Like a bee getting in on that fresh spring pollen action, the social world has been buzzing with activity, too.
Facebook:
- Facebook announced it’s expanding its set of online fundraising tools to include its own GoFundMe competitor. The new tool will allow Facebook users to raise money for personal crises and other campaigns — like school or medical expenses, emergency situations, funerals and more. Live Facebook broadcasts will now be able to add a ‘Donate’ button as well.
- Chat bots are coming to Facebook Messenger. However, Information bots might be a more fitting name as their purpose will be to inform users of real-time news such as sports game progress, ecommerce delivery, and more!
- Users may soon be seeing little rocket ships on their feed. The icons will take users to a second News Feed of recommended content. This project is still in the testing phase.
Twitter:
- Twitter’s latest update offers businesses an easier way to request and share locations with their customers – they’ll be able to enable a store locator function and customize responses based on where the customer lives
- Handles in replies will no longer count towards the 140 character limit. Good news for trolls and community managers alike!
- The Twitterverse is still scratching its head over how the new default gray avatar is supposed to address online abuse #BringBacktheEgg
Snap:
- Snapchat stories are shifting from a social network limited to content shared by people you follow to a real-time database of what’s going on everywhere (think of it as a live version of YouTube).
Pinterest:
- Pinterest ‘visual discovery’ is now available across Samsung’s Galaxy. Any current photo in the gallery, new photo taken with the phone’s camera, or web image in the Internet app can be used to find related ideas on Pinterest. So, if you’re a retailer you need to hop on the Pinterest bandwagon ASAP, because with pinning, comes buying. Need we say more?
- ¿Hablas español? The platform also announced a new blog for Spanish-speaking Pinners. Now typeaheads, autocorrect, and search guides will work en español.
Google:
- Google Wifi offers a new feature called Scheduled Pause. Need a little help winding down at the end of a long day? How about setting aside some homework time before dinner? Now users will be able to automatically pause the internet and make some time for life — but, more importantly, when will it be possible to pause life to make time for more Netflix binging?
- Google is also introducing tappable shortcuts on the Google app for Android, iOS, and Google.com on mobile. These shortcuts give you easy access to great tools and the ability to more deeply explore topics you care about like sports, entertainment, and food & drink.
Periscope:
- Twitter’s live-streaming app just got a shiny new analytics dashboard. It will track video duration, number of viewers, hearts, and time watched per viewer.
The digital train waits for no one. Don’t miss out, and tune in next week for more updates!
