This post is a part of our monthly social media updates and news series, where you can quickly scan through quick recaps of all the changes that took place in recent months.
Don’t get surprised if you hear companies start hiring people whose only job is following social media updates and news, considering the pace at which platforms change and transform nowadays.
Before diving in, you can take a look at our previous edition to familiarise yourself with April news.
Facebook’s social media updates
To the end of clickbait headlines
We are sick and tired of clickbait headlines, especially when it comes to Facebook, since we acquire most news from our news feed.
Therefore, after Twitter’s positive outcome on the same issue, Facebook is testing a new warning to address misinformation. If a user tries to share an article without reading it, a warning prompt will appear to remind potential issues related to this action.
Clubhouse-inspired trend continues
Facebook has announced the test of Clubhouse-like Audio rooms in Taiwan with one big difference. Too many options and notifications are not a problem anymore.
You know the score:
Obviously, the first platform that was going to solve the discovery problem would win the race. And, now, Facebook is ahead of others.
So what is it all about?
You will see notifications of ongoing streams from groups that you joined before. By doing this, Facebook automatically solves the discovery problem.
Expansion of Neighborhood
In October 2020, Facebook launched a test version of the Neighborhood in Calgary, Canada.
Now, they announced the application to be available across Canada. The logic of this feature is exactly the same as Nextdoor. However, by using this feature, users can find local Facebook groups within their vicinities.
Instagram Social Media Updates
Expansion of Instagram Reels Ads
Instagram tested Reels Ads in India, Germany, Brazil, and Australia in late April 2021.
Now, Reels Ads will be available to even more countries such as France, the US, Canada, and the UK. Although it’s way behind Tiktok, Instagram aims to gain an audience by making Reels lucrative for creators.
Pronoun options in Instagram
One of the expected development from Instagram in May was letting users add their pronouns on profiles.
Although options are limited to up to four pronouns (among he, she, they, ve, ze, etc.), it’s still a huge step from Instagram towards inclusion. One of the cons of this feature is that you need to have the latest version of the app.
Tiktok-focused feature on Instagram
Instagram is testing its new Replica addition to make it easier to discover music on the platform.
Think about it for a moment;
When you search for a specific track, you find not only that song but also the latest videos that have used the same audio.
Well, so far, copying from Tiktok seems to work.
Transforming into eCommerce
‘Drops’ is one of the new projects of Instagram. By letting sellers create hype around their upcoming product launches through generous offers, IG builds a more exciting eCommerce atmosphere and shopping experience.
Here’s the thing:
Users won’t miss any preview of products with the help of this addition. They just sign up, and product reminders will send them notifications when they’re available to purchase.
To use this feature, sellers will need to get their hands dirty at Facebook Commerce Manager.
But beware: unfortunately, Drops is currently only available to users in the US and only on mobile devices.
Twitter’s latest trends.
Twitter hit pause on accepting requests.
Back in 2017, Twitter paused public verification requests due to confusion about a blue checkmark’s representation and re-opened it last week.
But only eight days later, they stopped accepting them due to excessive demands. So let’s hope this time it won’t take another three years to get a blue checkmark on our profile.
“Twitter blue” – Twitter’s new subscription offering
Even if Twitter re-opens it again, most users will probably not qualify for blue tick because of the updated criteria.
But, hey, don’t lose your hope.
Twitter is working on a new subscription service named “Twitter blue”. You will be able to use this new service for only 2.99$ a month. Undoing tweets, reader mode, and colour theme are only a few of its advantages.
Facebook-style reaction emojis are on the way.
In our March edition, we informed you about Twitter’s survey on reaction emojis.
And the good news?
It seems that Twitter gave its final verdict. According to Jane Manchun Wong, a reverse engineering expert, Twitter continues its work on emojis such as ‘cheer,’ ‘sad,’ ‘haha,’ ‘hmm,’ and ‘likes.’
Ticketed Spaces Are Coming to Twitter
Twitter came up with a new addition to build a better digital creator ecosystem.
After scheduling the event, the creator will set the number of tickets and a price.
You might be wondering: will I get the whole revenue?
Of course not; creators will get 80% of the revenue after deducting app store fees.
Let me give you an example: if your ticket price is $10, you will only get $5.6. How? $3 goes to Apple (App Store) or Google (Play Store); then you get 80% of the left, which is equal to $5.6.
One of the downsides of this feature is that only US users can host a paid audio rooms for now.
And the second is you need to meet criteria such as: having 1000 followers, having hosted three audio rooms in the last 30 days, and being over 18 years old.
News From TikTok
Preview option on Tiktok
Tiktok rolled out a new “Preview” addition. Thanks to it, text overlays and effect misplacement are not an issue anymore. Although not all users can benefit from this feature yet, soon, they will be able to.
Pinterest’s New Projects
Different kind of Stories
After testing for seven months, Pinterest changed the name and look of stories. Now, Stories have a Pinterest-like frame with the name of Idea Pins.
You can experience Idea Pins with a business account in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Clubhouse News
Android version of Clubhouse
Finally, Clubhouse introduced its android version to the US market. The other English-speaking countries will be next. But, for many, it is too late.
As if it is not enough, the android version has some problems. For example, you can not choose topics or change your name.
