Got a minute? Check out our quick update on what's happening in the industry.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is tapping into the trends of other social media platforms, even if those trends don’t seem like such a good fit for the professional networking king. By partnering with Tenor, a GIF platform, LinkedIn is making GIFs available inside LinkedIn Messaging. Tenor says the update is intended “to create genuine connections with professional contacts such as coworkers, past colleagues or fellow alumni.” The update is still being rolled out, so not all users will have the GIF search capabilities quite yet.
Our Take: While GIFs are a fun way to communicate or drive a point home, they definitely fall into the category of something you shouldn’t send to a potential employer. The fact that the GIFs are available in Messenger is not surprising, since this is functionality that users are familiar with on Twitter, Facebook, and regular text messaging. LinkedIn has been focusing more on their Messenger platform since LinkedIn messages have reportedly grown by 60% over the past year. Still, for a professional platform, staying away from GIFs seems like a better idea.
Instagram
Instagram has rolled out a new focus mode for photos and videos taken within their app for Instagram Stories. The feature creates a depth effect by keeping the subject’s face in focus while blurring the background behind it — strikingly similar to Apple’s portrait mode. The feature, called ‘Focus’, can be accessed in the bottom menu next to other features like superzoom and boomerang and can be used with both the front and rear-facing camera.
Our Take: We love the ability to take sharp, professional-looking photos directly in the Instagram app! If Instagram Stories is a part of your social media strategy, then this feature is a great option to elevate the content you’re posting. We’re a big fan of updates that make it easy for brands to put their best foot forward online.
Google
Google has just updated Gmail with one of the biggest redesigns in a very long time. Besides a visual update, some of the new features include a confidential mode, phishing alerts, email snoozing and nudging, and a collapsible right-hand side panel. Gmail says the goal of the redesign was to “make people safer and more productive.”
Our Take: We’re anxiously awaiting the update to be rolled out in our inboxes, but so far, the updates sound promising. As account managers, we’re usually glued to our inboxes so anything that helps with productivity and organization (not to mention security) sounds good to us!
