The #SocialSkim – Week of December 3rd

This week in social media:

Instagram Rolls Out New Selection Feature For Stories

Instagram has rolled out a new feature which will allow users to designate which of their friends can view their ‘Stories’. They will do this by creating lists, i.e. ‘Close Friends’ which they can specifically give access to. Here is what Instagram had to say about the new feature:

“Only you can see your close friends list and no one can request to be added, so you can feel comfortable adjusting it at any time. When you share to Stories, you’ll see the option to share with just the people on your close friends list. If someone has added you to their list, you will see a green badge when you’re viewing their stories. You’ll also see a green ring around their profile photo in the Stories tray.”

YouTube Launches ‘Stories’

As we know, the major platforms have a propensity for copying one another. Similar to what we have seen from Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and even LinkedIn, YouTube has launched their version of ‘Stories’.

Although these are currently limited to just a handful of more prominent YouTubers, there is already talk of rolling them out more broadly. As described by their team:

“Creating with Stories is lightweight, easy, and fun. Stories will have the fun creation tools that you know and love. You can add text, music, filters, YouTubey stickers, and more to make your story uniquely you! To create a story, just open the YouTube mobile app, tap on the video camera icon, and select “Create Story.”

Instagram Uses Image Recognition To Assist The Visually Impaired

Instagram will now use its advanced Image Recognition to create descriptions of images for the visually impaired. Facebook has been working on this technology for a few years now and is already using it to help categorize and sort photos.

LinkedIn Rolls Out Location Sharing

LinkedIn will now allow users to share their location via the messaging app. This is part of the platforms broader push to make the site more user-friendly.

Here is the explanation their team released about the new feature:

“We’ve heard from many of you that this feature would make it easier to coordinate meetings — now you no longer need to switch around to multiple apps just to send a proposed spot to meet. To send a location to a connection, simply tap on the map pin icon in the message compose box in our iOS or Android app, search for a meeting place, and tap send.”

Facebook Releases ‘Watch Party’

Although announced some time ago, Facebook has finally rolled out ‘Watch Party’. This new functionality will allow users to schedule a time to watch a video, and even invite others to join.  According to the Facebook team, videos viewed in this manner receive significantly increased engagement. As described in their press release:

“Since launch, there have been more than 12 million Watch Parties in Groups, and Watch Parties garner eight times as many comments than non-live videos in Groups. The number of daily Watch Parties in Groups has continued to grow, increasing 7x since July.”