New social media features you need to know this week
Updates from Twitter/X, Meta, Instagram and more.
What’s the haps, PR and comms pros? It’s that time again for your weekly social media recap, which includes quite a few updates that could help streamline your work (and personal) tasks. Meanwhile, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg is still waiting for Twitter/X’s Elon Musk’s response over a tentative cage fight they discussed in June. Seeing two industry leaders battle it out offline might be the buzzy oomph these lackluster platforms, X and Threads, need.
Now, onto those updates.
Twitter/X
X changed how ads are displayed on the platform recently, X moved its “Ad” label to the top right section of posts as an alternative to the “Promoted” label previously located at the bottom left of posts. The change means ads look more like regular posts and take up less space on users’ timelines.
NEWS: 𝕏 to further consolidate how much space Ads take on your timeline! pic.twitter.com/t48eHRB5CQ
— X News Daily (@xDaily) August 3, 2023
The platform also teased debuting an ID verification system for people to enable Blue features, according to another post. If released, users would verify their government-issued identification to verify their ID.
X now allows for XBlue subscribers to hide the ID verified badge on their profile and posts,
The platform also wants to help support creators by changing their original stance on receiving a payout portion, said Musk.. Initially, X said it would not take any payout percentages from creators. Then the platform changed the policy to take nothing until a creator’s payout exceeds $100,000, at which point X would take 10%. The first 12 months is still free for creators.
X also shared plans to switch to dark mode in the near future.
Meta
Meta’s AI music project, AudioCraft, lets users generate audio and music from text, according to a Meta announcement. AudioCraft has three models: MusicGen, EnCodec and AudioGen. MusicGen was trained from Meta-owned and licensed music that creates music via text prompts. EnCodec, is a better version of earlier iteration and allows for greater music generation. AudioGen lets people generate environmental sounds and sound effects, which include a dog barking, honking cars and footsteps.
Instagram rolled out a new feature to keep users safe from images and videos they don’t want to see in their direct messages, TechCrunch reported. This comes weeks after Instagram started testing this feature. People who want to send message to those who they don’t follow will encounter two new restrictions. First, they won’t be able to send countless messages – only one. They will be able to continue sending messages after a DM request to chat is accepted. Second, DM invites from non-followers are only allowed through texts. Images, videos and voice notes are allowed only after a request to chat is accepted from someone.
Sherri Kolade is a writer at Ragan Communications. When she is not with her family, she enjoys watching Alfred Hitchcock-style films, reading and building an authentically curated life that includes more than occasionally finding something deliciously fried. Follow her on LinkedIn. Have a great PR story idea? Email her at sherrik@ragan.com.
