Sunday Rundown #23 – Apple & Google vs. COVID-19

It’s a nice evening for Sunday Rundown #23 🙂 Ready?

NEWS RELATED TO COVID-19

Apple and Google vs. COVID-19

Apple and Google’s engineering teams have banded together to create a decentralized contact tracing tool. This tool will help individuals determine whether they have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. It is a useful tool that helps public health authorities track the spread of the disease. With that information, they can contact potentially exposed people so that they can get tested. 

Facebook will alert users if they have come in contact with ‘harmful misinformation’ about COVID-19

Facebook announced its latest step in its effort to combat the spread of misinformation around the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Chief among them is a new message targeting users who have commented on, reacted to or liked misinformation about COVID-19. The social network will pop up a message from the WHO with an option to share the link. Alternatively, they can visit the WHO’s COVID-19 debunk site.

The role of social in COVID-19

If this period has taught us anything it’s that people want to help however they can. And brands are doing the same. However, numerous brands are finding it difficult to figure out how they fit into the new routine that we’ve all been forced to accept. We Are Social has a list of best practices for brands on social media at this time. They delved into case studies to discover how communities are behaving and, most importantly, how they’re helping.

Capt Tom Moore’s NHS fundraiser hits £17m

Captain Tom Moore originally aimed to raise just £1,000 for NHS Charities Together by completing laps of his garden before his 100th birthday. But he has smashed his target after nearly 800,000 people made donations to his fundraising page. As he finished the challenge, he said: “I feel fine, I hope you are all feeling fine too.”

NEWS NOT RELATED TO COVID-19

Facebook messaging app for couples

During a time of social distancing — where every couple is seemingly long distance unless they live together — Facebook launched an app for couples called Tuned. It is an online scrapbook-like app for the couple’s eyes only. Partners can connect their Spotify accounts, set moods, send photos and postcards and voice memos, and play around with stickers and reactions. 

Instagram puts creators as the focus of its redesigned IGTV

Instagram has updated its IGTV app, likely in the hopes of getting more people to use the service and promote creators making longform videos. They have completely redesigned the homepage to feature a creator up top, tailored to each user based on who they follow and whose content the app thinks might be interesting to them. The app also got a Discover tab to surface new and relevant IGTV content as well as a hands-free recording mode.

Video creation is fast, easy and free with YouTube Video Builder

Given the current environment, many businesses are shifting how they’re communicating and interacting with their customers and are turning to videos to make and maintain connections. For businesses who don’t have resources to create videos from scratch, Video Builder is a free beta tool that animates static assets — images, text and logos — with music from the YouTube library. You can choose from a variety of layouts based on your message and goals, customize colours and font and quickly generate a short YouTube video (6 seconds or 15 seconds). 

Microsoft Edge vs. Mozilla Firefox

It was probably just a matter of time, but the thing so many people, including everyone at Microsoft, expected finally happened: Microsoft Edge surpassed Mozilla Firefox to become the world’s second most-used desktop browser. Data provided by market analysis firm NetMarketShare reveals that the whole thing happened in March, when the adoption of the Chromium-powered Microsoft Edge improved to a level that allowed it to overtake Mozilla’s own browser. So right now, Microsoft Edge is the second most-used desktop browser on the planet with a share of 7.59%, while Mozilla Firefox is now third with 7.19%.

‘Zoombombing’ is a horrifying new trend

Last news on our Sunday Rundown #23 is a scary one.

The FBI has warned against a horrifying new trend on the rise amid coronavirus-related social distancing: “Zoombombing.” Users of the videoconferencing platform Zoom are reporting that their meetings are being taken over by outside actors who often project racist or otherwise hateful imagery onscreen or spew abuse to users in the video chat. Worse, these hijackers are targeting communities like schools and universities, organizing efforts, and Alcoholics Anonymous.

The FBI has recommendations for making your Zooming more secure, including:

• Do not make meetings or classrooms public.
• Do not share a link to a teleconference or classroom on a publicly available social media post.
• Manage screen-sharing options.
• Make sure that users are using the updated version of remote access/meeting applications.

Bonus links

• How COVID-19 Has Impacted Media Consumption, by Generation [Infographic]
• Twitter Publishes New Research on What Consumers Want to See from Brands During COVID-19
• YouTube is rolling out video chapters to help you skip to the parts that matter
• In a self-isolated world, developers are learning to make games from home

Thanks for taking the time to read our Sunday Rundown #23. If you have a story that you want to see in this series, reply to us below or contact us.