Tuesday Tune-Up #280

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New Month, New Pranks

In this era of #FakeNews, you’d be forgiven for thinking April 1st, 2017 was just another day in the news cycle. But this year brought us new products and services we never knew we needed but now desperately want. Personal favourites include Virgin Australia’s Canine Cabin Crew – because everything’s made better with puppies – and the Tattoo Spell Checker App because Travel Insurance Direct has your back after your next trip to Bali.

The fun doesn’t stop with April Fools’ Day because veteran pranker, Google Maps have unleashed hungry ghosts on our streets in a Pacman takeover. It’s not the newest gag in the bag, but with the success of Pokémon, should we expect a Pacman Go to follow suit?

Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat all updated their Stories

It’s the story that never ends – Instagram launches Stories alerts through Newsfeed, Facebook introduces a new camera with filters and personalised stories.



But, never fear, Snapchat will not be outdone – they’ve launched searchable Stories on their platform.



Uploading your Snaps to ‘Our Story’ now allows them to be searched by all users, not just your friends and followers. It also means that the 24-hour expiry date no longer applies, with a new model of trending content taking precedence. With endless content now at your fingertips, it’s a huge step in turning the friendly ghost into a real-time content database. Watch out, Youtube.

Facebook launches Personal Fundraisers and live Donate button

Facebook Likes may not save lives, but a “Donate” button could start to bridge the gap. Facebook is launching a fundraising feature that can accept donations for a range of causes. This will either be from verified pages or through Facebook Live feeds. The feature will launch first in the US for 18+ users before rolling out internationally.

Pinterest partners with Samsung for visual search

Ever see something that you just want to buy? Pinterest and Samsung have teamed up in an unlikely partnership to bring you visual search. Highlighting the new Samsung S8 camera and AI assistant, Bixby, the technology will allow any photos to be matched with real-world items, powered by the Pinterest app. While Googling is far from becoming outdated, Pinterest offers a unique value proposition to advertisers with this functionality and search ads already on their platform. Window shopping never looked so archaic.

Facebook is relaxing its rules on branded content

Hooray! Branded content can now be shared by more pages, and the company has also reviewed its policy and enforcement guidelines to allow more branding in video content.

Facebook Live 360 launches for all pages and profiles

You can now stream live 360 video on your Facebook page. It’s as easy as… getting a 360 camera. Reportedly, Audio 360 could also be coming soon, which would create a 3D sound experience as you move around 360 videos.

Twitter no longer includes @usernames in character count

Community managers, rejoice! Twitter is hardly cracking any eggs with this latest change to the character count. Usernames in replies will no longer be counted in the tweet’s 140 character count.



 

Marriott works with influencers on new Snapchat campaign

Snapchat ads + Spectacles + influencers sounds like a cacophony of social buzzwords that could end in disaster. But Marriott hotels have managed to bring it all together in a campaign to promote their Rewards scheme. They gave four influencers Spectacles to capture branded content that was broadcasted from their flagship channels. This was accompanied by branded geofilters and ads on the platform. Whether their results will justify the investment is yet to be seen.

Join us at Vivid Ideas Exchange Sydney

Pardon the plug, but if you happen to find yourself in Sydney on 30th May and are hungry for tasty bites and insights, join us at our 2017 Vivid Ideas Exchange session – Marketing To The Machines: Why Algorithms Will Define The Future Of Everything.

“Algorithms determine everything from the optimum kitten story to reframing ethics and morality. We’ll examine how they can help solve some of life’s most existential questions,” our Managing Director Suzie Shaw told the media about the event. “It’s a big order for breakfast as we’ll be exploring the powerful and all-pervasive nature of algorithms: what they are, where they’ve come from and where they’re going tomorrow.”

Suzie will co-present alongside We Are Social’s global consultant, Simon Kemp, who’s making his second consecutive appearance at Vivid Ideas. As well as working with our Sydney office and authoring We Are Social’s annual global digital report, Kemp founded Kepios and heads up APAC for Contagious Insider Consulting.

If you’re interested in joining, feel free to book here. Tickets are $20 (plus booking fee) and include breakfast. We hope to see you there!

Name: Marketing To The Machines: Why Algorithms Will Define The Future Of Everything

Date: Tuesday, May 30

Time: 8am – 10am

Where: Vivid Ideas Exchange, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Level 6 Terrace Entrance (Circular Quay West Side), 140 George St, The Rocks, Sydney

This post contributed by @anytiffng