Facebook announced on Thursday they have green-lit M, their virtual digital assistant for Messenger that Facebook began testing in August 2015. Suggestions from M is available to all iOS and Android users in the U.S currently, with other countries being included later, timing TBD.

As a refresher, this artificial intelligence makes suggestions based on users’ conversation within messenger and provides actions that users can take. Similar to technology like Siri, the more you use M, the more M can help you make plans, find a ride, etc. The list of examples M can provide, includes:

• Sending stickers: M shares fun sticker suggestions for your daily life interactions, like, “Thank you,” or, “Bye-bye.”
• Paying or requesting money: M recognizes when people are discussing payments and gives them the option of easily sending or requesting money.
• Sharing your location: M can suggest an option to share your location during a conversation.
• Making plans: If people are talking about getting together, M helps with coordinating a plan.
• Starting a poll (in group conversations only): Have a hard time making decisions in a group? M lets you set a poll topic and vote in group conversations.
• Getting a ride: Talking about going somewhere? M suggests, “Get a Ride,” and shares an option of Lyft or Uber.

For those who are not into M, users can either ignore suggestions or mute M in their messenger settings.

Why It’s Hot

• Facebook is taking messenger to another level with personalization and making the journey from communication to action more seamless
• Pointing out that this could be another Facebook venture into a new feature that may fall flat.

The U.S. Border and Protection (CBP) has plans to distribute a proposal that would ask travelers from China to share their social media profiles, platforms and handles that they use according to Politico. 

Travelers who hold both both business and visitor visas would be affected — which is almost 3.6 Million applicants each year. The mission of the movement is to “facilitate legitimate travel,” however travelers do have the right to option no. Without any negative consequences.

The U.S. has already started scanning social accounts for travelers under the Visa Waiver program. Of those that have been affected, the majority are visiting from Europe.

Why It’s Hot (and thought starters)

• Following President Trump’s failed executive ban order banning people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States, the country took action. Will we see the same response for social media rights?
• Social Media is private content shared in a public space. This will be a lesson in understanding how much the government can intervene on these platforms.
• Popular sites like Facebook are blocked in China, with the majority of Chinese citizens using platforms like Weibo or Renren. Will we start to see social platforms blocked in the U.S.?

According to a report by social media analytics firm Quintly, there has been a 43 percent overall increase of Instagram posts that include emojis.

The study found that posts without emojis had an interaction rate of 1.77% versus posts with emojis seeing a 2.07% engagement rate.

With both popular and brand accounts shying away from standard copy (businesses are equally likely to use emojis in images as well as in video posts) and moving into emoji-language on instagram, will we see text completely disappear?

Download the report for more information on the most popular emojis and the use of seasonal emojis.

Why it’s hot:

• Proof that brands strategy must change copy strategy for the shorter attention span to words vs. imagery
• Brands have the opportunity to develop and monopolize and how users think of emojis (ie. IHOP pancake emoji)