media update’s Christine Gerber looks into these new developments and why they’re important.
Tinder Loops
The news: Dating app Tinder has recently announced the launch of its new video feature, Tinder Loops.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the app, Tinder is a location-based dating app that allows you to create a profile and then find local dates by choosing to either swipe left or right on other profiles to either accept or decline the match.
In other words, if you don’t like what you see, you can swipe left on your phone and the next profile will be revealed. If you swipe right, it means you ‘like’ the person and you will now be able to chat to them on the app. Now, you'll now be able to view profiles in a whole new dimension with Tinder Loops.
Here’s how it works: Tinder Loops produces videos that loop in a circle (as in, plays over and over again for two seconds) on someone else’s profile.
Image sourced from TechCrunch
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to film any of these videos directly from the app. You’ll have to go into your video and pictures folder on your mobile and upload them onto the app from there.
Why it matters: The trend of looping videos is ever-popular with brands, considering the launch of Instagram’s Boomerang app in 2015. The purpose of these videos is to create a fun and more immersive experience for users.
Looping videos are a great way for brands to promote new products or tell brand stories. They can even showcase their brand’s personality by taking some Boomerang’s of their employees and posting it on social media.
Visual storytelling is also the prefered route to go when creating content for your brand – especially considering how shareable they are. As ClickZ writer Mike O’ Brian says, “Boomerang may give marketers the opportunity to extend their reach in a way they maybe couldn’t with traditional static photos.”
Snapchat's new 'Eagle' feature
The news: According to TechCrunch, Snapchat has unveiled a new product search feature called ‘Eagle’ that allows you to find Amazon products by scanning barcodes and objects.
Image sourced from TechCrunch
How it works: It appears that you would have to visually scan barcodes or objects with your camera on the app to see if they’re available on Amazon.
TechCrunch compares the feature to Pinterest’s Lens, which identifies objects with your mobile camera and then shows you items that are related to your scan.
Pinterest's Lens feature
Although it is yet to be revealed exactly how Eagle will work,
the code reveals that you’ll be able to view ‘sellers’ and ‘reviews,’ ‘copy the URL’ of products and ‘share’ or ‘send products’ to other users – it can be assumed that you would be sharing these products on Snapchat Stories or by sending a message on Snapchat.
Why it matters: The new Eagle feature is a good way for Snapchat to get other companies to pay the app to advertise their products, which brings in a good stream of revenue.
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*Image courtesy of Vecteezy