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Shop while dancing. TikTok is onboarding more brands to sell directly in the app. Shoppers can now buy from apparel brands PacSun, Revolve and Willow Boutique as well as beauty brand KimChi Chic simply by tapping on a shopping bag icon and complete the checkout process without leaving TikTok’s app.
Tweet while smoking. This month, Twitter became the first social media platform to allow cannabis companies to market their brands and products in the United States. Other social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok currently all follow a “no cannabis advertising policy.” Twitter’s new policy relaxes restrictions in the 21 U.S. states that allow recreational cannabis use.
The Future’s So Bright?
Advertising is the future. At least where video streaming is concerned. CTV is continuing to pull ad dollars from other media and ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) is poised to see gains as 1-in-3 streamers plan to reduce spending on services this year according to a recent study by Fox and TUBI.
So, whose intelligence is really artificial? Journalists are currently writing articles about other journalists writing tweets about arguing with AI chatbots … which I am now writing about here. Bing’s chatbot recently said of a Fast Company editor, “you are only making yourself look foolish and stubborn,” when the human had the temerity to point out an error made by the bot.
It’s 1995, right? ESPN viewers may question what decade they’re in when new spots pop up for the channel’s SportsCenter HQ. The new creative agency for the broadcaster is resurrecting the award-winning mockumentary “This Is SportsCenter” campaign that casts ESPN’s home office as a crazy playpen for athletes, mascots and anchors.
I, for one, welcome our new pig overlords. Canadian pig farmers have used selective breeding to create an “incredibly intelligent, highly elusive” pig. Initially bred to survive in harsh northern winters, these so-called “super pigs” – some topping 600 pounds – have now escaped captivity and are spreading southward, wreaking havoc as they come. Who’s up for some bacon?
The Big Power of Little Icons
Checkmate. There’s a new wave among the biggest social media platforms and it looks a lot like a blue check subscription service. After Twitter’s launch (and re-launch) of Twitter Blue, Meta now announced its own version of the product – Meta Verified. For $12 per month, users of Facebook and Instagram can be “verified” with a few requirements.
Shaking up emojis. Apple’s latest iOS update includes some new ways to express yourself in tiny graphical form. Users of Apple devices can now pepper their messages with ginger roots, maracas and a “shaking face” that seems oddly appropriate for the times.
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