For the last four years, the 2020 US Election has been projected as the ultimate test of social media networks and their capacity to respond to allegations of mass manipulation, foreign interference, fake news, and more. Facebook and Twitter, in particular, have worked to add in a range of new measures and tools to better…
Yes, there are quite a few distractions around at the moment, but it is also worth noting that Christmas is only 47 days away, and that means that you need to get moving on your holiday marketing campaigns, and mapping out your upcoming efforts. And for many, that will involve ads on Facebook and Instagram,…
YouTube has announced an update for its dedicated YouTube Music app – you know, the one YouTube always asks you if you want to try, and you tap ‘Ask me later’ to get back to your video. If you have actually gone through and downloaded it, YouTube is adding a new set of personalized music mix options…
Snapchat has announced an expansion of its Snap Focus marketer education platform, with a new element called ‘Snap Connect’, which features a range of expert insights as part of more advanced courses on how to use the platform for direct response campaigns. As you can see in this clip, Snap Connect looks to showcase internal experts on Snap’s various direct…
As Facebook works to manage the ongoing tension and confusion around the US election, it seems that something may have gone awry within its ad processing systems, which has caused some major headaches for marketers over the past 24 hours. In the afternoon yesterday (US time), Facebook acknowledged that a high number of advertisers were ‘experiencing issues with…
The Federal Trade Commission has announced an official settlement with video conferencing platform Zoom over false claims relating to Zoom’s security measures made earlier this year. As explained by the FTC: “Since at least 2016, Zoom misled users by touting that it offered “end-to-end, 256-bit encryption” to secure users’ communications, when in fact it provided a lower level…
Diwali begins this week, and to help users take part in what will be a mostly remote celebration in 2020, Instagram has added some new features designed around the key themes of the event. First off, Instagram’s adding a new AR effect to help ‘Share Your Light’. As you can see here, the AR overlay places a…
Facebook has announced a group of 20 start-ups that will take part in its new Facebook Accelerator: Connectivity program which aims to explore new ways to maximize internet connectivity in more regions. As explained by Facebook: “The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the hard truth of the digital divide and the critical need for reliable, affordable internet connectivity. The…
While other social platforms get all the focus when it comes to content moderation and censorship, Pinterest also has significant reach, and can also be used to host offensive, illegal content, and fuel the spread of misinformation online. Now at 442 million monthly active users, the platform has seen significant growth in 2020, and with…
As Twitter continues to add warning labels to tweets that make potentially untrue claims about the results of the US Election, and the voting process, it’s also apparently testing some new warnings which expand on the current pop-ups when users attempt to re-tweet a disputed update. As you can see in this example, posted by reverse engineering…