WE ARE SOCIAL ASIA TUESDAY TUNE UP #255
Messenger Day, which allows users to share photos that will disappear after 24 hours, was launched globally by Facebook two weeks ago on its mobile app, and has now been rolled out to more countries.
This is not the first time Facebook has copied popular features from its competitors and made it better – think WhatsApp Status and Instagram Stories. While users are able to enjoy Snapchat’s stories-like feature, the use of stickers and filters on Facebook’s Messenger App, what sets Messenger Day apart from Snapchat is its “Who’s up for?” filters and “Active Now” indicators that allow users to identify friends who are available to chat or meet up within the app itself.
Clickbait, meet Litbait
This is a modern, smart and educational use of the traditional clickbait craftily thought out by Dallas based independent bookstore, The Wild Detectives, to get people to read popular literature classics.
The bookstore kicked off the Litbaiting by uploading copyright-free novels and then sharing them on Facebook accompanied by unexpected Clickbait headlines.
Other clickbait headlines include: “British guy dies after selfie gone wrong” (The Picture of Dorian Grey), “This Italian politician makes Trump look like a saint” (The Prince by Machiavelli)
The Litbait campaign was launched on National Read a Book Day, and garnered a 14,000 percent boost in site traffic and 150 percent more post engagement on Facebook – a pretty successful use of clickbait if you ask me!
The #MacanCisewu Roars No More
It’s never fun being the butt of all jokes – just ask the Indonesian Cisewu tiger.
The Siliwangi Military Command tore down a statue of their mascot at their base in Cisewu, West Java, after relentless mockery on social media. The grinning tiger had in fact been a fixture at the base for several years, but only recently found Internet fame.
Netizens were thoroughly amused by the contrast between the ferocious tiger used in the official logo of the Siliwangi Military Command, and its far more pleasant counterpart at the base. Naturally, hundreds of jokes and memes were made about #MacanCisewu – leading to its eventual demise. Indonesian authorities promptly had the statue destroyed after its internet infamy, and it has since been replaced by a more dangerous looking model.