Friday Social: Pay Friends via Facebook, Write Your CV with LinkedIn, and the 280-character Tweet Storm.
- 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
Paying Friends via Facebook
Facebook is making it easier for users to transfer money to, and request money from, friends through Messenger. The convenient new feature was rolled out in the US two years ago but has finally launched in the UK this week.
To send money, users must open a chat, tap the blue + icon and select the ‘Payment’ icon. The next steps are to set up a payment account, add debit cards, and get paying. Facebook has claimed that the money will be transferred straight away but it may take one to three business days to become available.
Facebook’s virtual assistant, M, will also make handy suggestions when it recognises discussions about money.
Facebook Asks for Nudes
According to the BBC, Australian studies have found that one in five women aged 18 to 45 may have been exposed to image-based abuse, with revenge porn becoming a growing issue in the country.
To combat this, Facebook is reportedly testing an unorthodox strategy which allows users to send their personal nude photos or videos to themselves over Messenger, storing a digital fingerprint or ‘hash’ of the images and tracking them to prevent copies being shared to and by anyone else.
Users wanting to take part in the trial must first file a report with Australian e-safety commissioner Julie Inman Grant, who will then share it with Facebook.
Write Your CV with LinkedIn
This week, LinkedIn and Microsoft have rolled out a brand new product to help users quickly and efficiently update their CVs. The aptly named “Resume Assistant” is a builder that transfers information from LinkedIn into a Word document.
The feature was made available to Office 365 subscribers on PC yesterday and will be widely available to other Word users in the near future.
The 280-character Tweet Storm
It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for, and the development we’ve all been asking for; Twitter has answered our prayers and delivered a chronological timeline!
Oh wait, we’ve actually been given an extra 140 characters instead.
We're expanding the character limit! We want it to be easier and faster for everyone to express themselves.
More characters. More expression. More of what's happening.https://t.co/wBpYdy1K40
— Twitter (@Twitter) November 7, 2017
Twitter identified that 9% of tweets in English were hitting the 140 character limit, leading the team to conclude that users were spending more time editing and even abandoning tweets before posting.
Since the update was announced discussion has been rife with the #280Characters hashtag used over 350,000 times. Feedback so far hasn’t been too positive, with users complaining about, amongst other things, the circular character counter that has replaced the tried and tested numbers.
And Finally…35k Character Tweets
As if 280 characters weren’t enough, over the weekend two German men decided to ‘break’ Twitter by tricking it into letting them post a 35,000 character tweet.
According to The Next Web, the rebellious tweet started with “People! @Timrasett and @HackneyYT can exceed the character limit! You do not believe us? Here’s about 35k characters proof.”
“But how did they do it?” We hear you ask.
Well, as explained by one savvy Twitter user, the main body of the post is actually a URL:
If you're wondering how twitter[.]com/Timrasett/status/926903967027785728 works:
[27024-char domain name].cc/[3244-char directory name] pic.twitter.com/vG26Jvz27F
— hex waxwing :(){ :|: &};: (@hexwaxwing) November 4, 2017
The escapade landed both men a digital slap on the wrist in the form of a Twitter ban which has since been lifted.
