Microsoft is giving a new Skype mobile design a trial run, but only on desktop computers so far. The modified design includes easier photo sharing in group chats, as well as a new notification panel, mentions and message reactions.

Facebook is now giving advertisers the option of running ads in the stream of publishers' videos, similar to TV commercials. The new feature, as well as Facebook's planned launch of a separate, YouTube-esque video service, aims to put Facebook in sharper competition with online rivals and traditional television.

Radio advertising is migrating to digital in the form of online audio, offering several advantages for advertisers, including immunity to ad-blocking, viewability bots and various forms of fraud. The development opens a new field of possibilities in podcasting comparable to the dawn of paid search, writes Didit co-founder Kevin Lee.

Vogue has teamed with Google to bring its September edition to life on Home devices, with users able to ask the device to unlock voice content from the magazine's writers about the articles they have written. Print ads are running in the magazine to promote the Google Home tie-in, and the collaboration is "the first of its kind," a Google rep said.

YouTube has deployed its YouTube TV service across 14 new markets, with its footprint now covering half of all US households. The company -- which launched the service in areas including Boston, Las Vegas and Nashville, Tenn. -- will deploy in 17 more markets in the near future as it continues to expand nationwide.

Android Instant Apps, which allows mobile users to access certain popular apps from the browser rather than download them, now supports half a billion Android devices globally, Google says.

Looking to improve its ad performance on mobile, Forbes introduced its Progressive Web App this year, cutting content rendering time from 6.5 seconds to 2.5 seconds. The results so far are favorable, Forbes says, with a 10% boost in impressions per session and a 40% increase in time per session.

At this year's MMA SM2 Innovation Summit, you’ll learn about mobile strategies that will help you drive your business forward. Brand innovators to take the stage include Theresa Agnew, CMO at GSK Consumer Healthcare US; Brad Grossman, CEO & Founder of Zeitguide; Ben Lerer, founder of Thrillist and CEO of Group Nine Media; Marissa Tarleton, CMO at RetailMeNot and more.

They'll share insights into how best-in-class organizations use advanced mobile technology to boost customer engagement, create new revenue streams and make mobile their competitive advantage.

Early Bird rates end Saturday, Aug. 19 | Register Now

The MMA's Programmatic Committee White Paper "Activating Your First-Party Data: Six Challenges, And How To Solve Them" takes a close look at the biggest hurdles toward leveraging first-party data, from scale to legal and regulatory concerns, and offers guidance for how to get over them. First-party data is what every marketer wants, but even for those lucky enough to have a lot of it, activating it can be a challenge. To access the paper, email us here.