This week in social media, Facebook tried to reassure conservatives, Reddit introduced post embedding, and Twitter may stop counting photos and links against its character limit.
This week in social media, a judge in Brazil ordered WhatsApp to be blocked throughout the country (again) and that order was overturned within a day (again).
This week in social media, Facebook released its (amazing) quarterly earnings, Twitter released its (terrible) quarterly earnings. Meanwhile, Snapchat is apparently crushing it in online video.
This week in social media, Facebook announced it was rolling out group voice chat to Messenger, while Snapchat upped its popular face swap feature by adding the iPhone's camera roll as an image source. Meanwhile, Twitter added Yelp integration, at least overseas, in an effort to make the platform more useful for users looking for information while they're out and about.
This week in social media, Facebook and its subsidiary WhatsApp backed Apple in its encryption fight with the FBI, the same week that a WhatsApp executive was briefly jailed in Brazil in a similar case.
This week in social media, word leaked out that Facebook will start showing ads in Messenger very soon. Meanwhile, Twitter executives bought millions in their company's stock in a move to boost confidence, and Snapchat is rumored to have started delivering detailed ad analytics, possibly resulting in a dip in prices.
This week in social media was altogether pretty terrible for the two most significant networks: Facebook and Twitter. Facebook got kicked out of India and Twitter's growth has flatlined, sparking worries is might actually die. But with a potential big partnership with an influential old media company, Snapchat, meanwhile, is doing fine.
This week in social media, Facebook adjusted the algorithm for your News Feed another time, while again being declared the number one app on Android and iOS smartphones. Meanwhile, Twitter tested a GIF button for its mobile app, and Snapchat ran its first mobile app-install ad.
This week in social media, Facebook took on Periscope by opening up live streaming on iPhone to everyone, while Twitter had one of its worst weeks ever. Meanwhile, Snapchat made it easier to add friends in an update to its app.
This week in social media, Facebook launched a sports hub designed to catch online social buzz over live sporting events. The company also figured out a technique to deliver 360-degree VR video with a fraction of the bandwidth, all while Twitter hit a new low on Wall Street.
This week in social media, Facebook COO followed CEO Mark Zuckerberg's example and gave a huge amount of her company stock to charity. Meanwhile, Twitter was under pressure to crack down on hate speech, Snapchat began shopping for ad tech startups, and Foursquare's co-founder and CEO announced he would be stepping down.
This week was a busy one for Facebook. It launched a new collaboration with Uber through Messenger, announced changes to its controversial "real name" policy, launched its fast-loading Instant Articles for Android, and finally, Facebook was named the most popular smartphone app of 2015 by a Nielsen report. Meanwhile, Twitter hit an all-time low on Wall Street.
This week Facebook announced an offline mode, so mobile users can still see new stories in their News Feeds, even when their connections are spotty. Meanwhile, Twitter announced it would start showing ads to the vast majority of people who visit the platform, and a new study shows Snapchat is the fastest growing social network among millennials.
