Friday Social: Obama’s Facebook Page, Pinterest Image Search and #TacoEmojiEngine

  • Social Media

Our #FridaySocial is a weekly round-up of the key social media news stories from the previous seven days. Let us know your thoughts in the comments or via Twitter – @Umpf /@amybyard

President Obama gets his own Facebook page

After more than six years as President of the United States, Barack Obama has FINALLY made his ‘very own’ Facebook page, after joining Twitter earlier this year.

He said in his first post that he wants his page to be ‘a place for real conversations about the most important issues facing [the US] – a place where you can hear directly from [him], and share your own thoughts and stories. (You can expect some just-for-fun stuff, too.)’

He also shared a short video of him walking through the backyard of the White House while he encourages fans to take action on climate change.

Better late than never…

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Taco Bell celebrates the launch of the taco emoji with the #TacoEmojiEngine

Taco Bell created 600 unique gifs and images to celebrate the recent launch of the taco emoji. The #TacoEmojiEngine combines the new taco emoji with any other emoji that is tweeted to the account.

For example, people who tweet a picture of a taco emoji with another emoji at the brand’s account, for instance, will automatically be sent back a photo or GIF mashing up the two images. If you tweet a picture of a taco and smiley face, they will then receive an image of a taco wearing sunglasses. In another scenario, tweeting an image of a taco and a dancing lady sends back a GIF of a women kicking out tacos from a stage.

Pinterest allows image search

Pinterest has launched a new search function on mobile and desktop which allows users to click on an image within a photo so they can browse other, similar products.

For example, when users spot something on a Pin they want to learn more about, they can tap the search tool in the corner to select the part of the pin they’re interested in (e.g. a lamp within a lifestyle shot). Pinterest will then display other images just like it.

It’s mega-useful for finding out what products are called, and where you can buy them from.

Nice one, Pinterest!

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Google Hangouts gets an update

Google is rolling out updates to its web Google Hangouts interface. Video chats will now be ‘crisper’, load faster and render more sharply.  The interface will be more streamlined and immersive, so you can focus less on where to click, and more on what to say.

The buttons on the new interface (see below) are more subtle than previous versions – others in your conference chat are still at the bottom of your screen, too.

If you want to go back to the version of Hangouts you’re used to, visit https://g.co/hangouts or click the menu at the top right and choose “Original version.”

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Snapchat triples daily views

Snapchat has announced it receives a whopping six billion daily views, which is triple the traffic it got in May. The app is fast catching up with Facebook, which counts about eight billion views per day on desktop and mobile. Snapchat’s audience — though smaller in size overall — is entirely made up of smartphone users.

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