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Dorsey steps down as Twitter chief
Twitter’s co-founder Jack Dorsey stepped down as chief exec at the end of November. The shock news was greeted favourably by investors who saw shares soar by 11% shortly after. Dorsey, who posted the first tweet back in 2006, was a divisive figure, often criticised for not taking a strong enough stance on social harms and splitting his time with Square – a digital payments company he set up. He did, however, take a lead on banning Donald Trump after the Capitol Hill riots. He will be replaced by Parag Agrawal, the former chief technology officer. Read more here, here and here.
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TikTok launches 'CommunityToks'
TikTok has launched a new marketing promotion called CommunityToks, which provides brands with a way to interact around specific topics and niches. The intention is to provide a space for communities to come together, and for businesses to maximise their branding and build connections. For many organisations, these sub-networks could be the perfect way to enter the platform and understand more about the TikTok community. Read more here.
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Concerns over Facebook 'metaverse'
It’s early days for Meta – and Mark Zuckerberg’s – vision of the ‘metaverse’ (an online 3D virtual world where people can play games, socialise, work, trade crypto and more) but the recent news has certainly got people and media talking about it. Some critics argue that we’re effectively already in it and this is just ‘distract and divert’ tactics from Meta, while others say Facebook shouldn’t be allowed to gain even more effective control over users’ data in an unregulated world. Like it or loathe it, Facebook is moving fast and is already testing haptic gloves for the VR world. Read more here, here and here.
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IG adds vital carousel posts update
The news that Instagram now allows users to remove single images and pictures from carousel posts was met with a collective YES! at Battenhall HQ. Once a carousel post is set live, users can tap the three dots on the left-hand side of the post, select ‘Edit’, and tap the trash can icon to remove the chosen image or video from the post. This new feature will finally cut out the hassle of having to delete and re-upload posts once they have already gone live. Find out more here.
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FB and IG offer $1bn+ to creators
Facebook and Instagram are trying to incentivise people to use its features by offering money to creators that post on their platforms. Mark Zuckerberg promised the company would pay $1 billion to Facebook creators by the end of 2022, with some of this money going towards creators who use the platform’s new live audio rooms. Instagram is doing similar by incentivising creators to post their short-form content on Reels to compete with rival TikTok. Find out more here and here.
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Twitter appoints new crypto lead
Twitter is exploring ways to incorporate cryptocurrency and blockchain tech in its app. With crypto bringing new opportunities for creator monetisation and self-expression, Twitter has hired a Crypto Engineering Lead, Tess Rinearson, to explore what can be done. Crypto is already in use by Twitter in the form of NFT (non-fungible tokens) display options and ticketed Spaces, but Rinearson will bring her expertise to the development of Twitter’s full ecosystem. Read more here.
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IG tests 'Take a Break', 60-sec Stories
Instagram chief executive Adam Mosseri announced last month that the platform is testing a 'Take a Break' opt-in tool that will give users break reminders after varying periods of time in a bid to reduce potential harms caused by prolonged periods of use. Instagram also revealed that it is trialling Stories of up to 60 seconds with some users, putting it on a par with TikTok’s one-minute maximum video time. Find out more here and here.
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Snapchat adds two new Maps layers
Snapchat has unveiled two new layers on the Snap Map to make it more interactive. The first – Memories – shows users their old Snaps from particular places on the map, which are private. Explore, meanwhile, enables users to see public activity by volume in a particular location, which makes it easier to view. With Snapchat users still growing around the world, the platform has plans to continue building layers to drive more interactivity. Find out more about its evolution here.
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Facebook tests new 'feed controls'
Facebook is testing some new options that will enable users to influence what they see more of and less of in their news feeds in a bid to improve the overall user experience. The new controls include the ability to increase or reduce the amount of content, select favourite profiles, and even snooze certain users or pages. Advertisers will also have more autonomy over the kind of content their ads are associated with in order to drive more engagement. Find out more here.
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Clubhouse adds Replay feature
Audio social platform Clubhouse has launched a new ‘Replay’ feature on both iOS and Android that enables creators to record an audio room and replay it so that anyone who misses it live can check it out later. The new tool, which was released early in November, will also enable creators to view who is listening to a room’s Replay after the live room ends, which can help them to connect with users who weren’t able to listen to the experience in real-time. Find out more here.
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Facebook Groups get features boost
Facebook has introduced a series of updates that aim to improve the culture and functioning of Groups. The new tools will enable admins to add personalised features, create subgroups and subscription-based subgroups, and events such as fundraisers. Facebook has also teased the launch of Community Chats, an interface that allows larger communities to efficiently connect and make management decisions. Read more here.
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Twitter launches livestream shopping
Twitter has hosted its first livestream shopping event, partnering with US retail giant Walmart on a 'Cyber Deals Stream'. The live shopping interface is split between a video livestream, an online shop, and a feed of tweets for users to maneuver between easily. The update is only available for iOS and desktop users currently, but will be rolled out to Android users soon. The move follows similar live shopping events from Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest. Read more about it here.
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