This week, two of the most prolific social networks received some exciting updates. Let’s start with the little blue bird, and then we’ll talk about the playful yellow ghost.
Twitter is updating one feature and tacking on a completely new one. Direct Messages is getting a beefed up with the added ability to host group conversations. Private DMs can now entertain up to 20 people in one threaded conversation. You can start conversations with any of your followers and they don’t all need to follow one another in order to join and participate in the chat. When you’re added to a group chat, you’ll receive a notification about it.
I’ve been waiting for this next new feature for quite some time. Twitter is finally unleashing an official way to post video to its service. The update lets you capture, edit, and share videos that can last up to 30 seconds in length. iPhone users can upload videos from the camera roll as well (coming soon to Android). It’s a simple feature, but it has been desperately missing for ages. Twitter is confident its users will discover unique ways to interact with their followers using video–30 seconds is a helluva lot longer than Vine’s constrained 6. Video, along with group DMs, are rolling out to all users “in the coming weeks.”
Now, jump after the break to learn all about the latest addition to Snapchat’s growing story.
Snaps, Stories, Snapcash, and now: Snapchat Discover. Flick all the way to the right in Snapchat’s updated app and you’ll find the new Discover section. For now it contains the logos of 11 popular media outlets including CNN, National Geographic, EPSN, and VICE. Click one and you’ll be taken to flashy nuggets of news supported by text as well as video. Snapchat describes the new service like this:
Snapchat Discover is a new way to explore Stories from different editorial teams. It’s the result of collaboration with world-class leaders in media to build a storytelling format that puts the narrative first. This is not social media. Social media companies tell us what to read based on what’s most recent or most popular. We see it differently. We count on editors and artists, not clicks and shares, to determine what’s important.
Essentially, it’s yet another way for us to quickly consume the latest news across major industries like entertainment, world news, and sports. And much like Stories, the ad-supported articles and videos will disappear after 24 hours and be replaced with fresh content on the daily.
And there’s more. When you update the app, you’ll notice a slightly enhanced UI you’re dealing with. Click the small ghost icon that’s located at the top and you’ll be presented with your very own QR code that can be used to add yourself to your friend’s contact lists. Try it out the next time your with a fellow Snapchat user: have your friend hold their phone’s camera over your QR Code Ghost and poof you’re connected.