Social Media news and archive

Web Summit: Challenges and opportunities of social and live commerce in Europe and the US

Lisbon - Social and live commerce offers opportunities. That was the message offered by participants in the panel discussion 'Social and live commerce: what will it take to break through in the West?', which took place on November 15 at the technology conference Web Summit. There are two things going on in e-commerce right now, argued Sophie Frè...

BusinessFeatured

SS24: Screen heroes, sports stars and TikTok phenomena as a goldmine for brands

While last year's spring season was characterised by media-effective moments and spectacular productions, designer debuts and star power were on the agenda for spring/summer 2024. Viral showmanship was forgotten again for the first time this season, with brands instead focusing on a star-studded cast - both in the front row and on the catwalks....

Fashion

The 10-year-old fashion influencer

Taylen Biggs has close to 1.5 million followers across TikTok and Instagram, a wardrobe full of designer clothes and 15 fashion weeks under her belt -- and she's 10 years old. Taylen arrived at last week's Balmain show, one of the hottest tickets of Paris Fashion Week, in a luxurious white jacket-and-skirt combo by the French label, black boots...

Business

TikTok brings shopping feature to the US

Social media platform TikTok has initiated a roll out of its in-app shopping experience, bringing TikTok Shop to US users who will be able to access a series of shopping-centric features. Through the addition, the platform’s 150 million users in the region can now view shoppable videos and live streams, while brands and merchants have the option...

Business

Elon Musk reveals Twitter rebrand, platform to be AI-powered

Billionaire businessman Elon Musk has unveiled the rebranding of his social media platform Twitter as he looks to steer it towards what he has dubbed “the everything app”. On the platform, Musk posted an image of the company’s new logo, a large X, which had been beamed onto its headquarters. Another image depicting a similar sight was also...

Retail

TikTok opened first physical pop-up on Oxford Street

Social media platform TikTok took to the real world with the launch of its first ever bricks-and-mortar pop-up on London’s Oxford Street. Last week, the space was open to existing and prospective merchants and creators in a concept that centred around “community commerce”, as TikTok hoped to back “a new kind of shopping culture”. Focusing on...

Business

Meta's Twitter-like Threads app will not launch in Europe

Facebook owner Meta's new Threads app, meant to rival Twitter, will not be available in the European Union when it launches Thursday because of regulatory concerns, a source close to the company said. The app is seen as the biggest challenge yet to Twitter since the takeover by Elon Musk sent the social media platform, hugely popular with...

Business

Meta to develop new social media platform to rival Twitter

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is planning to develop a text-based social network to rival Twitter. The BBC reported the platform aims to allow users to follow accounts from Instagram, Meta's image-sharing app, and potentially import followers from decentralised platforms like Mastodon. Meta's chief product officer confirmed...

Business

Meta handed ‘record’ 1.2 billion euro fine for data transfers

Meta, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has been issued a “record fine” of 1.2 billion euros by an Irish data protection watchdog after it was found to have breached general data protection regulations (GDPR). The fine comes in regardings to Meta’s transfer of data to the US belonging to European Union Facebook users to the US,...

Report

Elon Musk names new CEO of Twitter

Controversial businessman Elon Musk has announced the appointment of a new chief executive officer for social media platform Twitter. In a post on the site, Musk said Linda Yaccarino would be stepping into the position, with a primary focus on business operations. Meanwhile, Musk himself will focus on product design and new technology,...

Fashion |OPINION Featured

Can social media be held accountable for poor mental health?

Hundreds of private lawsuits have been filed against social media networks in the US, which depict a toxic social media landscape that is harmful to young people. The lawsuits aim to hold social media platforms accountable for the detrimental effects on young people's mental health. Over 200 suits have been joined together in one class action...

Business

ByteDance profits surges past Amazon, Alibaba and Meta

TikTok parent ByteDance is proving it has staying power, posting double-digit profit growth in 2022 that surpassed most digital giants including Meta, Amazon and Alibaba. Data published by the Financial times shows ByteDance’s earning soared 79 percent to 25 billion dollars with Bloomberg citing revenue for the year at 80 billion dollars. As...