What’s Happening in Social Networking?
News and changes for Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
2019 has been a big year for social media, with the major platforms changing and evolving, new ones popping up everywhere and some even finding themselves in hot water. It’s hard to keep up if you’re not paying close attention. So we’ve overviewed the latest news in the social media space to bring you up to speed.
After many privacy breaches and a lengthy investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, Facebook has been hit with a $5billion fine. Of course, this fine made little impact on company, after they took in more than $15 billion in revenue last quarter alone. But it wasn’t just the fine that Facebook copped.
The Wall Street Journal reported “a settlement is expected to include other government restrictions on how Facebook treats user privacy,” but the details weren’t yet clear. It has been suggested that Facebook may need to have a “federally approved privacy official,” or gain FTC approval ahead of new product launches. Other reports have also suggested that Mark Zuckerberg may be held personally accountable for Facebook’s actions.
Zuckerberg has said said he hopes the FTC-imposed mandates on Facebook would “set a completely new standard for our industry.”
If you live in Australia, you‘ve probably noticed a change to your Instagram! Instagram has selected a handful of countries to take part in a social media experiment to see what happens when hiding the number of post likes. These countries include Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Japan and New Zealand.
Studies have found that social media can have a negative affect on the mental health of young adults, where people feel the need to be validated by how many friends, followers or likes they get. Technically it’s all about numbers and eyeballs. But if you take away those numbers, it can take away the social pressure of being cool or popular.
However, as Instagram was revealed as the social media most damaging to mental health, we can’t help but wonder if this social experiment is nothing but a PR stunt. We’re watching with interest to see the impact.
A brand new layout and limited location sharing. Twitter’s platform has undergone a makeover these last few months. Some new features include desktop customisation and ‘switch account’ capabilities. However, you still can’t edit tweets!
Twitter’s redesign has been a while in the making, but not everyone likes it. In fact, people are even sharing hacks to change their Twitter back to its old version!
Twitter has also removed the option to tag precise locations in tweets, but is still available for photos taken through Twitter’s camera. Commenting on this decision, Twitter said, “most people don’t tag their precise location in Tweets.”
What do you think about Twitter’s new look? Tell us on Sociall!
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