Digital Trends

What’s MGHappening in Social Media: June 11, 2018

The Verge – Facebook has informed 14 million users that they may have accidentally shared posts publicly because of a bug. The bug caused the suggested sharing setting on some users’ posts to be set to public, whereas it would ordinarily match users’ privacy settings. While the error was only active for a little over a week, it continues to give users reasons to be skeptical of Facebook’s privacy protections. That said, users did still have the option to manually change privacy settings when posting/sharing during this time, but the default setting was “public.” (Full Story)

Tech Crunch – Facebook has signed a slew of deals with all the major record labels and some indies, which means that videos with copyrighted background music will likely no longer be taken down, at least for personal accounts. With these new deals, Facebook is also testing out a new feature called Lip Sync Live – a take on the popular app Musically. With this addition, users will be able to select from hundreds of popular songs (with more expected to roll out as this feature expands) and pretend to sing on a Facebook Live broadcast. (Full Story)

The Verge – Instagram has recently rolled out the ability to instantly repost someone else’s story when they @mention you in it. Like most other Story sharing options, this works pretty simply. Users get message notifications when they are mentioned in someone else’s story. Now joining those notifications is an option to “Add This to Your Story,” which will do exactly that. When reposted, Instagram will show the original poster’s username, which followers can tap to view the poster’s profile. Stickers and other story enhancements can also be added before reposting a Story. (Full Story)

Tech Crunch – Reports suggest that Instagram will be launching a longer-form video hub on June 20. While Instagram currently has a 60-second limit, this new hub is expected to allow videos up to one hour in length. With this new place for video, Instagram aims to take on both YouTube and Snapchat Discover. The dedicated space could include scripted shows, music videos and other content, but the bulk of content is expected to be similar to that produced by YouTube creators. Creators are not the only ones able to take advantage here, as all users will be able to upload longer-form videos to be displayed in this section of the app. Instagram also intends to eventually allow monetization for creators via ads but has not yet finalized those details. Lastly, videos will include a swipe-up option to drive traffic to publishers’ sites. (Full Story)

Digital Trends – A new app is seeking to redefine maps by making them personal, visual and fun. WYD, short for “what you doing?” uses emojis to help users find places and things to do near them, and then share those places with friends. Rather than typing categories or addresses into the app, WYD differentiates itself by allowing users to select a category emoji (ranging from types of food to indicate restaurants to other types of locations such as parks and gyms), and then see everything within that category in the area. As with many map apps, when a location is selected, Yelp pictures, directions, and contact information are shared. Since its launch in February, the app has amassed over 10,000 downloads. The app also includes social elements which allow users to follow each other, send messages and share their favorite locations. (Full Story) (In the App Store)

Tech Crunch – Snapchat is expanding its e-commerce abilities via a new integration with SeatGeek. This release is the first ticket-buying experience built into the Snapchat app, allowing users to purchase tickets without ever leaving the app. The first team to sell tickets through this integration – the Los Angeles Football Club – did so by posting a Snapchat Story of seats for sale, which users could swipe up on to purchase. They also shared a Snapcode on their website that allowed users to purchase tickets via Snapchat even if they didn’t see the Story. (Full Story)