Meta’s launched a new version of WhatsApp for Windows PCs, which includes an updated UI for multi-person chats, providing more capacity to use WhatsApp for video meetings.

As explained by Meta:

“You can now host group video calls with up to eight people and audio calls with up to 32 people. We’ll continue to increase these limits over time so you can always stay connected with friends, family and coworkers.”

The refreshed Windows app also loads faster, and runs smoother than previous versions, while it also includes improved multi-device syncing, so you can easily switch devices and maintain your chats. Other in-app elements like link previews and stickers will also now be displayed in the desktop app.

Which is good, and it will be handy complement for your WhatsApp interactions. But at the same time, video chats are a far cry from this:

Meta published this preview of its coming metaverse virtual meeting experience a year and a half ago, and since then we’ve seen nothing even close to this within its gradually evolving VR space.

That’s despite Meta sinking billions of dollars into its metaverse experience, and the development of new tools that will facilitate this type of next-level interaction. When this is what was at least tacitly promised, it’s kinda hard to get overly excited about desktop video chat.

Like, cool, and yeah, probably handy. But it feels like a step backwards. Maybe sideways.

In any event, it’s not the metaverse, and we’re still a long way from that becoming a thing. So till then, we have better video meetings via WhatsApp. Worth keeping in mind, and trying out if you’re interested.

Meta’s also launched a new WhatsApp beta for Android tablets, while it’s also developing a Mac version, which is also in early beta.

They won’t let you appear as a 3D robot in a virtual environment either, but they also could be handy.

You can download the new WhatsApp for Windows here.

Aliyah Boston recalls her parents prodding her to be more active on social media, to extend her brand as her basketball prowess began to draw national attention.

She said she would be more active — and then post just one photo in two months, which is no way for an athlete influencer to earn big money in the era of name, image and likeness compensation.

Eventually, the South Carolina superstar saw the light — and the green.

“With the NIL, my mom and my dad were like: this is the time for social media to continue to brand yourself,” Boston said. “That’s when I really started to post more.”

The NIL age has opened a vast new world of earning potential for athletes. Social media platforms, once solely windows into smaller worlds, are now heavily trafficked gateways to wider audiences and revenue streams. Social media also turbocharged March Madness, an event that already had communal elements — think bracket and office pool — before the internet even existed.

Taking advantage of this chaotic social media explosion to cash in requires a bit of savvy, discernment and engagement — lots of engagement.

“Some things you think will go viral and it goes nowhere,” said Jeffrey Weiner, senior vice president of sports marketing firm GSE Worldwide. “Some things you think are silly and no one’s going to care about and it goes viral. You never know. You shouldn’t worry about the ‘like’ numbers and things like that. Just post, post, post.”

Finding the right fit is key when it comes to NIL deals.

If an athlete hawks something they don’t believe in, it will show in their posts. No one is going to buy a product or solicit a business if the person promoting it appears to be going through the motions or comes off as a used car salesman — unless that’s the schtick they’re going for.

“I don’t want my page to turn into full of advertisements and me shoving things down people’s throats,” said Nebraska pole vaulter Jess Gardner, who has partnered with about 15 different brands and has more than 300,000 combined followers on TikTok and Instagram.

“That’s not why people are coming to my page,” she said. “I make fun and lighthearted content, and so I can do that if I’m working with brands I actually love. That’s where I want to take the NIL route.”

Personality sells.

The tendency when promoting a product is to switch personalities, like a TV anchorperson shifting to an on-air persona. Many of the most successful influencers find a balance, staying true to their identity while still promoting the product.

Authenticity with a dash of amusement is the best bet.

“End of the day it’s a video distribution platform and it allows athletes to showcase their personality however they see fit,” said Julian Valentin, head of customer success for NIL platform Opendorse. “I always say with student athletes to only do what you’re comfortable with.”

That’s the way Shaylee Gonzales approaches it.

The Texas guard has 206,000 TikTok followers on, 93,000 more on Instagram. Her posts are a mix of basketball, fashion, personal life and products she has deals with.

“The more you are yourself, the more people will like to follow you and feel like they know you,” she said. “I love posting things that I enjoy doing or hobbies I like to do.”

Find the right balance of business and whimsiness and social media opens the the NIL revenue stream.

Miami twin basketball players Haley and Hanna Cavinder are social media sensations who have cashed in on their online fame. Hanna Cavinder noted that the twins carefully choose what they post online.

“Everybody thinks they know you, but they only know the things you want to show them,” she said. “Obviously, I love connecting with my audience and my fans and being organic. They love the twin thing, so we love sharing that. But honestly, I live a more private life than people think.”

“You pick and choose what you want people to see,” she added. “And that’s just kind of how I go about it. Now, social media is more of my business, not more of my life.”

With more than 4.4 million followers on their shared TikTok account alone, they have become millionaires through NIL deals.

Those deals will likely increase during March Madness, especially after the Hurricanes upset No. 1 seed Indiana in the NCAA Tournament.

“I think what I love the most is it’s setting me up so much for the future,” Haley Cavinder said. “And name, image and likeness, all athletes, especially female athletes, if you use it the right way and to your advantage and you remain consistent, it’ll help you in the future.”

That’s what got Boston’s attention — well, after her parents noticed first.

The All-American has promoted Buick, Crocs, Orange Theory, Under Armour and Six Star Nutrition, among other brands. She will likely be one of the WNBA’s top draft picks and could have a lucrative overseas career as well, but has already set a firm financial foundation.

“I have people in my corner who help me be able to work with brands, agencies,” she said. “It’s been smooth.”

And lucrative.

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AP National Writer Eddie Pells, AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds and AP Sports Writer Eric Olson contributed.

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AP March Madness coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Instagram’s launching two new ad options, with Reminder Ads, that enable users to opt into alerts ahead of an event, and ads in search results, helping to better connect with users in a discovery mindset.

First off, on Reminder Ads – as you can see in the below example screens, Reminder Ads will enable users to opt into alerts about specific events in the app.

As per Instagram:

“Reminder ads, rolling out to all advertisers as an option in feed, help advertisers build awareness, anticipation, and consideration for upcoming moments.”

Once a user opts-in via the ad CTA, they’ll then receive three subsequent notifications of that event, with the first coming a day before, then another 15 minutes ahead of the start time, with a final alert as it begins. Which will ensure that you don’t miss out – and while three reminders may seem a little much, if you’re really keen (or forgetful), it could be of benefit.

Reminders can be set up to three months ahead of time, and once you’ve added a reminder to a post, you can create additional posts with reminders for the same event, without adding new event details. The event time will also be displayed in local time equivalent:

“For example, if you’re in New York City and select 8pm as the event time, the event time will be set as 8pm EST. But someone who’s in Los Angeles will see the event time as 5pm PST.”

It’s another way for brands to better promote their live events, and encourage engagement, which could be used for in-app events, like live streams, or as per the example above, TV shows, movie releases, sporting events, etc.

There’s a range of possibilities, and it could be a handy consideration for your events, depending on your IG audience.

Instagram’s also launching new ads in search results, helping to connect with users based on contextual keywords.

“Ads will show up in the feed that people can scroll when they tap into a post from search results. We plan to launch this placement globally in the coming months.”

That’ll provide another way to get your promotions in front of users as they go looking for specific content, with Instagram also adding ads in Explore last year. This new placement is more specific, with the ads showing up when users tap into a specific post from the Search results, which is the next level of discovery in the app.

Interestingly, Twitter announced the same in January, which it had actually offered as a placement in the past, before depreciating it because it wasn’t highly effective. Though I’m sure Instagram came up with this entirely independently – I’m sure Meta isn’t monitoring other apps and just copying what they do.

Either way, some new considerations for your IG ads, and some new ways to reach audiences in the app, in different mindsets.   

You can learn more about Reminder Ads here, while Search Ads are being rolled out with selected accounts from this week.