media update’s Christine Gerber reveals exactly what these new developments are and why they matter.
Facebook’s Snooze Button
The news: In an attempt to stop spoilers from popping up and ruining your shows, books or movies on Facebook,
the social platform has added a new 'Keyword Snooze' feature in its News Feed controls.
Here’s how it works: Before you post your next update on Facebook, select the arrow next to the 'Publish' button and click on the ‘Snooze’ option. Facebook will automatically draw the keywords from the text of your posts and hide them for up to 30 days.
Image sourced from Facebook Newsroom
For example, if you’re posting about
Game of Thrones and want to prevent any spoilers from the next episode, Facebook will detect the keywords from your post and block any future posts containing the keyword(s) you select to 'snooze'. However, it should be noted that this feature does not apply to ads.
Why it matters: The new feature allows you to prioritise your content even further.
According to the platform, although it aims to show you the most relevant posts on your News Feed, it doesn’t always ‘get it right’.
Facebook says this is why it continues to bring out features such as '
Keyword Snooze', '
Hide', '
See First', '
Unfollow' and '
Snooze'. The Snooze differs from Keyword Snooze, allowing you to hide a user or page’s posts for 30 days as opposed to just the keywords.
Instagram’s new features
The news: Instagram has been incredibly busy as of late, with the recent launch of its video hub Instagram IGTV, and now two new additional features: You’re All Caught Up and Do Not Disturb.
You’re All Caught Up: If you’re scrolling through your Instagram feed, you’ll soon notice a new message that pops up when you’ve scrolled beyond the past two days: 'You’re All Caught Up', it’ll say.
This is Instagram’s way of informing you that you’ve already seen every post up until this point and have no need to scroll further, making it easier for you to keep track of what’s going on in your newsfeed. This also ensures that you don’t miss out on any new posts – all you have to do is scroll.
Do Not Disturb: TechCrunch reports that Instagram and Facebook are currently testing a new Do Not Disturb feature, which will allow you to turn off your notifications from both apps for up to whole one day.
The feature was spotted by
Matt Navarra and
WhatsApp Beta.
Image sourced from TechCrunch
The Do Not Disturb feature could be a preemptive way for Facebook and Instagram to stop users from leaving the social platforms all together. If you’re getting a bit irritated by the constant swarm of notifications from either app, at least there is now a way for you to disable it – even if it’s for a short period of time.
This will also prevent you from the ever impending doom of ‘social media addiction’. If you’re at an event or in a meeting, you don’t want to be caught on your phone looking at the funny animal videos.
WhatsApp’s one-way broadcast mode
The news: WhatsApp recently rolled out a one-way communication stream for administrators. The new setting allows only admins alone to send messages to WhatsApp groups.
Here’s how it works: To enable the setting, all you need to do is open Group Info on the app, tap Group Settings > Send Messages and then select ‘Only Admins’. Keep in mind that you can only select this option if you are already an admin of the group.
Why it matters: WhatsApp says it launched this feature as a way for teachers, parents or even non-profit organisations to broadcast important information without any interruption from other users.
The feature could be a unique way for companies to broadcast any new events to the public, and keep them updated with alerts so that the messages don’t get lost in the crowd.
*Image courtesy of Free Vectors