We Are Social’s Tuesday Tweakup #24

Mashup
nick.cavanagh
TV-quality live videos could be coming to Facebook
Live video on Facebook could be getting a facelift. The social media giant is rumoured to be partnering with several publishers to start providing high-quality live videos. Previously, live video on Facebook was mostly recorded using smartphone and tablet cameras, whereas major publishers will soon be able to upload professionally recorded content straight from their control rooms.



Already, various publishers – ranging from news outlets to pro sports teams – have embraced Facebook live streaming. This change could go a long way towards helping Facebook persuade more TV networks to deliver their video content on the platform.

Facebook’s new Delivery Insights tool delivers more ad insight
With three million advertisers fighting for the attention of more than a billion Facebook users, Facebook has launched a new tool which lets brands create more competitive campaigns. Delivery Insights, a tool that will help brands understand how their promotions are performing in Facebook’s ads auction, will eliminate the guesswork and help advertisers optimise their campaigns.

Twitter confirms 140 character limit is staying, but toys with stickers
Despite murmurs around the water cooler of a 10,000-character limit on Twitter, Jack Dorsey, CEO, squashed rumours once and for all, and confirmed the 140 character limit is staying:

“It’s staying. It’s a good constraint for us. It allows for of-the-moment brevity.” Good. At least that’ll keep Kanye on a short leash… for now.”


Elsewhere in the Twittersphere, the company are asking whether or not you like stickers. Burning question, I know. Twitter is considering a new product it’s calling “Stickers” that would let you add images to photos before tweeting them out. Perhaps more interestingly, Twitter says the feature will let you “see how other users from around the world have edited the same photo” and will also “suggest photos that you can edit and post to participate in trending conversations and breaking news.”

Periscope broadcasts 200 million streams in its first year
This weekend, Periscope celebrated its one-year anniversary by revisiting some of its favourite broadcasts that have been on the service. And what a year it’s been. Periscope has gone from being a little-known startup, to rising to prominence within Twitter’s ranks. In addition to reaching 200 million broadcasts, it was also revealed that 110 years’ worth of live video is watched per day, which represents a 91 percent increase from last August. Periscope’s launch in March 2015 came just as its main competitor at the time, Meerkat, (who?) started to gain traction at SxSW. Fast forward to a year later: Meerkat has pivoted, and the live video market is starting to get busy with the introduction of Facebook Live and, soon, YouTube Connect. Stay strong, Periscope.

YouTube Connect livestreaming app to take on Periscope
It’s all heating up in the world of livestreaming, hey? Google has quietly been building a new livestreaming app called YouTube Connect in an effort to take on Twitter’s Periscope and Facebook Live. YouTube Connect has much of the same functionality that you’d expect; there are chat and tagging features, and a news feed that features the latest clips from your friends or those that you’ve subscribed to on YouTube. No doubt YouTube connect comes around after talk of the platform losing a bit of its luster against growing competitors. It’s hardly ground-breaking stuff, but always good to have a healthy bit of competition.



Snapchat buys Bitstrips for $100 million
Snapchat has purchased Bitstrips, the service behind those funny DIY comic strips. Bitstrips let users create comics starring themselves and their friends, with almost every aspect from clothing to facial hair personalisable.


You can put yourself into all sorts of unusual comic strip situations, along with the avatars of any friends who also use the service. Whilst it is currently not known what Snapchat may have planned for Bitstrips, I believe it can only end in world domination, one selfie at a time.

Tumblr is finally bringing comments back
Tumblr users are rejoicing as it has been announced they are restoring one of their most-missed features, reinstating replies to posts. The company scrapped the reply feature in November and users were not happy, but in a bid to heal the wounds, Tumblr have not only brought back the feature, but upgraded it. Now, the feature is more conversational than ever, with authors able to reply to their own post, unlike the previous version which was essentially a straightforward comments section. The upgraded feature now allows the author to be more involved, whether it be fending-off negative comments or joining in on the ‘bants’.

Lord & Taylor settles with FTC for deceptive advertising
No doubt you’re familiar with influencers; the ridiculously good-looking and cool kids who get paid to be themselves. However, their job isn’t as simple as uploading a #selfie every now and again. There are rules and regulations around it, as retailer Lord & Taylor found out the hard way.



The Federal Trade Commission alleged that the fashion retailer was deceiving their customers by paying for advertisements on blogs and websites without revealing that the posts were paid promotions. Tut tut guys, social media 101.

Authorities crack down on manipulative online reviews
We use online reviews for almost everything, whether it be hotels or puppies, if you can name it you can probably rate it. However, manipulative review practices are becoming more regular and the UK’s ASA and the CMA have begun to crack down. The investigation started in 2015 to ensure that those posting reviews online were doing so in a way that was in the best interests of consumers.