Here’s our latest recap of what’s hot and happening in the social media scene of Sri Lanka and worldwide
This week our team wrote about:
Our Blogs
- FT.LK Media Ethics and Advertorials
- Facebook Vs. Youtube: Battling Over Music
What Went Viral in Sri Lanka?
- YAMU TV’s latest video: overconfidence or poor execution?
YAMU has always taken a rather brave approach towards discussing controversial topics. This year to mark the Valentines Day they decided to go on a rather blunt discussion about topics such as safe sexual relations, contraception and more. The issue is that while it is creative use of media, is it also the most correct or advisable use of media. The video went viral with many women agreeing on the issues discussed in it while men felt that it was offensive. Public opinion aside, the fact that many of the issues spoken about are done so in a rather lewd manner could go both ways. One is that it coincides with YAMU’s “decidedly-cool” way of approaching things. The other is that many would consider this “disrespectful” in a country like Sri Lanka. Moreover, when it came to handling criticism by their viewers, YAMU’s blatant disregard for any respect and courtesy, sarcasm and grammar-correcting tendencies was something that pointed at serious levels of overconfidence. It could also be possible that YAMU seeks controversy as it gets a lot of views and reactions. However, while they really have been doing a great job on certain levels, maybe this really isn’t their best yet.
This Week’s International Hubub
- Trash Dove takes on the world
If it feels like you cannot browse the net without coming across a particularly eccentric purple dove headbanging, you haven’t really been online recently. The Trash Dove stickers have been going viral all across the world for the past week. Gaining momentum steadily on Facebook, the sticker found itself into memes and posts. The #TrashDove was created by Syd Weller, an artista and Adobe creative resident in Florida.
- Has President Donald J. Trump finally met his (handshake) match?
With 1.7M views, 37k reactions, 2.3k comments and 6457 shares (and counting), the video of Justin Trudeau gripping Trump’s shoulder with a firm handshake seems to be doing the rounds. Trudeau is obviously the clear favourite out of the two and we simply cannot ignore the humour when it comes to this one.
Stats of the Week
The Dialog Axiata facebook page has been well updated and used as an effective method of advertising with many promotions that go from missed call top up to iflix promos on Dialog TV which could be a main factor in the increasing amount of followers on the page.
- Fastest-Growing Society Facebook Page in Sri Lanka – Ranjan RamanayakeWith the recent controversy that created a buzz with Ranjan calling the secretary to inquire about a case of unethical sand extraction in Divulapitiya and the video being misrepresented, it is no surprise that Ranjan Ramanayake’s page has received the attention of the public.
- Fastest-Growing Community Twitter Profiles in Sri Lanka – Azzam AmeenThe Twitter profile of Azzam Ameen, has about 67.5k followers which is a very high number for an individual journalist. Perhaps, his journalism is the reason behind his strong followership. There have been many instances where Azzam Ameen has held interviews with significant politicians and conducted them on a high standard, questioning them clearly and intelligently.
Things you should know
- Lyft surges to the top 10 on Apple’s App Store following the #DeleteUber campaign
Lyft soared to the top 10 apps on Apple’s App Store thanks to the #DeleteUber campaign that went viral following the unconstitutional ban of Muslim immigrants from several countries at the JFK airport. While the Taxi Union of the country decided to stop picking up people from the airport, Uber took off their surge, which was deemed as a means of “undercutting the strike” which was called for by the Taxi Workers Alliance that saw the immigration ban as inhumane.
Uber denied the accusations and stated that on previous occassions they have been perceived as increasing prices or surges when transport was direly required such a on New Year’s Eve or during snow storms and the tweet they sent out to say that surges will not be happening despite protests at JFK was just a way of letting customers know that they will not follow their previous methids in this instance. Angry customers however started boycotting Uber with #DeleteUber that called out Uber’s questionable intentions and its CEO Travis Kalanick for being an economic advisor to Trump.