HiTechEdge

Tag: social media

  • Instagram May Soon Allow Adding Moderators to Live Videos

    Instagram May Soon Allow Adding Moderators to Live Videos

    Instagram may be taking a major step forward in helping users keep discussion about their live videos civil, with the addition of moderators.

    Instagram, like most social media platforms, struggles with issues balancing engagement with toxic online culture. Comments can quickly turn negative, starting a groundswell of backlash.

    According to noted leaker Alessandro Paluzzi, Instagram is looking to let users approve moderators for live videos.

    There’s no timeline given for when users can expect the new feature.

  • Facebook Wanted to Attract New Users as Young as 6

    Facebook Wanted to Attract New Users as Young as 6

    Newly discovered revealed are shedding light on Facebook’s marketing goals, including its plans to target new users as young as 6.

    Facebook is increasingly under fire by consumers and lawmakers alike, accused of putting profits ahead of societal good. Frances Haugen, a former product manager, has blown the whistle on some of the company’s most toxic behavior, shining a spotlight on just how much the company ignores the damage its platform causes in the pursuit of profits.

    According to NBC News, one of the documents Haugen’s attorney provided to the SEC and Congress contained an internal blog post that proposed targeting new age groups below 13 years old. One of the age groups included children as young as 6 to 9 years old.

    “These five age groups can be used to define education, transparency, controls and defaults that will meet the needs of young users,” read the Facebook post.

    Needless to say, critics are jumping on the revelation as the latest example of how much Facebook cannot be trusted.

    “Facebook and Instagram have repeatedly shown that they simply can’t be trusted when it comes to the well-being of children and teens,” said James Steyer, founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, a nonprofit focused on the intersection of children and technology. “They need to focus on cleaning up their existing platforms instead of trying to hook more children to their addictive platforms at younger and younger ages.”

  • Instagram’s New Collabs Feature Allows Users to Co-Author Posts

    Instagram’s New Collabs Feature Allows Users to Co-Author Posts

    Instagram is unveiling a new feature, Collabs, that will allow separate accounts to co-author posts and share resulting likes.

    Co-authoring posts and collaborating on projects is a popular way for social media content creators to build their brand and attract users. Instagram’s new Collabs feature is likely to be a big hit, allowing users to collaborate on posts and Reels, according to The Verge.

    Collabs are accessed via tagging, giving the second account the option to accept or reject the Collab. Once the two accounts are involved in the Collab, views, likes and comments will be shared between the two accounts.

  • Clubhouse Introduces Music Mode

    Clubhouse Introduces Music Mode

    Clubhouse is targeting musicians with a new feature called “Music Mode.”

    Clubhouse is the audio-first social media platform that took the world by storm. Initially invitation-only, the platform became the place for celebrities and CEOs to give interviews and engage in chats.

    The company is now introducing Music Mode, a feature that should make it more appealing to musicians.

    Clubhouse announced the feature on the company blog:

    “Calling all musicians! Today we’re introducing Music Mode, a new setting that helps you sound your best when performing on Clubhouse. Whether you’re workshopping that new song, playing piano, or hosting a jam session with your friends, Music Mode optimizes Clubhouse to broadcast your music with high quality and great stereo sound. You’ll also be able to use professional audio equipment for your performance, like external USB microphones or mixing boards.”

  • Instagram Will Require Users’ Birthdays

    Instagram Will Require Users’ Birthdays

    Instagram users will have to provide their birthday to the company if they want to continue using the social media app.

    Like many tech companies, Instagram is taking additional steps to protect children from threats. As part of that, they will require users to disclose their birthday so the company knows which accounts belong to minors.

    The company has made it clear that those refusing to provide the information will not be able to continue using the app.

    “First, we’ll start to ask you for your birthday when you open Instagram. We’ll show you a notification a handful of times and if you haven’t provided us with your birthday by a certain point, you’ll need to share it to continue using Instagram,” writes Pavni Diwanji, VP of Youth Products. “This information is necessary for new features we’re developing to protect young people.”

    The company will also include a birthday request in its warning screens for age-sensitive content.

    “Second, if you see warning screens placed on posts, we’ll ask you for your birthday before you can see the post,” Diwanji conintues. “These screens aren’t new, and we already show them on posts that may be sensitive or graphic, but we don’t currently ask for your birthday when viewing these posts. Now, we’ll start asking for your birthday on some of these screens if you haven’t shared it with us previously.”

    The company has also indicated it’s working on a system to detect when someone lies about their birthday.

  • Clubhouse Removed Personal Information to Protect Afghans

    Clubhouse Removed Personal Information to Protect Afghans

    Clubhouse is the latest social media platform to take steps to protect Afghans in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover.

    The Taliban surprised the world with the speed with which they retook the country, forcing the Afghan president to flee and solidifying their control. For many Afghans, especially ones that supposed US operations or embraced Western values, the resurgence of the Taliban has put them in grave danger.

    According to The Verge, Clubhouse has taken measures to protect its Afghans users, including resetting their bios, resetting their photos and making their accounts harder to find via search. The company said users’ followers were not affected, and users can reverse the changes if they desire.

    Clubhouse’s actions are a welcome effort for many Afghans as they try to survive a difficult transition.

  • Twitter Reverses Design Update After Reports of Headaches and Eye Strain

    Twitter Reverses Design Update After Reports of Headaches and Eye Strain

    Twitter is reversing design changes after users reported eye strain and headaches as a result of the new look.

    The social media platform rolled out a new font and updated look, but some users were immediately impacted by it — and not in a good way. Headaches and eye strain were reported among people with sensory sensitivities, astigmatism and dyslexia.

    Twitter announced it was reversing the changes in an effort to alleviate the problem.

    It remains to be seen if the rollback is permanent and will apply to all, or if the company will offer users a choice between the old and new look.

  • Snap Smashes Q2 Expectations, Stock Takes Off

    Snap Smashes Q2 Expectations, Stock Takes Off

    Snap, the company behind Snapchat, reported its Q2 results, smashing expectations for revenue and subscriber growth.

    Snap turned in one of its best quarters, growing more in Q2 that it has in four years. The company’s revenue came in at $982 million, 116% higher than the prior year.

    Even more impressive, the platform’s daily active users came in at 293 million, an increase of 23% year-over-year.

    “Our second quarter results reflect the broad-based strength of our business, as we grew both revenue and daily active users at the highest rates we have achieved in the past four years,” said Evan Spiegel, CEO. “We are pleased by the progress our team is making with the development of our augmented reality platform, and we are energized by the many opportunities to grow our community and business around the world.”

    One potential concern for the company had been Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT), allowing users to choose whether companies can track them or not. Many companies that rely on advertising are seeing low opt-in rates, having a significant impact on their bottom line.

    Chief Business Officer Jeremi Gorman said Snap, in contrast, had “higher opt-in rates than we are seeing reported generally across the industry.”

  • Clubhouse Branching Out Into Direct Messaging

    Clubhouse Branching Out Into Direct Messaging

    Clubhouse is adding a much-requested feature, giving users the ability to direct message each other.

    Clubhouse is the popular, invitation-only, audio-only social media platform. The app has gained users at a phenomenal rate, and has been a popular option among many tech icons.

    The platform is now adding direct messaging, according to TechCrunch. The new feature, called Backchannel, allows users to send one-on-one messages, as well as group messages.

    The feature is currently live on both iOS and Android.

  • Facebook Groups Will Be Able to Assign “Experts” to Combat Misinformation

    Facebook Groups Will Be Able to Assign “Experts” to Combat Misinformation

    Facebook is taking another major step in its battle to combat misinformation, allowing groups to assign “experts.”

    Misinformation has become one of the biggest challenges facing social media platforms. From elections to vaccines to current events, misinformation runs rampant on social media. Facebook, in particular, has faced accusations of not doing enough to combat it.

    The company is adding a major new feature that will allow groups to appoint experts, according to CNET. The experts will have a badge next to their name, which will inform other users of their expertise.

    Facebook hopes having experts in groups will help combat misinformation, providing a bit more accountability within groups, rather than them being a complete free-for-all.