Ever feel like a washed-up has-been trying to keep up with the cool crowd? Right now, so does Snapchat. ComScore’s 2017 US Mobile App Report revealed that the infamous ghost is notably absent from the list of most-essential apps for 18-to-34-year-olds. Facebook (29%) and Instagram (11%) are both featured in the top 10, with Amazon at number one (35%).
But that’s not the whole story on Stories – a separate study from eMarketer last week reported that Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat are averaging roughly the same usage rates in the US and UK. The report also stated that teens were leaving Facebook for Snapchat and Instagram and, in fact, eMarketer believes Snapchat will be bigger than both Facebook and Instagram in the 12-to-17-year-old and 18-to-24-year-old categories by the end of the year. So who should you believe? We’ll just have to wait and see!
WhatsApp imitates Facebook with flashier status updates
Facebook statuses are so 2010, but can WhatsApp make them cool again? We doubt it, but the messaging app recently rolled out status updates on a colourful image background. Similar to Facebook, WhatsApp statuses debuted as a text-only feature but now include photos and videos. App users can choose a font, background colour, and even add links.
Snapchat extends verified accounts to influencers
While Snapchat introduced Official Stories in 2015 for brands and big name celebs, now the platform is extending the privilege to influencers. An Official Stories account is pretty much the same as a verified account, so the move is not original (is anything these days?). Marie Cravens, influencer and partnerships manager at We Are Social, commented on the move:
“Snapchat-only stars have expressed irritation with its neglect of them for a while now and have been leaving in droves for Instagram Stories. Snapchat is finally trying to woo them back and show [its] appreciation.”
Happy birthday #
Ready to feel old? It’s been 10 years since the notable crossed bars broke the internet in their Twitter debut. To celebrate, the platform kindly shared a blog post detailing how the hashtag has become “one of the most recognisable and widely used symbols of our time.” Initially the brainwave of Chris Messina, its usage has dramatically evolved over 10 years and helped spark social movements and global conversations. Social aside, hashtags have made their way into #IRL convos, music, art, and just about everything else. Now hit Twitter and celebrate #HBDHT
September Twitter calendar
Hey content planners, Twitter is still on your side with their trusty cheatsheet of events, global happenings and hashtags. However, this month, Twitter slightly changed up its format by adding more prominent listings for multi-day events and highlighting more ‘days’ – i.e. ‘Charity Day’, ‘Literacy Day’ and most importantly, ‘Talk Like a Pirate Day.’
Just try saying that headline five times fast. In the wake ever-increasing tensions across the globe, Facebook is taking tough new measures against publishing misleading content on their platform. From now on, Facebook will block ads from pages who repeatedly share disputed content .
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