A look over at the past year of social platform updates, and what they might mean for the future of social media. Source: What happened to Social in 2015 via Sixth Sense, http://www.sixthsensesocial.co.uk/blog/2015/what-happened-to-social-in-2015/

1. What happened to
Social Media in 2015?

2. 79 updates in 3 key areas

3. 1: Search
• Facebook make friends’ posts searchable
• Pinterest introduced a visual search tool and
improve search localisation
• Instagram revamped search and explore sections
• Twitter partnered with Google for tweets to appear
in search results
• Google+ improved searchability with their new
Collections feature

4. 2: Video
• Facebook introduced 360 degree video,
a dedicated video tab and new page
insights for video and live streaming
• Twitter introduced autoplay for videos
• Instagram released an app for creating time-shifting
video (Boomerang)

5. 3: Notifications
• LinkedIn announced they’re
working on a platform to
control notifications
• Facebook released Notify to
control phone notifications

6. Announcements by network

7. Announcements timeline

8. Facebook updates
• Early focus on commerce
- Improved post types in “for sale” groups, updates
when products are sold
- Sending money to friends via Messenger
- “Shop now” call to action
- “Shop” tab testing in US
- Tools for non-profits (donate buttons, fundraising pages)
• Preparing for Virtual Reality
- Acquisition of Oculus Rift (VR headset)
- See different viewing angles / perspectives in video
- More immersive than 3D

9. Facebook updates
• Live streaming
- Initially for public figures
- Broadening base for live events
- Gradual roll out to everyone
• Connecting the unconnected
- Facebook “Lite” for people with slow mobile networks or
costly data plans
- Testing unmanned aircraft to “beam connectivity” and laser
communications technology
- Potential future of Facebook drones in the sky

10. Facebook updates
• Publishing
- Updated “Notes” feature
- “Instant Articles” for brands
- Publishers monetise articles with own ads (revenue retained)
• Testing
- “Hello” app (who’s calling)
- “Reactions” emoticons
- Improved mobile profiles
• Artificial Intelligence
- “Memory Networks”
- Image recognition and predictive learning

11. Twitter updates
• Increasing engagement
- “While you were away” feature
- “Highlights”
- Event targeting
- Twitter for Windows with “Live Tiles”
- Direct message character count removal
- Twitter polls
• Interaction updates
- Removal of share counters on websites
- Move from “Favourite” to “Like”
- “Twitter Moments” for publishers to curate tweets

12. Pinterest updates
• Focus on search
- Appearance of recent searches
- Colourful trending topics (US)
- Autocomplete function
- Location tagged for improved local searches
- Visual search tool
• Buyable pins
- Rolled out to US pinners on iOS devices, Android to follow
• Other updates
- Improvements in filter sorting, iPhone “3D touch” capabilities
and login interfaces with other apps

13. Instagram updates
• 400 million users, more than 75% outside the US!
• Advertising improvement
- New carousel ad format
- Integrated with Facebook’s advertising ecosystem (with
advanced targeting and post call to actions)
- Partner program
• Platform updates
- Image adjustment tools
- Upload square, portrait or landscape images
- Threaded messages on Instagram Direct
- Boomerang app for quirky use of photos

14. LinkedIn updates
• Publishing
- LinkedIn Elevate, a paid for tool curating employee content
- Improved design of “Pulse” and integration with “Newsle”
- Broader language support, Portuguese being the first
• Messaging
- Reduction in emails with “Air Traffic Controller” platform
- New messaging experience, allowing a personal touch
• Other updates
- “LinkedIn Lookup” app for colleagues
- Slideshare “clipping”
- Cortana integration
- Entirely rebuilt LinkedIn app for improved design experience

15. Google+ updates
• Redesign
- Redesigned mobile experience, Android facelift and all apps
and website
• Collections
- Direct clone of Pinterest boards
- Searchable collections
- Future iterative improvements

16. 2016 onwards
Expect more moves to monetise via social commerce
solutions and increased potential for harnessing social
connections as a publishing audience.
Watch out for:
• A push for eCommerce
• LinkedIn vs Facebook
• Facebook vs Twitter

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