Googol Forgives Your Typo

The company named after a typo is now letting marketers see spelling mistakes in reporting.

Misspellings Now in Google Ads Reporting

“Google” itself is a typo

In 1920, a mathematician named Edward Kasner decided the world needed words for big numbers — huge numbers, the kind you wouldn’t be able to write out by hand.

So, he did what many of us do when we’re in need for crazy ideas: he asked some kids.

And his nine year old nephew Milton came up with a winner. For the number 10 to the power of 100, he proposed the word “googol.” He then proposed another term — googolplex — which was to be defined as “one, followed by writing zeroes until you get tired.”

The “Google” we have today is actually a typo of the original word.

When the co-founders checked to see if the domain name was available, they spelled it wrong. But they decided they actually preferred the way they spelled it, and that’s how we got the Google we know today.

Misspellings in Google Ads

This week, the company named after the mother of all typos has an ads solution for other people who misspell things when searching.

Google this week announced that misspellings will be grouped with their originally intended keywords, and there are some changes to brand inclusions and brand exclusions.

How it works

Industry reaction is generally positive

TikTok Hopes to Pre-Empt Amazon’s Prime Day

TikTok is planning to rival Amazon’s Prime Day with its own sales event in July.

The social network announced today that TikTok Shop will hold a “Deals For You Days” event in the U.S. starting on July 9. This news follows Amazon’s announcement of Prime Day on July 16 and 17.

Focus on fashion, beauty, and decor

TikTok's event will feature deals on fashion, beauty products, backyard entertainment, decor, and books.

The sale will also include content challenges for short videos and live shopping events. During these events, brands and merchants can interact with their followers, showcasing and selling their products in real-time with discounts.

Many other retailers have started their own sales to compete with Prime Day.

Billions at stake

TikTok is hoping to get its revenue from the U.S. TikTok Shop up to $17.5 billion this year.

While this event targets Amazon, TikTok Shop is also competing with Temu and Shein. Last year, TikTok's global gross merchandise value was expected to reach $20 billion, with most sales in Southeast Asia. TikTok is now focused on achieving similar success in the U.S.

If they’re not banned first, that is.

ID Verification Firm Leaves Driver's Licenses Exposed

Over the last few years, social media platforms have been increasingly demanding marketers hand over their government-issued photo ID. Most commonly, this happens when your account is hacked and you need to prove you are who you say.

But softer asks are there too — like LinkedIn, which promises increased reach for your personal organic posts if you send them a photo of your ID.

What happened

These platforms usually outsource the collection and protection of these sensitive documents, but 404 Media this week reported that AU10TIX, an identity verification firm, exposed administrative login credentials online for over a year.

This breach could have allowed anyone to view and download images of American driver’s licenses, though the company says there’s no evidence anyone actually tried to.

AU10TIX provides verification services for platforms like LinkedIn, PayPal, TikTok, Uber, and X (formerly Twitter).

How it happened

404 Media says the issue began when malware harvested an employee's login credentials. These credentials were later posted on a Telegram channel and let anyone who used them see user data, including names, dates of birth, nationalities, government ID numbers, and document images like driver’s licenses.

The fix didn’t take

AU10TIX confirmed the breach happened about 18 months ago and that the compromised credentials were revoked after what they called a thorough investigation.

But 404 Media says the credentials remained functional as of this month. AU10TIX said it is now decommissioning the affected system.

Meta Expands Broadcast Channels

Meta is expanding its Broadcast Channels feature. Now, any Facebook Page with more than 10,000 followers can create a channel on Facebook and Messenger.

The company first introduced Broadcast Channels for Facebook and Messenger in October last year, following its success on Instagram. It lets brands and influencers have a DM chat that any number of people can be a part of, but only the account holder can post to.

Also:

Channel messages can now be automatically shared from Instagram to Facebook.

You can also post content to your channel before it goes live on your Page. This might help you test a post before a broader release.

GA4 Tag Diagnostics

Google this afternoon added a new Tag Diagnostics tool to Google Analytics to help you find and fix issues with your website's tags.

You can access the tool from the Google tag settings and on the landing page of Tag Manager when issues are detected.

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