HOT eCommerce news: end of likes on Instagram, FB launches voice assistant, Pinterest IPO

Hot eCommerce news is a list of important events that every progressive online-store owner should be aware of. We would appreciate if you will find 5 minutes for reading them and share them with the world.

Instagram hides likes

Instagram is testing a user interface where the number of “Likes” that posts get are hidden. As there have been tests proving that the number of likes people receive could affect mental health, social media companies have been testing interfaces where the number of followers and the number of likes users have are hidden.

The user who posts the image would still be able to see how many likes a post receives, other users would not be able to see the exact count.

“We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get. During this test, only the person who shares a post will see the total number of likes it gets,” says Instagram in a pop-up message about the feature test.

So, I think that it's a good idea that should be tested. As being the user of Instagram I see that the number of my friend log in to Instagram to post content and waiting how much likes it will have. It could be great content, but if it collects less than 50 likes they can delete it. People became addictive to likes more and more.

source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2019/04/21/

Also, I found out that the number of online-store owners is beginning to panic. But there is no reason to do it. The Instagram ranking system will consider the frequency of your communication with the followers. Post quality content, communicate with your target audience via the advertising so that you will have great results.

Facebook voice assistant

Facebook has confirmed with The Verge that it is building a digital voice assistant — which would be potentially used for its Portal and Oculus devices following a report about the upcoming product by CNBC. The voice assistant would function similarly to Apple Siri and Google Assistant.

"We are working to develop voice and AI assistant technologies that may work across our family of AR/VR [augmented reality/virtual reality] products including Portal, Oculus and future products," said a Facebook spokesperson via The Verge.

Facebook’s director of AR/VR and Facebook Assistant Ira Snyder is reportedly overseeing the development of the digital assistant with a team in Redmond, Washington.

1.5 Million Email Addresses Uploaded Unintentionally Are Now Being Deleted

Facebook’s reputation has taken another hit after it was discovered that the company “unintentionally uploaded” the email contacts of 1.5 million users without their permission after signing up for new accounts since May 2016. The contacts were not shared and it is being deleted.

"We’ve fixed the underlying issue and are notifying people whose contacts were imported. People can also review and manage contacts they share with Facebook in their settings," said a Facebook spokesperson via NBC following a report by Business Insider.

The reason Facebook implemented this system is that it used to have a step in the account verification where users had the option to confirm their email address and import their email contacts to find out which of their contacts are using Facebook in order to add them as friends. And it was also used for improving ads.

source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2019/04/21/

Pinterest IPO

source: www.marketwatch.com

Image-based social network Pinterest went public this past week and the price of its shares soared on the first day of trading. The stock priced closed at more than $24 — which was up nearly 30% from the $19 offering price. Through the IPO, Pinterest raised more than $1.4 billion and hit a market valuation of over $15 billion.

In its prospectus, Pinterest points out that it is in the “early stages” of building an advertising strategy that aligns users and brands. What distinguishes Pinterest from other social media platforms is that its users tend to embrace brand advertising rather than actively trying to avoid it. Some of the most popular categories on Pinterest include fashion and home decorations.

However, Pinterest is not yet profitable. Pinterest saw a net loss of $63 million on revenue of $756 million.

source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2019/04/21/

So, make the right conclusions and be in touch with us :) We are always in the process of preparing fresh e-commerce news for you.