The social network said in a blog post that Experiments combines testing elements previously referred to as Test and Learn and Split Testing to give marketers on its platform a single place where they can A/B test campaigns, as well as measure conversions and brand lift.

Facebook wrote, “Testing is a powerful tool for marketers that allows them to make more impactful decisions by learning what works, what doesn’t and where new opportunities for performance growth lie. We’re launching a new approach to testing on Facebook. Experiments help marketers optimize ad performance and give them a deeper understanding of the true impact of their ads, allowing them to make better business decisions.”

The social network said that prior to testing, marketers should evaluate the effects of different social and environmental factors on consumer behavior and adjust their plans accordingly, adding, “When measuring effectiveness of a campaign, carefully consider the implications of using those results to inform future decisions, while A/B testing can provide relevant short-term insights.”

Facebook pointed out that A/B tests enable marketers to compare strategies for creative, audiences and other variables, adding that while automatic campaigns eases the process for advertisers, A/B tests can be used to compared manual and automated optimizations and gain additional insights.

Experiments also enables brands to conduct holdout tests, comparing the conversion rates of people who saw ads with those who were intentionally withheld from seeing them so that they can calculate the lift the ads provide in conversion events such as purchases.

Brand surveys, another element of Experiments, give marketers the chance to poll people who have seen ads and the holdout group that hasn’t, and then aggregate and compare results.

The social network wrote, “Experiments are designed to help marketers make better strategic decisions with more powerful testing tools. It’s easy to get the right test up and running, fast. Just select the test, add information and Experiments will set up the test.”

The company wrote in a Newsroom post, “Over the past decade, we’ve been working to extend the functionality of our self-service data access tools to help people access data in meaningful ways. Today’s step is part of these efforts. There have also been growing efforts by many policymakers and regulators to enhance people’s rights around access to their data. These laws include the General Data Protection Regulation in Europe, which was implemented in 2018, and the California Consumer Privacy Act, which took effect earlier this year.”

The respective tools will now provide additional information about users’ interactions on the two platforms, such as information they add to their profiles or actions including following a page or liking a post.

The social network said this type of information is used to personalize what people see on Facebook and Instagram, adding, “This is a big reason why no two people ever have the exact same experience using our products.”

Facebook also said Download Your Information will now include more inferences about content that people interact with over its services, which is used to help determine what users see in News Feed, the News tab and Facebook Watch.

The social network wrote, “For example, if someone shares an article about a football team that one of their friends posted, we may show them other football-related content. We infer that the person is interested in football because they engaged with their friend’s article about the sport.”

As for Download Your Data, Instagram will begin including categories that are assigned to some accounts, such as sports and fashion, which are used to suggest content in the photo- and video-sharing network’s Explore tab.

Facebook wrote, “Inferences aren’t unique to technology platforms. Companies commonly use information like this to improve people’s experiences, so we’re also sharing new educational content to help people understand this data and how we use it.”

The social network concluded, “It is important to us to keep working more transparently with regard to data. So, we will continue explaining the role that data plays in our services and update our tools whenever we can as the global conversation about this important topic evolves to make sure that people can continue to access data in meaningful ways.”

The Google-owned video site said, “From Cook With Me to Clean With Me, Jam With Me and Study With Me, our creators and community have used video to help people learn, connect, entertain and thrive. We’re finding that YouTube’s community continues to come together and, at a time like this, it’s so inspiring and encouraging to see.”

YouTube debuted a video Friday featuring creators such as Rudy Mancuso, Vlogbrothers and Yoga with Adriene encouraging people to stay home and participate in activities with them.

The video is also being developed into a television spot that will air during Meet the Press on NBC Sunday morning.

YouTube also created a series of public-service announcements to persuade people to stay home, with stars including Becky G, Emma Chamberlain, The Dolan Twins, French Montana, Gordon Ramsey, Venus Williams and Sebastián Yatra.

The site’s #StayHome channel features the PSAs and #WithMe activities, along with other content.

Pichai said in a blog post Friday that $250 million in ad grants will go to the World Health Organization and more than 100 government agencies worldwide to help them share critical information on preventing the spread of Covid-19 and other ways to help local communities.

Alphabet and Google will also provide $20 million in ad grants to community financial institutions and nongovernment organizations for public-service announcements on relief funds and other resources for SMBs.

The company created a $100 million investment fund to support NGOs and financial institutions globally and help them provide SMBs with access to capital. Pichai said as an example that Alphabet and Google are working with the Opportunity Finance Network in the U.S. to help fill gaps in financing for people and communities that are underserved by mainstream financial institutions.

A total of $340 million in Google Ads credits will be made available to all SMBs that have had active Google Ads accounts over the past year, and Pichai said notifications will begin appearing in those accounts, and the credits can be used at any point until the end of the year across all of the company’s advertising platforms.

Academic institutions and researchers will have access to a pool of $20 million in Google Cloud credits to leverage its computing capabilities and infrastructure as they study potential therapies and vaccines, track critical data and identify new ways to combat the coronavirus. They can apply here.

Google is working with longtime supplier and partner Magid Glove & Safety to produce 2 million to 3 million face masks in the coming weeks for the CDC Foundation.

Employees from Alphabet companies including Google, Verify and X will help bring engineering, supply chain and healthcare expertise to boost production of ventilators, working with equipment manufacturers, distributors and the government.

Finally, Google increased its annual gift match for employees to $10,000 from $7,500. Meaning that each employee can now donate $20,000 to organizations in their communities, with one-half coming from the company.

Pichai wrote, “Together, we’ll continue to help our communities—including our businesses, educators, researchers and nonprofits—navigate the challenges ahead.”

Facebook cited examples of Facebook Live usage during the Covid-19 crisis, including virtual concerts, live zoo safaris, cooking demonstrations and Mass with Pope Francis.

The social network said, “We built Live to bring people together through video in real time, and we’re seeing that people need these connections now more than ever. With that in mind, the team is working on new experiences and iterating on existing ones to make Facebook Live even more accessible for both people and creators.”

Facebook added a toggle to Live videos enabling people in areas with low bandwidth to view important broadcasts without the sound.

The social network also removed its geo-gating restrictions, meaning that people without Facebook accounts can now see public Live videos.

Facebook Live broadcasters can now generate toll-free numbers via a public switch telephone network so that viewers can listen to the audio from live broadcasts over any telephone.

Automatic closed captions are now available for all Live videos to make them more accessible.

On the content creator side, more content creators and publishers are getting access to the Stars feature, which enables them to monetize their videos by letting viewers buy and send Stars during broadcasts, for which they receive money from the social network.

Stars is also being tested with musicians and cultural institutions for the first time.

Live Producer—a new surface for managing livestreams from a connected camera and software encoder, making it easier to go live—is now available to all broadcasters, replacing the old Facebook Live composer.

Facebook said new features enabled via Live Producer include comment moderation, overlays and clipping, adding that more information is available here.

The social network has been working with partners such as faith-based and education organizations to provide them with starter kits so that they can produce better live content from their mobile phones.

Media partners now have access to a landing page with information on Covid-19 and how they can use Facebook Live and other features of the social network to bring people together.

Finally, the social network published how-to guides on Facebook Live, including one on livestreaming events and one on doing so with larger events and conferences.

When the Snapchat application’s camera is in selfie mode, users can take selfies with puppies and kittens from The Sims 4.

Flipping the camera enables Snapchatters to create and place AR puppies and kittens all over wherever they happen to be at the time.

Snapchat said the lens is live throughout the U.S. and in select international markets.

Global head of creative strategy Andy Holton said in a blog post that Pinterest usage hit an all-time high as people searched for ways to cope with Covid-19, which is why it expedited the debut of its Today tab, offering daily inspiration via curated topics and trending Pins.

He wrote, “Creating content during a crisis can be a difficult balancing act. On the one hand, failing to acknowledge the current state can feel tone-deaf. On the other hand, without a delicate touch, copy can come off as opportunistic or insensitive. To help you strike the right chord, we’ve compiled tips to create content for Pinterest that feels authentic, compassionate and, most important, helpful.”

The guide covers topics including: brands being honest with themselves and their customers; easing adjacent tensions; helping Pinners cope; and showing empathy for a range of circumstances.

It also suggested that content on Pinterest should be positive, relevant, actionable, original and visually appealing.

The WHO is teaming up with tech companies including Facebook, Giphy, Microsoft, Pinterest, Slack, Slow Ventures, TikTok, Twitter and WeChat, as well as scientists from the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub and experts from other industries, on the #BuildForCOVID19 global hackathon.

The hackathon, which starts Thursday (March 26), is aimed at finding local and global solutions in the following seven focus areas:

• Health: Address and scale a range of health initiatives, including preventative/hygiene behaviors (especially for at-risk countries and populations), supporting front-line health workers, scaling telemedicine, contact tracing/containment strategies, treatment and diagnosis development.
• Vulnerable Populations: The set of problems facing the elderly and the immuno-compromised, such as access to meals and groceries, and supporting those who are losing jobs and income.
• Businesses: The set of problems that businesses are facing to stay afloat, collaborate effectively and move parts of their business online.
• Community: Promoting connection to friends, family and neighbors to combat social isolation and the digitizing of public services for local governments.
• Education: Alternative learning environments and tools for students, teachers and entire school systems.
• Entertainment: Alternatives to traditional forms of entertainment that can keep the talent and audiences safe and healthy.
• Other: The above themes are just suggestions. Feel empowered to get creative.

Project submission will be accepted through March 30 at 9 a.m.PT/noon ET, and judges will reveal the highlighted projects April 3.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post, “Hackathons have always been an important part of how we come up with new ideas and projects at Facebook—features like Blood Donations and Crisis Response were first built during hackathons and are now used by millions of people worldwide. I’m hopeful that some useful prototypes and ideas will come out of this one as well. #BuildForCOVID19 is open to anyone who wants to participate, and I encourage all of you who can to join.”

TikTok U.S. head of product Sean Kim said in a blog post, “Developers have the opportunity to address a variety of needs, including ideas for our front-line health workers, digital tools that keep us informed and vigilant, solutions for vulnerable populations, alternative learning environments, new opportunities for small businesses and creative ways to stay connected with our broader communities. We’re excited to see what the developer community will create in order to respond to the needs identified by the WHO, being sure to develop technological innovations that are timely, helpful and relevant.”

Users who wish to view videos in high-definition can still do so, but they will have to manually select HD.

YouTube parent company Google said in a statement, “We continue to work closely with governments and network operators around the globe to do our part to minimize stress on the system during this unprecedented situation.”

The professional golfers’ association said it will distribute daily highlight packages worldwide on the social network’s long-form video destination for over 30 events, starting with the Farmers Insurance Open from Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, which begins Thursday.

The Players Championship and the FedExCup Playoffs are also included under the pact.

The PGA Tour said the highlights packages will draw from its television broadcasts, as well as over-the-top service PGA Tour Live, which will deliver more than 1,200 hours of exclusive featured groups coverage during the upcoming season.

The content will be available via the PGA Tour Facebook page, and the league will also engage fans via The Gallery, a Facebook group that includes interactive elements such as Facebook Live videos and Watch Parties.

The PGA Tour previously had an agreement with Facebook to bring live competition coverage from eight tournaments to U.S. users, revealed in June 2018.

Twitter is in the mix, as well, as the league renewed and expanded its livestreaming agreement with that social platform last January, covering nearly 140 hours of live competition from 28 tournaments during the 2018-19 season.

Facebook sports league partnerships lead Sidhant Rao said in a release, “We’re thrilled to add PGA Tour recaps to our growing portfolio of sports highlights on Facebook Watch. Through this content, as well as products such as Facebook groups and Watch Party, the Tour will be able to engage its fans in exciting new ways this year.”

PGA Tour vice president of media business development Chris Wandell added, “We’re excited to expand our partnership with Facebook by delivering additional content for our fans. This is in response to our fans’ appetite for additional coverage packaged in a way that is convenient for them to consume.”