Daily Minute Master Series – June 6, 2019

Social Media

Facebook Tests Another Layout to Promote the Various Facebook Stories Options

Facebook seems very convinced that more people would use Facebook Stories more often if they understood the various creative options available, and could more easily find them in their posting process. Last month, reverse engineering expert Jane Manchun Wong revealed that Facebook was working on a new iteration of the Stories composer screen, which placed more Stories options up front and within tappable reach. If Facebook is indeed concerned that people aren’t using such because they’re not sure they exist, or how they can add them, this would solve that. By better highlighting the creative options available, Facebook may well get more people using them, and boost engagement with Facebook Stories – which, Facebook says, is well on track to becoming the primary platform sharing option, and to overtake the News Feed by the end of the year.

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YouTube Takes Tougher Stand on ‘Hateful and Supremacist Content’

YouTube has announced that it will now take a stronger, more definitive stance against ‘hateful and supremacist’ content on its platform, by banning all videos which promote discrimination or exclusion against any specific group. That is a major ruling, which will impact thousands of YouTube channels. It’ll also see various channels caught in the crossfire, unleashing a flood of challenges and appeals, which could take some time for YouTube’s team to work through. The announcement addresses various concerns which have been raised with YouTube in recent times. Back in January, YouTube announced changes to its recommendation algorithm after reports found that its system was promoting conspiracy theories and fake news content, amplifying such misinformation. These are major areas of concern, and a significant part of the problem in each case is YouTube’s algorithm, which shows users more of what they like. YouTube could look to lessen the impacts of its algorithm, or even remove its algorithm recommendations entirely, leaving it up to users to decide what they watch, but that would also likely reduce the time users spend on platform. So if that’s not an option, what’s the next approach?

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Snapchat Is Releasing Special Landmarkers From LGBTQ Lens Creators for Pride Month

Snapchat is bringing a taste of Pride into its Landmarkers Lenses. The messaging application introduced Landmarkers in April as a way for Snapchatters to bring global landmarks to life, debuting the feature with Buckingham Palace in London. In order to mark Pride Month in June, several official Lens Creators who identify as LGBTQ designed Pride-themed Landmarkers to transform the Capitol Building, the Flatiron Building and the Chinese Theater into icons of Pride. Starting Thursday, Snapchatters who visit one of those three sites can open the app’s rear-facing camera, tap on the background to access Lenses, swipe over to the Landmarker Lens and watch the landmark transform in real-time. Also, throughout the month of June, Snapchat’s Discover page will feature Our Stories that celebrate Pride and dig deeper into LGBTQ identity and culture.

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Marketing

Amazon Replicates Pinterest Lens with ‘StyleSnap’ Feature

This week, at Amazon’s re:MARS 2019 conference, the company has announced a new in-app tool called ‘StyleSnap’, which will enable users to take a photo or upload a screenshot of any item of clothing and the system will find similar product matches, based on image recognition. Sounds, and looks, a lot like Pinterest’s Lens tool, right? Yeah, it’s pretty much the same thing. The fact is, everything is open for replication by your competition online, with the only real battles being fought, and won, on scale. The fact that Amazon has such an option, along with one-click shopping, on a platform most consumers already trust, could give them a leg up on Pinterest, which hasn’t yet established the same, seamless purchase flow and process. It’ll be some time before we see if Amazon’s new option takes any attention away from Pinterest, but it is another signal of potential concern for the Pin platform, which could limit its growth potential.

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