Facebook, Messenger and instagram: The Upcoming Changes
So I hate to be the bearer of bad news but your social media, specifically Facebook, Messenger and Instagram are in the process of some major changes….
Don’t worry, they aren’t all bad! But change can be hard, especially when it is something that you use every single day. Most of these changes are benefitting businesses and making social media even more of a platform to promote and sell your products or services. Let me break it down for you one at a time.
Facebook:
“We don’t exactly have the strongest reputation on privacy right now, to put it lightly.
-Mark Zuckerberg”
We are all aware of the privacy scams that have been rotating around FB. “Set this as your status so your privacy is protected…ect.” Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, says they are moving forward with a privacy-focused platform. He is aware of the problems they are having and making a huge effort to protect all of the FB users. Zuckerberg listed his top 6 focused principles for the F8.
Private Interactions
Encryption
Reduced Performance - Content and messages that will disappear, freeing up storage
Safety
Interoperability- Being able to communicate across the company’s different apps
Secure data Storage
Yes, F8 as he is calling the update, is taking a major makeover that we will no longer recognize. Say goodbye to the blue themed website and easily spotted blue, square icon. The new, all white look is much more simple and clean. F8 is now making groups and communities the heart of the experience. Removing groups that are posting fake news or misleading information to better each users experience. And suggesting more groups that are within your interests and location.
Secret Crush
Making FB a legitimately one stop shop, Zuckerberg is adding a dating application. Everyone will have the capability of this service. But what if you’re married or in a relationship?… In order to participate you have to opt in. Here is how it will work.
Mary opts in to the Secret Crush and makes a profile with her first name. The only people who can see her profile are others who similarly opt in the dating service. Mary will then create her secret list of friends that she is interested in. If one of those friends also puts Mary on their list they will both be informed of a mutual crush.
So what if Mary puts someone on their list who has not opted in to the service?….They will never know.
Messenger:
Facebook said that 410 million people video chat on Messenger every month.
This application is getting a few upgrades of its own. It will launch in UNDER 2 SECONDS and reduce the amount of storage taken up on your smartphone. Messenger will also allow users to share videos to their friends from the main FB app to the Messenger app. Groups can watch the video while messaging or talking via video chat. The upgrade will also make Messenger available as a desktop app, compatible with Windows and MacOS.
Instagram:
“Instagram wants to lead the fight against online bullying”
In an effort to make a change against online bullying, Instagram might be rolling out an “away mode” feature to opt out of the app during a sensitive time in your life. You will become invisible to the Instagram world, allowing you to take the time you need to heal without any distractions from tagged posts, messages and protect you from posting those regrettable, sad selfies.
The next upgraded feature will be “create mode”, found when accessing camera mode. Now it will be a lot easier to make creative stories on the app without needing to have a picture or video attached to it. This is an awesome feature that will be useful to many business accounts.
Another business feature that has been tested on influencers like Kim Kardashian West, Kylie Jenner and Vogue is the clothing/product tag. When looking at a photo you can click the tags to find out exactly where you can purchase the body con dress on Kim, the specific lip kit color on Kylie, and the moisturizer used on models shared on Vogue. This is taking shopping to the next level! And honestly, my bank account is scared for all of the products I may buy straight off of Instagram.
Similarly to FB, who has raised over 1 billion to various causes, Instagram is adding a “Donate” button option to add to your stories. As easy as a click of a button you can donate to many different organizations.
I saved the best and maybe the most controversial Instagram update for last. They are in the process of testing out hidden “likes” and “views” on your posts. So what the means is, as I am scrolling down my daily feed of posts, I will no longer be able to see how many likes are given to each post. Yes, you can still go through and like them but the only person who can see the popularity is the user who posted it. Instagram’s goal for this feature is to take away the preconceived notion that pictures with more likes are more important. For business accounts this is a huge step. No more sizing up the business based on the “likes” they get. It will strictly be about the content posted.
