Facebook’s looking to add an extra level of insight to certain search results, with several users reporting a new Knowledge Panel type display for some queries in the main app, with an overview ported from Wikipedia. As you can see in this example posted by user JC Van Zijl (and shared by Matt Navarra), the new panel displays a summary … Read more
After first launching it with users in Brazil back in March, then expanding access to Italian audiences in May, Twitter has now announced that its take on the Stories format – ‘Fleets’ – is coming to the Indian market. Fleets, as you can see in these images, are very much like Stories, with a new panel … Read more
Facebook’s looking to make it easier for Page managers to respond to message queries by adding a new, simple toggle which will enable switching between personal and business Messenger accounts. As you can see in the above sequence, now, when you tap and hold your profile picture in Messenger, you’ll be able to quickly switch to your … Read more
With demand for news content peaking amid various major events, Facebook has announced that it’s rolling out its revamped Facebook News tab to all US users from today. First launched in selected regions last October, the new Facebook News will, at least initially, be available via the app menu, as opposed to getting its own main tab … Read more
Google has announced some additional targeting restrictions for housing, credit, and employment ads, as it works to eliminate discriminatory use of its advanced ad targeting tools. As per Google: “[The new] policy will prohibit impacted employment, housing, and credit advertisers from targeting or excluding ads based on gender, age, parental status, marital status, or ZIP Code, in … Read more
The truth is, the rise of rival social apps really annoys Facebook. I mean, that makes sense – if competitor gains traction and starts to eat into your market share, you need to fight back, or you risk losing your position, which is how Facebook ousted MySpace back in 2008. It makes sense that Facebook wouldn’t … Read more
In an almost perfect illustration of adversarial politics, US Presidential Candidate Joe Biden has today called on Facebook to do more to stop misinformation in political campaigns, while also pushing the company to take action against voter suppression efforts. In an open letter, Biden says that Facebook needs to: Promote authoritative and trustworthy sources of election information, rather … Read more
Facebook’s experimental NPE team has released its sixth new app, this time focused on facilitating phone calls between friends who are up for a chat. Called CatchUp, the new app is essentially Messenger Rooms for voice calls, providing the capacity to see when your friends are online and up for a voice call, as well … Read more
Twitter has begun live testing of its new DM chat window on the desktop, which provides a Messenger-style, picture-in-picture display for your messaging discussions on the platform. The new option displays active DM chats in a smaller, sub-window at the bottom right of the screen, which is similar to the same presentation of Messenger chats … Read more
There’s a new, Chinese-owned, short-form video app on the rise, with TikTok-like Zynn hitting the top of the US App Store charts this week. Zynn looks very much like TikTok, with almost identical visual style, and features like effects and video editing tools. As per the app’s description, Zynn’s key functions are: Discover spontaneous and … Read more