More than 2 billion logged-in users around the world are watching YouTube Shorts each month. To help creators keep them engaged, YouTube is releasing six new tools to improve creativity. Assists for remixing, adding stickers and effects, going live and more are coming to the platform, which has also begun testing a mobile-first live experience designed to help live creators get noticed in the main Shorts feed. One unusual new feature, Collab, lets creators display a Short in a side-by-side frame with other YouTube or Shorts videos. Collab lets users select from a variety of split-screen layout options. It will debut on iOS with Android to follow.  Continue reading YouTube Shorts Adds Creator Tools Including Collab and Q&A

Meta Platforms is amping up its AI play, with plans to launch a suite of personality-driven chatbots as soon as next month. The company has been developing the series of artificially intelligent character bots with a goal of using them to boost engagement with its social media brands by making them available to have “humanlike discussions” on platforms including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Internally dubbed “personas,” the chatbots simulate characters ranging from historical figures like Abraham Lincoln to a surfer dude that dispenses travel advice. Continue reading Meta Plans Personality-Driven Chatbots to Boost Engagement

The Senate has cleared two children’s online safety bills despite pushback from civil liberties groups that say the digital surveillance used to monitor behavior will result in an Internet less safe for kids. The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) are intended to address a mental health crisis experts blame in large part on social media, but critics say the bills could cause more harm than good by forcing social media firms to collect more user data as part of enforcement. The bills — which cleared the Senate Commerce Committee by unanimous vote — are also said to reduce access to encrypted services. Continue reading Government Advances Online Safety Legislation for Children

TikTok is making a big push into e-commerce with a plan to sell made-in-China products to consumers. The move sets up a rivalry with popular shopping platforms Shein and Temu to bring Chinese goods to the U.S., while the overall approach replicates the successful “Sold by Amazon” program. As with leading online marketplace Amazon.com and the companies it represents, TikTok will warehouse and ship items — ranging from clothing, electronics and kitchenware — for Chinese merchants, handling checkout, marketing and after-sale services. TikTok plans to debut its American shopping program in August. Continue reading TikTok Offering Chinese Goods via U.S. E-Commerce Market

Meta Platforms had a successful Q2, reporting double-digit growth for the first time since Q4 2021. The performance was attributed to a rebound in the digital advertising sector. The good news comes with a warning, as the company says it plans to increase spending on virtual reality and artificial intelligence next year. The parent of Facebook and Instagram reported revenue of just under $32 billion for the period ending June 30, an 11 percent gain over 2022. Advertising contributed a whopping $31.5 billion, growing nearly 12 percent year-over-year. Continue reading Meta Sees Double-Digit Growth for the First Time Since 2021

Elon Musk has begun rebranding Twitter as X with a simple black letter X-ing out the iconic blue bird logo. The reaction has been mixed so far. Some say it conjures cool, as in “X marks the spot,” while others suggest it evokes a corporate industrial “Big Brother” that could negatively impact the successful brand. Whether it will help Musk and CEO Linda Yaccarino monetize the social service remains to be seen, but it definitely marks a clean break from a colorful past. On Monday, at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters, feathered features like the company logo that once lorded over the cafeteria were removed, and stylized X logos were projected. Continue reading Twitter Rebrands as ‘X’ in Next Step Toward ‘Everything App’

Facebook has updated its video features in a bid to be more competitive with popular social video platforms TikTok and YouTube. Improvements from editing to discovery and the ability to upload videos in HDR roll out this week along with some new branding: the “Watch” tab has been renamed “Video,” unifying the streaming experience in one location. Editing tools for Reels are porting over to the main Feed channel, which means users can post and view short- and long-form video content as well as live videos in one place. The company is also making it easier to engage with recommended Instagram Reels directly on Facebook. Continue reading Facebook Updates Video Features and Renames Watch Tab

Threads released an iOS update this week that automates the ability to translate posts into foreign languages. The Instagram spinoff also added a follows tab to the activities feed, where replies and mentions are displayed. Also new to iOS is the ability to access a list of any user’s Instagram followers, to subscribe to “unfollowed” users, and tappable repost labels. While Threads has prompted shock and awe by hitting 100 million downloads within five days of its July 5 launch, and is now at about 150 million, there are reports of dips in user activity. Meanwhile, the new platform has followed Twitter in introducing tighter rate limits. Continue reading Meta’s Threads Adds Updates, Aims to Suppress Bot Attacks

As Twitter seeks to reinvent its business model, the company is inviting some high-profile creators to share ad revenue. Described as amounting to “millions of dollars,” the company’s first payments have reportedly been issued to popular Twitter posters including right-wing influencer Andrew Tate and the left-leaning twins Ed and Brian Krassenstein. Platform owner Elon Musk tweeted last month that the first block of payments would total $5 million. Twitter has initially launched the program to an invitation-only group “who will be invited to accept payment” and “will soon launch an application process” for broader outreach. Continue reading Twitter Rolls Out Its Ad-Revenue Sharing for Verified Creators

Video streaming service Twitch is rolling out a Discovery Feed to support growth opportunities for smaller streamers. That and other short-form video features were announced at TwitchCon Paris this past weekend. Though the platform’s primary business remains live-streaming, it wants to give creators a chance to promote their content in the native environment rather than on YouTube and TikTok, where most of the outreach has taken place to date. Like TikTok, the Twitch Discovery Feed is designed as a scrollable vertical feed that relies on algorithms to serve clips to users even when the creators aren’t live. Continue reading Twitch to Offer Short Videos, Discovery and Stories This Fall

After significantly curbing its creator payout program, Snap Inc. has largely rejuvenated its Snapchat platform with the implementation of a revenue-sharing option that has lured back some top talent, according to reports. After a testing period that began last year, Snap in April opened to all eligible users a program that allows creators to earn a portion of revenue from ads appearing between their posts. Several thousand participants are said to have qualified for the program, in which those who achieve certain goals become eligible for “Snap Star” status. Continue reading Snap’s Ad Revenue-Sharing Draws Creators Back to Platform

Meta Platforms’ Instagram spin-off Threads has racked up more than 100 million users in just five days, making the Twitter challenger the fastest growing app in history, beating ChatGPT’s recent record of 100 million users in two months. Threads was launched in 100 countries on July 5, and surpassed 100 million sign-ups on Monday. On Friday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote from his @zuck account on Threads that the app had already crossed the 70 million mark, performing “way beyond our expectations.” Ramping up the rivalry between Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, Twitter has threatened legal action against Meta due to similarities in the two microblogs. Continue reading Threads Breaks App Record with 100 Million Users in 5 Days

TikTok is branching out from short-form video with a new music streaming service poised to challenge Spotify and Apple Music. Called TikTok Music, the subscription-only platform has debuted in Brazil and Indonesia. Users can sync existing TikTok accounts to share songs, as well as listen and download tunes, including titles from the Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group catalogs. TikTok Music replaces ByteDance’s previously launched music platform Resso, which on September 5 will cease operations in Brazil and Indonesia. The new offering is priced the same: between $3 and $3.50 monthly for Android and iOS. Continue reading TikTok Music Streaming Service Bows in Brazil and Indonesia

Shein is aiming to take on e-commerce powerhouse Amazon. The Singapore-based fast-fashion phenomenon is branching out from its own branded apparel to become a marketplace where third parties can merchandise their wares — everything from designer clothing to small appliances and maternity products. The 11-year-old company recently launched its expanded marketplace in Brazil, Mexico and the U.S., and has Europe in its sights. The U.S. is a huge market for the company, accounting for an estimated $8 billion in 2022 sales, or about a quarter of its business, largely due to teenage appetite for its $5 skirts and $10 jeans. Continue reading Shein Reaches Beyond Fashion & Beauty to Take on Amazon

This week, Twitter released TweetDeck 2.0 and announced that as of August it will be available only to those who pay for a Twitter Blue subscription. Since competing products like Hootsuite and Buffer also charge for use, TweetDeck may entice those customers who find it a valuable tool to Twitter’s premium tier. Twitter owner Elon Musk has been paywalling various functions as he seeks to generate revenue to help meet hefty interest payments, estimated at $300 million every three months, from his highly publicized October 2022 acquisition. The third payment is due late this month. Continue reading New TweetDeck Will Be Exclusive to Twitter Blue Subscribers