While this new exciting feature is still under development, and not ready for beta testers, WABetaInfo reports that this new future update will introduce a music button within the drawing editor that appears after selecting a photo or a video for the status update. Just like it’s done on other Meta-owned platforms including Facebook and Instagram, users will then be able to search for songs or specific artists by tapping this button, which will make it easier for them to find and add their favorite music directly to their status updates.

“Once a song is selected, it will be automatically integrated into the status update, allowing users to personalize their photos or videos with music.”  wrote the WhatsApp tracker. “This enhancement will likely make status updates more engaging and expressive, as users can set the mood or add context to their shared content using music.”

Meanwhile, the instant messaging service is also working on several other features including the ability to create and share entire custom sticker packs. This update will enable users to organize their stickers more efficiently by categorizing them into distinct packs directly within the application, without the need to involve third-party apps. You will also be able to personalize your collections, modify packs, and share them easily with your contacts.

WhatsApp is always working on several features to enhance user experience on the app but it should however be noted that not all of them make it to the public release. Some of the features that made it include a ‘Favorites’ Feature to Filter Chats, and a Self-Destruct Audio Message Feature, among others.

The post WhatsApp is Working on a Feature to Share Music Through Status Updates appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

According to the social platform, users will now be able to save contacts to the app itself and manage them via the desktop version of the app, in addition to the mobile interface.

“Until now, the only place you were able to add contacts was from your mobile device, by either typing in a phone number or scanning a QR code. WhatsApp wrote in the blog post. “Soon, you’ll be able to add and manage contacts from the comfort of your keyboard on WhatsApp Web and Windows – and eventually other linked devices.”

WhatsApp has traditionally relied on users’ phone address books to hold and manage contacts, however, this meant that users couldn’t recover their contacts in case they lost their devices. This new development will however address this by making it possible to restore WhatsApp contacts from cloud storage. The company also adds that the feature will additionally be useful “For when you are sharing your phone with others or if you want to separate personal and business contacts when managing more than one WhatsApp account on your phone.”

The social messaging app added that the contact storing feature update will also make it possible for users to finally be able to manage and save contacts by usernames. “Usernames on WhatsApp will add an extra degree of privacy so that you don’t need to share your phone number when messaging someone,” WhatsApp said in the blog post.

This is the first time WhatsApp has publically mentioned the use of usernames, a feature that has been in development since last year according to a May 2023 report by WABetaInfo.

Additionally, Meta has acknowledged the privacy trade-offs that come with storing your information remotely, and to address this, the company has developed a more advanced encryption system to store and share relevant data called Identity Proof Linked Storage (IPLS).

“Contact names are stored encrypted within WhatsApp, and we’ve built this with additional, robust protections by using IPLS to deter access to contacts to anyone except the user.” writes Meta.

Meta further explains that IPLS incorporates new privacy technology that protects users’ contact lists in a privacy-preserving fashion, adding, “To further ensure the safety and security of this system, we’ve partnered with Cloudflare to provide independent third-party auditing of its cryptographic properties.” According to the company, the new technology stack was reviewed by external researchers and NCC Group Cryptography Services, an independent cybersecurity consultancy.

The post WhatsApp Introduces In-App Contact Saving Feature, Teases Usernames appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

Users are already receiving a “Block is changing soon” pop-up message, warning about the impending update.

“If your posts are set to public, accounts you have blocked will be able to view them, but they will not be able to engage,” the message states. “For more control over who can see your posts, you can still protect your account.”

In cases where block was being used to prevent harassment, stalking, and other dangerous behaviors, this isn’t great news. Users can still obscure their tweets by going private, but some people such as celebrities, journalists, influencers, etc. —still need the platform for their livelihood.

Blocking on X used to be simple. If you blocked an account, they couldn’t see your posts or interact with them. This new change makes blocking less restrictive.

This change is just one of many that Musk has made to X since purchasing it. Reportedly, this is being done to promote free speech, something that Elon Musk has professed is needed on the platform. He believes that users should be able to see all public posts, even if they are from someone they have blocked.

It remains to be seen how this change will affect users. Some may find it helpful, while others may find it annoying.

The post New X Update Will Allow Blocked Users to See Your Public Posts, but Can’t Engage appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

With 19 African countries set to hold elections in 2024 and numerous political campaigns underway, worries about misinformation (unintentionally shared false information) and disinformation (deliberately spread fake news) are mounting. The Africa Centre for Strategic Studies reports that disinformation campaigns in Africa have quadrupled since 2022, often backed by foreign states like Russia and China, leading to social instability.

In response to these issues, KnowBe4 was surveyed in June 2024 on political disinformation and misinformation across five African countries: Botswana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, and South Africa. The survey, which included 500 respondents, found that 84% prefer social media for news consumption over traditional channels like radio, TV, and news websites. Anna Collard, SVP of Content Strategy and Evangelist at KnowBe4 AFRICA, said, “80% of respondents are consuming news on Facebook and over 50% use TikTok. This is alarming as neither of these channels is very reliable for news.”

The ability to discern fake news may be exaggerated

Another concerning finding is that 82% of respondents feel confident in their ability to distinguish between true and false information online, despite a generally low level of formal education on the topic.

“While most respondents reported being able to tell the difference between real and fake news, I doubt this is the case,” said Collard. “Research has shown that most people overestimate their ability to detect deepfakes, and ironically, more people trust AI-generated images than actual photographs.”

The survey also revealed that disinformation is becoming a significant concern with 80% of respondents expressing high levels of worry about the negative impact of fake news and its potential to cause social division. In Kenya, many respondents said they had seen firsthand how disinformation can lead to tribal conflict.

Collard explains that social media influencers using inorganic hashtags fuelled similar political discord during Nigeria’s election last year. “Social media’s rapid spread of false information and the increasing accessibility of artificial intelligence (AI) tools allow for the quick and cheap creation of sophisticated disinformation campaigns,” she said.

Need for more training and tighter controls

The survey underscores the need for increased education and awareness surrounding misinformation and disinformation. 58% of respondents report receiving no training on the topic while 32% admitted to simply ignoring fake news, highlighting the need for a more proactive and engaged response.

“We need a multi-faceted strategy to combat disinformation,” says Collard. “This approach should encompass enhanced awareness and critical thinking among users; coordinated government action to prevent the spread of fake news (including stronger legislation), and increased vigilance from social media platforms in detecting and removing disinformation campaigns.”

Fake news is an ongoing challenge that requires continuous attention. To fight it effectively, Collard says there’s a need for a combination of new technology, better ways to prevent it, and most importantly, teaching people to consume media while thinking critically, particularly if it is emotionally laden or potentially polarising content.

As the digital landscape develops, so must the strategies for maintaining the integrity of information.

Here’s the full 2024 Political Disinformation in Africa report (LINK)

The post Africans’ Reliance on Social Media For News Increases Their Vulnerability to Disinformation, Survey Reveals appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

The service understands that while fans and creators have been interacting through the comments and the Community tab, “conversations would often revolve around a creator’s latest video or post.”

“We wanted to build a space where, for the first time, subscribers can chat with each other and the creator directly,” writes Whitney Taylor, the Head of Design, YouTube Community.

According to the blog post, Taylor says this new feature is a result of feedback from creators and their fans. They heard the creators and their fans want more ways to connect – that for the creators, their content and communities are already on YouTube, “so we have the potential to be the best place for deeper conversations too.”

“Another consistent theme was the desire for belonging – people want a place where they feel included and understood by like-minded peers.”

YouTube acknowledges the importance of balancing vibrant engagement with an environment where you can express yourself authentically, whether you’re sharing something, asking a question, or just hanging out.

“You know that feeling, that magic, that joy that comes from finding a group of people that just get you,” said the director of Product Management at YouTube Bangaly Kaba, during the event. “Communities is a place where you can choose to create that with your fans. This is a place where you and your fans can come together to build even deeper connections over the topics and videos you love, not just posting updates between uploaders or asking for opinions or ideas, but for the first time, subscribers will spark their discussions with you and with each other.”

It is important to understand that the new Communities feature isn’t the same as the already existing YouTube Community feature, which only allows creators to share text and images with their viewers, but doesn’t allow viewers to interact with each other.

The Communities feature is currently being tested on mobile devices with a small group of creators, however, YouTube plans to test it with more creators later this year before expanding to additional channels next year.

The post YouTube Announces “Communities” for Creators to Interact with Viewers appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

The country’s Supreme Court told the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) to ban access to X within 24 hours and further gave Apple and Google five days to remove the social platform from their mobile app stores. Additionally, the court said that anyone using a VPN to access X  would be subjected to daily fines of 50,000 reais  (approx. USD$8,900, UGX33.2 million).

Before this move,  Musk had been feuding with the Latin American country’s Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes, who had previously ordered X to remove content that is allegedly fake news and misinformation. Musk, and his company, however, responded by claiming that Moraes’s request was “censorship orders.” According to The New York Times report, many of the accounts de Moraes ordered X to block are linked to supporters of the right-wing former President Jair Bolsonaro.

On August 17, the social media service through its Global Government Affairs account claimed Moraes had threatened its legal representative Rachel Nova Conceicao in secret and, to protect the safety of its staff, X decided to close its operations in Brazil. Hours before the suspension order, Musk himself quoted his global affairs team’s post calling Moraes “an evil dictator cosplaying as a judge.”

While the micro-blogging platform did close its operations in Brazil, the service remained available and accessible to users in the country which on Wednesday prompted Brazil’s Supreme Court to order the company to appoint a legal representative in the country within 24 hours which X did not comply with calling it Moraes’s “illegal orders to censor his political opponents.”

“Soon, we expect Judge Alexandre de Moraes will order X to be shut down in Brazil – simply because we would not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents.” the company wrote in a statement on Friday anticipating a potential ban.

The social platform has threatened to publish the Brazilian top court’s demands in the coming days and says it will not comply with its orders.

In the past, Brazil has temporarily banned other major social platforms, including Telegram which was banned in 2022, and WhatsApp in 2015, both platforms’ ban lasted for 48 hours.

The post Brazil Supreme Court Orders Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) Banned in Brazil appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

Baryomunsi emphasized how smart devices and technology can address cost, access, and Internet penetration challenges. While acknowledging the benefits of technology he expressed concerns about its misuse among young people for spreading misinformation instead of being a valuable communication tool. He encouraged the public, the youth in particular to utilize digital communication for societal progress and transformation.

Furthermore,  Baryomunsi addressed misinformation issues by highlighting how reports, like declaring someone’s death hinder societal progress. He cited an example where someone falsely claims that the President is deceased despite knowing he is alive. “Somebody just goes on their social media and declares the President dead when they very well know that the President is alive,” said Barymounsi. “So how does that help you?”

He cautioned that the government possesses the capacity and technology to track and manage content emphasizing that while freedom of speech is crucial it should be exercised responsibly.

Addressing concerns, about regulating content the minister clarified that the government’s aim is not to restrict freedoms but to ensure that digital platforms are used in a manner. He acknowledged the emergence of “citizen journalism,” where individuals can publish content, whether false. He highlighted the significance of filtering and overseeing content to prevent misinformation from spreading.

Barymounsi urged for an approach to utilizing technology and digital communication for good. He urged people to consider how technology can enhance their lives and communities rather than using it for frivolous or detrimental purposes. According to him, the government’s role is to facilitate this use of technology while ensuring citizens’ freedoms come with a sense of responsibility.

As digital communication evolves the key challenge lies in making sure it serves as a tool for transformation than a platform, for spreading misinformation and fostering division.

See also: ICTAU at 10: Is Uganda’s digital transformation roadmap better positioned for the next decade?

The post Chris Baryomunsi Calls For Responsible Use of Digital Communication and Technologies appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

The feature which started rolling out today was first spotted in February by WABetaInfo as it was being tested on iOS and the web before it appeared on Android in April.

The Meta-owned instant messaging platform has also added a “Favorites” section to the calls tab to let you speed-dial your favorite contacts without the need to go through your recent call logs.

“Whether it’s your family group chat or your best friend, your ‘favorites’ will be the same across your chats and calls, so you can speed dial them from your calls tab too.” WhatsApp wrote in a blog post.

If you wish to add a contact or group to your favorites, from your chats screen, select the “Favorites” filter and choose the contact to add. From the calls tab, you can tap ‘Add favorite’ and then select your contacts or groups. You can also add a chat to your favorites by simply long-tapping it and selecting “Add to favorite.” Additionally, there is an option for you to manage your favorite contacts and groups by going to your WhatsApp Settings > Favorites > Add to Favorite. From here, the instant messaging app will let you reorder them how you wish to.

To enjoy this new feature, you will need to update your WhatsApp application by heading to the Google Play Store or Apple App Store and finding the latest version of the app. However, it should be noted that while the update has started rolling out today, it will be made available to everyone in the coming weeks.

The post WhatsApp Rolls Out a ‘Favorites’ Feature to Filter Chats appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

For brands, effective social media management is about:

1. Content creation and distribution: Tailoring content across different platforms to resonate with diverse target personas.
2. Community engagement: Building relationships and nurturing communities through active interaction and responsiveness.
3. Performance analysis: Monitor key metrics, refine campaigns, and boost engagement, a powerful social media monitoring tool that drives data-driven decisions and enhances overall online presence.

Importance of social media management

Managing your brand across social networks offers numerous benefits:

1. Increased brand awareness and trust: Social platforms connect with your market, boosting awareness and customer acquisition. Posting consistently and engaging with users builds brand trust through reliability.
2. Enhanced revenue generation: By actively engaging through posts, contests, and ads, followers are converted into customers, increasing sales and lead generation.
3. Enhanced customer service and relationships: Effective management involves attentive listening and quick response times, boosting customer satisfaction and fostering brand loyalty.
4. Cost-effectiveness: Social media offers cost-effective marketing regardless of budget size, leveraging free platform features and targeted advertising.
5. Aligning with user behavior: Integrating social media into marketing strategies aligns efforts with consumer behavior, aiding in targeted outreach and tailored marketing.

SEE ALSO: THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT TOOLS: STREAMLINING SUCCESS IN 2024

Building an efficient social media management process

To achieve optimal results from social media efforts, brands should follow a structured approach:

1. Evaluate social media presence

Review current profiles, analyze performance metrics, and identify areas to improve:

• Assess profiles: List all accounts and evaluate effectiveness.
• Analyze performance: Use analytics for engagement, demographics, and content impact.
• Compare competitors: Evaluate metrics against industry rivals.

2. Choose relevant platforms

Select platforms aligned with audience, goals, and strategy:

• Engage audience: Identify active platforms for maximum interaction.
• Assess features: Evaluate platform capabilities for targeted marketing.
• Optimise resources: Allocate efficiently based on ROI potential.

3. Understand your audience

Know preferences, behaviors, and interests for personalized engagement:

• Create personas: Create social media personas segmented based on demographics, interests, and activities.
• Gather insights: Use analytics and listening tools for valuable data.
• Personalise content: Tailor to connect with diverse audience segments.

4. Utilize social media management tools

Advanced tools streamline content creation, scheduling, performance tracking, and audience engagement. Essential tools include:

• Content creation: Tools for designing visuals, editing videos, and generating content ideas.
• Analytics: Platforms for measuring performance metrics, tracking campaign success, and identifying trends.
• Automation: Software for scheduling posts, managing workflows, and optimizing social media processes.

Benefits of social media management tools

Businesses often must decide whether to invest in a social media management tool, especially as they expand across multiple networks and managing them becomes burdensome. Considering the significant investment involved, let’s explore why it’s worth considering such a tool:

1. Manage multiple social accounts

Managing multiple social media accounts can be complex with different logins and interfaces. A dedicated tool consolidates these into one login with a unified interface and business-focused features, simplifying management.

2. Ensure you never miss something important

Missing a customer’s message or mention can lead to lost revenue and relationships. Tools like eClincher’s Unified Social Inbox aggregate all messages and notifications, making it nearly impossible to miss anything important.

3. Manage conversations efficiently

Handling conversations across various networks can be difficult. Social media management tools centralize all data, enabling keyword searches to streamline the management of interactions.

4. Pre-schedule posts

You are planning for posting guarantees that your content is in line with your objectives and sustains regularity, which is crucial for an effective social media plan. This also saves time by automating the posting process.

5. Monitor keywords for leads and valuable information

Social media management tools can help you track keywords to gather consumer opinions, feedback, and competitor information, which are valuable for business insights.

6. Analyse your results

Assess effective and ineffective methods to enhance your social media strategy. Utilizing these tools offers analytics that illuminate performance metrics, enabling you to refine your approach.

7. Prove ROI to superiors

Analytics help improve efficiency and justify your social media investment by showing key performance indicators and demonstrating how your actions impact the bottom line.

8. Increased opportunities for live interaction

By automating specific tasks using a social media management tool, you can allocate more time to spontaneous engagement, which is crucial for fostering genuine relationships on social platforms.

9. Swiftly improve posts with visual content

Images play a pivotal role in enhancing social media interaction. Integrated tools such as Canva and Giphy in various social media management platforms simplify the creation and sharing of attractive visuals.

10. Simplify content curation

Curating content from others can complement your original content and provide a wider variety of posts. Most tools have built-in curation capabilities, making this process more efficient.

11. Ensure uniformity and consistency

A consistent brand identity across all social networks is vital. Social media management tools help maintain this consistency in your voice, visuals, and posting schedule.

Also read:

• • Boost your social media with the best social media panels
  • How AI is transforming social media as we know it
  • 10 tips on how to boost engagement on social media
  • Social media tricks to help you make the most of your online presence

The role of artificial intelligence in social media management

Artificial Intelligence’s integration into our daily lives exceeds common perception. From using voice assistants to watching recommended YouTube videos, AI interacts with us constantly.

AI and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms power many features on social networks, such as Snapchat filters and LinkedIn job recommendations. E-commerce tools also heavily rely on AI for data filtering and analysis. These trends underscore AI’s indispensable role in social media marketing.

Whether you’re a startup owner, social media influencer, digital marketer, or technophile, embracing artificial intelligence can significantly enhance your business or career. We explore AI’s impact on social media marketing, its business benefits, and essential AI-driven tools for refining brand strategy.

SEE ALSO: I’M KNOWN AS THE “CONTENT MASTER”, A TITLE I HOLD WITH PRIDE — TRACY KYASIIMIRE

Advantages of AI in social media management

AI enhances social media management by:

1. Improving user experience: AI enhances user interaction on social media by tailoring content displayed in your feed. Through analysis of user behavior data, AI identifies the most pertinent content for each user, thereby boosting engagement with the platform.
2. Addressing technical SEO challenges: AI enables efficient management, analysis, and organization of vast data, turning it into actionable insights for launching digital marketing campaigns and strategies.
3. Streamlining information management: AI facilitates efficient control, analysis, and categorization of vast amounts of information, transforming it into actionable insights for launching new digital marketing campaigns and strategies.
4. Boosting profitability: AI reduces time spent on optimizing outcomes, enhances interaction and engagement, and improves access to relevant content, thereby increasing profitability for companies operating on social networks.
5. Enhanced consumer engagement: AI assists users in obtaining necessary information, thereby increasing website engagement time and conversion rates, resulting in higher web traffic.
6. Audience adaptation: AI utilizes data collected within social networks to personalize content based on individual user histories, adapting to audience preferences effectively.
7. Minimized human error: AI significantly decreases the chances of errors in capturing customer information through automation.
8. Preventive maintenance and rapid data analysis: AI in conjunction with social networks enables proactive and predictive maintenance, extending system lifecycle and performance.

Social media management is fundamental to contemporary digital marketing, allowing brands to establish significant relationships with their audience, build communities, and stimulate business expansion.

By employing strategic planning, creating compelling content, and utilizing analytics, proficient management of social media platforms enhances brand visibility and engagement. Furthermore, incorporating artificial intelligence bolsters these efforts by optimizing content distribution, refining targeting strategies, and leveraging data-driven insights for continuous improvement.

As businesses traverse the dynamic social media landscape, embracing strategic methods and technological advancements will be essential for attaining sustained success and leaving a lasting impact on digital audiences.

ALSO READ: HOW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) IS TRANSFORMING SOCIAL MEDIA AS WE KNOW IT

The post Social Media Management: Strategies AI Integration and Impact appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.

People always ask me how I’ve grown my following across multiple social media platforms. Today, I’ll share my story. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it was eventually built.

I’m active on four social media platforms, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and LinkedIn being my newest venture. Of the four accounts, I have the most followers on Instagram with 151,000 organic followers I’ve grown over about eight years. On X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok, I have 9,944 and 9,446 followers respectively. Now, you might wonder why I have a gigantic number of followers on Instagram compared to more moderate numbers on the other platforms. The answer is simple: my niche. A jack of all trades is a master of none.

Long before the breakout of TikTok videos, reels, collaborations, and other new digital trends, Instagram was the home for showcasing lifestyle content. I turned this knowledge into my strength. I can’t definitively say whether creating content and growing numbers was easier then or now, but it’s a topic open for debate.

Back then, simply sharing a picture with a catchy caption could get you far. Combine that with consistency, and you will appear on the “Explore” page. Sites hungry for content would pick up your pictures, occasionally tag you, and boom your follower count would grow.

Over the years, I’ve immaculately established my name in the lifestyle corridors, from fashion, hospitality, and entertainment to health and skincare. My name pops up whenever there’s something lifestyle-related.

I have a mantra that I live by: “Everything and anything can be content if well packaged.”

From being a girl who loved posing for pictures and innocently posting on Instagram, I was noticed by the biggest fashion store at the time. Elevating my phone camera pictures to professionally edited photos by talented photographers made me an internet sensation.

My pictures were boosted by pages beyond East Africa including cities I’ve never visited. Pages with millions of followers like BlackBeautifulAndClassy, BoldBlackWomen, and MelaninGoddess shared my content. Blogs wrote about me and tagged my page, providing free publicity, known today as “earned media.”

Let’s be real, though—it wasn’t always smooth sailing. Misleading information about who I was and what I did circulated because I didn’t know how to define myself on social media, I used pseudo-names like Treyctash and Black Goddess.

While I don’t have a verification badge yet (though these days you can buy one), fake accounts started popping up, impersonating me. Some of my generous followers fell victim to scammers, but they eventually found my real account.

SEE ALSO: Facebook and Instagram parent company, Meta Platforms is now rolling out paid verification for its users

I made plenty of mistakes out of ignorance but I never gave up. I learned a lot and when I was introduced to the world of influencing and content creation —it was the best thing that has happened to me. The idea of making money by leveraging my social media presence was thrilling.

To this day, at social gatherings, family events, and beyond, I am known as the “content master”. It’s a title I hold with pride (LoL).

Investing in up-to-date technology is crucial because content marketing, like any other business venture, requires financial and time investment.

I use mobile phones, cameras, gimbals, editing apps, and Canva, to name a few. I go the extra mile to pay for these tools. Over time, I’ve learned to do many of these tasks myself, saving money I would have spent hiring someone to help me create content occasionally.

Believe me when I say digital marketing is broad! I’ve only scratched the surface of content creation, social media marketing, channels, mediums, success indicators, and metrics to measure. Influencer marketing, collaborations, digital trends, and digital marketing tools —I’m just getting started.

How do you determine what type of content resonates with your audience and which platform to optimize? Who is your target audience?

Social media platforms now have analytics tools that show you demographics including which gender follows you the most, the ages of your followers, the days your followers are most active, and the times of day you’ll get the most engagement, among others. Consistency is no longer an excuse because you can now schedule your posts.

I could go on and on because I know someone is hesitant to dive into this field, thinking it’s rocket science and feeling overwhelmed by all the information online, just like I was.

In short, I have thrived.

Various businesses from different industries have noticed me (since then) and reached out for partnerships.

I hope they find this post/story to motivate your start.

ALSO READ: BUILDING YOURSELF AS AN INFLUENCER, IS MORE OF A LONG GAME THAN A SPRINT — GAD ROGERS

The post I’m Known as the “content master”, a Title I Hold With Pride — Tracy Kyasiimire appeared first on PC Tech Magazine.