New social media features and updates to know this week
Updates to X, Meta, WhatsApp and more.
Happy Tuesday, PR pros. As 2023 nearly draws to a close, we at PR Daily want to thank you for coming here weekly to learn new social media happenings that help you on the job. But the year’s not over yet, so let’s get to those updates!
X
Spaces on X now has an incognito mode to allow for more user privacy, according to Radu Oncescu, a content creator and researcher, who posted the news on Threads. Spaces is X’s audio room feature which allows users to listen and join conversations.
Elon Musk also has plans to launch a video feature on Spaces either by the end of 2023 or “certainly by early next year,” according to a TechCrunch article. “It’ll just be a simple thing where you can turn the video on or off,” Musk said in a previous Spaces session, TechCrunch reported.
In other news, X will soon roll out a search feature for bookmarks, X Designer Andrea Conway posted .
Meta
Meta’s testing out a multimodal AI feature on Ray-Ban Meta glasses in the United States, according to Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth.
Ahead of a 2024 launch, the platform is doing an early opt-in test program. The AI function, partially powered by Bing, allows wearers to ask for help with:
- Information about an object you are seeing.
- Visual translation and summarization.
- Making a caption based on a picture you’ve taken.
In other Meta updates, the platform recently debuted Audiobox, which can generate sound effects and voices based on text prompts, according to its website. Audiobox, previewed last month, lets users make their own audio using their voice and audio distortion options. Users might use Audiobox to make an audio story or create sound effects.
Threads
Mark Zuckerberg posted on Threads that the platform is looking to engage with decentralized platforms more. “Starting a test where posts from Threads accounts will be available on Mastodon and other services that use the ActivityPub protocol. Making Threads interoperable will give people more choice over how they interact and it will help content reach more people. “I’m pretty optimistic about this,” he wrote.
The Verge reported that Threads officially launched in mid-December to roughly 448 million residents in the European Union. Previously, Threads was not available in the EU due to its more stringent regulations.
Meta is adding Threads to its fact-checking systems ahead of the 2024 election year, according to a company announcement. The platform’s third-party fact-checking partners will soon review and rate false Threads-related content. Currently, when a fact-checker gives content a rating and flags it as false on Instagram or Facebook, that fact-check rating is given to “near-identical content” on Threads.
There is now a dark mode option on Threads’ web version, according to a platform post. To access it (we live for the dark mode over here!), click the settings button at the top right side, select “switch appearance” and enjoy your new viewing mode. Your setting preferences will automatically transfer in the app.
Instagram Live Producer is available to professional accounts, according to an Instagram creators’ post on Threads. Instagram Live Producer lets broadcasters access production tools from third parties on desktop.
PetaPixel reported that Instagram Stories has a new feature with “Add Yours” templates for more meme-worthy fun. Users can add text, images and GIFs to templates. To make a template, open a new Story, fill in the information you want and tap the “Add Yours Templates” button located in the Sticker Tray. If someone else sees a Story from another creator using the “Add Yours Template,” they can select “Add Yours” and use the template themselves.
Engadget reported several new updates with Instagram that include:
- The platform will add two-second videos that loop and live in Notes. The two-second video, similar to Boomerang, will be located at the top of your followers’ inboxes instead of a standard profile image.
- Users can respond to their follower’s Notes like one would a Stories post. Selecting a note at the top of one’s inbox allows for a reply option with a sticker, text, GIF, photo, voice note or text. Notes replies are sent to their inbox.
- Instagram is improving its automated spam detection tool. The system will flag fake followers and spammy content and let users delete the items in bulk. Suspected spam or bot accounts will be sent to a separate inbox for review.
Ahmad Al-Dahle, VP, GenAI at Meta, posted on Threads that its AI media editing tool backdrop is now available on Instagram in the United States. “With backdrop, you can reimagine your image’s background with just a few taps and a prompt like ‘chased by dinosaurs’ or ‘surrounded by puppies’ to create an entirely new image for your Story,” Al-Dahle said. To use, tap the button for backdrop, which will appear at the top of a new Story.
WhatsApp is letting users pin messages at the top of text threads, according to a WhatsApp post on X. Pins can last 24 hours, seven days or 30 days. To access in a chat, select the three buttons at the top right-hand corner and select the pin option at the top.
YouTube
YouTube is in a generous spirit this season and is allowing eligible creators to gift viewers free channel memberships, according to a YouTube Help announcement. This feature can bring more awareness to channels. To participate, a creator will need to have channel memberships enabled on their channel and offer a membership tier under $5.
Snapchat
Snapchat’s over 7 million Snapchat+ subscribers can find more ways to create, capture and edit with AI, according to a Snap announcement. The platform’s AI tool could be used in numerous ways, for example:
- Give it text prompts to generate an image to send as a Snap to a friend.
- Extend Snaps to zoom out of a picture with AI.
- Create majestic or silly AI selfies with friends using Dream.
The new features debut varies by region. Find out more here.
Sherri Kolade is a writer and conference producer at Ragan Communications. She enjoys watching old films, reading and building an authentically curated life. Follow her on LinkedIn. Message her if you have a great PR/comms speaker in mind for a Ragan event.
