Tuesday Tune-Up #403
Instagram launches its first Australian campaign
Instagram has launched its first brand campaign in Australia, tapping into the unique interests of local users around key passion points like sports, music and memes. ‘Get Into What You ❤️’ is centred around Instagram’s iconic ‘like’ button, the heart symbol, and comes just a few months after Instagram removed the total number of likes on posts for Australian mobile users. That’s because “it’s not about getting likes, it’s about liking what you love” – and we couldn’t agree more. The ads feature Australian creators Ruel, Poppy Olsen, Samantha Kerr, Rowi Singh and Jordan Morrison, and were voiced by bomb Australian rapper Tkay Maidza. Magpies made the cut and we’re screaming. Get ready to see it across TV, cinema, OOH, digital and – of course – Instagram.
Emmys night is – once again – a memes night
Yesterday we had the (guilty) pleasure of following television’s biggest awards ceremony, the 71st Emmys, live from LA. A decently saucy night, according to the internet, the show was opened by the one-and-only Homer Simpson (the actual host we needed and deserved) before Kim and Kendall got laughed at on-stage and some serious shade was thrown at Felicity Huffman, who was probably enjoying the show from jail. The meme factory that is Twitter went wild, obviously. We also witnessed some serious gromance between Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer; a number of great empowering speeches and touching stories; and some tear-inducing tributes. So yeah, there’s still some good in this world. If you’ve seen some better memes, please share them in the comments [#itsforwork].
David Attenborough slams Scott Morrison on climate change and the internet is here for it
In a groundbreaking new interview with Triple J’s Hack presenter Tom Tilley, hero and oracle Sir David Attenborough takes a swipe at PM Scott Morrison, his support for new coal mines and his lack of action on climate change. The news sparked a lot of conversation on Facebook and Reddit, and is trending on Twitter (but please, don’t play with our emotions, Davo!). Tune in at 5.30pm for the whole interview, and share your feelings in the comment.
Checking why David Attenborough is trending only to see it’s just him bagging the Aussie PM. Don’t scare me like that twitter pic.twitter.com/n2Zr3lGlBy
— Oz (@ausmojo) September 23, 2019
Instagram restricts weight loss posts for under 18s
Instagram will now restrict those under the age of 18 from seeing posts that promote weight loss products or types of cosmetic surgery. It may even remove a post, if it “makes a miraculous claim about certain diet or weight loss products, and is linked to a commercial offer such as a discount code.” This is part of a new policy that targets this growing and controversial area of influencer marketing – the likes of Kylie Jenner and Khloe Kardashian have been criticized for promoting weight loss products on their feeds. Pressure to enact change has been lead by community and global influencers like queen Jameela Jamil and her ‘I Weigh’ movement, and follows other measures implemented by Instagram to improve its status as a better place for young people, who are currently being exposed to unhealthy content on the platform. Excuse me while I change my age to 17 so that I don’t have to see this type of garbage anymore.
Facebook reveals how the Independent Oversight Board will work
On an even more serious note, following a nearly two-year wave of bad publicity, Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg have announced the institution of the Independent Oversight Board, a new system that aims to help the platform prevent issues like the spread of fake news, hate speech, and terrorism, acting as an third-party moderator. The role of the board is to prevent content governance-related issues while maintaining an environment where users are free to express themselves and openly communicate with one another.
Facebook has released a charter explaining how this ‘independent’ Oversight Board will work. The board will review appeals to Facebook’s policy decisions, like content takedowns, and make recommendations for changes. “The board’s decision will be binding, even if I or anyone at Facebook disagrees with it”, said Zuckerberg. But many are skeptical, particularly as Facebook itself will choose the board’s initial members.
For a rundown of how the board came about, how it will work and its potential limitations, check out TechCrunch’s great summary here.
Facebook rolls out tools in Live, Watch Parties and Creator Studio
Facebook has released a ton of new tools and features across Facebook Live, Watch Parties and Creator Studio. Here are just a few of the highlights:
- A rehearsal option on Facebook Live, so that creators can get a bit of stress-free practice in before going up in front of their fans for real;
- Enabling Pages to tag business partners in branded content Watch Parties “so that both parties can see insights on the performance of the Watch Party”;
- And a new Distribution metric in Creator Studio which will allocate a score to each video’s performance based on the Page’s historic average across a range of metrics – including 1 Minute Views, Average Minutes Watched, and Retention.
And much more! Check out this handy summaryfor all the details.
Facebook expands interactive ad formats
Another busy week for Facebook – it has also announced the expansion of three interactive ad formats. Poll ads are moving to the main feed of the Facebook mobile app; the augmented reality ads that Facebook has been testing are moving into open beta this autumn; and playable ads are being made available to all advertisers, not just gaming companies. The company has suggested this isn’t the last update we’ll see – the more advertisers use and experiment with them, the more they’ll evolve.
Pinterest adds new options to Groups, updates Lens search tool
Pinterest has added a host of new tools to its group boards, including reaction buttons (such as a heart, a clap, a lightbulb); a sorting feature so that users can prioritise the most popular ideas; and a redesigned space that will let group members communicate with each other directly on the board. It has also updated its Lens visual search tool: Pinners can now take photos or upload images from their camera rolls and use them to search via Lens, or save photos from Lens, turn them into Pins and save them to boards.
Snapchat introduces ‘3D Camera Mode’
One for those of you who have an iPhone X or newer – Snapchat’s new camera mode makes photos more 3D-like. The ‘3D Camera Mode’ allows users to capture a selfie and apply 3D effects, lenses, and filters to it. The 3D selfies can be shared on the Snapchat app or saved to a user’s camera roll and shared elsewhere. Like, on Insta maybe?
And there’s more….
Facebook may be teaming up with Luxottica (makers of Ray-Bans) for stylish AR glasses; Google is monetizing YouTube’s TV presence with a beta test of the YouTube Masthead ad placement on the TV screen; Facebook has acquired customer service-focused bot building start up ServiceFriend in a potential move to prepare for the Libra launch; Facebook will close the short-lived Group Stories on September 26; and Twitter has rolled out its ‘hidden replies’ feature to the US and Japan.
This edition of the Tune-Up was lovingly written by Cristina Forlani, with additional reporting from Lauren Underwood.