#SocialSkim: Instagram's Livestreaming and Ephemeral Messages, Facebook's Fake-News Battle: 10 Stories This Week. Skim for your Thanksgiving-week heaping helping of social media news and views! Instagram blends Periscope and Snapchat for new ephemeral livestreaming and messaging features; Facebook launches a plan to fight fake news, and needs all of you to help; all about Houseparty, the livestreaming app making a splash; Russia bans LinkedIn over data war; five mistakes to avoid in B2B social media marketing; how chatbots fit into an SMB marketing mix; 10 Facebook marketing tips for the holidays; and much more... 1. Don't feel like posting your Instagram Story for all your followers to see? But, like Snapchat, they'll disappear after your followers view them twice. Mark Zuckerberg releases seven-point plan for defeating fake news Facebook and its chairman have been the target of intense criticism following the US presidential election, with many voicing concern that the social network not only acts as an echo chamber that reinforces users' own points of view by feeding them only content they'll like but also serves as a hotbed for the spread of fake news, without checks and balances. And now, thanks to its stroke-of-genius marketing campaign, Snapchat's Spectacles are inspiring the kind of buzz a company planning for an IPO could only dream of. Considering the wide range of activities bots can fulfill, and recent insight into millennials' perspectives on the matter, the answer is yes. Instead, Houseparty brings together friends for hangout sessions, and the app already counts one million people among those who spend a combined 20 million minutes hanging out on the platform each day. Because Facebook's walled garden leaves all content on the platform with a similar look and feel, for now it seems all we can do is to actually read the stories we share (before we share them), and to also dig deeper should something strike us as suspicious.
Instagram blends Periscope and Snapchat for new ephemeral livestreaming and messaging features; Facebook launches a plan to fight fake news, and needs all of you to help; all about Houseparty, the livestreaming app making a splash; Russia bans LinkedIn over data war; five mistakes to avoid in B2B social media marketing; how chatbots fit into an SMB marketing mix; 10 Facebook marketing tips for the holidays; and much more…
1. Instagram launches live video streaming with a twist: disappearing photos and video
Facebook is adopting the best of Snapchat and Periscope to Instagram, with the introduction of live video and messages—both with an ephemeral twist. That’s right, Instagram users and brands will now be able to livestream on the platform; but, unlike Facebook Live and Periscope, Instagram livestreams won’t be saved and can’t be replayed. But users can search for the best live videos streaming at any given time with a newly curated Explore page.
Don’t feel like posting your Instagram Story for all your followers to see? No worries, you’ll also soon be able to send a Story update to only a few close friends if you’d like. But, like Snapchat, they’ll disappear after your followers view them twice. The two new features are rolling out to users on iOS and Android in the next few weeks.
This means a whole new platform for businesses to streamline their livestreaming strategy. Get ready!
2. Mark Zuckerberg releases seven-point plan for defeating fake news
Facebook and its chairman have been the target of intense criticism following the US presidential election, with many voicing concern that the social network not only acts as an echo chamber that reinforces users’ own points of view by feeding them only content they’ll like but also serves as a hotbed for the spread of fake news, without checks and balances.
Now, Facebook is fighting back with a seven-point plan to cut fake news from the platform:
- Increase technical systems’ ability to flag false stories before users have to
- Make it easier for users to spot and report fake stories
- Increase integration of third-party verification systems
- Exploring the labeling of stories that have been flagged as false with warnings to readers
- Increase the quality of stories suggested in “related articles”
- Continue policy of not running ads on fake news websites
- Listen more closely and gather input of journalists and others in the news industry
Will it work?
3. Russia blocks LinkedIn, with Facebook and Twitter possibly future targets
Data storage laws are to blame for Russia’s communication regulators’ banning of the business-centric social network in the country after LinkedIn failed to store Russian users’ personal data on Russian national servers.
Though many believe that the Russian government is exploiting these local servers, national regulators said the social network failed to comply with what it says are Russian laws meant to protect its citizens’ data.
Facebook and Twitter are also facing increased scrutiny in Russia, risking the ban of their combined 30+ million users in the nation if they don’t comply.
4. Facebook revamps Safety Check, allows users to activate it
The social titan took advantage of its new Social Good Forum in New York last week to introduce an updated Safety Check that allows users to activate it themselves. It also announced new tools for users to fundraise for charity, and to offer and receive shelter, food, and other types of aid during crises via what it calls “community help.”
Safety Check will now be activated should there be a recognized increase in posts about a specific disaster or emergency; those users will likely receive a notification from Facebook to let their…
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