Everything is Made Up and the Search Ads Don't Matter

Today's News

• 🛍️ Holiday Shoppers Find Deals Beyond Search

• 📈 ByteDance's Lemon8 Surges in US App Store

• 📹 TikTok Tests "Delete and Re-Edit" Feature

• 🤖 Meta to Use UK Posts for AI Training After All

• 📦 Hard Drives from the 1990s Are Failing

🛍️ Holiday Shoppers Find Deals Beyond Search

Consumers are no longer relying on search engines to find special offers online and in stores.

Instead, 44% of American consumers now say they discover deals through in-store advertising or ads on the retailer’s own web site. This number jumps to 51% in the UK.

The study by Coveo Research also found that email is still a popular way to find deals, with 36% of consumers turning to their online inboxes.

Ad Spend May Shift

This shift in discovery, of course, could impact where we digital advertisers spend our money this holiday season.

With 59% of shoppers planning to cut everyday purchases to prioritize gifting budgets, advertisers may focus on platforms like Instagram, where 35% of survey respondents say they find deals.

Gen Z and Millennials are the most likely to discover deals on social media, at 65% and 50% respectively.

Spontaneous Buys on the Rise

Spontaneous purchases are on the rise, with 45% of consumers citing fashion, shoes, and apparel as the top online impulse buy.

However, these buys can come with a cost for marketers, as high return rates force retailers to extend return reimbursement time frames. To encourage consumers to spend more, the study authors recommend retailers offer free shipping, special offers, and personalized recommendations.

📈 ByteDance's Lemon8 Surges in US App Store

As TikTok heads to court to argue against a US ban, its parent company ByteDance is pushing its newer social app, Lemon8, to the top of the US App Store.

The app, described as a cross between Pinterest and Instagram, has seen a surge in downloads due to increased advertising. This move appears to be a backup plan in case TikTok is removed from the US market or divested from its Chinese parent company.

Aggressive Advertising

To achieve its latest ranking, ByteDance has invested in a massive ad campaign:

• An Apple Search Ads campaign, using 5,300 keywords in the past week alone.

• Ads for Lemon8 on TikTok

• Many TikTok creators promoting the app on their profiles, often without disclosing if they are being paid to do so.

Downloads on the Rise

According to Appfigures, Lemon8 received 78,000 estimated downloads on Saturday, a 44% increase from its average over the last few weeks. The app has seen 16 million global downloads this year, with 6.4 million coming from the US.

📹 TikTok Tests "Delete and Re-Edit" Feature

TikTok is testing a new feature that allows users to start over with their in-app video projects by removing all edits and re-creating their clips.

The "Delete and Re-Edit" option, currently in testing, would undo any edits made to videos within the app after the video had been posted.

Limitations Apply

The feature only applies to edits made within TikTok, not those made in third-party apps like CapCut.

However, for users who edit and create their clips entirely within the app, this feature could be a game-changer. It would allow them to easily re-do their clips if they come up with a better idea or want to try a different approach.

Simplifying Editing

While users can already delete and start again if they have the original video in their camera roll, this feature would make it easier for those who work entirely within the app.

TikTok has not yet announced a rollout date for the feature, but it could be a valuable update for users who primarily edit and create their clips within the app.

🤖 Meta to Use UK Posts for AI Training After All

Meta will start using UK Facebook and Instagram users' public posts to train its AI systems.

The plan was put on hold three months ago due to concerns from UK data privacy regulators.

Changes Made

Meta says it’s made changes to its plan to address those concerns.

• It will make it easier for users to object to having their data used and give them more time to do so.

• That option simply doesn’t exist at all outside the U.K. and Europe.

• The company says it will also display objection forms more prominently on Facebook and Instagram.

Regulatory Oversight

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) will be watching closely to ensure Meta follows the law.

The ICO has not given regulatory approval for the plan, and it's up to Meta to demonstrate ongoing compliance.

Rollout Plans

UK users will start seeing in-app alerts about the model training next week. They will also be given information on how to prevent their data from being processed.

The actual AI model training will begin in the next few months.

Meta says this will help its AI models reflect British culture and allow UK companies to use the latest technology.

📦 Hard Drives from the 1990s Are Failing

Heads up, companies with old backups — storage company Iron Mountain says about one-fifth of the hard drives it stores from the 1990s are completely unreadable.

This is particularly a big problem for the music industry, which relies on these archives to store and protect its valuable content.

The Problem is Widespread

Musicians and studios are finding that even when they store their hard drives at industry-standard temperatures and humidity, they can still fail. There's often no way to recover the data, leaving the content lost forever.

• Formats: The problem isn't limited to hard drives - other storage formats like optical media, magnetic media, and flash storage can also fail over time.

• Industries: And it’s not limited to the music industry — any company that has archives on hard disks from the 90s are now said to be at risk.

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