Shop 'til you drop
We hope you had a great Thanksgiving weekend! 🇨🇦🍁 If you're still off today, you might want to check out the Apple iPhone 12 event to see if the rumours about an iPhone Mini, new wireless chargers, HomePod Mini, and over-ear headphones are true.
Back to social media, you can definitely tell it's getting closer to the holiday season, as social media companies try to make their platforms more shoppable in a new race for e-commerce dominance. In other social media news:
Instagram archives your Stories
New anti-bullying measures target comments
Social media tries to highlight diversity
And finally, a good kind of viral
Shopping around
Shopping online isn’t new. But being able to do it on your favourite social media platforms most definitely is. Leading the charge is Facebook and its social media super app Instagram, which made a series of shopping-related updates in the summer — like Instagram Shop and Checkout. These updates rolled out as COVID-19 continued to keep us out of crowded spaces (like malls) and spending more time online. Now, Facebook is planning to expand those shopping features, while other social media and online companies are getting wise to the trend. Here are the details...
Reeling in those purchases
It's only been a few months since Instagram launched Reels, but Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri is already announcing that they will soon start testing shopping on the new feature. Instagram’s VP of Product Vishal Shal says the features will be available wherever Instagram Shopping is. Also, as of right now, you can shop directly on IGTV via shoppable videos, a feature that is available globally. FB will likely make money by charging fees on purchases, but is waiving those through 2020. It says all of this e-commerce is in the name of helping businesses and Creators continue to make money during the pandemic. But CEO Mark Zuckerberg also said in 2019 that e-commerce is the future of the app, so there's also that.
This is Pinteresting It just makes sense that Pinterest should jump on this trend. And so it's no surprise that it's one of the platforms making moves. It recently announced a collab with Microsoft that will make it easier to find relevant pins in Microsoft Collections. “This is great for recipes and online shopping since you can find inspiration from Pinterest related to your holiday baking and gift hunt,” says Microsoft. This follows an announcement by Pinterest in September, saying it was rolling out new shopping tools “for Pinners and advertisers, bringing us one step closer to our goal of making every Pin shoppable.”
Video tracking
Meanwhile, Google is looking to take on Amazon and other major online retailers (we like the confidence!). According to a report in Bloomberg News, YouTube is asking a select group of Creators to use software to tag and track products in their video clips. The idea is to create a catalogue of items that people can buy directly in the platform. Google is also reportedly testing YouTube integration with Shopify Inc. It’s still unclear how Google will generate revenue from this (we’re sure they can figure it out).
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ICYMI
Archive this
DYK that you can view an archive of your Instagram Stories dating back to 2017? You can also share, download and save them to your Highlights (this is a lot more helpful than trying to keep them saved in your phone, amirite?).
How to find the Stories Archive:
Go to your user profile
Click on the hamburger (the three horizontal lines in the top right-hand corner)
Click on "Archive"
In the Archive, you'll see three options: to view the full list, to view them within a calendar, or to view them within a map
Tip: Stories Archive is the default view in this screen. But if you click on the drop-down arrow, you can also select Posts Archive.
Let's stop the bull
Along with that Stories Archive feature, Instagram also announced two new anti-bullying measures. These include hiding comments that are similar to those that have already been reported. If you want to see the comments, you just have to tap "View Hidden Comments" (although probably best not to 😠). Instagram is also expanding "Comment Warning" so that a message pops up when people repeatedly attempt to post offensive comments (in the absence of this, counting to 10 also works). Instagram isn't the only platform trying to limit hate speech and harassment. LinkedIn added a new reminder to the comment section of posts that says "Join us in keeping LinkedIn respectful and professional." It links to this page with more details. While we shouldn't really need to be reminded to be kind, it's nice that social media platforms are trying to help.
A good start
It appears as if the Black Lives Matter and BIPOC movements are creating some positive social media changes. A number of platforms say they are providing resources and support to black-owned businesses and Creators. For example, Facebook is asking consumers in the U.S. to make every Friday until Nov. 27 #BuyBlackFriday. YouTube has introduced a global #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund, which "will be used to acquire and produce YouTube Originals programming, focused on Black experiences around the world, and to directly support Black creators and artists so that they can thrive on YouTube.” This follows announcements from both Facebook and YouTube of new funds and programs for Black Creators. It's a good start, but there's still a way to go.
NEWS-LIKE
🔴 Pakistan Bans TikTok, Citing Morals. Others Cite Politics. [New York Times]
🔴 Hands on with Telepath, the social network taking aim at abuse, fake news, and, to some extent, 'free speech' [TechCrunch]
🔴 Facebook Completely Bans QAnon and Labels it a 'Militarized Social Movement' [The Verge]
🔴 New Report Finds Snapchat, TikTok Outpace Instagram in Teen Popularity [Social Media Today]
🔴 Yelp to Label Businesses Accused of Racist Behaviour [BBC News]
🔴 Google Rebrands G Suite as Google Workspace, Gives Gmail a New Logo [Mashable]
APP-LIKE
TikTok continues to hold onto the top app spot despite its current troubles in the U.S. and abroad. According to mobile app analytics firm SensorTower, the short-looping video app was the most downloaded non-gaming app in September 2020. TikTok saw $130.5 million in user spending (up 7.9% from September 2019). The vast majority of this year's spend was from China, followed by the U.S. and then Turkey. YouTube came in second place, with $85.5 million in gross revenue.
VIRAL-LIKE
Finally, a good kind of viral. Ocean Spray is the envy of brands everywhere, after a TikTok video by Nathan "Doggface" Apodaca skateboarding and drinking Cran-raspberry juice to the soundtrack of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" quickly became a popular video challenge. In response, not only did a number of people imitate the video — including Ocean Spray President and CEO Tom Hayes and Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac — but Apodaca was gifted a truck by Ocean Spray (a small price to pay considering you can't buy this kind of exposure). The video also catapulted "Dreams" back up the charts — more than 40 years after its original release. And the other winner in this: us, as we finally get some feel-good news.
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