This week in social: Platforms under the spotlight as US ban looms
Last week, the news cycle was dominated by articles discussing how big tech and social media companies are interacting with governments. Here, we’ve rounded up two of the week’s biggest stories and discussed what they may mean. Could TikTok be subject to a US ban? A couple of weeks ago, members of the US Congress […]
TikTok announces new sponsorships as US lawmakers grill CEO
Last week, TikTok announced that the company had signed new sponsorship agreements with both the Women’s Six Nations and Eurovision. The news came as the social media app’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, was grilled by US lawmakers about the company’s relationship with China and the protections it has in place for younger users. TikTok renews […]
New Shopify and Google Cloud AI Integration set to vastly improve user experience
Shopify Inc and Google Cloud have announced a new integration that enables retailers to improve their Google-quality search capabilities. Merchants can now use advanced search and browse experiences using Google Cloud’s Discovery AI solution to enhance user experience and prevent search abandonment. About search abandonment New research has revealed that search abandonment can cost the […]
Google launches Bard AI chatbot
Google launches its Bard chatbot in the UK and US, but how does the chatbot fare in comparison to competitors Bing Chat and ChatGPT? Google’s launch of Bard is the tech giant’s ‘quick’ solution to preventing its highly profitable web search service from being outcompeted by artificial intelligence (AI) rival chatbots. Despite existing chatbots such […]
Last week in AI: Microsoft announces Copilot for Office, while Baidu’s offering fails to impress
So far, 2023 has been the year of AI. From Bard to ChatGPT, the news cycle in the first quarter of the year has been dominated by stories celebrating both the great and controversial aspects of artificial intelligence. Well, last week was no different, and we saw major launches from both Microsoft and Baidu… with […]
Should we be worried about TikTok?
The popular video-sharing app is, once again, subject to claims that its Chinese parent company ByteDance might share user data. Both the FBI and Federal Communications Commission have warned the company could share browsing history, location and biometric identifiers with the Chinese government. The Chinese government implemented a law in 2017 which required companies to […]
Spotify’s redesign includes elements of TikTok, Instagram and YouTube
Spotify has always claimed that it wants to be much more than a music player. Now, the streaming provider is clearly displaying its ambition through the redesign of its app. While Spotify says that the new home screen is focused on making it easier for users to find things to listen to and watch, it’s […]
Snapchat will offer flexible Snapstreaks for paying users
Snapchat is testing a feature that will allow paying users to restore broken Streaks or pause them for an extended period of time. As a result, it appears as though Snapstreaks, a much-loved Snapchat feature that tracks how long a user has been trading daily snaps with a friend, are about to get more forgiving. […]
Microsoft has been working with chatbots since 2016
Although AI chatbots have burst into the news in the past few months, Microsoft has secretly been working with AI since at least 2016. Following the company’s early work with bots, Bing’s Sydney chatbot first appeared publicly in late 2020. It was then trialled in a small number of countries throughout 2021. However, the test […]
Mercedes-Benz Teams Up with Google and TikTok to Create Ultimate Digital Experience
Merecedes-Benz have announced two new partnerships with Google and TikTok to create the next-generation digital luxury car experience. The firm’s new partnership with Google will make Mercedes-Benz the first car manufacturer to build its own branded navigation using new in-car geospatial data and navigation capabilities from Google Maps Platform. Mercedes-Benz & Google Mercedes-Benz has announced […]
FanCode and Google Cloud aim to redefine the sports viewing experience in South Asia
FanCode, India’s premier digital sports destination, has entered into a new partnership with Google Cloud in an attempt to bring improved sports streaming experiences to the South Asian market. What does the partnership mean? For those unaware, FanCode launched under Dream Sports in March 2019 and it has swiftly grown into a leading sports streaming […]
Can new online ‘de-influencers’ stop us shopping?
In a world where online influencers had huge power over the retail industry for a number of years, a new status known as ‘deinfluencing’ is swiftly growing and could challenge the way people online shop in the future. The Guardian recently reported that influencers sold $3.6bn (£3bn) of goods in 2022, and a recent study […]