August 19, 2016
While the games of the 31st Olympiad continued to dominate world news and social media this week, there were a few other stories that caught our attention. Following are just a handful of our favorite non-Olympic happenings – and mishaps:
- Something New on the Political Menu – Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has a new campaign cooking. The Democratic nominee has launched Chefs for Hillary, a food-focused initiative in which celebrity chefs share recipes they’ve developed for her campaign. The first round of patriotic-inspired eats, which are available on Pinterest, include dishes from the country’s top chefs including Mario Batali‘s signature grilled swordfish; Dominique Ansel‘s democratic (blue)berry cookies, and Katie Lee‘s patriotic penne pie. The campaign also encourages voters to show “Team Hillary” pride by sharing their own recipes using #ChefsForHillary.
- This Just Pin…er…In – Image-first platform Pinterest has made a big move into video. On Wednesday, the company launched Promoted Video, allowing users to access full auto-play video with sound, and brands to display up to six Buyable Pins beneath each video as it plays. According to Pinterest, video will now be a “core part” of the user experience.
- On No She Didn’t! – When writing social content/graphics, it’s probably a good idea to first ask, “is there any possibility someone could be offended by this?” This week, TV personality Ellen DeGeneres uncharacteristically found herself at the center of racial backlash when she tweeted a Photoshopped meme of herself piggybacking on Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt with the caption, “This is how I’m running errands from now on.”
- Stick ‘Em Up! – Following the June launch of its new ‘Stickers’ tool, which enables users to attach customizable, emoji-like pictures to their photos, Twitter announced Monday the introduction of Promoted Stickers. This expansion allows brands to create and promote custom stickers as a way to engage with fans. Pepsi will be the launch partner for Promoted Stickers, sharing some 50 custom stickers across 10 markets as part of its “PepsiMoji” campaign.
- Pikachu Piques (Even) More Interest – As the Pokemon GO craze continues, an increasing number of city leaders want in on the action. Since the game entices users outside to engage in their community, it could prove an ideal medium to encourage even more civic interactions – everything from promoting local landmarks to reporting graffiti or broken street lights.
