Roku is partnering with Adobe to integrate its Roku Data Cloud with Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform (CDP) for a new real-time advertising data platform. The idea is to allow advertisers to access more in-depth insights that can potentially be used to launch “more personalized and performant advertising” while prioritizing privacy, according to Roku. “This integration will unlock the opportunity for traditional performance marketers — like search and social buyers — to plan, activate, and measure campaigns on Roku,” said Miles Fisher, the streamer’s senior director of strategic advertising partnerships. Continue reading Roku Teams Up with Adobe on a Real-Time Ad Data Platform

Meta Platforms has introduced a new Instagram Reels feature called Blend that lets users customize a video feed for themselves and friends. The invite-only Blends can be built for a single friend or within a group chat. Once created, the feed is refreshed each day with new content, with all members able to add material. The idea is to let friends explore and discover content together while adding a new interactive element that harkens back to social media’s roots, cutting through the recent trend of viral influencer content and ads. Earlier this year it was reported that the new feature was being developed. Continue reading Meta Brings ‘Blend’ Custom Video Feed Feature to Instagram

Instant messaging and VoIP social platform Discord is experimenting with a feature that requires some users to verify their age by scanning their face or a photo ID. The technique is being implemented in Australia and the United Kingdom, where recently passed laws seek to crack down on minors accessing potentially harmful online content. The safeguard applies only to users who haven’t previously verified their age on the chat platform. Discord says age verification aims “to help users manage content filter settings and sensitive content visibility,” explaining it is a one-time process that can be completed when users first adjust their settings. Continue reading Discord Testing Facial Scans to Verify Age in UK and Australia

OpenAI is working to build a social network that will compete against Elon Musk’s X and Meta’s Instagram, reports say. Though still in the early stages, the project is revolving around an internal prototype that is said to involve a social feed that leverages ChatGPT’s image generator. It’s unclear if an OpenAI social app would be standalone or integrated with ChatGPT, but either way it would most likely heighten the competition between rivals Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who recently fended off an unsolicited offer by Musk to purchase his company for $97.4 billion. Continue reading OpenAI Reportedly Has Prototype for Its Own Social Network

Neptune is a new social video app aiming to compete in the short-form space against stalwarts like TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels. Currently in beta with a test base of about 1,000 users, Neptune has amassed a waitlist of 400,000, according to the company. The app’s noteworthy features include the ability to hide likes and follower counts, in furtherance of a desire to prioritize creativity over competition. That goal stems from founder Ashley Darling’s past experience working as a talent director at the beauty and wellness agency OPTYX, where her focus was “underestimated influencers.” Continue reading TikTok Challenger Neptune Lets Users Hide Likes, Followers

ByteDance is testing TikTok for Artists, a free feature performers can use to manage music and mesh with fans. Aimed at generating exposure and building engagement, the feature also provides analytics — from fan insights to performance metrics and trend reports. The Artists platform is now being tested in Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and New Zealand. Though the U.S. deadline for ByteDance to remove TikTok from Chinese control was extended by 75 days (a second time) from April 5 to June 19, the social media app’s future here is more uncertain than ever. Continue reading ByteDance Tests TikTok for Artists with Its U.S. Fate in Limbo

Vimeo is launching Vimeo Streaming, a turnkey platform that allows businesses, creators, and just about anyone to create and monetize their own branded streaming service. The announcement was timed to the 2025 NAB Show. Vimeo suggests the new offering — described as “a technological leap forward for content and media businesses” — is the next generation of its existing over-the-top product that is already helping creators earn $429 million per month. The approach is similar to YouTube with more design flexibility and brand control, but living on the Web, outside the cozy confines of social media with its built-in audiences. Continue reading Vimeo Streaming Helps Creators Build Subscription Platforms

The QVC Group has launched TikTok U.S.’s first 24/7 live third-party social shopping stream with a berth on TikTok Shop. The move builds on QVC’s existing presence on TikTok Shop, a tab within the TikTok app where it debuted in August 2024. QVC, which launched in 1986 as the Quality Value Channel, built its business around live cable TV shopping but has seen the sector contract due to cord cutting. QVC Group CEO David Rawlinson is tasked with reinventing the network by engaging younger shoppers through social media. QVC Group is a subsidiary of John Malone’s Liberty Media. Continue reading QVC First with Live 24/7 Branded Shopping Stream on TikTok

Just prior to the start of the weekend, Elon Musk announced that his artificial intelligence company xAI is acquiring his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) “in an all-stock transaction,” valuing xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion ($45 billion less $12 billion in debt). The merger has the potential to create a powerful GenAI-powered content platform. The billionaire purchased Twitter in late 2022 for $44 billion, following months of legal skirmishes. According to Musk, X currently touts more than 600 million active users, while “xAI has rapidly become one of the leading AI labs in the world, building models and data centers at unprecedented speed and scale.” Continue reading Elon Musk Announces xAI Corporation Will Purchase X Social

Tech firm Infinite Reality — which specializes in AI-powered 3D immersive experiences — has agreed to pay $207 million for Napster, the 26-year-old music streaming service. The sellers are crypto investment firm Hivemind Capital Partners and blockchain firm Algorand, that acquired the platform in 2022. Infinite Reality is privately held, listing among its investors Liberty Media, Live Nation, MGM, T-Mobile and Barry Diller’s IAC. The company plans to steer Napster to superfan experiences, making it “more immersive, more social, and more shoppable.” Napster CEO Jon Vlassopulos, former global music chief at Roblox, will continue in his current post. Continue reading Infinite Reality Agrees to Acquire Napster in $207 Million Deal

Search firm Perplexity AI has renewed its push to acquire TikTok, outlining its vision for “Rebuilding TikTok in America.” As ByteDance approaches its extended deadline of April 5 to sell TikTok or see it banned here in the U.S., Oracle and its cohort of investors have emerged the frontrunners. While the three-year-old Perplexity is a longshot — with observers saying it does not have the cash on hand to purchase the social powerhouse — with deep-pocketed investors including Nvidia, Databricks and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, it likely has access to funding should its offer be accepted. Continue reading Perplexity AI Outlines Pitch to Acquire TikTok, Rebuild for U.S.

A new Discord Social SDK allows developers to integrate the platform in-app for games. Discord is massively popular with gamers; the company estimates PC players alone spend more than 1.5 billion hours each month on the platform. This free SDK can extend the user experience beyond the third-party content in which it becomes embedded to reach the platform’s community of over 200 million monthly active users. “Developers can power friends lists, cross-platform messaging, voice and more for all players — with or without a Discord account,” the company announced. Continue reading New Discord Social SDK Integrates Platform In-App for Games

Snap has marked the six-month anniversary of its fifth generation Spectacles by showcasing new geo-location features that developers can start using now, and previewing what an all-day AR experience might be like, though that capability is not here yet. The latest Spectacles — introduced September 2024 and described as “still very much a developer kit” — have only 45 minutes of standalone battery power. But Snap has made immediately available for developers a swathe of geo-location data for better outdoor AR experiences, showcasing the integrations with gear from Utopia Labs. Continue reading Snap Updates Geo Data for Spectacles, Previews All-Day AR

TikTok has rolled out a Security Checkup tool designed to help users secure their accounts. Security settings can now be reviewed and updated from a single screen, similar to security dashboards used by Google and Instagram. A step-by-step guide to the new feature encourages users to make their accounts safer by enabling more security features. The social media platform owned by China-based ByteDance is in the final days of a 75-day extension allowing it to continue U.S. operations after Congress deemed it a national security threat and enacted legislation requiring it to be sold or banned by January 15. Continue reading TikTok Adds Security Checkup to Help Users Secure Accounts

Warner Bros. Discovery is updating its Discovery+ technology to offer expanded streaming features, initially for subscribers in the U.S. and Canada. As the service migrates to the same technical platform and infrastructure that powers WBD’s Max service globally, customers will gain features including more personalized recommendations, improved homepage and navigation, better in-app discovery and a mobile “share” to social media, among other things. “A singular unified platform has been central to our technology strategy, and this marks a major milestone in that journey,” WBD CTO Avi Saxena said of the change. Continue reading WBD Updates Discovery+ Tech Stack and Adds New Features