After a peaceful family and friend-filled week working from Connecticut, I thought it was time to bring back my Monday social media wrap-up blog posts. And without further ado, below are the top social media and digital stories from July 10th through 16th!
General
Pew: 72% of U.S. Adults Access News on Mobile Devices
Pew Research Center released the results of its two-part study, which analyzed the news consumption habits of U.S. adults. The findings showed TV remains the dominate source of news information for U.S. adults, as 57 percent of respondents said they ‘often’ get TV-based news. Read about it on SocialTimes
Instant Articles Come to Facebook Messenger
Facebook’s Instant Articles were rolled out on Messenger for Android Thursday, with the iOS version of the application to follow “in a couple of weeks.” Vice president of messaging products David Marcus announced the launch in a Facebook post. Read about it on SocialTimes
Facebook Messenger Adds 3D Touch Support on iOS
Facebook added 3D Touch support to Facebook Messenger on iOS, allowing users on the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus to preview contacts, conversations, photos, videos, stickers, links and locations while using the app. As part of this update, users can access 3D Touch shortcuts by pressing on the app’s icon on the home screen. Read about it on SocialTimes
Facebook Messenger Testing Disappearing Messages
Facebook Messenger is testing a new feature called ‘secret conversations,’ which will allow users to control how long their messages remain visible after they’ve been sent. This limited visibility will apply to messages on both the sender’s and the recipient’s devices. Read about it on Social Times
You Can Now Book Uber Carpools in Facebook Messenger
Facebook Messenger just made it a little bit easier to book an UberPOOL ride. It works like this: Open up a messenger conversation, click on the three-dot menu button, and select ‘Request a Ride’. Read about it on The Next Web
Snapchat
This Startup Lets You Buy Custom Snapchat Geofilters From a Collection of Artists
As Snapchat is about to make enough money to soak up an ocean, entrepreneurial-minded third parties are starting to cash in on the platform in their own ways. The latest is Makeshake, an online marketplace that offers consumers the chance to buy custom-made Snapchat geofilters from digitally minded artists. Read about it on Adweek
Twitter: Gnip’s Audience API Now Generally Available
Twitter has been beta-testing Gnip's Audience API since last October, and the social network announced Tuesday that the application-programming interface is now available to all advertisers. Data product manager John Heywood wrote in a blog post that Twitter spent the nine months since Gnip’s Audience API was introduced at its Flight Developer Conference ensuring that its audience insights product meets certain requirements. Read about it on SocialTimes
Twitter Has Expanded the GIF Size Limit to 15MB
Good news, GIF lovers: Twitter has expanded the size limit for GIF support up to 15MB. It’s awesome for media outlets like The Next Web which frequently uses GIFs in tweets to illustrate products, but also for when you’re trying to GIF battle with your friend and a low quality GIF just won’t do. Read about it on The Next Web
Twitter's New 'Recommended Video' Feature Gets First Big Test During National Shooting Coverage
Publishers have flooded Twitter with video clips as they cover police shootings of civilians in Louisiana and Minnesota, and a shooting in Dallas Thursday night that killed five police officers. To help viewers stay informed, Twitter's recently launched Watch Mode seems to be getting its first test from major news outlets. Read about it on Adweek
Pokémon Go
Pokemon Go Said to Be Getting Retail-Sponsored Locations
Niantic, the developer behind the smash-hit augmented-reality game Pokemon Go, is reportedly planning to let companies sponsor places on the game's virtual map. CEO John Hanke told the Financial Times "sponsored locations" would provide a new revenue stream, in addition to in-app purchases. Read about it on CNET
Pokemon Go Updates Limit Google Account Access, More
Following the launch of Pokémon Go in the U.S., New Zealand and Australia July 7, players of the Pokemon collection game have been faced with server issues, forced log-outs, application crashes and even security concerns after it was revealed the game received access to users’ entire Google accounts. In response, developer Niantic released two new updates for the game on iOS. Read about it on SocialTimes
Pokémon GO Surpasses 7.5 Million Downloads in 5 Days
To say Pokemon GO is a success would be an understatement. Application store optimization company Sensor Tower said the game surpassed an estimated 7.5 million downloads on iOS and Android in the U.S. since its launch July 7. Read about it on SocialTimes
Instagram Posts Can Now Be ‘Scheduled’ Ahead of Time Via Buffer
Buffer, a fan-favorite all-in-one social media app, can now be used to schedule Instagram posts. As you can with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Plus and Pinterest, Instagram posts can be planned directly from the Buffer dashboard. Read about it on The Next Web
Vine
Vine Isn’t Growing, and Most of its Top Executives Have Left
Nearly all of the top product and business leaders at Vine, Twitter’s three-year-old short-form video service, have left the company in the past four months—any of them in the past few weeks. And while Vine remains culturally interesting and an “important” part of Twitter’s strategy, it seems to be struggling. Read about it on Recode