Slide Into The DMs
With over 1.2billion monthly active users on Messenger, it comes as no surprised that Facebook has introduced advertising to the app. After finalising testing in Australia and Thailand, this week the social network rolled out Messenger ads globally, meaning ads will now appear on users’ main page under the ‘Messages’ tab.
Take the biggest tech buzzwords of the moment, roll them into one and what do you get? Facebook users live streaming themselves as avatars inside a virtual reality system. Phewwf! Did you catch that? Basically, Facebook is bringing Live to its Spaces VR app, which is still currently in beta mode. Watch this space.
Facebook is testing a new feature which allows brands to create custom audiences based on who has engaged with their Instagram page. The new Instagram Business Profile option allows brands to choose the types of engagements they want to include in the audience, such as all interactions, users who have messaged the profile, etc.
Twitter has taken a number of actions to reduce trolling and spam on the platform over recent months. Now they’ve introduced a new way of silencing pesky users, this week rolling out new tools to help users mute notifications from newly registered accounts, people they don’t follow, and people who don’t follow them. Ah the sweet sound of silence.
Twitter’s C-Suite has had something of a re-vamp lately, and now they have a new CFO coming in. Head honcho, Jack Dorsey, announced this week that Ned Segal would be joining the company from Intuit, where he was senior vice president of finance. Segal will have his work cut out for him, as Twitter tries to convince investors it has growing value.
It’s Not Business, It’s Personal
Donald Trump’s legendary use of Twitter has ruffled some feathers and caused a few headaches, but could it actually land him in legal trouble? In a lawsuit filed this week, a small group of Twitter users is suing the President for blocking them on the platform, claiming it violates their First Amendment right to free speech.
Visual
Turning our attention to the great social media rivalry du jour, Instagram has continued to mount pressure on Snapchat by adding to the tools and options available within Stories. A new feature introduced this week allows users to reply to Stories content with a photo or video, which can be spruced up with face filters, stickers and Rewind.
And there was more bad news for poor Snapchat this week. Snap Inc. shares had a difficult week on the stock market, falling to their lowest point ($16.99) since their March IPO ($17.00). The company’s next quarterly results are set to be unveiled in August, and they’re likely to have a big impact on the stock price – so stay tuned. We’re rooting for you, Snap!
Winner
Rail strikes + delayed Londoners = social media hell. It’s been a tough few months for the UK’s Southern Rail. So perhaps fed up, or at a loss as to what else to do, the train network decided to put 15-year-old work experience kid Eddie in charge of their social media channels this week. Brilliance ensued – take a look.
Loser
You may have received a message on Facebook this week from a concerned friend or relative warning you about one ‘Jayden K Smith’, who is allegedly coming to hack your Facebook account. Well, the message was quickly proven to be a hoax, but not before being shared widley across the globe. Spare a thought for all the poor, innocent Jayden K Smiths out there.
Creative
Swedish sports brand Bjorn Borg have made a creative and bold political statement in their latest advertisement. The brand risked arrest to produce their ‘Borg Open’ short film, which shows a pair of young American-Mexican tennis players having a match across the US-Mexico border. The campaign aims to promote the unifying power of sports. Check it out.
