Welcome back, Spark Biters! We’re coming at you with the latest social media updates. This week, technology researcher Jane Wong shares details about Twitter’s new rumored update, Pinterest is rolling out a new feature that supports mental health and well-being, Snapchat targets users with a new ad campaign for “real friends,” and LinkedIn is testing a new Live feature.
Jane Manchun Wong is no stranger to Spark Bites. We’ve mentioned her quite a few times before and, for the most part, her social media findings prove true. In a recent tweet, she spilled that Twitter is testing a new feature which allows you to rearrange the order of the photos in a tweet.
This will be huge news if it’s true. Let’s face it, the perfect photo set has to be in a specific order, and the struggle of deleting all the other photos just to move that one is real.
If you haven’t been on the desktop version of Twitter recently, you may have missed this next update. In this blog post, the Twitter team shares how they’ve listened to the concerns of users loud and clear, and have implemented changes to the new desktop version. Some of the changes include a darker “night mode,” direct message viewing all in one place, and an easier way to access your favorite features such as Bookmarks, Lists, and Explore.
In times of anxiety or stress, if you’ve ever found yourself searching inspirational quotes, Pinterest is here to support you. The platform is rolling out a new feature that supports mental health and well-being through guided activities. If a user searches things such as “stress quotes” or “work anxiety,” a prompt pops up on their screen offering an interactive way to improve their mood. This includes breathing exercises and a suggestion to put away your phone for a minute. These guided activities have been created with the help of experts at the Stanford Lab for Mental Health Innovation, with advice from Vibrant Emotional Health and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. So far, this is only available to U.S. users via the Pinterest app, but we hope this update expands globally!
Snapchat
Let’s be real: our close friends, our real friends, know a lot about us. That includes a lot of personal information that we may not always want the world to know.
In a recent ad campaign, Snapchat advertises their app for “real friends”—ugly selfie and all. You can watch the video here, and let us know what app you prefer to use to chat with your super close friends.
This last update aims to enhance your favorite professional networking site.
LinkedIn is working on a new feature called LinkedIn Live, which allows for social-live streaming directly to users’ networks. From their website, LinkedIn says this feature enables organizations to create powerful brand moments, overall increasing their engagements with followers.
Keep an eye out for this feature, which is still in its beta stages.
Those are all your updates for this week, Spark Biters. We hope you have a lovely weekend!