In a move reminiscent of when Instagram shifted to an algorithm-based feed in June 2016, the “For You” feed became the default for Twitter on iOS this week.

The social network said in a Twitter Support tweet that the For You and “Following” tabs replace “Home” and “Latest,” and users can swipe between the two feeds.

Twitter attempted a similar shift in February 2016, only to restore its chronological timeline in September 2018.

With this week’s update, Twitter users can swipe left and right between the feeds, rather than having to change their settings under the sparkle icon in the top-right corner of the application.

Elon Musk said in a tweet last month, “Main timeline should allow for an easy sideways swipe between top, latest, trending and topics that you follow. Twitter search nav already sorta does this after you search.”

Now you have a full-time employment offer, until you don’t.

Engineer and writer Gergely Orsoz tweeted earlier this week that Meta began rescinding full-time job offers for positions in its London office, particularly for recent graduates who were due to start in February.

A spokesperson for the company confirmed the move, saying, “As we continue to reassess our hiring needs, we’ve made the difficult decision to withdraw offers to a small number of candidates. While this decision did not come lightly, it allows us to remain thoughtful as we readjust our hiring through 2023 to align with our highest-priority work.”

Orsoz reported that despite the first layoffs in Meta’s history, which impacted more than 11,000 jobs last November, recruiters assured candidates that full-time offers would be honored, and offers for non-full-time engineering positions were the ones being affected.

He added that he knew of at least 20 recent graduates who were impacted.

Meta will begin phasing out support for its original virtual reality headset, the Oculus Quest 1, which debuted in May 2019 but was no longer offered for sale once the Quest 2 debuted in October 2020.

The company said in a help post that people will still be able to use their Quest 1 headset and available applications, but new features will not be shipping for Quest 1, and users will no longer be able o create or join a party.

While Meta will continue to provide bug fixes and security patches for the Quest 1 system software until next year, users will lose access to the Meta Horizon Home social features March 9, at which point they will no longer be able to invite other users to their Home or visit other people’s Home.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said last October that the Meta Quest 3 is expected to debut sometime in 2023.

A new report from Forrester, “Twitter Isn’t Canceled; It’s Downgraded,” stresses that Twitter is far more relevant to users than advertisers and provides suggestions on how marketers should treat the platform moving forward.

Forrester data reveals that 22% of online adults in the U.S. used Twitter weekly in 2022, well behind Facebook (63%) and Instagram (40%).

The company said in the introduction to its report, “Twitter ranks highly on the cultural relevancy scale but low on the advertiser priority list. It’s where news breaks, politicians debate, activists organize and niche communities meet. And despite Twitter users threatening to leave the platform, application downloads are up since Elon Musk took over. No other social media platform—not even Reddit, Mastodon or Hive—can replace Twitter for consumers.”

Principal analyst Kelsey Chickering delved further into the advertising side in a blog post, writing, “The advertising community has given Twitter more oxygen than it deserves since Elon Musk took over. The reality is that Twitter has never been a critical media channel in the overall media mix, comprising just 1.3% of 2022 digital ad spend based on Forrester’s 2022 Advertising Forecast, U.S. Why? The ad experience on Twitter has never quite caught up with other ‘legacy’ social media platforms such as Meta’s family of apps. According to media buyers and social media strategists who spoke with Forrester, Twitter doesn’t quite deliver on lower-funnel performance.”

Forrester said in the report that advertising executives it spoke with believe Twitter’s direct-response ad products pale in comparison to those from Meta when it comes to meeting lower-funnel media goals, and they only rely on Twitter for mid- to upper-funnel media goals like awareness and consideration.

Advertisers also told Forrester Twitter’s targeting and personalization capabilities are less mature than those of other social media platforms.

Forrester suggested that marketers treat Twitter as an emerging channel within the advertising maturity spectrum, breaking out that spectrum as follows:

Always on:

• Meta: Ad formats for every part of the customer lifecycle and proven performance

Campaign-dependent:

• Pinterest: Original Pin formats still useful but finding its way in video and commerce
• Snap: Leader in augmented reality and advanced in providing creative resources to brands
• LinkedIn: Top channel to capture consumers when they’re in a business mindset

Test and learn:

• Reddit: Rising star in advertising capabilities and advanced in brand safety
• TikTok: Social media’s darling but hard to succeed without creator partnerships
• Twitter: Unevolved ad experience and growing brand safety concerns, but still offers a unique experience for live updates and news

The research firm added that marketers should consider the following questions when planning for the remainder of 2023:

• Will my brand consistently appear in a space that complies with our safety guidelines? Forrester noted that Twitter’s policy on brand safety and moderation is a moving target at best, suggesting that as these policies change, brands should evaluate them against their own overall digital media brand safety guidelines.
• To what degree is my target audience spending significant time on Twitter? Forrester said even if an advertiser’s target audience loved Twitter before, they may be shopping around, so brands should determine if their time on Twitter is growing or waning and whether they’ve transferred that time to other platforms.
• What share of social media spend has Twitter historically held on my media plan? If Twitter hasn’t taken up a large portion of a company’s media spend to date, the dollars are probably easily absorbed elsewhere.
• What material impact has Twitter had on our business results? Forrester believes advertisers should look at whether they have seen a dip in brand health metrics or sales after shifting their Twitter budget to other channels.
• Does Twitter deliver an ad or user experience that’s not available on other platforms? Forrester suggests keeping a pulse on Twitter’s changing ad experience and whether other channels can deliver on a brand’s goals and audience.

Chickering wrote in the blog post, “Advertisers such as Chevrolet and Chipotle paused their Twitter spend for fear of appearing beside extremist, racist and inflammatory content. The Washington Post found ads for over 40 advertisers on white nationalist Twitter pages recently reinstated by Musk. At the same time, not every major advertiser has decided that Twitter is unsafe. Amazon continues to run paid media on the platform. Musk also introduced a ‘flash sale’ in an attempt to lure lost advertisers back.”

She suggested that brands that are not comfortable with Twitter in its current state under Musk:

• Refrain from posting any brand content to Twitter. Direct social media teams’ efforts to other channels that meet brand safety requirements.
• Monitor and respond to customer-service-related questions. If customers are reaching out for help or have questions about products, continue responding in order to ensure a positive customer experience.
• Listen for relevant cultural trends or product feedback. As usage continues on the platform, use social listening tools to find out what trends are popping and how consumers are talking about your company’s category to inform your marketing strategy.
• Test other social media channels. Twitter has downshifted into a social media startup rather than an established platform. Roll your previously dedicated Twitter dollars into a pool of test dollars for channels including TikTok, Reddit and Snapchat.

Finally, Forrester shared the reasons cited in a survey last November of 101 adults in the U.S. who stopped using Twitter or planned to do so in the next month:

• 31% found content on the platform to be too hateful
• 29% said there were too many bots or fake accounts
• 28% found content on the platform to be too political
• 21% didn’t like the amount of misinformation being spread
• 21% thought the platform’s moderation process was too strict
• 18% felt they needed to stop for their mental health
• 17% don’t support Musk as Twitter’s new owner and CEO

WhatsApp allows each user to create an avatar to represent them throughout the messaging application. Once a user creates an avatar, they can create a profile photo featuring their avatar to use in the app.

Our guide will show you how to create an avatar profile photo in the WhatsApp mobile app.

Note: These screenshots were captured in the WhatsApp app on iOS.

Step 1: Tap “Settings” in the bottom-right corner of the WhatsApp app.

Step 2: Tap “Avatar.”

Step 3: Tap “Create Profile Photo.”

Step 4: Tap your desired avatar pose.

Step 5: Tap your desired background color for the profile photo.

Step 6: When you’re done customizing your profile photo, tap “Done” in the top-right corner of the screen. Note: Once you tap “Done,” your profile photo will be updated in the WhatsApp app.

Snap Inc. is pulling the plug Jan. 25 on its Snap Camera desktop application, which debuted in October 2018 as a way for Snapchatters to use the platform’s filters during video calls on other platforms.

The company said in a support post that the desktop app will no longer be available for download or use as of Jan. 25, adding that people can still use lenses on their PCs via Snapchat for Web and suggesting that users uninstall the app, go to their video settings and change the camera source from Snap Camera to their default camera.

Snap further clarified in a tweet from the Snap AR account, “We’re adjusting our web-based investments for the augmented reality creator and developer community to focus on expanding access to Camera Kit for Web.”

WhatsApp allows users to create an avatar that can be used to represent them throughout the messaging application. Once a user creates an avatar, they can update it in the future if they want to change its appearance, clothing and/or accessories.

Our guide will show you how to edit your avatar in the WhatsApp mobile app.

Note: These screenshots were captured in the WhatsApp app on iOS.

Step 1: Tap “Settings” in the bottom-right corner of the WhatsApp app.

Step 2: Tap “Avatar.”

Step 3: Tap “Edit Avatar.”

Step 4: Make your desired changes to your avatar.

Step 5: When you’re done updating your avatar, tap “Done” in the top-right corner of the screen.

Step 6: Tap the “Save changes” button on the confirmation window that appears.

Step 7: Tap the “Next” button at the bottom of the screen to finish this process.