The (R)evolution in Digital & Social Media
Hey everyone!
Happy October! The leaves are changing and we couldn’t be more excited to see what other changes are in store for us!
Speaking of change, here’s what’s new in the Digital & Social world.
SNAPCHAT
This is one of my favorite apps. I check it daily, maybe 50 times (give or take) a day. My Snapchat score is 18,963 (yes, you read that right, #srynotsry). So yeah, it’s safe to say that I’m addicted to Snapchat. Obviously when the most recent update came out I was completely bummed that the update didn’t work on my iPhone 4s (I spent a half hour trying it out on my phone by restarting my phone and turning my Wi-Fi on & off… it still did not work, unfortunately).
Anyways, more about these cool new Snapchat updates can be found throughout the internet because everyone – young and old – seems to be taking a liking to the newest features. If you have an iPhone 5 or 6 (basically anything other than a 4) you can enjoy the newest update.
Snapchat’s update uses facial recognition to essentially Photoshop video chats & messages in real time. Snapchat uses the technology already in its new “Lenses” feature which launched mid-September. Lenses let people add filters to their selfies so they become animated before they send snaps. You can see some of the cool effects at work in the images above.
Originally, the app Looksery hosted this technology and was bought by Snapchat for 1.5 million dollars. Crazy right?! Snapchat’s update reminded me of Apple’s Photobooth actually, so I find it pretty cool that a similar concept is now going mobile. Snapchat is taking entertainment and communication to a whole new level. Well, cheers to more updates in Snapchat, and in hoping that they’ll begin working on my iPhone 4s.
NEW INSTAGRAM LANDSCAPE & LAYOUT FEATURE
In addition to square posts — you can now share photos & videos in both portrait and landscape orientation on Instagram! Now, when choosing a photo or video, you can tap the format icon to adjust the orientation to portrait or landscape instead of square. Once you share the photo, the full-sized version of it will appear to all of your followers in feed in a gorgeous, natural way. To keep the clean feel of your profile grid, your post will appear there as a center-cropped square.’
Additionally with the layout app featured on Instagram, you can now easily create a collage!
Signal for Facebook and Instagram
Listen up Journalists! Facebook and Instagram has made storytelling and reporting even easier for you. You can now easily source and curate content on relevant trends, news, photos, videos, and posts with Facebook’s newest software Signal. That’s not all – You can even embed that curated content online and integrate it into your broadcasts.
What about Instagram? Just search for visual content related to specific hashtags associated with public accounts or tagged locations!
Mojis on Skype
Skype is becoming another popular social networking app. College students, professionals, and relatives all over the world are using it almost every day, and now they’ve added Mojis! It’s an easy and fun way to communicate with your co-workers, family members, or friends. Skype is becoming one of my favorite apps now and reminds me of AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) from back in the day.
How is it like AIM besides the fact that it’s a chat? Well, AIM is dead now but back then, it allowed me to personalize my screenname(s). I changed my profile almost every day and filled it with funky colored quotes. I also changed my icon almost every day, which were essentially a representation of you and your personality.
Skype is a more modern version of AIM. It allows you to add a picture to your profile, personalize fonts, add your mood, and write an about me in your profile! And now Mojis add a whole new fun element, just like AIM once did.
Periscope’s new landscape view
You can now hold your phone either in portrait or landscape mode with the latest version of Periscope on iOS and Android. Here’s how it works: Viewers can continue holding their device in portrait, or match the broadcaster’s orientation to maintain full screen video. Either way, you’ll never need to tilt your head to watch sideways video.
Advertising on Instagram
Businesses, Advertising agencies – come one, come all! Instagram is now the newest and hottest place to advertise yourself and your brand. Businesses of all sizes have been testing these new capabilities with positive results. It’s the perfect opportunity to be visually creative with your brand and inspire others. Instagram ads have driven strong branding results—about 97% of measured campaigns on Instagram have generated significant lifts in ad recall.
New Dislike button for FB
Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg said this week that his company is working on a ‘dislike’ button.
Zuckerberg said he wants Facebook’s ‘dislike’ button to be used for empathy instead of scorn, like expressing concern over tragic world events. The much discussed ‘dislike’ button won’t even be called ‘dislike’.
I can’t wait to hear more news about Facebook’s newest addition.
As we all know, social media is constantly changing, so I know I’ll be updating you guys soon enough with more changes in the social media world. Stay tuned and keep reading! Hope you are as pumped as I am for all the hot upcoming changes!
Ananya Wangay is a Community Manager at MSM DesignZ, Inc. MSM DesignZ is a full service advertising and design firm based in Westchester County, New York.