📰 Social Media Pulse News: January 9, 2023

christine · January 9, 2023, 6:00am

Your social media news for January 9, 2023:

Facebook

Remember back in 2014 when Facebook removed chat within the app and made us all download Messenger instead? Well, they’re now testing bringing in-app Messenger access back.

Facebook posts now contain the option to share a post as an Instagram direct message.
Facebook’s Reels composer now has “ready-made” Reel options from your photo uploads, as well as prompts to add hashtags and mentions.

We knew Instagram third-party-software live streaming was coming—it’s now rolling out to more people (though still not everyone, and it’s still web-only). @AskYvi shows us how it’s done:

Instagram’s Adam Mosseri conveyed the platform’s 2023 priorities via a Reel (as is his tendency)—top foci include inspiring people to be creative, helping people discover things they love, and sparking connections between people.

Shades of MySpace? Instagram is starting to let some users add music to their profiles.

First emoji reactions, then Avatar reactions…now Instagram is letting you reply to DMs with a drawing.

One constant of Elon Musk’s tenure at the helm of Twitter thus far has been verification drama. Matt Navarra lays out the current status of the differing verification levels:

In a continued bid to make the Twitter Blue paid service more appealing, Blue subscribers are officially being rewarded with greater Tweet visibility, as well as the ability to post videos of up to 60 min/2GB.
The new Blue for Business verification tier includes square profile badges, gold verified badges, and verified affiliate account badges (which appear next to checkmarks as square Twitter logos).

People aren’t loving the new “View Count” feature on Tweets; it will soon be optional, and at the very least will be redesigned.
Twitter is rolling out some new ad placement tools to appease concerned advertisers, including adjacency controls and third-party “Brand Safety Measurement”…however, it’s also easing restrictions on “cause-based advertising” (including political ads) in the US.
Wish Twitter Advanced Search was a) in-app and b) mobile? Well, good news: it’s coming soon (though just to iOS for now)…
Twitter is testing an option on how to view trends: via general popularity or customized for the viewer, as well as the ability to navigate “latest” vs. “personalized” recommendations and trending hashtags in Communities.

Twitter is still working on a Reddit-esque feature that would allow you to give “Twitter gold” and reactions to creators for tweets you appreciate.

LinkedIn has announced that 2023 will see improved video accessibility, standardized accessibility job titles, alt text functionality in Campaign Manager, updates To Job Search, updates To B2B Product Search, post scheduling, and content analytics
When you send or receive a connection request, LinkedIn will now automatically turn the sender into a follower in the meantime.

YouTube has begun testing the mobile version of its queueing system—which enables users to add videos to what basically amounts to a custom playlist—among select YouTube Premium subscribers on iOS and Android.

YouTube has added the Shorts remix report and some new Key Metrics in the YouTube Studio app, accessible on desktop, a new live-streaming section to the YouTube for Creators website, and more creative post features.
YouTube also plans to add AI-powered video text search, automated transcription, dubbing, and translation, and a Courses feature, which will include the ability to upload documents for sharing—but all these features are headed to India first.
YouTube has updated their monetization policy to clarify that videos will be demonetized if profanity appears within the first 8 seconds.
YouTube’s progress bar will soon be grey (instead of turning from white to red) for devices on Dark Mode, though it will remain red when interacting with the video or while the devices is on Light Mode.

YouTube had removed comments on Art Tracks (auto-generated music videos), but has brought back the commenting feature as an option on Official Artist channels.
YouTube has been spotted making hashtag suggestions for Shorts.

TikTok is pulling back the curtain a bit on its algorithm’s method of recommending content.
TikTok is working with J.P. Morgan on a global payments platform for the app.
TikTok’s audience controls now allow creators to restrict certain videos to an adult-only audience (though the videos still need to conform to TikTok’s policies prohibiting nudity and sexually explicit content).
TikTok’s permissions manager will allow users to send and receive requests to promote each other’s content.

TikTok promotional goals now include “More video views” and “Pin and promote your LIVE goal” options.
Speaking of live streams, TikTok is letting you choose the quality of your live video, and is also offering a fun live “Draw & Guess” game.

TikTok has new privacy options on who can send you messages: everyone, suggested friends, mutual follows and people you’ve sent messages to, or no one.
TikTok videos now include scrubbing thumbnails.
TikTok’s new IMDb integration will allow creators to tag a show or movie, leading to a dedicated in-app page with more thorough IMDB data.
TikTok is testing the ability to create TikTok effects within the TikTok app.

WhatsApp has added an Undo Message feature and proxy server access.
Snap’s shutting down Snapcam for Zoom, but they’ve also added a customizable capture button, new chat wallpapers, and gift subscriptions.
Tumblr is entering the world of live streaming (in the US, anyway).
Telegram has added a whole bunch of features including hidden media, zero storage usage, drawing tools, contact profile pictures, and temporary QR codes.