Snapchat is taking a dive into the television realm, anthropologists are using Instagram as a useful tool to observe cultural and fashion trends around the world, and Facebook is developing the ability to capture your emotions. Read on for everything that happened in the social media world this June.

Facebook

• Facebook wants to turn emotions into emojis by using your webcam
  • Future versions of the platform could use cameras, keyboard movement, and touchpad gestures to track emotions, automatically inserting emojis and adjusting the font or even using emotions to analyze reactions
• To celebrate the 30th anniversary of GIFS, Facebook allowed users the feature of adding GIFs within comments
  • Facebook also designed unique GIFs just for the occasion

Takeaways: 

• If this patent ever becomes a reality, it could prompt users to actually use Facebook less, and possibly not at all, because of the idea of being watched through the camera, proving just how invasive some apps and websites are becoming

Instagram

• Instagram could become a new tool for anthropologists
  • Cornell University researchers recently trained an artificial intelligence program to analyze images on Instagram uncovering how cultural clothing trends vary around the world
  • While the system was designed to recognize fashion trends, the technology has implications for future studies analyzing anthropological data over large areas

Takeaways:

• Besides just being a photo sharing app, Instagram could actually benefit a wide variety of fields, thus increasing its overall popularity as well as effect on social media

Twitter

• Twitter updated its app to create a less confusing user experience
  • Users can now access their profiles, settings, and moments in a side navigation menu, which makes it more aesthetically pleasing and makes for a simpler browsing experience
• Tweets will now be updated instantly so users can see conversations happening in real time, bringing a new meaning to the term “live tweeting”
• Twitter will now allow brands to attach up to three buttons to any message, and these links can be directed to anywhere on the internet, as well as other Twitter accounts

Takeaways:

• The new additions to Twitter are making users feel comfortable using the platform, and the app is making updates to increase audience engagement
• There has never been a better time for brands to communicate with their audience via Twitter

Snapchat

• Snap Inc. announced an agreement with Time Warner to develop original shows for Snapchat
  • Up to ten shows are expected to stem from the agreement
  • Time Warner will advertise on the platform, focusing on millennials as young adults trend toward mobile and streaming entertainment over traditional cable

Takeaways:

• When social media platforms generate more views, they can also generate more revenue through ad sales, which has multiple platforms experimenting with entertainment options