Plus: How people in 21 industries use AI; cryptocurrency takes credit for throwing sex toys at WNBA games.
Usually, the rollout of a new social media feature is a cause for celebration for a brand. Something they’ve long toiled on behind the scenes is finally out in the world for people to enjoy. Sure, you might see some mild complaints because people hate change, but these usually blow over quickly.
But Meta has walked into an unusual situation with its new Instagram Maps feature. Maps allows users to opt in to share their live location while they’re using the app. This will be displayed on a map at the top of users inboxes.
In Meta’s blog post announcing the feature, it takes great pains to explain that the feature is opt-in and can be turned off at any time. An entire bulleted section goes into detail about various settings that can control who sees your location.
And yet the New York Times reported that Maps “caused confusion, and even panic, for some users.” Locations shared in the past — which appeared with the post but were not collected in any one location — began to appear on Maps, catching users off guard. One user said their location appeared on the map without opting in and was accurate enough to pinpoint the street they were on, though they had tagged only the city of Cincinnati.
The app has even inspired a brief moment of bipartisanship as Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sent a letter asking Meta to roll the feature back.
“While Meta has argued that the feature is inactive unless users opt in to sharing their location, some consumers have reported that their location was automatically shared without their consent,” the senators wrote in their letter, according to NBC News. “This addition is a cause of particular concern for us when it comes to children and teens that are active on Instagram.”
Why it matters: The Instagram team seemed somewhat stunned by the confusion around the feature. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, took an active role in trying to explain how the feature was working on Threads.
Over and over again, he told people that what was appearing on the map was not their live location, but rather the location they had tagged in Reels. Still, people said the feature made them feel unsafe or was confusing.
“Why are you not listening to people when we tell you we don’t want this? Instead of arguing with people in the comments, why not just accept that it is a bad idea? Isn’t that how platforms build trust? Isn’t that how you earn loyalty?” one Threads user said in response to one of Mosseri’s explanations.
While Mosseri’s hands-on approach is commendable, it’s clear that putting both live locations (opt-in, available only to a curated list) and general location tags (chosen per piece of content, available to all who can see the post) caused widespread confusion and fear. While Mosseri also said Meta would quickly implement new changes to make it more clear what was happening on the map, his responses also come off as defensive and dismissive. It’s not the feature that’s bad — it’s users who are wrong. On such a sensitive topic as privacy, this doesn’t play well. When there’s widespread confusion, it’s OK to admit you were wrong. Fix the problem, communicate about how it’s being fixed and move on.
Editor’s Top Reads:
- The New York Times has released a fascinating look at how 21 people in different industries are incorporating AI into their workflows. While none work specifically in the field of communications, there are still plenty of great ideas here to get your creativity flowing in a way that moves beyond simply asking your AI tool to write text for you. From quickly researching a massive wine list and selecting the vintages that fit onto a restaurant’s menu to asking if legal text would confuse a layperson, to creating an inspiration board for creative work, these ideas can help you streamline your work without sacrificing your own skill and knowledge. Give some a shot and let us know what you think.
- A cryptocurrency is taking responsibility for the recent “trend” of throwing sex toys onto the court at WNBA games. “Our group is put together to make people laugh, make meme coins fun and funny again, and try to revive a culture of crypto that’s been lost,” an anonymous backer told NBC News. The group denied that throwing sex toys at female basketball players was sexist and called the launch of their coin a success. “People are talking about it. They’re seeing it in places relevant to everyday society. It’s why pranks are important to spreading the message — it’s about providing a cool, new, safe place for memes,” the backer said. While people may be talking about it, at least one person has been arrested for throwing objects at the basketball players. And the backer does not appear to have considered whether hurling sexual items at the players provides a safe space for them. Perhaps this stunt did get publicity for their coin and resonated with their niche audience. But no stunt is worth sacrificing the safety or dignity of other people.
- Target is facing yet another challenge. Amid backlash for pulling back from DEI pledges and falling sales, the retailer is also searching for a new CEO as Brian Cornell steps aside after 10 years. Whether that next candidate comes from inside Target or from another organization will likely serve as a signal for whether major change will come — or a continuation of existing strategies. The Wall Street Journal reported that 96% of large and medium investors surveyed by Mizuho Securities wanted an external candidate. “Target has gone off the rails basically,” said David Bellinger, a senior research analyst with Mizuho told the Journal. “A way to promote wholesale change is to go with an external guy.” This shows just how crucial communications will be in telling the story of the search process, as well as the next candidate. People will read a great deal into whether or not the next leader is an outsider — clear, consistent messaging around how that person is chosen and what their vision for the future is will be key in setting Target up for success moving forward.
Allison Carter is editorial director of PR Daily and Ragan.com. Follow her on LinkedIn.
The post The Scoop: Instagram Map rollout worries users, senators appeared first on PR Daily.
