Whenever we hear the word innovation, we usually think of big things - new experiments, discoveries, or inventions. However, every once in a while, innovation can come from the little things people do to change and make something better over time. These little things, for example, have led to major changes in the social media scene over the past few years:
1. Hashtags
Hashtags have made it possible for us to find the content we are looking for with just one click. Finding the right audience has become a lot easier with hashtags since they allow you to easily find people who are as interested in a certain topic as you are. Thanks to this, hashtags are a surefire way to allow conversations to happen and connections to be forged.
2. Mobile Apps
Everyone has gone digital. An Accenture survey revealed that 62 percent of companies are investing in digital technologies, while 35 percent have made the decision to “invest in digital as part of their overall strategy”.
In social media language, this is coined as fast-laning – where companies create ways to make the customer experience much more efficient and streamlined, especially from brands that these people frequently use. Fast-laning benefit customers by decreasing their usual waiting time. These days, apps have become absolutely integral to many of us, particularly with regard to our daily activities. Fast-laning is evident in many apps, such as those for mobile banking, online shopping, or apps that people normally use to book their flights and trips altogether, making everything easier and within reach.
3. Ratings & Customer Reviews
Most updates are directly based on customer reviews. No matter how annoying those pop-up “Rate Now” messages are, they appear often because this process allows users to interact with the app builders and give feedback on how they can optimize their apps and provide a better service for their users. Facebook used to have a simple ‘like’ button - now, there is a range of reactions to choose from.
Instagram has been updated to allow the editing of captions, even if the photo has been posted. Before, users had to delete the whole thing and re-upload it. Additionally, you can now search for tagged locations and view photos posted by other users who have been in the same area - features that would not have been possible without voluntary reviews from Instagrammers. Lesson: It actually pays to take your time and rate an app.
4. Cross-platform Sharing
Social media became a smaller world when cross-platform sharing entered the picture. Now, anything that we find on Facebook can be shared not just on Twitter, but on other platforms as well, which makes your web of connections wider and the gap between users almost negligible.
5. Cloud
The Cloud has been around for quite some time already but has experienced massive improvements over time. Basically, it is slowly replacing the need for USBs, external hard drives, or even your address book for keeping important things like photos, videos, contacts, etc. You can even depend on the cloud to remind you of important events, such as your loved ones’ birthdays. While not all of us may fully understand the deeper, more technical details about how the cloud works, it is nevertheless a very efficient way to keep our important files safe and accessible.
Perhaps, no one could have imagined that these things would leave such an impact on the social media world. Now, the question is: What do you think will be the next social media innovation?
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