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August’s digital download

This is August’s round-up of everything digital and social that we have carefully selected for the sector.

Facebook paid events

Facebook have launched a new event feature for page owners allowing them to create ‘paid for events’. This has been rolled out to 20 countries world-wide and is another step to help small businesses broaden their e-commerce offering.

Twitter limited replies

Twitter are now allowing users to limit the amount of replies on their posts to those who follow the account or those who have been tagged. This is another step to help combat hate messaging and misinformation.

Pinterest expands their AR features

Pinterest have an AR ‘try-on’ feature which allows users to sample beauty products live on their face via their camera. Brands like L’Oreal, Nars and Urban Decay all have products featured. Finding that over 60% of searches involving ‘skin’ included a specific tone such as dark, olive or pale, Pinterest have now expanded this to now match and suggest products to match your skin tone.

The humble QR code’s glow-up

The QR code has been around since 2010 and has been used for various applications over the years. We have recently seen its usage boom across all sectors as it holds direct access to information with a simple. ‘touch-free’ scan. Here are a few examples:

Healthcare: tracking at home test kits, vaccinations and providing direct information to latest online information.

Hospitality: for restaurant queuing, contact-free ordering and payments.

Facebook Shop Tab

We know the platform have been pushing their quest to support small businesses and become a ‘one-stop-shop’ for all things e-commerce. Their latest update is a shop tab that allows users to find products to purchase all in-app.

Facebook Diverse Business categories

Facebook has added a search option for black-owned businesses within the diverse business categories.  Business owners registered with Facebook will soon have the opportunity to self-identity as a Black or minority-owned business on Facebook, “so anyone who wants to support them can do so easily”.

Likee making waves

Likee, is another short-content video creation and sharing platform rivalling TikTok. This is especially true in the US where TikTok are facing a potential ban. They have amassed over 150 million monthly active users (as of June this year) – in comparison, TikTok have approx. 200 million monthly active users.

They are slightly different due to allowing creators to earn money directly from virtual gifts sent by other users. One to watch!

Netflix Bookmarks

Netflix have recently launched Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices. This showcases stories from black authors voiced by celebrity readers to spark kid-friendly conversations about empathy, equality, self-love and anti-racism. Great for families who don’t have access to these books at home.

The Beagle Button

We have recently discovered ‘The Beagle Button’, a chrome extension for sustainable shopping. Whether it’s plastic free, recycled, vegan, ethically sourced or any other carefully selected metric. Once activated, this will recommend a better alternative product to the ones you’re looking at (if there are any).

And one final piece of context we wanted to share…

UNICEF x Pitch Perfect

The cast of Pitch Perfect have come together for a virtual reunion during lockdown to raise money for UNICEF. They have recorded a one-off rendition of Beyonce’s ‘Love On Top’ with all proceeds going towards helping families around the world affected by the pandemic, especially those in Lebanon. The video is hosted on Universal Pictures’ YouTube channel for viewers to donate via a donate button.