New social media features and updates to know this week

This week, Meta draws its apps together into a new kind of Metaverse (see what we did there?) while X somewhat confusingly revamps its Creator Revenue Sharing model.

Here’s what you need to know this week.

Meta

Meta has unveiled a number of new tweaks to draw its family of apps more closely together.

Instagram, for instance, has introduced a new sticker to allow businesses to direct users from an Instagram story to WhatsApp for easy messaging. Threads is testing the ability to share a Reel or Instagram post directly from the compose box.

On the one hand, these are convenient options for community managers trying to juggle multiple platforms. On the other, Meta is risking a homogenization of content, where the same items appear on up to four social media platforms.

Granted, each app in Meta’s portfolio has a different target audience, from the older-skewing Facebook to the Millennial and Gen Z-friendly Instagram, the nerdier Threads and the more direct-communication focused WhatsApp. Most people don’t spend time on all four apps, after all. But the more content is cross-posted, the more each app will lose its unique value proposition.

In other Meta news, the company is testing the ability to turn off comments on Facebook and Instagram ads, a capability it says can be important for brands running ads related to sensitive content. They’re also building a new brand safety tool into the ability to run ads directly on Facebook profiles, allowing advertisers to create a blacklist of profiles where their ads will not appear. A new dashboard will also allow easier updating of brand safety and suitability preferences.

Meta has also released a number of new AI tools for advertisers, including a number of video tools. This isn’t as sweeping as wholesale creating video, but rather a number of subtle, helpful tweaks, including Video Expansion, which automatically adjusts aspect ratios and Image Animation, which turns static images into short videos.

Creator content can now also be incorporated into advertising collections, with both the brand and creator handles appearing together.

Threads

Social Media Today reports that Threads is experimenting with new communities, which it has dubbed Loops. It appears that individual threads will be fed into Loops, which will function as topic-based communities, similar to the feature of the same name on X.

Mastodon

Mastodon, one of a number of X knockoffs, has released a new update that … makes it even more like X in some key ways.

TechCrunch reports that new features include:

• Notification summaries rather than a list of every like and interaction.
• Ability to opt out of various notifications.
• More transparency about the effect of moderator decisions.
• Improved follow recommendations.
• Link previews.

It’s still a small network, but one work watching.

YouTube

YouTube is testing the addition of a “save” button prominently under videos – and bumping the “dislike” button to make room for it. The thumbs down will still exist, though it will be hidden under a three-dot menu. This is just an experiment, but one has to wonder how that will impact the algorithmic signals sent by the thumbs down.

YouTube is also giving users the ability to temporarily hide Shorts from their recommendation feed. Since most people who use this feature likely already don’t watch Shorts, they don’t anticipate viewership impacts. Other app tweaks include a new landscape mode for YouTube Studio.

X

X has significantly overhauled its Creator Revenue Sharing model, which is available to Premium subscribers. Rather than being based on advertisements placed in the comments, payouts will now be based on how many Premium subscribers respond to your thread.

This may be simple to game but seems a move by X to encourage more engagement from their paying customers. X also claims payments will increase.

Snap

Two new forms of advertising are in testing mode on Snapchat. Sponsored Snaps appear in the inbox. After opening the vertical video, customers can reply directly to the advertisement. The second new option, Promoted Places, highlights the advertiser’s location on the Snap Map.

LinkedIn

Finally, LinkedIn has released a new game, for when you need to kill time but want to look like you’re working. Tango appears to be a Sudoku-esque game that involves putting suns and moons next to each other, following particular rules.