Social media is a fluid technology — nearly every day, the major social media networks are announcing a big change, coming under fire for the latest controversy or moving forward in smaller ways. Social Feed is a collection of those smaller changes that you may have missed with this week’s biggest news — like Twitter’s deals with NASCAR and MLS; YouTube’s Wikipedia verification plan; Snapchat’s 3D-modeling patent; and Facebook’s MLB deal. Find Social Feed every weekend for the latest social news tidbits.
Get ready for more Facebook Instant Games
Facebook’s Instant games that live inside Messenger and the news feed were limited to a handful of developers, but not Facebook is opening up the platform to any programmer as the program exits the closed beta. Now, developers can build games using HTML-5. For Facebook users, that means the list of available games is going to grow. The change also comes with a few new features for the gaming platforms, including ads, because, of course, those developers need an incentive to build free online games.
YouTube goes dark — on iOS and Android
YouTube’s dark mode is launching to the platform’s mobile apps. After launching a black background on desktop last year, YouTube says a mobile version has become a highly requested feature. The setting is already out on iOS and coming to Android soon. Switching to the dark theme inside the settings offers a black backdrop, which can be easier on the eyes for viewing videos.
Twitter was serious about those bot threats
Twitter wasn’t kidding when it launched new guidelines to prevent third-party apps from creating bots. BuzzFeed reported the platform suspended a list of accounts known for the mass-retweeting practice commonly referred to as “Tweetdecking” that is now banned. The changes limit retweets and prevent users from tweeting the same thing from multiple accounts. It’s unclear if those suspensions are permanent, or if Twitter plans to allow the users back if the practice is discontinued.
Snapchat bans advertiser for an ad on domestic violence
A Snapchat ad last weekend for the game Would You Rather? asked users one of the games many questions — and got the app booted off Snapchat advertising. The problem? The question asked readers to choose to either slip Rihanna or punch Chris Brown. Rihanna herself called Snapchat out for allowing an ad that promotes domestic violence (Brown put Rihanna in the hospital back in 2009 while the two were dating). Snapchat apologized for the ad, saying the ad violated guidelines and that the ad should not have appeared. The company says they are investigating how the ad managed to get approved.
Imgur Story-like Snacks are now on Android
After launching a Stories-like reel of the GIFs that never end on iOS last year, Imgur is now bringing the feature to Android. Unlike the more social Stories, Snacks are a loop of GIFs designed for entertainment, not following another user’s day. The feature launched with an Android update on March 15.
