Sunday Rundown #53 - Up and Downvotes on FB

Only thing I have to recommend you to do before starting with Sunday Rundown #53 – make yourself a nice cup of coffee or tea 😉

Facebook experiments with voting options for comments

Facebook appears to be returning to its test of up and downvotes on user comments. In detail, the new option, appearing in some groups, labels the up and down arrows with ‘Yes” or ‘No’. These are in response to the question: “Is this comment valuable to members of the group?”

Will it be used as Facebook says, as a means to highlight valuable comments to group members, or will we see people simply using them as ‘approve’ and ‘disapprove’, or ‘agree’ and ‘disagree’ options, as they are used on Reddit?

Instagram redesigns its home screen for the first time in years

Instagram is making major design changes to its home screen for the first time in years. To explain, Instagram is adding Reels and Shop tabs to its home screen, a communication of the company’s priorities.

The Reels tab will, of course, lead users to Reels, shortform videos similar to TikTok. Finally, the Shop tab will surface personalized recommendations, editors’ picks curated by the @shop channel, shoppable videos, and new product collections. Both tabs make it easier for people to find what they want on the platform and go there immediately.

TikTok strikes new licensing agreement with Sony Music

TikTok has signed a new licensing agreement with Sony Music Entertainment (SME). The agreement will allow the short-form video app to continue to offer songs from Sony Music artists for use by creators on its platform. Moreover, the agreement will also see the companies partnering on efforts to promote Sony artists, TikTok said.

Deal terms were not specified. But the expanded agreement will give TikTok’s creator community access to sound clips from Sony Music’s catalogue. In detail, the catalogue includes current hits, new releases, emerging favourites, iconic classics and deep cuts.

Without going into details, the company also said it would work with Sony to support “greater levels of TikTok user personalization and creativity” and “drive new and forward-looking opportunities for fan engagement with SME’s artists and music.”

This could indicate the companies may together work on promotional efforts that extend beyond just featuring Sony’s music clips — perhaps, something like hashtag campaigns or branded effects that will enable better music discovery or fan connections.

Spotify hints at subscription podcast service

Spotify might be launching a subscription podcast service that would offer access to original shows or exclusive episodes for a monthly fee. The potential service was described in a survey sent out through Spotify’s app. The survey describes at least four possible subscription podcast plans, ranging from $3 to $8 per month.

The cheapest plan would include “access to exclusive interviews and episodes,” but would still include ads. The most expensive plan would include access to “high quality original content,” early access to some episodes, and no platform-inserted ads. Nevertheless, none of these plans would include access to Spotify’s premium music subscription.

Apple will include ‘nutrition labels’ for app privacy

Last news on our Sunday Rundown #53. Apple has announced that developers will be required to provide new privacy details to users in the App Store starting December 8. These privacy “nutrition labels” were first introduced at WWDC over the summer, with Apple saying the goal is to better inform consumers of the privacy practices of individual applications.

A transparent overview of an app’s privacy practices is key to building trust with potential users. Developers now have the opportunity to detail their app’s privacy practices right in the App Store for users to review, including the types of data the apps might collect, whether that data is shared with third parties, and the option for users to opt out.
APP PRIVACY QUESTIONS AVAILABLE IN APP STORE CONNECT – APPLE DEVELOPER

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Sunday Rundown #53 – Up and Downvotes on FB