NFTs are coming to Instagram There was lots of juicy content that came out of SXSW last week, but making headlines was the news that NFTs will be coming to Instagram. Mark Zuckerberg announced the news at the Austin-based festival, claiming that over time you’ll “be able to mint things within (the Instagram) environment”. It’s not fully clear what minting an NFT on Instagram will entail but the news has caused a buzz nevertheless. When this feature will drop on the gram is currently unknown, but we’re going to be keeping a close eye on this one.
Snapchat launches ‘Custom Landmarkers’ AR experiences are coming to your community. Snapchat has launched ‘Custom Landmarkers’, which allows creators to build unique AR experiences for local places they care about. First teased at Snap’s Lens Fest back in December, the feature is accessible in the platform’s Lens Studio. Physical Snapcodes displayed at a landmark or on a Lens creator’s profile will allow users to discover custom landmarks. With 25,000 Lens creators in Snap’s community, this feature is part of the channel’s ambition to advance its AR platform. Snap also introduced the first augmented reality certification in its Snap Focus educational portal.
Instagram’s parental controls arrive in the US Parents in the US can now keep a watchful eye over their little darlings’ Instagram activity, as the platform has introduced long-awaited parental controls. Parents can set limits on the amount of time their teens are spending on the gram, get updates on which accounts they’re following and being followed by, and receive notifications when they report another user. Teens themselves will need to turn on the supervision feature, but from June, parents will be able to start the process themselves. Good news for parents globally; the new feature is expected to be rolling out worldwide over the coming months.
Snap is banning anonymous messaging features from third-party apps Snap is taking its next steps in preventing bullying and harassment on the platform by banning anonymous messaging features from third-party apps. The change comes following a lawsuit seeking to hold Snap liable for misuse of its platform linked to the death of a teenager who was being bullied on two Snapchat-connected apps. The platform also announced that it will require friend-finding or meetup apps in its developer programmer to be restricted to people 18+, in order to protect young users.
Pinterest creators can now export their video content to other platforms Idea Pins may start popping up on other platforms, as Pinterest has announced that creators will now be able to download and share their video content across a range of social channels. To share your Idea Pin to another channel, tap the ‘FB/IG Stories’ icon in the share menu. This will download the Idea Pin, and the content will then be saved as a watermarked video that stitches all the Idea Pin pages together. Creators can also share to TikTok and Snapchat, with the hopes that this feature will lure viewers to the original source; Pinterest.
Spotify lands sponsorship deal with Barcelona FC Camp Nou, one of the most iconic football stadiums in the world, is getting a Spotify makeover. Now known as Spotify Camp Nou, the brands’ name will also be featured on players’ kits for the next four football seasons. Reportedly worth a cool $310 million, this is a big opportunity for Spotify, who hope to use the sponsorship as an opportunity to amplify the work of artists in a way that brings ‘the worlds of music and football together’.
Ones to watch Twitter’s equivalent of ‘close friends’ may be on its way, Clubhouse is testing a wave bar feature, Meta is testing new tools to give control over ad placement on its platforms, Twitter tests the ability for Spaces hosts to share clips from recordings.
