What the GIF?
Congrats, you're halfway through the month. Try not to start a Twitter war — like this person did.
A GIF-T FOR INSTAGRAM
Facebook purchases GIPHY
Expect to see more options to share GIFs on Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp after Facebook announced on May 15 it was acquiring GIPHY. It reportedly paid for $400 million for the tool, which makes it easy to search for and create short-animated videos conveying emotion, known as GIFs. Facebook says that 50 per cent of GIPHY traffic already comes from its family of apps (Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger). Many other platforms and tools also use GIPHY, including Twitter, Slack, Snapchat, iMessage and Mailchimp.
Background: GIPHY launched in 2013. Initially, the website just functioned as a search engine for GIFs. But not long after, founders Alex Chung and Jace Cooke added the ability for users to post, embed and share GIFs — first on Facebook, and later on Twitter. According to GIPHY, it currently serves 10+ billion pieces of content daily to about 700+ million people.
What's next: Facebook says everyone will still be able to upload GIFs, and developers and API partners will continue to have the same access to GIPHY's API. It's also reportedly not planning to stop other platforms from using GIPHY.
NEWS-LIKE
In moderation
Facebook has agreed to pay $52 million in damages to current and previous moderators for mental health issues related to the job. More than 11,000 moderators who are/were paid to regularly review graphic and disturbing content on the platform will receive a minimum of $1,000 for pain and suffering. Additional dollars will be available depending on a diagnosis of PTSD or another disorder. Those providing additional evidence of their pain and suffering could receive up to $50,000 in damages. (Now if only all social media managers could get the same deal, amirite?) The Verge
Sensing a trend
And the most downloaded app in April 2020 was... Zoom. Ok, you probably already could have guessed that one. But you might be surprised to learn that the second-most downloaded app was short-video sharing app TikTok. According to mobile analytics firm SensorTower, TikTok had 107 million downloads last month. TikTok was also the top grossing app worldwide in April, with $78 million in user spending. YouTube was second, with $76 million in gross revenue. Guess video is here to stay.
N'est pas!
France has passed a law that requires social media companies and other content platforms to remove terrorist and pedophile-related content within one hour. Failure to do so will result in a fine of up to 4% of global revenue. This new law also comes as Australia works on a code of conduct for Facebook and Google that will require them to pay Australian media companies for their content. "It's only fair that those that generate content get paid for it," says the Treasurer of Australian. Reuters
I attribute everything that has gone wrong to coronavirus.
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Jeffrey Katzenberg, the co-founder of the Quibi app, told The New York Times that the pandemic is to blame for the lacklustre launch of the video streaming app.
ICYMI
🔺 Instagram is now letting users save live videos to IGTV, meaning the videos will get to stick around longer than 24 hours.
🔺 Facebook's Messenger Rooms are now available within groups and events.
🔺 Twitter is reportedly going to start rolling out the ability to schedule posts. (Finally!).
🔺 LinkedIn has launched the ability to create polls in posts. Do you like polls: yes or no?
🔺 Snapchat has updated its analytics layout for Creator accounts.
🔺 Pinterest is partnering with Shopify to make it easier to upload catalogues and create shoppable pins.
A storm's a-comin'
We're trying to decode this tweet from Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey posted on May 15 — coincidentally the same day Facebook announced it was purchasing GIPHY. Related? 🤷♀️
And yes, this post certainly does cut like a knife, Mr. Adams.