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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