Issue #27 - Google's BIG Ai Update Just Dropped
Welcome to issue number 27! Nealy hitting the 30 edition mark and we have grown with an impressive subscriber number which we couldn't be any more thankful for, so thank you to those that do subscribe and read. But most importantly, the reason you're here... the all things social news!
Other news:
We never start with our general news so this week we're going to mix it up and give some starting spotlight to the other platforms we don't explicitly focus on each week. First up, WhatsApp. I had planned this as the original title however Google had to go and drop a big bomb of Ai news so I knew which had to be on the cover. Google Ai or WhatsApp polls. Yes! WhatsApp are updating their polls so that they can be "a little more fun and productive", in the words of Meta. I will admit I've usually never on WhatsApp for more than 2 minutes and updating their polls isn't going to make me stay on the platform for a longer amount of time. I do think it makes talking on a group chat more efficient but that's about it. Efficient indeed as one of the new updates is the ability to create single voting polls. This isn't the only new voting features that have been introduced. Can you see why I thought this should be title cover news now? 2 more updates include, searching for polls in your chats and being able to stay updated on poll results with notifications. Again, I wouldn't say fun but I stress that this is more efficient. Hopefully, the decision on where to go for family dinners will be a lot easier now!
Meta has also announced the ability to forward messages with captions! Spoiling us rotten. I will admit, this is one of the new features that I thought we could do already. My mistake. This is a feature with no other complication to it. If someone sends you a message and you'd like to forward it, you can now, with a caption!
All of these new and upcoming features can be accessed globally over the next coming weeks so make sure to keep WhatsApp fully up to date.
To read more have a look at these articles:
VR/ AI/ AR
So we bring some Ai news this week. The BBC recently reported about an illustrator who pulled out of the Bradford Literature Festival due to Ai use. Now it seems Ai can be a blessing and a curse. For people like Chris Mould, it feels more like a curse whereas if we look at business use and the time and money it's saving, it's a blessing. From a writer's perspective, it's a curse. Due to time restraints last week I had to use Ai to write the newsletter to meet Fridays's deadline and I hated it! It gave the information but there wasn't that human element that much of Ai misses out on. When reading it through it just read as a standard newsletter therefore if you ask me so I am on Christ Mould's side! One of the reasons that the illustrator had pulled out was due to receiving the backlash for participating in a festival that supported ai however he released a comment that included "My issue was how can I stand under their roof and tell people they can go to art school and work in these disciplines, if the material used to publicise that event is generated at the push of a button?" The Ai images were used as a way to promote this year's lineup, reports BBC. It's one of those situations where I'm sat on the fence. Working in marketing, you hop onto the reactive content and trends and Ai is very much in that, hence why we discuss it a lot within each edition of the newsletters, therefore, I think using Ai images to promote the lineup is fully justified. What is even better is that according to Nicola Solomon, chief executive of The Society of Authors, they used a small digital agency to create these images. I think we'll start seeing more of these stories as Ai expands, but just like anything else in the tech world, the spark of interest will die eventually.
To read more have a look at these articles:
The next news comes from Google. Our title cover news story. Anyone who knows their recent news on Ai, will know that the race is on between the big tech giants and sometimes it can be hard to keep up so here is my attempt at a brief outlook of what Google has announced. First of all, it seems like they are trying to change the way search works. It seems that a very Ai base search is coming. The search will allow for more specific searches as demonstrated in this image.
We can see in the search a very specific question has been asked but the answers have not disappointed. Not only that, rather than having to re-do your question Google has introduced the ability to ask for a follow-up question. Google has also stated that "We know that people want to hear?insights from others?to help inform their decisions, so we’ve designed these new experiences to highlight and drive attention to content on the web, making it easy for people to dive deeper on the topic they’re learning about."
A second new thing Google has started is something called "Search Labs". "We’re starting with an experiment in?Search Labs, called SGE (Search Generative Experience), available on Chrome desktop and the Google App (Android?and?iOS) in the U.S. (English-only at launch), so we can incorporate feedback and continue to improve the experience over time."
As briefly mentioned in a previous edition Google has been working on an Ai workspace which, despite still being in a testing phase, has been released to some over the last couple of weeks. "we’re excited to open up Workspace Labs to the public and manage the?waitlist?as we scale to even more users and countries in the weeks ahead.?" This includes heavy Ai within software such as Slides, Excel and Word. Interested?
To read more have a look at these articles:
TikTok
What is one thing everyone can bond over in some form or another? Sport! (I would also say food but sadly these articles aren't on food) Yes sport and according to TikTok it's quite the topic on the platform so much so, the social media site is suggesting how brands can tap into it. TikTok state "TikTok has become an essential destination for sports fans looking for a more immersive, interactive, and engaging sports experience" and as an ice hockey fan, I can really agree with this. As I'm sure all of you football, rugby, netball, badminton, cricket and more fans could agree on. TikTok reports that "61% of users feel a strong sense of community with other sports fans on TikTok." So how can brands utilise "SportTok". The platform suggests "We recommend two approaches: an "Always Engaged" strategy that combines organic and paid media, and tapping into the buzz around major sporting events for maximum reach and engagement." How can we make sure we're engaged then? Well... It seems the top 5 ways are:
So if you're struggling for content, try a few of these ideas! I know I definitely love any comedy stuff and anything that shows the people that make a brand. Linking back to the authenticity trend of this year.
领英推荐
The TikTok article continues on how brands can engage with their audience when looking at organic content and paid. According to TikTok organic content, "brands should create posts that align with the interests and values of their audience." Whereas for paid, "brands can use?In-Feed Ads?to reach targeted audiences and scale their reach."
The article continues to produce some really useful tips and tricks such as this useful image:
Definitely worth a read if you're looking to improve your TikTok strategy.
To read more have a look at this article:
Just like WhatsApp, Twitter is launching a few in-house features that will come into play very soon! The first one up for discussion has us looking at a new DM or PM, whichever M you fancy, feature. Twitter will now allow for direct responses! This has been proven popular on other social platforms such as Snapchat where users can swipe to respond to a particular message, saving all the "Which message were you replying to?" According to Social Media Today, this update has been in the works for a couple of months now but it's here! Not only that but the second update means users can respond with emojis on the message, just like you can with WhatsApp. What's great about this particular update is that if someone wants to politely end the conversation, this is now a way on Twitter! Both of these updates get the Emily seal of approval! They're useful and it's a way for users to have a different way of engaging with each other. I'm so glad to finally be writing some good news for Twitter!
To read more have a look at these articles:
Some follow up good news from Twitter is that it will be getting rid of any inactive accounts! Don't worry if you're not an active user and just use the platform to look at other tweets. Your accounts should be safe however knowing Elon Musk some accounts might disappear - unintentionally. BBC News reports that when Elon Musk took over it was, "important to free up abandoned handles.". The only issue that's come out of this idea is that many people would like to keep relatives' accounts who might've passed or any celebrities who have passed as their tweets "may hold historical value". The BBC states "Twitter's inactive-account policy?says, users must log in at least every 30 days and accounts "may be permanently removed" if left dormant." So for those who want to keep their accounts, I'd give a quick login if I was you!
To read more have a look at these articles:
Usually, I'll spend my Thursdays writing this newsletter and as always the best and most important news will come out on Friday when I'm finished however for all you lovely subscribers, I thought I would add this article that I've just come across and this is not a drill... There is a new CEO of Twitter!
Sadly no stories for you Instagram and Snapchat lovers. Shame as I look forward to reading their news. I hope they're planning something great for next week!
Opinion of the week:
' Eurovision isn't that great. '
This opinion is not something I resonate with as I will be watching the show but with all the money that goes into it, you can only imagine what help that could do in all countries. It's great entertainment however it's just for one night only and on the odd occasion the singing isn't actually all that great... However, what I do like about it, is that it can bring countries together and sometimes there are a handful of banger songs.