144 dumbest things social media managers get asked

April 22, 2022

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Hello, Geeks!

So… Elon still doesn’t own Twitter (hooray!). But the threat remains (boo!). We’ll get into all that in a moment.

First off this week:

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🔥 GEEKOUT HOT 5

  1. Elon Musk revealed how he’ll fund his Twitter takeover [SHOW ME THE MONEY]

  2. Instagram plans algorithm update to boost original content [TIKTOK PROBLEMS]

  3. Meta and Spotify are already losing interest in live audio [PIVOT! PIVOT!]

  4. Obama suggests how to fix the problems with social media [PREACH] 

  5. Instagram tweaks hashtag pages to push Reels harder [MORE REELS]

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I'm wired into 200+ RSS feeds, Twitter, and my email inbox, to help keep you on top of everything new in social media. Here are the most-noteworthy updates you should be aware of this week...

Spotify opened up its video podcast feature to more creators (watch out YouTube)… Meanwhile, YouTube added a high-visibility ‘Trending Shorts’ shelf to its mobile apps…

Russia has sanctioned Mark Zuckerberg (I’m sure he’s devastated)... Instagram may soon let you add topic tags to your Reels… Instagram also rolled out a fundraiser feature for Reels in 30 countries AND its product tagging feature to all U.S users.

—

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Twitter’s edit button is starting to take shape. Here’s what an edited tweet might look like. Also, it looks like Twitter will let you edit tweets up to one hour after being posted (seems a bit too long to me).

Meta held a glossy Quest VR gaming showcase (I’m all in for Ghostbusters in VR)... Amazon may be building its own AR smart glasses… LinkedIn ghost writers are making a small fortune helping execs become influencers… Snapchat’s latest results showed it's growing faster than Facebook and Twitter in the U.S (who isn’t?)...

And finally…

A Twitter Space featuring ex-Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan may have set a new record for the most live listeners (165,000+). However, some suspect bots were used to inflate the numbers.

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—

Alrighty then… Let’s slide into analysis of the news headlines everyone’s been talking about…👇

— Matt

P.S. The Geekout Debrief on Twitter Spaces is taking a late Easter break this week, but it will be back next Friday!

🚨 Everyone's talking about...

We're into week three of one of the most dramatic periods in Twitter's already highly dramatic history, and Elon Musk is still tugging at the company like a dog tugs at a toy it really wants to pull out of your hand.

Last Friday, Twitter pulled a classic move when a board wants to bat away a corporate raider, a 'poison pill' that massively dilutes the shareholding of anyone who acquires over 15% of the company's shares.

But Elon wasn't put off. After cryptically tweeting an Elvis Presley lyric earlier in the week, he announced he had secured $46.5bn to finance a possible tender offer. This would see him go to shareholders and buy a huge chunk of the company from them directly, potentially countering the effect of the poison pill.

Meanwhile, other buyers could swoop in, but Musk remains the most serious prospect right now. This means we have to ask: 'would Elon be a good steward for Twitter's future?'

There are plenty of reasons to reply to that question with a 'hell no'. His approach to 'free speech' could scare advertisers, he seems to be naïve about moderation, and his past form of silencing his critics could be a nightmare at Twitter, where users criticise the platform's management almost non-stop. Oh, and his idea of open-sourcing the algorithm might be good idea but it's not exactly simple to pull off.

Whether Musk ends up buying Twitter or not, it's fair to say that this whole episode will have thrown the company's poor performance on the stock market into a harsh light. One way to fix that? Stratechery's Ben Thompson floated the idea of splitting the company into two. It's certainly an intriguing proposal that could help keep everything that's right about Twitter while fixing much of what is wrong about it on the stock market and beyond.

Social media managers had plenty to stew on this week, as Instagram announced changes to its algorithm. The biggest move is a push against aggregator accounts, as TechCrunch explained:

Instagram elaborated that the platform will now be less likely to recommend reposts of Reels that are already on the app. The company will also be less likely to recommend accounts that aggregate and reshare other users’ content. Instagram notes that as it recommends more content on the app, it believes that it’s important that the credit, distribution, growth and monetization go to the original creator.

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri told me, "As we lean more into recommendations it’s becoming increasingly important that don’t overvalue aggregators". Anyone who has spent much time exploring Reels will know that aggregators have had an easy time juicing engagement by reposting other people's work, so this is a welcome move for creators.

However, accounts that rely on UGC (tourism accounts, for example) could face problems. Mosseri seems committed to refining the system, so hopefully any such problems will be quickly rectified.

Another change to look out for is a test of adding more recent and timely content in the ‘Top’ and ‘Reels’ tabs for hashtags, and removing the ‘Recent’ tab from hashtag pages.

Media Twitter erupted with chatter yesterday over a worrying question: did Sheryl Sandberg 'lean in' on the Daily Mail to prevent them publishing a negative article about her then partner Bobby Kotick, the controversial Activision-Blizzard boss?

As the Wall Street Journal reported:

Facebook recently started a review of Ms. Sandberg’s actions and whether she violated the company’s rules...

Mr. Kotick has told people that Ms. Sandberg threatened the Mail in 2016 by saying that such an article, if published, could damage the news organization’s business relationship with Facebook, according to people familiar with his comments...

People who worked closely with Ms. Sandberg at the time said a direct threat would have been out of character, but that even a phone call from her would have likely been viewed with alarm given Facebook’s influence in the news business.

Kotick and Meta both deny the threats ever happened, but whatever the truth, the story is a reminder of the power Meta/Facebook has had over publishers over the years. And Meta hardly needs another scandal hanging over its head, does it?

🤯WTF?!

Twitter's 'Set a status' feature is still being worked on. It's... Odd. Would you set your 'vibe' status on Twitter? Yeah, me neither.

📃 Report of the week

A new report supports Instagram's recent line that hashtags aren't quite as powerful as you might have thought.

👀 Must-read of the week

Why did TikTok succeed where its predecessors failed? "How subtle UX improvements can make a half-a-trillion dollar difference."

🤦 Fail of the week

Someone forgot to double-check their tweets before hitting 'send'.

💬 You can quote me on that

When I’m mentioned in the news, you’ll find it here…

Everyone was asking me about Elon Musk this week...

Tap image to watch

I spoke to NBC News about the future for viral hit app BeReal

Also...

  • I popped up on Al Jazeera to talk all things Twitter and Elon Musk.

  • BBC World News also called for a chat about Mr Musk's Twitter plans.

👌 Pro tip of the week

Read more at Social Media Today

📈 Chart of the week

While Elon Musk continues to shitpost himself to Twitter stardom, most of American's richest individuals are happy to enjoy their wealth with more anonymity.

🌟 New feature alert

These new 'overlay ads' would make it easy for creators to run ads in their videos without having to do any work - brands would simply choose which videos they want to monetise against.

🧵 Thread of the week

This Twitter thread from a former Reddit CEO is very, very good.

If you want to understand the fundamental problem with social media... read this... 👌👇

🐣 Tweet of the week

Snicker's social media manager must have questioned her career choice this week after dealing with tweets about 'dick veins' on its chocolate bars...

❓ Question of the week

Prepared to be triggered. You'll laugh! You'll cry! You'll wince!

Here are the dumbest things ever said to social media managers.

Check out the replies and share your own...

🔵 Meta news

Meta is struggling to sign the necessary deals to launch business payments on WhatsApp in Brazil.

  • Gizmodo has started to release the original (but redacted) documents from the Facebook Papers. [Gizmodo]

Insights to give you an edge at work:

  • Meta has launched a guide to building groups and communities for businesses. [Meta for Business]

New features and tests:

Facebook:

  • Facebook is testing Public Space and Friends Space tabs for profiles. [@MattNavarra]

  • Facebook Group admins can now set a default tab. [@MattNavarra]

  • Meta is testing new a new UI within Meta Business Suite. [@ahmedghanem]

  • Facebook is testing support for the latest set of emojis. [Emojipedia]

  • Facebook is working on an Instagram-style Close Friends feature. [@alex193a]

Instagram:

  • Instagram has tweaked its ranking algorithm. Original content will be favoured over reposted content to a greater extent than it is already. [@mosseri]

  • Instagram has rolled out product tagging to all US users. [TechCrunch]

  • Instagram has launched the ability to run fundraisers in Reels for users in 30 countries. [TechCrunch]

  • Instagram has been spotted prompting a user to add a Subscription sticker to a Story, but the sticker isn't available yet. [@jonah_manzano]

  • Instagram is testing notifications in chat for when your Reels is watched by a friend. [@hammodoh1]

  • Instagram is building overlay ads for Reels. [@alex193a]

  • Instagram is still developing a shared creative space. Previously spotted under the name 'Canvas', it's now called 'Boards'. [alex193a]

  • Instagram could soon let you add topics to Reels. [@alex193a]

  • Instagram is working on a 'Chat' sticker for subscribers. [@alex193a]

  • Instagram is developing a 'show QR code' option to quickly display a profile's QR code. [@alex193a]

  • Instagram could soon launch a Doctor Strange chat theme. [@alex193a]

Messenger:

WhatsApp:

  • WhatsApp could launch a paid subscription offering for businesses. [WABetaInfo]

  • WhatsApp has started testing its reactions feature with beta users. [9to5Mac]

  • WhatsApp is now testing 'hide last seen status from specific contacts' on iOS as well as Android. [9to5Mac]

  • WhatsApp is testing letting you change your preferred language in-app. [WABetaInfo]

Quest/VR/Devices:

  • Quest's new hand tracking can detect actions like high-fives and clapping. It's rolling out to developers now. [The Verge]

  • A Ghostbusters VR game was among the announcements at Meta's VR game showcase this week. [Eurogamer]

🐣 Twitter news

Twitter's new plan to win back developer trust... Promoting their Twitter apps for free on the platform.

  • A record-breaking Twitter Space was held by former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan this week. It attracted 165,000 people listening live. [Business Today

  • Crypto scammers have hijacked verified Twitter accounts to promote fake Moonbirds NFTs. [TNW]

New features and tests:

  • Twitter's edit button has started showing up in code. It seems Twitter will create a new tweet in the back end each time you edit. [TechCrunch]

  • ...And an edit history screen for tweets has also shown up in code. [@wongmjane]

  • ...And tweets will seemingly have a one-hour edit window. [@alex193a]

  • Communities mods and admins on Android can now remove members from the Members list. iOS will follow "soon". [@HiCommunities]

  • Twitter is still developing a 'Status' feature. [@alex193a]

  • Twitter could soon bring advance search filters to its mobile apps. [@alex193a]

  • Twitter is working on a new seasonal icon, depicting a map of Europe. [@alex193a]

🔺 TikTok news

"TikTok is adding a range of new ways to encourage engagement with your in-stream ads, with new ‘Interactive Add-Ons’ which, as they sound, incorporate interactive elements into your video promotions."

New features and tests:

  • TikTok has added an auto volume adjustment feature to protect your hearing. [@MattNavarra]

  • TikTok says it is testing a feature to let users more easily train their For You page. [@stokel]

💥 More social media news and updates

It turns out that, for a (former) politician, Barack Obama has some pretty good anti-disinformation plans

  • YouTube 'rabbit holes' aren't as big a problem as some people believe, according to new research. [@BrendanNyhan]

  • Snapchat added 13 million daily active users in Q1 - an 18% year-on-year increase, meaning it's growing faster that Facebook and Twitter. [TechCrunch]

  • The EU is set to unveil legislation that will will force big tech platforms to police illegal content. [Financial Times $$$]#

  • There are now 200m creators worldwide, according to LinkTree. [@liahaberman]

  • Russia has sanctioned Mark Zuckerberg and the CEO of LinkedIn as part of a new tit-for-tat move. [TechCrunch]

  • Ghost writers can earn $700 per hour helping execs build up their personal brands on LinkedIn. [Insider $$$]

  • A YouTuber will lose his pilot license after allegedly faking a plane crash. [The Verge]

  • Scraping public web content is legal in the US, an appeals court has confirmed. LinkedIn brought the case to try to stop a company scraping its users profiles. [TechCrunch]

  • Coinbase is building what amounts to a social network based around NFTs. [Quartz]

Insights to give you an edge at work:

  • Interested in using Reddit ads? The company has shared new insights about its offering. [Social Media Today]

New features and tests:

  • YouTube has added a new Shorts shelf on the Trending page. [Social Media Today]

  • Pinterest has launched its first 'Color Takeover' campaign, to match products with colour search. Jameson is the first client. [Social Media Today]

  • Telegram has added a custom notification sound, new mute options, and more. [Android Police]

  • Mastodon has launched an official Android app. [XDA Developers]

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📖 Weekend reading

"These TikTok creators have theories and analysis for everything on the internet"

😳 And finally...

"Many pet owners have turned to social media to post pictures of their pets, but some people are now finding a way to keep their companions with them even longer by cloning the animals."

📅 Back next week...

…And that’s everything that went down this week!

Geekout. Done ✅

Right… I’m off to figure out how to monetise these Twitter profile visits!

Goodbye geeks!

— Matt

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