Digital Buzz – Facebook Messenger Uber rides and Suggestive Snapchats!

 

It can be difficult to keep up with all of the technological advances happening in our world – after all, there’s always so much going on! As part of our weekly blog, SponsoredLinX take a look at some of the biggest social media news announcements to have caught our eye in August. 

Facebook Messenger saving costs with Uber carpooling chatbot

With Messenger now being utilised to order everything from pizza to flowers and trending news, it seems that nothing is out of the question! Just recently it was announced that Facebook Messenger could soon be used to hail an UberPOOL ride (in the States) – allowing riders to split their costs with people riding in the same direction. Although not yet available in Australia, Uber confirmed to SponsoredLinX that they hope to launch an Australian Facebook Messenger UberPOOL option in the near future.

Who else can see this option working seamlessly with Facebook events?  Personally, we think it’s a great idea!

 

Snapchat gets suggestive

Snapchat sure have been busy lately! First, they rolled out their new feature ‘Suggest’ back in July; a function which helps users to find interesting and relevant accounts to follow. Much like Instagram’s ‘direct send’ function, Suggest allows you to tap on another user’s name on the ‘stories’ platform, and send it directly to the account of another through a personal message – a fantastic move for those in the business world who want their customers to suggest their brand to others.

Now in August, comes the news that Snapchat is acquiring mobile search app Vurb for over $110 million! According to TechCrunch, this partnership could allow Snapchat to help users “organize a night out with friends or get a digest of the day’s news.”

And what exactly is Vurb? If you’re not yet up to scratch on the tech platform, it’s a search app that provides users with “suggestions and results tailored to what people love;” including trending topics.  According to their website,  Vurb “find, save, and do the best things by connecting community recommendations, rich content, and useful services — personalized for you in one simple app.”

In other Snapchat news, it has been revealed Instagram’s decision to copy-cat Snapchat’s ‘my stories’ feature hasn’t killed off the social media platform like some had expected.

According to JP Mangalindan from Yahoo Finance, a spokesperson for App Annie stated:

“Instagram Stories has not made a measurable impact on engagement since the feature launched…Actually, it’s pretty interesting that such a controversial new feature from Instagram had little to no impact on activity.”

Read more here.

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