Author: Geek Planet

With creators, marketers are back at a familiar crossroads: measurement headaches.That moment always comes whenever ad dollars pile up around a particular part of the market — and with it, the scrutiny of finance directors. Creators are there now. A few advertisers got there early — L’Oréal was already pushing for measurement standards back in 2017 — but those were edge cases. The bulk of the industry leaned on vanity metrics and called it proof of success. That’s changing. More CMOs now admit they can’t afford to stay on that path. The more they move away from it, the clearer it…

Remember when Intel launched its Arrow Lake-S desktop processors (the Core Ultra 200S series) late last year? The reception was a bit lukewarm. But new data shows it’s been quietly getting way better with age. According to some fresh benchmarks from Phoronix, the flagship Core Ultra 9 285K is now running about 9% faster on average under Linux than it did at launch. And here is the kicker: it’s doing that while using 15% less power. Usually, to get that kind of speed boost, you have to buy a whole new chip. This upgrade is entirely free. It comes down…

Walmart has a plan to stay profitable as President Donald Trump’s tariffs push up costs. It’s called advertising. In the second quarter, Walmart’s ad revenue jumped 46% year over year, a number padded by the addition of Vizio, the smart TV maker it picked up last year. Strip that out, and the U.S. business still looks strong: Walmart Connect, its retail media network, grew 31%. That’s impressive in any cycle. Right now — in a margin-squeezed retail world — it’s vital half of the retailer’s incremental profit last quarter came from advertising, membership and marketplace fees. Advertising is what lets Walmart…

If you are the type of person who has 50 tabs open and can’t remember why you opened half of them, Firefox might have just solved your problem. Mozilla is quietly testing a new “Add Note” feature in the latest experimental version of the browser (Firefox Nightly). It’s super simple: you just right-click on any tab, hit “Add Note,” and type a quick reminder to yourself. A little notepad icon then sits next to the tab title so you know there’s something there. This isn’t an extension you have to install; it’s built right into the browser. It seems to…

Although the chance of a TikTok shutdown has a minority of marketers worried about their time and cash investments there, it’s still a key vehicle for organic social, particularly for brands pursuing trend-setting Gen Z audiences. That status is an important asset to the platform, given brands which devote more time to their organic activities on a platform will likely increase their paid ad budgets there in kind (if not in perfect tandem). As more marketers explore what other platforms – such as Reddit, Pinterest and YouTube – can do for them, TikTok’s been working to bolster its behind-the-scenes brand toolbox…

Estée Lauder is leaning on AI, digital expansion and product innovation to turn around three years of sales declines. On Tuesday, the company reported fiscal 2025 revenue of $14.3 billion, down 8% year over year, and confirmed it has brought on advisors for a strategic portfolio review — signaling possible brand exits as it works to streamline and recover. “Beauty Reimagined,” the transformation plan launched in May 2024 under CEO Stéphane de La Faverie, is beginning to show early momentum. “We are energized as we transform our company,” he said on the earnings call. “Together with all of our employees,…

ChatGPT has become a household name for writing emails, essays, and code – but its abilities go far beyond the obvious.  With the latest updates, ChatGPT can now see images, browse the web, use specialized tools, and even act as an “AI agent” that carries out tasks for you.  These skills unlock a smorgasbord of powerful new tools to help you manage everyday life. As someone who’s been experimenting with ChatGPT in my everyday routine, I’ve stumbled upon several unexpected – and incredibly useful – things it can do. Here are some of the most intriguing ones, including a few…

In a series of short videos, Samsung has teased upgrades to the camera system on the upcoming Galaxy S26 series. Expected to debut at the Galaxy Unpacked event on February 25, 2026, the lineup should consist of the usual models. These include the vanilla Galaxy S26, the Galaxy S26 Plus with a triple-rear camera system, and the Galaxy S26 Ultra with a quad-camera setup on the back. What’s even more interesting (read disappointing) is that the handsets are expected to ship with no major camera hardware upgrades. Despite that, the company is teasing better low-light video performance and improved clarity…

As if anyone needed yet another sign that the creator economy has become a core part of any marketing strategy, meal kit delivery brand Blue Apron has taken its influencer marketing in-house. The move is to move influencer marketing in-house to curb costs, improve go-to-market campaign speed and build closer relationships with more than 100 creators. It’s part of Blue Apron’s larger brand refresh announced earlier this month, which includes plans to “own the feed” on social media with influencer content, user-generated content, organic and paid social to help the meal kit company boost brand awareness, said Raina Enand, head of…

Android 16 QPR3 Beta 2 tweaks a Pixel setting that can quietly reduce one of the most annoying mobile problems, Wi-Fi that looks connected but isn’t actually usable. Instead of a single Adaptive Connectivity on or off switch, this Android 16 test build breaks the feature into two controls, and both start enabled. On the QPR2 stable release, Adaptive Connectivity lives under Settings, Network and internet, and it’s mostly a leap of faith. Turn it on and Google says Android will manage your connections to improve performance and extend battery life. In QPR3 Beta 2, the page gets more descriptive…