OMD FWD w/c 30th October
Hello and welcome to our Halloween 🎃 issue of FWD! This week, iPhone X pre-orders are off the charts, and Facebook Workplace, an ad-free platform version of Facebook for the office, is set to crush Slack. Facebook also launches a screen-sharing feature into Live videos, opening possibilities in the gaming space, and denies eavesdropping on users’ conversations to target advertisements.
Into Stranger Things, Snapchat’s 3D World Lenses lets users access the experience by physically walking into an AR portal door and eBay launches computer vision search tools to find items using photos. If you follow the latest mobile apps, you will know HQ, a viral trivia sensation, that looks like the future of mobile gaming and live TV. Lastly, Amex and Acxiom create a prediction engine based on purchase data that can successfuly predict fraud.
Is it Man? Machine? Or Monster? Get spooked 👻 with these terrifying horror stories generated by an AI.
HEADLINES
- Facebook launches screen sharing into its Live video, opening up a wealth of potential in the gaming space, in a week when it’s continued to deny that it’s listening to your conversations to garner targeting information
- Facebook are also touting the strong adoption of Workplace as it looks to draw users from Slack
- UK Ad viewability reaches an 18-month high
- Reports suggest Apple’s iPhone X (US) pre-orders are very healthy
INSIGHTS
- The Guardian have persuaded 800K readers to pay for their content without a paywall as Facebook allows 10 publishers to test subscription models on Instant Articles
- Mobile devices are going to account for a third of online Christmas orders
- Acxiom and Amex are building a prediction engine based on purchase data
COOL
- Snapchat launched their first World Lens for the Netflix Series ‘Stranger Things 2’
- Viral trivia app HQ is causing a stir and has people touting it as the future of both mobile gaming and live TV
- eBay launches visual search integration
DEEP READS
- Benedict Evans postures Facebook role in culture as the same as an ‘haute couture’ fashion house’s on fashion. Less shaping public style and more reflective of it. Fave line: “Social is pop culture”
- Why AlphaGo Zero is so impressive and what it means for machine learning
- According to The Economist we are entering a more grown-up era of tech that will see Silicon Valley companies needing to lean into existing political power structures to protect their interests. Conversely the AI ‘industry’ is already applying pressure to ensure it remains un-shackled from regulation.
If you see anything of FWD worthy in the week ahead, please share using #OMDFWD