Umpf / Blog / Friday Social: Kylie Tops Instagram Rich List, Facebook Unveils Watch Party and YouTube Takes a Step into VR

Friday Social: Kylie Tops Instagram Rich List, Facebook Unveils Watch Party and YouTube Takes a Step into VR

  • Social Media

Our #FridaySocial is a weekly round-up of the key social media news stories from the previous seven days.  Let us know your thoughts in the comments or via Twitter – @Umpf

Watch Videos with Your Friends Thanks to Facebook

Grab the popcorn and rally your friends – you can now all watch Facebook videos together in real time, thanks to Facebook’s new ‘Watch Party’ feature.

The new tool, which was rolled out this week, essentially gives pre-recorded videos the same functionality as Facebook Live, by allowing users to select the content they want to watch, invite their friends, and then begin the ‘Watch Party’. While watching the videos, users can then interact with each other all in real time, through comments and reactions.

This update, which is now available worldwide, is one of many steps being taken by the social network to bridge the gap between its users and create a more connected & engaging digital platform.

YouTube Takes a Step into VR

This week, YouTube began rolling out more ways for people to access virtual reality content on the platform.

Looking to follow the steady rise in popularity of VR, YouTube revealed new additions and updates, which include more exclusive VR content, a virtual communal viewing feature and functionality across more devices.

With the sales of VR headsets expected to top 12 million this year, it’s no surprise that the big video-sharing platforms are looking to get up to date with the trend, before it explodes on to the market.

Kylie Tops Instagram Rich List

Ever wanted to know how much your favourite stars earned from their Instagram? Well, you’ll wish you didn’t when I tell you…

This week, an Instagram rich list revealed that reality TV star Kylie Jenner pulls in an estimated $1 million per sponsored post, making her the highest earner from the platform.

The TV star-turned-beauty tycoon has over 111 million followers and can receive as much as £760,000 per post, beating last year’s winner Selena Gomez to the Instagram rich-list top spot.

Topping the British table is David Beckham, who can charge brands an estimated £228,000 for a sponsored photo or two. It can’t be a bad life, eh…

Instagram Now Shows When You’re Online

Trying to lay low from someone? Best avoid Instagram. One of the platforms newest features includes an indicator which shows users when you are online, and therefore available to chat.

The indicator, aka a green dot, appears next to your profile picture in various spaces within the app, such as the direct inbox – alerting those who follow you that you are clearly procrastinating on your phone for the 4th time this hour.

This could be disastrous for those who like to keep a low profile, if it wasn’t for the ability to switch the feature off – which can be accessed in your settings.