1. Visual content is everywhere, and measurement and optimization are starting to catch up. Netflix already knows which pictures you’ll click on and why, and blogged some lessons learned — including the value of regional nuance, and of recognizable, polarizing characters.
2. As a travel geek, I loved this compilation of 16 apps that will help you travel the world. Some tools, like Airbnb Live There, are geared toward a full-on nomadic lifestyle, while others like Tripomatic facilitate any kind of travel planning. Points deducted for the list’s inclusion of a plane that doesn’t exist yet.
3. What does it mean to build an entire business around the GIF, a user-generated format around since the early web that’s become ubiquitous over the past few years? This long read on Giphy explains the company’s evolution from the initial idea to its emerging brand-focused business, stretching the art of the GIF as far as it can go.
4. One for the user interface obsessives: a detailed examination of the pros and cons of infinite scroll versus pagination. Bottom line: it depends on your goals, and it’s complicated.
5. This article claims that everything the tech world says about marketing is wrong. Read on for insights about the hyperbole of “content marketing,” as well as an argument for back-to-basics approaches to tactics and organizational structures.

Weekend fun: I started a new job this week — frankly, lift-off has felt a little like this. Here’s hoping everyone enjoyed the #MayThe4thBeWithYou festivities, and that your week included at least one stormtrooper dance party.

Every Friday, find five, highly subjective pointers to compelling technologies, emerging trends, and interesting ideas that affect how we live and work digitally. Try out the Friday 5 archive, or sign up for a weekly email.