The week in social: Twitter birthdays, Messenger GIFs, & Meerkat Library

Facebook redesigns Support inbox

Last week, Facebook quietly changed the design of its Support inbox to match other tweaks being made around the site. The new design features an introduction that provides bullets on what the inbox is best used for, with a feed of communications between Support and the user underneath. To the right, Help Center and Community Standards content are featured, with a search function and links to popular articles.

Facebook adds new apps for GIFs in Messenger

Facebook Messenger recently released a series of GIF apps from third-parties to use and spice up conversations. They are currently testing GIF buttons, which allow users to find and send images in only two taps, making the process much easier. The button skims trending GIFs from Giphy and Riffsy, the companies that produced apps for Messenger.

More information on TechCrunch.

Users can now add birthdays to Twitter profiles

To keep followers more engaged, users can now add their birth date to their Twitter profile. Adding a birth date is completely optional and users are able to select who views it. The birth year is separate from the settings of the month and day, allowing users to expose as much or as little as they wish. Twitter will also use the new feature to show more relevant content and advertisements.

More information on Twitter Blog.

Twitter debuts video app download ads

Twitter is allowing advertisers to drive app installs directly from promoted videos. Statistics show that two-thirds of app installs for gaming companies come from video ads as opposed to still photos. This will now allow app install advertisers to optimize their bids according to install, paying by app click, which will ideally save money against social engagements on ads and achieve greater ROI.

Facebook updates the design of its Friends icon

Facebook tweaked its friend’s icon that carried controversial symbolism. A designer at Facebook headquarters first noticed the icon and felt obliged to take action. It is speculated that the previous design was not done with ill intention, but rather a lack of consideration. The women was positioned slightly behind the man, shorter, and with a chip in her shoulder. The new icon shows the man and woman at the same height and intends to display a perspective of gender equality.

Facebook redefines cost per click for advertising options

Facebook redefined cost per click to benefit advertisers and their objectives. Currently CPC accounts for any click within an ad unit. This could be a like, comment, share, a click to a website, or to “continue reading.” With the new update, CPC will only account for clicks related to certain ad objectives. This includes clicks to another website, a call to action, to install an app, and clicks to view a video on another site. The update will provide more precise measurements for advertisers and how they are bidding so they can reach their campaign goals.

More information on Facebook Business News.

Facebook debuts updated controls for the News Feed

Facebook released new tools with features to make the social media experience more personal. One feature allows users to select friend pages they want to see first on their New Feeds. The tools will also suggest Pages to connect to based on previous Pages users have liked. The last feature will contain a list of top people, Pages, and groups the user has seen in the News Feed over the past week. There will be an option to unfollow any friend or page or choose to re-follow someone they may have unfollowed in the past.

More information on Facebook News Room.

Meerkat adds additional interactive features

Updates from Meerkat will make the broadcasting experience more interactive. Broadcasters can now invite viewers to take over their stream for up to sixty seconds. Users simply tap a viewer’s profile and invite them to their stream. The broadcast becomes more intimate and encourages shared experiences. Another update connects Meerkat with Facebook and notifies users when a friend or page they have liked joins the network. The final update includes a Meerkat Library that saves streams to every user’s personal history and allows them to choose which to share with their followers.

Instagram will soon support high resolution photo upload

Previously, Instagram allowed users to upload photos only in a maximum resolution of 640 x 640 pixels, but now the Android and iOS apps will allow uploads in 1080 x 1080 resolution, confirmed to CNET by an Instagram spokesperson this past Monday. There are still some unknown details, as the update will roll out progressively to all users. There was previously a rumor of the increasing upload resolution uncovered when analysis of the apps source code saw a reference to “1080px”.

More information on CNET.

Facebook testing new pop out video feature

Some users on Facebook have reported seeing a new feature in the video player that allows them to pop a video out of the News Feed to watch in a separate window. The feature exists as a button on the video player itself next to the full-screen and HD buttons. There is no official word on this from Facebook on if or when this would roll out to all users.