I’ll admit it. The social media news was a bit quiet this week, which we all know makes me nervous and suspicious (yes, I am looking at you, Meta).

But, I’ll take it, as I am happy I don’t have to learn a new app or feature that makes me roll my eyes. Instead, I get to focus on doing more long-form content on here, explaining underused features on apps that will help you grow (!!).

And yes, a bit of news-related topics across the various platforms, like always.

Ready? Let’s get into it!

What’s the secret to staying ahead of the curve in the world of AI? Information. 

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You know, if that’s what you want to do. 

Instants was released last week (immediately after I sent out the newsletter last week, of course!), and there are a lot of mixed reactions to it. Mainly on my feed, it seems like a lot of people were annoyed. 🥴

Instants is Instagram’s take on Snapchat or BeReal, where you take a photo that is shared with your friends and disappears. It’s their way of building “authenticity” into the app. 

However, once it was released, most people were sending photos accidentally and instantly (hehe), looking for a way to turn off the feature.

You can find Instants inside your DMs on the lower right-hand side. The app will take you through the steps on how to create and see Instants. However, what lovely Instagram doesn’t tell you is that as soon as you hit the photo button, a photo is IMMEDIATELY taken and sent to everyone in your Friends list. 

Oops. 

If this has happened to you, dear friend, here is how to turn that off for the future:

If you don’t want to hide Instants but want to remove one that you’ve sent, you can (thank goodness!). All you have to do is hit the “undo” button after it sends. Yes, truly, it’s that easy.

Are you using Instants? Or are you avoiding it like the plague?

Next week, I will be bringing you a jam-packed newsletter with trending audio back (!!), tools I have been testing out that I think are worth it, content creators to follow, and so much more.

I’m also contemplating bringing back the podcast with twice-monthly episodes about social media. Because, yes, another person with a podcast is what we all need, right?

Thanks, as always, for your support! If you like this newsletter and want to help it grow, please send to a friend, coworker, or anyone you’d think would enjoy it. It always helps!

Until next week!

Mackenzie