New Instagram Usage Insights, Net Neutrality, Snapchat Updates Ad Policies And More In This Week’s Friday Download

As we mark Mental Health Awareness Week here in the UK, a few new initiatives caught our eye in the social media sphere, with several platforms taking steps to respond to longer-term concerns over excessive usage and the impact on social wellbeing.

Twitter announced that it will begin hiding all tweets from abusive accounts in conversations and searches. YouTube is introducing new ‘take a break’ notifications as part of Google’s focus on your digital well-being, which will give you a prod at your request if you spend a certain amount of time on-app. Similarly, Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom confirmed this week that the app will be including a “usage insights” feature, including a “time spent” section.

The latter initiative is a step that aligns with parent company Facebook’s research that identified positive impacts on well-being from active, engaged social networking, but at the same time found that passive, “zombie scrolling” can have the opposite effect. This is a challenge particularly for Instagram; given the heavily visual nature of its content it’s more likely to see passive scrolling than other platforms. Facebook has subsequently changed their algorithm accordingly to promote content that prompts engagement, while down-weighting “viral” content that was simply viewed.

If you’ll allow us to go a bit Kumbaya for a second, social media is an incredibly powerful tool, with the potential to bring people together as much as keep them apart. Earlier this week research found that students are four times more likely to seek mental health advice from a smartphone or through social media than from a counsellor. How these platforms are structured, managed, and used matters, and these few steps should nudge us in the right direction. Now, on with the digital chatter.

FCC Seesaw

Along with our American colleagues (who as you know publish an excellent mid-week sister newsletter to this one), at the back end of 2017 we wrote more than a few times on net neutrality (here and here), specifically about attempts to repeal this holiest of founding internet values.

Well good news, all, those folks in the US Senate have opposed Ajit Pai and the FCC’s plans, voting to restore protections.

Three Republican Senators joined with Democrats to vote against the proposed measures, which would have allowed internet service providers (ISPs) the ability to differentiate download and transmission speeds between different websites. The vote came about following a significant public campaign against the actions, and to be clear, unless it clears the House and gets the approval of one man sitting in The White House it will still take effect in June.

So a good day for the internet yesterday, and with a few more we may secure net neutrality for the foreseeable.

Snappy Advertising

Those guys over at Snapchat just can’t catch a break can they. We’ve talked at great length about the trials and tribulations of the recent platform redesign, and the impact this has had on share price and perceptions on The Street.

Last month it was reported that Snapchat was in the process of testing non-skippable ads (rather unhelpfully called “forced-view advertisements”). Today they are here.
Snappy Advertising
Ostensibly it makes sense, looking to monetise a platform that has seen its core features replicated across competitors like Instagram and Facebook. The ads are currently restricted to the “Shows” section of the platform, and so at present don’t impinge on users who follow friends, family, and celebrities. The next step may be premium subscriptions, again understandable for a platform looking to accrue revenue streams. Ultimately, however, they’ll need to find a balance between the increased income and the users such ad policies may drive away.

Also This Week

• WeChat’s owner Tencent sees profits soar by more than 60% – BBC
• Twitter is going to make third-party apps worse starting in August – The Verge
• To make Stories global, Facebook adds Archive and audio posts – Tech Crunch
• WhatsApp’s latest update brings more order and control to group chats – Digital Trends

And Finally

So it’s definitely Laurel, isn’t it?