Social Media Digest: Instagram Popvid, Facebook Slurs, Twitter MPs

  • Social Media

Welcome back to our weekly instalment of what’s hot in the world of social media. In case you missed what happened over the past week, here’s a run-down of our top five: SEO Social Media

1. A great reason why we all need to be careful when we update our public social media profiles here: A primary school governing body has apologised to parents after a message appeared on Facebook, apparently posted by a teacher, which described locals as inbred. Excerpts from an online exchange were printed out and hung on fencing outside Westcott primary school in Hull. One said: “No wonder everyone is thick… inbreeding must damage brain development.” Another referred to seeing pupils queuing in a discount store. The online exchange, allegedly between teachers at the school, has now been taken down.

2. MPs have voted to allow the use of Twitter during Commons debates after parliamentary authorities moved to ban it in January.On Thursday, MPs voted by 206 votes to 63 against a move to block the use of Twitter. Speaking against Twitter, the Conservative MP Sir Alan Haselhurst said he appreciated his position might make him “a leading candidate for the dinosaur of the year award”. Luciana Berger, Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree, spoke in favour of Twitter and said only two countries in Europe currently banned MPs from tweeting during proceedings and the UK should not join them. Those MPs concerned about losing the “decorum” in the chamber, Berger said, should consider those of their colleagues who sometimes have “a little snooze” in the house.

3. Foursquare on Wednesday rolled out Foursquare 4.0, a new version of its iPhone app. The updated app now includes Radar, a feature that reminds you to check into a place if you’re nearby. Radar builds on Foursquare’s lists feature, which debuted in August. Lists allow you to make crowd-sourced lists of places worth exploring, such as “Best Korean Food in Queens” or “Lower East Side Coffee Shops with Free W-Fi.”

4. UK indie-rockers, the Vaccines, recently released a new music video for their single “Wetsuit” — made almost entirely from photos fans submitted through Instagram, an iPhone app that lets you share photos. “We always talk about breaking down the barriers between the band and the fans,” said Justin Young, lead singer. “We like sharing music with them, meeting them, interacting with them, as most bands do. So this felt like the ultimate interaction. Instagram was suggested to give photos taken on people’s phone a nice warm feel.”

5. Our latest infographic (above) demonstrates why content is so important for search. Click on the image to go to a high res version.