As we move into December, it’s time to dive into the latest social media updates from November, so here’s an early present for you:
It’s official: Instagram will remove the option to follow specific hashtags of interest, meaning those posts will no longer appear on your feed. And, you can probably guess why…
The removal of this feature strongly correlates with the effort to combat “hashtag spammers.” Hashtags have been spammed since the beginning of time, with trending hashtags collecting unrelated content due to spam accounts adding irrelevant hashtags to their posts to get more reach.
But are we surprised? After all, hashtags have been on the downfall for a while now…
Read more about the removal: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/instagrams-removing-option-follow-hashtags/733155/
Instagram also announced that they are testing a way for users to “hit the reset button.”
In other words, they will allow users to reset their existing content recommendations that decide what they see in Explore, Reels, and Feed.
To us, it sounds like Instagram is finally understanding that sometimes we all just need a fresh start. And, let’s be honest, the algorithms can truly be so unforgiving. You look hippos up ONCE…
Want a reset? Learn how: https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/reset-instagram-content-suggestions
Surprise, surprise. It’s been uncovered that Meta might bring ads to its Threads platform as early as next year. From the sound of it, this will be a slow rollout of the new feature, giving select advertisers access to the opportunity starting in January.
Given a large portion of Meta’s revenue is from advertising, this doesn’t come as a surprise. So, we’ll see how long it takes for all brands to have access to ads on Threads!
Get more information: https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/13/24295735/threads-ads-rumor-2025
Bluesky isn’t the first social media platform to try to enter the already saturated space. However, last month, Bluesky made waves with a reported spike in new user activity, reaching over 20 million users.
Where are these users coming from, you ask? First, we’ll let you take an X-tremely educated (or even an uneducated one, really) guess.
Bluesky recently welcomed millions of new users with open arms. The platform witnessed an increase of over 2.5 million new users just in the week following the election. It seems the countless platform changes, paired with Elon’s well-known political involvement, drove X users to find another place to interact.
Will you be adding Bluesky to your social media rounds? Learn more about the spike in users: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2024/11/20/what-is-bluesky-user-count/76451731007/
Technically, this happened at the very end of October, but most people didn’t find out until November, so it still counts. Right?
We all know and love our movies, shows, and whatever else you stream on your TV. And Netflix knows it, too! Moments, a new mobile feature that launched globally, allows Netflix users to easily save and share their favorite Netflix scenes.
Learn more about how it works: https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/netflix-moments
Pinterest just gets it. Honestly.
Struggling to find that perfect gift for your best friend? Is your mom asking what’s on your Christmas list again? Well, Pinterest just made it easy for users to find inspiration for their holiday wishlists and even easier to shop what they previously saved.
With Pinterest’s new gift guides from well-known celebrities like Paris Hilton, Emma Chamberlain, and more, users can explore thousands of curated gift guides spanning 27 categories. And when anyone saves a pin from one of those gift guides, it’ll be saved directly to their very own shoppable wishlist.
We know you didn’t ask, but we will absolutely be using this feature. Learn more about it: https://newsroom.pinterest.com/news/why-pinterest-is-the-go-to-place-to-shop-holiday-gifts-this-year
Thought Snapchat became irrelevant? Yeah, us too. But not for lack of trying!
Snapchat launched its first-ever Sponsored Snaps campaign, sending sponsored content directly to users’ inboxes as if they received a snap. And their first promotion? A DM video message to promote the new movie Wicked.
We won’t go into too much detail here, but all we know is that if Sponsored Snaps escalate and start to overrun Snapchatters’ inboxes, well, we’re not sure that will be received all too well.
This is not a platform update, but it's definitely news to know. Despite criticism of the proposed bill, the Australian government has officially moved forward with its proposed restrictions on social media usage. The restrictions will effectively ban users under the age of 16 from social media apps.
Some key takeaways if you don’t want to read the article:
Learn more about the ban: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/australia-pushes-ahead-teen-social-media-ban/733662/
That’s it! See you next month.
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