Welcome to the Connected Church News by Natchi Lazarus.
This news item is part of the top 5 news (Week 4, Apr 2025) specially curated for leaders of Nonprofits, Churches, and Faith-based Social Ventures.
WhatsApp’s Suite of New Features
WhatsApp has introduced several updates for chats, calls, and channels. Group chats now display an online indicator to identify available members, streamlining real-time communication. iPhone users can scan documents directly through WhatsApp and set it as the default app for calls and messages. Channels have been enhanced with 60-second video messages, voice message transcripts, and QR codes for easy channel joining, ideal for event scenarios.
Here is the full list of the news items from Week 4, Apr 2025 with source links from Grok, OpenAI, Claude, YouTube, WhatsApp.
🗞️ News 1: YouTube Highlights the Rise of ‘Virtual Creators’: 2025 Report – Source: YouTube
🗞️ News 2: OpenAI is Reportedly Creating an AI-Powered Social Network – Source: Verge
🗞️ News 3: WhatsApp Releases New Features for Chats, Calls and Channels – Source: WhatsApp
🗞️ News 4: Google Next Cloud 2025 Event: Key AI & Content Announcements – Source: Google
🗞️ News 5: Grok Releases ‘Studio’; Anthropic Integrates Google Workspace – Source: X, Anthropic
Any questions or thoughts? Please leave them in the comments or DM me on any of the social channels.
Author of The Connected Church. Social Media and Digital Marketing Consultant for Nonprofits, Faith-based Organisations, Churches, and Ministries.
