Social Media Notes
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!
(I missed the last couple of weeks’ Social Media Notes as I was away in Japan! See my Japan blog posts: Top 15 Things To Do in Japan + a Guide to Cat Cafes in Japan).
- Snapchat’s monetization plans are pretty interesting – forget traditional ads, they’re turning your own selfies – filtered – into advertisements. “Snapchat seems to be homing in on a business model where it doesn’t have to unilaterally bombard users with cookie-cutter ads, and it doesn’t have to nickel and dime them with in-app purchases. Instead, it positions users as the vector for transmitting viral advertising under the guise of content.” Talk about innovative marketing.
- First Snapchat Stories, then Twitter unveiled Moments, now Instagram launched curated Halloween content in a special feed perhaps indicating that we’re moving beyond hashtags to recap events. (I still love the hashtag though, and I doubt it’ll be going anywhere any time soon).
- Lots of people are freaking out about Snapchats updated privacy policy, basically stating that Snapchat has the right to save/take your snaps and reproduce them. This article clarifies what this might look like. Snapchat has also come out to clarify the matter. Regardless, I think if you’re naive enough to think that your snaps are actually ‘gone forever’ then you likely deserve to have them taken and reproduced by Snapchat, really. You should know going into any social network that you’re giving up some degree of privacy and rights to content shared (is my take on it anyway).
- What are the top kind of blogs people are searching for around the world? In Canada – weddings. USA – travel. Spain – fashion. United Kingdom – Vegan. List goes on, according to a new report from Bloglovin’.
- Apparently there’s a new search engine that gives you YouTube results from emoji searches. I feel like it would just be easier to incorporate emoji tags into your respective social networks, like Instagram!
- Facebook is removing the “Other” Inbox you likely didn’t know you had and instead replacing it with “Message Requests” that will allow anyone to send you a (more visible) message – which you can then decide if they’ll be allowed to send you follow-up messages.
- Facebook’s improved search now scours all public posts on the platform. Do you know what posts you made from years ago are public? You should look (and then make them private or delete them if they’re embarrassing lol).
- Take social media posts with a grain of salt – a new study says most people posting to Facebook and Instagram make their lives seem more fun than it actually is. It is very much a curated online life nowadays!
- Have you started noticing more videos on Facebook yet? You will – eventually, even a dedicated video feed section.
- Stocks continue to fall for my beloved social network. Here’s an essay on “the decay of Twitter.” What do you think?
- Check out these 20 things social media professionals can’t ignore in 2016, including competing with social video superstars, building time and budget for Snapchat in your social cycle, new engagement opportunities on Instagram and more!
- Also, here are 5 reasons Instagram really matters (especially as we go into 2016). #InstagramForever
- I haven’t done a lot with Instagram’s standalone apps – Hyperlapse or Layout, but maybe their latest effort Boomerang, which makes GIF-like looping videos, will be a different story!
- Image-sharing site Imgur has 150 million monthly active users now – its CEO says users like being able to express themselves “authentically” on the site. Do you use Imgur?
- For the first time, Klout has released detailed information highlighting how it determines online influence. It’s a move meant to show Klout has matured beyond being “just a number.”
- Did you see this week’s Cat Saturday Meowlloween photos?!
Thoughts on these stories? Tweet @ me or leave a comment below!
Linda