Youtube
Youtube have added a tool, to a select few channels for the time being, which allows users to create a GIF from the video they are watching without having to leave the page. This tool allows you to create a looping animation ranging from 0.3 to 6 seconds long. While this function is still in the testing stages, it will make the process much easier for users who previously had to download videos and use tools installed on their computers to create their own GIFs.
Updates to Twitter’s photo feature have improved users’ ability to edit their photos, with new tools akin to those featured on Instagram. After adding an image to a tweet you can click on it to open photo-editing menu which allows you to add filters to your photos. These recent updates have made this a much more user friendly process and given it a much cleaner appearance. Also like Instagram, Twitter have made it so that you can adjust the strength of a filter once you have placed it onto a photo.
After introducing trending topics similar to Twitter’s earlier this year, Facebook have now made further updates to this feature which make it easier for users to find information which has received a lot of shares on the network. As well as this the trending section of your timeline will now appear on the mobile app for the first time. Facebook has also decided to drop Bing as its primary search engine, replacing it with their own, improved search tool.
Search for old posts
Over the last month or so, both Facebook and Twitter have been working on improving their search features in order to make it easier for users to sift through old posts from themselves or other site users. Both websites are now rolling out updates which allow you to search specific keywords, dates, and locations from a backlog of content posted by yourself or others. Users are still protected by their own privacy settings so if your Twitter profile is set to private then your tweets will only be included in searches performed by people you have allowed to view your content. Similarly on Facebook, if you have set the visibility of a post so certain people can’t see it then it won’t appear in their searches.
What do you think? Let us know in the comment box below.
By Madeleine Helme
Madeleine is a marketing manager and creative writer. She loves to write blogs!
Kate Tyler is the founder of Shake Social and our long time social media expert. A regular speaker at events, Kate offers consultancy and training on a range of digital marketing topics, in particular safeguarding and using social media in an educational setting.