TUESDAY TUNE-UP #452

Nick Carolan

Oracle is TikTok’s “trusted tech partner” for the US
Enterprise provider Oracle has reportedly won the bidding war for the US operations of TikTok, according to The Wall Street Journal. However, instead of an outright sale, Oracle will be helping to run TikTok’s US operations with its own cloud technologies as a “trusted tech partner.” The news came just hours after Microsoft revealed its bid was rejected by TikTok owner, ByteDance.

It’s not clear skies for the tech giants yet, as Washington and Beijing will need to approve the partnership for US operations before the deal goes ahead. According to the South China Morning Post, ByteDance would not sell or transfer the algorithm behind TikTok in any sale or divestment deal.

TikTok goes big on tackling hate speech
TikTok has joined the European Union’s Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech, a non-legally binding code which focuses on accelerating takedowns of illegal content and supporting users to report hate speech. In a statement, TikTok said: “We have a zero-tolerance stance on organized hate groups and those associated with them… Our ultimate goal is to eliminate hate on TikTok.”

Facebook Watch reports over 1.25bn monthly visitors
Facebook has revealed that Facebook Watch, its video destination which went global in 2018, now has over 1.25 billion visitors every month. Commenting on the milestone, Facebook’s head of video products attributed this growth to recent enhancements to the platform, which have included better navigation, content curation by experts, and smarter machine learning.

Instagram puts a greater emphasis on diversity and inclusion 
Instagram has announced plans to build an Equity team to work on “better understanding and addressing bias in its product development”, creating fair and equitable products, and ensuring algorithmic fairness. In addition, the platform is also on the hunt for a director of diversity and inclusion who will be responsible for increasing and retaining people from diverse backgrounds.

Amazon opens Twitch’s ad inventory to programmatic buyers
Twitch’s ad inventory is now available on the Amazon Advertising platform, enabling media buyers to purchase ads programmatically on the streaming site. Previously, brands had to undergo a more manual process of purchasing ads on Twitch.

Twitch launches custom esports competitions in closed beta
Twitch has launched Versus, a new suite of competitive tools that will let streamers on the site manage their own tournaments, in closed beta. Esports leagues, game developers, Twitch Rivals competitors, and select Twitch streamers will now have access to the new feature. There is a waitlist for those who wish to try out Versus for themselves.

YouTube prepares to release new engaged-view conversions metric
YouTube is planning to make its new conversion metrics, engaged-view conversions, available by the end of the year. The new engaged-view conversions metric measures the conversions that take place after someone views at least 10 seconds of a skippable ad, does not click right away but converts within a set number of days after seeing it.

Ones to watch
Instagram is testing changes to its home screen to bring Reels and the Shop tab into its navigation bar; Twitter’s is testing the ability to send audio clips in direct messages with users in Brazil; and LinkedIn is testing the addition of Swipe Up links for Stories.