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Hello, geeks!

Well hello again, Geekout friends!

Your weekly excuse for taking a social media timeout is here.

It’s been one helluva week for the top social platforms (again).

Twitter has a child p*rn problem (eeesh), Snap has money issues., And Meta… well… It’s Meta. It’s always got problems.

All this and more in a moment.

But first…

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🔥 GEEKOUT HOT 5

  1. Twitter’s P*rn Problem Killed Its Plans to Take On OnlyFans [PIVOT TO P*RN]

  2. Elon Musk Cites Whistleblower in New Twitter Deal Termination Letter [WHISTLE ON THIS]

  3. Snap Laid Off 20% of Workforce & Kills Multiple Projects To Cut Costs [KILLING IT]

  4. Twitter Finally Launched a Test of an Edit Tweet Button [NO MORE TPYOS]

  5. Meta Working on Premium Paid Features for Instagram & Facebook [INSTAGRAM PLUS+] 

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Ready for your new and noteworthy rundown? Here’s everything else you need to know about this week (curated from 200+ article and updates I checked for you in the past seven days):

Instagram is making it quicker and easier to flag recommended posts you’re not interested in (amen to that)... Instagram says it’s fixed the ‘bug’ that prevented you from exporting unpublished edited videos… Meta expanded its NFT sharing features for Facebook and Instagram (snore… no one cares!).

WhatsApp launched its first in-app shopping features in India… Facebook announced its shutting down its Facebook Gaming app AND its ‘Neighbourhoods’ feature (yeah… no one else knew it existed either)... And Facebook is renaming members of public Facebook Groups as ‘Followers’, or something!

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Twitter launched its Close Friends clone ‘Twitter Circles’. Which led to some great memes, including this one… Twitter’s product team switched on a few other new features this week including: pinned tweet replies and double-tap to like a tweet… Twitter is also working on useful new Twitter for Professionals profile profile features, and new customizable Twitter Cards (called Tiles) for news publishers… And soon Twitter may display a ‘Unique account reached’ metric for tweet analytics.

TikTok was spotted testing paid TikTok Live events… TikTok also added a new video ‘Retention’ insight to its in-app analytics… And Louis Theroux’s TikTok-famous ‘Jiggle Jiggle’ dance is coming to Fornite (please stop now).

LinkedIn is finally testing a native scheduling feature for profiles… Linkedin is also adding new LinkedIn Learning courses from Meta and others… Not sure if it's new, but I spotted LinkedIn spotlighting high-profile company execs posts about trending news stories in this new notification… It’s also rolling out AI-powered recommendations for content it thinks you should share with your network.

And finally… Leonardo DiCaprio (still) doesn’t like dating girls aged 25+. And the memes were everywhere. This is one of my faves. And this one.

—

WORTH A LOOK 👀

👥 TEAMWORK: What Makes A Great Social Media Team? [FIND OUT]

💥 EXCLUSIVE: The Official Geekout Group For SMMs On Facebook [28,000+ MEMBERS]

📱 APPS: 14 Top Instagram Collage Apps Worth Downloading [TRY THEM OUT]

⚡️ THREAD: 5 Key Actions Instagram’s Algorithm Focuses On The Most [REVEAL]

🔥 TIPS: A Long List of Pro-Tips for Social Media Managers, from Other Top SMMs! [MUST READ]

—

Alrighty then… Fun stuff done. Let’s jump into analysis of the most talked about news headlines in social this week.👇

— Matt

P.S. THE GEEKOUT WEEKLY DEBRIEF is back on Twitter Spaces today at 4pm UK, 11am ET, 8am PT. LISTEN LIVE/PLAY BACK

🚨 Everyone's talking about...

Given that business is booming at OnlyFans, it's perhaps unsurprising that growth-hungry Twitter execs had plans to make more of their own adult content (and there's plenty on Twitter if you look for it).

A report from The Verge and Platformer this week explained that Twitter had been working on a version Super Follows for adult content, allowing performers to charge a subscription fee. But the idea was derailed:

Twitter convened 84 employees to form what it called a “Red Team.” The goal was “to pressure-test the decision to allow adult creators to monetize on the platform, by specifically focusing on what it would look like for Twitter to do this safely and responsibly,” according to documents obtained by The Verge and interviews with current and former Twitter employees.

What the Red Team discovered derailed the project: Twitter could not safely allow adult creators to sell subscriptions because the company was not — and still is not — effectively policing harmful sexual content on the platform.

Twitter, according to the report, isn't good enough at policing child sexual exploitation and non-consensual nudity on the site, and it is unable to verify that performers are adults.

With that considered, it's right that the OnlyFans rival didn't go ahead. But the findings speak to a bigger problem underneath the surface at Twitter. New external research this week stated that self-harm-related hashtags on Twitter have increased roughly 500% since October 2021.

And a recent internal memo seen by the Verge warns that Twitter's shopping features could be used “in a way that leads to individual or societal harm.”

It's no wonder the Washington Post's Will Oremus wrote this week that Twitter has "an unpoliceable platform — and a broken business model". And Casey Newton at Platformer wondered whether all the unchecked adult content risks Twitter's all-important App Store listing.

Meanwhile, the back and forth between Elon Musk and Twitter continues as Musk added last week's whistleblower drama to his case against the company. His lawyers want to delay the case for a month so they can work this evidence into their arguments, but Twitter calls the idea of claims about lax security at Twitter being a valid reason to wriggle out of the deal “invalid and wrongful.”

I honestly can't wait for the judge to settle this dispute sooner rather than later, as the back and forth is getting tedious.

The wave of layoffs across the tech world landed at Snap this week with a hefty 20% of staff–around 6,400 people–being cut.

In the face of a more challenging economy, the company is restructuring around community growth, revenue growth, and augmented reality. That means there are lots of things that have to go, as the Verge reported:

[CEO, Evan] Spiegel said that Snap would end its original shows that appear in the Discover section of Snapchat, along with its in-app games and HTML miniature applications built by outside developers. The company’s self-flying camera drone, Pixy, is being canned after debuting in only April. Spiegel said the company is also “winding down” Zenly, a separate app for seeing where your friends are on a map that was acquired in 2017, and Voisey, a TikTok-like music app that Snap bought in 2020.

The choice of what to cut raised some eyebrows, especially Zenly, which is very popular in some parts of the world. And staff were reportedly not too keen on Spiegel's choice of words when discussing the cuts internally. Insider reported:

[Spiegel] stunned employees on Thursday that he thought a major reorganization of the company presented an opportunity.

Losing about 20% of their colleagues this week in a mass layoff means Snap has a chance to "prove the haters wrong," Spiegel said on a Thursday call with workers, according to two people with knowledge of the meeting. The sentiment did not land well among workers who feel morale at the company is already "extremely down," these people said.

I don't see many Snap haters in the world, do you? The company is treated far better by the media than many of its rivals, and Snapchat is well liked by the public. Like other tech companies, Snap can be accused of hiring too quickly during the early stages of the pandemic, and is now paying the price as the global economy slows.

You're finally going to start seeing edited tweets appearing in your timeline. And if you're a paying Blue subscriber, you might even get the edit button yourself later this month.

Twitter says tweets will be editable "a few times" in the 30 minutes after they're published, and a full edit history will be viewable for every tweet. Publishers will be pleased to hear that embedded tweets won't change along with edits, so that the original context of the tweet remains unchanged.

The test will be limited to a single country (we don't know which) at first, to iron out any bugs or other problems. And there could be plenty of those. A 30-minute edit window provides plenty of opportunity for changing the meaning of viral tweets to spread confusion and misinformation. This risk has stirred up a heated debate after years of people begging for an edit button.

That said, Twitter should be able to evolve its product while dealing with rule breakers and bad actors. If people abuse the edit button they can be thrown off the platform. But as we've seen above, Twitter isn't exactly great at policing its platform right now. This begs the question of whether the company convened a 'red team' to investigate the edit button, and what did they said if it did?

Meanwhile, Twitter is rolling out the Circle feature to all, letting users pick up to 150 accounts to target with more intimate thoughts. It seems to have been more widely well received than the edit button and the platform has been awash with Circle memes.

👑 Social media manager hall of fame

Megan Coyne has made a real splash at the White House, translating Joe Biden's recent confrontational pivot into a more spicy persona for @WhiteHouse on Twitter, which is delivering real results.

💡 New feature spotlight

Snap has launched a new Dual Camera feature for all Snapchatters. It uses both the front and back cameras, but don't worry - it's not trying to be a BeReal clone.

📺 Worth watching

From 'The Social Network' to 'The Social Dilemma', via 'Emily in Paris', 'Not Okay' and many more, here's plenty of inspiration for a night in when you want to relax from work but can't quite leave it behind.

🎧 Podcast of the week

The boss of the Facebook app has a big job ahead if he's going to get a new generation using the app regularly...

💡 New feature spotlight

This useful feature helps you make sure your connections and followers see the best responses to your posts, which could help generate even more engagement.

❓ Question of the week

My followers shared lots of useful insights for anyone starting out as a social media manager, and plenty to nod along with for those with more experience.

Some choice replies:

🙈 ICYMI

Meta seems desperate to keep Mark Zuckerberg away from the courtroom... so they've settled before he had to.

👉 On-point meme

We've all been there...

👀 Must-read of the week

This might be the largest and most sophisticated Instagram account verification scheme ever uncovered.

💡 New feature spotlight

Twitter's Spaces tab has had a facelift. Tap through for an animated walkthrough.

🐣 Brands on Twitter

One-word tweets suddenly exploded all over Twitter yesterday...

So what was happening?

(although some say Xbox, Smarties and other might have had similar ideas recently).

...it was also a good test of who has the least red tape...

...here's all the one-word tweets that never made it (we've all been there)...

👌 Pro tip

This thread is well worth tapping through for if you want tot understand how Meta thinks about video content right now...

📊 Stat of the week

📈 Chart of the week

The folk at Know Your Meme have taken a really interesting look at where memes come from, and how it's changed over the last 12 years.

😆 LOL tweets

Well played, Monica Lewinsky 👏

🔵 Meta news

The Snapchat+ effect? Meta has brought together a team to work on more paid features across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

  • Facebook is killing its Facebook Gaming app on 28 October 2022. [Mashable]

  • ...and Facebook is also killing its Nextdoor clone Neighborhoods on 1 October. [TechCrunch]

  • Meta is still researching brain-reading tech, this time via EEG and MEG readings. [Social Media Today]

  • Some Facebook advertisers say they've been hit with an uptick in bans and lengthy appeals. [Insider $$$]

  • The FBI stepped in to comment after Mark Zuckerberg's recent account of the how the Hunter Biden laptop story unfolded stirred up controversy in some quarters. [NBC News]

  • Young people still use Facebook regularly, but not as much as other apps, a new report says. [Social Media Today]

  • Meta now lets advertisers in India pay for their ad campaigns in 'no-cost' monthly instalments. [TechCrunch]

  • Meta has agreed to use custom Qualcomm chips in Quest headsets for years ahead. [CNet]

  • Meta has opened applications for the third run of its Community Accelerator programme. [Social Media Today]

New features and tests:

Facebook:

  • Facebook Group members will now be called Followers. They will follow, not join, a group. [@MattNavarra]

  • Meta has introduced the ability to share NFTs across Facebook and Instagram. [Meta Newsroom]

  • Facebook has added a Share Group to Instagram Stories feature. [@MattNavarra]

  • Facebook has been spotted offering improved Page access controls. [@hannah_summer]

Instagram:

  • Instagram is testing merging the create options for posts and Reels into a single function. [@hammodoh1]

  • ...and the ability to capture photos and Reels from the same camera interface. [@hammodoh1]

  • Instagram is letting some users mark multiple posts in Explore as 'not interested' and block suggested posts containing certain words. [Meta Newsroom]

  • Instagram is testing a 'next story' button. [@ec_wife]

  • Instagram has been spotted testing a new layout for the messaging inbox. [@adalberto_aj20]

  • Instagram could soon let you choose how long to mute thread's messages and call notifications. [@alex193a]

  • Instagram has added a new notification type called ‘Broadcast chats’ . [@ahmedghanem]

  • Instagram is working on adding the emoji slider to the Music sticker. [@alex193a]

  • Instagram has been spotted offering the ability to create a messaging ad straight from the inbox. [@jansen]

  • More details have emerged of Instagram's BeReal-style 'candid challenges'. [@alex193a]

  • ...and 'candid' Stories posts could have a blue ring. [@alex1943a]

  • Instagram is working on a Likes tab for the Reels comments section. [@alex193a]

  • Instagram is building a 'plan an event' feature. [@alex193a]

  • Instagram is still developing a way to add hobbies and interests to your profile. [@alex193a]

Messenger:

  • Messenger and Instagram now let you create a link to a group chat to share elsewhere so it's easier for others to join. [@loredanacrisan]

  • Messenger has been spotted offering an 'admin assist' feature. [@MattNavarra]

WhatsApp:

  • WhatsApp has rolled out in-app shopping in India, in a partnership with JioMart. [Bloomberg $$$]

  • WhatsAp now lets you create groups from the contact information page. [@ahmedghanem]

  • WhatsApp is working on a new bug report feature. [WABetaInfo]

  • Wear OS 3 smartwatch users can now make WhatsApp voice calls. [9to5Google]

The rest: Creator Studio/adtech/Quest and more:

  • The Oculus mobile app has been renamed Meta Quest. [UploadVR]

  • Fortnite could soon support Meta Quest VR. [Road to VR]

🐣 Twitter news

Twitter's professional accounts could be getting a bunch of new features.

Insights to give you an edge at work:

New features and tests:

  • Twitter is rolling out the pinned replies feature to some users. [@chrismessina]

  • Twitter has expanded 'double-tap to like' to more users. [@MattNavarra]

  • Twitter’s Communities tab has added discovery features. [@MattNavarra]

  • Twitter now lets some users on Android select text in tweets. [@evowizz]

  • Twitter could soon show you how many unique accounts your tweet reached. [@nima_owji]

  • Twitter is redesigning the Blue settings page. [@alex193a]

🔺 TikTok news

"TikTok laid off some staffers this week as part of a restructuring. The cuts centered on its sales-focused division in North America."

  • A ‘high severity’ TikTok vulnerability allowed one-click account hijacking. [The Verge]

  • TikTok star Charli D’Amelio and her mom will both take part in the next season of Dancing with the Stars. [TubeFilter]

Insights to give you an edge at work:

New features and tests:

  • TikTok is trialling paid live events. [@MattNavarra]

  • TikTok has been spotted offering 'activity status' to show mutual follows that you're active now or recently active. [@MattNavarra]

💥 More social media news and updates

Things still aren't going well at Truth Social...

  • ...and its Android app isn't yet on Google's Play Store because of alleged insufficient content moderation. [Axios]

  • Meta and Twitter took down a pro-US propaganda operation targeting the Middle East and central Asia. [BBC News]

  • YouTube pushed Trump supporters toward voter fraud videos, new research has found. [The Verge]

  • YouTube is gearing up for the Midterms with plans for context panels under political videos. [Bloomberg $$$]

  • YouTube has held an online event to showcase gaming-focused creators. [Washington Post $$$]

  • Social media companies would have to consider the health of children, under a bill passed by the California legislature. [Wall Street Journal $$$]

  • Twitch's ad incentive programme is offering some creators five-figure sums. [TubeFilter]

  • Twitch has been hit with a second Russian 'fake news' fine in the space of three weeks. [Gizmodo]

  • The Delhi High Court has told Telegram to disclose details about channels violating copyright law. [Scroll.in]

  • Reddit has acquired a company called Spiketrap in a bid to boost its ads business. [TechCrunch]

  • Poparazzi is working on a new social app called TTYL, which offers support for more types of content. [TechCrunch]

  • Sony has sued Triller over alleged copyright infringement and breach of contract. [Variety]

Insights to give you an edge at work:

  • 24 Gen Z statistics that matter to marketers in 2022. [Hootsuite blog]

  • US social shopping sales will more than double to $99 billion in 2025, according to a new report. [Insider $$$]

New features and tests:

  • YouTube has added creator metrics to the main YouTube app and upgraded Live Control Room. [Search Engine Journal]

  • YouTube is testing a new ‘Promotions’ tab for creators. [Social Media Today]

  • YouTube Premium subscribers can now test Google Meet live sharing. [9to5Google]

  • Linkedin now lets you pin comments. [@MattNavarra]

  • LinkedIn has started suggesting posts for users to share. [@MattNavarra]

  • LinkedIn is now signposting high profile company execs’ posts about trending news stories. [@MattNavarra]

  • LinkedIn looks set to launch native post scheduling. [@nima_owji]

  • LinkedIn is adding a 'who's hiring in your network' feature. [Social Media Today]

  • LinkedIn is working on auto-captioning for videos in English. [@nima_owji]

  • LinkedIn will soon offer more tech skills courses and certifications from major tech companies like IBM, Meta and Oracle. [Digiday $$$]

  • BeReal is working on the ability to discover friends of friends on the platform. [@alex193a]

  • Snapchat has launched its own dual camera mode. [Mashable]

  • Snapchat has added an ultra wide camera option. [@_Youssef]

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Get in touch: [email protected]

📖 Weekend reading

"The North Atlantic Fellas Organization is fighting the Kremlin’s propaganda machine — and winning."

😳 And finally...

Want to keep browsing TikTok AND cross the road safely? These new lights in Hong Kong could be the answer!

📅 Back next week...

… And that’s EVERYTHING you need to know this week!

Geekout Newsletter: DONE! 🙌🏻

Right… Time for me to make like a tree and leave.

BTW… I went to the Stranger Things Experience in London last weekend. It’s so good! Watch this to see what I mean.

Goodbye, geeks!

– Matt

_______

This newsletter is edited by Martin SFP Bryant

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