Social media is constantly changing and evolving, with new features, tests, and rules popping up over time. They can be easy to miss, so here are some of the most recent updates that you may be interested to learn about.
Instagram Adding a New “Plans” Sticker
Instagram is adding a new sticker that will enable users to schedule online meetups through their Stories. The “plans” feature will allow users to add a date as well as information for followers to join them for the meetup. Users will also be able to see who among their friends has shown interest in the event. Think a Facebook invite for Instagram Stories—a great way to announce a future digital get together with friends or customers. No official date has been announced for the update’s rollout, however.
Instagram Announces Possible Permissions Requirement for Future Embeds
Many bloggers—this one included—often use Instagram embeds on their sites to share posts from other users of the platform. According to Instagram, that may be changing.
Typically, it goes like this: If an external site embeds someone’s Instagram post, it’s generally considered fair game because, as the embedded image is hosted by Instagram (and not copied or screenshot), it’s bound by Instagram’s terms of service.
When photographer Stephanie Sinclair tried to sue Mashable back in April for embedding one of her posts on their site, she was ruled against by the New York district court under these conditions.
However, in a more recent example, photographer Elliot McGucken sued Newsweek for embedding one of his Instagram images after he had denied their request to license it—and the Southern District Court of New York did not dismiss the lawsuit outright.
This doesn’t mean McGucken has won, mind you, but Instagram’s statement may mean a change for how we do things:
“While our terms allow us to grant a sub-license, we do not grant one for our embeds API. Our platform policies require third parties to have the necessary rights from applicable rights holders. This includes ensuring they have a license to share this content, if a license is required by law.”
While an official ruling has yet to be made, keep in mind that any embedded posts done without direct permission from the creator may in the future be deemed illegal.
Twitter Testing New Conversation Settings
Twitter recently released the news that it’s working on testing the implementation of conversation settings that would allow users to control who can (and cannot) reply to their tweets.
As trolls and bots remain a problem on the platform, the new settings would allow users to choose from three reply options: Everyone, People You Follow, or Only people you mention. The default setting—standard Twitter as we know it—is Everyone, and choice of the latter two options will be marked clearly so other users are able to see whether they can reply. Those who cannot reply can still view, retweet, retweet with comments, and the like.
The new settings are currently available only to a limited global testing market.
LinkedIn’s Learning Path on Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging for All Available for Free
LinkedIn announced that it will offer courses on diversity and inclusion to its users free of charge now through August 31.
The learning path, combining five hours of expert-created content over seven courses, seeks to educate users on topics such as bias, cultural competence, communication, allyship, and accountability.
Courses include Unconscious Bias; Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging; Confronting Bias: Thriving Across Our Differences; Skills for Inclusive Conversations; Communicating About Culturally Sensitive Issues; Communicating Across Cultures; and Bystander Training: From Bystander to Upstander.
To begin taking the courses, visit LinkedIn’s website.
(Top image via Canva)
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