Tuesday Tune-Up #461

News
Nick Carolan

Twitter rolls out disappearing tweets, called Fleets
There has been plenty of buzz around the global launch of ‘Fleets’ on Twitter in the last week, the disappearing messaging feature that sits right at the top of the timeline in a row of Stories-like bubbles. You can use Fleets to share text, respond to others’ tweets, or post videos with the same background colours. You can also respond to others’ Fleets by tapping on one and sending a direct message to the creator. However, it has been a fleeting moment of glory for the new feature (see what we did there), with a bug leaving some Fleets accessible after their expiration dates. Twitter is working on a fix.

Some Twitter users hate Fleets. Here's why new features are usually  despised.

Twitter to introduce voice chat rooms in testing later this year
Tired of trolls dominating the conversations? Twitter is planning to make things a little easier to control, creating ‘spaces’ for invite-only voice based chitchat. In these spaces you’ll be able to see who is a part of the room and who is talking at any given time, with the creator of the space having full control over who can participate in the conversation. First access will be given to women and people from marginalised backgrounds, permitting them freedom to speak to one another without fears of abuse and harassment that can be tossed their way by aggravated keyboard warriors. A Twitter without trolls is a Twitter we can all get behind. 

Twitter Spaces Will Bring Live Audio Conversations To The Platform

Instagram expands new ‘Guides’ feature and adds keyword search
Long-form content has been making its mark on Instagram this year. Now the app has launched a new feature called ‘Guides’ that allows creators to share tips, resources and other longer-form content in a dedicated tab on their user profiles. Initially limited to a select group of creators, the platform is expanding the feature to make it available to all users and increasing its content to include products, places and posts. 

Instagram’s search format is also getting an upgrade, with users now able to search the platform using keywords. Previously hashtags were king when it came to defining your search, but now a post can be found even if a specific hashtag is not included.

Instagram revamps its mobile messaging app, Threads
Instagram is continuing to place its energy into its standalone messaging app, Threads, releasing a redesigned version that features updated navigation and a status tab. The new navigation bar at the bottom of the screen makes it easier for users to view and interact with friends’ statuses and their Stories, or quickly switch back to the Camera interface or their messaging inbox. These changes follow a period of overhaul for Facebook’s family of mobile messaging apps, demonstrating the company’s focus on this area of social. 

Instagram revamps its mobile messaging app Threads | TechCrunch

We Are Social Sydney and #TeamGalaxy presents: House Rules
TeamGalaxy, the global platform launched by We Are Social Sydney for Samsung, is going into its second year. At a time in history when mobile devices are facilitating creativity more than ever – from sharing makeup tutorials to trolling political rallies – #TeamGalaxy is a call to arms for self-expression and ingenuity.

In a nod to the role of technology in keeping us connected in 2020, the campaign sees Gen Z stars Millie Bobby Brown, musician Khalid, and streaming personality Myth sharing their own ‘house rules’ – mantras that have helped make them the people they are today. The campaign encourages fans around the world to share their own #HouseRules for 2021, with the hashtag being adopted globally by Samsung’s community of Team Galaxy influencers across all social media platforms. The campaign will be activated in global markets throughout 2021 as local influencers share their own house rules.

Didi Hero goes for Gold
Our campaign for rideshare service DiDi has just scored a Gold at the Shorty Social Good Awards in the Multi-Platform Campaign category. ICYMI, when the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit Australia, DiDi had an opportunity to help drivers and riders get around safely and quickly created a new service just for them: DiDi Hero, offering sanitised rides for AHPRA healthcare workers at discounted fares.

Our goal was to ensure healthcare workers were aware of this exclusive service, created as a way to thank them for their life-saving work, and able to feel all the love and gratitude from the whole of Australia. To get their attention, we created a short video during lockdown, which followed three real frontline workers on their rides to work. En route, they were met with a surprise call from Michael, a recovered COVID-19 survivor, who shared his touching personal message of thanks with them. Read more about the campaign here.

YouTube targets music fans with new audio ad format
We’re all ears for YouTube’s latest development in its ad products. With screen-time fatigue on the rise, some of us have been doing less watching and a lot more listening. The new ad products are designed to help marketers reach YouTube visitors who are listening rather than watching the platform’s content. Audio ads are designed for videos where audience members may only be glancing at the screen occasionally, or might be ignoring the visuals altogether. The company says that in early testing, more than 75% of audio ad campaigns resulted in a significant lift in brand awareness. Not too shabby.

TikTok now lets parents make their teens’ accounts more private
Concerned about what your teen has seen on TikTok? No need to stress as the platform is expanding its parental control to give parents more options over what their teen views on the app and how private their account is. Parents can now restrict who comments on videos, who can view their child’s account and who can see what videos they’ve liked. They can also stop their child from searching for videos, users, hashtags or sounds.

TikTok and YouTube apps on screen iphone xr, close up

Facebook launches collage making app, E.gg
It’s time to channel your inner Picasso as Facebook has released its latest app, E.gg, a freeform creation tool described as a ‘digital zine creator.’ Users can create and share canvases that appear like a mixed media collage, combining text, images and GIFs. Want to show off your collage creations? Anything made in E.gg can be given its own unique URL, allowing others to view your content even if they haven’t installed the app themselves. E.gg users, however, can browse through other people’s work directly in the app. So far the app, which is available as a free download in the US, has been used to create fan pages, guides, tributes, profiles, collages, recipes and more.

Facebook NPE Team Goes Back to 'the Early Interwebz' with E.gg

Apple to reduce cut of in-app purchases as it faces Fortnite lawsuit
Apple has announced it will reduce the 30% cut it takes from every in-app purchase by half for developers that make up to $1.37m per year. The move comes as the company faces a new lawsuit from Epic Games in the Australian federal court over the removal of Fortnite. Apple removed the popular game after it bypassed the companies’ in-app payment methods for Epic’s own cheaper direct billing. Per the court filing via Guardian Australia, Epic said Apple was misusing its market power by preventing rival payment systems being built, meaning it was affecting the profits for Epic and leading to higher prices for Apple users.

Snapchat shines Spotlight on viral video creators with cash rewards
Snapchat will begin paying users for their most viral video content, as the platform moves to stem the flow of users headed to TikTok with a new ‘For You’ feed of user-generated content. The new feature, called Spotlight, will entice users to share their most creative content to the dedicated feed for a piece of a daily $1 million prize pool – the catch, however, is that users will be largely anonymous. It’s a move aimed at promoting a creative meritocracy, rather than a celebration of mediocrity.

“Spotlight will surface the most entertaining snaps from the Snapchat community all in one place, and will become tailored to each Snapchatter over time based on their preferences and favourites,” Snap said in a statement, outlining that videos will be approved by a team of human moderators to ensure they meet guidelines and fulfil the feature’s purpose as an entertainment platform, rather than a space for news or political content. “As a way to celebrate and reward the creativity of the Snapchat community, Snap will distribute over $1m every day to Snapchatters who create the top Snaps on Spotlight, at least through the end of the year.”

Earnings are determined by a formula based on the total number of unique video views a Snap gets in a given day as compared with the performance of other user posts in Spotlight that day. Snapchat is promising that any video that goes viral – initially qualified as around 100,000 views in a day – will receive its share of the cash. The company noted that it will “actively monitor for fraud to ensure that we only account for authentic engagement with Snaps.”

Spotlight is first available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the U.K., Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and France.

Ones to watch
WhatsApp is introducing a new Read Later function. Even when chats have been archived or marked for reading at a later time, new messages will arrive and be added to the archive so you won’t be distracted by noisy notifications.

The Tuesday Tune-Up features additional reporting by Hannah Currey.