Social media is forever changing which makes it easy to miss an update from time to time. Twice a month, we look into three of the latest key updates from the past few weeks from the various social media giants. Here’s what’s been happening recently…
Twitter To Remove All Legacy Blue Checkmarks on April 20th
Turns out this wasn’t an April Fools joke after all… After originally announcing that ‘legacy’ blue checkmarks would be removed from the app from April 1st, Twitter chief Elon Musk has now announced that he will proceed with the controversial move for all legacy checkmarks to be removed on April 20th.
All previous blue tick holders will have their verification status removed, unless they pay for Twitter Blue later this month and understandably – many big brands have been considering boycotting Twitter all together.
Though it seems more likely driven by spite, Musk is taking no small amount of joy in removing the checkmark from accounts that he doesn’t like, particularly publishers that he considers biased or overtly against him and among the few accounts that actually did have their blue checkmark removed on April 1st was The New York Times, which Musk has labeled ‘propaganda’.
The real tragedy of @NYTimes is that their propaganda isn’t even interesting
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 2, 2023
It’s also worth noting, that the whole point of previously having a blue checkmark, is to provide a level of trust in a brand or a user and to reduce imposters of celebrities and spam, but Musk’s new approach means there actually isn’t any verification involved, with Twitter only relying on ‘payment verification’ – i.e. a users’ capacity to pay – as a qualifier for the new blue tick. Musk’s view is that this will serve as a means to highlight real people in the app, but it’s a fundamental change in what the checkmark represents, which is unlikely to hold the same level of status in future and is simply down to making money.
Have you boycotted Twitter already or are you a Twitter blue subscriber? Let us know!…
Meta’s Developing a New Way to Share Status Updates from WhatsApp to Facebook
Meta’s looking to increase the integration between its apps, this time with an update to the way that users share a Status update from WhatsApp to Facebook Stories.
To be clear, WhatsApp users are already able to share a Status update to Facebook, but it currently requires manual intervention.
As per WABetaInfo: “Previously, it was already possible to share status updates to Facebook stories, but users had to take the extra step of manually sharing the update each time they posted something new. Thanks to this new feature under development, the process may be automatic for certain status updates you choose, when the option is enabled.”
Will you use this feature?…
Facebook Adds Video Display Elements to Marketplace Listings
Are you a Marketplace user? Facebook has added a new element to Marketplace, with sellers now able to include video within their listings, and users able to request a video to assist in their purchase decision. A good move from Facebook to potentially combat and suspicious listings, with the feature inundated with spam.
As per Facebook: “We’ve recently enabled video on Marketplace, allowing sellers to record or upload a video to their listings so you can buy with confidence! While photos can help you know what an item looks like, what size it may be, and any issues or defects it might have, video can give you 360-degree views of an item, greater proof that the item a seller has listed is what they say it is, and that they actually have the item on hand making the buying process smoother and safer.”
The capacity will help to expand the utility of Marketplace, which could make it an even more significant destination for shoppers and bargain hunters.
Will you utilise the video feature on marketplace?
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