1. Two Senate Democrats are questioning Facebook and Instagram over reports that the platforms have been removing posts related to abortion. In a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri, Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Mazie Hirono (D- Hawaii) expressed concern that the social media giants may be “silencing” abortion rights advocates. The senators cited reports from Mother Jones and the Atlantic, which found
that Facebook and Instagram have removed posts containing information about abortion. The senators asked for a response to the reports by March 1. “It's now more important than ever that social media platforms not censor truthful posts about abortion, particularly as people across the country turn to online communities to discuss and find information about reproductive rights,” Klobuchar said in a statement. “We urge Facebook and Instagram to immediately address these concerns and take action to
ensure that accurate information about abortions is not censored on your platform.” As of Tuesday evening, Facebook had not responded to the letter. But a spokesperson for the social media company told Mother Jones that it does not remove content about abortion simply because it is about abortion. “Our Community Standards make clear that we allow discussions of both sides
2. On Tuesday, Twitter sued Tesla CEO Elon Musk for allegedly refusing to follow through with an agreement to acquire the social media platform for $44 billion. In its complaint, Twitter accuses Musk of breach of contract, stating that he "publicly announced that he had funding secured to take Twitter private at $420 per share" and that he "entered into a merger agreement with Twitter." However, according to the complaint, Musk "never intended
to conclude the transaction" and "abandoned the deal two days later." The suit seeks to compel Musk to follow through on the agreement or, alternatively, to pay damages. This is not the first time that Musk has been accused of securities fraud; in 2018, he was sued by the SEC for making false and misleading statements about plans to take Tesla private. It is unclear whether this latest lawsuit will have any impact on Tesla's stock price. However, it is certain to add to the controversy
surrounding Musk and his company.
3.Instagram is testing a new feature called "Notes" which allows users to post status updates that will be shared with their connections. The notes will appear in a user's IG Direct inbox, and can be used to share anything they wish. This could be a great way to keep friends and family updated on what you're doing or to share interesting articles or thoughts. It's not clear whether the notes will be public or private, but it's likely that they will
be private by default. This would make sense, as users would probably not want their notes to be seen by everyone who follows them. The notes feature is currently being tested with a small group of users, and it's not clear when or if it will be rolled out to all users. However, it's certainly an interesting idea, and it will be interesting to see how it develops.
4. Instagram is working on a new way to show ads to users: profile feed ads. These will be ads that visitors will see on your profile, in between the posts from people you follow. The news was first reported by reverse-engineering expert Jane Manchun Wong, who has a track record of discovering new features in apps by looking at their code. It's not clear when, or even if, profile feed ads will roll out to all users. Instagram has tested similar
features in the past, but they've always been pulled back before launch. Still, the fact that the company is considering this suggests that it sees value in placing ads in users' profile feeds. And given Instagram's huge user base and ad sales growth, it's likely that we'll see some form of profile feed ads sooner rather than later.
5.It’s been in development for some time, and today, Instagram has launched an initial test of its Creator Marketplace for Instagram specifically. Much like Facebook’s Brand Collabs Manager platform, Instagram’s Creator Marketplace will enable advertisers to search for and connect with Instagram creators who can produce sponsored content. The marketplace will feature a range of creator profiles, all of which will include information on the creator’s
reach, average engagement rate, and content style. Advertisers will also be able to filter creators by location, age, gender, and interests. While the initial test is only open to a small group of advertisers and creators in the US, it is expected that the marketplace will be rolled out globally in the coming months. This is a big move by Instagram, and it’s one that could make a significant impact on the influencer marketing landscape.
6. Google recently announced several updates to its "Performance Max" program that should give users more control and transparency. Seasonality adjustments will allow users to tweak bid strategies for periods where they expect sudden changes in conversion rates (such as long weekend promos or 7-day sales). Data exclusions will allow users to exclude data that is inaccurate due to conversion tracking issues (such as server outages). Finally, the
new "experimentation" feature will allow users to test different settings and see which ones perform best before making any permanent changes. These updates should give Performance Max users more flexibility and confidence in their campaigns.
7. TikTok thought they could get away with anything, didn't they? They thought they could just sneak in a little privacy policy update and call it a day. But we put our foot down. We said "no way!" And we meant it. TikTok may have thought their "personalized interest" privacy policy would be enough to get around asking users for permission to target them with personalized ads, but they were wrong. The Italian data protection body quickly shut
that down, saying TikTok's policy breaches the ePrivacy Directive and the GDPR in europe. So there you have it. TikTok: 0, Europe: 1. Thanks for playing!
8. Amazon has agreed to simplify the process of canceling Prime in Europe, meaning customers in the region will be able to end their subscription in just two clicks, the European Commission has announced. The changes, which were implemented as of July 1st, should bring to an end the “multiple pages” filled with “distracting information” and “unclear button labels” that Amazon has previously used to discourage people from cancelling their prime
memberships. While the new cancellation process is still not as straightforward as it could be - customers have to go to the “Your Prime Membership” page and then click on the “End Membership and Benefits” link - it is a significant improvement from the previous system. And, for those who are really struggling to find the cancel button, Amazon has helpfully included a big red “Cancel Membership” button on the confirmation page. So, if you’re thinking about cancelling your Prime membership, it’s
now easier than ever to do so. Just be sure that you really want to cancel, because once you do, there’s no turning back!
9. If you want to know what the kids are into these days, just log onto Tumblr. The social media platform has seen a resurgence in popularity thanks to Gen Z’s hunger for 2010s nostalgia. From K-Pop to vaporwave, there’s no corner of the internet that hasn’t been exhumed and repurposed by the kids of today. And while some of it is admittedly baffling to anyone over the age of 25, there’s no denying the power of the web’s cultural memory. With
its vast archive of user-generated content, Tumblr is the perfect place to take a trip down memory lane. So whether you’re looking for fashion inspiration, music recommendations, or just a good laugh, there’s sure to be something on Tumblr that will appeal to you.
10. Parks Associates: OTT Service-Stacking at an All-Time High, with 50% of US Internet Households Subscribing to Four or More OTT Video Services. It's official: we are a nation of OTT service-stackers. According to new data from Parks Associates, 50% of US internet households now subscribe to four or more Over-the-Top (OTT) video services. That's up from just 33% in 2018. And it's not just the young'uns doing it – the proliferation of
service-stacking is occurring across all age groups. So what's driving this trend? Well, it seems we just can't get enough of our favorite shows and movies. With so many choices now available at our fingertips, we're subscribing to more and more services in order to keep up with all the latest content. And why not? With each service offering its own unique library of titles, there's always something new to watch. Not to mention the convenience factor – with multiple services, we can watch
whatever we want, whenever we want, without having to leave the comfort of our homes. So what's the downside? Well, it can get expensive – that's for sure.
11. Hollywood veteran Sylvester Stallone is set to make his debut on OTT in the upcoming action movie "Samaritan." The movie, which will premiere on Prime Video on August 26, follows the story of a young boy who discovers that a superhero who was thought to be only a figment of his imagination is real. When the world needs him most, the boy must help the superhero save the day. "Samaritan" has a screenplay by Bragi F Schut and is produced by
Stallone and Braden Aftergood.
12. In the world of digital advertising, programmatic buying is king. But in the world of audio advertising, programmatic buying is still a relative newcomer. According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, programmatic audio buying accounts for as little as 2% of podcasting ad revenue. However, Mike Kropko, co-CEO at the audio-centric ad agency Ad Results Media, believes that this will change in the coming year. Kropko predicts that automated
audio media buys will increase significantly in 2022. Kropko blames the lag to date on audio media simply not being equipped to handle programmatic buys. "For the longest time the industry didn't have the proper tools and data for programmatic to deliver scale, or creative excellence using programmatic," he says. "But those days are behind us, and it's now possible to use programmatic as a complementary tactic to our portfolio approach to campaign management." But even with the right
tools in place, Kropko admits that there's still a lot of room for improvement when it comes to programmatic audio. "There are definitely some kinks that need to be worked out," he says. "But overall I think we're moving in the right direction."
13. A joint study between the ISBA and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in 2020 uncovered a black hole at the heart of the advertising supply chain – 15% of spend, a figure amounting to £2.6 billion (approximately $3.1bn) could not be tracked. It could not be attributed to any parties in the supply chain, and therefore was missing, vanished into nothingness. While there are numerous factors that might be responsible for this gap, from simple
accounting errors to outright fraud, the most likely explanation is that somebody, somewhere, is simply pocketing the cash. In these tough economic times, it's comforting to know that there are still plenty of people out there who are willing to take advantage of a system and line their own pockets. But it's also a sobering reminder of just how easily money can disappear without a trace.
14. Disney and The Trade Desk have announced a deal that will make Disney's addressable advertising more widely available via programmatic channels. The companies will also be collaborating on audience data, with Disney's Audience Graph being integrated with Unified ID 2.0, the open-source identity framework being championed by The Trade Desk. This is a major development in the world of programmatic advertising, and it will no doubt have a
significant impact on the way that marketers reach their audiences. However, it remains to be seen how this will all play out in practice. Will we see more ads for Mickey Mouse on our Facebook feeds? Only time will tell.
15. As the streaming leader, Netflix is on the hunt for an executive to lead its incubating advertising business, The Wall Street Journal reports. The new hire could be a decider for critical decisions, since Netflix may test and tinker with all sorts of ad revenue options. “Netflix has considered, among other things, creating an ad-supported option for each of its three tiers of service, which offer varying degrees of streaming quality and
content selection.” In other words, the new exec could be responsible for deciding whether or not we have to watch ads in order to keep streaming our favorite shows. We can only hope that they choose wisely!
