Happy Fourth of July weekend! While many may be out already enjoying preliminary BBQs, warming up the sparkler action and going to the beach figuring out what Arthur’s plan is, this week was still a good one in terms of marketing news! Here’s what we’re hooked on.

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Facebook’s psychological experiment

Facebook did not start the week off on the right foot. A recent report revealed Facebook experimented with almost 690,000 Facebook users in 2012 to manipulate their emotions – it wanted to see if negative posts would fuel negative emotions, and vice versa for positive content. The trouble is that users had no idea this experiment was happening.

Why we’re hooked:

First and foremost, people are upset because Facebook was toying with their emotions. It raises ethical questions. But it’s also important to note the findings too – it’s not very surprising that content on a News Feed can alter someone’s mood (FOMO is a real thing), but this speaks volumes on the power of social media, digital content and how users interact online.

 

Facebook Buys LiveRail

Facebook apologized for the experiment, but it kind of feels like a “Sorry not sorry” move. In other news, Facebook acquired video ad platform LiveRail to boost video advertising online and on mobile. LiveRail delivers video ads to websites and apps for Major League Baseball, ABC Family, A+E Networks, Dailymotion and more.

Why we’re hooked:

Video and images is the name of the game today with digital and social advertising. LiveRail connects marketers to publishers on the Web, so this is definitely Facebook pushing its ad efforts forward. Expect to see improved video ads on Facebook in the future — and don’t be surprised if your mood changes after seeing them.

 

Twitter Shopping

Another week, another round of Twitter news! In the world of ecommerce, Twitter started showing some “Buy now” buttons appearing in tweets. Along the same lines, Twitter acquired TapCommerce this week, a mobile ad tech company.

Why we’re hooked:

Twitter is in the midst of a transition to integrating commerce more seamlessly into social media, and TapCommerce brings more robust capabilities and tools for advertising on the app.