New Media Intelligence #3: Instagram’s Carousel Boost, TikTok’s AI Selfies, YouTube’s Tiktok-esque Search from Comments, and More
Staying up-to-date and using social platforms effectively helps creators improve content creation and distribution, build meaningful connections, and sustainably generate income.
Last week’s dispatch on all things new on social platforms powering the creator ecosystem.
I’m, very much, about new media and the creator space—it’s a massive part of my personal and professional dealings. So, if you’re anything like me—and honestly, whether you're a creator or a brand rep, you should be—this weekly series will get you up to speed on the latest updates across social platforms. As we know, social platforms are the driving force behind the creator economy. They are the engine [read: tech] that powers content creation, distribution, and monetization, enabling creators to share stories, build communities, engage audiences, and ultimately generate income. Whether through video, images, or text, these platforms give creators — across all facets (music, film, comedy, lifestyle, fashion) the tools to reach global audiences and turn their passions into livelihoods.
These updates are key for maximizing engagement, staying competitive, and taking advantage of new features to better your content and interactions. Keeping up with the evolving landscape of these platforms helps you stay agile, relevant, and always ahead of the curve.
INSTAGRAM UPDATES (9)
Instagram Launches Shareable Digital Business Card
Instagram has introduced a new digital business card feature. It pulls your username, bio, location, and any links or music attached to your profile into a shareable card. One side of the card shows your profile details, while the other has a customizable QR code that links directly to your profile. You can even personalize the background with an image of your choice.
Mentioned this in last week’s release as it was still in Beta phase.Testing the 'Social Library' Feature
Instagram is experimenting with a new feature called Social Library, which lists all the posts and Reels you've interacted with—whether you've reshared, liked, or bookmarked them. This is super handy for when you’re trying to find a meme someone sent you but can’t remember which chat it was in. Now, all your saved or shared posts will be compiled into one section, making them easy to locate. This should be interesting.
Name and Schedule Your Saved Drafts
Instagram now allows you to name your saved drafts and even schedule them for future posting directly from the drafts folder. No more mixing up drafts or manually setting reminders—it’s all streamlined now.
Photos and Carousels with Music Now Appear in Reels Tab
Instagram has made it possible for photos and carousels with music to appear in the Reels tab, allowing creators to reach a wider audience. This feature is a great way to get more visibility. Love this!
Users Can Choose Relevant Ads
Instagram is now asking users to choose the types of ads they find relevant. This customization should help users see more personalized and meaningful ads tailored to their interests. Torrr!
Save Songs from Reels to Spotify
Instagram now lets all users save songs from Reels directly to Spotify. Instead of manually searching for a song on Spotify, you can now simply tap on the music in a Reel, and an "Add to Spotify" button will appear. Once linked, the song is added to your Liked Songs playlist on Spotify. This new integration works on both iOS and Android. Yay!!
Instagram Chief, Adam Mosseri Recommends Carousels for Better Reach
Instagram’s Adam Mosseri has recommended using carousel posts to improve your reach. With up to 20 frames per carousel, these posts offer more opportunities for interactions, which lead to greater reach. Plus, if someone doesn’t swipe through your carousel, Instagram may show them the second piece of media automatically. And don’t forget, carousels with music are now eligible for the Reels tab, giving even more reach potential. True this; I see some carousel posts at different times while on IG.
Zuckerberg Shares More Video From Meta’s MovieGen AI
Mark Zuckerberg shared a fun video of himself riding the wake of a giant rubber duck 🐤 🌊, created with Meta’s new MovieGen AI. It’s a playful showcase of what the AI can do.
Instagram Rolls Out 'Memories' for Stories
Instagram has begun rolling out a Memories feature for Stories, allowing you relive and reshare past moments. It’s similar to Snapchat’s Memories feature, and was first tested with selected users.
Attach a Song to a Note from the Song’s Page
Instagram now lets you attach a song to a note directly from the song’s page. Cute!
TIKTOK / CAPCUT UPDATES (3)
CapCut Pro Introduces Collaborative Video Editing
CapCut Pro now allows multiple users to collaborate on editing a video that’s already saved as a draft, through the new “Share Project” feature. This feature is exclusively available for CapCut Pro users and makes team editing much easier and more efficient.
TikTok Launches AI Image Creation with Selfies
TikTok has introduced a new feature that lets you create AI-generated images using nothing more than a selfie. Just take a picture, and TikTok will turn it into an AI creation.
CapCut Adds AI Video Generation
You can now generate AI videos using either images or text on CapCut. This new feature opens up a lot of creative possibilities for content creators looking to automate some of their video production. Capcut is one of my favourite apps BTW!!
YOUTUBE (10)
Multitask with the Improved Miniplayer
Now, you can resize and move the miniplayer while browsing YouTube on mobile. This should be great for multitaskers — like me — who like to keep watching a video while searching for new content to queue up.
Collaborative Playlists: Build, Share, and Vote
You can now invite friends and family to help build your playlists with a special link or a QR code (coming soon to YouTube TV). Plus, users can vote on videos in the playlist, so you can rank and curate the best line-up together.
You can also customize playlist thumbnails using your own images or AI-generated designs.
Set Your Bedtime with Sleep Timer
Perfect for those who watch YouTube before bed, you can now set a timer to automatically pause videos after a set duration. Originally tested with Premium members, this feature is now rolling out to all users across mobile devices. Love thisss! See it in action here.
Collect and Display YouTube Badges
YouTube is bringing badges to the platform, allowing users flex their achievements. Whether it’s being an early member of a creator’s channel or a top listener of an artist, badges will be displayed in the “You” tab. They’re a fun way to engage with the community and show your support. Toorrr!
A Fresher YouTube Experience on TV
YouTube is making its TV interface more cinematic with interesting visual updates. When watching Shorts on TV, you can now interact with comments, browse shops, and more—without interrupting your viewing experience.
Plus, new immersive channel pages auto-play teasers when visiting a creator’s channel, giving you a preview of their content.
New Playback Speed Controls ⏩
You can now fine-tune playback speed with 0.05x increments. You will now increase or decrease the playback speed of YouTube videos by 0.05x.
New “Captured with a Camera” Label
YouTube is rolling out a new "captured with a camera" label to help viewers identify content that was filmed with a real camera and has unaltered visuals and sound. This is part of YouTube’s broader effort to increase transparency around AI-generated content.
YouTube Premium Lite May Return with Limited Ads
YouTube Premium Lite is back in select countries, offering a more affordable alternative to the full Premium plan. However, this version may now come with limited ads instead of being completely ad-free. It's unclear if this plan will expand to the U.S., but it provides a budget-friendly option for those who want an enhanced YouTube experience without all the ads.Search from the Comments Section
Like TikTokYouTube now allows users to search directly from the comments section on both long-form and short videos. This feature highlights popular search terms, making it easier to dive deeper into topics or find related content directly from a video's comments. See an easy guide here
Videos Within 3 Minutes Now Classified as Shorts
YouTube has clarified that all vertical videos up to 3 minutes long, uploaded after October 15, will now be classified as Shorts. However, videos uploaded before this date won’t be reclassified. Creators can now also change the custom frame used as their Shorts thumbnail directly within the YouTube app.
Which are you feeling the most?