This message will self-destruct after reading

Snapchat has done something strange, it’s gone in for a bit of long-form content. Yes, we know.

It’s a platform made famous by photos and videos that disappear in seconds and now it’s asking its users to sit down, put their feet up and read for a bit.

From the end of June (well, now really) it will release its own digital magazine, Real Life, with daily articles that examine how we live with technology and how that shapes our daily lives. It sounds intriguing, if nothing else then just to see how it sits with Snapchat’s existing user base.

Lights, camera, action

Eagle-eyed social media watchers will have been keeping tabs on Periscope since it appeared on the radar last year (see what we did there?). Not least because the live video-streaming app for iOS and Android was bought by Twitter before it had even launched.

So what did Twitter have planned? Certainly its first development to allow users to use the app while on the Twitter platform suggests that it saw a way to compete with other platforms that already have live video streaming capacity. What’s more, Twitter has now made it as easy as posting a picture or video and if it is posted through Twitter, then viewers won’t need the Periscope app to watch it either. It encourages users to post current events, as they happen, and raises the profile of the platform as a source of breaking news as well as opinion. That is unless users just want to stream themselves doing stupid stuff.

A tweet a day keeps the Dr away

Twitter has once again stolen the show. As a platform for wit and humorous commentary on current affairs and PR blunders, Twitter is unsurpassed. Take Donald Trump’s tweet congratulating Scotland on its vote to exit the EU; Twitter lit up within seconds as people pointed out his obvious error. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee felt this was too funny to just be enjoyed by Twitter users so decided to dedicate a segment of the show to the responses. And then it had the brilliant idea to ask everyone’s favourite Dr Who and Scot homeboy David Tennant to read them out. What happened next was an utter joy to behold and it got the whole of of social media talking.

That’ll learn Trump to try to get involved in politics… oh, no, wait.

Image: TBS

The post Social snippets 1/7/16 first appeared on 24 fingers.

The post Social snippets 1/7/16 appeared first on 24 fingers.

See other professionals in your network

Microsoft is buying LinkedIn.

For £18.5bn.

So, to recap, that’s a PC-based software developer buying a professional social networking site. Does this strike anyone else as odd?

For LinkedIn, that has seen its share price slump by a quarter since a £5.6m loss was reported in February this year, the financial gains are obvious – but for Microsoft the transaction seems less beneficial; especially in light of LinkedIn’s assertion that it will “retain its distinct brand, culture and independence.” So Microsoft has bought a loss-making platform, won’t even get mates’ rates. What am I missing here?

No wonder LinkedIn’s peeps are looking so happy.

Je suis Orlando

As reports of another horrifying mass shooting in America filtered through the media on June 12th, there was little chance of finding any element of good news amid the tragedy. That is until Facebook stepped up and put into action its ‘safe’ button feature that allows friends and family to see the status of any loved ones they may be concerned are caught up in the event. The same feature was used in the Paris attacks in November but this was the first time it had been used in the US. The ‘safe’ status will have brought instant relief to hundreds in Orlando.  Well done Facebook.

Emojify me

All hail the power of the emoji. I remember when these little faces first started to appear – primarily at the end of curt emails to show that the sender was being neither rude nor angry, just time-poor.  Now these little smiley faces (amongst other things) are everywhere and being given pride of place by Apple on its latest round of updates to iOS and Siri.

The new range includes improved image sharing, the ability to add animations to messages and an ‘emojify’ function that will automatically translate text into an appropriate emoji. It’s the latter feature that is the cleverest move on the part of Apple. It helps people that aren’t emoji-confident to use them and it shows Apple’s made progress in text-recognition AI that still leaves the power in the hands of the user.

Snapads

Snapchat, still reeling from the news that its user base has passed that of Twitter with 150 million people using it daily, is keen to capitalise on its popularity. By ‘capitalise’, I mean make some money.

It will begin showing ten-second vertical video ads in between users’ stories though it promises not to interrupt photo and video feed from friend’s updates to do so.

The shortness of the ads could encourage advertisers to get as creative as the platform they are on and, based on the user’s feed, ad placement could be an advertisers dream. It’s a win-win, if done well.

It’s not the first social media platform that has allowed advertising in order to stay as a free service; Facebook for example allows ad placement and ‘suggested posts’ on user’s home feed, supposedly based on the user’s interests. Not sure why are mine are always for slippers though.

The post Social snippets 16/6/16 first appeared on 24 fingers.

The post Social snippets 16/6/16 appeared first on 24 fingers.

Video killed the… 140-character star

Bloomberg reports that Snapchat sees an average of 150 million users a day, up from 110 million users in December. Wait a minute, that’s more than Twitter.

It’s likely that the video and image sharing site has overtaken Twitter as a source of ‘breaking news’ thanks to its Discover section. Or it could be down to the fact that users can draw pictures of vomiting unicorns to share with their friends and that’s always going to be more fun that trying to express yourself in 140 characters.

Breaking news

Pew Research Center’s ‘News Use Across Social Media Platforms 2016’ report found that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat are the new go-to sources for the latest news. Increasingly, consumers are rejecting mainstream media in favour of updates and social comment on the day’s stories while browsing friends and family’s activities.

Facebook saw the biggest jump from 47 per cent in 2013 to 66 per cent in 2016. Plus it’s possibly the only place you’ll see the sad news of Muhammad Ali’s death next to a picture of your sister’s new car.

Nosy neighbours

If you are the sort of person who gets their kicks from snooping around properties for sale and salivates over property porn (let’s face it, who doesn’t?) then you’ll love this.

Rightmove is testing a virtual reality viewing platform for exploring properties from the comfort of your own home. Admittedly there’s a fair bit of faffing with hardware and software compatibility and at the moment there’s only two properties that have been given the GoPro tour treatment but still, it has to be easier than this approach

The post Social snippets 10/6/16 first appeared on 24 fingers.

The post Social snippets 10/6/16 appeared first on 24 fingers.

Right to reply

Twitter did its own version of Monty Python’s ‘Confuse a Cat’ with its blog post on the changes to the 140-character limit.

Twitter’s explanation of the changes could have benefited from some its characteristic efficiency. The later, less confusing announcement, was greeted with delight however.

The man who sold the world

Just when you thought your apps were safe from advertisers’ mitts Google Maps goes and sells out to big brands. Now, while you are trying to navigate your way to that job interview or train station the map will helpfully pin every Nike shop or McDonalds en route and a little advert will check that you are sure you don’t want to pop in.

Google unashamedly announced its plans to make more money from the service at its annual I/O conference dressing up the development as “helpful”. It’s so helpful in fact, that there’s no way to turn off these ‘promoted pins’.

“How can it not know what it is?”

ASOS was forced to deny it had ‘employed’ Facebook’s chatbots to reply to customer queries but the responses told another story. Genuine customer complaints swiftly turned into a Blade Runner-style testing questions and even just obvious ‘I know you are a robot’ posts.

No amount of chatty lingo such as “lil busy” and “fire over your deets” could disguise pre-programmed responses.

Rediscover Snapchat

The way brands are featured on Snapchat is set to change. The Discover area had only allowed brands to place their logos – not terribly creative for a platform that encourages creativity from its users. Now, brands such as Cosmopolitan and Buzzfeed will be allowed to show off content to attract a larger audience.

Snapchat commented: “This time we built the technology to serve the art: each edition includes full-screen photos and videos, awesome long-form layouts and gorgeous advertising.” All this and it’s refreshed daily – Snapchat has come a long way since starting as a way to send naked selfies that vanish after a few seconds.

Instant business boost

Instagram has tackled the internet-age-old business question of ‘what’s in it for me?’ head on. Its new app allows businesses to decide how customers contact them, information on who is following them and which posts have been popular to find out more about their audience demographic and a way to turn popular posts into ads and select a target audience for them. Nice work Instagram. Now there’s no excuse for a business not to make use of this social media platform and to do it well.

Room with a view

Google has teamed up with Hilton Hotel Group to offer guests the chance to book rooms with the views they want when using the app. Google’s mapping technology will show guests what views they can reasonable expect at any Hilton hotel location. Of course the only limitation is that the desired room is free … and in a Hilton chain.

Big Brother is watching

So far, social media platforms have been able to trumpet their own success with whatever figures they choose, safe in the knowledge that everyone is too busy to check. Until now that is.

Facebook was left red-faced when it announced that more than eight billion videos are viewed on the platform every day and was immediately shouted down by media watchers who proposed that judging the results based on three seconds-worth of viewing was tantamount to someone simply scrolling through the newsfeed and paying no attention to the video. TV ratings companies were also quick to point out that the methodology for testing audience numbers consisted of measuring viewing over the course of a programme, not just the first few seconds. Whoops.

Storm in a B&B cup

Google was unwittingly caught up in a revenge review row. A fake Google review for a Cornish B&B by a rival has such a good ranking that it’s the first thing that appears when the B&B is searched for. The owners complained to Google that it wasn’t a real review, that it was damaging sales and should be taken down. Google said that it wasn’t in the habit of taking down reviews – favourable or otherwise. The owners are now looking at legal action against Google although strangely not against their rival who posted the thing in the first place.

The ego has landed

A Miami cosmetic surgeon is broadcasting his live surgeries on Instagram. Yes really. He employs two assistants to film him on their mobiles dancing to loud music while suctioning fat from buttocks and bellies and claims more than 800,000 people watch. At least no one could accuse him of not making best use of social media to promote his business eh?

The post Social snippets first appeared on 24 fingers.

The post Social snippets appeared first on 24 fingers.

#1. What’s your favourite word?

Washer, I feel it’s an unofficial onomataopoeia and just such fun to say

#2. What gets you up in the morning?

My four-year-old climbing into bed next to me and watching Dora the Explorer (“Who’s the map? I’m the map. Who’s the map? I’m the map” Argh *puts head under the pillow*) or Paw Patrol or some other godawful kids cartoon on the iPad.

By ‘morning’ you mean 5am don’t you?

#3. What do you truly, honestly think of social media?

I love it, genuinely. There’s so much scope for creativity and wit and humour. I also love it when big names get it wrong: McDonalds and Waitrose both have been the butt of customer jokes with their misjudged Twitter campaigns, the Ketchum executive who tweeted how much he hated Memphis ahead of a business meeting with Fedex… in the company’s hometown of Memphis. And it gets worse, the business meeting was about the power of social media with the Ketchum executive pitching his services. Fedex responded with an incredulous: ‘Do you not know how Twitter actually works?’ public post. More recently a hopelessly misjudged tweet ended Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign before it had really got going, much to the relief of everyone.

#4. Kindles or books?

Books. Print and paper has a magic like no other.

#5. What do you think is the biggest challenge to your industry right now?

Businesses not understanding the power of social media (see above) and as a writer, I have a significant horror at the deterioration of grammar and language standards. Efficient, elegant copy is a thing of beauty.

Also, things like this do no end of damage to the image of social media.

#6. What did you want to be when you were growing up?

An astronaut. I have no skills at maths or science nor do I enjoy any form of physical activity so it’s fair to say that as a career choice I might have well have said ‘a stick’.

#7. What led you to your current career?

I think CITV’s Press Gang was a seminal moment. I identified with the bossy editor played by Julia Sawalha perhaps a little too much.

#8. Can you use your favourite word in a sentence?

The tap’s washer needs replacing.

#9. Can you make it rhyme?

No.

#10. What advice would you give to your younger self?

Carry on trusting your instincts. Oh and that time in 2004, don’t have the third bottle of red wine.

#11. What’s the best thing anyone’s ever done for you?

Oh god, too many things to mention. My friends and family are just so thoughtful and kind.

#12. Tell us, what’s been your ‘career-defining moment’?

While I was travel and lifestyle editor for a magazine, I wrote a piece on visiting South Africa. A few years later, I took my boyfriend on the same trip and at the lodge bar one night, got chatting to a man who said he’d saved for years to do this trip because of a piece in a magazine.  Yep, turns out it was my piece.

#13. If you won a big award of some kind, whom would you thank?

Scooby Doo. He doesn’t get thanked enough.

#14. Can you give us a timesaver of the day?

Yes, though it is really sad to admit to. I arrange my clothes into ‘outfits’ and put them on one hanger. That way in the morning, when I’m not at my best, I can just grab what I’m going to wear without having to think..

#15. Where do you see your industry in 24 months?

Bigger and better, with marketing budgets that reflect the level of creativity that it demands.

#16. Where were you 24 months ago?

At a large content marketing agency doing the work of two people.

#17. What’s an interesting fact about your company?

That the MD and I are old friends who previously worked together for several years. It makes for a brilliant working relationship with plenty of mutual respect, support and a lot of blackmail material.

 #18. If you could have a Skype chat with anyone living or dead, who would it be?

Keanu Reeves. I love him so.

#19. What’s one word you’d want people to describe you with?

Funny. As in: funny ‘haha’ not funny ‘weird’. Though most people describe me as the latter.

#20. Mind taking a selfie

Actually, I have no idea how to, I’m a words girl but I loved that I just typed ‘Kim Kardashian sideboob selfie’ into Google.

#21. What’s your favourite Twitter Handle?

@linkinpark – they rock my world. @mrddyer – he’s at his best when he’s insulting ducks.

#22. What’s one quote that defines your work ethic?

Make time to do things differently and make time to do things well.

#23. Apart from seeing us, what’s been the best part of your day?

My four-year-old son picking flowers (daisies and dandelions) for me at the bus stop every morning.

 #24. And finally, anything to plug?

24 fingers of course!

The post 24 reasons why social media rocks with Rebecca Davies-Nash first appeared on 24 fingers.

The post 24 reasons why social media rocks with Rebecca Davies-Nash appeared first on 24 fingers.

While I personally welcome the move (getting texts, emails and Facebook posts with one unnecessary exclamation mark is irksome enough but more than one is an unfriending/ghosting offence), I can’t help but feel that the Department of Education isn’t in a position to dictate correct grammar in the first place. Its recent notorious letter to a primary school teacher discussing her concerns about over-testing children is a case in point. Littered with spelling and grammatical errors, it was widely shared and ridiculed on social media and prompted the teacher to comment: “I am not disappointed by this letter, it has saved me planning one of my SPAG lessons and has also confirmed my suspicions that the Department for Education is not capable of meeting the standards expected of primary school children.” Quite.

So why has the DofE taken this step? Let’s take a brief stroll through the history of the mark to understand the context. Taken from the latin io meaning joy, the exclamation mark was first recorded in 1399 by an Italian named Coluccio Salutati. It  does a fine job in conveying tone and intent, so much so Lichenstein turned it into an art form. Its use has changed significantly since 1399, obvs. Language is always the first thing to reflect cultural shifts – spoken language especially so. Children grow up adapting their language to the world around them and when that world involves technology and social media, the language has to reflect and adapt accordingly. ‘Text speak’ and acronyms are a law unto themselves and, for anyone over 35, often require translation. When you are dealing with a generation that is quite happy to do away with the use of vowels, grammar doesn’t really stand a chance. The Dof E has taken this step in a valiant attempt to save the subtleties of communication.

Subtle isn’t a word that you would think would be mentioned in a blog about the exclamation mark as it denotes an exclamation or a shout. With that in mind, read the following and think whether it sounds sincere: ‘So sorry I’m late! The train isn’t moving!’ or worse still: ‘So sorry I’m late!!!!! The train isn’t moving!!!’ There’s a reason that an editor I once worked with called them “screamers”. In a memorable exchange with a millennial, I once tried to explain the premise of the mark: “Every time you use it, imagine you are shouting at the person you are speaking to and decide whether that’s the impression you want to give.” To which his response was: “I’m using it to show I’m making a joke, if I want to show I’m shouting, I’ll just use caps…” Oh god, where do I even begin?

This leads on to the second, important point about ‘screamers’, they DO NOT denote humour. (Whoever started this needs to be dragged into the streets and shot #jokingnotjoking). Any good writer will tell you that you can’t make a dull statement more interesting simply by adding an exclamation mark. Sadly much of the sales and marketing you will see isn’t written by good writers. “We have so many offers you won’t know where to start!” is just one example. And once you notice it, you will see it happening everywhere. Whether it’s through laziness, a lack of writing skills, or ignorance, the exclamation mark is used incorrectly with such frequency that it makes you doubt your own sanity. So, setting aside its own grammar errors, the Department of Education should be applauded for at least attempting to restore some order with the next generation.

The author F. Scott Fitzgerald once said: “Cut out all those exclamation marks. An exclamation mark is like laughing at your own joke.” Misuse the exclamation mark and the joke’s on you.

For well -written, effective sales and marketing copy where grammar is not misused, look no further

The post Stop! first appeared on 24 fingers.

The post Stop! appeared first on 24 fingers.

The Brits are also famed for the myriad of ways we say sorry. There is an endearing quality to this stilted, apologetic way we have of speaking, in fact Hugh Grant seems to have made a career out of it. ‘I’m fine’ can mean anything from ‘I’m in a wonderful mood’, to ‘I’m coping with a great tragedy’. In the workplace ‘That’s not bad’ is received as the highest compliment. ‘Excuse me’ is used as a genuine apology or an angry utterance. That’s another thing about us Brits, we can turn passive aggression into an art form. We are masters of the understatement, kings and queens of the veiled insult. And we seem genuinely bemused when our US counterparts don’t understand our sarcasm.

The British embraced Twitter emojis in all their expressive glory. A study by Bangor University found 29 per cent of people with smartphones use them in half of their messaging. For a nation of people who can’t quite express emotion without a long drawn-out apology beforehand, these cheeky little icons have saved everyone a lot of bother.

For business too, it is a huge relief that the UK has taken to emojis. Posts take on new life and new meaning with humour and friendliness that some brands could otherwise struggle with. A dry post becomes light-hearted – ‘cute’ even – and prompts responses with similar from followers. Anything that makes a business more approachable is good right? Right. Except when the business gets it wrong. See House of Fraiser’s #Emojinal campaign… but to do that PR disaster justice calls for specific emojis… or as we are more likely to say in Britain ‘it was disappointing’.

Let 24 fingers help your business to say what it really means.

The post Getting emoji-nal first appeared on 24 fingers.

The post Getting emoji-nal appeared first on 24 fingers.

For a whole generation it is hard to imagine a time before social media. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat have revolutionised communication. Twitter itself has been the stage for some big stories because of the speed it can react, often beating mainstream media to the report.

1. Bradley Cooper’s celebrity-filled selfie at the Oscars was tweeted by Ellen DeGeneres and has been retweeted a phenomenal 3,342,085 times, at last count.
2. Obama announced his second presidency with this snap of him and his wife. Makes you feel all warm and cuddly doesn’t it?
3. Uproar at Twitter’s change of the star for the heart ‘like’ button. Many felt it was too close to Facebook for comfort.
4. Twitter has become an important tool for online marketing for companies, introducing personality and accountability for brands.
5. The unique 140-character limit turns writing tweets into an art form.
6. There is no limit to who you can contact. Unlike Facebook, email, even letters and phone calls, Twitter is transparent and open to all. Any tweet has the potential to go viral and make the news.
7. Everyone is welcome to reply. With it constantly refreshing, there is no need to worry about clogging people’s news feeds.
8. Self-promotion and networking are is easy on Twitter. There are plenty of opportunities to ‘meet’ like-minded people in your field, it may even get you a job.
9. #BlackLivesMatter – this campaign is an example of times when the shifting political landscape has been mirrored on Twitter, proof that there is still power in the people. Many political leaders use Twitter to keep on top of public opinion.
10. Who doesn’t like a happy ending? Marriage proposals are common on Twitter 🙂

Find out how your business can capitalise on this unique social platform and make all your birthdays come at once.

The post Twitter’s top ten first appeared on 24 fingers.

The post Twitter’s top ten appeared first on 24 fingers.

Instagram launched in October 2010 and has since risen to become the second most popular social networking site (beaten only by its owner, Facebook). Instagram knew there were problems with the square-only format, “friends get cut out of group shots, the subject of your video feels cramped and you can’t capture the Golden Gate Bridge from end to end.” #moderndayproblems

However, the frustrating and restrictive format never hindered the app’s popularity, it just meant users looked to third party apps before uploading to Instagram. If anything, the square was a creative challenge – especially for brands. Rather than one image spammed across all social media accounts, the brand was forced to create unique content that would only work on Instagram.

Brands took on the challenge to accommodate the square – fashion photographers were told to ”shoot for the square”, iPhone’s camera has a ‘square setting’ and Facebook profile pictures could ‘crop to square’. When a company like Apple is acknowledging the power of a platform by adjusting its products, it must be a pretty big deal.

So why has Instagram changed it? Instagram’s entire brand was built on and created around the square format. Square pictures on Instagram are Twitter’s 140 characters, Snapchat’s 10 seconds, Facebook’s….. Er. Whatever Facebook’s ‘thing’ is. It’s like imagining the McDonalds’ M being blue.

Instagram realises that its been asking brands to work with one arm tied behind their backs. Vogue can now show a full magazine cover, for example. As Instagram itself helpfully notes: “The visual story you’re trying to tell should always come first.” Quite. For advertising too, the change on one hand will be a fantastic opportunity for full-sized images and videos. On the other, it could cause laziness.

So while brands revel in the new-found freedom, the change has left everyone else feeling a bit deflated. Instagram’s quirk and stand-out feature no longer exists. It’s now just another app people can use to quickly and easily upload a photo of their dinner.

What to know more about how to show your business’ ‘best side’ on different platforms? Contact 24 fingers today.

The post Power of squared first appeared on 24 fingers.

The post Power of squared appeared first on 24 fingers.