Another month has passed and the digital world has changed again! Here are what we feel were 21 most important developments in Digital during October:

1. User Activity Logs on Facebook Messenger

You can now see how long a user has been active on messenger. But there’s a caveat here, if the user has been inactive for longer than an hour the time marker disappears.

2. Facebook Adds ‘New Member’ Designation to Groups

New members on Groups now have a ‘New Member’ tag that appears below their names and also works to remind and encourage admins to drop a message welcoming new members to the Group in which all members of the group are automatically tagged.

3. Choose Who Can Comment On Your Instagram

Something many have been waiting for, you can now control exactly who’s able to comment on your posts and even block some accounts from commenting at all! Instagram FTW!

4. Facebook Messenger Introduces Advertising Objectives For Brands

Digital Marketers promoting their brands will need to pay more attention to their campaigns from now on and have their objectives clearly defined. Facebook will display ads based on the advertising objectives you select, making the process much more efficient and allowing even more precise targeting.

5. Interactive Instagram Polling Stickers

Ever wanted to ask a question with a picture and get feedback? Now you can with interactive polling stickers from Instagram. Capture an image, ask your question, give your followers answer options and Instagram your polling sticker. Then see results from friends and followers as they vote on your poll in real time.

6. Twitter is ‘Happening Now!’

Twitter unveiled their ‘Happening Now’ feature, which is a dedicated timeline of tweets about a particular topic. Currently the feature focuses on sports in the US but is expected to expand and advance into other topics as well like entertainment and breaking news. The Happening Now feature will push these tweets to the top of users’ timelines so they stay in the know

7. Facebook Rewards QR Accessible To More Users

Facebook Rewards QR Codes let users use the Facebook app on their phone to collect and redeem rewards when they make purchases at participating merchants. Originally launched earlier this year as limited feature, Facebook is now beginning to roll it out to a larger user base and we’re likely to see more expansion in the future.

8. Facebook Workplace Launches Chat Apps for Mac and PC

Facebook’s enterprise collaboration platform, Facebook Workplace saw its launch of chat apps in October for both PC and Mac. The chat platform features screen sharing and according to Facebook the desktop app is still in beta testing.

9. Selectively Mute Comments & Posts On Facebook

US users can now use the ‘Snooze Button’ to temporarily un-follow Groups, Pages or Friends for 24 hours or 7 days or even 30 days, allowing users to better control the content on their news feeds.

10. New VR Products From Facebook

The Oculus Connect Conference saw the release of many new products like the Oculus Go, a new stand-alone VR headset and the Oculus Dash, a VR replacement for a computer screen. New methods of implementing VR in sales and marketing with Oculus for Business were also announced along with new means to share VR like 3D posts in the news feed.

11. Auto Play Video Ads Make An Appearance On LinkedIn

LinkedIn has started playing around with auto play video ads on its mobile platform. Currently the implementation is very limited but has the potential for wide distribution. LinkedIn themselves claim that video performs 20 times better than other posts, making it the highest performing content type on the platform. Advertisers should be excited about this new feature.

12 Screen Sharing On Facebook Live

Facebook Live now allows users to directly share their screens and can be found in the Live Interface.

13 Pinterest Ads Expanded To All Businesses, Now With Auto-Targeting

Pinterest search ads are now available to ‘businesses of all sizes’ and can be accessed through the Pinterest Ads Manager, which is a self-serve ad-buying tool. Auto-targeting for search is also being added.

14 Facebook’s Explore Feed Made Its Debut

Posts from pages and groups, excluding content shared by users and their friends, along with content from groups users may be interested in, now appear on the Explore Feed and not on the News Feed. This has serious implications for digital marketers, which you can read about here, where we’ve covered the topic in more depth.

15 Twitter Introduces Video Website Cards

Twitter has rolled out a new ad format called Video Website Cards that, according to them, combine the power of video with the ability to drive users back to a site to learn more or take action in a moment. The new feature will create more personalized interactions between brands and users and feature customizable headlines, web page previews and can work with a number of different brand objectives. Twitter Video Website Cards are available to all advertisers globally.

16 Resume Feature In Testing At Facebook

Facebook is testing a dedicated Work Histories feature that’ll let users list their professional experience, education, contact details, image and other professional details. This is great because when this feature is finally introduced, users will be able to share a professional looking page with recruiters and everyone else, insulated from any personal photos, updates and other information users may not wish to share publicly.

17 Share Your Location Live (& Safely) On WhatsApp

WhatsApp’s new location sharing functionality lets you securely and conveniently share your location in real time with family or friends. This is great for personal security as users’ most intimate contacts can see where they’re at in real time. Most importantly, users have full control over who can see their location information and for how long.

18 Voice & Video Are Coming To WhatsApp Groups

Speculation about this feature was rife when, as WhatsApp announced location sharing, people saw voice and video call icons on a WhatsApp group chat used during the announcement. This new feature is likely to be rolled out with future updates possibly along with a new feature that’ll allow you to delete messages from a chat within 7 minutes of sending it.

19 Smart Replies For LinkedIn Messaging

Using machine learning, LinkedIn Messaging will be able to generate smart replies. Users will see three possible suggested responses that are contextual and relevant to the conversation. The feature will roll out globally in English for mobile and desktop. Future plans for the feature include more complex suggestions including names and responses in other languages.

20 Facebook Plays With In-App Purchases & Ads For Instant Games On Messenger

In collaboration with ‘select game publishers’ Facebook is developing interstitial and rewarded video ads and in-app purchases within Instant Games on Messenger. It’s also going to become easier for developers to launch and submit games directly onto the platform with more robust tools for measurement and ad optimization. Currently a closed beta platform for developer partners, Facebook is soon to open the platform out once tools and terms are firmly in place.

21. Split-Screen, Two Person Live Video Now On Instagram

Instagram broadcasters can now invite viewers to join their live video streams within the app. After the user is added to the live stream, the screen splits into two with host on top and guest below. The feature is now available globally on both android and iOS.

And that’s a wrap! What do you think? Did we miss anything great? Let us know in the comments.