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Here For You, Fast Track App Feature by Snapchat
By: Allan Aryeetey
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing has been an essential precautionary measure to be taken to ensure the non-spread of this disease. People around the world are advised to stay home and avoid public gatherings or anything of sorts to stay secure from the virus. However, with the social seclusion, mental health still remains an issue. People are home alone, stranded in a room with nothing but walls to stare at, unable to escape into the open air to catch a whiff of freedom. Isolation can be hazardous for people with depression and anxiety. Without the human touch, some have only their thoughts to keep them company.
In February, Snapchat first announced the Here For You tool for people dealing with mental illnesses. This tool was originally designed for people dealing with depression, anxiety, suicide and bullying. About 90 percent of the viewers are aged between 13-24 years, a group that is particularly vulnerable to such content.
Source: Lex18.com
However, with the current world crisis at hand, Snapchat decided to add an additional aspect to the feature related to coronavirus. It includes information from credible sources, like the Ad Council, World Health Organization, the CDC, Crisis Text Line, NHS and other partners creating content related to the crisis. The original release of the feature was in April; however, Snapchat released it around mid-March. This feature will allow the Snapchatters to have access to the information provided from valid sources and to be aware of the pandemic at hand.
Social media companies are trying to keep their audience entertained with a global crisis going around. Companies like Facebook and YouTube have decided to lower their video resolution for viewers to avoid possible buffering issues, as there is a substantial increase in online activities with the whole world relying on virtual reality.
People are working more and more on trying to communicate with the rest of the world as they are unable to do otherwise. No meet-ups, no going on a walk in the park, no traveling the world has taken a toll on people. People have been wishing for more of what they failed to see: something as simple as having a face-to-face conversation with a loved one, which most of us take for granted. We can’t help but strive for even the minute things that we all have experienced so many times before.
Here For You helps you to deal with the pressure of being alone. It gives you the reassurance that someone is always there for you. It’s not the same as a human touch, but Snapchat has done a tremendous job of working things out for its viewers: to help them deal with feelings of loneliness; to provide them with the help of experts on how to avoid that sudden feeling of being trapped inside one’s own skin. With the current conditions, where it is important for you to stay at home, it is also important to stay in touch. Social media allows you to overcome that obstacle and things like Here For You will do a little extra to make you feel wanted.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/19/21187176/snap-mental-health-coronavirus-anxiety-stress
COVID-19 Forces Joe Biden to Innovate
By: Ruben Torres
It’s old news that the corona virus has changed the way we all live our lives and has pushed any previous issues onto the sideline. Two weeks ago, one of the biggest topics that people were talking about was the Democratic presidential nomination. Joe Biden had managed to pull away from Bernie Sanders. Fast forward to today, and it seems as if everyone has forgotten about the election. This is a huge issue for Biden and Sanders, as they were still fighting for the attention of the American public. Rallies have been cancelled and people have been afraid to go to the polling sites. In Milwaukee, only 12 sites will be open when they normally have 180. It is clear that the virus has had a huge effect on the election.
This, however, has not stopped Joe Biden; he has decided to continue his campaign through a podcast. Over the last few elections, we have seen how candidates have used more and more forms of media to reach their target audiences. And in this one, since rallies can no longer be held, Biden has turned to addressing the public through a podcast in his home. The podcast, called “Here’s the Deal”, just aired and is the first in a series of podcasts that Biden hopes will give him a platform to continue talking and remain relevant with so much of the national attention being on the coronavirus. He started off by saying, “Why am I doing this? Well, first, so we can keep talking with each other. We can’t hold rallies any more, but we’re not gathering in large public spaces. We’re living in a new normal.”
This is a very significant change from what we have seen in every previous election. This podcast is giving Biden a new platform to continue reaching people. If we go back 10 years, for a candidate to do something like this would have required a television network and been much more difficult to do. It is interesting to see that progression. Social media has given everyone the opportunity to reach out to people. One question that I have, however, is ‘how is Bernie Sanders going to respond?’ He is still in the race for the nomination and has not shown signs of giving up.
Is this podcast a forecast of future of elections? Everything is already televised and we have seen, more and more, that candidates have turned to social media to give them a free and easy way to reach millions. In the meantime, it is at least an answer to the current dilemma that candidates face, with the coronavirus cancelling rallies and making it so much harder to get their ideas across and show why they should be the next candidate. What other alternatives could these candidates use? Is a podcast the best form of media to reach the segment that Biden wants to reach?
Source
Pramuk, J. (2020, March 30). Joe Biden launches podcast as coronavirus forces 2020 campaigns to improvise. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/30/joe-biden-releases-2020-campaign-podcast-during-coronavirus-outbreak.html
Instagram’s New Co-Watching Feature and the Increasing Demand for Social Interaction
By: Olivia Miceli
With the COVID-19 pandemic keeping people across the entire country shut indoors to a rapidly increasing degree, it’s no surprise that bored, lonely quarantiners are seeking out new ways to spend meaningful time with friends. A scroll through Instagram or Twitter highlights this growing desperation for human interaction – memes and jokes about conversations with inanimate household objects and pets, longing glances out of windows at mail carriers, deep regret at past plans cancelled, and more are appearing in a steady stream.
As a possible tool to combat this difficult and isolated time, Instagram has launched a new feature that combines video-chatting and co-watching that can support up to six users at once, as discussed on SocialMediaToday. Friends can join a group video chat while also browsing through Instagram content and sharing it with the group. This feature helps people stay connected by allowing them to view and discuss content together and simultaneously.
Although Instagram has been developing this feature since before the outbreak, its intentional early release is certainly well-timed. I believe the feature will be very popular with teen and young adult users – group chats and video calls such as FaceTime with friends are a common enough tool for most young people today, as is sharing posts with friends by tagging them or sending them to their inbox, and these interactions are becoming only more frequent and essential during this current crisis. To be able to sit in a video call with friends while also each picking out content to share with the group is a perfect feature to address isolation and break up the long weeks of social distancing. It may seem strange to enter a video chat just to scroll through social media at the same time as several others, but I see it as a clever way to combine social media behaviors that already exist and create a platform to support it. Co-watching software is already a tool that is increasing in popularity, with an obvious jump given recent events, and Instagram is not the first to introduce a tool like this – third-party Chrome extention Netflix Party allows those with Netflix subscriptions to simultaneously watch something together.
It’s also a wise move for Instagram – and all social media platforms – to show users support during this period of isolation. The world has moved online. For most of us, social media is now our primary method of socializing, and a central part of our everyday life while sitting indoors and trying to keep entertained and connected with the people we care about. We miss our friends, and unpleasant feelings such as anxiety, loneliness, and fear are also a large part of the effect social distancing is having on many of us. It’s important for social media platforms to recognize their power, significance, and importance during this time and it is more than likely to pay off. Developing their relationships with their users by instilling trust and making them feel informed, supported, and seen is going to be good for these platforms, as well as providing something fun and uplifting during somewhat dark times. New features such as this provide an opportunity for businesses and marketers as well. It would be wise for other businesses, such as Netflix and other streaming platforms, to jump on this trend. Brands and businesses can also aim to be included in these shared group interactions – if one member likes it, the rest of the group will also see it.
Times are tough, and now is the time for social media platforms to provide new, unique, and fun ways for friends and family to connect with one another. Social interaction as we typically know it is on pause, and with everyone turning online to fulfill their need for human contact, social media has a wide opportunity (and a responsibility) to provide tools like this to its users. It is an unprecedented thing to have a global pandemic event during the age of social media, and it’s compelling to see how people, platforms, and businesses are learning how to manage it and where to take advantage of it.
Source article: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram-launches-new-co-watching-feature-to-help-users-connect-amid-covid/574790/
How Is the Coronavirus Outbreak Affecting Your Life?
By: Carmen Ling
Coronavirus is a life-threatening and deadly virus. A lot of people are getting affected by the coronavirus and losing their lives. This virus has changed everything about how people work, play, and learn. The structure of the economy has also been disturbed by this virus. The school has been closed, and people are asked to stay at home. On March 16, President Trump announced that schools would remain closed, that groups of 10 or more people would not be allowed to gather in the same place, and that bars and restaurants would remain closed. We need to maintain a social distance because the cure has not been invented yet. If we do not have any sickness, we still need to maintain social distance and stay at home because the virus is spreading through human touch, and it can be on anything. It is okay to go out of home and meet with the people, but with precautions. When you leave the house, wipe any contact surfaces, disinfect your hands with an alcohol-based disinfectant, and do not touch your face. Most importantly, wash your hands often!! It is hard to determine how long this social distancing will remain in place. Abdullah Shihipar, an expert, says that social distancing is necessary to suppress the spread of coronavirus and that it can contribute to better long-term health outcomes. Therefore, many Americans who have Covid-19, or who have been exposed to those who have it, require physical isolation. However, it is necessary to ensure that these measures do not create social and emotional isolation.
Facebook identified an initial response to the epidemic, including increased clarification of facts and elimination of false details, as well as updates of news feeds for users in relevant regions.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg described in an article on his personal Facebook profile a series of additional steps:
- Give as many free ads to WHO as you need to optimize your coronavirus response. He also said it offered “funding and millions of additional advertising costs” to other groups seeking to raise awareness of the area’s epidemic.
- Prevent humans from viewing advertisements that threaten to manipulate the situation.
- To help organizations better understand how the virus spreads, include anonymous Facebook data, including mobility data and population density maps.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/learning/how-is-the-coronavirus-outbreak-affecting-your-life.html
Esports Fills the Void for Traditional Sports
By: Francisco Valdivieso
The recent outbreak of the COVID-19 virus has impacted a lot of marketers and has caused cancellations of airline flights, sporting events, and even conferences. The sporting world has either postponed or canceled major competitive events for the time being.
The World Health Organization recommends that people stay home to prevent the faster spread of the virus. Due to the cancellation of sports, many of us have turned to binge-watching Netflix, Disney+, and Twitch. Esports and video game usage has also increased since the start of the pandemic.
The gaming industry stands to be one of the few sectors that could benefit from the coronavirus pandemic, despite losses triggered by disrupted conferences and esports tournaments, industry observers say.
Currently, all live sporting events are canceled for the time being, and they lack the availability to provide online content or services. Live esports events have been canceled and postponed, but they continue to offer their services online. Even though their in-house events have been canceled, they have been able to transition over to online platforms to host their major tournaments and events. Since esports was born online, the transition was not difficult for them. With the given circumstances, this could be a big step for esports, as it is gaining traction in the mainstream media because it is currently the only professional sport now in season, compared to traditional sports.
According to Steve McCaskill, “eSports has been another area of expansion because of the potential to attract youthful demographics, and recent versions of the officially licensed video game have emphasized online competition.”
One major sport that has been able to transition from traditional to online has been F1 Racing. Even though a majority of the races are on-hold, they have continued to provide services to their audience through hosting a live-in game race on the Formula 1 game.
Formula 1 is providing content for its viewers by including professional racers, celebrities, and professional gamers in competition in their online tournaments. Formula 1 drivers already have simulation rigs set up within their homes, and it was not a hard transition for them to switch over to online content.
The Virtual Grand Prix series has no conflicts with the current season, which they created as a fun distraction for its audience.
Reference:
Joint Forces Against Misinformation of COVID-19
We have all been victims of misinformation on different platforms online. This has led us either to trust the wrong information or not trust anything we read online. Social media platforms are taking measurements to make sure to prevent misinformation about COVID-19 and to stop advertisements of products with inflated prices. Some of the measures Facebook, Google, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter are taking are:
- Partnering with national health organizations, the CDC, and the WHO and directing users to their pages when they search for coronavirus to provide them with the latest information
- Banning ads selling ‘miracle cures’ or medical facemasks at inflated prices that exploit the crisis
- Banning posts and accounts that promote misinformation about the virus, fake or ineffective treatments, healthcare locations, etc.
- Providing users the means to ask questions about the virus and guidance on protecting themselves
- Providing NGOs and the WHO with free advertising to support public health campaigns
- Creating filters that are made with partnerships with recognized health organizations to promote accurate information, and encourage people to keep practicing social distancing
Along with these guidelines, some platforms have taken further measures to keep the issue under control. Google launched a website as a partnership with the US government, where people can see information and resources about the pandemic, prevention tips, map of areas affected by the outbreak, and links to health agencies. WhatsApp has launched a chatbot on the app to help users get accurate information in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish. Snapchat created a coronavirus-specific section in its mental health tool called Here for You to help users who are anxious about the pandemic. TikTok and Facebook have offered to donate money for the cause. As of March 23rd, TikTok will donate $10 million to the WHO’s Solidarity Response Fund, which provides essential supplies to frontline healthcare workers. Facebook created a $100 million grant program to assist 30,000 small businesses in 30 nations affected by the COVID-19.
Even though there have been good measures from online platforms, some have been criticized for not doing enough or for overstepping the line. For example, Reddit was criticized for not having an explicit policy against health misinformation. WeChat, the Chinese social media and messaging app, has widely censored coronavirus-related content and content criticizing the government’s handling of the crisis. This censorship was seen as a reflection of the political power as much as a misinformation angle.
It raises hope seeing all these major companies coming together to make sure we are all informed by the right sources and are not manipulated to believe certain things that might not be entirely true. It is in times like these where we all come together to protect each other and when we see which companies truly cares for their customers.
Sources:
Marketing Discussions @ Suffolk University 
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