Check out this week’s summary of all the latest social media news, including changes and new features for Facebook, Twitter and Reddit:
- Facebook tests new privacy tweaks – Facebook is in the process of rolling out “slight tweaks” to its privacy settings, including updates to the drop-down menu that lets users choose who can see each post, and short privacy surveys to learn what features users aren’t comfortable with (re/code)
- Facebook is forcing all users to download Messenger by ripping chat out of its main apps – soon mobile users will no longer be able to send and receive messages on Facebook’s mobile app; they will have to download the Facebook Messenger app to chat on mobile (TechCrunch)
- Facebook’s unloved right-rail desktop ads finally get a facelift – ads on Facebook’s right rail on desktop screens will be bigger (slightly more than 2x the current size), but fewer in number (Advertising Age)
- Facebook’s feed now punishes pages that ask for likes or share reruns – Facebook announced it will decrease reach for Pages that ask users to like posts, share the same link or photo over and over, or bait-and-switch people with links to ad-filled sites (TechCrunch)
- Twitter tests notifications in your web browser – Twitter is testing a new feature that will allow users to receive notifications on their web browser (TechCrunch)
- Twitter begins wide launch of new profile design, featuring best and pinned tweets – Twitter announced the rollout of a new profile design with a more “Facebook-like” overall look; profile pics and customized headers are now larger, popular content shows up slightly larger in the Timeline, and more (TechCrunch)
- Twitter acquires Android lockscreen app Cover, moves deeper into mobile services – last week Twitter bought Cover, an Android lockscreen app that lets users customize what apps they see and when; for now, the app is still live in the Play store (TechCrunch)
- Reddit gives more love to trending subtopics – Reddit is changing how it treats popular content on the site; users will now see “trending Subreddits” on the top of the front page (re/code)
Any social media updates that we missed? Let us know in the comments below.
