December 17-2022: Here Are 10 things You Need to Know in The Digital Space Right Now

Hello there, happy holidays????

Welcome to my weekly newsletter, where I curate and aggregate social media features updates, tech news and digital trends that happen weekly to keep you updated. I share on updates on Twitter Digital Trends & Insights, you can join here

A lot has been happening in the digital space this week since I published my newsletter on?December 10-2022. Instagram is still coming up with features that clone BeReal. , TikTok is going after YouTube features and as usual Elon Musk and Twitter drama goes on.

Let's get started

Instagram

1. Instagram rolled out Notes, a new way to share short posts of up to 60 characters that goes on top of your inbox to followers you follow back and close friends. Your Note will appear at the top of their inbox for 24 hours. Replies to Notes will arrive as DMs in your inbox.

• With the existing Add Yours stories, Instagram is?testing an update where you can invite friends to participate by tapping?pass it on?when you see a prompt that reminds you of them.
• Instagram is also testing Candid Stories the BeReal like feature where users can capture and share what you’re doing right now in a story that’s only visible to those who also share their own. This how BeReal the new app in the block works. You can't view your friends if you haven't shared their moments.

2. Instagram also set up a new recovery center a new measure to help users regain their locked accounts. The guide will take you through the process of logging back into your profile.

TikTok

3. TikTok is testing a new horizontal full screen mode with select users globally. Safe to say, #TikTok is going after YouTube again after introducing longer videos on the platform of up to 10 minutes early this year.

4. US lawmakers have introduced new legislation that aims to ban TikTok from operating in the United States citing concerns about national security. How will this move affect the social media landscape?

TikTok Report: What's Next 2023 Trend Report?

YouTube

5. YouTube Tests New Emoji Reactions Within Live Streams and video queues on both Android and iOS. The new emoji reactions is meant to increase interactions and engagements on live streams.

WhatsApp

6. You can now create customized digital avatars on WhatsApp and choose from various combinations of outfits, hairstyles and facial feature. Other social media platforms already have these Avatars in the platforms. Snapchat has Bitmoji, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram have avatars, Apple has Memojis.

Oh Yes Twitter Updates

7. Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, each day, each week has some updates. First, off, the Twitter Blue Verification mark relaunched on Monday. Twitter say it will start incorporating mute & block signals from Blue Verified (not Legacy Blue) as downvotes.

Verified Business Twitter handles now have a Gold check marks from the previous blue check.

8. Twitter also banned Elon Jet bot handle, created by Jack Sweeney that tracked Elon Musk Private Jet in real-time. On 15th December, Elon Musk tweeted "Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation. This includes posting links to sites with real-time location info. Posting locations someone traveled to on a slightly delayed basis isn’t a safety problem, so is ok."

• Twitter later suspended several journalists who covered about Elon Musk as well as blocking links to Mastodon platform citing doxing.
• On Friday, Twitter Spaces Were Taken Offline After Elon Musk Fled One Where He Was Asked About Reporters Being Banned. Elon Musk said, the Spaces were temporarily removed as they were fixing a "legacy bug"
• By Saturday Morning Audio/Spaces tab was back. If you had Spaces planned for Friday did it affect you or your business? Now, what if you have focused all your efforts on one platform then one day the platform shuts down? Lesson: Try not to put all your social media eggs in one basket

9. Google Analytics 4 Rolled Out Built-In Landing Page Report that allows users collect data about visits to a site, allowing webmasters to test and optimize their landing pages. Intially, this was done manually

10. Visa?has pledged to invest $1billion in Africa by 2027 to advance “resilient, innovative, and inclusive” economies across the continent.

Additional

Let me know what you think about the latest updates. Also, what are your thoughts about the new ChatGPT by OpenAI . Are you using it?

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Happy Holidays???and take care