carve

The world of social media is not the same as it was just a few months ago. Have you noticed the recent changes?

Instagram went for a complete makeover! Their new simplified logo and black and white timeline theme allows the photos in your feed to stand out even more. They’ve also extended the video duration to 1 minute - Thank goodness! (We thought the 15 seconds was a bit restrictive). And finally, the dreaded algorithm timeline. Our timeline’s are no longer chronological. Instead, photos show up in the order Instagram thinks you’ll enjoy the most.

Facebook have introduced a live video streaming feature which is practically a built-in YouNow and Periscope. 

Twitter have finally answered our prayers!! We can now retweet ourselves and there’s even a built in Giphy keyboard. (Snazzy)

With all these recent changes, we decided to share a few extras on the #teamcarve wish list! 

1. Editing snapchat stories. 

- Ever record a snapchat but want to trim off the beginning or end? This simple feature could save lives! 

2. Twitter badges

- A verified tick is all well and good however, wouldn’t it be cool if we could categorise these important figures. Eg: Singers would have a blue microphone badge. This would allow users to be more creative in their Twitter bio. 

3. Instagram analytics

- Your photo might slay but where are the likes? If Instagram would show us how many people stopped to look at your photo, wouldn’t that be sweet!

4. Monentise your Instagram posts

- We all post food selfies our recent purchases for the gram. But what if we could earn a percentage from this? By installing a ‘buy now’ button, our followers would have the choice to directly purchase the featured product and we’d earn a percentage of the sale.

5. Facebook grid

- Facebook churns out so much content that it feels like a never ending stream. How will we ever see everything? Similar to Tumblr themes, Facebook should introduce a grid view option - Giving us the choice to view multiple posts at once. 

6. Personalised Facebook news feed

- You might not care for Jack’s selfies, however, his opinion on the #EUReferendum may take your interest. Much like Spotify radio’s ‘more like this, less like this’ feature.

7. Instagram view more

- With the new algorithm feed, it’s become even harder to stay in the loop. With this ‘view more’ feature, when you view a post, you’ll be able to swipe left to see more photos from that account or similar.

8. Twitter character limit extension

- Yes it is true! Twitter will soon be relaxing their strict character limit rule but removing media attachments from the limit! Yasss!  

9. Spotify social

 - Want know your friend’s favourite songs this week? Don’t know when Beyoncé’s new album is dropping? Spotify would be that extra bit more cooler if it was more sociable. 

10. Snapchat timestamp! 

- Why oh why did they take this feature away from us? If there’s anything I want from Snapchat, it’s the timestamp! To some, it might not seem like such a big deal. But when you follow individuals who Snap like there’s no tomorrow, it was really helpful to know just how many seconds, minutes, or even hours of your life you’re sacrificing while viewing their story. 

Dear Snapchat, please bring the timestamp back! 

Written by Jodie | Social Media Content Creator

@_carve | @jodiedesigns 

Snapchat has become one of the hottest social networking apps of 2016 and if you’re not using it, it’s not too late to join in! We’re going to tell you 3 easy ways to up your Snapchat game!

1. Have double the fun with 2 filters!

Sometimes one filter isn’t enough. To use two filters, simply select the filter you want by swiping left --> hold your finger down with one hand --> then swipe left with your other hand to apply another filter 

2. Don’t want someone to view your story?

Want to post something on snapchat but don’t want a particular person to see? Simply go to your settings --> Who can: View my story --> select ‘Custom’ and select the user/s you wish to not see your story. Blocking someone can be very awkward so this solves that issue as the person you’ve selected will never know. Note: This trick means that your story will only go out to your Snapchat friends. 

3. Win Snapchat trophies

Source: Huffingtonpost

WhatsApp is one of the world’s most popular instant messaging apps, with features that constantly improve user experience. My personal favourite WhatsApp feature is receiving photos through the app because the photo automatically saves into my camera roll - you can disable this feature in settings if you prefer.

WhatsApp has now added 3 new font styles to allow users to format their text. So whether you’re sending an important message to your colleagues or typing a heartfelt message to a loved one, enjoy these 3 new font styles to further add meaning to your messages.

For bold: *insert text here* For italics: _insert text here_ For strikethrough: ~insert text here~

I think it’s safe to say that we can appreciate each social network for what it is. However, it seems that as social media is rapidly becoming more competitive than anyone could ever imagine, platforms such as Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are adopting similar features in order to compete for the top spot.

The year is now 2016, and Instagram’s talks of introducing the algorithmic feed that Facebook is renowned for is becoming very real! Instagram want to sort posts based on user’s interests rather than posted chronologically.

This is particularly terrible for startups and the creative industry as the beauty of a realtime feed is having the benefit of strategically posting at times when your followers are most likely to be on Instagram, eg: in the morning or after work, thus maximising the amount of exposure and interaction. An algorithmic feed will completely destroy the power the user has at the moment.

However, this new feature may improve user experience and benefit more niche accounts as their posts will no longer be 

The algorithmic feed may work as a great marketing tool to work closely with independent users who use their profile to promote products and earn money through Instagram. Users may have the option to pay a subscription fee to boost their post, or have added features such as a shop now button. This could really improve the marketing side of Instagram as there is currently only 1 way to post links which isn’t practical for those who promote through the app. However, would regular users want that? What do you think? 

1. LIVE TWEETS - Be apart of the conversation!

Whether it’s during a TV show, an event or a news story circulating the social media hemisphere, get involved! Just keep one thing in mind, make sure your chosen topic fits in with what your brand stands for. 

2. POST REGULARLY - Trust me, it helps

No-one wants to follow an inactive account. It is ideal to tweet at least once a day (at the bare minimum) - weekends are an exception. By posting regularly, it allows potential followers to be sure they will see content from you, otherwise what’s the point?

If you struggle to think of content everyday, you can schedule posts ahead of time. 

3. HASHTAGS - Use them, don’t abuse them

Hashtags are a quick and easy way to both label and group tweets together. They are particularly useful when running a campaign so users can keep up to date with all relevant content.

4. VARIETY - A bit of this, a bit of that

Twitter users like to see accounts that offer a variety of content. This ranges from original tweets, replies, quote tweets, GIFs and more! Make sure you provide a range of content on your Twitter profile to further engage both current and potential followers. This will keep them coming back for more!

5. APPEARANCE - Dress to impress

It may sound silly to some but your Twitter profile has to look good. Choose a clean avatar (profile photo) that best represents your business - whether that’s a logo or a portrait photo. Make sure your header photo, theme colour and avatar tie together nicely.

Today on Wednesday 16th March, the day of The Real Business Challenge final has finally arrived! Held at 8 Northumberland Avenue, the official centre of London. The Real Business Challenge is an exciting education programme for secondary schools, colleges, and universities in Great Britain run by qualified teachers, employed by Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE).

The students are challenged to compete against each other, pitching their business plans to the panel of judges who then have the tough decision of selecting the best teams to represent their region in the finals alongside Coca Cola’s business experts live on stage.

2016 has seen #TeamCarve have the pleasure of touring the UK with CCE, educating secondary school students on how to design mobile apps as part of the “Keep Britain Tidy” campaign.

As well as running mobile app design workshops, Carve were those cool people capturing highlights from the day.  

Now for the bit that everyone’s been waiting for...

Queen Mary's School won the litter campaign,

In 3rd place was Harrow Way Community School from Andover

In 2nd place was Manchester High School for Girls

and finally, in first place was Cramlington Learning Village from Northumberland! 

Will you like me on Facebook?

I sit here writing this blog with over 5,000 Facebook friends and profile photos with hundreds of likes; with Facebook offering a new range of 'emotional' likes including 'wow', 'love' and 'angry' - the closest you'll get to a dislike button, we ask:

How important are Facebook 'likes'?

We create content for a number of clients in a variety of industries and we're often asked, 'why aren't more people liking our content?' this comes from a point of view of needing to be liked and praised for what we do. We don't measure ourselves based on the number of likes we get.

Is that why we tell people what we're up to, so they can 'like' it? OR do we just want people to know what we're doing - but then is it important that we measure this?

From a business perspective, as much as it might look nice for your posts and content to get lots of likes and comments it shouldn't be something you measure the success of. It's important to look at the reach and impressions that your content receives - remember that a video view on Facebook counts if someone watches just three seconds of it. So the engagement that post creates is a far better measurable tool.

'Likes' aren't a complete vanity point however, when you first post any type of content, Facebook automatically only releases it to a small number of your followers, the more followers that like that post the more people it's then released to - which is where posts can trend. I'm sure you've all been surprised by one posts that has hundreds of likes and another you find just your Mum liking.

I'm guilty of writing a post and then only going onto Facebook to see how many likes it has received (and by whom). It's nice to see what posts friends and followers do engage with, only if to educate yourself on what type of content you should write more of in the future. 

We're a fan of the new variety of likes and we'll definitely be making the most of them.

1. DO: Upload daily! The more people get used to your face, the more inclined they’ll be to like your photos.

2. DO: Share behind the scenes photos of your business and life. After all, Instagram is about embracing the inner voyeur in you.

3. DO: Decide on a theme for your photos. White frames? Black frames? Squares? Landscape? Portrait? Faded? Bright colours? When people visit your profile, the first thing they’ll see is a collection of your photos arranged in a grid format. It is important to have some form of consistency amongst your photos. Having a clear theme for your Instagram encourages people to follow you as they’ll know what to expect from your feed.

4. DO: Try to get featured or your photos reposted by a bigger profile. You can do so by tagging relevant companies in your photos and getting involved in conversation.

5. DO: Create iPhone shortcuts to hashtag in seconds! 

1. DON’T: Like every single photo if you don’t truly like it. No-one likes an Instagroupie.

2. DON’T: Upload a stream of photos using a grid app like PicSlit. It clogs up people’s feed and drastically reduces your likes per photo. Also, nobody likes spammers (of any kind).

3. DON’T: Upload pixelated images. It’s better to have 10 crisp and relevant images than 100 messy irrelevant photos. Quality over quantity is a real thing on Instagram.

4. DON’T: Abuse hashtags! While hashtagging is a completely revolutionary way of grouping things together, don’t abuse them. Some people have been known to repeatedly copy, paste and delete popular hashtags on their photos in order to reap the benefits of getting more likes, however this will only get you in trouble in the long run. Instagram only allows a limit of 30 hashtags per photo and they will not be shy to terminate your account.

5. DON’T: Forget to include a caption for each photo. They’re important!

I hope these tips have helped, 

HAPPY INSTAGRAMMING!

It’s as if we thought the day would never come! Likes are one of the most common ways to show engagement on social media. They show the creator what their followers like, which also lets the creator judge what content is most popular. 

Leading photo sharing app, Instagram, is all about the likes as the main two features are either to ‘like’ or ‘comment’. Facebook and YouTube follow closely behind as both sites largely use the ‘like’ feature. It seems as though every social media website was using the button so it was only right that the second most popular social networking site, Twitter, joined the party. 

Twitter replaces the star button for a heart shaped button. Gone are the days where you can favourite a tweet. The company say that the favourite button caused confusion as its purpose was not clear. They hope to attract new users with the ‘like’ feature. Once pressed, the heart shaped button will turn red (very appropriate). 

"We want to make Twitter easier and more rewarding to use, and we know that at times the star could be confusing, especially to newcomers," product manager Akarshan Kumar said in a blog post. "You might like a lot of things, but not everything can be your favourite."

Favourites were initially designed as a bookmarking feature. There are not enough hours in the day to read every single tweet so it’s always good to save some for that long train journey home. Many people used the ‘favourite’ feature to acknowledge a reply, or to show their agreement. 

I’m undecided on my thoughts on this huge change. Is a ‘like’ an accurate message I was to convey to my followers? I’m not sure. However, one thing I do know is, the heart does make the app look that extra bit more pretty. ❤️

We’ve been waiting all year for this! (Well technically 10 months). But the fact is, Halloweek is here and with Halloween fast approaching (in 4 days to be exact), one important question is on everyone’s lips: What are you going as?

If you’re still lost for ideas, here’s some inspiration from #TeamCarve...

Production Manager/Videographer, Ed is going as keyboard cat and when asked why, he responded with: “Maybe if we were all a bit more like keyboard cat, we’d have a bit more joy in our lives.”

Our editor, Lewis is going as a sexy vampire. Think Matt Bomer from American Horror Story, meets Edward Cullen (very nice). 

Creative Director, Darrel is going as Daredevil from the Netflix TV Series. This one is going to be epic!

We hope we’ve been able to give you a little inspiration for Halloween costume ideas and if all else fails, you can always go as a Sim!

Create. Creative. Creativity. These 3 words are enough to make anyone nervous. Are you creative? What is creativity? Many tend to have a preexisting thought of how to be creative and what qualifies a person to be so. However, many of these thoughts are in-fact myths, let me explain why:

Source: _Carve Instagram

MYTH #1: Creativity is only needed at the top

TRUTH: In order to get to the ‘top’, it is essential to be original and continue to generate fresh ideas to stay a cut above the rest. Originality requires creative thinking so it is vital to exercise your creative side from the start, even if you’re on the climb to the ‘top’. 

Source: _Carve Instagram

MYTH #2: People are creative (or not) based on what they do

TRUTH: Creativity comes from within. Creativity is not just about painting a beautiful landscape or composing a #1 hit single - it has nothing to do with your profession. There are incredibly creative scientists. Labels do not dictate or limit your creativity. 

Source: Voices.nationalgeographic

MYTH #3: Creativity can’t be developed

TRUTH: Ever heard of the 10,000 hour rule? If you practice something for an extensive amount of time, you’ll become an expert at it. Continue to keep your creative juices flowing and watch the benefits work for you.

Source: _Carve Instagram

MYTH #4: Creativity isn’t my job

TRUTH: It is within your best interests to exercise your creativity in whatever you do. It is your job to be creative whenever you can as being creative is the best way to find a better way of doing something. 

Source: cnbc

MYTH #5: My technical skills and experience are enough

TRUTH: Times are changing. Traditionally, people would apply for jobs by looking in the local newspaper or industry magazine for a job position and apply by posting their CV to the address given.Now, things are so much different and there have even been reports of candidates posting gifts to recruiters in the hope of creating a good impression and landing themselves the job. This is just an example of thinking outside the box and creating new opportunities for yourself by thinking creatively.

Sources: forbes, noomi