TUESDAY TUNE-UP #354

Find your happily ever after with Facebook Dating

For all those single social media users out there – fear not! Facebook has launched its much-anticipated dating service…in Colombia. But stay tuned, keen Aussies – the platform is eyeing a global rollout in the not-so-distant future, meaning your future Romeo or Juliet could strike sooner than you think. Rather than swiping left like Tinder, Facebook is taking more of an OkCupid approach to matchmaking. Users will answer a series of questions to find potential suitors. Thanks Mark “Cupid” Zuckerberg.



ACLU accuses Facebook of job ad gender discrimination
Finding a match of your preferred sex is fine on social media, but what about when companies try to do it? The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) has submitted a complaint alleging that Facebook’s advertising system allows employers to target job ads based on gender. This practice is illegal, however Facebook claims that while one advertisement in isolation may be targeting men, there may well be another ad targeting women. Facebook is currently compiling data to defend its practices.

Get ready to shop from Instagram’s Explore page
As everyone eagerly awaits Instagram’s release of its standalone shopping app, the platform is bringing more commerce options into its flagship platform. Users can now browse products and splash some cash in their Explore tab, plus sellers will be able to add shoppable stickers to their Stories. With brands engaging more and more with their Insta audiences, it makes sense for the platform to offer more options for traders. Time to start exploring and saving.



You can now slide into someones DM with GIFs on Instagram 
Instagram has introduced GIFs to its messaging platform, meaning Instaflirtation just got a whole lot weirder. Users can now browse trending GIFs or search for old favourites (rejoice, Grumpy Cat fans) to send in both one-on-one and group chats. Because if it can’t be said with a GIF, it’s not worth saying at all.

Grab your passport, Instagram is setting up geographical borders
Instagram is reportedly testing a geofencing feature for Posts and Stories where users can select specific countries they want their content to be shown in. Twitter and Facebook already have similar features, and it’s bound to be a big change for brands, who will now be able to limit content with restricted rights in certain countries as well as target content more efficiently. Instagram hasn’t yet announced when the feature will be rolled out.

Are we FINALLY getting an Instagram repost feature?
Hallelujah, our prayers for a native reposting function on the ‘gram may have finally been answered. The platform has teased that it is now testing a “seamless sharing” function where a “share to feed” option will appear at the top-right of every post. We don’t yet know when we’ll be seeing the new feature, but it’s just good to know that there’s someone up there in the digital clouds listening to us.



Your Twitter feed, your way 
Since Twitter introduced its default algorithmic model in 2016, some users have been calling out for more control over their feeds. Now, when users on the platform uncheck the Settings box reading ‘show the best tweets first’, their timeline will revert to reverse-chronological order. Twitter has stated that it wants users to be able to switch easily between timeline settings in order to make sure that they are seeing content in an order that most suits them. Introducing algorithms to social media feeds has been contested amongst users – the Instagram update in 2016 came under a lot of criticism – so it will be interesting to see whether other platforms reconsider how they feed users their content.

YouTube integrates gaming into the main website
YouTube has admitted that its foray into a separate gaming app has not been as successful as hoped, and they’re now integrating gaming into the main website. YouTube Gaming will appear as a tab on the left side of the platform’s main page and will include carousels of recommended content, popular videos and livestreams. The change is an effort to show the gaming community how much the platform values them.



This post courtesy of @king_katsu