Here’s this week’s round-up of social media (& tech) news. Come by each week for what I hope to be a fun & informative blog post on social stories that caught my eye throughout the week!

• How cool… you can now hashtag emojis on Instagram! There are also a few new filters and they’ve repositioned the Like/Comment buttons & changed the font/style slightly. But #PHONOODLESOUPEMOJI is definitely happening a lot meow.

• Speaking of emojis, check out this breakdown of emoji use by country. What emoji do Canadians love to use? The smiling poop of course. (I never use that emoji lol)

• Facebook continues to make it harder for brands to reach their audiences. They’ve changed their news feed algorithm once again. Better for personal use. Bad for brands.

• Move over Snapchat…. well maybe not but Facebook Messenger rolls out video chat.

• If you opt into Twitter’s new “Highlights” feature, it will send you push notifications with a collection of “important” tweets you might’ve missed that day.

• It’s amazing how many Google social networks can fail but the giant lives on. Now Google+ looks like it’s having an identity crisis, may take on Pinterest with its new facelift.

• The NHL is banning you from using Periscope or Meerkat to livestream games, but how will they enforce this?!

• Tickets are now on sale for this year’s Yeggies! Edmonton new/social media awards. I’ve got my tickets… hope to see oyu there! :-)

• You can now tweet up to four photos from desktop (twitter.com or Tweetdeck!) It’s not just for mobile anymore! Yay.

• I thought this was an interesting campaign tactic from the NDP: They had a page dedicated to tweeting / targeting PC candidates on corporate tax.

• This month’s Edmonton Social Media Breakfast was about the local food community! Catch the highlights with the #SMBYEG tag!

• Did you see this week’s Cat Saturday photos?! My favourites are 3, 6, 9, 10, 12, 21, and 26!!!

• And I’ll take the opportunity to plug the Edmonton International Cat Festival each week until May 30! Get your tickets!! Come watch cat videos & do other fun cat-themed stuff, including meeting celebrity cat Pudge, all for a good cause! Get more information and buy tickets here!

Thoughts on these stories? Tweet @ me or leave a comment below!

Linda

Follow @lindork