Sneak peek into Instagram ads

Instagram is giving users a peek into what “sponsored posts” or ads would look like on the photo and video sharing app. It looks similar to any other Instagram post but with a “sponsored” banner on the upper right corner of the photo or video. The sample ad will make its appearance on timelines in the U.S. starting this week and tapping on the “sponsored” link will take you to a page explaining how advertising on Instagram will work.

Facebook to axe Sponsored Results

Earlier this month, Facebook announced they would be reducing the number of their ad units from 27 to less than half of that. Part of that streamlining method is taking out this July the Sponsored Results. You have been seeing these with brands, groups, and searches since August 2012.

Facebook decided to take it out after noticing that marketers used Sponsored Results and mobile app install ads quite similarly. Businesses will still be able to use the latter method along with post link ads.

Yahoo! shutting down Mail Classic this week

Starting tomorrow, June 3, Yahoo! is discontinuing its Mail Classic and at the same time forcing Mail users to accept the Communications Terms of Service and Privacy Policy of the new version that allows the company to scan your emails to “deliver product features, relevant advertising, and abuse protection.” 

While you can opt out of the targeted ads, you won’t be free from the scanning. Yahoo! says you can use a desktop email client but need to agree with their terms or ditch Yahoo! Mail altogether. You can read up about these changes over here.

iPhone 4S ad shows Siri as quintessential US travel buddy

While its competitors' ads are busy making fun of its customers , Apple released a new iPhone 4S ad showing Siri's strength as an all around navigation and information service for road trips in the US. Siri's location smarts aren't yet enabled for Canada but this is the sort of functionality we can hope to expect as Siri gets smarter.