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Social Feed: Self-destructing friend requests, skip to good parts in live video

Hillary K. Grigonis
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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 in this week’s biggest news — like Facebook tracking calls, Pinterest’s new Following feed, and Facebook’s security-focused updates. Find Social Feed every weekend for the latest social news tidbits.

Twitter’s new live timestamp feature lets you skip the boring parts

Live videos may be popular, but they are often shared with a hint of where to fast forward to skip the boring stuff and find what the video is all about. Twitter began rolling out Timestamps, a tool that allows Twitter users to share a live video and choose the starting point. When readers click to view the video, the video starts at that exact spot. If the video is still streaming, a button to jump forward to the current spot in the live-stream will also be displayed with the tweet. The tool began rolling out on March 29 and will make its way into the apps, web platform and Periscope.

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Snapchat could be testing third-party app integration

A beta version of Snapchat suggests the app could be considering allowing other apps to connect with the social platform, according to Mashable. The beta program has a section for connected apps, a move that would be new for the network that doesn’t integrate with other apps outside of Bitmoji and a Shazam agreement. Snapchat hasn’t commented on the potential change, so for now, the integration is only a rumored possibility. After Facebook’s fiasco with third-party apps tracking data, launching a similar feature may not be the best move for Snapchat.

Facebook comments on public posts may not have to be public

Commenting on a public post means leaving a public comment — but Facebook is testing an option that could change that. The platform is testing a tool that would allow users to choose between a public comment or a friends-only comment. Facebook says the tool would help friends connect with public comments. Comments may be viewed by the Page owner in a later update, but aren’t currently part of the friends-only setting. The option, for now, is only being tested among a small group of users.

LinkedIn is jumping aboard those autoplay video ads too

The Microsoft-owned professional network LinkedIn will reportedly also use autoplay video ads on the platform. The move comes as LinkedIn adds new video options for ad posts. The ads won’t play with the sound on at first, according to TechCrunch.

Princeton research suggests only 10 percent of YouTube and Pinterest influencers follow laws on ads

Federal Trade Commission guidelines require ads to be clearly labeled, even on social media. But new research suggests that, for YouTube and Pinterest, a majority don’t disclose when links are actually affiliates. The research out of Princeton suggests that 10 percent of YouTubers are following those guidelines and just seven percent of Pinterest users. The study was conducted using around half a million videos and more than 2 million pins, all posted sometime last year.

Facebook’s local news emphasis is expanding

Earlier this year, Facebook launched a new focus on local news, boosting locally reported events higher up in the news feed after reducing general news prominence overall. Now, Facebook is expanding that idea beyond the U.S., along with rolling out the “Today In” local news section to more cities. Now, Facebook is boosting local news in all countries and in all languages higher in the feed.

The Today In feature will also be rolling out to 25 more U.S. cities over the next few weeks, Facebook said. The section includes weather, news, events and other local information. The feature is inside the menu, but users in the cities with the feature can also turn on an option to put a daily update in their news feed.

Twitter gives crypto advertisers the boot

Facebook, Google, and now Twitter have all made moves to ban cryptocurrency ads. Twitter announced the ban earlier this week with a new policy. Cryptocurrency scams are becoming more common, including scams run on Twitter earlier this year.

Those Facebook friend requests may soon expire

Ignored Facebook friend requests may soon self-destruct. Facebook confirmed earlier this week that the network is testing a feature that would automatically delete friend requests that haven’t been acted on after two weeks. Tested features may never see a full rollout, but the option is one that is currently available to some members included in that test group.

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Hillary K. Grigonis
Hillary K. Grigonis
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Hillary never planned on becoming a photographer—and then she was handed a camera at her first writing job and she's been…
Social Feed: Twitter is not kidding, YouTube goes dark, Facebook says game on
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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.

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Social media is a fluid technology — nearly every day, the major social media networks are announcing major changes, 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 Facebook’s new breaking news label, Instagram’s potential portrait mode and video calling, and Snapchat's latest round of layoffs. Find Social Feed every weekend for the latest social news tidbits.
Snapchat tests the tag, finally
Snapchat fans could soon tag their friends inside their Stories. Snap Inc. confirmed the testing of the feature after the tag was spotted by a user, but didn’t offer specifics. According to users with early access to it, the feature would allow Snapchatters to use an @ tag for another Snapchat user inside a Story post. Viewers could then tap the mention and see more details or follow the same person. For now, the feature is just a test.
Twitter wants to make those blue verification badges available to everyone
After suspending the blue verification badge last year, Twitter now wants to open up the icon to any Twitter user. During a live-stream this week, CEO Jack Dorsey said the platform wants to open verification for everyone. The platform is looking to make the badge a simple verified ID so that "[Twitter] doesn't have to be the judge or imply any bias on our part."

Twitter's blue badge came under fire after the platform gave the icon to a known white supremacist. Twitter says the badge is meant only to verify the identity of the user, but Twitter users tend to see the icon as more than that.
Russian bots aren’t just for elections -- they want your personal data, too
A report by the Wall Street Journal earlier this week serves as another reminder to be wary of sharing personal information on Facebook. According to the investigative report, the Internet Research Agency, which was part of the alleged Russian election misinformation campaigns, also used bots to gather personal data. The study didn’t find out why the group wanted the information, but documented several attempts from Russian accounts to gather personal data from Americans, including requesting information from small business owners and paying a self-defense teacher for student data.
Twitter is beginning to push back against cryptocurrency scams
While Facebook has banned cryptocurrency ads entirely, Twitter now appears to be taking steps to remove scammers from the platform. On Wednesday, March 7, the social platform said it is adding flags to help identify accounts that break Twitter’s rules against deceptive claims. An account that was part of a scam last month was suspended on the platform.
Social media users aren’t afraid of outside views
News feed algorithms that promote the content you’re likely to click your like button on create growing concern over a phenomenon called polarization. Research suggests that surrounding someone with the same views and excluding dissenting views creates a more extreme view on that topic. A new survey, however, suggests that social media users really aren’t opposed to seeing opposite views in their feed. The survey, conducted by The Data Face, demonstrated that participants were just as willing to watch a video containing opposing views as they were to watch a video that supported their own ideas. Conservatives were slightly less likely to watch liberal views, but researchers said the difference was statistically insignificant.
Facebook patents -- a robot?
Facebook’s virtual reality camera went open source to allow other companies to develop the hardware -- but a new patent suggests Facebook isn’t entirely moving beyond hardware either. This week, the social giant patented a Segway-like robot that can move on three wheels or balance on two. The patent doesn’t detail exactly what the robot would be for, but the camera head attached to the device could suggest something like a VR cameraman, among other possibilities.

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Social Feed: Embeds might be iIllegal, Vimeo adds simultaneous live-streams
senate hearing terrorism and social media extremist content january 2018 ios reading list header

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 the smaller changes that you may have missed amid this week’s biggest news — like Twitters’ new and prominent breaking news videos, Facebook’s new list status, and Pinterest’s organization-focused update. Check out Social Feed every weekend for the latest social news tidbits.
Embedding that tweeted photo could be illegal
Embedding a tweet has, for years, been an option for properly crediting an image or quote without falling into copyright violation. That might no longer be the case, however, now that a federal court in New York has ruled in favor of a photographer who said the news outlets embedding his images were violating his copyright.

A case in 2007 established the idea that the liability lies with the host, which in this case is Twitter, not the person or group embedding the post. The judge who made that earlier ruling made the decision, in part, on the premise that if the original tweeter edited the tweet, the embeds would also change. It was also suggested that those sharing the content could be unaware that the post violates copyright. The latest case, however, upends that idea. Judge Katherine Forrest said that the embeds violated the photographer’s right to display the image and that hosting the image on Twitter didn’t change that right. The ruling could affect not just tweets, but any embedded content, such as Facebook and Instagram images. The verdict could potentially go through an appeal process.
Privacy settings don’t matter in legal cases, court says
In another New York courthouse, an appeals court ruled that even Facebook profiles set to private can still be used in legal battles. The appeal supported an earlier ruling. In the case in question, a woman who was injured from a fall off a horse was asked to share her Facebook posts with the court in a lawsuit against the owner of the animal. As a result of the ruling, even the posts with a private setting can be used in the lawsuit.
Twitter is working to remove self-harm tweets
After a significant rule overhaul to curb abuse, Twitter has set its sights on curbing another form of violence on the platform. Announced via a Tweet, Twitter will now be responding to reported tweets that encourage self-harm. Posts that encourage users to harm themselves have always been against Twitter rules, but according to Gizmodo, the rules weren’t previously enforced. Twitter now says users can report profiles, tweets, and direct messages that encourage someone to harm themselves. Twitter says it is continuing to provide resources for users who tweet about their own self-harm.
German courts say Facebook is illegally taking user data for ads
Earlier this week, courts in Berlin said that Facebook failed to obtain the proper consent before using user data in targeted ads. The case says that the default privacy settings are hidden from users. Facebook says it will appeal the case but is working to make sure the guidelines are clear. Germany also recently launched a new law that fines social media sites for not removing hate speech.
With Vimeo, users can now simultaneously broadcast to Facebook and YouTube
Want that live video to show up in more than one network? This week, Vimeo launched an update that allows users to broadcast live to Facebook, YouTube, Periscope and Twitch at the same time, while previously recorded uploads can also be synced with Facebook and YouTube. The change comes as Vimeo is continuing to stray from the YouTube-like business model and instead prioritize tools for the creatives behind the video.
Users complain Facebook is sending spam after phone number is provided for security purposes
Several users are reporting receiving text messages from Facebook after providing a phone number for the two-factor authentication process, which appears to turn on text notifications by default. In some cases, responding to those texts actually posts to the user’s Facebook wall. Gizmodo suggests that the text messages increase when users aren’t active on their accounts. Facebook says it is looking into the complaints and reminds users that the text notifications can be switched off in settings.
Businesses and nonprofits can now post in Facebook's Community Help
Facebook’s Crisis Response allows users to mark themselves safe, learn what’s going on, and offer help in the middle of a crisis — and now businesses and nonprofits can also use the tool. Facebook announced that Community Help is opening up to businesses and organizations. By allowing greater access, Facebook is aiming to include posts about distribution and assistance. For example, Lyft can now post in the Crisis Response about a relief rides program that offers free rides to shelters and hospitals. The feature is only headed to a handful of pages at first, but Facebook says the option will be rolling out to more businesses and organizations.

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