TikTok Is Now The Most Visited Website In 2021…And Other Small Business Tech News This Week

Here are five things in technology that happened this past week and how they affect your business. Did you miss them?

1 —TikTok overtook Google as the most visited website in 2021.   

TikTok was recently announced as overtaking Google for the most visited website this past year— as shared by Cloudflare— a cloud services company. In 2020 TikTok took the 7^th place spot sitting behind power houses like Amazon, Netflix, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, and Google. It is believed that the rapid surge to the top spot could be thanks to the popularity the site has gained due to COVID. (Souce: QZ)

Why this is important for your business:

You can’t ignore the power of TikTok, particularly if you’re looking to find customers (or employees) in the GenZ or Millennial generations. If you’re products, services or company culture matches this demographic, then TikTok should be part of your marketing and recruitment plans for 2022.

2 — Amazon, Nvidia and more have dropped their plans to attend CES 2022 in the face of the Omicron surge.

CES 2022— the well-known annual tech expo— is dealing with fallout thanks to the rise of COVID’s Omicron variant. This past week tech giants such as Nvidia, Meta, Amazon, and T-Mobile—which is a top sponsor for the event—announced that they will not be in attendance at the expo due to the recent surges. This year’s event was supposed to be a comeback— so-to-speak—with last year’s expo being held virtually. (Source: TechRadar)    

Why this is important for your business:

Not a great sign for conferences this winter/spring. If your industry is holding their meetings between now and April there could be potential disruption. Let’s hope not.

3 —Google Voice now lets you decide who goes to voicemail.      

Google announced this past week that users now have the ability to customize the way Voice funnels calls. Google shared that this new update will let users route calls in a way that will better serve an individual’s workflow. (Source: Engadget)

Why this is important for your business:

Some interesting features that can help productivity here. Users will now have the option to configure Voice to forward either contact groups or individuals. Additionally, users will now be able to set individualized outgoing voicemail greetings for certain contacts or keep from receiving calls entirely by screening callers.

4 — TSA checkpoints will start supporting Apple Wallet IDs in February.    

According to information released last week, the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) will begin supporting Apple Wallet IDs in two different airports beginning in February of 2022. If the integration is seen as a success, airports in two additional states will allow the same in March. Up until now, the TSA has not accepted any digital IDs, making Apple Wallet the first of its kind. It is anticipated that TSA will include more platforms moving forward. (Source: The Verge)

Why this is important for your business:

This is a big move for business travelers as going forward new technologies will allow us to increase our reliance on our devices to show our drivers licenses, passport and maybe even vaccination information instead of carrying around paper.

5—This ransomware strain just started targeting lots more businesses.        

According to information released by NCC Group— a cyber security company— Pysa ransomware dominated in November with its file-encrypting attacks seeing a 400% rise on organizations within the government and is beginning to focus more on businesses. Pysa’s main targets are finance, healthcare, and government organizations. AAttacks went up by 50% last month, leaking information from more than 50 organizations that were compromised previously. (Source: ZDNet)

Why this is important for your business:

Make sure your people are getting trained on how to spot suspicious messages. Make sure your operating systems are completely upgraded all the time. Re-visit passwords and multi-factor authentication. Get anti-virus and backup software installed everywhere. There will always be new strains of ransomware. It’s up to you – as a business owner – to ensure that you have the right controls in place to limit your exposure to data loss.