1. Facebook Releases Bulletin - A Platform for Independent Writers - Bulletin is a fusion of substack, facebook and clubhouse. As of now Facebook have made the platform available only in the US, moreover only people with a big audience on Facebook will be able to start a meeting on 'Bulletin'. Facebook says that this is also an initiative towards making audiences feel more connected creators and give creators a space where they can communicate with their viewers. Bulletin has a lot of features that are similar to its competitors like Twitter Spaces and Clubhouse, one of which is scheduled rooms, which allows creators to allot a certain time for their live and notify the audience prior to it. 

To see the full list of writers and their articles visit fyi.bulletin.com.

2. ICYMI: Facebook Is Now Embedding Reels In News Feed - While there are no formal announcements, Facebook has started to embed Reels from my friends in my newsfeed. For now, it seems to be working. As I scroll through the newsfeed, I’m stopping right in my tracks. It’s just a matter of time before I train my brain to tune out and keep going.


3. Facebook Filing Lawsuits Against Deceptive Advertising - Facebook Inc on Tuesday sued a California marketing company and its representatives as well as a Vietnam-based group of individuals in separate lawsuits for running deceptive and unauthorized advertisements on its platform. The social media giant said the defendants ran misleading ads that promoted the sale of merchandise including clothing, watches and toys. As soon as someone clicked on the ads, they were directed to a third-party website to pay for their purchase.

But once the payment was completed, users either never got any merchandise or the delivered item was not what they ordered for or it was of a poor quality, Facebook said.

The company also sued a group of individuals based in Vietnam who it said “misled the victims into self-compromising their accounts” and ran over $36 million in unauthorized ads.

Can I sing “Bad boys, bad boys whatcha gonna do when Facebook comes for you?”

4. PSA: Google Broad Match Modifier Is Going Away This Month - This is just a quick reminder that  Broad Match Modifier (BMM) will be going away in July 2021. We covered this topic in detail (including our own analysis) back in Feb 2021 after Google announced that they plan to sunset to BMM.
 

5. Non-skippable In-stream Ads Can Now Be In YouTube Ad Pods - Ad pods - Two ads served back-to-back. Ad pods are typically served to viewers who watch longer form content to reduce interruptions to their viewing experience. Now ad pods will be eligible to serve non-skippable in-stream ads in addition to skippable in-stream ads and bumpers.


6. Updated Pinterest Ad Policy Bans Weight Loss Imagery & Language - As explained by Pinterest: “As our community of Pinners grows, so do searches for topics like healthy eating, healthy lifestyle and fitness tips. We’ll continue providing useful and relevant content for those searching for it while prohibiting content that displays, rationalizes or encourages eating disorders and other types of self-injury.  For example, whenever Pinners search for keywords related to eating disorders, we block search results and direct them to expert organizations, like NEDA, so they can find additional resources. Pinterest also offers a variety of emotional well-being activities developed by emotional health experts, accessible directly within our mobile app and website. Pinners can simply search for “#pinterestwellbeing” to explore gratitude and self-compassion exercises, along with other interactive practices that can help improve their mood.“ 

Pinterest had already banned ads that featured any of the following: Weight loss or appetite suppressant pills, supplements, or other products; Before-and-after weight-loss imagery; Weight loss procedures like liposuction or fat burning; Body shaming, such as imagery or language that mocks or discredits certain body types or appearances; and Claims regarding unrealistic cosmetic results 

The new policy, prohibiting all weight loss related ads now also includes: Any weight loss language or imagery; Any testimonials regarding weight loss or weight loss products; Any language or imagery that idealizes or denigrates certain body types; Referencing Body Mass Index (BMI) or similar indexes; and Any products that claim weight loss through something worn or applied to the skin Pinterest adds that ads promoting healthy lifestyles and habits, like fitness products and services, will still be allowed as long as they don’t promote weight loss.

7. Updates from Shopify Unite : Shopify App Developers Get A Break - Shopify wrote: "As of August 1, 2021, we’re offering zero percent revenue share on the first million dollars you make annually on the Shopify App Store." That’s right—if you make less than $1 million USD per year in the Shopify App Store, you can register to no longer pay revenue share. And every year, those numbers reset. When you earn more than $1 million USD, you’ll pay a 15 percent revenue share, which is lower than the previous 20 percent revenue share. Shopify will also be introducing a one-time registration fee for all developers who sign up after August 1, which will be paid when the developers submit their first app to be reviewed. All the more reason to sign up and start building your app today!

Full announcement here: https://www.shopify.com/partners/blog/shopify-unite-announcements-2021

8. Here Are Some Changes That YouTube is Making for Creators - Creators and viewers alike often complain about channel mentions in video descriptions, with the primary complaint here being that tapping or clicking on the mention navigates you away from the video that is currently being watched. This hurts creator viewership and also makes it difficult for users to have a consistent experience as well, so in order to address these concerns interacting with a channel mention will now open a card while the video continues to play in the background. This is being done in the hopes that it will create a more seamless experience and improve viewer stats for creators to boot so it is a win-win for all concerned parties.

9. Redirects and Google Search - Redirecting URLs is the practice of resolving an existing URL to a different one, effectively telling your visitors and Google Search that a page has a new location. Now, Google has “significantly expanded” the help guide it has for how Google Search handles various forms on redirects. The redirects and Google Search help document use to be a few paragraphs long, but now it goes into much greater detail.

You can find the guide here: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/crawling/301-redirects


10. TikTok Announces Longer Videos - TikTok announced that users will be able to edit, film and upload videos of up to three minutes in length


11. Instagram Is No Longer A Photo Sharing App - Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, shares plans to expand the app into more areas than just photo sharing, such as video and shopping. The company’s first priority is creators and helping them earn a living with new monetization features. Mosseri recognizes there’s been a shift in power from institutions to individuals across industries, and he wants to move Instagram in that direction. Second in priority is video, which is seeing an immense amount of growth online on all major platforms right now. Mosseri says Instagram needs to lean into video more, and later explains how he plans to do that. A third area Instagram plans to expand on is shopping. The pandemic accelerated the shift of commerce from offline to online, moving the industry ahead by a number of years. Instagram is trying to capitalize on that trend. The fourth area Instagram plans to build out is messaging, which Mosseri says has become the primary way people connect with their close friends on the app. Over the past five years communication has shifted away from feed posts and stories and moved toward DMs.