New social media features and updates to know this week
Including updates from Reddit, X and Instagram
AI takes center stage in this week’s social media updates, with X unleashing its Grok model on all users while Reddit announces a new Answers tool that will tap into the site’s brain trust to provide responses to queries.
While not an update per se, the battle over the future of TikTok in the United States continues to loom large. A federal appeals court struck a blow when it unanimously said a law to force the sale from TikTok’s Chinese parent company or face a ban in the U.S. was constitutional. TikTok has since asked for time to appeal to the Supreme Court before the ban takes effect. Without action, TikTok could go dark in the U.S. as of Jan. 19. President-elect Trump has vowed to overturn the law, but since it was passed by Congress, he can’t act unilaterally and would need help from his razor-thin margins of legislators in both the House and the Senate.
While the political process plays out, we’ve also got news this week about YouTube Shorts, which you might want to consider in this trying time.
YouTube
A number of new tests and features are coming out of YouTube this week. Most notably, most videos less than three minutes long will now be considered YouTube Shorts. To avoid this categorization, creators can upload content in a wider format, like 16:9.
In other Shorts news, users can now more easily access Shorts creation tools from within iOS or Android. Simply click the three dots and find “YouTube” to begin.
YouTube is also expanding its BrandConnect tool, which connects creators to brands for content partnerships. The tool is now exiting a limited beta and will be available to all eligible creators. They’re also testing an expansion of the tool called Open Call, which allows brands to put out prompts and requests for content which creators can choose to engage with.
Reddit, one of the largest sites where people gather to offer advice and personal experiences, is capitalizing on AI by rolling out a new tool called Answers. The chatbot will allow users to ask questions and receive a curated list of, well, answers in return, complete with links to various posts.
While this tool may prove useful for searchers, it may decrease the utility of Reddit in the long run. If people don’t need to ask the community questions, there will be nothing for the bot to draw on, making it an ever more shallow well of data.
X
X has made several changes to its Premium offering. Most notably, its AI model, Grok, is now available to all users for free, not just as a perk for a paid subscription. Usage is limited to 10 questions per two hours for free users.
X has also significantly upped the number of Premium users (which the platform still calls “verified,” but there is no longer a verification process besides a valid credit card) who must follow a user before that person can be eligible for X’s creator payout program. Previously, only 500 Premium members were required; now it’s 2,000.
In a significant step, X introduced labels for parody and fan accounts. With the demise of an actual verified check, it’s become difficult to find which account is real and fake accounts have proliferated. Clearer labeling could help add a measure of brand safety that’s been lacking for some time.
The analytics suite within X has gotten a few new features, including widgets showing followers and posts over time.
Threads
Threads is also tweaking its analytics package. The app is currently testing metrics for individual posts. “Now that your posts will be shown to more people who follow you, it’s especially important to understand what’s resonating with your existing audience,” Instagram head Adam Mosseri explained.
A number of changes have been introduced for Broadcast channels. Most notable are replies, allowing users to respond to the creator directly and each other. Creators will be able to delete or report all messages. The Broadcast owner can also now offer up prompts for discussion. New insights, including total interactions, story shares and poll votes will help keep track of success.
Instagram has locked third-party consumer app developers out of some features of the API. Specifically, the Instagram Basic Display API was shuttered on Dec. 4. This was used to allow consumer apps to display users’ Instagram content. The Instagram API is still available, but only works with business accounts.
Subscribers to LinkedIn Premium Business will be able to upload up to five images to rotate through their cover image. LinkedIn suggests this would be helpful for freelancers showing off their profile, real estate agents touting current listings and more.
Allison Carter is editor-in-chief of PR Daily. Follow her on Bluesky or LinkedIn.
