So-Called Social: Week of March 4
Your weekly dose of social news.
It’s Friday! And it’s International Women’s Day! So proud to work for a company that values intelligent, powerful women. And if you haven’t yet, make sure you take a minute to appreciate a woman that inspires you today (and every day, really). Now on to the social stuff.
Social nets update stuff
Facebook is planning to launch a “clear history” feature this year, and it’s actually predicted to have negative impact on their revenue growth. The feature comes (you guessed it!) as a response to the privacy and security scandals over the last year or so. The tool will function similarly to clearing web browser history, though Zuckerberg tells us “Your Facebook won’t be as good while it relearns your preferences.” Alrighty then, thanks for the heads up, Zuck.
Twitter is building a new feature that would allow users to hide replies to their tweets. The feature wouldn’t permanently remove replies, but users would have to click through to view them, instead of seeing them automatically. It’s possible that this could be a double-edged sword for Twitter. It will be useful in times that conversations become harmful, but replying to a tweet has also become a way of engaging with people and holding them accountable. Unclear how users will react.
Well this is new! It looks like Instagram is rolling out in-app profile pages for local businesses. Looking very similar to Google knowledge panels, these little about pages feature the business address, hours, contact info, and website. The new pages also have a “claim” button, so users that have access to the business’ FB page can edit the business info on IG. Seems useful for my restaurant stalking on Instagram habits.
One word: FaceCoin. You may be thinking, what in the heck is that? Well, Facebook is introducing a cryptocurrency that will allow WhatsApp users to send money to each other instantly. FB has dabbled in virtual currencies in the past, but this is its first on a blockchain. Something like this could be a big deal in the crypto world, especially depending on if it will be a private or public stablecoin.
Adobe does stuff
It’s Women’s History Month (and IWD, as you know) and Adobe is doing some really cool stuff to celebrate.
The Design team released a series of Font Packs created by women, as well as Spark Templates and Stock templates for Ps, Ai, and Id. Some amazing blog pieces have been published, showcasing extraordinary female artists, sharing how Adobe is investing in our female employees, and offering leadership advice from female executives.
The Brand IG is poppin’ with incredible art that #WomenCreate. Today, we’ve kicked off a series of Friday IG Story features where we celebrate and empower everyone with a story to tell through #CreateYourStory. We’ve also commissioned an amazing artist named Melina to create a piece especially for Women’s Month and are following her work.
Also be sure to check out the Adobe Students IG for more on female creators, as well as Adobe Life for some amazing employee Story takeovers.
Other brands do stuff
Tommy Hilfiger is upping your IG Story game. The brand partnered with Unfold to launch a series of limited edition templates inspired by its Spring 2019 collection.. As a part of the campaign, the Unfold co-founder also took over Tommy Hilfiger’s IG Stories during the fashion show in Paris. The partnership is just the latest from “Unfold for Brands”, which was announced last November. Perhaps templates like these are something Spark should look into?!
#AprilisComing. To promote the final season of Game of Thrones, Twitter and HBO are taking over billboards together in NY, Toronto, and London. The billboards are featuring never-before-seen character art, hashtag-triggered emojis, and live tweets. Fans who tweet #ForTheThrone will also receive a Moment with all the characters and emojis.
Disclaimer: I swear this won’t be political. However, the Michael Cohen testimony featured an unexpected shining star: hallway pizza guy, and he (and the subsequent real-time marketing opportunity) must be discussed. Aka, the young man scarfing down pizza in the background of a live news shot. The company behind the pizza box, & pizza, capitalized on their opportunity as the footage went viral. Changing their Twitter profile photo and header image, shutting down Pizza Hut, and launching their own Hallway Pizza special with GIF ads, &pizza did not waste their opportunity.
Interesting stuff
The cutest AI technology I’ve ever seen = this. Australian company PetRescue launched #PetMe, an AI tool that matches you with an adoptable dog based on the ones you’ve liked on social media. Facial recognition tech for doggos? NEAT.
The arrival of TikTok has marketers wondering what sort of role it will play in a successful video content strategy. TikTok absorbed Musical.ly, and combines focus on music with the creation of short, entertaining videos. The app centralizes on the discovery feed, giving advertising a more native feel. Time will tell where the platform might take us, until then I’ll have Kesha stuck in my head.
Is long-form video content here to stay, and are consumers watching? The past few years its popularity has been rising on social, with FB Watch, Twitter’s in live video streams, Google’s major investments in YouTube, IGTV, etc. This report examines questions like, does money have to do with the shift, and could social eventually dethrone TV and streaming?
Fun stuff
My favorite gif of all time.
Spider. Cat. This hidden camera footage shows how one cat escaped from inside a bathroom and ohmygoodness.
This is basically my worst nightmare (I HATE PEAS!!!). But these ducks seem to like ‘em.
The Jonas Brothers are back, so that’s a thing. And now they’re drinking cups full of bird saliva?! NOPE.