Bonded Bitesize – Your Midweek Roundup
Bonded Bitesize – Your Midweek Roundup
Bonded Bitesize – Bringing you your midweek roundup of the latest in digital and media.
Stay connected with recent updates from Google, Meta, Twitter & many more!
Meta has rolled out a series of privacy updates to protect teens on Instagram and Facebook
Meta has announced that they are introducing new privacy updates to protect young users. All users under the age of 16 (or 18 in certain countries) will now be defaulted into more private settings when joining the platform - helping to limit unwanted interactions with adult accounts deemed ‘suspicious’. Meta has also developed a number of new tools to make it easier for teens to let them know they feel uncomfortable, as well as tools to stop the spread of intimate images.
Pinterest has added support for more languages including Croatian, Bulgarian and Afrikaan
Pinterest has announced that it has expanded its language options and is now available for Pinners globally in Croatian, Bulgarian and Afrikaan - meaning the platform now supports 41 different languages. As Pinterest explains, “with millions of pins in Croatian, Bulgarian and Afrikaan already on the platform, it is now easier than ever for Pinners to discover fresh ideas and get inspired for their life’s projects in their preferred language”.
LinkedIn is rolling out a native post scheduling feature, allowing posts to be scheduled up to 3 months in advance
LinkedIn has been working on its new post scheduling feature for a few months now and have finally begun rolling it out to users. The native post scheduling feature allows users to plan posts up to three months in advance within the app, without the need for third-party social media management apps. The new feature has been rolled out on web and android devices, and will be coming soon to IOS.
WhatsApp’s new Message Yourself feature makes it easier for users to make notes and reminders for themselves
WhatsApp has started rolling out a feature that makes it even easier to send yourself messages, yes you read that right. The ‘Message Yourself’ feature lets users send themselves voice notes, reminders and shopping lists to refer back to at a later date. The new feature is being rolled out globally, and users will also be able to pin their self-chat messages to the top of their conversation lists for ease.
Musk set to launch multi-coloured verification system to help identify individual, company and government accounts
The latest in the Elon Musk/Twitter saga: Twitter is launching a multi-coloured verification system to help distinguish company, government and individual accounts. In a tweet, Musk explained that there will be a gold check for companies, a grey check for government accounts and a blue check for individuals (celebrity or not). Musk also stated that all verified accounts will be manually authenticated before their checks are activated - putting a lot of pressure on the significantly reduced workforce.
TikTok has launched an updated ‘Marketing Partners’ platform to help connect brands with promotional assistance
TikTok has updated its Marketing Partners website, which now includes a directory of 186 endorsed providers to help brands elevate their TikTok strategy. The site is now split into six categories: campaign management, measurement, creative, effects, commerce and sound - with a list of agencies that specialise in each category. The endorsed partners come from over 35 nations meaning expertise can be provided in any time zone or language.
YouTube is testing a new feature that allows creators to add quizzes to their community posts
In the latest Creator Insider video, YouTube revealed a series of new updates and experiments - one of which being a quiz feature within community posts. Similar to TikTok’s Q&A feature, and the quiz sticker on Instagram Stories, the new feature will allow creators to interact with their viewers, and in the case of educational channels, even help them learn. The new feature is undergoing beta testing and is currently only available to a small number of creators.
Twitter launches new ad targeting options including Advanced Website Conversion Optimisation
Despite losing almost half of its workforce, Twitter has launched three new performance advertising solutions that claim to drive results and relevance. These three solutions include Website Conversions Optimisation, Dynamic Product Ads and Collection ads, that build on the platforms previous launches earlier this year. The Website Conversions Optimisation aims to improve the way advertisers reach customers who are most likely to convert on a lower-funnel website action.
Google’s new ‘Policy Circumvention’ punishes those who bypass spam policies with restricted access to Search features
Google is threatening to take action on those trying to find ways to get around their spam measures, with its new ‘Policy Circumvention’. According to Google, those engaging in actions to bypass spam and content policies, undermine restrictions placed on content, sites or accounts, or otherwise continue to distribute removed content will face penalties of removed or restricted eligibility to search features, including Top Stories and Discover.
YouTube is rolling out in-app photo editing tools on IOS devices for community posts
YouTube Community, launched in 2016, is a section of social media-style updates available to YouTube channels with 500+ subscribers. As unveiled in the latest Creator Insider video, the platform has made it quicker and easier for creators to edit and upload photos to their community pages, with in-app photo-editing tools. Creators on IOS will now be able to add filters, text and stickers to their images without needing to leave the app - a feature that was previously only available to Android users.
JCDecaux partners with Google to launch ‘Reach’ - a programme helping BAME-led brands grow through OOH
JCDecaux UK has partnered with Google’s Black Founders Fund (part of the Google for Startups Initiative) to create ‘Reach’ - a new programme designed to support brand growth for Black, Asian and Multi-ethnic brands. The programme focuses on scale and growth by utilising OOH marketing to reach the brand’s chosen target audiences.
‘I’m A Celeb’ themed Metaverse created to promote ITVX to its younger audiences
ITV-backed agency Metavision has collaborated with ITV and Fortnite Creative to create an ‘I’m a Celebrity: Get Me Out Of Here’ themed Metaverse. The experience will allow players to take on the jungle trials that they know and love themselves, including the Cyclone challenge, to pronote ITV’s new hub ITVX to its younger native audiences. ITV is continuing its exploration of the Metaverse with recent partnerships to bring The Voice and Thunderbirds into the virtual space too.
Twitter has rolled out an algorithm update to better identify ‘low quality’ Community Notes
Community Notes are notes that are added to Tweets by Contributors to provide further context to potentially misleading Tweets in the US. Twitter’s new algorithm update identifies Contributors posting ‘low quality’ notes, resulting in their suspension as a way of eliminating noise. Musk clarified that users can earn back their Contributor status by improving their helpfulness score.
Meta has released its Q3 Community Standards Enforcement report, Transparency report and Widely Viewed Content report
Having been criticised for showing large amounts of spam content, Meta has released its Community Standards Enforcement, Transparency and Widely Viewed Content reports for this quarter to show its efforts in cleaning up its platforms. The reports detail the amount of content that Meta’s algorithms remove due to terrorism, drug use or spam content. Meta’s Chief Information Security Officer commented “While our integrity efforts are always evolving, our goal is to reduce the violating content people see while making fewer mistakes”.
Twitch announces several new streamer features and changes to its ads incentives program
In its latest Patch Notes video, Twitch announced several new updates including tweaks to its ad incentives program. Twitch will begin experimenting later this year with giving streamers the ability to tag other channels in their titles, more guest star features and updates to its mobile analytics. Twitch also announced changes to their ad incentives program, offering reduced ad-density options and creating a flexible programme for streamers working within broadcasting hours.
