Hello, geeks!

Well hello again, you! Welcome to this week’s Geekout.

Before we dive in… I just discovered an awesome new AI powered tool for people who fear public speaking or giving work presentations. 🤖🔥

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Back in social media land… It’s been another fiery week full of hot headlines, legal drama, and plenty of new meme-worthy moments…

… The Internet reacted to a disastrous viral Willy Wonka experience 💀

… A chatbot refused to say whether Elmo Mush (that was a typo but i'm leaving it in) is better than Adolf Hitler. 😬

… Zuck is in Japan and REALLY likes their McDonalds 🍔

… I discovered what the TikTok  ‘Hamstering’ trend is all about (people are weird) 😵

In more serious news…

TikTok vs. Universal Music raging on, Facebook fully exiting the news business, and the future of free speech online in the U.S being decided in the Supreme Court.

All that, and the rest of this week’s updates, are coming up next. 

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DON’T MISS THIS… Dash Hudson’s latest Social Media Trends report was the most downloaded report I’ve shared in Geekout in the past year. 🔥

So… I’ve teamed up with Dash Hudson to create a FREE webinar for social media managers and marketers based on their must-read report.

You don’t want to miss this one! 👇

I've teamed up with Dash Hudson to create a FREE webinar for social media and marketing pros. This is one you don’t want to miss!

I’m joining Kate Kenner Archibald, Dash Hudson’s CMO, to dive into their latest Social Media Trends Report: ‘The Next Phase of Creator, Organic and Paid Marketing.’

During this webinar, you’ll learn… 🔥

…And I will be sharing my analysis and insights, based on my work with some of the world’s biggest brands.

Make sure you request your invite. This is going to be a good one! 👌

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Our hottest picks of the week:

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If you thought Universal Music’s falling out with TikTok had calmed down and we were just waiting for a deal to be announced, think again. It’s just got a whole lot worse.

TikTok’s deal with Universal’s publishing arm has now expired. This means many more songs on non-Universal labels, but written by songwriters signed to Universal Music Publishing Group, could be taken down as soon as today.

Exactly how many songs we’re talking about isn’t clear, but it’s certainly another big chunk of the music TikTok users have had access to until now, and will include songs by the likes of Harry Styles and Adele.

This will lead to more silenced videos and fewer choices for TikTok creators. But TikTok itself might not be too worried.

As Erin Woo writes for The Information, TikTok is less focused on music than it used to be:

With profitability and shopping at the core of TikTok’s priorities right now, music deals can take a back seat.

So has Universal overplayed its hand? Parts of the music industry have become reliant on TikTok to develop audiences for artists. That time might be be coming towards a close, or at least TikTok might be less effective in the future.

What could replace TikTok as a music marketing channel if that happens? I imagine that’s a question being asked across the music industry at the moment.

In the end though, it’s users who will ultimately lead the way. If they adapt to a TikTok with much less music, the company will see very little reason to accommodate Universal’s demands.

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We discovered this week that Threads is working on the ability to archive posts.

Having the choice for your old posts to disappear from public view is something many Twitter users asked for over the years.

It’s not fun to have some troll dig through your top-of-your-head, throwaway thoughts from years ago to find a post that unfairly paints you in a bad light.

And if you don’t feel like you’re going to be held accountable in a few years for a casual post today, you might post more.

While Twitter never implemented such a feature, Threads appears to be planning it.

But rather than bury it as an option, Threads boss Adam Mosseri suggested this week that all posts should be auto-archived after a month.

That would certainly stop the archive-trawling trolls, but Threads users are NOT into the idea, as the results of Mosseri’s poll (screenshot above) show.

Many users in the replies were baffled by the idea, which they saw as stopping Threads becoming a true Twitter replacement.

A Twitter replacement doesn’t need to exactly copy everything that Twitter was. But it’s clear that compulsory auto-archiving would be a step too far. Threads isn’t Snapchat, after all.

Mosseri might want to archive that particular poll if the feature eventually launches as an option for those who want it.

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Everything else you need to know from the past seven days…

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Here’s the thing that’s been impossible to escape this week… and something to think about next time someone says ‘let’s just use A.I. for the advertising images’: reality just can’t live up to what you’ve promised people!

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News that Wendys was planning to introduce Uber-style surge pricing for burgers at peak times let to a lot of memes as people asked WTF:

Meanwhile, the hilariously terrible Willy Wonka experience was perfect meme fodder too:

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It’s been a week of bad stuff going viral. First Google had to deny a hoax spread on X:

Also this week…

Platforms struggled to contain a graphic video of a man who set himself on fire.

As of Monday, an uncensored video of the incident had a view count of nearly 200,000.

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This is a great look at “how an iconic pretzel brand that’s been around for 26 years continues to go viral over and over again”:

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Thought TikTok was largely full of Gen-Z and younger? Think again:

Also:

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“I don't tend to use the P word."

– OnlyFans’ CEO really doesn’t want you calling it a p*rn site

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Instagram and Threads boss Adam Mosseri was in Japan and South Korea with Mark Zuckerberg this week, and he picked up some interesting insights worth sharing…

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If you don’t already know what ‘hamstering’ is, you’ll never guess.

One thing’s for sure - it’s NSFW and very, very silly:

Also:

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Google’s much-hyped Gemini chatbot has had people cringeing in recent days. One of its biggest fails was being unable to say who was worse: Elon Musk or Hitler.

I’m no fan of Musk, but I think that’s one’s pretty clear…

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I’m looking forward to friend of Geekout, Taylor Lorenz’s new video podcast with Vox Media.

Expect “a weekly video show centered around conversation and analysis fueled by Lorenz' reporting and online obsessions”

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How does Steven Bartlett’s team pick the right thumbnail for his YouTube videos?

You might not expect the answer to be… Facebook ads.

Fraser Cottrell breaks it down over on X:

Also:

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This is fun: Yolk is a social app with no text. You can only communicate with animated stickers that A.I. generates for you:

Also:

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Social media features heading for the graveyard:

If you have kids who use the YouTube Kids app on your TV, be prepared for it to stop working in July.

Instead, you’ll have to open up the normal YouTube app, where kids profiles will show up alongside your own. The Kids apps on iOS and Android are sticking around, though.

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All the ways A.I. is transforming social media:

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5 billion

Global social media users have passed the 5 billion milestone ...Equivalent to 62.3% of the world’s population.

Also:

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Here’s how the typical big YouTuber makes money, according to a new tool from Karat:

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Insights to give you an edge at work:

New features and tests:

Facebook:

Instagram:

Threads:

WhatsApp:

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

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New features and tests:

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Insights to give you an edge at work:

New features and tests:

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Insights to give you an edge at work:

New features and tests:

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Looks like Zuck had a fun week.

His business tour of Asia also gave him some downtime in Japan. He dined in a McDonald’s (not always easy for a billionaire!) and wielded a traditional Japanese katana sword:

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… And that’s EVERYTHING new in social media this week.

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Quick reminder…

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Right then… Let’s get outta here. 👋👋

I’m heading off to build my own Willy Wonka experience using an old trampoline in the garage, and leftover sweets from Halloween. Time to cash-in. 🍭

Goodbye, geeks!

p.s. This newsletter is edited by Martin SFP Bryant