Is removing followers better than blocking?
Instagram is introducing a new feature to give users the ability to control who sees their content.
The new manual ‘remove follower’ feature is more subtle than blocking users as the other account is not notified that they have been removed.
By giving users this power, Instagram is hoping to offer a halfway house between the complete privacy of a locked account and those which are fully public.
Elsewhere, Instagram is also attempting to encourage more real time interactions by placing a green light on a user’s profile when they are live on the social network.
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Chat rooms come to Reddit
Reddit’s moves to become more social have stepped up with the creation of chat rooms in sub-reddits.
These discussion rooms allow users to engage in real time with others who share the same interests and passions.
Reddit has long been seen as a place for the next big thing in online trends and by introducing this discussion capability, the social platform is extending users the place they need to hang around and discuss what they know, rather than jumping off to have that discussion elsewhere online.
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Insta contacts merge with FB Messenger
As more brands seek to use Facebook Messenger for customer service, the social network is migrating more users there by allowing Instagram contacts to be merged with Messenger.
With Instagram already having a direct messaging facility, the need for this isn’t immediately clear. However, brands who have Insta communities and a customer service offering on Messenger can gain immediate benefit.
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Journalists snap up newsworthy social posts
Publicly posted snaps on Snapchat can now be used by media if they relate to newsworthy topics.
Snapchat is giving journalists the ability to mine snaps to find those that relate to breaking or high interest news, in the same way that media outlets currently use Facebook and twitter posts to show first person, on the spot accounts of stories.
Users have to consent to making their snaps public and therefore accessible.
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Scan and go to make new LinkedIn contacts
LinkedIn is using QR codes to replace the business card in meetings and give professionals a new way to make a contact.
By scanning the code on a mobile, users can connect instantly on LinkedIn, doing away with the need to write down names or even swap cards.
Scanning is done on the LinkedIn mobile app and while not ground-breaking this quirky feature has the potential to be widely used in the business community.
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