Disclaimer: this blog features 95% less scandal than that Wired expose.
Facebook is once again refining (read: changing everything around in) Ads Manager. They’re also testing upvotes and downvotes for comments, a la Reddit.
Facebook is also expanding their 3D image offerings - 3D images can now be added to Stories, Android users can now create and post 3D images, and even desktop users can make 3D images (though it’s a slightly more elaborate process).
Many had originally speculated that AI assistant functionality - much like Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, or Google Home - would be part of Facebook’s Portal videochat device… it wasn’t, and isn’t yet, but Facebook has confirmed that they are now developing one. (Any bets on names? Mark? Zuck? Comrade?)
Instagram has rolled out a multiple-choice Quiz sticker for Instagram Stories (a welcome upgrade to the previous “yes or no” surveys), and announced plans to introduce a “Donate” sticker, bringing the ease of Facebook Donations to the Instagram Stories platform.
Instagram is also considering tinkering with possibly hiding “Like” counts on pictures. (But how will we know who’s popular???). This echoes comments from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who, in an interview at TED, expressed regret at the platform’s early focus on follower count and likes, and said that he would like to see Twitter move away from followings and more towards interest-based browsing - echoing Facebook and Instagram’s shifts towards “meaningful interaction.”
For now, Twitter is testing updated desktop layouts, has announced the upcoming rollout of a mute replies button and other options to combat abuse, and has acquired Highly, an app that turns article quotes into tweets.
LinkedIn has added the ability to label your “team mates,” to better prioritize updates from your most relevant contacts. They’re also discontinuing their standalone Job Search app, reabsorbing the app’s functionality into the main LinkedIn app, and added a calendar integration feature for Android.
LinkedIn has also revamped its advertising tools, adding Lookalike Audiences, Audience Templates, Interest Targeting, and Bing search data (because Microsoft).