With the first two months of the new year now behind us, social media platforms are maintaining dominance and relevancy in 2019, with many new features underway. This month, LinkedIn followed social media trends, incorporating a LinkedIn Live broadcast feature. Twitter officials appeased the desires of the 326 million active Twitter users, announcing the consideration of an “edit tweet” feature. Subsequent to an outbreak of the Measles on the West Coast, Pinterest, in addition to several other social platforms, blocked all searches that utilize the term “vaccines” or “vaccinations” to avoid the promotion of false information. Finally, Amazon continues to take the world by storm as the Alexa voice assistant will now allow anyone to publish Alexa skills. Be sure to continue reading to catch up on all the industry news you may have missed this month!
Social Media
Twitter is Slowly Moving Toward an “Edit Tweet” Button
Although it took some time to increase Twitter’s character count from 140 to 280 characters, it seems as though another long-awaited change may be coming for Twitter users. This month Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, clarified the app has yet to create an “Edit Tweet” button in an effort to avoid promoting fake news. Consequently, Twitter has developed plans that would allow users to “clarify” past tweets, where the original text would still be visible in addition to a new text that would serve as an explanation to the original tweet. While Twitter has yet to announce official plans for such a feature, it is reassuring to know that officials are in tune with what users of the platform desire.
LinkedIn Debuts LinkedIn Live, A New Live Video Broadcast Service
This month, LinkedIn launched a live video feature. LinkedIn Live provides individuals and organizations alike with the ability to broadcast real-time video to the LinkedIn community as a whole or to share with select groups. While LinkedIn was a bit late to the game in terms of integrating videos to the platform, the social network reports that video has been the fastest growing format on its platform. Although LinkedIn has seen a boost in traffic and revenue since first incorporating video on the app over a year ago, the platform has not confirmed plans to monetize LinkedIn Live videos.
Instagram Wants to be the Shop Window of The Internet and it’s Already on its Way
Since its inception nearly nine years ago, Instagram has rolled out many features that have enhanced the platform’s initial goal of creating a space for photo sharing. Within the last year, Instagram has added many features that have contributed to the app’s appeal as a source for online shopping. Whether it be product tags within a photo or video post or click-to-shop functionality in Instagram stories, the social platform has enhanced the idea of serendipitous shopping with each feature added.
Pinterest is Blocking All Searches on Vaccinations to Stop Spread of Misinformation
With an exorbitant outbreak of Measles on the West Coast, the government is starting to crack down on vaccinations – and social media is contributing to that crack down. This month, Pinterest blocked all searches that utilize the term “vaccines” or “vaccinations” in hopes of contributing to the halt on the spread of misinformation regarding vaccinations. According to the World Health Organization, the number of children who are not vaccinated by 2 years old is only increasing, ultimately contributing to the global health threat that 2019 is experiencing. Pinterest’s decision to block searches emphasizes the influence of social media on individuals’ decision making. As such, Pinterest hopes to deflect the promotion of false information through this initiative.
Industry News
Amazon Now Lets Anyone Publish Alexa Skills
As if the existing 80,000 Alexa skills weren’t enough, that number may experience a dramatic increase as Amazon will now allow people to create and publish their own Alexa skills. While of course many worry the company is granting too much freedom to individuals, the skills must be built using the Alexa Skill Blueprints and subsequently undergo a review process once submitted to the Alexa skills store. However, Amazon’s new feature only separates Amazon as a leader of voice-assisted technology and furthermore reiterates the potential for organizations to publish their own skills increasing brand awareness in the home.
