August was buzzing with exciting social media news and trends you’ll want to know about. From cool new features to the latest trends, we’ve got all the info you need to stay updated in the world of social media. Let’s jump right in and discover what’s been happening!
Meta’s FACET Dataset: Fighting AI Bias with Diversity
Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, has launched the FACET (FAirness in Computer Vision EvaluaTion) dataset. This dataset contains 32,000 images, each carefully labeled for attributes like gender, skin tone, and hairstyle.
The goal? To make AI models more inclusive and fair. Some AI systems struggle to recognize certain attributes, which can lead to bias. With FACET, researchers and developers can identify and address these biases, ensuring that AI works better for everyone.
While FACET is for research purposes only and can’t be used for training, Meta hopes it will become a standard tool for evaluating fairness in computer vision models. This move is a significant step toward creating more equitable AI systems.
X: Streamlining DMs and Introducing Calls
X, the social media platform, is changing the way you send messages and adding something new.
First, they’re making it simpler to reply to messages in chats. You can now swipe to reply to a specific message, which makes it easier to have conversations.
But that’s not all. X is also planning to add something exciting—audio and video calls. You’ll be able to make calls to your friends right from the app, just like when you talk on the phone. It’s going to work on Android, iPhones, and even on the web, so you can use it wherever you like.
The best part? You don’t need a phone number to make these calls on X. They want to be like a giant phone book for the whole world, connecting people easily.
However, there’s one thing to keep in mind. When they first launch this feature, the calls won’t be super secure, but X is trying to make talking to your friends as easy as possible.
LinkedIn’s Improved Feed: What’s Changed
You might have noticed that you’re seeing more posts from specific people and fewer notifications. That’s because LinkedIn has updated how it decides what you see.
It’s showing you more content from people and Pages you interact with often, giving more importance to hashtags for relevant topics, and reducing notifications for certain actions.
Plus, now posts get attention over a few days, not just on the first day. Why? LinkedIn wants to make your feed more about what you like.
To make the most of it, join discussions, use hashtags, and be active on the platform. When you interact more, LinkedIn learns what you enjoy. These changes have worked well for LinkedIn, and it’s becoming a popular alternative to X.
Snapchat’s ‘Dreams’: Turn Your Selfies into Art
Snapchat has a fun new feature called “Dreams.” It lets you transform your selfies into artistic and dreamlike images. While the first set of eight Dreams is free, additional sets can be purchased for $0.99 each.
Snapchat is known for keeping its young users engaged, and this feature is likely to be a hit, bringing in more revenue for the platform. Dreams is initially launching in Australia and New Zealand before becoming available worldwide in the near future.
Snapchat also plans to allow users to include their friends in these creative images, making it even more exciting.
Threads Adds Keyword Search Amid Challenges
Meta’s Threads app, similar to Twitter, is trying out a new feature: keyword search. Users in Australia and New Zealand can now look for posts that include specific words, which is a basic but useful addition.
However, Threads still lacks some important features, like letting you schedule posts. While Threads started early to provide an alternative to Twitter, it has seen a drop in use and slower downloads after getting 100 million users quickly.
Threads may have gained users with its simple features at first, but its future success depends on making the app better. Right now, it’s not as advanced as other apps in terms of what it can do and how many posts you see.
Threads is introducing keyword searches to users in Australia and New Zealand first, and it’ll likely be available to more people soon.
YouTube’s New Approach: Education Over Punishment
YouTube is changing the way it deals with rule-breakers. Instead of punishing creators right away, they’re offering educational courses.
Here’s the deal: When a creator gets a rule warning, they can take a class to learn the rules better. If they finish the class and go 90 days without breaking the same rule, the warning goes away.
It’s like a second chance to do better. YouTube will still remove bad videos, but creators get to learn first.
This doesn’t change YouTube’s rules, but it’s a kinder way to help creators follow them. It’s like a coach helping you play a game better. YouTube wants everyone to have a fair shot.
In conclusion, August was full of social media excitement. Meta fought AI bias with FACET, X improved messaging and introduced calls, LinkedIn got more personalized, Snapchat got creative with “Dreams,” Threads faced challenges, and YouTube became more educational. The world of social media keeps evolving, so stay tuned for more updates!
