Facebook tests new positioning of groups In what Mark Zuckerberg describes as an attempt to make Facebook a place for more “meaningful” online connections, Facebook is testing an expansion of its Groups feature that will put communities at the centre of the social network. The most active group I am in encourages people to recreate scenes from Neighbours using low-rent design tools such as Microsoft Paint, so I can’t even fathom what could be more meaningful. This is still in the testing phase so keep an eye out for a full roll out.
Twitter is also testing! Now putting live events to the top
Not one to be left out, Twitter is also testing putting the most popular live events at the top of users’ timelines. The events that people are talking about most on the platform will be showcased, with the ability for users to scroll left or right through the different ones.
Yes, that is her distant father announcing the birth of her twins with four hashtags before any official announcements. From there, the interwebz spiralled out of control with everyone sending their best wishes to Queen Bee.
Snapchat tries to seduce advertisers with new self-serve ad tools It’s been at the top of our wish lists for a while, but now Snap is now letting brands and agencies handle their own campaigns from start to finish. It reduces the need for big budget buy-ins, and Snap is hoping it’ll help improve its earnings, too.
Snap announces Time Warner deal
Time Warner and Snap Inc. are rumoured to have agreed on a $100 million deal that sees the entertainment giant create bespoke 3-5 minute shows in a vertical format. This will bring the number of shows on Snap to about three per day – offering even more advertising opportunities for brands.
Instagram’s Archive feature goes live
Instagram has rolled out an archive feature that it was testing so that you can hide photos temporarily (or indefinitely) in an archive by tapping the three dots next to a photo. Now, when the latest food trends die (I’m looking at you Unicorn Frappuccinos/avocado roses/fairy floss everything), you can simply archive your #foodstagram shots and focus on the latest fad.
Facebook rolls out GIF button for comments for ALL users
No words necessary.
Instagram tests new way for influencers to identify sponsored posts Instagram is creating a standardised format to make it TOTALLY clear when influencers are being paid cash money or are in someway being compensated for posting about products or services. While the AANA #ad guidelines aren’t laws here in Australia yet, it wouldn’t surprise any of us if we head that way in the future, so we’ll be keeping an eye out for the uptake of this locally.
Facebook coloured status cards are getting an upgrade
I haven’t done a text-only status in years. YEARS. I cringe at Facebook’s Memories of me sharing what was on my mind in 2008 and have, on occasion, been known to go back and delete a particularly shameful, oversharing status. It seems Facebook is keen to corrupt reformed oversharers such as myself and hopes that jazzing up status backgrounds is the way to do it. I’m not convinced that even a fun background could ever have made my statuses more interesting…
…but let’s throw some blue behind Boris and see engagement skyrocket.
Twitter opts for a simpler design
Some slight changes have been made to Twitter’s design to create a sleeker look. Profile photos are now round, so you’d best check nothing has been cropped out of brand logos. My personal favourite part of the update is that retweet and like numbers now update live in the platform so you can see how quickly people are engaging with breaking news or #viral content.
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