THIS WEEK’S DIGITAL NEWS ROUND-UP FROM CLARION

You know the year has almost come to an end when the review lists start. From what was most discussed on Facebook to YouTube’s most viral adverts, this week has seen the year in review lists come out in force. 

Let the reviews commence…

What we talked about on Facebook in 2014
The Scottish Referendum was this year’s most discussed topic on Facebook in the UK. Other key subjects included the Ice Bucket Challenge and the FIFA World Cup. 

The top ten UK topics 2014:
1. Scottish Referendum
2. Ice Bucket Challenge
3. World Cup
4. Premier League title race
5. Conflict in Gaza
6. Robin Williams
7. Louis van Gaal takes over at Manchester United
8. Ebola virus outbreak
9. Champions League Final
10. First World War Centenary

The UK's top YouTube clips of 2014
Whilst Facebook may have been where we discussed politics, YouTube was clearly the channel for us to be big kids. A sing-a-long version of Disney’s Frozen was the most watched video in 2014 according to Mashable. For those with musical talents, take it away…

YouTube reveals their top viewed ads
This week YouTube also revealed the most viewed ads globally on their platform in 2014. With the FIFA World Cup taking place this year, it comes as no surprise that football was rated highly in the top ten. 

Here are the top five ads in 2014:
1. Nike Football: Winner Stays. ft. Ronaldo, Neymar Jr., Rooney, Ibrahimović, Iniesta & more
2. Nike Football: The Last Game ft. Ronaldo, Neymar Jr., Rooney, Zlatan, Iniesta & more
3. Budweiser Super Bowl XLVIII Commercial -- "Puppy Love"
4. Always #LikeAGirl
5. Devil Baby Attack

Twitter reveals annual round-up
Twitter also revealed their most discussed topics of 2014. Mirroring YouTube, the World Cup was clearly on everyone’s mind. Of the top ten tweeted moments this year, six were focused on the World Cup

The social platform also looked at the most used hashtags across various genres:


In other news...

Instagram snaps up 300 million users worldwide, overtaking Twitter
This week the social platform hit a milestone by overtaking Twitter with 300 million users, compared to Twitter’s 270 million. The growth highlights the hunger amongst consumers to share images and videos and will no doubt increase opportunities for brands, especially when the channel widens its advertising options in 2015. 


Facebook launch new tools for publishers
Great news for publishers! Facebook has released a series of new tools that will allow greater targeting with content. Among them, this includes Interest Targeting, which will only target a subset of followers relevant to that content. For example, a publisher can use Interest Targeting to post a story about a sports game that will only be shown to people that like the teams playing.

YouTube details copyright restrictions based on audio usage
YouTube has published a breakdown of the copyright restrictions imposed on video creators by their use of specific tracks, enabling creators to preview any restrictions before publication. 
    


KENWOOD DISASTER CHEF 2014

After six weeks of training, on Saturday 6th December, 15 of the nation’s most terrible cooks went head to head in the Kenwood Disaster Chef live final at the AVEQIA cookery school in London.


Armed with a Kenwood CHEF Sense, the contestants were tasked with the challenge of creating a two course meal of Porcini and Rosemary Creamed Tagliatelle and Chocolate Fondant.  These dishes were then put to the test by a panel of judges including television actress Hermione Norris, renowned YouTube Chef, Ben Ebbrell from SortedFood and Martin Johns, Kenwood Development Chef.  

From Tony – nominated by his wife for not draining the water from his pasta before adding the sauce – to Laura, who once sellotaped still runny boiled eggs back together before putting them back in the pan – all of the finalists impressed the judges with how far they have come since the start of the competition.


However, the winner, who was crowned Kenwood Disaster Chef 2014, was Jo Wells, from Cardiff, who impressed the judges the most, both with the quality and presentation of the two dishes created and the culinary journey she had undertaken over the past six weeks.

On top of her new found confidence, Jo also walks away with a £3,000 kitchen makeover from Symphony kitchens, a £500 cookery course and £500 worth of Kenwood products to keep up her new found culinary skills.


Great fun was had by all – a massive congratulations to Jo and all 15 contestants who have proven that with the right tools and attitude you really can make the inedible edible.

THE WEEKS DIGITAL NEWS ROUND-UP FROM CLARION

So Black Friday gave way to Cyber Monday last week, followed by Giving Tuesday – anymore for anymore? Luckily by mid-week the additional titles seemed to drop off the days of the week. That said, the combination of the two key pre-Christmas sales days, drove mass social media chatter.

#BlackFriday
It wasn’t just major retailers who got involved in #BlackFriday. For those facing the tiring prospects of lugging those 48inch TV’s home, had no need to fear as Tennent’s Lager launched #BlackTFriday, a taxi fleet to treat tired shoppers to a free ride and premium lager

Two major hacks took place this week
Well actually it was one; the other was orchestrated by the company.  How better to promote Honda’s car deals than through a social takeover ‘by the power of grey skull’, well He-Man’s nemesis Skeletor!

What was first thought to be a hack was quickly revealed to be a fun and ingenious idea by the car brand to engage with its audience. We’d love to have been in the boardroom when that idea was sold in!


On a more worrying note, Sony Pictures had a major security breach last week, resulting in several leaks. This week, two films were leaked online, Brad Pitt’s Fury and the upcoming remake of Annie. A group called Guardians of the Peace claimed responsibility for the leaks

Future of storytelling
Ahead of Mashable’s Media Summit taking place today, the online channel invited users to submit their tips for the future of storytelling via the hashtag #MediaSummitContest. The website provides their top 20 whilst the full list can be viewed via Twitter.

56% of online display ads are not seen by consumers
In Google’s first ad-viewability study, the world No.1 search engine has stated that over half of display ads are not seen by consumers. The report, which centres on impressions taken from a wide range of global publishers, from small sites such as blogs to national newspapers, across Google’s Display Network (GDN), DoubleClick for Publishers and DoubleClick ad Exchange, currently focuses on display ads but will later be expanded to cater for video and more granular mobile metrics. 



Twitter upgrade for iOS and Android
The social media platform has updated its photo filters, allowing users to amend an image once added to a Tweet. The move highlights the competitiveness against Instagram, with many tools resembling the image based platforms. 


Microsoft and Yahoo respond to European 'right to be forgotten' requests
Privacy was hot on the news agenda this week as Microsoft and Yahoo joined Google by responding to the May ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union requiring search engines to delete “inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant” data when requested to by a member of the public.

69% are worried about the privacy of their photos on social networking sites
According to research conducted by UK start-up KatchUp, over half of the public prefer to use email as main method of sharing photos with family online as they are worried about online safety. According to the report published on The Drum, current barriers for sharing with families online include the time it takes to filter the photos (49 per cent), a fear of data collection on existing social media (33 per cent) and a dislike of ads (17 per cent).




Lindt EXCELLENCE Chocolate & Wine Pairings Masterclass

This week Clarion organised an exclusive press review of the Lindt EXCELLENCE Chocolate & Wine Pairings Masterclass that will be held at Vinopolis throughout 2015. The preview went off without a hitch with 15 broadcast and consumer media and bloggers attending. Everyone was given the chance to learn the art of tasting and sample different varieties of Lindt EXCELLENCE chocolate and superior wines and ports, all handpicked by Lindt Master Chocolatier Stefan Bruderer and wine expert Tom Forrest.



The Lindt EXCELLENCE Chocolate & Wine Pairings Masterclass will take place at Vinopolis at 7pm on the last Thursday of every month throughout 2015.  


By Emma Pointing, Account Executive, Clarion Communications