Doug Strahler
2016 Summer of
Social Media
COMM307: Social Media #srusm

June Highlights
• Instagram: user-base has surged to 500 million active
monthly users
• Facebook: Redesigns Like Button; Launches
new Facebook Live features (two-person
broadcasts & pre-scheduled broadcasts) &
360-degree photo integration
• Twitter: Announced “Stickers”; continues
growing branded emojis; emoji ad targeting;
140-second video, & Twitter Engage App
• Pinterest: Announced 4 new ecommerce features
• Snapchat: Surpasses Twitter in avg. daily users

Facebook introduces DeepText
• Facebook Code: “DeepText,
a deep learning-based text
understanding engine that can
understand with near-human
accuracy the textual content
of several thousands posts
per second, spanning more
than 20 languages.”
• Word-level and character-
level based learning
• DeepText Explained (video)
June 1, 2016

Instagram Launches Business Profiles
• Instagram Business Blog:
Recognized as a business
profile
• New Features
• Contact button
• Access to insights
• Ability to turn well-performing
posts into ads from within the
Instagram app
• What does this mean?
• “..better understand its audience,
tailor its content and refine its
marketing strategy.”
June 5, 2016

The State of the News Media 2016
• Pew Research Center
• Examines trends and shows
digital technology continues to
upend the news industry
• Half of American adults now
get news from Facebook
• Mobile continues its takeover
• $31.6 billion (53%) of total digital
advertising was spent on mobile
ads; video ad spending climbed
46 percent
June 19, 2016

#Brexit, #Bremain, & #EUreferendum
• Vote for UK to remain or
leave the EU
• What did SM teach us?
• Zoomph: Sentiment split; millenials
• Post-vote, Journalist James
O’Malley posts an online petition to
Change.org
• Most tweets on the 24th dealt with
questions on what the vote would
mean, plus #WhatHaveWeDone &
#NotInMyName
• Gizmodo: Google Searches Suggest
Many in UK Don’t Understand Brexit
• 250% spike in searches “What happens if
we leave the EU” (Google Trends)
June 23-24, 2016

July Highlights
• Facebook: 1.7 Billion monthly active users
• Twitter: Demographic data available for
brands with Gnip’s Audience API & Open
Verification for all users
• Snapchat: Introduced “Memories,” lets users save, search
for, and reuse their Snaps and Stories

Pokémon Go
• Traditional Pokémon game
introduced to the real world
• Look for the critters, catch them,
train them and battle with them
• Location-based, augmented
reality, multiplayer online mobile
game
• PokéStops & PokéGyms
• What does Pokémon Go
tell us about the future of
marketing
communication?
July 6, 2016

Pokémon Go Stats
• Launched July 6th
• July 23rd: 20 million daily
active users
• August 1st: 100+ million
downloads
• 78% 18-24 years old
• Largest demographic: Men,
21-27
• Avg. daily playing time: 26
minutes
• Estimated revenue: $200m
July 2016

Pokémon Go for Marketing Communication
July 2016

Pokémon Go Ethical & Legal Concerns
• PokéStops at Auschwitz, the
Holocaust Memorial Museum &
Arlington National Cemetery
• Cases of trespassing
• Sex offenders playing the game
to engage children
• People walking into traffic and
falling from cliffs while searching
for Pokémon
• Global awareness: Syrian
children holding pictures of
Pokémon characters and asking
the world to save them
July 2016

Adults Invade Snapchat!!
• comScore: Growth with adult
users due to the app
continually evolving &
providing tools to create
engaging content (i.e. Stories,
Lenses)
July 8, 2016

Milo Yiannopoulos’ Twitter Ban
• @Nero, Breitbart writer
• The Guardian: Twitter
permanently banned Milo
after claims he fanned flames
of social media attack on
Ghostbusters’ Leslie Jones
• #FreeMil0
• Raised question of
regulation with free
speech (NPR)
• What does this mean to
the future of regulation?
July 8, 2016

August Highlights
• Facebook: Updated algorithm to reduce click bait &
prioritize informative stories
• Twitter: Instant Unlock Card for ads; Moments opened to
more curators; use emojis in name & bio
• Instagram: Introduces “Stories” & Event
Channels on Explore
• Pinterest: Native video player coming
soon
• LinkedIn: Influencer videos

#RioOlympics
• Brands tie to the values of
Olympics & what the
Olympics represent
• New line of emoji hashtags
for each country & general
Olympic
• Increase in live video &
second screen experience
• Snapchat targeted millennials
through athletes’ stories and
successes
• Final results show SM
underperformed
August 5-21, 2016

#RioOlympics Memes
August 5-21, 2016
#PhelpsFace

#RioOlympics: Internet Trolls, Bullying, & Sexism
August 5-21, 2016

Pinterest Improvements
• Pinterest Blog:
• Send Pins and board invites to
anyone, whether you follow one
another or not
• Improved search to make it
easier for users to find people
they know
• Send Pins, boards, and profiles
across apps, including Facebook
Messenger, WhatsApp, and text
message
• The ability to turn off “Picked for
you” suggested Pins so that they
don’t appear in home feed
August 18, 2016