- 280 Characters Come to Twitter: Twitter is testing a 280-character limit with a small group of users — and that the limit will remain 140 characters in Japanese, Chinese and Korean. That is because tweets in those languages can already fit in a lot more information, as a single character might represent a noun. Like any change to any social network, users are up in arms with the change and Twitter’s prioritization of character count in the face of hate speech and bullying criticism. Regardless, brands will need to keep close watch on this change as they consider content and engagement strategy on the platform. (LINK)
- Share Factories: We’ve talked about the Museum of Ice Cream before, but we’re continuing to see “Made for Instagram Museums” and brand experiences fill our feeds. This year marks the third year of Refinery 29’s pop-up installation space, 29Rooms, and just down the street from the Museum of Ice Cream is a 12,000-square foot space containing 15 interactive color experiences called the Color Factory. These event activations are designed with user-generated content in mind, which spreads awareness and FOMO (fear of missing out!) among attendee’s respective networks. Must-see! (LINK)
- Mourning in the Age of Social Media: Even with every tweet stored in the Library of Congress and our subconscious knowledge that everything posted to the internet can be recalled with the Wayback Machine, it’s sometimes hard to remember our digital breadcrumbs will outlive our short, physical lives. This week a Mashable writer wrote about the outpouring of love he received in social media for the passing of his 102 year-old grandmother. “We all handle death and the grief that comes with it in our own way — so creating an electronic tribute is just as valid as leaving flowers on a headstone,” he writes. Facebook introduced memorial pages eight years ago, but the social media generation is just starting to work out the cultural norms for grieving online. (LINK)
- Cash Me Outside Girl Shakes Up Record Industry: In lighter news, Atlantic Records just signed Danielle Bregoli — a.k.a. Bhad Bhabie, a.k.a. Dr. Phil’s “Cash Me Outside” girl – and it’s rocking an industry that has always struggled with the balance between art and attention. Talent be damned, Bhad Bhabie charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and her latest video has 12 million views. With reality TV stardom coming to the traditional record label business, true musicians continue to explore ways to compete with up and comers more skilled at growing Instagram followers than playing an instrument. HOW BOW DAH? (LINK)
GREG SWAN 