This Week in Social is a weekly digest of some of the biggest stories in social media marketing news. These stories are the show notes for the Brave Ad World Podcast. Each story is discussed at a deeper level on the podcast.

Amazon Launches #AmazonCart (Read more at AdAge)

Amazon has introduced #AmazonCart. The feature allows users to tweet a link to a product on Twitter with the hashtag #AmazonCart to add the product to their carts on Amazon.com. From there, users need to go to Amazon and complete the purchase. In order to set it up, users are required to connect their Amazon and Twitter accounts.

Twitter will not receive any revenue from sales generated through the hashtag.

It's difficult to see this as more than a social commerce test for both Amazon and Twitter. Twitter has tested a 'Buy' button in the past to see how users might want to use Amazon to make purchases and share them. However, the utility this type of service provides is limited.

For one, a user needs to see a tweet with something he or she wants. They then need to reply with the hashtag. Then they go to Amazon to complete the purchase. It's really adding just another step to the purchase process with no real utility beyond sharing a purchase with followers.

However, this could be an excellent test for Twitter and Amazon to see how people want to have social channels, particularly Twitter, integrated into their shopping experiences. This feature leverages existing functionality that Twitter users are already used to, which is a solid start.

The challenge Twitter faces is its limited functionality, which is also its greatest asset from a user experience perspective. Adding in features like purchasing will be a challenge within its existing infrastructure.

Where Twitter and Amazon may see success is from impulse purchasers who see this as a bookmarking tool that they can use to make sure they follow-up on what they've seen on Twitter later. It also offers potential fof direct response advertisers, which Twitter has developed beta offerings, such as "click-to-call," for in the past.

The real power of this feature may lie in integrated efforts with TV. For example, when a TV ad runs, a Promoted Tweet could display featuring that product, allowing consumers to take an immediate action based on the ad.

Facebook Announces Video Metrics (Read more at AllFacebook)

Facebook will soon be releasing deeper analytics for page admins to evaluate the effectiveness of their videos. Currently, video analytics are limited to the number of views a video has received. The update brings more granular metrics, including average video duration, viewer demographics and the number of times a person watched 95% of the video. The metrics will include both paid and organic videos shared on Facebook Pages.
The videos metrics are expected to be released in the next few weeks.

The rollout of improved video metrics coincides with the launch of auto play video ads. With this offering, it's critical for advertisers to know what works and what doesn't, and views offers limited perspective. These analytics allow advertisers to really see what is working and engaging their audiences on Facebook specifically.

Twitter Shares Slide as Lockup Ends (Read more at Reuters)

Twitter shares took a hit this week when the official lockup period ended, allowing for insider sales. This freed up 470 million shares. The stock slid 18%, closing at $31.85 on Tuesday, the lowest since it debuted on the exchange for $37. The timing is difficult for Twitter, which just reported slower than expected user growth in Q1.

Twitter is in a difficult situation. Investors are nervous by Twitter's slowing user growth. However, this incident can be viewed as a positive as well. Yes, stocks took a hit, but now could be viewed as a great opportunity to invest.

Twitter Introduces Language Targeting for Ad Products (Read more at PC World)

Twitter just announced language targeting for Promoted Tweets and Accounts. The new feature allows advertisers to target 20 different languages with ads that are also in the target user's language.
Twitter is evaluating users based on the language they set in their profiles as well as what their Twitter activity shows because many users are multilingual.
The ability to target by language is available within the campaign set-up process on Twitter.

It's not a revolutionary ad product. After all, the feature is available on most other platforms, so Twitter's playing a little catch up here. However, as marketers look to truly engage users on a global level, it's going to be a bit easier with Twitter. It adds relevancy and helps brands better connect with their audiences.

Tumblr Launches Mobile Customization Features (Read more at The Verge)

Tumblr has introduced a new update for its mobile apps, which add in several editing tools to customize blogs for smartphones. The new feature is called Appearance.
The feature allows users to customize the mobile look of their blogs just like they can the web version, including choosing a header image, choosing between 33 fonts for the title and description and selectinga square or circle avatars. Everything can be customized with a full library of colors in a WYSIWYG interface. Users can also choose not to have a header, avatar photo or even header. According to Tumblr, there are 3.3 billion total combinations.

Tumbr is taking a very different approach than most other social platforms, which work to ensure profiles look very similar. Part of this is in an effort to ensure a positive viewing and consumption experience, but Tumblr wants to do something different and embrace the creators, not just the content consumers. This will certainly lead to ugly blogs, just like there were ugly MySpace profiles. However, Tumblr is embracing more creativity, which may lead users to spend more time on it for unique experiences and users who want more freedom in creating their own web presences.

News Quick Hits

John McAfee and Future Tense Private Systems have released a new app called Chadder. Chadder's focus is on encryption and security, and it allows users to send messages securely. (Read more at Engadget)
LinkedIn announced new targeting filters that shows international users ads in their preferred language. Advertisers can also select which users will see different versions of their ads. This is a change from what was displayed previously, all posts from a company no matter the language. The move is certainly a no-brainer for LinkedIn as it looks to expand and invest more deeply in international markets. (Read more at Mashable)
Twitter has partnered with ad network Ad Dynamo to expand its ad offerings into South Africa. Ad Dynamo will provide Promoted Tweets, Accounts and Trends as the exclusive ad sales partner for the country. (Read more at AllTwitter)
App.net, the subscription-based social network, announced that it is "profitable and self-sustaining on a forward basis," which means it has enough revenue to cover operations and hosting. However, it did not bring in enough revenue to pay full-time employees, and it will be ending its Developer Incentive Program. App.net will be fine for the foreseeable future, but its long-term prospects do not look promising. (Read more at The Next Web)
LinkedIn is shutting down the free iPhone app that converts business cards into address book contacts, CardMunch, on July 11. It has already been removed from the App Store. LinkedIn has announced that it has formed a partnership with Evernote that allows Premium users to connect with a person on LinkedIn after they scan a business card without leaving the Evernote app. Existing CardMunch users will be given two years of free business card scanning from Evernote with no Premium subscription required. (Read more at The Next Web)
AdWeek has confirmed that Twitter one-click video is expanding to more advertisers, not just Amplify media partners. This means promoted video content no longer needs to be a link to YouTube or other video platform but can instead play natively within Twitter's own media player. Twitter is keeping the roll out of the feature slow at the moment. (Read more at AdWeek)