media update’s Christine Gerber details what these new developments are, and why they’re important.
Instagram’s new ‘Music Stickers’ feature
The news: Prepare yourself. Instagram will soon allow you to add music to your Instagram Stories. The news was initially reported by TechCrunch, which noted that a code inside Instagram’s app for Android gave it away.
Image sourced from TechCrunch
The code reveals a new feature called ‘Music Stickers’, which will allow users to search for songs and add them to their posts.
Here’s how it works: Although Instagram has not verified exactly how the feature will work, TechCrunch predicts that once users pick a song and add it as a Music Sticker to their Instagram Story, a clip of that song will play while people view the Story.
Jane Manchun Wong told TechCrunch that she was able to test the feature for a short period of time.
Screenshot sent by Jane Manchun Wong
Instagram automatically detected a song she was playing on her phone and created a sticker for it when she created a Story. Unfortunately, Instagram would stop working whenever she tried to post anything with the Music Stickers.
Why it matters: With the addition of sound to Instagram, brands will be able to make their Stories even more intriguing. Stories usually perceived as ineffective or unemotive could add sound effects to spice things up.
Marketers could add songs to their ads on Instagram that consumers might even start to associate with the brand.
In terms of copyright law, TechCrunch says that Instagram may work with a partner like it did with GIPHY for its GIF stickers. Alternatively, Facebook (which owns Instagram) might even work with providers such as Youtube or SoundCloud. The social platform’s plans are yet to be revealed.
It seems as if Instagram has beaten Snapchat to the punch. Alleged leakage of emails sent to Sony Pictures insinuated that Snap Inc reportedly wanted to launch its own record label or even a music streaming feature.
Those plans quickly came to a stop when revenue-sharing debates caused complications. Looks like Instagram wins this round.
BuzzFeed’s ‘meme’ editing tool
The news: BuzzFeed announced that it has released a new ‘meme’ editing tool called Vidder exclusively for its employees.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with what a meme is, it’s an image, video or text (usually imitating pop culture) that’s humorous in nature and posted on the Internet to be shared by others.
Here’s how it works: The simple layout of the tool seems relatively simple. Basically, Vidder provides a blank template that can be customised by uploading one or two meme video clips, typing in captions and subtitles or even adding emojis.
Image sourced from BuzzFeed
Employees at BuzzFeed don’t need to be experienced video editors or have video production skills to use Vidder.
The website notes that a member of its social team, Kayla Yandoli, created an entire video compilation of insults from the TV show ‘The Golden Girls’ and posted it on Facebook. The compilation took her only an hour and a half to complete.
Why it matters: The whole point of Vidder is to provide
BuzzFeed staff with an accessible tool that lets them create content that can be shared on social media platforms at the click of a button, without extensive skills or training.
Imagine not having to go through the hassle of learning how to use Photoshop or Powerpoint for your next marketing content, or even Social Story.
Pointedly, it saves the publication on time and resources that can be better spent elsewhere.
WhatsApp’s new IOS update
The news: A recent
update to WhatsApp’s IOS lets users watch Facebook and Instagram videos without having to leave the app.
How it works: When a user sends either a Facebook or Instagram video to another user on WhatsApp, they can literally just tap their mobile screen, or click ‘play’ to watch it.
Why it matters: The feature forms part of an update to the Facebook-subsidiary service, which aims to make it easier to communicate between the different apps owned by Facebook.
The question is, why does Mark Zuckerburg want all his apps to be connected? A better question is, why does he want all of the apps to be so similar?
Think about it: WhatsApp is allowing users to create groups where you can share messages and now, share videos that play instantly, without having to leave the app.
This is a very similar concept to Facebook and Instagram, where you can upload images and videos to your posts and share them with friends.
Except now, you can do the same on a mobile app. It’s obvious that he doesn’t want users to be redirected away from WhatsApp when they click on a video from Facebook or Instagram.
With this new feature in place, sharing videos have now become a lot simpler, making it easier for brands to directly share their Facebook-hosted video posts directly to WhatsApp.
The update is currently live on IOS devices in the United States and has yet to hit South Africa. Android users will also have to wait for their update.
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*Image courtesy of Freepik, under this license