YouTube upgrades its comments!

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Since its creation in 2005, YouTube has been one of the most visited websites in the world, as well as the most popular video sharing site. 

Until now, the very nature of the YouTube comments section has been somewhat shaky. Because it is open to the public, the comments section of this (like many other websites) site is usually home to many different kinds of reactions to videos, many of which don’t even pertain to the video content at hand. 

In recent years, the act of ‘trolling’ (typically characterized by intentional attempts by some commenter’s to cause a reaction from the rest of the community) has become more popular, as well as the mass marketing practice of flooding every possible format with links and advertising. 

These types of comments are usually never linked to the content of the videos they get posted to, and as a result, moderators and video owners have to work hard to keep their comments free of harmful and useless material, since it is always important to posters and YouTube employees alike to maintain a stable and functioning forum.

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Tips and Tricks for iOS7

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It was a long wait, but finally iOS 7 arrived! Users have reported it as a strange new land that they eventually got used to. 

Favourite apps appear completely different and if you are not extremely tech savvy, you might not know that iOS 7 has many little tricks tucked away in no obvious way. 

Let’s take a look at a few you might know and a few that might be new to you.

1. To search, swipe down

Spotlight search can now be accessed from anywhere on the homescreen. All you need to do is swipe down in the middle of the screen. Spotlight can be used to do a quick search across your iphone’s apps, emails and contacts. Funny enough, it seems that Apple removed Spotlight’s ability to search the web. Many users didn’t even know Spotlight could be used for that, so it’s probably not a big miss.

2. Message timestamps

The iphone has always been strange when it comes to seeing when a message was sent or received. Some messages have a timestamp, but it will most likely only show it for the first message in a conversation. iOS 7 allows you to reveal the timestamp for each and every message. All you need to do is hold one of the speech bubbles in the tread and swipe to the left. Now you will always be able to put a time with every message.

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Social media is the new word of mouth

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Any business owner will tell you that the best way to steamroll your way through the competition is through improving word of mouth exposure. 

Potential customers tend to trust the advice given to them by their friends and family more than anything a company might say to convince them of the superior quality of their product. Most of the time, these tactics are seen as marketing tactics that are used to hype up the product and downplay anything bad on the part of the seller. 

It is easier to convince someone to buy your product if they are already aware of it working or being good quality from experience, or from the experience of those they trust.

In the 21st century, what better place is there for any one person to communicate easily and effectively with as many people as possible than over the Internet – more specifically, on social media networks? 

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5 ways Google Plus needs to be more like Wilson™

Google+ has been around for a while now, and recently reached one billion users. This is not surprising at all, since Google is still the most widely used search engine in the world, and owns the second biggest cut of smartphone market share with its Android devices.

 

Google is everywhere, so is it really fair for them to claim to have a billion users? 

 

If Kim Jong Un has security cameras on every street corner in North Korea, and those cameras catch every Korean bending down to pick up their newspaper in the morning, can Kim Jong Un say that they are all ACTUALLY bowing before him? Actually yes…because if they don’t there might be trouble!

 

Remember watching the movie Castaway, where Tom Hanks survives a plane crash and somehow grows a beard that would make a homeless man jealous in less than two hours? The only way he survived that island for so long was because he had a friend with him - Wilson, the all-knowing beach volleyball/silent type.

 

 

1. Wilson never appeared in any of Tom Hanks’ other movies

 

Say what you want about Wilson, but he knew his place, and he stayed there. Mainly because he didn't have any arms and couldn't swim off the island even if he wanted to. Google+ on the other hand, is not only a social network, it appears in every Google app, every section of Google’s services, and is even changing the standard for interacting on YouTube, Google’s latest acquisition. It’s fine if you want your social network to include connectivity with all of your products. After all, Facebook made attempts at being a search engine, an e-mail client, and a video blogging site, but at its heart, it remains a social network, and you actually have to want to type in the Facebook URL or download the Facebook app in order to access it. Too much of Google+ is making it seem as if they’re trying too hard, and the novelty is running out quite quickly.

 

2. Wilson had a face, some grass for hair, and that was all

 

Lets face it, Wilson was pretty much a product of Tom Hanks’ wild imagination. Google+ is a product of Larry Page’s imagination too, but one of them seems so cluttered with buttons, icons, pictures and representations of actions that it is very easy to get distracted. Tom Hanks knew that what he needed in an imaginary friend was a constantly smiling face, and that was all. Google+ on the other hand is a smiling face with a speech bubble, a video camera attached to his head, a bulletin board, a notebook full of your acquaintances names and carrier pigeons all in one. Even though Google+ isn’t particularly bad at doing any of those things, or even all of them at once, Google already has each of those services at their disposal, and forcing them all into one room together to make friends is likely to leave one or more of them standing awkwardly in the corner because they really don’t fit in with the rest of the kids.

 

3. Even without a face, Wilson would be fun to play with

 

Have you ever tried hitting around a volleyball? Its quite fun! Does it REALLY matter if that volleyball has a name and a face? Not really. Have you every tried using Google+ on a feed where there were no pictures at all, and just a wall of text? No? I have a feeling that Google actually tries its hardest to avoid this happening. Every time I go through my feed, I get distracted every two seconds by the next picture that pops up in a new post, or a thumbnail to a link that I really don’t care about. Even though I really would like to not have all the constant distractions, I think that if I ever saw a Google+ feed without any of it, it would bore me to death.

 

4. Once you’re done with Wilson, you can deflate him and put him back in his box

 

I’m sure I’m not the only person that has created a profile on a social network just to see what all the hype is about, only to realize that I really don’t like it. Have you ever tried deleting your account? Nine times out of ten, it won’t let you, and you’re stuck with it forever. Your friends will ask you why you never post, and you’ll have to make up some excuse about how you really meant to wish them a happy birthday, but you couldn't remember your password… Why can’t we opt out? Because they want to force us to be their friends, like that one kid in school who you just couldn't get away from.

 

5. The only reason Wilson was around is because Tom Hanks wanted him there

 

One problem I have with the Google+ magic one billion-user number is that it is probably a bit of a misrepresentation of the facts. Facebook has over 1 billion users. That is because over 1 billion people decided, “Hey, I should create a Facebook profile because I want to use Facebook”. Google on the other hand are sneaky…they’re useful for looking up that word you think you used incorrectly when arguing with someone on Facebook, but they’re sneaky! I think that the reason for a large chunk of those ‘users’ claimed by Google+ is that people who spend all day looking at videos of people falling off of things (not me, obviously…never!) on YouTube wanted to comment and tell people how much they love cats, but Google would only let them comment if they created an account. Once they created the account, along came Google+ to steal the credit. I’m sure that if Wilson even knew what credit was, let alone how to steal it, he wouldn’t!

 

 

Written by: Wesley Geyer

Creative writer at ATKA SA

 

Will anyone dethrone Facebook as THE Social Network?

 

Almost 10 years ago, Mark Zuckerburg and Eduardo Saverin started what would become one of the most visited websites in the world from their dorm at Harvard University. 

 

Now with over one billion users, Facebook is widely considered to be the social network that changed it all, and put social media on the map. However, since 2004, a lot has changed, and a variety of different networks catering to different audiences have started up, many of which have become increasingly more popular. 

 

In 2013, the three social networks that are considered to be Facebook’s main competitors are Twitter, Google+ and YouTube. But do any of them have the ability to unseat Facebook?

 

Firstly, it should be noted that even though Facebook is considered the most widely used social network, these competitors are not exactly vying for exclusive audiences. Most people who actively use one social network typically also use another one, and in some cases, even maintain active profiles on multiple networks at the same time, so the number of users or profiles doesn’t exactly dictate which network is the most popular.

 

GlobalWebIndex research has shown in the first half of 2013, close to 70% of active Internet users have Facebook profiles, compared to around 53% who have Google+ accounts, and 50% who have YouTube accounts. Around 62% of Facebook users are active Monthly, compared to under 50% for their two closest competitors. 

 

What is interesting, however, is that Twitter and Google+ both currently beat out Facebook in terms of increasing active user-ship. From mid-2012 to mid-2013, Twitter increased its active user-ship by almost 50%, and Google+ by around 35%, whereas Facebook active growth was only around 15%. 

 

However, since Facebook has more overall users, even the lower percentage translates into similar real world numbers. Meanwhile, photo-oriented networks Pinterest and Tumblr are the fastest growing networks, each increasing active user-ship by  88% and 74% respectively over the last year, but since neither are complete networks (relying solely on photos), the likelihood of them replacing Facebook is slim.

 

Google+ and Twitter, however, have constantly been at Facebook’s heels over the last three years, and many people have predicted that Google+ is turning into the social network that they feel Facebook could be, so it will be interesting to see how the dynamics change over the next two years. 

 

If one of them do manage to bump Facebook off its throne however, they shouldn't expect Zuckerburg and Co. to step down without a fight.

 

 

Written by  Wesley Geyer

Creative writer at ATKA SA

New Social Media Platforms

Social media has become such an integral part of our lives. It has introduced to us its own language with terms such as “tweet” and the well-known Facebook “like” and has become a part of not only the way we talk, but also the way we interact. 

 

Let’s take a look at some of the newer social networks that were recently introduced.

 

First, let’s look at Pheed – launched in October 2012. It’s a pay-as-you-go network where you actually sell your photos, videos and “statuses” instead of just sharing them, which is the main logic behind this network. Many celebrities, musicians and entertainment personalities make use of this network. For a monthly subscription, “pheeders” can offer subscribers access to a media-rich stream of text, photo, audio, video and even live broadcasts. Celebrities such as Miley Cyrus and Paris Hilton are already making use of this new network.

 

Thumb is a social network making use of personal crowdsourcing. Not sure if your blouse matches your skirt? No problem – take a selfie, upload to Thumb and crowdsource your decision. Simple questions generate hundreds of thumbs up or thumbs down, plus comments from the network’s active user base within mere minutes. Thumb appeals to the two main social impulses – vanity and voyeurism, which generates serious engagement amongst users. When compared to Facebook, it is said that users spend most time on Facebook per month with Thumb following as second with four hours a month.

 

Evan Williams (the co-founder of Blogger and Twitter) created a new blogging platform called Medium, which hosts stories quite a bit longer than Twitter’s 140 characters. This network was also launched in October last year and touts a simple, stark design and stripped down editing mode designed for everything from cooking recipes to political manifestos. This network is invitation only and emphasizes longer form, carefully crafted content from users who seek more from their social media network than cat photos, Miley Cyrus twerking and Justin Bieber spitting. Creators are limited to the select few, but everyone can read and comment on the blogs.

 

 

Chirpify takes the one click payments for online shopping from Amazon and introduces it into the social media era. Sellers offer items for sale on Twitter or Instagram, buyers reply with the word “buy” and Bob’s your uncle. No credit card, no “proceed to checkout” and no “add to cart”. The transaction is conducted entirely through your Twitter or Instagram account. This social media network can also be used for fundraisers, giveaways and even peer-to-peer payments. It’s free to use, but takes a 5% cut anytime you get paid via this network.

 

Lastly we’ll look at Chirp – sharing using sound. Your phone emits a high-pitched, two second-long, robotic squeak. Other phones within audio range pick up the sound and instantly download the content shares. Chirps can be shared in any space, from boardrooms to crowded bars and can even be embedded in YouTube videos or TV programs.

 

 

Now that you’re up to speed with all your options out there, get ahead of the crowd and expand your social networking options!

 

 

Written by Marleen Theunissen

Creative writer at ATKA SA

New Developments in Social Media

Social media finds itself in the predicament that it is extremely popular, but due to that exact popularity and the fact that it can change momentarily, the founders of these networks are under a lot of pressure to develop these networks even further. 

 

This is done to ensure that the visitors keep coming back to their popular networks. Let’s take a look at what the three biggest networks have done this year.

 

When Facebook switched its apps from HTML5 to native, it lost its ability to move fast. But its recent announcement of a big iOS7 style app redesign gives it its mojo back. It features a bottom-screen “tab bar” navigation, built with an advanced native mobile testing framework. 

 

 

This new version is luckily not only for iOS 7, but is also rolling out to iOS 5 and 6 with a black tab bar that matches the old iOS style. The new tab bar will not be released for the iPad yet, as the drawer is seen as the best solution for the bigger screens. The new tab bar offers a “More” button on the far right next to the buttons for News Feed, Requests, Messages and Notifications.

 

The “More” button reveals app bookmarks just like previously, but now with the option to save your place in whatever product you browse. This is a nice add on after previously losing your place after opening your drawer to look at something else. It essentially opens tabs over the top of the feed. Facebook has also made the top title bar translucent and redesigned many of the icons to match the line and arc style of Apple’s new mobile operating system.

 

As for Twitter, it boasts with a brand new search experience that blends the most relevant content - Tweets, user accounts, images, news, related searches, and more - into a single stream of results, which is a major shift from how results were previously partitioned by type. 

 

A typical search on Twitter scores items sorted by type and then picks the top-scoring results. In the blended search experience, it’s a little more complicated. The scores of different content types are computed by different services and are therefore not directly comparable for blending. The other challenge that is being faced is deciding which type of content to mix, because not all content types are always suitable for display. 

 

To solve this, different types of contents are searched separately when a user enters a search, and returns a sequence of candidate results for each content type with a type-specific score for each. Once the results of the different types of contents are prepared, each type-specific score is converted into a uniscore – a universally compatible score and is used to blend content types as in a merge-sort, minus the penalization of content type transition.

 

Lastly we’ll look at YouTube, which has announced the launch of a new feature on its mobile app which enables viewers to watch videos even when offline. This update will be available in November and will let viewers add videos to their devices to store and watch for a short period without having to be connected to the Internet.

 

This is something to take note of, as downloading videos is currently against YouTube’s rules, despite the many third party apps designed for this purpose. YouTube has distinguished between their new feature and complete downloading of videos by requiring its viewers to be online for at least the first second of the video. Besides this, YouTube has also recently made it possible for users to browse video recommendations even while a video is already streaming, which will definitely encourage use of their mobile app.

 

 

 

In the ever-changing world of social media, it is important to make sure you are up to date with every single new release. Whether you use social media to play or to work, these updates can make a big difference to your online experience!

 

 

Written by Marleen Theunissen

Creative writer at ATKA SA