Threads is coming to Europe (Kinda)
EU users are looking for an alternative to X. The network formally known as Twitter is becoming more bizarre by the moment so it seems like it’s time to store our eggs in a different basket.
But frustratingly we have no access to their biggest competitor, Threads.
Threads is only available to users outside the EU because it doesn’t stand up to our stringent privacy and monopoly laws. But now it looks like Europe get some sort of access overall.
According to the Wall Street Journal. EU users could get partial access with a profile that could only consume not post. This could be even more frustrating than no account at all.
https://mashable.com/article/meta-threads-europe-launch-december
Lock your WhatsApp chats
Business information is sensitive and when it’s sitting in your phone on your WhatsApp account it’s vulnerable. Someone just needs to pick up your phone and they will see conversations between you and your customers.
But not for long. WhatsApp has just started rolling out a feature that not only means people can’t read your locked chats, but they won’t even know they are there.
Users will now be able to add a secret password to access their locked chats folder, keeping all that sensitive info away from prying eyes.
https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/30/23982403/whatsapp-secret-code-hide-locked-chats
Get a headstart on Google Analytics 4 & understand the lingo with the GA4 phrase book
UK TikTok Click and Drop
The Royal Mail in the UK have a cool service for e-commerce businesses called ‘Click and Drop’. It collects your orders and dispatches them speedily.
And now TikTok is partnering with the Royal Mail to offer delivery from TikTok shops too. You’ll be able to print and pay for your postage labels and either have packages collected or drop them in for collection.
I love that TikTok is looking at ways to make e-commerce easier, it would be great to see other networks following suit (and for Meta to give Ireland its shops back while they are at it).
Instagram Filters Spammers
Ever have that moment when you see you have a DM on Instagram, but when you click in it’s just some spammer trying to sell you followers? Or worse?
It’s a problem that seems to be growing. A new feature from Instagram might not stop those messages but it will potentially stop spammers from following you. When you toggle the anti-spam feature on, you will need to approve suspected spammers before they can follow.
This begs the question, if Instagram can do this for followers, how does it not notice all the spam messages?
Body Types on Pinterest
One thing that annoys me about the fashion business is not just that all the models are of the same body type but that designers tell us it has to be this way because it helps the clothes hang properly.
Surely in 2023, it’s time to stop pretending everyone has the same body? Pinterest seems to be embracing this, a new feature will let you choose your body shape, based on a series of images so it can show you the most relevant clothing results.
What’s not to love
Better social ad metrics
It’s frustrating to measure social media. Because no two networks can seem to agree on key metrics you are rarely comparing like with like.
The problem gets worse when you pay for advertising. How can you know which video ad is most effective when TikTok measures a video view in an ad to be 6 seconds and Snapchat measures it as 2 seconds?
This could all change. TikTok, Snap and a tool called AppsFlyer have got together and are proposing a standardisation of these metrics. Which could make life easier for everyone.
AI is stupid
We can all relax a little. It seems our AI overlords are some way from taking over the world.
Researchers at Meta conducted an experiment where they created an exam including 466 questions and put them to both humans and Chat GPT4.
The questions were designed to be straightforward for humans and the results reflect this.
Humans scored an average of 92 correct results. Chat GPT just 15.
Which is a bit of a relief…
https://futurism.com/the-byte/facebook-researchers-test-ai-intelligence-stupid
