In social media news this week, a map app rethinks the way we search for places nearby, Instagram takes its shopping feature to its Stories and Facebook asks its users to donate blood.
Juman-emoji
WYD is an iOS app set to change the way we navigate around the world. It wasn’t enough that road maps were virtualised, and people could find the distance and time of arrival to their destination instantly. Phone maps even allow people to see if there are any disruptions or a lot of traffic on their route. Now, WYD is looking to make maps fun as it utilises emojis instead of words. With WYD you have to use emojis to search for places nearby instead of typing in what you want to find – wacky indeed. It’s just like normal map apps – as soon as you click a place it will tell you information about it, but gyms are represented as weight emojis and coffee shops are, yes you guessed it, steaming coffee mug emojis. The app also allows users to connect with each other by sending messages and sharing their location. The future really is ?…I mean bright.
Shopping in Stories
Not long ago, Instagram updated their features so brands could tag their items in posts, so users could directly shop their products. However, Instagram are continuing to help brands sell and users to buy cute tops by expanding their shopping feature into Stories. Stories that allow users to shop are marked with a shopping bag sticker, so it’s pretty easy to identify. As soon as you tap the sticker you are taken through to more details about the product, where eventually you can buy if you choose to.
The Stories shopping feature is currently being rolled out to the bigger brands on Instagram, but it hopefully won’t be long until all businesses can showcase their products.
Facebook Wants Your Blood
Perhaps the most interesting new feature of the week is Facebook’s new Blood Donations, which they created in honour of World Blood Donor Day. It’s a social centre that shows people where they can donate, what blood donating events are happening and if any places are urgently seeking blood. It’s currently only helping people in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and those who sign up will be notified if blood is required nearby. These countries are in desperate need of blood and Facebook is definitely using its social power for good in this case…unless they’re actually vampires.
