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Blog Facebook Troubleshooting issues with your Facebook and Instagram connection? Here are 4 possible solutions

Troubleshooting issues with your Facebook and Instagram connection? Here are 4 possible solutions

I can’t link my Instagram and Facebook accounts. What now?

Our support team often hears from clients who are having trouble connecting an account to Reportei. Many of these reports are about issues regarding Instagram and Facebook integration.

There are several factors related to these two social media platforms that may be causing errors. Because of this, we can’t always predict, monitor, or have complete control over an issue.

In any case, you must link the accounts to generate reports with Reportei. So, we’re here to offer any support our clients might need to recover that connection as efficiently as possible.

With this in mind, we’ve done lots of research, looking for references among international tools with which people have reported the same issues. We’ve reached several conclusions about the most frequent causes and identified four possible steps to help you out if you’re experiencing any of these problems as well. Ready?

What might be causing the issue?

Before we get to the solution, it’s important to understand possible scenarios that could be causing errors in the connection of your Instagram and Facebook accounts. Among the most common, you may come across:

• integration errors between your accounts, which cause the “Review Account Connection” banner to pop up in your Facebook’s business page settings; • the Instagram profile and Facebook page were not linked correctly. In other words, the person who linked the accounts did not have access to the Facebook page. It’s important to remember that you must be the page admin to connect accounts; • the person who switched the account to a Business profile and linked it to Facebook is no longer the page admin; • you attempted to link Instagram and Facebook through the Facebook page settings, which doesn’t always work as expected.

First, you should determine if any of the items above are causing the problem. Then, try these solutions.

1.Review your Facebook account’s connection

If you are running into the first error listed above, you’ll find the “Review Account Connection” message in your page settings. To view it, all you have to do is:

• access the Facebook business page linked to your Instagram profile. Click “Settings” then “Instagram”; • You will immediately receive the option to review your account’s connection. Click the button to start; • follow the step by step for recovering a link between accounts; • after the process is complete, return to Reportei and try connecting your account again, making sure all connections are active.

If you’re still having trouble after checking your connection, we suggest trying some of the following alternatives. Or, get in touch with Facebook’s support center as the issue might require specific attention.

2. Try reconnecting your Instagram account and Facebook page

Our clients have also tried disconnecting and reconnecting the Instagram account and Facebook page. The only way to do this is to be the administrator of the Facebook account, got it? So, before attempting this step, make sure you’re logged into your page on the Facebook app as well. Then, follow the next steps:

• open the Instagram app and tap the “Settings” tab; • then, select “account” and “linked accounts” to view the Instagram/ Facebook link; • try disconnecting and then reconnecting the page. Facebook will understand it has permission to authorize your Instagram account; • once you’ve done this, go back to Reportei and try connecting your Business Instagram again.

3.Switch your account back to a personal profile

If you are still having problems with account connections, here is something else that might work. Switch your account to personal, then switch it back to a business account. This solution is not the best, as you may lose account information during the process, but it is generally efficient. Before starting, we suggest using Instagram Insights to save your essential data so you can access it later. Next, follow the step by step below:

• check if you remain logged into your Instagram on a web page. If you are, log out; • access your Facebook page settings, and open the “Instagram” tab; • scroll down and click “Disconnect Instagram Account” and confirm to disconnect your Instagram profile; • once you’ve done this, open the Instagram app, tap “Settings” then “Account”; • at the bottom of the tab, select “Switch Account Type” then “Switch to Personal Account”; • return to your Facebook page settings, add your Instagram account, confirm that you would like to switch your profile to a business account, and fill out the necessary info; • finally, return to the Instagram app and make sure your account has switched to Business (a notification should show up on your screen); • if everything is in order, all you have to do now is try connecting to Reportei again.

In some cases, you might receive a notification informing you that you have reached the limit of Businesses you are allowed to create. This issue could stop you from switching back.

One possible cause is Facebook now requires that any Business profile be associated with a Business Manager account, and each is allowed only two.

When you switch to a business profile without associating it to an existing Business Manager account, Facebook creates a new one automatically. Because of this, you might reach the limit for the number of Businesses you can create, further complicating the process. But don’t worry! There’s another step you can try, and we’ll walk you through it below.

4. Connect your profile to an ad account

Before you go through the next step by step, follow the instructions outlined above for switching your account from Business to Personal. But, before switching it back to a business account, link it to Business Manager by following these steps:

• In your Manager account, select the “Business settings” tab; • Click on “Accounts” then “Instagram Accounts”; • tap “Add” and fill in your Instagram username and password; • next, select your Ad account and the page you would like to link it to; • finally, return to your Facebook page settings and wrap up the linking process following the steps outlined in the previous topic; • if everything is in order, return to Reportei to connect your account and create reports.

What if the issue continues?

As we have said above, errors in the connection of Instagram and Facebook accounts may happen due to several factors beyond our technical team’s reach.

If none of these steps our clients have tried worked for you, it’s essential to contact Facebook’s support team. That way, you can report the problem and look into alternative solutions. Facebook’s support team can address your needs in detail and provide help for less common errors.

Now, if any of these steps worked for you, or you found another effective solution for solving problems in your account, share them with us in the comment section. Your experience might help lots of other users link their Instagram accounts to Facebook successfully!

References: Buffer, Later, Sendible and James William.

• Analytics , Instagram , Social Media

• Artificial intelligence

• Performance Results , Reportei

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11 Common Facebook Problems and Errors (and How to Fix Them)

Facebook has lots of problems and frustrations. Here are fixes for the most annoying Facebook issues and errors you'll come across.

Even though nearly everyone uses Facebook, there's plenty wrong with the platform. For every great story or picture you see on Facebook, you have to put up with a dozen low-quality memes, annoying posts, and frustrating user interface elements.

We'll help you put a stop to these Facebook annoyances. Let's look at solutions for some common Facebook problems and errors, so you don't have to put up with them anymore.

1. Require Reviews for Tags

Facebook tagging is a fun feature on the surface, but it's also a privacy risk. If someone takes an embarrassing picture of you and tags you in it, all your friends will be able to see that picture. There's also a risk that someone could use a tagged post to obtain too much personal information about you.

In 2021, Facebook discontinued its facial recognition feature, meaning that the service will no longer recognize your face and suggest it as a tag in photos for your friends. Manual tagging for photos and posts is still an option, however.

You can't completely block photo tags on Facebook, though you can prevent others from seeing tags. Click your profile at the top-right, then go to Settings & privacy > Settings > Privacy > Profile and tagging to see the relevant options.

Here, change the Who can see posts you're tagged in on your profile? to Only me , if you don't want tags to appear at all. You can also change the options under Reviewing to require your approval before tags appear to your friends.

If Facebook Tagging Isn't Working

If it seems like Facebook tagging isn't working, meaning that typing @ followed by someone's name doesn't function, the reason is likely that your friend disabled this option on their account. Try tagging someone else and see if that works. If you still have problems, refer to sections #10 and #11 below for tips on troubleshooting deeper Facebook errors.

2. Mute Excessive Posters on Facebook

We all know someone who posts all the time on Facebook:

• An uncle shares too many political rants.
• Your grandpa has no idea how to use Facebook and posts nonsense every day.
• That one friend shares too many pictures of their pet.
• A friend from college copies and pastes a blurry JPEG riddled with grammatical errors to let you know that they really hate cancer.

These scenarios result in a Facebook friend dilemma. You don't want to unfriend these people and hurt their feelings, but you're also sick of seeing their posts. The solution is to unfollow them; you won't see their updates anymore, but will still remain friends.

To unfollow someone on Facebook , visit their profile page. On the right side below their cover photo, you should see a box that says Friends . Click that, then select Unfollow .

Now, you won't have to suffer from that person's posts anymore. You'll still be friends, so you can visit their timeline when you want to check out what they're up to. And if you change your mind, just click the Follow button to start seeing their posts in your feed again.

For a short-term solution, you can also click the three-dot Menu button on any post, then choose Snooze [Name] for 30 days . This will hide their posts for a month, so you can take a break from that person.

Unfollowing someone doesn't send them a notification, so don't worry about them knowing. If you ever want to see everyone you've unfollowed in one place, click your profile photo at the top-right of Facebook and choose Settings & privacy > Feed .

From the resulting menu, pick Reconnect and you'll see everyone you've unfollowed. Click the Plus button to follow any of them again.

3. Keep Important Friends First

On the opposite end of the posting spectrum are friends whose posts you don't want to miss. Facebook's always-changing algorithms mean you might not ever see certain updates from friends. To combat this, you can mark your closest friends to see their updates at the top of your Facebook feed.

Visit the friend's page whose posts you want to prioritize. Click the Friends box again, but this time, select Favorites . Facebook will then put updates from that person closer to the top when you refresh your feed. You're able to add up to 30 people to the Favorites list.

To see who's on your Favorites list, visit the same Feed panel as above and choose Favorites . This will show all your friends; click All at the top-right and change the box to Favorites Only to see who's on the list and easily remove people if needed.

4. Opt Out of Targeted Ads on Facebook

Facebook makes most of its money from advertising. Thus, the platform spends a lot of time trying to serve you the most relevant ads in the hopes you'll interact with them. By default, Facebook tracks you everywhere you go and uses your browsing habits to influence what ads you see. You can opt out of these personalized ads and see more general ones based on your public characteristics.

To do so, click your profile photo at the top-right of Facebook's interface and select Settings & privacy > Settings . On the left sidebar, click the See more in Accounts Center link, as this setting is now applied to all your Meta accounts. Once on this new page, click Ad preferences > Ad settings .

Here, you'll see a few categories. Choose No under Activity information from ad partners and Facebook won't use your activity on other sites to show ads on Facebook.

Open the Categories used to reach you and you can prevent Facebook from using information like your employer, education, and relationship status to show ads. Pick Other Categories at the bottom to see what Facebook thinks you're interested in; choose Remove for any topics you don't want to influence ads.

Next, Audience-based advertising lets you see advertisers that include you on their lists, based on your information or activity. You can check each of these lists, see why you're on it, and prevent that list from being used to show you ads here.

Setting Social interactions to Only Me prevents Facebook from using pages that you like to show ads to your friends.

Finally, if you disable the slider in Ads shown off of Meta , websites that use Meta's ad services can't use your profile to affect the ads you see outside of Facebook.

5. Stop Sharing Posts With Everyone

Just like you get sick of seeing other people's posts on Facebook, sometimes you don't want to share your own updates with certain friends. Maybe you don't want your boss to see what you were up to on your day off, or don't care for another round of commentary on your life from your sister. Using a few methods, you can easily hide your posts from certain people.

If you only want to hide a post from someone once, click the audience selector button in the Create Post window. This appears under your name and probably says Friends or Public . The audience menu has many options to let you control exactly who sees your updates.

One option is to choose Friends except and search for any friends you don't want to see the post. Click the red Remove button to keep them from seeing the post, then Save Changes to finish.

Conversely, you can pick Specific friends to only share with certain people you pick. To get even more granular, try the Custom option, which lets you share with specific people or lists while preventing certain people or lists from seeing the post.

To keep someone from seeing your posts all the time, you can add them to your Restricted list . People on this list won't see anything you post unless it's set to Public or you tag them in it. To add someone to this list, visit their page, select the Friends button, and then click Edit Friend List . Scroll down and click the Restricted list.

In this panel, you can also add that person to the Close Friends group. This list also provides an easy way to share posts exclusively with your most trusted friends, and is an option in the audience selector.

6. Block Annoying Auto-Playing Videos

Very few people like videos that play as soon as you scroll past them. They're loud and can catch you off-guard if you thought your volume was muted. Plus, if you're on a metered connection, they're a waste of data.

To turn off auto-play for videos on Facebook, click your profile picture again and choose Settings & privacy > Settings . Click the Videos tab on the left, then set the Auto-Play Videos option to Off .

7. Block Annoying App Invites

Facebook features hundreds of games, nearly all of them designed to waste your time and//or take your money. If you're sick of friends pleading for extra lives in Facebook games, you can block all Facebook invites and requests by game or by person.

To do this, take another trip to Settings & privacy > Settings > Privacy and pick the Blocking tab on the left this time. Find the Block app invites section, click Edit , and enter the name of any friend who's invited you incessantly. You'll automatically block all game requests from them in the future. This won't affect any other interactions with them on Facebook.

If you'd like, you can also enter an app's name in the Block apps field. This will prevent it from contacting you and using your non-public Facebook information. If desired, use the other fields here to granularly block people on Facebook through various channels.

8. Change the Facebook Interface to Your Liking

You can't change many interface elements of Facebook through the default options. If you want to take your Facebook customization to the next level, you'll need to install a Facebook-transforming browser extension .

The best one is Social Fixer . It's available as a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Opera. Once you install Social Fixer, it makes several improvements out of the box.

To tweak how it runs, click the wrench icon that it shows in the upper-right corner of every Facebook page, followed by Social Fixer Options on the resulting menu, to customize your Facebook experience.

Social Fixer offers too many options to cover here, but the highlights include:

• Automatically enable Most Recent view in your News Feed ( General tab).
• Use Ctrl + Enter instead of Enter to submit comments ( General tab).
• Enable the Friend Manager to get alerts when people unfriend you ( General tab).
• Use the Hide Posts tab to hide any updates with certain words.
• Try some pre-made Filters to weed out politics, spoilers, and more.
• Check Display Tweaks to hide some annoying interface elements.

Dig into the Social Fixer options and you'll find many more ways to change the most annoying parts of Facebook.

Solutions for Common Facebook Errors

To wrap up, let's go over some tips for common Facebook errors you might run into.

9. You Forgot Your Facebook Password

Forgetting your Facebook login information is one of the most common issues people run into. We've written a full guide on recovering your Facebook account if you can't log in . And if you think your Facebook account was hacked , you need to act quickly.

10. You Can't Connect to Facebook

Since Facebook is one of the biggest sites on the web, it rarely experiences an outage. So the next time you can't get on Facebook, the problem likely lies on your end. You should follow a few steps if you think Facebook is down :

• Check a website like Down for Everyone to see if Facebook is really down. If it is, you can't do much more than wait.
• Visit another website to make sure your connection is working. If not, follow our guide to fixing internet connection problems .
• Clear your browser cache and cookies , or try to open Facebook in an incognito window or another browser. If this works, there may be something wrong with your current browser.
• Disable any VPNs or tracker-blocking extensions you're using, then try to connect to Facebook again without them.
• Reboot your PC and router.

These tips also come in handy for loading errors, like when the "see more" button is not working on Facebook, or a search says "More results may be available; see more when you're back online". Chances are that you have a problem with your browser or internet connection. Try rebooting your PC and signing into Facebook with another browser when this happens.

11. Facebook Says "There Was a Problem..."

A lot of Facebook's common errors start with "there was a problem," such as There was a problem following this profile or Sorry, there was a problem tagging someone in this post . Most of the time, these errors have to do with the privacy settings of the other account.

If you see these warnings, the other person might have blocked you on Facebook , turned off tagging, or otherwise changed their privacy options. You can check with them if you're not sure, though that might be awkward.

When you get messages like this, make sure you've done basic Facebook troubleshooting too. Refresh the page, try logging out and back in, and make sure you don't have a network issue, as described above. If you're comfortable with it, try asking a mutual friend if they have the same problem. This can confirm your suspicions that you've been blocked or otherwise restricted.

How to Fix Facebook Problems Easily

We've shared fixes for some of the most common Facebook problems and errors. By flipping the right settings or using powerful extensions, you can make Facebook a more pleasant experience for yourself.

There are lots of other aspects of Facebook to master, so make sure you know how to put its various elements to use.

Connect your Instagram account to a Facebook page to unlock features including scheduling capabilities!

Unlock the full potential of your Instagram account by connecting it to a Facebook page and gain access to incredible features, including the ability to schedule your posts with Hopper HQ!

At Hopper HQ , we understand the importance of streamlining your social media strategy.

That's why we offer a powerful scheduling tool that allows you to effortlessly create, plan, and publish your content in advance. While you work, sleep, eat, or play, Hopper HQ will automatically publish your flawless content at the perfect time. It's like having your very own social media assistant! ✨

In this article, we'll guide you through:

How to connect your Instagram and Facebook accounts in the Instagram app.

How to connect your Instagram and Facebook accounts on the Facebook website.

Troubleshoot common hurdles and provide quick fixes for any account connection difficulty.

How to connect your Instagram and Facebook in the Instagram app

If your Instagram account is a Personal account type, follow these simple steps:

Go to your Instagram profile and tap the ⚙️ Settings and Privacy.

Tap 'Account type and tools', and then tap 'Switch to Professional Account'.

Follow the workflow to select the category of your Instagram account and check the Business or Creator box.

Review your contact info and connect your Instagram account to your existing Facebook Page or create a new one within the Instagram app.

Already have a Business account type? No worries! Here's how to connect your Instagram and Facebook:

Open the Instagram mobile app and go to your profile page.

Press 'Edit Profile'.

Under Public business information, select 'Page'.

Follow the instructions to connect or create a Facebook page for your Instagram account.

Fantastic! Now that you're connected, head over to Hopper HQ and experience the ultimate time-saving solution for your social media management.✅

How to connect your Instagram and Facebook on the Facebook website

Facebook Page Connection on Classic Facebook Pages

Open your Facebook Page.

Select Settings from the left menu.

Click on Instagram.

To connect an Instagram account, choose Connect account. Ensure that "Allow access to Instagram messages in Inbox" is toggled on, and then click Continue. Enter your Instagram account's Username and Password, and select Log in.

Once done, it may take up to 1 minute for Facebook to update. Congratulations, you're connected! 🎉

Facebook Page Connection with the New Pages Experience

Switch to your new Page.

Click on Settings.

From the Professional dashboard in the left menu, select Linked accounts.

To connect an account, click Connect account. Enter your Instagram account's Username and Password, and select Log in.

Voilà! Did you know that Hopper HQ offers a 14-day free trial for new users? Start your free trial now and discover the game-changing features of our platform!

Troubleshooting Account Connection Difficulties

Encountering issues with connecting your account? We've got you covered! Here are some common hurdles and quick fixes:

Remove Hopper HQ from your Facebook Business Integrations

If you're unable to find the option to connect your account via Facebook, it's possible that you need to remove Hopper HQ from your business integrations and start fresh.

Here's what you can do:

1. Log into your Facebook account and visit this page where you can manage your business integrations. Look for Hopper HQ in the list.

2. Once you've located Hopper HQ, simply click on the remove button to remove it from your integrations. Afterward, return to your dashboard and attempt to connect your account again.

If removing Hopper HQ from your business integrations doesn't resolve the issue, there may be other factors preventing a successful connection with your business or creator profile. Let's explore some of these potential issues and their solutions.

Ensure Facebook Access role on Facebook Page

To connect your Instagram and Facebook accounts, which enables analytics and additional great features on your Hopper HQ account, it's important that your Instagram account is a business or creator account type and your personal Facebook profile has 'Facebook Access' for the corresponding Facebook page.

If you're unable to see the Instagram account you're trying to connect on Hopper HQ, it could indicate that you don't have 'Facebook Access' permissions for the associated Facebook page. You can easily verify this by following these steps:

How to check your page role in Classic Pages

1. Go to the Facebook page linked to your Instagram business or creator profile. Click on "Settings" at the top of the page, then navigate to the "Page Roles" tab in the left-hand menu.

2.  Ensure that your personal Facebook profile is listed as an admin for the page. Note that any other permissions won't be sufficient.

How to check your page role in New Page Experience

1. To check your page role settings, head over to the Facebook page connected to your Instagram business profile.

2. Ensure you are Managing the page.

3. Click on settings

4. Click on New Pages experience

Here you will see a list of Facebook profiles with Facebook access and task access . Only profiles with Facebook access can manage access.

If you do not hold Facebook access , you will need to contact the page owner and ask them to grant you an admin role, or alternatively, you can have them connect the account to Hopper HQ instead.

Your Instagram isn’t a Business or Creator Profile

If your Instagram isn't connected to Facebook, don't worry! You just need to have an Instagram business or creator account type to establish the connection.

Converting your profile to a business or creator profile is a breeze, and we've got you covered with a step-by-step guide. Check it out here and get ready to unlock the full potential of Hopper HQ's features!

How to check your Instagram is linked to Facebook

No worries, we've got you covered with simple steps to check the connection:

Grab your iOS or Android device and open up Instagram. Head to your profile and tap on "Edit Profile."

Look for the "Public business information" section. Here, you'll find out if your Instagram account is linked to a Facebook page. You may need to confirm the connection.

If you see a Facebook page listed, great job! Your Instagram profile is correctly linked. However, if you don't see any page listed, it means that your profile isn't linked to a Facebook page yet. This can happen if you connected your account via Facebook instead of Instagram. But worry not, we've got the steps to fix that right below 👇

Your Facebook page is in review with Facebook

Your account might currently be under review with Facebook. This review process is conducted by Facebook and may limit your access to certain features on Instagram and Facebook, including the ability to connect to third-party services like Hopper HQ.

Here's how you can address this situation and successfully re-connect your account to Hopper HQ:

Locate to the Instagram Connection page on Facebook.

Open your connected Facebook page

Click Professional dashboard in the left menu, and then click Linked accounts.

Select Instagram

If you see a button labeled 'Review Connection', click on it.

Follow the steps provided by Facebook for the review process

Once the review is complete, return to Hopper HQ and refresh your Instagram and Autopost account connections. You can find this option in your Account Settings.

Simply return to your Hopper HQ dashboard and attempt to reconnect your account again.

Remember, this review process is managed by Facebook, so it's essential to take any necessary actions or follow-up alerts from Facebook to complete the review successfully. If you encounter any difficulties or have further questions, don't hesitate to reach out to our dedicated support team. We're here to help you through the process!

Does my Facebook Profile or Page(s) have any restrictions?

If it appears your Meta accounts may be being restricted. Please open this Facebook link - https://www.facebook.com/business-support-home/ and follow the steps in this video:

Every Facebook Profile who has access to the Facebook page will need to check for any restrictions!

Now you're connected, what are you waiting for? ✨

Any issues, please reach out to our support team and we'll check for any known issues with Facebook's system.

Facebook social auth failing for App Store reviewers (React Native)

The logs reveal the same information, however interestingly i did notice no connection strategy listed in the log entry for the Failed Login. I’ve temporarily turned off Brute Force protection to see if its related. Naturally all my testing and that of the existing user base yield no issues … only Apple Reviewers, had them retry a few times now.

Nothing in my logs revealing the same error except that which is in line with the Apple Reviewer’s attempts.

• Life & Culture
• Music Reviews

Where is Taylor Swift’s new song ‘Florida!!!’ really taking us?

• Gabrielle Calise Times staff

From the first line in her new song “Florida!!!,” you can already tell that Taylor Swift has heard our state’s unofficial motto: A sunny place for shady people.

“You can beat the heat if you beat the charges too,” she sings. “They said I was a cheat, I guess it must be true.”

In “Florida!!!,” Swift paints a portrait of an alluring state built on contradictions, incorporating both the beautiful and the brutal. She leans into the weirdness of our crime and lore. A lot of people have something to say about Florida’s reputation. If anyone gets that, it’s Swift.

The theories about the song began in February, as soon as the singer released the track list for her 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” Will she sing about her three-night run in Tampa , her only Florida tour dates on the first leg of the Eras Tour? Those were the first concerts following the tabloids picking up on her breakup with Joe Alwyn, her boyfriend of six years. Gossip accounts speculated that he cheated on her in Orlando .

Would she mention her father, who has a place in Pinellas County? Or might she go even further back — to the time she played as a teen at the old St. Pete Pier and at the Florida Strawberry Festival?

Swift foreshadowed her journey down south in the first track on the album, “Fortnight,” singing with Post Malone: “Move to Florida, buy the car you want.” When we actually get to “Florida!!!,” the eighth song, it’s clear Swift needs a break. “Florida!!!” is a dazzling respite. By then, the pop star has already contemplated the loss of Alwyn in “So Long, London.”

Bucking expectations, more of the album seems to be about Swift’s fling last summer with Matty Healy, singer of the English indie rock band The 1975. She heads, as people often do when they’re running away from something, to the Sunshine State.

Little did you know your home’s really only a town you’re just a guest in

So you work your life away just to pay for a timeshare down in Destin

Panhandle representation! Then the chorus smashes in, bright and disorienting as stumbling outside into the afternoon sun.

Florida, is one hell of a drug / Florida, can I use you?

I need to forget, so take me to Florida / I’ve got some regrets, I’ll bury them in Florida

Florence Welch, of Florence + the Machine, delivers the haunting second verse. Her voice is deep and chilling as the scene unfolds.

The hurricane was my name when it came

I got drunk and I dared it to wash me away

Barricaded in the bathroom with a bottle of wine

There was actually a hurricane named Florence that formed on Aug. 31, 2018 — the first major hurricane of the 2018 Atlantic storm season. It killed 2 people in Florida before devastating the Carolinas, where 49 others perished. The World Meteorological Organization has since retired the name .

If you’re wondering, Taylor has never appeared on the storm list for the Atlantic basin , and won’t anytime soon: The names for the next six years are Tony, Tanya, Teddy, Teresa, Tobias and Tammy. These will rotate unless a storm is catastrophic enough for a name to be retired.

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Welch continues, leaning into the stereotypical image of the state as a hotbed of crime with poetic flair:

All my girls got their lace and their crimes and your cheating husband disappeared / Well, no one asks any questions here.

So I did my best, to lay to rest / All of the bodies that have ever been on my body and in my mind

They sink into the swamp / Is that a bad thing to say in a song?

In a world of over-the-top Florida Man headlines, the song is another caricature, albeit a fun one. Swift and Welch sell this scandalous escape with a wink. Like sand sticking to you after the beach, this one will linger for a while.

What a crash, what a rush

F--k me up, Florida

Gabrielle Calise is a culture reporter who covers music, nostalgia and offbeat Florida trends. Reach her at [email protected].

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It's easy to bash tech, but I've started taking robotaxis — and they're awesome

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• Unlike other hyped-up tech, self-driving taxis look like they could be the real thing.
• You can take Waymo's software-powered taxis in San Francisco and Phoenix. They work just like an Uber.
• Waymo's robot taxis aren't perfect, and there are very reasonable concerns about them. But also: They're self-driving taxis that really work!

It's easy to crap on tech. We — I — do it all the time.

Sometimes it's because tech doesn't work the way I want it to . Sometimes it's schadenfreude about a big hyped thing that falls flat . Sometimes it's just a sense that the tech we all depend on may be harming us in ways we don't understand and can't control.

But also: Sometimes tech reminds you that tech can be awesome, in the golly-gee-can-you-believe-it sense some of us used to have about this stuff.

Which is exactly how I felt after my last trip to San Francisco, when I took several rides in Waymo's robotaxis .

That's partly because the tech is … amazing. You really are in a car, driving around the city, with no one in the driver's seat. Software and sensors take care of everything.

And partly because the tech already seems so … normal. You order a Waymo via an app, just like an Uber or Lyft. It shows up, you get in, it takes you where you want to go, and you get out.

Yes, my 13-year-old son and I spent the first few minutes in our first Waymo texting our friends and family: OMG IM IN A SELF DRIVING TAXI. We also documented it on social, of course.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Peter Kafka (@pkafka)

We also felt a bit of the trepidatious rush you get when you sit down in a roller coaster and have that internal debate: Is this safe? It must be safe, because otherwise they wouldn't let you do it, right? But seriously, is this safe?

But after those first few minutes of novelty, we went back to doing what we always do in an Uber or a Lyft: zoning out on our phones, staring out the window, and spending next to no time thinking about who, or what, was driving us.

Which, to me, is really the most amazing part: This stuff is here, now, and you can … just use it.

At least some people can. Waymo, which is owned by Google's parent company, Alphabet, has a couple hundred self-driving cars roaming around San Francisco, and access is still limited there via a waiting list, as well as by geography . You can't get a Waymo to pick you up at San Francisco International Airport, for instance, or take you across the Bay Bridge to Oakland.

In Phoenix, where Waymo first launched consumer access , it has about the same number of cars but no waiting list. And now it's starting to roll out in Los Angeles and Austin.

We've heard about self-driving taxis forever, but they're just starting to become a reality

While Waymo says it drives tens of thousands of trips a week, even the most tech-savvy people I talk to have yet to ride in one.

And it's reasonable to have concerns about this tech as it rolls out. Waymo's rival Cruise halted its service last fall after a slew of incidents, including a grisly one where a self-driving Cruise dragged a pedestrian who had been hit by a human-driven car.

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Self-driving tech is also an obvious problem for humans who depend on ride-hailing services to make a living. (On my previous trip to San Francisco, one of my Uber drivers told me he had previously been a recruiter at Amazon who lost his job during one of Amazon's recent layoff rounds .)

And to be honest, I'm not even sure I would always order a Waymo if I had a chance. Right now, beyond the novelty, the big upside for me is that the fleet's cars — electric Jaguars — are comfortable and clean. And that the per-trip cost is about the same as an Uber Comfort (one level up from the base Uber X fare) — but really a bit cheaper, since you're not tipping your robot driver.

But there's no reason to believe that the cars will remain pristine, and that pricing will stay low, as this stuff rolls out more broadly. (Waymo doesn't disclose financials, and the company wouldn't tell me if it's making money on each trip. I assume it does not, for now; we do know Waymo has invested billions in this since it started out as a Google project in 2009.)

Still, I can think of all kinds of uses for Waymo — right now. Like using it for food delivery — which is happening in Phoenix, via Uber Eats . Maybe it's for people who believe a robot is more reliable than a human driver — at least we know a Waymo won't watch TikTok while driving on the highway like a Lyft driver did when I was in their back seat a couple of years ago .

Or maybe it's simply for people who would rather not interact with another human when they're in a taxi. Which is what David Margines, Waymo's director of product management, says is the service's chief appeal for customers right now. "It's their own space," he says.

Waymo's self-driving cars aren't perfect

Yes, there are still some issues with Waymo, at least in the rides I took recently. One is simply figuring out how to get in the thing: When your Waymo arrives, you unlock its doors with your phone — but only once it has driven to a very precise location that Waymo knows and you don't.

Which led, a couple times, to some awkward slow dancing between myself and the robot car. It would stop when I got near but wouldn't let me in because it wasn't exactly where it was supposed to be. Then I'd step away, and then it would lurch forward toward its still-unknown-to-me target spot. Then I'd step forward and it would stop — but it still wouldn't let me in.

On one of my trips, this happened on a particularly tight, winding San Francisco street. As my Waymo and I negotiated with each other, we ended up blocking multiple cars, including a minivan whose driver started honking at us in frustration.

"You can't honk at a robot," I told her, not very helpfully. "It doesn't care."

Meanwhile, a guy walking by stopped and took out his phone to record the scene. "You can put a cone on it to disable it," he told me, unprompted. Apparently he's right?

More worrisome to me was that on one of my trips — to a Warriors game at the Chase Center arena — at a busy intersection, a Waymo in front of us wouldn't respond to a traffic cop trying to wave it through a red light. Then another Waymo pulled up beside it and also didn't respond to the cop. So now three Waymos were sitting there, blocking traffic and waiting for the light. The traffic cop stopped trying to move us and just held his hands over his head in disgust.

I figured this was a well-known and understandable problem for Waymos — of course their software and sensors wouldn't respond to humans telling them to override traffic signals! Think of the problems that could cause!

But Margines told me that Waymos are, in fact, supposed to understand human signals like a traffic cop. A Waymo PR person sent me this clip from Waymo CEO Dmitri Dolgov showing a Waymo doing just that:

Leveraging AI for semantic understanding of complex driving scenes is a key capability of the #WaymoDriver . Check out this example of it autonomously interpreting and adhering to a police officer directing traffic in Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/PyPqVaOc6B — Dmitri Dolgov (@dmitri_dolgov) January 19, 2024

But unlike with other Big New Tech innovations I've seen in the past — anyone still have a 3D TV in their living room? — I don't think self-driving tech is going away. I think the people behind the tech will figure out its possibilities, its limitations, and the places it does and doesn't make sense.

Meanwhile, Cruise is starting up again , but this time with humans in the driver's seat. Elon Musk has promised to unveil his robotaxi this summer, and while your doubt about anything Musk says is well warranted, you never know. So I think that one way or another, we are going to make some version of this standard for many of us in the not-far-off future.

Is that great? I don't know. But it really is amazing.

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