Social media updates and features to know this week
Updates from X, YouTube, LinkedIn and more.
As we lumber out of the election and into the end-of-year holiday rush, we’ve got a light week of updates – but still some significant changes. From X block updates going into effect to YouTube rebranding “comments,” let’s see what we’ve got.
X
X has at last instituted an Elon Musk-driven change to how the block feature functions. The previously announced change means that users can still see posts from users who have blocked them, though they won’t be able to interact with them. Musk says the change was made in the name of transparency and to protect blocked users from potentially harmful information; opponents of the change expressed concerns over potential stalking and privacy concerns.
WhatsApp is changing chat filters into more formal Lists. Now, users can group chats into self-defined categories to make it easier to find the most important conversations. Both one-on-one and group chats can be added to Lists.
LinkedIn is getting rid of some of the celebratory animations users can post around various life events. Say goodbye to the Appreciation, Welcome and Skill Assessment templates. But you’ll still have access to more popular animations, including New Position, Work Anniversary and Project Launch.
The app is also reportedly testing a new mobile UX, that switches the nav bar from the bottom to the top.
YouTube
YouTube announced a number of tweaks, including:
- Updates to the mobile YouTube Studio interface, including easier filtering and adding analytics directly to the content tab.
- The comments tab is being renamed “Community.”
- New audience metrics will make it easier to keep track of comments. Community Spotlight will also enable creators to interface directly with their top commenters.
- Updated, improved AI suggestions for comment responses. These responses can be edited.
- Expanded rollout of AI-generated summaries for videos. YouTube stressed that these will not replace creator-penned descriptions.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced new filters to make it easier for creators to parse through DMs sent to them. Creators can filter to only see messages from other creators, businesses, people they follow, people who follow them and so on. Users can also see just responses to Stories in the inbox. Mosseri noted there was more to be done to improve the inbox, so you can expect more changes in the future.
Netflix
Netflix doesn’t usually make an appearance in our social media roundup, given that it’s not a social media platform. But this week it’s done something interesting enough to warrant inclusion. The streaming service has rolled out My Moments, which will allow users to clip and save their favorite portions of Netflix content. Those clips can then be shared with a tap to Facebook, Instagram and other platforms. Netflix notes that this new ability coincides with its new “It’s So Good” campaign. Their move to make users their primary marketers by sharing social media excitement is clever: it will not only generate buzz on social media, but it will also enable the streamer to get a whole new type of analytics to show what content is most interesting to its audiences.
Allison Carter is editor-in-chief of PR Daily. Follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn.
