December Social Shake
Lights are twinkling and snowflakes are falling. Will December’s social updates be equally merry and bright?
Whether you’re Scrooge-worthy or Santa-obsessed, the festive season comes for us all in the end. The hustle and bustle of gift buying, tree decorating and carol singing is quickly dissolving into a time for hibernation. But leave it to Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, and the masterminds behind TikTok to keep the wheels turning just in time for the new year. Our favourite social channels are popping out updates like they work in the North Pole – but will they feel like a gift? Let’s find out.
Musk’s still mucking around
If you’re a social media manager that feels personally victimised by a little blue bird, join the club. Elon Musk’s constant upheaval of the status quo appears to be far from over. The next phase of the Twitter reformation plan is the introduction of long-form text. In contrast to the platform’s key feature, short, quippy messages, Musk hinted that the platform’s current 280-character limit may be on its way to 4000 characters. However, only the first 280 characters would be available, introducing a ‘show more’ button to reveal the rest of the message.
After last year’s launch of Community Notes (or Birdwatch) to help prevent the spread of misinformation in the US, the feature will now be available in other regions. As of last week, all Twitter users can view Community Notes, but only users in the US can create them.
To top off the latest edition of dramatic updates and rollbacks, Twitter released an update banning links to any other social platform on the site. This new rule would mean that creators couldn’t have links in their bio, tweets, etc. However, Twitter has now gone back on this statement, deleting their previous update.
What does this mean for you?
With so many updates popping up in our news feeds, it can be easy to tune out on what’s happening to Twitter 2.0. While switching up a character limit may seem insignificant, we’re witnessing a potential fork in the identity of Twitter’s messaging. Without forced quippiness, where is Twitter’s true niche? We’re keeping our eyes glued to the platform as we, and Musk, attempt to figure out its future.
Instagram’s upping their game
Just in time for the holidays, Instagram is implementing new tools to spur usage. ‘Notes’ is a conversation prompt that sits above direct messages in a user’s inbox. Like stories, users can post captions up to 60 characters - including emojis. Users can select who sees their Notes from their friends list. Each post will last 24 hours and replies to notes will be in the usual DM inbox.
In an answer to the pleas of users everywhere, Instagram has also upgraded their tools to help users regain access to their locked accounts. In tandem, they boosted a few new measures to combat impersonation on the app.
A new recovery centre will be available through Instagram.com/hacked. Users, including ones with multiple accounts, can start the process of regaining their login info in a more streamlined way. In lieu of classic security questions, people can now refer their IG-using friends to confirm their identity and regain account access.
What does this mean for you?
Besides a collective sigh of relief regarding better account recovery practices, Instagram’s updates may take a while to have a resounding effect. But, the new ‘Notes’ feature could indicate the hinted-upon throwback to a MySpace-esque platform. With new features based on personal connections and conversations rather than aspirational, curated posts, Instagram may be evolving. For now, time will tell.
TikTok’s going full-screen
Creating film-grade TikTok’s? The newest update will allow users to appreciate your genius in full screen. Select users can now watch videos with YouTube-style horizontal, full-screen display options.
If you’re looking for new ideas to fill user’s screens, check out a few interesting trends bouncing around the platform:
Trend: Microwave popcorn
Try it for yourself: Audio
Have you ever been explaining a story to someone and become frustrated when the other person keeps interrupting with questions that they’ve already heard the answer to? This sound is for you.
Trend: The world’s smallest violin
The classic saying coined with little sympathy for a complainer has found its way to TikTok. Creators are faking playing the world’s smallest violin with a soundtrack to match.
Try it for yourself: Audio
What does this mean for you?
On TikTok’s continual rise to fame, the horizontal update indicates a use case for the platform that expands beyond a constantly scrolling thumb. Viewing video on a large screen makes room for large ideas and the content to match.
If you’re in search of trends to boost your business, consider the above, or go searching for the perfect one for your brand. As the saying goes, there’s lots of fish in the sea.