Facebook has made a commitment to help fund an existing scheme, which trains young people to support other children who are being cyberbullying. Research suggests that children are unlikely to discuss social media bullying with teachers and parents, preferring to talk to their peers. The scheme currently covers 4500 UK secondary schools.
Facebook this week acquired ‘tbh’, a positivity-focused polling app. Tbh is already popular with teens, gaining 5 million downloads and 2.5 million active users over the past nine weeks. Now Facebook has decided to team up with, rather than clone, the platform. They’ve also invited the four founders of tbh to move to FB HQ.
Twitter is introducing a new video format for advertisers. The Video Website Cards pairs an autoplay video with a website link, allowing advertisers to capitalise on the exact moment they grab the watcher’s attention. In testing phase, the new ad format recorded click-through-rates twice the average of normal video ads.
Following calls for Twitter to acknowledge and combat abuse, the company has committed to a specific timeline for updating its Safety features. Upcoming changes include punishing hateful display names and avatars, as well as preventing trolls from exploiting the report framework.
Visual
Currently in closed beta testing, Microsoft is trialling autoplay video ads on LinkedIn. The move mirrors the monetisation efforts of other platforms including Facebook. The feature is currently only available to “a limited number of advertisers”, but is excepted to be made available to all brands in early 2018.
You will soon be track your friends’ locations on WhatsApp. The new “live location” sharing feature allows users to share their location in real-time with the friends they’re chatting to. Users can opt-in for any chat for a limited time, and be sure their location data is secure thanks to WhatsApp encryption. And it won’t drain your battery either. Win.
Winner
In the light of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, conversations around harassment have flooded social media, as social media users, including celebrities, shared their own experiences. The hashtag #MeToo received over 505,000 mentions on social media in just 24 hours, including mentions from singers Lady Gaga and Sheryl Crow.
Loser
Despite their images of progressiveness and positivity, it has emerged that both Facebook and Google have taken millions in advertising dollars from anti-immigration groups. In addition to giving them advertising space, both companies provided the groups with extensive targeting and testing services. The revelations have raised questions over the sincerity of Facebook and Google’s brand values.
Creative
It’s no secret that many kids these days are glued to their devices – and that’s arguably cause for concern. Now, Common Sense Media, has enlisted comedian Will Farrell to make a point. Farrell stars in a series of short videos, which show exasperated kids telling off their social media obsessed dad. Take a look.
