Social Media Weekly Roundup 08.01.21

Facebook simplifies Pages design and gets rid of ‘like’ button

Facebook has launched a redesign of its Pages. The new design includes a simplified navigation feature, a dedicated Newsfeed which will allow Pages to participate in conversations as a brand, as well as a new Q&A format for engaging with users. Most noticeably, the new design does not feature Facebook’s classic ‘like’ button and instead shifts its focus to followers, which are a more direct measure of a Page’s reach. The new design will be rolled out to all Facebook Pages over the coming months.

Trump gets suspended from Facebook indefinitely, gets Twitter and Snapchat accounts locked and has stores selling his merch removed by Shopify

Yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would be suspending US President Donald Trump from the company’s platforms indefinitely. The move comes after this week’s shocking events in Washington DC, during which rioters stormed the US Capitol. Trump has been accused of continually encouraging his supporters to undermine democracy and commit acts of violence after losing the election to Joe Biden last year. US President Trump was initially suspended from Facebook for 24 hours as a result of two posts he shared in which he praised the actions of the rioters, as well as having his Twitter account temporarily locked in an unprecedented move to tackle the spread of misinformation and incitement of violence.

Snapchat also announced yesterday that it had suspended Trump’s account indefinitely following the US Capitol riots and that it is continuing to monitor the situation closely. This isn’t the first time that Snap has taken action against the current US President’s account; in June, his account was removed from its Discover tab to non-subscribers, meaning only those who searched or subscribed to his account were being promoted its content.

In yet another blow, Shopify has announced that it will be removing shops related to Trump’s campaign paraphernalia, including his own personal brand TrumpStore. In a statement to TechCrunch, Shopify has said that it “does not tolerate actions that incite violence” and as a result has “terminated stores affiliated with President Trump.”

New Year’s Eve 2020 sets new records for usage of Facebook’s apps

After a surge in the use of digital platforms and social media sites in 2020, it’s safe to say Facebook was expecting a spike in the use of its apps this New Year’s Eve. They may not have been expecting a record-breaking spike, though. New Year’s Eve 2020 broke all previous records for voice and video calling on its apps, particularly Messenger, Instagram and, of course, WhatsApp, where over 1.4 billion voice and video calls were made in one day.

Google and Alphabet workers announce formation of the Alphabet Workers Union

A group of more than 200 Google and Alphabet employees have formed a new union, the Alphabet Workers Union. The union is historic as it’s the first union at any major tech company and will be open to employees and contractors. Google has been heavily criticised over the past few years over a range of labour issues, including the reported retaliation against organisers of a walkout and surveillance and interference concerns.

Instagram tests new Stories layout on desktop

A new Stories display is being tested by Instagram for its desktop users. The new design aims to make it easier to scroll through Stories by presenting them in a carousel as opposed to a single Story frame. Stories have become increasingly popular since they were launched on Instagram in 2016 and have become a key feature in both ordinary users’ social media use and the social media marketing of brands.

Snapchat looks to broaden e-commerce capabilities on the platform

Following in the footsteps of the other major social media platforms, Snapchat is looking to broaden its e-commerce capabilities by providing a new range of clothing options for users’ Bitmojis. Bitmojis are Snapchat’s avatar feature - every user can create a character that represents them. The new feature would allow users to dress up their Bitmoji in their choice of the latest fashion items from a range of retailers, giving brands the opportunity to promote their latest products in a fun, interactive way.

Clubhouse exceeds the 600,000 members mark

The new, members-only platform Clubhouse is taking the social media world by storm. Having started December 2020 with just 3500 members, the app now has more than 600,000 members, including celebrities such as Oprah, Drake and Ashton Kutcher. As Clubhouse is still in private beta mode, users can only access it if they have an iPhone and have been invited by an existing member. Unlike the other major social media platforms, Clubhouse is audio-only (great for the camera-phobes among us) and allows users to chat in private rooms, recommends rooms based on your interests and allows you to follow accounts you’re interested in.