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Instagram Tests Picks to Surface Shared Interests

Instagram is reportedly prototyping a feature called Picks designed to surface users' shared interests (such as films, books, or music) to foster conversations beyond likes. The internal prototype, first documented by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi and later acknowledged by Meta to TechCrunch, would let users select favorites across categories and reveal which friends share similar picks. Picks is not publicly testable yet, and Meta confirmed it as an internal test. The concept builds on Instagram's recent Repost feature, expanding from curating posts to curating underlying interests to deepen social interaction. The article notes that platforms like TikTok and BookTok show strong community engagement around pop culture topics, suggesting creators and brands could benefit from topic-based discovery. Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri has signaled a 2025 focus on messaging and more interactive, social features, making Picks a potential extension of that strategy. The feature remains in early stages with no rollout timeline.

How Hashtags Should Change

The article examines whether hashtags remain useful for discovery and reach across social platforms and how their use could be improved. It covers Chris Messina, the original inventor of the hashtag in 2007, engaging with Bluesky co-developer Paul Frazee’s proposals for change, including opt-out controls and a potential separation of hashtags from posts. Frazee envisions a separate field or dropdown for hashtags, and Tumblr is cited as an example that supports spaces between words in a hashtag. Messina cautions against altering hashtag syntax in a way that harms cross-platform interoperability and instead advocates for better screen-reader support. The piece highlights challenges such as spammy hashtag use, readability issues for readers relying on assistive tech, and platform fragmentation. It notes varying effectiveness of hashtags across platforms (boosting engagement on some like Instagram/TikTok but not on others) and frames the debate around achieving universal operability without sacrificing utility.

Privacy Pop-Ups 2.0: GDPR Consent Methods

Publishers are adapting to GDPR by revamping consent pop-ups as enforcement nears on May 25, 2018. The article surveys early implementations across major players and notes no single standard for obtaining consent. Google shows an optional privacy reminder on its homepage and YouTube, linking to an updated policy and a hub to disable history tracking and ad personalization. Oath has a mandatory consent check on Tumblr, while Yahoo and HuffPost still use standard cookie notifications on other sites. The Daily Mail presents a cookie-based flow that leads to a screen listing ad partners, with per-partner controls or a one-click block-all. ITV enforces a compulsory consent check on first visit, with explicit consent required before continuing. The piece highlights ongoing experimentation and expects further changes as GDPR interpretations evolve.