Instagram's Horizontal Scrolling

Instagram, aside from many aesthetic changes, has largely remained the same app for its entire life. However, Instagram rolled out a mode where posts are looked through horizontally rather than the normal vertical scrolling screen. This mode was meant to only go live for a small group of users, but went out to more than intended. The new mode was so universally disliked that it garnered trending status and media attention. The change has been reverted and we can only guess that Instagram R&D will not put this layout in a future build.

Oof that constantly-shifting bar at the top is not pairing well with my OCD tendencies. #instagram pic.twitter.com/mAlsyxo9Mm

— Claire Foyant (@wordswithsam) December 27, 2018

Google+ to Close

The other day, I did a quick Google search to check if Google+ was still around. Launched in June of 2011, Google released Google+, the social network owned by the technology titan. How could it go wrong? Google embraced it as the future of Google, but it never caught on. Today, Google announced that because of low user usage and a software error that caused a data breach, it would close Google+ in August of 2019. It's definitely about time that Google+ closed its doors, but August certainly is a far ways off for a service that not many people use, especially considering a data breach.

New York Public Library Shares Books Using Instagram Stories

Libraries often use technology in interesting ways, like renting out eBooks for example. The New York Public Library is taking this a step further with Instagram. According to The Wall Street Journal, the library is allowing users to view selections of certain books through Instagram Stories. It's very clever. The book appears in the library's highlights area. The book even has a dedicated space to place your thumb to keep the same image on the screen. Unfortunately, there's no way to save your progress. In other words, to read the whole selection, you'll have to do it in one go. Right now, it's part one of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Part two will be available tomorrow.

Twitter Password Bug

Twitter is suggesting to its users that they change their passwords due to a bug that stored passwords in plain text on Twitter's internal servers. Before anyone freaks out, this is a precautionary step. There is no reason to believe your password is compromised. The password never left Twitter's internal servers. That being said, changing your password on Twitter and any account that used the same password is a helpful way to ensure security.

The State of Apple Watch Apps

The Apple Watch has been more and more popular. It has undeniable growth. Yet, Instagram has become one of the latest apps to remove Apple Watch functionality. Why is this? Apple's vision is that the Apple Watch exists so you don't have to use your iPhone, your iPhone exists so you don't have to use your iPad, and your iPad exists so you don't have to use your Mac. The trickle down effect doesn't seem to work exactly the same with the Apple Watch. Apple Watch apps clearly don't work in the context of social media and games. They work with fitness apps and notifications forwarded from iPhone apps. Developers are realizing this. This shouldn't discourage any prospective Apple Watch owners. I rarely use Apple Watch apps, but Apple Watch acts as a pager of sorts. It can forward notifications and you can decide whether to take action on those notifications on your iPhone. 

Instagram Can Show When You Were Last Active

Instagram really knows how to make amazing features for their users. First, we had adding recommended photos to feeds. To some extent, I understood this change, but it was still annoying. But now, we have Instagram telling your friends when you were last active on Instagram. This is only visible those who direct messaged you. But why? Why did Instagram feel the need to enable this by default? Who would benefit from this? Regardless, you can disable this by going to your Account Settings and switching off "Show Activity Status."

280 Character Tweets

I've always thought that 140 characters wasn't enough. Today, that limit has been bumped to 280 characters. It's a simple change, but it will probably change Twitter a lot. The brevity of Twitter was it's gimmick. There are advantages and disadvantages to this, but it's a change I'm fine with. 

Facebook Celebrates Birthdays with Donation Features

Birthdays are celebrated in different ways on different social networks. Facebook is taking a new approach by letting the birthday person pick a charity and ask that others donate as a birthday gift. It's an interesting initiative, a large company giving its avid users a chance to ask for donations rather than physical possessions. 

Twitter Replaces Default Profile Photo

Yeah, it's been a bit of a slow news day. But it seems that Twitter will no longer be using an egg for its default profile picture, because it conveys a negative connotation. The photo is typically associated with accounts used to harass people. So, instead of taking whisks with the egg photo, Twitter hatched up this plan. They're using a generic silhouette for the photo to keep people on the sunny side up. Okay, I'll stop. Normally, I don't do puns on this blog, but for now, omelettin' it slide.

Twitter No Longer Counts Usernames Toward Character Limits

When you are replying to a tweet, you no longer have to worry about the mention (@username) taking up any character space. This is pretty useful since to reply to a tweet, you are required to have this text, which wastes precious characters. The whole "why do we need character limits in 2017" argument is irrelevant. Hopefully, this is a step in the right direction.

Snapchat Glasses?

Snapchat has announced a pair of glasses called Spectacles [Source: The Wall Street Journal]. They are glasses that can take 10-seconds of footage at a time. This would sync up to your smartphone. From here, I'm guessing you could easily add it to your story or share it with friends. Now, I am probably the only person at my school who doesn't understand Snapchat and its appeal, but that being said, I don't see these taking off. The CEO of Snapchat (or Snap, Inc.) referred to Spectacles as a "toy" and said they made it because "it's fun." There's nothing wrong with that by any means, but this seems to be Snapchat's way of "testing the water" for hardware-driven social networks. Who knows? Maybe something similar to Spectacles could become a sign of the times in the same way earbuds are now? Spectacles will release this fall for $130 in teal, black, and coral.

Image Credit: The Wall Street Journal

Instagram Stories

I've never caught up to the Snapchat hype train. I've never understood it to be honest. Why would I only want people to see what I've shared for a set amount of time? I probably sound really old to anyone who loves Snapchat, but I assure you, I am a cultured seventeen year old with knowledge of dank memes and internet tropes. Back on topic, Instagram has basically become Snapchat with Instagram Stories. It lets you share photos for 24 hours with specific people in a Snapchat style format. I still don't get it, but it apparently works. Snapchat keeps growing in popularity and more apps copy its core idea, like SNOW, which is basically the exact same app as Snapchat but with more cats. Instagram is available for free from the Apple App Store [Direct Link].

Location Based Tweets

Twitter started to rollout location based tweets on Friday, according to TechCrunch. This means you can look up a location in Twitter and view all of the tweets from there. This is useful for events of all scales, including Comic Con. Instagram has had this feature for sometime as well. Twitter is available for free from the Apple App Store [Direct Link].

Image Credit: TechCrunch

Facebook Moments

If you use Facebook's photo syncing feature, you might want to hear this. Unless you install Facebook's new Moments app, your photos will be deleted if they're using the photo syncing feature. You're fine if you have an extra copy on your phone, but I would install this app just to be safe. These photos will be accessible until July 7 without installing Moments. Moments is available for free from the Apple App Store [Direct Link].

Instagram Testing A Simpler Design

A growing number of apps are proving that when it comes to app design, less is more. In today's day and age, we have fewer gradients, shadows, and textures in apps. Instagram wants to take it one step further with their next design. They've selected a group to test their app with their redesigns. As you can see below, the layout has replaced the signature blue color of Instagram with white, along with some translucent menu bars. Whether this design does make it into the final product, that is Instagram's call.

Image Credit: Sbonnot

Official iOS Reddit App Released

Reddit has had a strange history with releasing apps. For the longest time, they had an Android app, but no iOS app, which was very strange for any respectable social network. Eventually, Alien Blue, their flagship app at the time, made it to iOS. However, that app has been retired and finally replaced with the Reddit app. Now, I wouldn't be talking about a random app release if there wasn't anything special about it. If you sign in to the Reddit app by this Thursday, you'll receive three months of Reddit Gold! Reddit Gold normally costs money and has some pretty sweet perks. It turns off ads, gets you into exclusive chats, and more! Be sure to get this special offer while you can. Reddit is available from the Apple App Store for free [Direct Link].

I'd show you the home tab of the app, but the internet is immature so...

@AppleSupport

Apple now has a new Twitter account dedicated to helping people needing support with Apple products (@AppleSupport). They can help with all kinds of Apple related issues. Heck, they're even Twitter Verified, and we all know how hard that is to get. So you know they're official. They've responded to about 100 tweets per hour. It's a good option if you have an issue without any personal information, as tweets are public.

Facebook Brings Liking Into The Next Generation

We all know Liking on Facebook. However, that's changing a bit. This new feature is called "Reactions". Facebook better be careful when they say "react", they might get sued (+10 geek points to anyone who knows what I'm talking about.). To use this, just hover over the Like button (hold the button on mobile), and choose from six different options: Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, and Angry. The reasoning for this is because Facebook believes that it's not be best thing to "Like" certain things. For example, a breakup post isn't something you "Like". Instead, you'd want to show sympathy with a "Sad" emoji. This is currently being rolled out, so it might not be available to you yet. 

Instagram Rolling Out Two-Factor Authentication

According to TechCrunch, Instagram has started rolling out two-factor authentication. I've been waiting for this for a while. This is actually very important for one big reason. This will help prevent hacking of Instagram accounts. Instagram is one of the most popular, if not the most popular, social networks. With so many reputations on the line, taking a small step to make your account a bit more secure can potentially save a job. Anyways, this is being rolled out, so check your account if you're eligible. This process of rolling out is usually random, followed by an update to allow all users to have access to the feature. I hope this helps.

iPhone: Still Flickr's Most Popular Camera

Flickr released their Year in Review page for 2015 and on it are the most popular cameras used. In third, the Nikon D DSLR. Second, the Canon EOS series of DSLR cameras, which I actually used to use to make videos on. My dark past in a nutshell. And of course in first place, we have the iPhone as the most popular camera that posts photos on Flickr at 42% of photos. iPhone has been first place for a number of years. It just shows how a quality camera doesn't have to be bulky.