March 2016

Instagram Faces Backlash From Users After Announcing New Changes

Instagram is doing what it can to catch up to others and better compete within the world of social media. There have been some pretty substantial changes with social media sites as a whole over the first quarter of the year so far. Instagram is the next site announcing substantial changes to its website which focuses on distributing small bits of visual content including short videos and pictures.

The main change that is going to be hitting Instagram users after a few weeks or months of testing is a complete overhaul of the way that posts display within the Instagram App. Instead of the chronological order that Instagram has been using since it started, they are now going to change to a smarter listing allowing users to see posts that they may have a greater amount of interest in. This would be similar to the Top News setting that Facebook uses.

Instagram users have been worrying about the change since they heard about it, concerned that Instagram will use their new algorithm to alienate specific accounts and make some posts less visible to users. Many of those worrying about these changes are companies and celebrities that have used Instagram as free advertising. Instagram has been receiving a great deal of backlash from some of these users who seem worried about what this will do to the way their posts are seen. Many of these users have taken to Instagram asking other users to turn on their notifications if they wish to see their posts.

Although some users are concerned that they will lose their ability to advertise for free as they did when Facebook altered its algorithm and asked that people who wanted more visibility paid to sponsor their posts, there is no proof that this will be happening again on Instagram. They claim that the algorithm is only intended to show people the content that they want to see including content that they see from businesses they like. Brands and big name users are still concerned that the new changes may mean they’ll eventually be effected after experiencing the same problems in the past.

Twitter Stickers May Be the Next Change to the Twitter Platform

Over the ten years that Twitter has been in business, there have been a wide range of changes that have completely transformed the social media site. The latest feature that Twitter is testing is a stickers feature that will allow customers to add cartoon images over the top of pictures before posting them. This new feature is just one more way that Twitter is turning their social media platform into a site with more visual components.

This newest feature, if released, would follow several other features that Twitter has released in its attempt to make the Twitter world a bit more visual. Previous features have allowed users to add videos to their tweets and even introduced live streaming. The new feature suggests that Twitter is searching for a way to make standard pictures on Twitter into something that is more exciting. It seems all of the recent changes are focused around the idea of creating a new version of Twitter that will attract a greater number of users.

The new stickers feature would introduce a feature previously extended only to celebrities through the secret Twitter Camera app. The feature mirrors ones available on other social media sites such as Facebook which allow customers to add cartoon images over standard pictures.  This would allow users to add cute or funny elements to the different pictures that they posted. While the feature is in the early testing stages, it is likely to become a permanent feature to the social media website.

To differentiate this feature from similar ones, Twitter has plans to add a social element. The idea would be to display the way that other users have decorated a popular picture and to suggest pictures for users to decorate. Decorating trending pictures would allow users to share opinions and interact in an entirely new way. Twitter’s unique twist on a standard feature could help to make it more competitive with other social media sites.

Twitter Transfers All Users to Their Algorithmic Feed Automatically

When Twitter recently started testing a new way of organizing the way that users see tweets, they received instant backlash from many Twitter users who were not interested in seeing a change. Many of these people were pleased by Twitter’s early requirement to opt into the new system. They were dismayed to discover when Twitter began slowly shifting all users into the new way of displaying posts.

Twitter was initially requiring customers to opt in with the new way of organizing posts because they were still in the testing phase of this new system. They were working to build a way of displaying posts that were not in reverse chronological order and instead in order of what a user might find most interesting or more important. The idea was to make Twitter more attractive for users who only came on the site infrequently. They would be able to more easily see what important news they had missed, instead of being informed only of the most recent information.

Twitter isn’t the only social media site shifting its formatting from displaying posts chronologically to shifting posts to the most relevant and interesting. In the past, other social media sites have offered different ways of displaying posts. Facebook has had top posts and most recent as options for displaying your news feed for a long time. Instagram has recently announced that they will also be switching.

For those who are annoyed with the new change on Twitter, the good news is that the change is not required. Anyone who wishes to have their feed go back to the chronological display, simply has to change a setting within their account. In most cases, Twitter is notifying users of the switch and giving the option to change their settings right away. This means that those who want the new organization can have it while those who prefer the traditional display can stick with this.

Meerkat Seeks a Place in the Social Media World After Losing the Battle for Live Streaming

After creating the concept of live streaming from a cell phone to a social media network, Meerkat should be at the top of the live stream market. Unfortunately, with Facebook and Twitter recently jumping on the live streaming concept, Meerkat has become less appealing to users. Many people just don’t see the point of adding an additional social media network to live stream from.

After being heralded as the next big thing last summer, Meerkat took some serious hits to their competitive edge. Just because they were the first on the scene of live streaming, did not mean that they were able to maintain their edge when it came to competing with other streaming companies. Once Twitter purchased Periscope and turned this into their own live streaming application, Meerkat started to see problems in their own growth. Now with Facebook’s newly launched live streaming tool, they’re ready to give up on the idea of becoming a leading live streaming network.

The problem that Meerkat is currently experiencing is that their market has been flooded by products that are better and more convenient to customers. Rather than trying to continue to compete with Facebook and Twitter, the company has decided to shift their focus. The company recently announced that they will be changing their focus with the idea of making their social media network more private. They are hinting at the idea of live streaming toward more select groups of people such as friends and family members.

Businesses should pay close attention to the way that Meerkat is changing its focus as it relates to niche selection. Originally, the company was focused on a unique niche with no competition. Now as the market has been flooded to the point where they cannot compete, they have decided to further narrow their niche in an attempt to gain a unique audience. In many cases, narrowing a niche can be just what a business needs to succeed when they find that a larger niche is flooded with challenging competitors.

Apple Launches Apple Support Twitter Account to Field Questions About Products

Today, Apple joined the number of companies that are using Twitter as a way to field customer questions about products. Many companies have found that it is very useful to use Twitter as a place where questions can be asked and answered since customers seem to see this as much more convenient than having to call or email. Twitter users can ask all of their important questions to companies whose products they purchase to get answers without any hassle.

Of course, Apple hasn’t been devoid of any type of customer service account on Twitter prior to this. In the past, it has had some specific accounts that focused on Apple Music and iTunes which offered customer support for these specific Apple products. Their new account is different because it is the first time that Apple has had any kind of general customer service account where customers can ask questions about all types of Apple products.

The main benefit of such an account is of course the way that this improves Apple’s image in general. Apple has long portrayed themselves as a company that is willing to provide superior customer service. The new Twitter account helps with this by making it easier for customers to interact directly with the Apple customer service team on an easy to use platform. Customers should see this as marked increase in the level of service and support that Apple provides.

Apple began its Twitter presence with a brief welcome and a handy step by step picture slideshow that showed customers how to turn lists into checklists within the Notes app. The account has also invited customers to come forward with any questions that they might have about a variety of Apple products. The hope is to provide more tips and tutorials to make it so that customers can more easily work with the products they’ve purchased.

Other businesses should look to the way that Apple is using Twitter as a guide for what they can be doing in their own businesses. This new account shows the versatility of Twitter in the ways that it can be used by a business. Business owners don’t just have to use Twitter as a place to talk about their products, they can be like Apple and offer customer service within their Twitter pages.