“Social Media Roundup” is a weekly roundup of news pertaining to all of your favorite websites and applications used for social networking. Published on Sundays, “Social Media Roundup” will help you stay up-to-date on all the important social media news you need to know.
AR Ads Being Tested In The News Feed
Facebook is now distributing augmented reality based ads in the News Feed. The augmented reality ads are currently in the test phase in the U.S.
How does it work? The augmented reality ads will allow users to try on certain products virtually similar to how filters work on Instagram and Snapchat. To build out some of its augmented reality technology, Facebook had acquired a selfie filter app called MSQRD back in 2016.
Some of the brands working on augmented reality based ads include Sephora, Wayfair and Pottery Barn. Here is an example of what the Michael Kors and Sephora augmented reality ads would look like:
"Use of augmented reality (AR) is growing among people and businesses. In fact, The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) estimates that more than 80 million people in the US engage with AR on a monthly basis and BCG expects this number to grow to more than 120 million by 2021," said Facebook in the announcement. "From try-on product experiences to immersive filters for games and movies, AR enables people to connect with your business and products in new ways. Now, with the introduction of AR ads in Facebook News Feed, people can experiment with your brand’s AR camera effects in just one click from your ad. And by incorporating calls-to-action within the camera experience, people can seamlessly go from engaging with your product—such as trying on a lipstick shade or exploring a new game—to making a purchase or installing an app."
Stories Highlights Test
Currently the way that Facebook Stories works is that you share photos and videos, which delete after a 24 hour period. But now Facebook is testing the ability to save your Stories as part of a feature called Highlights. This is also the same name that Instagram uses for a similar feature.
This feature was discovered by Jane Manchun Wong, a developer who often discovers hidden features being tested in the Facebook and Instagram Android app:
Facebook is working on Stories Highlights pic.twitter.com/nDnrCAxqnH
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) July 8, 2018
The Facebook Stories Highlights feature will allow you to select from Stories that expired and add them into collections using associated cover images and titles. Facebook sees around 150 million people who use Facebook Stories every day and by adding a Highlights feature, the company could quickly see those metrics increase even faster.
Evan Cheng Named As Director Of Engineering For Blockchain
Earlier this year, Facebook announced it was setting up a division to explore Blockchain technology. David Marcus, the head of Messenger, was named as the head of the Blockchain division at Facebook.
And TechCrunch reported that Evan Cheng was named as Director of Engineering for Blockchain, according to his LinkedIn profile. Over the last three years, Cheng was responsible for Programming Languages & Runtimes at Facebook. And before that, he worked at Apple for nearly 10 years.
Penalty For Cambridge Analytica Scandal
Facebook may face the maximum penalty that UK authorities can impose for punishing the company due to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Surprisingly, the maximum penalty is $664,000, according to Bloomberg.
“Facebook has failed to provide the kinds of protections they’re required to do under data protection laws,” said UK Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham during a call with the media.
During a congressional hearing in April, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg answered hundreds of questions about the Cambridge Analaytica scandal and to address privacy concerns. The Federal Trade Commission is now reportedly looking into whether Facebook violated a 2011 legal agreement about user data sharing.
Hinge
Hinge, a dating app owned by Match Group, is now using artificial intelligence to automatically pick out perfect matches for marriage. Hinge’s “stable marriage” algorithm will show daily recommended matches.
Specifically, Hinge is rolling out a Most Compatible feature that uses machine learning and the Gale-Shapley algorithm -- which is also known as the “stable marriage” algorithm, according to 9to5Mac.
Hinge will ask you to like individual photos and parts of a user’s profile to learn your tastes. And then Hinge's artificial intelligence technology will determine the stable marriage conditions for users and provide a match for that day.
Questions Sticker
Instagram has added a new sticker feature for Stories called the Questions Sticker. Once you add a photo or a video to your story, you can overlay the Questions Sticker in the Instagram story by tapping on the stickers button and then typing up the question.
Once your contacts see the sticker, they can tap on it to reply. The person who posted the question can see who wrote each reply privately. But they can share the replies that they like with their followers. And the reply that is shared will have the identity of that person removed.
"Along with the polling sticker and emoji slider, the questions sticker gives you another easy way to get closer with all of your friends on Instagram," said the company in a blog post.
This feature is now available on the Android and iOS version of Instagram as long as you have updated to version 52.
New Verification Process Being Tested
Instagram is currently testing a way for users to verify their accounts. Specifically, Instagram for iPhone users in Australia and several other countries may see this feature.
One of the reasons why the revamping of the verification process is important is because it is relatively challenging for many users so a black market was created where several middlemen charged $15,000 for it. But a number of people were scammed as a result. Supposedly some of Instagram’s own employees also sold verified badges,.
How does the new "request verification" feature work? Users will be asked to provide their account information along with a valid form of identification.
Chat Tool For Collaborative Planning Boards
Pinterest has made it easier for groups of people to plan out events by adding an activity feed for group boards. This appears in the form of a timeline of recent activity such as likes, comments and pinned items.
Groups will be notified when a new comment gets added and comments do not have to be attached to specific pins any longer. Plus members of the group will be able to leave a message in the activity feed to start chat threads as well. This feature is now available on Pinterest for the web and the mobile apps.
Snap
Snapchat May Gain A Feature That Links Products To Amazon
Snap is currently testing a feature for Snapchat where the camera could be used to identify products, barcodes and songs — which would then be connected to Amazon listings. This feature was discovered in the app code by developer Ishan Agarwal via TechCrunch.
As the camera identifies objects and songs, the data would be sent to Amazon, Shazam and several other companies. Then Amazon would send back data about the product information and reviews.
From there, users would be able to copy and share the Amazon link with their friends. Snap would likely receive commission for sales made using this feature.
Locked Accounts Being Removed
Twitter has been locking accounts when it detects sudden changes in account behavior for a while now. For those situations, Twitter reaches out to the account owners to reset the password and validate the accounts. Then Twitter keeps it locked without the ability to log in. Now the locked accounts will be removed from follower counts globally.
“Most people will see a change of four followers or fewer; others with larger follower counts will experience a more significant drop. We understand this may be hard for some, but we believe accuracy and transparency make Twitter a more trusted service for public conversation,” said Twitter in the announcement.
Twitter has significantly combated spam in the last few months as part of an effort to reduce fake news. For example, around 70 million accounts were reportedly removed between May and June. This change does not affect the monthly active user and the daily active user numbers that Twitter reports in its financials.
Forwarded Messages To Be Labeled
WhatsApp has announced that it is now going to start labeling forwarded messages as part of a move to combat fake news from spreading. The new “Forwarded” label essentially shows when a message that was sent was forwarded from another user.
Before the "Forwarded" label started rolling out, WhatsApp was testing out the feature in India and Brazil. Between these two countries, over 300 million people use the app, according to The Verge. And WhatsApp has been linked to malicious use of fake news in both of those countries.
Several lynchings in India have occurred due to fake news spreading on WhatsApp. So the Indian government has requested Facebook to take action about it. Facebook is now running ads in local news papers in India with suggestions about how to detect fake news.
Reuters pointed out that the full page newspaper ads started running in a number of “key Indian newspapers” last Tuesday. And then Facebook expanded those ads to many more local news outlets shortly after:
#whatsapp has to publish a full page ad in @TOIIndiaNews requesting people not to spread #fakenews, just #India things! @TOIPune #pune pic.twitter.com/Ao7LNeLZS4
— Ajinkya (@ajinkyab12) July 10, 2018
YouTube
Fake News Initiative
YouTube is going to be rolling out a tool that will lead people towards authoritative sources when news breaks in order to prevent fake news and conspiracy theories from spreading. Once a news event breaks, YouTube will show a preview of related articles in the search results that link to the full article.
"Authoritativeness is essential to viewers especially during fast-moving, breaking news events," said YouTube in the blog post. "So, we've been investing in new product features to prominently surface authoritative sources." The Breaking News shelf feature is expected to roll out in the coming weeks.
