Every week I keep tabs on what’s trending, new technology and consumer habits that impact the social web. These are summed up in a round-up called Social Pulse.
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#BlackLivesMatter Brand Examples: See 100+ examples of brands responding to the Black Lives Matter movement, grouped by category.
Google Docs as Social Media: Earlier this year it became apparent Google Docs were emerging as a niche social media destination and tool. Today, Google Docs has emerged as a way to share everything from lists of books on racism to templates for letters to family members and representatives to lists of funds and resources that are accepting donations. And the #BlackLivesMatter examples link above!
SocNet Updates: Facebook News is now live for everyone in the U.S. Twitter has added a feature that suggests you to read an article before retweeting it. Facebook is making it easier to toggle between business and personal accounts in Messenger and is testing adding more insights around comments. LinkedIn is testing a new “Status” option, that appears as a temporary headline. Pinterest is testing Story Pins. Snapchat announced Minis, a navigation bar, plant and dog identification, Bitmoji games, new Lenses and more.
LinkedIn’s Content Marketing in Times of Uncertainty: LinkedIn released a downloadable guide to navigating this period of chaos, including building trust and adapting your content marketing to put your audiences needs first, harmonizing long-term brand strategy with shorter activation tactics, integrating organic and paid content marketing strategy, and ROI. Download here.
TikTok Catching Up with YouTube: TikTok is emerging as a significant threat to YouTube among children who spend more time with online media. Kids ages 4 to 15 spend an average of 80 minutes a day on TikTok, compared with 85 minutes a day watching videos on YouTube, based on a new study.
COVID-Friendly Shopping with AR: With all the shelter-in-place and social distancing happening, consumers are using digital tools to shop unlike ever before. This includes digital couture, virtual try-ons of clothes, and using augmented reality (AR) to create a real-scale 3-D model of a car in your driveway, open the doors and even interact with that vehicles’ voice assistant system.
Ethics of Facial Recognition: Given the increase in surveillance and sousveillance in recent weeks, and Amazon’s new moratorium on use of its Rekognition tool, there is a renewed interest in the ethics of facial recognition. This piece in Psychology Today covers the science behind why our own faces can be an unusually potent advertising tool.
SpaceX Dragon Simulator: Last week NASA Astronauts manually piloted the SpaceX Dragon 2 vehicle to the International Space Station before switching it back to auto-pilot. This simulator lets you try your hand at maneuvering and docking it! Pro tip: movement in space is slow and requires patience and precision. And if you mess up, you die.
Global Tunes: Based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Radio Garden is an interactive website and mobile app experience that allows you to tune into thousands of live radio stations across the globe. Key quote: “By bringing distant voices close, radio connects people and places. From its very beginning, radio signals have crossed borders. Radio makers and listeners have imagined both connecting with distant cultures, as well as re-connecting with people from ‘home’ from thousands of miles away.” Listen and download here.
TikTok of the Week: @DiveBomberDave is an entire channel dedicated to a red wing blackbird who dive bombs passersby.
App of the Week: Photoshop Camera is a super powerful app from Adobe that features real-time camera lenses (illustrated, light and AR-based), existing photo editing and more. And it’s free. Download on iOS and Android here.
Viral Video of the Week: Toto’s “Africa” played entire on tesla coils.
GREG SWAN 