Social media sites will continue to roll out new features at a rapid pace in 2023. Many of these are minor quality-of-life improvements (hello, schedule LinkedIn newsletters!), but others continue to transform the way we see review on sites, fighting misinformation or helping turn you into a singing loaf of bread.
Read on for more.
The professional social network rolled out several new updates to how content is displayed and prioritized on your profile.
In a blog post, the app announced that users can now choose what type of content appears first on their profile’s Activity tab — such as posts, videos, comments, documents, images, and more. This is a helpful tool for, for example, graphic designers or photographers who can now showcase their own work first, or amazing commenters who can show off their connection skills.
Additionally, LinkedIn introduced scheduling options for newsletters and added a one-click subscription option. A new feature that allows you to optimize your LinkedIn article titles for SEO is also present. Finally (wow!) you can now flag message threads for easy reference later.
That’s a lot of features! which one do you use
Meta
The parent company of Facebook and Instagram is rolling out two new features, both of which appear to have been ripped off from other apps.
First, in a clear echo of Twitter, Meta is testing paid verified badges. Unlike Twitter Blue, these involve actual verification that you are who you say you are through an official ID check. Those who subscribe to the monthly service ($11.99 when buying online, $14.99 on iOS and Android) get a verified badge, proactive account monitoring to combat identity theft, access to a human customer service representative, increased visibility and reach, and “exclusive features to express yourself in a unique way.”
Currently, this service is only available to individuals, not to organizations or businesses. It is currently in testing phases in Australia and New Zealand.
TechCrunch reported that Meta is also testing a feature that appears to take inspiration from BeReal. Appeal works in Messenger group chats. One person can start the appeal by adding a photo or video and asking the other group members to share their own in response to show what they are doing. There is a timed countdown and only those who share their own pictures can see the rest of the group.
Roll Call is still an internal prototype but something to keep an eye on.
youtube
YouTube is currently running an experiment to allow users to create podcasts in Studio. You can also mark existing playlists as podcasts and have access to new analytics tools for measuring podcasts. While it’s just a test, this seems like a great way to get more traction out of a podcast without a lot of extra work.
Snapchat
Snapchat is expanding its Sounds feature to offer recommendations for pairing with AR Lenses, the app announced in a blog post. For example, if you want to use a lens that turns your face into a slice of bread, the app might suggest a sound called “Daily Bread” to accompany it.
Another feature, Sounds Sync for Camera Roll, helps lock still images together so they’re in rhythm with the selected sound.
On Monday, Snapchat made another big announcement. It will release its own integrated version of ChatGPT. The Verge calls it My AI and describes it as a fast, mobile-friendly version of ChatGPT’s main service, albeit with more restrictions on swearing, politics, and other sticky topics.
“The big idea is that not only do we talk to our friends and family every day, we talk to AI every day,” Snap CEO Evan Spiegel told The Verge. “And we are well positioned as a messaging service for this.”
Initially, the service will only be available to Snapchat Plus subscribers who pay $3.99/month.
Finally, Twitter now notifies users when a tweet they engage with is later tagged with a community note (their new fact-checking feature) letting them know if they may have interacted with a tweet that wasn’t correct.
Starting today, you’ll be notified when a community note appears on a Tweet you’ve replied to, liked, or retweeted. This helps give people additional context that they might otherwise miss. pic.twitter.com/LIcGgl2zdJ
— Community Notes (@CommunityNotes) February 21, 2023
Which feature are you looking forward to the most?
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