The country of Brazil and the U.S. State of Texas may not appear to have much in common — other than an apparent dislike for social media companies. Last week, Brazil's President banned Facebook, Instagram and the like from removing certain content, even if it violates the rules of the platform. Meanwhile, Texas has made it illegal for social media to ban users based on political viewpoints. (I'm a bit speechless).
Here are today's top stories:
Smart sunglasses shine a light on the future of social
Twitter tries to build more niche communities
Misinformation on Facebook gets heavy engagement
And in the game of life, it's love all for these two
Read on ⬇️
In Your Face, Social Media
Remember when sunglasses were just used to shield your eyes from the sun? Well, if Facebook, Snapchat and Apple have their way, smart sunglasses could soon change the way we create, edit and post social media content (or take a phone call, or listen to music). Here's the latest news in wearable smart tech...
Ray-Ban Stories
Last week, Facebook introduced its first-generation of smart sunglasses, in partnership with Ray-Ban. Ray-Ban Stories allows you to create content, take phone calls, or listen to music, says Facebook. It will pair with a new Facebook View app, where you can "import, edit and share content" to apps on your phone (including non-Facebook owned apps, like Twitter and TikTok). However, augmented reality is not available with this version of the sunglasses. And there are privacy concerns. Facebook says it will collect info such as your battery statues, your email address and password for your Facebook login and your WiFi connectivity. And if you want to know if you're being filmed, just look for a white light that turns on when someone is taking photos or videos (sounds easy enough 🤦♀️). Starting at $299 USD, the sunglasses will soon be available for sale in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy and the United Kingdom.
Snapchat Spectacles
Facebook isn't the first to release smart sunglasses. In fact, Snap Inc., the owner of Snapchat, launched its first-generation of smart glasses in September 2016. Dubbed Spectacles, the sunglasses were offered exclusively through bright yellow pop-up vending machines in cities across the United States, and they were nearly impossible to get (which only added to the buzz). Snap, which actually calls itself a camera company, launched a second generation of the sunglasses in 2018. And then earlier this year, it released the third generation — this time with AR. The latest version of the sunglasses also feature two cameras, four microphones, and allow for voice commands, according to CNBC. But there is one catch — these Spectacles aren't for sale: they were built specifically for Creators, says Snap.
What's Next: Apple Glass?
There are rumours that Apple will launch its version of wearable smart tech sometime before the end of the second quarter of 2022. Similar to Facebook and Snapchat, Apple Glass will reportedly look like sunglasses, and come with augmented reality features, according to MacRumours. And in case you're wondering whatever happened to Google Glass, the smart glasses that originally launched to the general public in 2014 are now specifically being marketed to the enterprise crowd.
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SOCIAL SNACKS
Community Building
Twitter has been in product development overdrive for the last few months (here's a full list of products being tested or shipped). And the latest product to be introduced — Communities. Twitter describes it as "a way to easily find and connect with people who want to talk about the same things you do." Joining a Community means you can tweet directly to that group vs. all of your followers. It also allows for direct communication between members. However, Communities are not private: Community pages and timelines will be publicly available, according to the Twitter blog. Communities are invite-only for now. But you can fill out an online Communities Interest Form.
Engagement x Six
A new study about misinformation on Facebook confirms what we all probably suspected — that this type of content gets more likes, shares and comments than legitimate news. Researchers at New York University and the Université Grenoble Alpes in France looked at posts from the Facebook pages of more than 2,500 news publishers between August 2020 and January 2021, according to The Verge. So how much more engagement did misinformation get over real news? Six times more. 🤦♀️
ICYMI
🔴 Twitter introduces a new label that allows the 'good bots' to identify themselves [TechCrunch]
🔴 Snapchat introduces 'Birthdays Mini' [Snapchat Blog]
🔴 Instagram is testing new 'Favourites' to bring order to your chaotic feed [The Verge]
🔴 Facebook sent flawed data to misinformation researchers [NY Times]
🔴 YouTube halves the number of subscribers you need to unlock Community posting [The Verge]
UPCOMING CONFERENCES
TikTok World (Sept. 28)
B2B Forum by MarketingProfs (Oct. 13-14)
Social Media Strategies Summit Higher Education (Oct. 18-21)
Social Media Strategies Summit (Oct. 20-21)
APP-LIKE
Top Apps for August 2021
No big surprises here —TikTok continues to hold onto the top spot with 66 million installs last month, according to mobile app analytics firm Sensor Tower. The majority of the downloads came from China and the United States. One slight change from previous reports — Instagram has inched up into the second spot, which is normally occupied by Facebook. Instagram saw more than 59 million installs in August 2021, which is a 26% increase from August 2020, according to Sensor Tower. Most of the Instagram installs last month were in India and Indonesia.
LOVE, ALL
If you're a tennis fan (like I am!) you likely watched the Women's U.S. Open Finals this weekend, featuring teen tennis phenoms Canada's Leylah Fernandez and (Toronto-born) Brit Emma Raducanu.
Winner Raducanu, 18, received some serious social media love ahead of the final match — from the Duchess of Cambridge. 👑 In her first-ever public comment, Duchess Kate wrote on Raducanu's Instagram, "What an incredible achievement Emma! We will all be rooting for you tomorrow 🤞 Wishing you the best of luck! C."
And while Fernandez didn't win the top trophy, she did win the hearts of many, including tennis great Andy Roddick, who tweeted about her comments after the match. "Leylah asking for the mic back to acknowledge 9/11 was one of the classiest, most empathetic, and mature things I’ve ever seen in a post game moment ……… and she’s only 19. I’m blown away." Us as well. 💪
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