In social media news this week, Instagram wants to put a halt to the dream of paid verification, Snapchat works on a feature that will help users visually search from products and music and Twitter tackles more meaningful follower counts with an online purge.
Apply to be Verified
Instagram is looking to end people getting fake verification in the social media world with a new process that will change the way people get their blue tick. The famous Instagram emblem is normally exclusive to celebrities and well-known brands, however people have been known to buy their blue tick and exchanged money for notoriety. However, Instagram does not approve of this method and has created a new form that means they’ll have to request for verification.
The form will also include more information on the process to help users understand it better. Instagram also want to wipe out the idea that you can pay for your tick, which has left many users disappointed when third parties have sold them a dream. All you have to do is fill in your username, full name, attach your photo ID or an image of an official business document and submit.
Snapchat’s Visual Search
Snapchat is working on a feature that will help users search and find products through the app. The visual search feature helps users by simply allowing them to identify a product through the camera and link it to sites such as Amazon, where people can go on to buy the item. It’s also useful for the music industry as users can identify songs and buy them through Snapchat too. If the new feature does eventually come about, it’ll certainly up Snapchat’s marketing game above its competitors.
Blessed be Twitter, a Nation Reborn
Twitter is purging users’ accounts this week and making some major changes to people’s followers lists. The social media site plans for cutting out accounts that have been previously locked and removing them from users’ follower metrics. This means that users with a lot of followers will see many disappear, so their overall count will drop. Twitter announced the change as part of their battle against fake accounts and phishing tweets. Twitter wants to make its platform as meaningful and accurate as possible, including users’ followers counts. Although it may affect those with millions of followers, it won’t really have a big impact on us normal Twitter folk.
