GBH Digital Video Innovation - November/December Update

Video Search?

In the past if I wanted to find a restaurant, I looked at ratings in the neighborhood on Google Maps, then I went to Instagram to check the vibes and see the food. If I wanted to know how to defrost my ice maker, I went to YouTube. For reactions to news, I’d go to Twitter. For products: Amazon. Recipes and shows: Google. But the first thing I’ve always done when looking for info? Ask a friend. And the best is when a friend shares info I didn’t even know I needed. TikTok wants to be that friend.?

Viewers are increasingly using TikTok to find information, and the platform is leaning in, following the blueprint of their Chinese counterpart Douyin. Connie Chan of Andreessen Horowitz says if Douyin’s experience is any indication, the potential for search on TikTok is huge. In her view, search on Western apps is a “high-intent” process relying on manual input, whereas Douyin’s AI-driven* algorithm and functionality “enables the continuous discovery” of recommendations and content you might not even know you want to search for yet.?

Continuous discovery is the future of search. To work, the algorithm needs to really understand what users want to watch, and users need to be able to easily keep track of videos they’ve seen. Chan says on Douyin, users interested in travel can visit city guides, bookmark places they want to go and browse others’ bookmarks. Following this example, this year TikTok rolled out a favorite button and collections, which allow users to organize their favorite videos for easy recall, and they recently released search best practices to help creators optimize their content for discovery.?

In addition to dramatically streamlining the search experience, I see TikTok continuing to grow as a search destination because the magic is in the video format. Seeing a quick personal take on how to write a cover letter or where to go on vacation, along with comments adding to that info, is so much more intimate and relatable than endlessly scrolling through a recipe blog to find the info you need. A lot like getting advice from a friend.

*Speaking of AI-powered search, we’re keeping an eye on engines like ChatGPT, which does a good job of synthesizing search results into one coherent answer, eliminating the need to weed through endless links.?

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Digital Video Team

New team member! The Digital Video team is growing! We’re so excited to welcome Producer/Editor Dana Cataldo to the team. Dana is a skilled video editor and post-production specialist who comes to GBH after editing for clients including New York Times Cooking and Pat McGrath Labs. Prior to these projects she worked at Global Citizen, HuffPost, Conde Nast Entertainment and Bose. She recently moved back to her hometown of Halifax, Mass. after seven years in Brooklyn and has an 11-year old canine companion Jack, who consistently gives the best advice: what if we took a walk?

GBH News collaboration In 2023 the Digital Video team will support GBH News’ new Digital Video Accelerator program. Building on the success of the Emerging Platforms Initiative, the DVA will help the newsroom shift to digital-video-first production. Stay tuned for more!?

Antiques Roadshow TikTok Live This month we helped Antiques Roadshow produce their second TikTok live, a holiday-themed show featuring an appraiser gift swap and a visit from Santa himself. The stream had 71,400 views, 14,400 likes, 930 comments and brought 321 new followers to the account. Congrats Roadshow!?

Digital Pledge In December the entire Digital Content team worked with Digital Revenue Strategies and Production Services to test social fundraising via Facebook Live. GBH News’ Edgar B. Herwick, III hosted the show, which featured guests from GBH Archives, GBH Accessibility and NCAM, American Experience and GBH Music and was the first live event integrating direct donation through Facebook.?

The Curiosity Desk We’ve posted several new episodes of The Curiosity Desk, including explainers about how the MBTA’s train lines got their colors, why Massachusetts is a commonwealth, not a state, and the story behind a haunted pirate cave in Lynn. Have a question you can’t find an answer to? Email [email protected] to let us know what you’re curious about!

American Experience Taken Hostage The video we produced for American Experience about the Iran Hostage Crisis’ influence on news coverage is live!?

Public Media

• Rhode Island PBS launched weekly digital series ART Inc., exploring art all around us. The content will be edited into a longer monthly broadcast.?
• PBS North Carolina launched Rogue History on the PBS Origins YouTube channel, exploring what pop culture gets wrong about pirates. ?

Programming

• TikTok hosted TikTok Made Me Play, its first global gaming event, November 2.?
• Hot Ones posted Hot Ones Holiday Extravaganza, a holiday special featuring Will Ferrell.?
• Snapchat announced a range of new features to help fans engage with the 2022 World Cup, including team-based AR filters, new AR Try-On features, so that you can see what you’d look like in each team’s kit, and live update overlays to keep you informed of the latest.
• Snap also built an AR map of the Austin City Limits music festival.?
• Netflix is adding the game Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales to its gaming platform.?
• TikTok released its 2022 Discover List highlighting 50 top creators making a difference.?
• Bleacher Report live streamed coverage of ALCS games 1 and 4 in the B/R app.
• The coach of Spain’s national soccer team plans to stream on Twitch during the World Cup.
• TikTok celebrated Native American Heritage Month with a series of TikTok lives and highlighting creators and content using #NativeTikTok.?
• YouTube is taking over from DirectTV as the home of NFL Sunday Ticket.
• Instagram hosted live standup show the Instagram Reels Comedy Club.
• Twitch channel FriendZone streamed a two-part game show called Celebrity Yard Sale.?

Platforms

TikTok

• So long short form vertical only. TikTok is testing a new full-screen horizontal display option ???
• TikTok launched TikTok Shop in the US.
• TikTok announced StemDrop, an incubator for aspiring musical talent on the short-form video app to collaborate with top songwriters.?
• TikTok is rolling out new audience data in the main app and in the ads manager.?
• The platform is releasing a new tool called Why am I seeing this? to give users more insight into why specific content is served on their For You Feeds.??
• TikTok will now automatically save drafts of posted videos for 3 days so if you need to repost you don’t have to add in-app content all over again.??

YouTube

• YouTube is rolling out a costreaming tool called Go Live Together.
• YouTube rolled out a number of updates including enhanced Shorts features, auto-dubbing in multiple languages, custom emotes for livestreams and improved moderation features.?
• The platform is testing emoji reactions for livestreams.
• YouTube is now letting users know when their comments are deleted and why.?
• YouTube Premium and YouTube Music reached 80 million paying subscribers.?
• YouTube is testing allowing creators to tag products for purchase in Shorts.
• YouTube is adding Shorts to the YouTube streaming app for smart TVs, gaming consoles and other streaming devices.?
• The platform also added new insights for Shorts and more post features including stickers and quizzes.?
• YouTube increased the length of music clips creators can use from 15 to 60 seconds.?
• YouTube is adding a number of new UI features including pinch to zoom, a darker dark mode, button and link redesigns, dynamic color sampling and ambient mode, which changes the app background color to match the video a user is watching.
• YouTube is rolling out Primetime Channels, a third-party hub for streaming subscriptions that enables users to sign up, browse and watch TV shows, movies and sports from Showtime, AMC+, Paramount+, ViX+ and more than 30 other services, directly on YouTube.?
• YouTube is introducing a Live Q&A feature for livestreams.?

Meta

• Instagram released a 2022 recap template for Reels.?
• The platform is rolling Candid, its BeReal clone, out to all users.?
• Instagram added the ability to add music to still image posts.
• Instagram updated its desktop browser interface.
• Instagram users will be able to make and sell NFTs on Instagram.?
• Meta announced the launch of XTADIUM on Meta Quest, an immersive sports experience for Meta VR users.?
• WhatsApp officially launched Communities, its new group feature.?

Snap

• Snap added more customization options to Snapchat+.?
• Some Snap AR creators will now be able to earn money from users through Lens add-ons.

Twitch?

• Twitch is rolling out its Guest Star tool to all users.?
• Twitch announced Twitch Unity Guild, a new initiative to make Twitch a more inclusive space.

Et al.

• Patreon introduced a native video player.?
• Pinterest announced new partnerships with several music labels, including Warner Music Group.?
• Pinterest is now making its collage app Shuffles available so all users can create collages from Pinterest-originated images.
• Netflix is exploring a cloud gaming offering, so users can stream games on different devices
• Spotify is expanding its video podcast capabilities to creators across the globe. Anchor users in 180 markets can now publish video versions of their podcasts to Spotify.?
• Signal is releasing a Stories feature.?
• Amazon launched an app called Inspire, a TikTok-copycat shopping feed that displays both photos and short-form videos.?
• Peacock unveiled an interactive video feature at BravoCon.

Research

• A new Reuters Institute Digital News report details how publishers are producing and distributing news content on TikTok.
• A new report from Epidemic Sound found classical music use in YouTube videos increased by 90% in 2022.?
• The Pew Research Center released data showing more Americans are getting news on TikTok.?
• TikTok might be seen as a platform for younger viewers, but older audiences use it too.?
• Gen Z consumers are engaging with brands that use interactive live video through their own platforms or via third-party apps, like TikTok, Twitch and Instagram, according to a study from Agora. Fifty-one percent of those surveyed said they would be more likely to engage with a company or brand that uses interactive live videos and experiences to connect with audiences.
• Snap revealed its daily active users rose 19% from the year prior, to 363 million, and shared research showing social change is a big motivator for Gen Z consumers.?
• Sixty-one percent of Gen Z agree that the development of immersive experiences in the metaverse will create jobs and boost economic activity, according to Cassandra report Fact or Science Fiction – What’s Real in the Metaverse.

Reads

• So You Want To Be A TikTok Star - The New Yorker
• For Gen Z, TikTok Is the New Search Engine - The New York Times
• How TikTok Became a Diplomatic Crisis - The New York Times?
• The Washington Post Tried To Get Suppressed On TikTok. Here’s What Happened. - The Washington Post
• How TikTok Ate The Internet - The Washington Post
• AI Creation Tools Will Change the Way We Create, Engage And Interact In 2023 - Social Media Today
• Stand-Up Sets Where You Can Choose Your Own Adventure - The New York Times
• TikTok Builds Itself Into An Ads Juggernaut - The New York Times
• Twitch Streamers Want To Be The Political Pundits For The Next Generation - NBC News
• TikTok, FOMO And New Routes To Connect With Young People - The Children's Media Foundation
• Vox’s Short-form Video Strategy Faces TikTok’s Monetization Issue, But Fulfills Publisher’s ‘Civic Duty’ - Digiday
• Why LinkedIn Is Stepping Up Its Original Video And Audio Content Ambitions - Digiday
• The Enduring Allure of Choose Your Own Adventure Books - The New Yorker
• Why Games Are The New Social Platform - AList Daily
• The Untapped Potentials Of Documentary In Augmented Reality - Immerse
• This Is Life In The Metaverse - The New York Times
• Holocaust Survivors Turn To TikTok To Teach A New Generation Not To Forget - NBC News
• Techbro Influencer Scott Galloway Heads To The Fainting Couch Over TikTok - TechDirt
• The road to a possible TikTok-Congress deal - CJR
• The News Movement: Creating A Social-First Outlet With A Firm Focus On Young Audiences - Reuters Institute
• How The Washington Post Is Using Politics to Find Younger Audiences on TikTok - Adweek
• The Beloved Host Of CNN’s Student Show Left And Everyone Freaked Out - BuzzFeed News
• Here’s How Sweeping Legal Changes Will Affect Content Creators In 2023 - TubeFilter
• How The Wall Street Journal Hopes To Reach Young News Consumers On TikTok - Digiday