This post will be part one of a series on social media changes from 2018. This doesn't JUST include social media, but also touches on Amazon and blogging and more. 

It can be SO hard to keep up with all of the changes that happen on the internet in a WEEK, much less a year. But I want to go over some of the big news and social media updates that you need to know. Most of these took place in 2018, while some were a little earlier and some are currently rolling out or have been announced, but haven't taken effect!

HOW TO KEEP UP WITH SOCIAL MEDIA

As a tip to start, if you find yourself overwhelmed trying to keep up, the best thing you can do is follow people and sites that do a good job of keeping you apprised. Here are a few sites or emails that will help you keep up:

The Quick Fix - my weekly email with news, tips, resources, and more

 

• The Sell More Books Show - podcast with news related to writing & publishing (especially indie publishing)
• The Digital Reader - more writing and publishing news, updated daily
• For tech and social news, I check Mashable, The Verge, Product Hunt, and Social Media Today.
• As far as experts, I follow Madalyn Sklar for Twitter updates, Jenn Hermann for Instagram, and Sarah Ahl for Pinterest.

Let's dive into those links!!

FACEBOOK CHANGES

I'd sum these up by saying privacy and groups. Because of the Cambridge Analytica issue, FB has made some changes with regards to privacy that affect ads.

• Business manager required for custom audiences - If you have targeted by uploading your email list to Facebook (yep, you can do that), this will now need to happen in the Business Manager. Which is its own special circle of heal. MORE HERE.
• New square images for ads - Um, yes please! Older versions of FB may not show these, but Facebook let me know in my ads manager that I can choose a bigger image. Can't wait for this!

• Posting within groups as your PAGE - So we're clear, your PAGE is what people can LIKE, as opposed to your personal profile, where you ad friends. FB is rolling out the option to post as your page, but the group has to okay it. I haven't had this rolled out to my groups yet. READ MORE.
• Groups may have mentors and mentees - This is a weird one and I've seen it happening more in a testing way, with it being added by FB to a group without the owner's permission. Members can sign up to mentor or be mentored. I feel like this is a disaster of smarminess waiting to happen where people in a group trying to get clients will sign up as mentors and try to "help." READ MORE
• Groups can now be paid - This is another rolling out change where you can have a paid Facebook group. This has previously been against terms of service, so all those courses with a bonus group had to be careful how they worded that to avoid violating TOS. READ MORE
• Groups can have learning units - Going hand-in-hand with paid groups, this would make a group function as a kind of course. READ MORE

INSTAGRAM CHANGES

• New app for IGTV - Instagram added Instagram TV, which allows you to broadcast within the separate app for up to an hour. Word on the street is people are underwhelmed. READ MORE

I big-time love Kami Huyse and she has a fabulous show on IGTV. Here's a link to the show notes, which have updates on social media as well! CHECK IT HERE!

New shopping features - I don't know how this will trickle down to people like you and me, but this is fun. MORE HERE

New quick replies to DMs - If you want to reply fast, you can do this much more easily now.

Nametags - This works like Snapchat ghost codes, from what I gather. Because Instagram has copied everything else...

IGTV previews can be shared in Instastories - Oh, and Instastories can be longer now too.

READ ABOUT THE 2018 UPDATES TO INSTAGRAM HERE!

BLOGGING CHANGES

Gutenberg is coming to Wordpress - This is the biggest change to Wordpress since...uh...forever? You might want to stick with the Classic Editor til they fix some bugs. READ WHY HERE

 

EMAIL CHANGES

GDPR happened and we didn't die - I would love to never talk about this again. But the privacy policy enacted in the EU had worldwide repercussions. Mostly things are fine. You can read my posts about it HERE and HERE.

 

AMAZON CHANGES

• Createspace morphed into KDP Print - If you used the print on demand company Amazon owned, it's now gone and merged into the same dashboard with your ebooks in KDP. This will in the long run be great, but it's been a bumpy transition.
• Affiliates can share their influencer page link in email - Amazon doesn't allow sharing affiliate links in email. But they did update (maybe in 2017) to allow Amazon Influencers to share a link to their page in email. This is a separate program within the affiliate program. APPLY HERE.

Curious? Check out my influencer page! All those links are affiliate links, to provide disclosure.

 

TWITTER CHANGES

• Maybe we'll finally get to edit tweets - This has been the most-called-for feature by users and Twitter is "thinking about it." I'll believe it when I see it. READ MORE
• Have live audio - This is a neat feature that works on the app or in Periscope. It's like a live video...but audio. READ MORE. 
• Twitter will let you use a chronological timeline - Go under your settings & privacy and uncheck the "see best stories first" thing.
• Testing new desktop features - You can check out screenshots HERE.

 

GOOGLE PLUS CHANGES

Google Plus is dead - If you've still been using this, you can chill and have one less thing to do. READ MORE.