We Are Social’s Monday Mashup #580

hannahcurrey

Instagram upgrades its DM inbox with music sharing, polls and more
Messaging is getting a makeover on Instagram, with the platform rolling out a series of new features. So what are the new tools available to users? Now you’ll be able to share music previews in DMs, send messages silently, and see who is online to chitchat with. You’ll also be able to reply to messages while you browse your feed rather than having to head to your inbox and risk losing your place mid-scroll. Poll stickers can now be shared directly in a group chat and to add a bit of personality to your conversations, a lo-fi chat theme has been made available. Ooh la la.

Elon Musk buys a $2.9bn stake in Twitter
Tesla founder Elon Musk is now Twitter’s biggest shareholder. His 9.2 percent stake is more than quadruple the 2.25 percent position of founder Jack Dorsey. The news has caused the platform’s shares to soar, with 73,486,938 shares in a filing on Monday morning.

Snapchat now lets you share YouTube videos as stickers
Snapchat 🤜🤛 YouTube. Snapchat is making it easier to share YouTube videos within your snap or story. This means no more laborious copying, pasting and attaching the video as a link. To get to the YouTube video,  you’ll need to hit the ‘Share’ button and then select ‘Snapchat’. The app will then open and the video will automatically appear in your camera as its own sticker. Anyone who views your snap or story can click on the link and view the video within the YouTube app or in their web browser. How convenient.

Twitter beings tests for three new ad formats
Brands, listen up! Twitter kicked off pilot tests last week for three new ad formats; Interactive Text Ads, Product Explorer Ads and Collection Ads. Interactive Text Ads allow advertisers to highlight up to three words in the copy that bring people to the landing page they choose when clicked. Meanwhile, Product Explorer Ads bring 3D into the mix, allowing consumers to view products from different angles and Collection Ads permit brands to display a primary hero image, joined by up to five smaller thumbnail visuals. Currently being tested with a handful of brands in the US, these features are an exciting step up for the advertising market on Twitter. So get excited, as these tools may be heading your way very soon.

Twitter explores letting two accounts co-author a tweet
In dreamy news for brand partnerships, it appears that Twitter is exploring a new feature that would allow two accounts to author a single tweet. This is already a popular tool on Instagram, so is a logical next step for Twitter. If rolled out, this would be an ideal tool for brand partnerships and influencer campaigns, highlighting collaboration in one easy tweet. 

WhatsApp is getting better voice messages
There’s some good news for voice message fans. WhatsApp is rolling out some improvements to voice notes, including the ability to listen to a message while reading other chats. The recording experience is also being improved. You’ll now be able to pause and resume your recording, allowing you to get rid of those ‘umms’ and ‘aahs’ as you think of what to say next.

TikTok kicks off National Arab-American Heritage Month Arab-American Heritage Month is here and TikTok is joining in on the celebrations. Throughout the month, the platform is hosting live programming content revolving around mental health, food and lifestyle, featuring content creators like chef Ahmad Alzhabi and photographer Adeib el Masri. The video-sharing platform said #ArabTikTok and #TikTokArab make up more than 50 billion video views on TikTok.

Twitch is shutting down its desktop app
It’s time to say goodbye to Twitch’s desktop app, which will be closing down on 30th April this year. The change has left many gamers confused, yet the platform has said the decision comes following ‘usage and community feedback’. Twitch said: “This move allows us to invest more heavily in enhancing and adding new ways to engage with the creators and communities you care about.”