Bonded Bitesize – Your Midweek Roundup
Bonded Bitesize – Your Midweek Roundup
Bringing you your midweek roundup of the latest in digital and media.
Stay connected with recent updates from Google, Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok & many more!
Google prolongs the death of third party cookies for second time, now until 2024
Google has announced it will not be ready to deprecate the use of third-party cookies in Chrome by next year, instead extending its deadline to 2024. This is the second time Google has prolonged the demise of these cookies, having been pushed from 2022, to 2023 and now 2024. Google explains the need for this extension, claiming that they need more time to test its Privacy Sandbox initiative - a less intrusive solution for delivering targeted advertising.
Pinterest’s new approach to holiday shopping season fuelled by micro-moments due to pandemic changing buying habits
Pinterest is advising brands to begin planning their holiday campaign schedules as soon as possible, claiming that 80% of holiday shoppers plan to celebrate more ‘mini-moments’ than before. Based on Google’s micro-moments strategy, Pinterest is reacting to a change in consumer habits, with people starting to celebrate smaller occasions within the holiday period rather than just the main events - such as hosting gift-wrapping parties or movie nights. Believed to have come as a result of the pandemic, this change offers an opportunity for advertisers to take advantage of these moments, factoring them into their campaign plans.
Meta is launching a new tool to help musicians earn revenue from content that uses licensed music
Meta’s new tool, Rights Manager, is making it even easier for content owners to protect their rights. The new Music Revenue Sharing Program will enable creators to add licensed music into their content, giving them a wider variety of music to choose from, as well as providing another revenue stream for musicians, by giving them a percentage of any ad revenue that the content generates. This new feature however currently only applies to music used on videos that are eligible for in-stream ads, such as those that are 60 seconds or longer.
Twitter has introduced popular hashtags at the top of community pages
As its community pages grow in popularity, Twitter is testing adding a row of hashtags at the top of these pages, based on the most popular hashtags within the specific communities. Twitter claims this will help users find conversations they want to be a part of, as well as providing another incentive for businesses to adopt branded hashtags into their marketing campaigns. This feature has already been added to the web and android platforms, and is coming soon to IOS.
LinkedIn launches linkedIn collective, a community built for b2b marketers
Microsoft’s business-to-business site, LinkedIn, has launched a new community called ‘LinkedIn Collective’ that will give B2B marketers a place to learn, connect and inspire others. LinkedIn stated this new community will offer users “groundbreaking thought leadership and content resources informed by LinkedIn data and insights, our team of experts, and leaders across the B2B marketing industry”.
New personalised playlists will recommend songs that your friends are listening to
As an extension of Spotify Blends, the platform is launching personalised playlists known as ‘Friends Mix’ that allow users to discover new tracks that their friends are enjoying. Updated daily, users can access this playlist by creating a Blend with three or more friends. This new feature is one of many that enables further personalisation of the music streaming app, as the company reacts to reports of a 33% increase in streams of playlists’ with the word ‘Friend’ in the title within US users.
Youtube’s new tool lets creators turn videos into Shorts
With the rise of short-form content across all social platforms, Youtube has created a new tool to help creators turn videos into Shorts in just a few seconds. Having decreased in popularity to TikTok, Youtube is aiming to quickly ramp up its number of short-form videos in a bid to keep viewers' attention. The update is now available on the Youtube mobile app and will allow video creators to easily select a segment of any video they’ve previously uploaded and publish the clip as a Shorts content.
Trademark application filed for ‘TikTok music’ as rumours speculate over possible new streaming service
ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, has filed a trademark application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office for a service called ‘TikTok Music’. Many believe this filing will be for a mobile app allowing users to purchase, share and download music. TikTok’s short-form content has been a really popular tool for discovering music, so it makes sense that the platform would want to profit over all these songs themselves, rather than users turning to Apple Music or Spotify.
Google rolls out updated product review algorithm, favouring in-depth reviews that provide unique value
Google’s July 2022 product review algorithm features several updates since the previous version rolled out in March. The updated algorithm works to reward reviews that share in-depth research, rather than shorter reviews that summarise information that is already accessible on the manufacturer’s website. Reviews that show that the products have been tested first-hand, with quantitative measurements, benefits and drawbacks, comparisons with other products and original photos will appear more highly in the review rankings.
Having faced heavy criticism for its full screen interface, instagram is reverting back to its previous home screen
You may remember a few Bonded Bitesize ago, we shared news that Instagrams was testing a new interface that favoured full screen, video content, giving it a closer resemblance to TikTok than the Instagram we were all used to. Well, due to the heavy criticism this testing faced, Instagram has now announced it is taking steps to reverse these changes, as well as temporarily reducing the amount of recommended posts that were angering people - who claimed they were missing content from their family and friends over sponsored content.
Snapchat is launching a new sounds creator fund to financially support independent artists
Snapchat’s new Sounds Creator Fund will award independent artists that distribute music on Snapchat via Distrokid, distributing $5000 per song for up to 20 songs a month. Anticipating to give out up to $100’000 in grants each month, the company's music team will select songs from emerging artists whose songs are driving content across the app. Popular sounds will also have the opportunity to be featured in Snapchat Lenses or in Spotlight, providing a greater potential for audience reach for its chosen artists.
Google unveils improvements to bike navigation, location sharing and aerial landmark views
Google Maps has launched 3 new updates designed to help users plan their next adventure. Bike navigation has been improved to show more cycle route information than ever, allowing you to compare routes, measure traffic, steps, or steep hills, and see the type of road you will be cycling on. Location sharing notifications will allow you to see when friends have arrived or left a destination, allowing you to coordinate schedules or giving you peace of mind. Photo-realistic aerial views of nearly 100 of the world’s most popular landmarks have been introduced, to give users a more immersive view by pairing AI with billions of high definition street views, aerial and satellite imagery.
TikTok is developing a research api to enable greater accountability and transparency
Following its many personal data controversies, TikTok is launching a research API (Application Programming Interface) which will allow select researchers improved access to public and anonymised data about content and activity on its app. This initiative aims to boost the transparency and accountability of the platform and is expected to be live in Autumn. Alongside conducting deeper analysis with the new moderation API, researchers will also be able to upload their own content to the app, to see first-hand whether it would be permitted, rejected or passed to moderators for further evaluation.
Twitter is testing a ‘more organised’ sidebar on IOS app
Having introduced many new features over recent months, Twitter has given its sidebar a refresh - condensing down into expandable, broader categories. Twitter Blue (the platform's premium subscription service), Topics, Bookmarks and Lists are given priority in the new organised sidebar, with other sections being grouped under Creator Studio, Professional tools and Settings and Support. This update is currently only being tested on a selection of IOS users.
Google maps are testing an infinite scroll feature
Having tested an infinite scroll on its main search engine in the past, Google is now testing the feature on its map platform. This feature is intended to ease the user journey and keep people on the platform until they find the content they are looking for. Having launched infinite scroll for Google Search on mobile, numbered pages still remain on desktop versions.
