TikTok expands its first-party creative tools with AR Effects Studio
With AR developers opting for Facebook and Snapchat as their go-to apps for creating effects, TikTok is set to completely overhaul its own creative features. Could this spell the beginning of the end for TikTokβs feeder platforms? As TikTok moves to stop feeder AR softwares like Spark AR and Snap...
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Twitter finally makes reporting misinformation simple for users
Following mounting pressure from the White House, Twitter has announced a new user feature intended to better tackle the online spread of misinformation. If ever there was a specific period to really underpin the dangers of misinformation, with Covid-19, the introduction of 5G, and the US presidential election, 2020 was...
Facebook plans to become βwater positiveβ by 2030
The social media giant has announced it will restore more water than it uses globally within the next decade, intensifying the competition between tech firms to become carbon neutral. Your nanβs favourite source of stale memes and clickbait headlines, Facebook, has just announced plans to become βwater positiveβ by...
Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp suspended during Zambiaβs election
Zambia officials threatened to suspend all broadband services on the day of its election to combat misinformation. In the end, its Ministry of Information froze traffic on WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. In the fight to stem the spread political misinformation during its presidential election, has Zambia compromised a sense...
Study suggests Gen Z prioritise digital life over real life
A new survey shows that young people now believe the way you present yourself online is more important than real life. Is our digital avatar now the priority? If youβve been active online at all during the last fifteen years, youβll no doubt have made at least one social...
Athletes on TikTok are switching up the Olympic perspective
Virtual tours of the Olympic Village, cardboard beds, crushes on competitors, and daily coronavirus testing are all new elements of this yearβs spectator experience. Qualifying for the Olympics is a level of achievement any professional athlete dreams of. So, when we think about the qualities of those competing, which words come...
Facebook accused of using βprivacy concernsβ to avoid data transparency
Back again with yet another story concerning data privacy and Facebook. But, thereβs a twist this time around β Facebook is on the offensive. General public opinion of Facebook has all but fallen off a cliff in recent years. Following the blunder of Cambridge Analytica, weβve heard endless stories of political manipulation on the app, nefarious sales through Facebook Marketplace, and a lax approach to user privacy and misinformation...
You decide – should social media require a verified ID?
Celebrities, footballers, and many others have faced routine abuse on social media for years. Could verified identification be a solution to hold attackers accountable? In September last year, an online petition was started by UK celebrity Katie Price to make verified ID a requirement for opening a social media account. This proposed legislation that would be called βHarveyβs Lawβ. The petition was in reaction to the frequent abuse and ableist...
Twitter India concedes to Modiβs problematic digital media law
Twitter joins Facebook and YouTube as the latest digital platform complicit in Indiaβs problematic digital media law. Is it a matter of time before the whole of Silicon Valley caves to legal pressure? Digital democracy is fast dying out within Indiaβs borders, as social media companies cave at the prospect of losing the worldβs second largest market. Just three months ago, we were pleased to report that Twitter had abstained...
Jumprope integration to make LinkedIn profiles more creative
As part of its growing focus on video content and professional learning resources, LinkedIn has acquired popular βhow-toβ app Jumprope. Creative tools on the platform are now set for a serious upgrade. In the search for ways to vary up the content of career-minded folk, LinkedIn has joined forces with a burgeoning how-to video app called Jumprope. For those unaware, Jumprope is a platform which describes itself as βthe best...
