We’ve pulled together the latest news from the social space in our weekly Industry Round Up. Explore the top headlines below and get up to speed with the latest news!
Contents:
Facebook Scrapping Facial Recognition
Netflix Launches Mobile Games Tab
TikTok & Living Room Viewership
Pinterest Launches Creator-Led Video Series
Instagram Launches Live-Stream Shopping Events
Instagram’s ‘Add Yours’ Sticker
Facebook’s New Monetisation Tools
Facebook Scrapping Facial Recognition
Over a decade ago, Facebook launched a facial recognition software to automatically identify people in photos and videos, helping to suggest user tags in content – the idea of the technology was to support engagement on the platform.
However, Facebook is dropping this software, meaning anyone opting-in on the technology will have their templates deleted, with tagging being made fully manual again. Meta’s VP of AI stated that the removal of this software was down to concerns of such technology in society. The software was also a source of criticism, as it always stood as a threat for governments and companies to spy on people, as well as cultivating algorithmic bias.
Netflix Launches Mobile Games Tab
Subscribers to Netflix can now access five games within the Android app – two of which are based on Netflix Original, Stranger Things. The games won’t feature ads or in-app purchases and are discoverable from a new ‘Games’ tab, where players can download titles – with iOS access coming soon.
This is Netflix moving in on gaming, building franchises around popular Netflix Shows and creating more reasons to subscribe to the service – following a similar model that has worked for Amazon Prime. Now with Netflix, you not only get access to movies and shows, but gaming experiences – with more add ons surely to come in the following years.
TikTok & Living Room Viewership
TikTok has set up a deal with Amazon, allowing the TikTok app to be available on all Fire TV devices in the U.S and Canada. The experiences will take TikTok users away from just a mobile experience to one on living room TV screens. Fire TV users will be able to download the app and view the For You, Following, and Discover feeds on screen.
TikTok is also available on Google TV, Android TV and some Samsung devices – this move is a reaction to the increased co-viewing experience of users, which is obviously tricky to do with a mobile screen. YouTube has also championed tv experiences, consistently stating how viewership on TV screens is exploding.
Jake Paul Vs Tommy Fury
Jake Paul is stepping back into the ring with Tommy Fury on December 18th. Both boxers are undefeated and have been going back and forth online for months now, building hype around the fight.
The contracts for the fight include some strange clauses that if Tommy loses he must temporarily change his name to Tommy Fumbles, while Paul will have to pay out $500,000 if he is defeated. The event will be held in Tampa, promoted by Paul’s own boxing promotion company with Showtime Sports, in association with Tony Holden Productions.
Pinterest Launches Creator-Led Video Series
Pinterest has launched Pinterest TV, a weekday influencer series that will be live on the Pinterest app. The series will focus on a range of categories such as fashion, home, beauty and food, with viewers being able to interact with hosts in real-time. The series will also be available on catch-up through a TV icon on the app.
Influencers involved include Manny MUA – popular beauty vlogger and Olympic diver Tom Daley. What is also interesting about the format is that creators can tag products during the show, so viewers can purchase. Every Friday there also be a shopping show, with viewers accessing special discounts from select partners – exclusive on Pinterest. Pinterest is also launching a virtual studio, with Pinterest producers working closely with creators to help develop unique content on the platform.
Creators Making A Difference
YouTubers Mark Rober and MrBeast launched #TeamTrees two years ago to raise money the help the Arbor Day Foundation plant 20 million trees around the world. The power of creator influence was clear with the two helping to raise more than $20 million, and attracting donations from public figures such as Elon Musk and platform CEO’s of the likes of Shopify, Twitter and YouTube – to name a few.
Now the two creators are joining forces again for #TeamSeas to raise $30 million to clear 30 million pounds of rubbish from oceans, rivers and beaches. This was announced by MrBeast on his YouTube channel and backed by YouTube Originals. The money raised will be for environmental organizations to action the cleanups.
Patreon’s Creator Coins
Patreon is a subscription-based platform that has become widely popular due to YouTube’s unstable ad revenue climate. In recent news, Patreon is starting to look closely at the NFT and crypto space but is yet to jump all in before believing it is sustainable – unlike Twitter.
However, Patreon is moving in on creator coins – or social tokens. These creator coins are individual cryptocurrencies tied to the popularity of specific people. Buying a coin is like purchasing currencies such as Bitcoin and Dogecoin – but instead, investing in the creator and not betting on a market. To note, Patreon is not the developer, issuer or distributor of coins, as coins are facilitated through companies such as BitClout.
The benefit of coins include fans unlocking exclusive merch, content or access to a Discord – and the move to include such coins was very much pushed by the Pateron community.
Instagram Launches Live-Stream Shopping Events
Instagram has launched a new series of shopping broadcasts in preparation for the holiday season. The live-stream commerce experience will include exclusive product launches and influencer recommendations.
Instagram will essentially host shopping-based broadcasts over the last two months of the year, including weekly live streams starting as early as this week. The platform will also have a weekly lineup of guest editors – which are influencers who recommend specific products within an ongoing series.
TikTok’s Tip Jars
TikTok is testing a tipping feature with select creators – according to Techcrunch. Creators are eligible to test the feature if they have at least 100,000 followers and an account that TikTok deems ‘strong’.
If a creator is approved a tipping button will appear on profiles, allowing fans to directly send payments to the creator. It also appears TikTok isn’t taking a cut of creator tips at this point.
This move is one of many by the platform of opening up new avenues of creator monetisation. Other examples include a creator fund and the Creator Marketplace to facilitate brand deals.
Instagram’s ‘Add Yours’ Sticker
Instagram has launched a new sticker to help elevate engagement in Stories. The sticker enables users to prompt others to respond to Stories, creating more engaging reply threads.
Users essentially upload content to Stories and add the sticker to call for followers/viewers to respond with their own content based on a theme. When users respond they are added to the profile bubble listing on the Sticker, when tapped enabling users to go through all other responses in the thread.
Facebook’s New Monetisation Tools
Meta is looking to combat Apple’s 30% cut of fan subscriptions across the Facebook app. Mark Zuckerberg stated that as the company build the metaverse, they are looking at how creators can make money off their work. In the first move, Zuckerberg has highlighted that they are updating the fan subscription product, so creators can earn more.
This new update to the fan subscription product will include a new redirect process, allowing users to sign up outside of the Facebook app – avoiding Apple’s 30% cut. Further monetisation options being added include a new bonus program, allocating payments for every new subscriber a creator signs up until the end of the year – maxing at a bonus of $10,000.
