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!

• Pretty big Instagram desktop update. You can now search people, places, and hashtags on the web version of Instagram!

• I was surprised last week when I saw a surge in my Instagram followers but it quickly dropped back to normal. Turns out it was an Instagram bug that led a lot of people into thinking they had newfound popularity (or vice versa). What I thought was most interesting is how it revealed so many people actually do keep a fairly close eye on their daily follower numbers.

• A sign of the Snapchat times: Snapchat now puts news/brand “Stories” ahead of your friend’s.

• Twitter has rolled out a new “data dashboard” (sounds fancier than it looks) that lets you – at an easy glance – see when and from what device your account is being accessed.

• Facebook is testing a new e-commerce experience that lets users buy items directly from business’ Facebook Pages – turning pages into mini storefronts outside of business’ main websites.

• What a diference: Facebook Mesesnger app has now been downloaded more times than the actual Facebook app! This comes after all of the criticism/anger people voiced when Facebook essentially forced users to download Messenger in the beginning.

• A new report says Twitter and Facebook are growing as source of news for many users, a plus for both networks who have been putting a bigger focus on news.

• Last week I read a Christie Blatchford column on a Twitter/criminal harassment case that said the decision could impact free speech. That was actually the first time I remember hearing about the case, and my friend Brittney (@britl) was quick to let me know that Blatchford’s reporting on the case does not tell the full story. Here’s a good read from Anne Theriault on Canadaland that talks about how Blatchford coverage (and really other media coverage too) on the Twitter harassment case so far has been inaccurate and dangerous. Pretty scary stuff, what happened to these girls, and terrible that one-sided or incomplete reporting is causing them even more harm.
• Also, men who harass women online are quite literally losers, a new study finds.

• Restrictions are coming to Reddit including changes that would see the baning of content that is: spam, anything illegal, someone’s private and personal information, hate, violence, bullying/harassment, and sexually suggestive content featuring minors. Seems like a positive move.

• Autoplay videos can be annoying but they can also lead to exposure of graphic content that most people wouldn’t want to see. The New York Times learned that lesson today with an auto play video showing men killed at sea.

• This is a good read on some new numbers that discuss parents and their social media use/concerns related to their kids’ social media use. Mothers are more likely than fathers to share, post or comment on Facebook, most parents aren’t uncomfortable about information posted about their child by others online, etc.

• Interesting: Flipagram raises $70 million in funding and major music deals. The app is a “storytelling” app where users can create a music video-like clip using their own photos and videos. I’ve used it a couple of times to quickly recap events.

• In its continued clampdown on nudity – Instagram has now blocked users from searching for pictures tagged “#curvy”. Yikes..

• Lols. Did you take part in Amazon’s #PrimeDay? The Amazon brand took a hit online on July 15 – with negative tweets up 241% due to the crappy products being put on sale.

• Spotify has introduced Discover Weekly – meant to offer users personalized playlists based on user history/profiles, in an attempt to introduce them to new music.

• I meant to share this last week, but Karen Unland has rebranded her blog about Edmonton blogs to be called ‘Seen and Heard in Edmonton’ and also started a podcast too! Check out her first podcast interviewing local food blogger Michelle Peters-Jones! Really interesting / refreshing take from Michelle on food blogging and why/how she’s built a following online!

• Local crowdfunding success story: Whyte Ave’s Wunderbar will remain open a little longer after a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign reached its goal of $4,500 in just 2 hours.

• Elections Canada has released some information clarifying its rules around social media advertising including free messages posted on Twitter/FB or even YouTube videos is not advertising, but pre-roll video ads are.

• You might’ve heard of the threesome caught on camera at the Calgary Stampede last week. Here’s an interesting take on it – how the girl at the centre of the threesome is refusing to let other people tell her narrative.

• Someone made a parody Ice District site that features all things CATS! and it’s amazing. I am actually super impressed with their attention to detail – wording, colours, layout, etc.

• Did you see this week’s Cat Saturday photos?! My favourites are 7, 13, 15, 20, 22, 30, 32 and 39!!!

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

Linda

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