movie stars–including Cary Grant and John Wayne, in TV commercials.

    In addition to The Partridge Family, Shirley Jones starred in the film versions of The Music Man and Carousel, as well as several TV shows and additional movies.

    Condolences have no doubt reached Shirley Jones from all around the world on the passing of her husband, Marty Ingalls.

  • Here Are the Brands Using Instagram’s New Carousel Ads

    Last month, Instagram announced a new ad unit called Carousel. It lets brands add multiple photos to a single post, which users can cycle through by swiping left. The Carousel ads also feature a link to a site of the business’ choice, making it easy for them to get users from Instagram to their official product pages.

    Now, Instagram is announcing its first wave of brand partners. The first Carousel ads began appearing this weekend, and Instagram says we should expect to see more and more brands utilizing the new format soon.

    The first brands adopting Carousel ads are Showtime, Banana Republic, Old Navy, L’Oreal Paris, and Samsung.

    Showtime is promoting the new season of Penny Dreadful.

    “The Instagram carousel expands our ability to showcase the richness and complexities of Penny Dreadful and the series’ multi-dimensional characters,” said Donald Buckley, Executive Vice President, Program Marketing, Media, Promotions and Digital Services, Showtime Networks Inc. “As the series delves deeper into the psyches of the family, this new feature will allow us to further engage with fans.”

    Banana Republic is advertising its new Spring collection.

    “With a carousel, our customers can discover more if they want as we spotlight some of our favorite products and share styling ideas across multiple images,” Aimee Lapic, Banana Republic SVP and GM of Customer Experience. “Creating relevant content for our customers, while also making it easier for them to shop, is a win-win.”

    As is Old Navy.

    “Instagram is distinctly visual medium, and the carousel function enables us to deliver richer, more cohesive storytelling,” said Taylor Bux, Old Navy’s Director of Digital & Social Strategy. “Additionally, the direct linking to OldNavy.com creates a seamless experience for fans to purchase the items that they love without having to hunt.”

    As you can see, brands are especially excited about the ability to link users directly to their product pages at the end of Carousel ads.

    Like Instagram ads in general, this should be a slow and calculated rollout. Instagram, if anything, has been cautious about flooding your feeds with ads.

    And as I said before, I’m sure your average user would love to be able to Carousel multiple photos in a single post. The company didn’t rule it out, but stopped short of saying this sort of photo feature would roll out wide. For now, it’s a limited brand offering – but and interesting one for sure.

  • Instagram Just Gave Brands a New Photo Feature That Regular Users Would Love

    Instagram is testing a new way for brands to deliver ads on the network, and it’s something that the average user would probably kill to have access to.

    The company has just announced a new format called Carousel ads. It lets brands add multiple photos to a single post, which users can cycle through by swiping left. The Carousel ads will also feature a link to a site of the business’ choice.

    “One way to look at it is carousel ads bring the potential of multi-page print campaigns to mobile phones – with the added benefit of taking people to a website to learn more. For instance, a fashion company could use the carousel to deconstruct the individual products in a ‘look.’ A car company might share an array of different features of a vehicle and provide a link to learn more about the new model. Or, an advertiser could showcase how multiple ingredients come together to make a delicious meal,” says Instagram in a Business Blog post.

    Instagram is right. The possibilities for this type of multi-photo post are endless.

    And I’m sure your average Instagram user would love to explore that.

    Instagram has always been about posting that one perfect shot, but people sometimes have more photos they want to share at one time. There are basically two ways to do this. First, you could just post each photo as its own individual post, back-to-back-to-back, annoying the hell out of everyone who follows you. Or, you can use a third-party app like Pic Stitch to craft photo collages.

    But a “carousel” of images within one post would let people see all of the photos you want them to see at the time in all their glory.

    Of course, this may never happen. This is just a small test Instagram is running with a handful of brands.

    “We are introducing this new format on a limited basis. In the coming weeks, you may see carousel ads and might notice variations of the format as we learn what people are most interested in and what performs best,” says Instagram.

    But a company spokesperson did tell The Verge that its at least thinking about making this a wide feature.

    “Once we iterate and see how people engage with the content, [we] may explore the possibility of bringing it to other types of users on Instagram,” said the spokesperson.

  • Shirley Jones Skydives for Her 80th Birthday

    Actress Shirley Jones said she will take her first skydive on Monday, her 80th birthday.

    “That’s something I wanted to do all my life,” Jones said Friday.

    The idea to skydive was inspired by former President George H.W. Bush’s jumps on a number of his birthdays, including when he turned 85 in 2009, Jones said.

    “When I saw him do it I thought, ‘Wow, if he can do this, I can,’” Jones said.

    The Oscar-winning actress won the award for her role in the 1960 drama, Elmer Gantry. She is also known for her role in TV’s The Partridge Family in the 1970s, which lasted four years. She rose to fame when she starred in the 1950s film versions of the Broadway musicals Carousel and Oklahoma. She also starred in the 1962 film version of The Music Man.

    Jones’ family was planning a big celebration for Sunday, the day before her birthday. She said she was looking forward to the party and spending time with her family, which includes 12 grandchildren, and a childhood friend she has known since they were in the third grade together in a small town in Pennsylvania.

    Jones was not, however, looking forward to the reason for the celebration.

    “I’m not very happy about” turning 80, she said.

    “The number scares me to death. I don’t even like to say it. Eighty years old, it can’t be,” Jones said.

    Jones chose skydiving from the top of her to-do list, which also includes going on an African safari.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons