Twitter ad revenue crosses $1bn Twitter has had quite the quarter, reporting a 74% increase in revenue, with ad sales reaching a pretty impressive £760m ($1.05bn). User numbers have also received a boost, increasing by 11%, adding seven million new users to the Twittersphere. The last quarter has seen several new developments from the platform, including its subscription service, Twitter Blue, its Spaces audio chat feature, and a Tip Jar tool. Despite shutting down Fleets, things are looking pretty good for the channel.
Snapchat now has 293 million daily users There are plenty of new Snapchatters in town, with the platform’s Q2 report outlining a 23% year-on-year increase in users. The app is adding around 13 million new users per day, with its revenue soaring 116% to $982 million. This makes it a faster-growing business than Twitter or Facebook. These figures represent a fantastic second quarter for the app, with this growth in numbers likely to continue into the next financial quarter.
Clubhouse is now open to everyone It’s time to join the club! Social audio platform Clubhouse is finally out of beta, ending its invite-only system that has been running over the past few months. Now anyone can join in on the fun, taking part in a creator’s community or any public event. The app has also introduced an altered version of its original logo, marking the start of the platform’s journey into the big wide world. With Clubhouse being one of the most discussed and anticipated apps of the year, it’ll be interesting to see whether opening up the platform will lead to a surge in downloads.
You can now translate Stories on Instagram Hola? Bonjour? Hello? You can pop that foreign language dictionary away, as Instagram has introduced automated translation on Stories. When the feature detects a foreign language in a post, it will display a “See Translation” option on the top left of the screen, which users can select to see a translation. From Greek to German, the service currently supports over 90 languages and will be available globally. Sehr gut!
YouTube adds new tipping feature There’s a new way to thank your favourite creators on YouTube with a new tool called ‘Super Thanks.’ Super Thanks lets you tip creators a value between $2 and $50. When you tip, a celebratory animation will appear on-screen, as well as a colourful comment featuring your name, that will appear below the video. Creators can thank back by responding to these messages in the same way they can on regular comments. This is the fourth option YouTube has added for directly paying creators.
WhatsApp will let you join group calls after they’ve started Running late to a WhatsApp group call? You can now take your time as WhatsApp will let you join a call after it starts. Group calls will still be end-to-end encrypted but you can join in on the action in your own time. With video calls gaining new prominence over the last 18 months, this is a savvy move from the messaging platform, giving other services a run for their money.
Instagram adds new controls for limiting ‘sensitive’ content The Explore tab on Instagram can deliver a pretty eclectic mix of content, some of which some users may find distressing or triggering. That’s why Instagram has introduced a new feature called ‘Sensitive Content Control’ that allows anyone to screen posts that it thinks could be offensive, hiding them from the Explore tab. Speaking of the new changes, Instagram believes “people should be able to shape Instagram into the experience that they want.”
Facebook Messenger is stepping up its emoji game If you’re on social media, chances are that you’ve used an emoji as a way to express yourself. In fact, 2.4 billion messages are sent using emojis every day on the platform. Now Facebook Messenger is making it easier than ever to find the exact emoji you’re looking for when reacting to a friend’s message with an emoji search bar, allowing you to search for specific reactions. And as Facebook ventures further into the world of audio, emojis with sounds are being introduced. Named Soundmojis, sounds users can add as an emoji include ‘Brooklyn 99’ quotes and lines from ‘Bridgerton.’
Snapchat introduces 3D Bitmoji for profiles Bitmoji avatars are big business, with more than 200 million people using the feature daily. Now Snapchatters can pose their Bitmoji avatar on their profile in 3D, with the ability to pick from more than 1,200 combinations of body poses, facial expressions, gestures and backgrounds. So whether you’re happy and want the world to know it, or stressed and want to express yourself, there’s bound to be a Bitmoji pose for whatever you’re feeling.
