1. Eye Gaze In Ads Affects Creative Performance (MediaPost)

A study shows the direction of an eye gaze in the initial few seconds of a video ad may influence performance metrics. The study is based on a review of 1.1 million digital ads appearing between January 2018 and December 2020 on social media platforms. It shows how changes in eye gazing may affect click-through rates, view rates, and ad spend return.

2. Facebook Owner Is Behind $60M Deal For Meta Name Rights (Reuters)

The owner of the social media network Facebook, Meta Platforms Inc., is behind a $60 million deal to buy the trademark assets of US regional bank Meta Financial Group. The deal shows how significant the Meta name has become for the technology giant, which is banking that its focus on the metaverse will pay off handsomely in the future years.

3. Apple Closes In On $3T Market Value (Reuters)

On Monday, Apple Inc’s market value was just shy of $3 trillion, continuing a spectacular surge over the last decade that has transformed it into the world’s most valuable business. The stock must reach $182.86 in order to achieve $3 trillion in market value, but it was down around 1% in afternoon trade after reaching a new high earlier in the day.

4. Fox Acquires TV Movie Producer MarVista Entertainment (Variety)

MarVista Entertainment, a firm that specializes in digital platform production, has been bought by Fox Entertainment. The acquisition is for diversifying the firm’s content portfolio, with a focus on Tubi, the ad-supported streaming service that Fox Corporation purchased for $440 million in 2020. The deal is said to be worth more than $100 million.

5. Firefox Offering New Universal Opt-Out Tool (MediaPost)

The “Global Privacy Control” tool in the latest version of Mozilla’s Firefox browser allows users to opt out of the sale or transfer of their data on a global basis, rather than opting out site-by-site. Firefox began testing this tool in late October that sends a “do-not-sell” signal to all websites users visit — but only if they choose to enable it.

6. WhatsApp Will Hide Your Last Seen Status From Strangers (CNET)

WhatsApp has changed its Last Seen feature and it no longer displays for unknown contacts by default. Previously, to hide your activity from unknown users you had to manually change the Last Seen settings to “My Contacts.” Now, it will only show your status to your contacts. This also implies that third-party apps will not be able to track your status.

7. Instagram Launches Reels Visual Replies, Copied From TikTok (TheVerge)

Instagram added a new feature to Reels to add a user comment to a video. If a user comments on your reel, you can hit the “reply” button to add a sticker, which you can move about or change color. The feature is very similar to how TikTok allows you to perform video replies, as Twitter users pointed out in the comments of Instagram’s introduction post.

Samien Kidwai

Hailing from an academic background, I have been an Assistant Professor in Mass Communication with an additional decade of experience in creative writing. I’m passionate about music and theatre with an inclination towards movies. Being an avid reader, I love to scribble my thoughts and ideas when I’m not running behind my 8 year old daughter.