Month: June 2018

Twitter giveth, and Twitter taketh away–quite abruptly, in the case of the latter. The social network announced in a Twitter Safety blog post that it acquired Smyte, a San Francisco-based technology company that specializes in safety, spam and security issues. However, existing Smyte clients–which include Indiegogo, GoFundMe, npm, Musical.ly, TaskRabbit, Meetup, OLX, ThredUp, YouNow, 99designs,…

YouTube used VidCon in Anaheim, Calif., this week to reveal several new monetization options for creators on its platform. Chief product officer Neal Mohan said in a blog post that the Google-owned video site now has more than 1.9 billion logged-in monthly users, along with localized versions in 90 countries and 80 languages. Mohan added…

CANNES, France–Madonna Badger stepped on stage wearing black at the Cannes Lions closing awards show Friday night and delivered a stirring speech that summed up several recent movements to lift up women in an industry and world that has often held them back. “Yes, she is equal, and yes we are definitely women not objects,”…

CANNES, France–Google CMO Lorraine Twohill is only the second woman in 25 years to accept the Creative Marketer of the Year award at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. She closed her winning speech, where she noted that Google is “not an easy client” and that the company doesn’t give its agencies “easy briefs,” by…

A bill that aims to strengthen online privacy laws for consumers in California could replace a potential November ballot initiative backed by privacy advocates and opposed by the tech industry. Today, state lawmakers introduced the California Data Privacy Protection Act, which would allow consumers to know what information companies collect from them while also giving…

Facebook revealed several new features for its Messenger Kids application, as well as two more countries where it is available: Canada and Peru (both iOS and Android). The social network introduced Messenger Kids last December, giving children access to features of its flagship messaging app, but with full parental control. Product management director Loren Cheng…

CANNES, France–Procter & Gamble began the year by invading the Super Bowl with the inescapable “It’s a Tide Ad” campaign, and now the CPG giant has successfully conquered the Cannes Lions. Two P&G spots, “It’s a Tide Ad” from Saatchi & Saatchi New York and “The Talk” from BBDO New York, shared the top spot…

The National Basketball Association was top-of-mind on Twitter Thursday night, as fans reacted to the 2018 NBA Draft. Twitter said the three most-tweeted moments of the night were: The New York Knicks draft Kevin Knox with the ninth overall selection. The Cleveland Cavaliers choose Collin Sexton at No. 8. The Atlanta Hawks trade No. 5…

Unilever’s CMO Keith Weed has called time on follower fraud in the influencer community, stating that the world’s second biggest marketer will no longer invest in influencers that have fake followers. Weed was on stage at Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity this week, speaking about how influencer marketing has experienced staggering growth over the past…

Time Magazine is standing by its cover of this week’s issue, a photo illustration showing President Trump looking down at a crying Honduran girl as a border patrol agent searches her mother. The photo has gone viral after Getty Images photographer John Moore snapped the scene. The picture has been used in coverage of the…