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Your dreams have come true. You can now leave a WhatsApp group without notifying everyone. We didn’t think this day would come but here it is.
We’ve got more stories in our Weekly News Wr(app) that will surely bring some relief or entertainment to you.
Check it out all below:
1. American teens moving away from Facebook
A survey conducted by Pew Research Center revealed that most American teenagers have changed their social media preferences. A platform that has taken the biggest hit in this shift in preference is Facebook.
According to the data, only 32% of teens between the ages of 13-17 use Facebook. This number was 71% in 2014-15.
When asked which platforms teens use, YouTube came out on top with 95% of respondents saying they use it. Although YouTube is not a social media platform, it still ranks high among teen users. One out of every 5 teenagers admitted to visiting YouTube almost constantly.
Following YouTube, TikTok (67%), Instagram (62%), and Snapchat (41%) dominated the list of most used platforms by teens.
Today’s young users, dominated by Gen Z, clearly prefer short-form video platforms which TikTok is, and Instagram is slowly turning into one.
Source: https://tcrn.ch/3AoiXVB
2. BGMI tournaments in India left hanging after ban
Two weeks ago, the Indian government banned BGMI, one of the most popular games in India. The game had over 100 million registered users in India and was big among gaming enthusiasts.
But it’s not only the average user that’s feeling the effects of the ban. E-sport brands, tournaments, professional players, and their sponsors are also facing the heat.
One of the largest tournaments, the E-Sports Premier League (ESPL), had to rethink its plans for the ongoing BGMI Season 2 tournament due to the ban. The finals were supposed to be held between 1-5 August and a prize of Rs.1 crore was to be awarded to the winners. Another tournament organizer, Nodwin Gaming is also looking at a bleak future. They had a successful end to their Master Tournament which was broadcast live on Star Sports Network. The tournament attracted 12.3 million viewers within the first eight days of airing.
With no official reason given by the government for banning the game, many are left anxious.
Shivam Rao, Co-Founder, Trinity Gaming India, commented on the ban saying, “Professional teams have sponsorships and targets to achieve which will become difficult given the ban on the game. Brand collaborations will face a serious downfall in their viewership, thereby affecting channel statistics which will push content creators further down, leading to a loss of opportunities and marketing collaborations for them.”
The only apparent choice these organizers and players have is to shift the game they play.
Source: https://bit.ly/3w98F9s
3. WhatsApp adding more privacy features
The Meta-owned messaging platform is giving users more features that many will appreciate.
The first one of note is leaving a group silently. With this feature, only admins will be notified when you leave a group, not every single participant, which is a relief if you want to make a quiet exit from any group without creating a potential scene. This feature will roll out for all users by the end of this month.
The next is this controlling who sees you online. Right now you have no choice but to display your online status to everyone. However, with the news update that’s coming this month, you can choose who gets to see your online status.
Finally, there’s the screenshot blocking for the view once message. View once messages were introduced for the reason the name suggests, that is, you want to send something that you only want viewed once. This is usually an image. But there’s nothing stopping the receiver from taking a screenshot of your view once message. Until now. WhatsApp is bringing an update that will block any attempts to screenshot your view once message. Which means you can breathe a sigh of relief.
All these features will be rolled out to all users by the end of this month.
Source: https://bit.ly/3QwVrv4
4. Snapchat’s premium service now available in India for Rs.49
Snapchat+ makes its way into India, almost two months after its official launch. The price for the service is priced at Rs.49, a measly amount compared to the $3.99 cost in North America and other big markets.
Snap priced its premium service at such a low cost in India because they’re aware of the Indian consumer’s reluctance to pay for subscription services. But Snap believes that India is a key market because of its 100 million user base and the release of Snapchat+ is a way to monetize this market.
According to Lakshya Malu, Interim Market Development Lead at Snap, India is an “important market for Snap, and investments in localizing the app experience has been key to our growth in the region.“
Users who subscribe to Snapchat+ will have access to premium features like the option to pin someone as their best friend on their profile, modify the app icon, and have a reply indicator to show how many people are rewatching their stories. They also have something called Ghost Trails on Snap Map that gives users information about their friends' general direction (if you allow the app to access your location).
Snap believes that India will help relieve some of the financial woes they’ve been facing. They reported a loss in Q2 2022 and they’ve also slowed down recruiting. On a positive note, the company reported a $5 million increase in revenue since the global launch of Snapchat+.
Now it’s India’s turn to help Snap. Will the users respond in kind? We’ll have to wait and see.
Source: https://bit.ly/3Qv0Xyx
5. LinkedIn helping its creators with new features
A month ago, LinkedIn rolled out its carousels feature that allowed users to natively upload swipeable images rather than uploading a PDF. Now more features are on the way for creators to put out content on the professional networking platform.
One of the features is the option to add a clickable link to any image or video you upload. This will help you drive traffic to any website of your choice, be it for the organization you work for or a personal website.
Next is a Templates feature for text-based posts. If you’re planning to post on LinkedIn with just text, you can use Templates to spruce up your words. You’ll have access to multiple customizable backgrounds and fonts to make your text stand out. You can also add a clickable link here.
LinkedIn hopes that more users will create original content on its platform with the new feature. They’re already reporting a 20% YoY increase in visual content. The platform is aiming for more.
Source: https://tcrn.ch/3Au2ejS
