Facebook updates policies to protect public figures from harassment Facebook is cracking down on harassment against public figures on the platform. It announced that it will now remove content that targets individuals at heightened risk of offline harm, even if the content on its own wouldn’t violate its policies. This will apply to direct messages as well as those on public pages. The types of content that will be removed include pages, groups or events dedicated to sexualizing the person, and derogatory photoshopped images and drawings. Those covered by the new policies include celebrities, elected officials and others in the public eye. More protections from harassment will also be given to government dissidents, journalists and human rights activists around the world. Existing policies already prohibit similar content about private individuals.
Reddit launches gamified Predictions feature Looking to test your inner psychic? Look no further than Reddit, which has officially launched its new Predictions feature. It lets users compete by guessing the outcome of upcoming events like sports matches or awards ceremonies. Predictions is a build on the Polls feature, with users able to bet and earn tokens on their predictions within tournaments on the platform, posted by moderators. More than a million people have already taken part in tournament tests over the last year, such as guessing the outcomes of the Oscars and the 2021 Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Roblox spruces up avatars with new changes Some exciting updates from Roblox in its annual developer conference last week. CEO David Baszucki explained plans to improve player avatars, add new in-game monetization streams and streamline the experience for developers creating user-generated content. On the avatar side, the platform revealed ‘layered clothing’, which makes avatar outfits more realistic as well as dynamic, adapting to whatever shape you choose to take (humanoid or other). Other updates include improvement in facial animations and increased access to voice chat. Tapping into the current NFT movement, Roblox also announced plans to introduce limited edition items, so that creators can put items they design up for sale for a set period of time or in a limited run.
Twitter allows users to ‘soft block’ followers Not brutal enough to block? Take the soft way out with Twitter’s new feature. The ‘soft block’ allows any user on the web to remove a follower without blocking them. This means that said user will still see your tweets and be able to DM you, but they won’t see your tweets on their timeline. They will, however, be able to follow you again. Top candidates for soft blocks include over-enthusiastic parents – we need some space, dad.
Twitter tests ads in replies What everyone wants in the middle of a conversation is an ad, amirite!? Twitter is testing what it’s like to insert ads into replies, popping up in the first, third, or eighth reply to a tweet. As you can see from the below preview, it’s not likely to be annoying at all.
Starting today, we’re trying something different and testing a new ad format in Tweet conversations. If you’re a part of this test (which is global; on iOS & Android only), you’ll see ads after the first, third or eighth reply under a Tweet. 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/kvIGeYt2vp
Clubhouse launches ‘music mode’ Will more music keep people tuned in to Clubhouse? The audio-only platform is hoping so, adding a new ‘music mode’, which gives musicians who play live on the social network their own set of tools to optimise sound quality. Apparently, the new feature will allow users to “broadcast with high quality and great stereo sound”, which kind of feels like a basic requirement for music in your ears these days.
Twitter makes updates to Carousel ad format Advertisers on Twitter can now do more with the Carousel format. As Twitter explains: “With Multi-Destination Carousels, advertisers can now customize headlines and landing pages to help drive the right actions for their audiences. Advertisers will have greater flexibility to diversify their message with unique headlines and URLs per Carousel Card. With just a swipe, people can engage with multiple images or videos, and click through to land on different destinations.” Sounds sexy! Sign me up.
