The race for your attention and eyeballs is intensifying and YouTube wants you to chat about it. Instagram may have finally rolled out its algorithm, and emojis are evolving to show some girl power. These are the social media stories you might have missed in the news.
Instagram Overhaul
Instagram made one very noticeable change this week, and that had the social media community up in arms. But it’s the subtle change that really might shake Instagrammers at their core. Like any new tweak to an online platform, people came out in force to complain about Instagram’s new logo and display changes. But some experts suggest that the real advancement that will upset the apple cart is the change to the much-feared algorithm.
Many users reported their timelines in disarray, the result of a proprietary algorithm. The change shouldn’t come as a surprise. Instagram’s parent company, Facebook, announced the proposed change months ago. Facebook also runs its timeline on an algorithm. It’s safe to say this wasn’t a much-anticipated move. More than 300,000 people signed an online petition, in hopes that Instagram leaders would abandon the proposed change.
Emoji Equality
If you’ve ever thought that the emojis depicting people in the workforce were very male driven, you aren’t alone. Now developers have created 13 new smiley icons and designs that represent women in a positive professional light.
The Google engineers behind the icons say that they hoped to empower young women (the heaviest emoji users) and better reflect the roles women are playing in the world.
Designing the new emojis is only the first step. Unicode, the official authority of integrating emojis with the platforms and operating systems, is working to approve them. The next round of emojis are will hit your phone and computer mid-year, but so far there is no word on whether this latest batch of designs will make the cut.
YouTube Messenger
Facebook isn’t the only platform hoping to keep you on its site and engaged with friends. YouTube now is taking aim at a messenger service that will keep you on the platform for longer periods. The video-sharing site recently launched native sharing for a small group of users. Users can have conversations about one video clip, or reply with additional video clips.
This new message platform could extend the already lengthy average visit for a YouTube user. Currently, the average user spends 40 minutes a day watching YouTube content on a mobile device. YouTube also can lay claim to having the largest viewership among 18-49 when pitted against cable television.
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