The transition from direct mail to digital may be old news, but change continues within the digital world as well. Chartbeat reports that Facebook has lost its standing as the number one source of mobile Web site visits. Total traffic is flat but direct traffic and Google Search are now the top referrers. Facebook’s decision to prioritize personal over commercial content is the likely cause; Google has also made changes to increase its share.
Scalability problems threaten blockchain’s future, according to Condusiv Technologies. Bitcoin processes three to four transactions per second while Visa handles more than 56,000. Here’s another report with similar results. Condusiv sells technology to speed database performance.
Finally, PayPal has purchased e-commerce recommendation engine Jetlore for an undisclosed sum. Jetlore analyzes product descriptions, individual behavior histories, and context to make very precise recommendations. It joins PayPal’s Marketing Solutions group, which has tools to help merchants analyze their customers and offer customized purchase incentives. Didn’t know they did that, did you? Jetlore had raised $10.6 million.
Procrastinators of the world can throw a party whenever they get around to it: Google has once more pushed back complete third-party cookie deprecation. The new target is “early next year.” Reasons for the delay include concerns expressed by U.K. data regulator Information Commissioner’s Office, an ongoing inquiry by the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority, and widespread discontent in the advertising ecosystem.