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Instagram is officially rolling out “trial reels” to give creators a way to test out new content by publishing videos that don’t appear to their followers. The feature, which launched in testing in May, allows creators to experiment with new ideas and see what performs best without having to worry about how their followers may react.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/10/instagram-rolls-out-trial-reels-that-arent-shown-to-a-creators-followers/
There’s a new connected fitness device in town and it’s called Growl. Inspired by hardware companies like Peloton and Tonal, Growl is building a boxing bag that you can attach to your wall at home. Users can then start immersive, gamified boxing classes from the comfort of their home.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/04/growl-is-building-the-peloton-of-boxing/
“The nature of fame has changed dramatically. Some of our most successful talent are digitally native creators who aren’t famous in the traditional sense, but have an extremely engaged fan base,” said Cameo CEO Steven Galanis, in a blog post announcing the service’s official launch. “The amount of fame in the world is exponentially increasing as new stars are being minted overnight on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, SoundCloud, and YouTube. Whether you’re famous, infamous or emerging, there is a place for you on Cameo,” he added.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/03/celeb-greetings-app-cameo-pivots-to-creators/
According to Oxford University Press, which publishes the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the term “brain rot” is defined as the “supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state” as it relates to overdosing on online content without much of a narrative — like TikTok videos.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/02/brain-rot-wins-as-oxfords-word-of-the-year/
But at times, you mindlessly unlock your phone as a force of habit to eventually do nothing or scroll timelines. To get rid of the habit, Ukrainian developer Yaroslav Neznaradko has built an Android app called Intenty, which nudges you to provide a reason or do an action like breathing or stretching every time you unlock the phone.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/28/intenty-will-nudge-you-to-provide-a-reason-every-time-you-unlock-your-phone/
App developers now have a new way to promote their app launches, updates, and other new features on Apple’s App Store. First announced at the company’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June, Apple this week introduced a “Featuring Nominations” option in App Store Connect, which is the service developers use to submit their apps, games, and updates to the App Store. Now, instead of waiting for Apple to recognize their work, developers can nominate their own apps to be featured. This will allow developers to inform Apple about three different types of updates: new content, app enhancements, or new app launches.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/13/apple-now-lets-app-developers-apply-to-be-featured-on-the-app-store/
The popularity of an Instagram video can affect its actual video quality: According to Adam Mosseri (the Meta executive who leads Instagram and Threads), videos that are more popular get shown in higher quality, while less popular videos get shown in lower quality. In a video (via The Verge), Mosseri said Instagram tries to show “the highest-quality video that we can,” but he said, “if something isn’t watched for a long time — because the vast majority of views are in the beginning — we will move to a lower quality video.”
https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/27/instagram-is-lowering-video-quality-for-unpopular-videos/