TikTok is announcing new partnerships aimed at making it easier for brands to tap into music and sound on the platform. The company has expanded its TikTok Marketing Partners program and introduced six certified partners that will help brands create “sound-on” strategies for the platform. TikTok notes that it essentially wants to connect brands with […]
Pinterest rolls out new ‘Havens’ mental health support space
Pinterest is launching a new “Pinterest Havens” mental health support initiative in honor of World Mental Health Day, which is October 10th. In a blog post, the company called the initiative “an online and offline space for community-driven inspiration.” Pinterest notes that it’s essentially creating space on its platform to explore the relationship between mental […]
California companies can no longer silence workers in victory for tech activists
Silenced No More Act makes it illegal for firms to prevent employees from speaking out about harassment or discriminationIn a major victory for Silicon Valley activists and California workers, the governor has signed a law making it illegal for compani…
Google is redesigning Search using AI technologies and new features
Google announced today it will be applying AI advancements, including a new technology called Multitask Unified Model (MUM) to improve Google Search. At the company’s Search On event, the company demonstrated new features, including those that leverage MUM, to better connect web searchers to the content they’re looking for, while also making web search feel […]
Using AI to reboot brand-client relationships
Using strategically focused AI, brands can identify what their audiences are doing when they are not engaged in a purchase or using a product or service. The secret here is understanding context.
This Week in Apps: OnlyFans bans sexual content, SharePlay delayed, TikTok questioned over biometric data collection
Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. The app industry continues to grow, with a record 218 billion downloads and $143 billion in global consumer spend in 2020. Consumers last year also spent 3.5 trillion minutes using apps on Android devices […]
Today’s real story: The Facebook monopoly
To the average person, Facebook’s monopoly seems obvious. But obviousness is not an antitrust standard. Monopoly has a clear legal meaning, and thus far Lina Khan’s FTC has failed to meet it.
Pinterest shares drop as company misses on user growth … again
Pinterest’s shares had popped last week when Snap posted its best quarter in four years, as investors were betting Pinterest’s image-based social app would also see a return in advertiser spending. Those expectations now appear to be correct, as Pinterest beat on earnings with second-quarter revenue of $613.2 million and earnings per share of 25 […]
Instagram now supports 60-second videos on Reels, its TikTok clone
Haven’t you heard that Instagram is no longer a photo-sharing app? Today, Instagram announced that users can now upload 60-second videos on Reels, the platform’s TikTok competitor. This update also adds functionality for a captions sticker on Reels, which transcribes audio to text. Instagram previously teased this sticker for Reels when they added it to […]
Pinterest rolls out new features that let creators make money from Pins
Pinterest today is increasing its investment in the creator community by introducing new tools that will allow creators to make money from their content. Now, creators will be able to tag products in their Idea Pins — a video-first feature the company first launched this spring — to make their content “shoppable.” They’ll also now […]