The week in social: Facebook logo, Meerkat embedded, and Bing linking

Facebook updates photo upload features

Uploading photos on Facebook just got more interesting with new editing abilities. The new photo uploader will allow for added text in any color, filers, and the use of Facebook’s stickers. This may seem familiar to users of multiple social networks, as Snapchat has similar editing effects. The new tools are said to allow for people to be more creative as they share moments with family and friends.

Instagram awards winners of iconic photo recreations

Instagram announced the winners of their Iconic Photo Contest. Participants were asked to reinvent classic photos from the past and add the tag #RecreatedClassics. Photos were judged on originality, creativity, and inspiration. Three winners were chosen and all will receive a limited edition Leica camera to continue nurturing their passion for photography.

More information on Instagram Blog.

Atmospheir relaunches on iPhone

The days of business cards for networking may be in the past as the app Atmospheir launched its redesign and relaunch for the iPhone. While tangible cards are often lost or shoved in the back of a desk drawer, the app acts as an address book and makes sharing information easier between users. It automatically updates as contact information changes. Each card contains only what the user wants from email, phone, address, education, birthdays, work titles, and websites. Users can add links to over 20 social media sites, broadening the ability to connect and communicate with others. Outside of shared information, users can send text messages, voice, photo, GIF, location or video messages to their contacts. The app will be available for Android later this year.

Facebook to launch redesigned Comments plugin

As announced on Facebook Media earlier this week, a new comments plugin will be available shortly. It will have a new layout, better spam control, and additional changes on the comments front end. With a cleaner design, the plugin will be more compatible for more sites and will be optimized for mobile. Users don’t have the option whether to update, as it will be done automatically cross-platform.

Facebook updates News Feed algorithm

With an ever-changing algorithm, Facebook has tweaked the News Feed once again. Research showed that although people don’t always want to like or comment on a post, they may still be interested. Now the feed will account for the amount of time people spend on a story relative to other content in their feed. It will calculate videos that are played and articles that are opened as well as whether a person turns the volume up or makes the video full screen. The goal, according to Facebook, is show people more of what they want to see and less of what they don’t.

Facebook changes video advertising constraints

As video advertising on Facebook has become increasingly popular, advertisers were concerned with the effectiveness of their ads as users scroll past them without absorbing the information in many cases. They were unhappy with Facebook’s policy to pay for advertising space, even when it was ineffective. Facebook argued that its ads provide value to advertisers the second they are displayed, even without sounds, however the company has agreed to the “10-second option” after receiving feedback from advertising partners. This means that unless a user views a video ad for at least 10 seconds, the advertisers does not have to pay for it. This will potentially ensure more effective brand messaging from the advertiser.

More information on Wall Street Journal.

Facebook Pages see increase in Likes

Based on research from Locowise, it was found that Pages saw organic growth in Likes of 0.2% this past May. This is compared with 1.95 percent on Instagram. In addition, of pages measured for May, there was 8.34% reach of each post by number of total Likes, and engagement of 6.61% per post of all users that were reached. Videos were also the content most seen by users who Liked Pages, at nearly 12% with links and photos coming in afterwards.

Facebook slightly updates logo

A change so small that many users may not have noticed, Facebook updated its logo earlier this week. The logo remains mostly the same, with white text and a blue background as users are familiar with, but the text itself is now slightly thinner, and the “a” has an updated look to it. Previously, the logo was using the “Klavika” font, but now it is using a custom font, according to the company.

Bing partners with Facebook to expand App Linking

App Linking on Facebook, a measure introduced to provide deep app linking as a cross platform standard, was announced to be expanded with a partnership with Bing on the Facebook Developer’s blog. What this means is that users who are searching on Bing on mobile devices can click on results that would normally take more than one action on another specific mobile app and be sent straight to the respective page. For example, if a user searches for the Instagram page of a particular user, they can bring up that page on the Instagram mobile app directly, instead of opening just the main app, and then searching again for the page they want.

Meerkat debuts embeddable video player

As Meerkat continues to battle with similar live-streaming social app Periscope, it has now debuted an embeddable player, so that Meerkat streams can be viewed on other digital platforms. The announcement came as Meerkat is partnering with Discovery Channel to stream content related to the upcoming Shark Week, starting July 5th. Meerkat users can also see content in the app itself, by following @SharkWeek. Meerkat is using partnerships and a public API to encourage more use of its app as it battles competitor Periscope.

More information on TechCrunch.