A Skype call from the First Lady to the ‘hands-free’ selfie, it’s been a fascinating week in the wonderful world of social media, to say the least. 

*Fangirling*

Monday’s #InternationalDayoftheGirl, an initiative started by the UN to promote the rights of girls worldwide, saw a Tower Hamlets school receive a very special call.

Mulberry School for Girls was among the schools across the globe chosen to be included in a Skype conversation led by none other than the US First Lady, Michelle Obama. 

Giving an empowering speech to pupils on the benefits of education, young girls were left inspired and ready to take on the world.

We don’t know about you, but something tells us Melania Trump won’t be making too many impacting transatlantic calls if Donald is inaugurated…

Easy Breezy Beautiful

Meet CoverGirl’s new Cover Boy — 17 year old James Charles. The American cosmetics brand introduced their first male CoverGirl in the brand’s 60-year history across their social media platforms, stunning makeup enthusiasts near and far.

The bold, boundary-defying campaign was met with an ecstatic response —

As more and more cosmetic brands like CoverGirl approach self-made beauty bloggers to front their campaigns, we can only expect more exciting things to come. James, you slay!

Filter Empowerment

At a recent charity event held in Mysuru, India aimed to breakdown the silence that surrounds sexual abuse, organisers called for participants to share their stories — via Snapchat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5whpbXKLX1I

Women were able to disguise their faces behind a number of filters, achieving a sense of anonymity and security that helped them share their narrative freely.

With the stigma around sexual violence being a huge issue in India, this new avenue was a creative, brilliant way to raise awareness and create momentum for change.

Marmageddon

Whether you’ve had enough time to process or you’re still reeling from the shock, news of Tesco’s recent PR coup *spread* across the country at an alarming rate.

As consumer goods giants Unilever wracked up prices of household favourites amid the Brexit price war, Tesco’s wasn’t having any of it.

Britain’s biggest supermarket resisted the move, which meant products including Marmite, PG Tips and Hellmann’s mayonnaise would no longer be restocked on shelves.

Upon the announcement that stocks were running low on beloved (also loathed, but mostly beloved) Marmite, panic ensued —

How does one live an authentic life without the sticky, dark brown spread? Excuse us while we have a moment.

Edit: Unilever has since resolved its dispute with Tesco’s. *Cries tears of happiness*

(Furry) Friend Request

As a nation of animal lovers, it seems we’re behind the times. Popular Russian social media site Odnoklassniki is launching a platform where dogs and cats alike can let everyone know what they’ve been up to online — like Facebook, for pets.

The site allows users (AKA pet owners) to add friends, “like” and comment on photos, and generally keep their social circle in the loop.

Ridiculously cute or ridiculously absurd? We can’t quite tell.

Look ma, no hands!

Up there with the weirdest viral trends to ever come about, the ‘hands-free’ selfie is cracking phone screens across the globe.

The feat? Successfully taking a selfie while high-fiving yourself. The perpetuator? College student Seth Schneider. 

His tweet, initially posted the 8th of October, has garnered over 170,000 retweets, and has since spurred on a number of imitators:

https://twitter.com/isfrankielove/status/784949363244019712

   Ladies and gentlemen, the world we live in.