Instagram Adds New Age Verification Features to Better Detect and Protect Younger Users
In order to deliver age-appropriate experiences, such as setting kids into private accounts, preventing unwelcome interaction from adults they don’t know, and limiting the options advertisers have to reach children with ads, Instagram is exploring additional ways for users to verify their age on Instagram.
They can verify their age using one of three options: upload their ID, record a video selfie or ask mutual friends to verify their age. The main enhancement is a new video selfie process, which can provide AI-based estimates of a person’s age.
Instagram and other social media platforms can be damaging to young users in a number of ways, and underage usage can expose children to predators and improper information.
Twitter Launches ‘Notes’ Long-Form Blogging Option, Attached to Tweets
Users can now add lengthy content to their tweets thanks to this new functionality. The user interface (UI) is akin to a standard blog post composer, with header pictures and the ability to put images and links inside of lengthy tweets. Once posted, it will become a Twitter card that links users to the complete article.
With an updated label placed at the top, the author can still amend uploaded Notes, unlike tweets. Twitter, however, stated that this won’t receive a priority over standard tweets and won’t receive an algorithmic boost. To find out how Twitter would or is optimising this functionality for users when it officially launches, we likely need to see usage data from Twitter.
However, at the present, only a few users have access to this feature. However, companies like NUS Med who frequently tweet summaries of their articles with links to the complete articles on their page may find this functionality handy.
Gucci’s Experimental Concept Space – Vault
Gucci has launched a cryptoart exhibition and auction entitled “The Next 100 Years of Gucci”. Otherwise known as the Vault, is an experimental concept store that hosts both physical products that are exclusively available on the Vault and NFTs from 29 artists that depict what the next 100 years of Gucci could look like.
Gucci aims to push beyond luxury retail and into creating a community – through the metaverse and vault.
With the Vault, it seems that Gucci is building their brand towards connecting with the audience — building a community — catering to Gen Zs who look for in a hybrid shopping experience. This means making Gucci available physically and in the digital world through social media platforms, metaverse, NFTs, discord etc.
Link: https://vault.gucci.com/en/story/enter-vault
Meta is Developing a New ‘Basic Ads’ Product for Facebook to Counter Losses Due to Data Privacy Concerns
According to reports, Meta is working on a new, privacy-friendly Facebook ad product that would use much fewer user data for targeting.
The emphasis would be on increasing general brand awareness through exposure to a large audience, so if you’re not wanting to target any particular audience or group, you might run a simple ad that was more broadly targeted to Facebook users.
The solution was created in reaction to Apple’s ATT update, which saw a large number of Facebook users choose not to have their personal data tracked by the programme.
Twitter Expands E-Commerce Features With Shopify Partnership
According to a press release, Twitter and Shopify this week launched a partnership to assist retailers in driving customers to their websites to complete transactions.
Users of Shopify’s e-commerce platform will be able to display up to 50 goods for sale on their Twitter profiles in automatically updated listings. A Twitter sales channel app is now available through Shopify’s administrator portal as well as its App Store. Businesses can link their Twitter accounts to the Shopping Manager on the social networking site, which offers a number of e-commerce software capabilities.
Due to the integration between Twitter and Shopify, retailers can now display their products on Twitter Shops or in the Shop Spotlight on their Twitter profile, both of which are now open to all retailers in the United States. The Shopify merchants’ catalogues and Twitter’s sales channel app are automatically synchronised, so there is no need for manual updates to the product information.
One way social networks may provide marketers with extra services and give users another incentive to visit more often is by supporting e-commerce. It offers the opportunity for social media sites to collect transaction fees and receive commissions on sales, but some of these costs have been temporarily waived by platforms like Facebook as they work to increase the number of merchants they work with.
As much as social media companies now compete with retailers for digital advertising dollars, they also are finding ways to collaborate in their e-commerce efforts.
Facebook Reportedly Plans a Major Overhaul to Compete With TikTok
The Verge published an internal memo sent by Tom Alison, head of FB explaining very clearly the social media platform’s plans to revamp its feed and other major changes to keep up with TikTok and it’s not just about promoting reels.
Some changes we can expect include:
- Facebook’s Feed is expected to “balance both connected content and unconnected content” in Feed. It means that Facebook is going to start recommending more content in your feed from sources you’re not connected with. You’ll still be able to see posts from your connections (friends and family), but you’ll also see more content from entities you’re not connected with.
- Reuniting FB and messenger apps to support what they refer to as the “message-based sharing” of content.
- Facebook is still prioritising Reels and is now planning on “integrating Reels in Home, Watch, IFR and Groups.”
