Facebook tests Snapchat Stories clone Messenger Day Messenger Day, Facebook’s latest launch, lets people share illustrated filter-enhanced photos and videos which disappear after 24 hours. It works in the same way as Snapchat or Instagram Stories. And it’s just been launched in… Poland. Why Poland? Because Poland is a country not that familiar with Snapchat already. Clever. Facebook lets marketers link Canvas ads and include 360 video Facebook is rolling out 360 video capability to its Canvas ads, as well as letting brand owners link multiple ads together to tell more in-depth stories. Brands are already on board, with Itau, a Brazilian bank that has been running a lot of Facebook ads, testing the 360 feature. Meanwhile, Beats by Dre has already used the linking option to let users explore headphones.
Snapchat’s rebrand to Snap.inc explained Snap.Inc’s chief strategy officer, Imran Khan has claimed that Snapchat’s rebrand to Snap.Inc was made because the company is bigger than just one app, a point proven by Snap.Inc’s release of Spectacles last week. The CSO also revealed over 60 million of Snapchat’s 150 million+ daily users come from the U.S. and Canada. Speaking at Dmexco earlier this month, Khan said that 50 million of the company’s users are in Europe, meaning that the U.S., Canada and Europe represent 110 million daily active users. More than two-thirds of those folks actually create daily content within the app, with the average person spending 25 to 30 minutes in it.
Twitter opens up ‘Moments’ to all users Until recently, Moments has only been accessible to Twitter staff and selected publishing partners. But now anyone can curate tweets about a moment of their choice and publish to their feed. I’ve already got my Moment lined up and ready. It was this morning when I couldn’t get my head out of my jumper and had a little panic.
For everyone who wants to make a Moment – starting today you can! Creators everywhere can now tell stories with Tweets. pic.twitter.com/ZJtNBoTPWf
Kik lets users talk to more than one chatbot in the same conversation Canadian messaging app Kik is rolling out a new line of fashion and beauty ‘bots’ to help users decide on styles of clothing and makeup. How it works is that you’ll be chatting with one bot (e.g. the H&M bot) but then can invite another bot to join the party. This is called a “concierge bot” and they might show you celebrity styles or recommend something for a certain occasion. I think I’ve had a nightmare about fashion and beauty bots cornering me in rooms before…
Meerkat dies but Houseparty is just getting started You may remember the launch of Meerkat last year when it crashed onto the scene and started the live-streaming craze. It did pretty well pretty well at first but then Twitter brought out its own streaming service, Periscope. When Facebook waded in with an epic live streaming service it was the final nail in the tiny Meerkat coffin, which was pulled off of the app store last week. It’s not all doom and gloom for the company though, as it has recently launched Houseparty, a new private video chatting app which hosts group hangouts in private and already has 1 million users.
Snapchat users spending 78 seconds playing Under Armour game Under Armour has launched an interactive game on Snapchat featuring quarterback Cam Newton, in a Discover ad. In the first 24 hours of the launch, 20% of users swiped ‘up’ to play, spending an average of 78 seconds on the game. 19% of users who played the game also shared it with a friend.
Quaker launches ‘Oatober’ Oats are taking over in October as Quaker starts a campaign to prove that there’s more to oats than oatmeal and porridge by sharing recipes over Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. An accompanying Tumblr and webpage will be launching as well with a series of sponsored videos from food publisher Tastemade. Oatober is mainly digital based, as insights show that people do a LOT of food sharing in the space and it’s been proven that oats look 150% more tasty on Instagram (I made that last bit up).
