Gen-Z says we’re using this emoji wrong…

August 13, 2021

*View this newsletter online for the best reading experience*

Hello, geeks!

Apparently we might all be using the 🙂 emoji wrong. Are you?

Yeah....If you say so, Gen-Z! 🙄🖕

🔥 GEEKOUT HOT 10

  1. Facebook says it's pivoting to privacy… Everyone: “but are you really?”

  2. TikTok’s new safety features for teens include no notifications after 9pm 

  3. Facebook just made it a bit easier to quit Facebook 

  4. Facebook’s deal to buy Giphy for $400m is in trouble

  5. Instagram’s got another new feature to help users beat the trolls

  6. TikTok overtook Facebook to become world’s most downloaded app in 2020

  7. Twitter’s image cropping algorithm prefers younger, slimmer, attractive white people

  8. Instagram is testing a new place to show you ads

  9. WhatsApp for the web is getting (basic) image editing features

  10. Twitter Spaces is getting a useful new emoji feature

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Being a social media manager in 2021 is a tough gig. We’ve all seen it...As soon as a big brand posts a tweet that goes viral for all the wrong reasons, you can guarantee some moron will reply saying “Time to fire the intern!” or some other clueless BS.

You’d think they’d at least get the respect and support they deserve from their colleagues and bosses at work? You’d think… but often you’d be wrong. Social media managers are often underpaid, undervalued, and lack the tools they need to do their jobs effectively. If this sounds familiar, *check out this article*. You might find it useful.

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💎 HIDDEN GEM | Viralcopy - Social media copy in seconds auto-magically generated by A.I

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🔊 NEW GEEKOUT PODCAST EPISODES...

Have you checked out the new episodes of my Geekout podcast yet?.

Catch up and listen to my conversations with WhatsApp boss Will Cathcart, Shopify exec Shimona Mehta, and the BBC’s ‘TikTok journalist’ Sophia Smith Galer.

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ICYMI...

Okay… Enough of the fun stuff… Let’s jump into the headlines social media managers have been talking about most this week 👇

— Matt

P.S. 🗣 Join me LIVE on Twitter Spaces for Geekout Weekly

When: Friday 13 August @ 4pm (BST)

What: My thoughts and opinions on everything new in the world of social media from the past 7 days.

How: Just keep an eye on my Twitter account and I'll tweet when we go live.

🚨 Everyone's talking about...

Facebook hated Apple's changes to user tracking in iOS, but they might just have helped push the company to rethink how it targets ads.

The Verge reports:

Hundreds of engineers are rebuilding how Facebook’s ads work to place more value on user privacy, according to Graham Mudd, a top ad executive at the company.

Along with Google, Facebook is examining several privacy-enhancing techniques to deliver personalized ads without knowing anything about the specific individuals who view them. That’s an about-face from how ad targeting has worked online to date.

Facebook denies this means it has lost its fight against Apple. Instead, it claims to be taking a more collaborative route that brings the advertising industry along for the ride in developing a more privacy-focused approach, rather than simply shutting the door on tracking at the expense of advertisers.

At present, this is nothing more than a PR push from Facebook. Yes, it may have hundreds of engineers working on 'privacy-enhancing technologies' (or 'PETs') but we're a long way from knowing exactly how they'll work in the context of Facebook's advertising business or users' privacy.

Facebook likes to make big announcements, and this really is big. But until it's more than just announcement, privacy activists should hold off on the celebration firework display.

Who could have predicted this? You pay a load of money to creators so they'll make content on your platform. And then they disappear as soon as you stop paying as much. As CNBC reports:

[Snap announced] it would no longer pay $1 million per day. Instead, Snap would pay “millions” per month starting June 1...

Now, these creators are complaining that payments have dwindled since that change, and searching for other short-form video platforms where they can find the kind of hefty payments they used to get from Snap.

CNBC highlights one creator who went from posting 100 videos per day to zero since June when payments became more "erratic."

As I've highlighted in this newsletter many times lately, platforms are offering creators a cash bonanza at the moment. But the best creators aren't on a platform just because they love it. Just like your favourite footballer switches teams to where the money is best, creators know they're in demand and make the most of it.

If those payouts aren't sustained for the long run, creators will move. A TV production company wouldn't keep making a show for a network that massively reduced its payments for that show.

The best creators aren't just users looking for an occasional bit of income, they're skilled professionals. And platforms need to treat them that way.

Online English football racism is a problem that keeps coming back into the headlines, because platforms haven't treated it seriously enough.

The New York Times this week detailed Facebook's failures in this arena, which largely boil down to putting the emphasis on the targets of the abuse to block the racism rather than stopping the racism being published in the first place.

Facebook is still trying. It introduced new tools this week to help block abuse on Instagram, but part of the problem is a moderation system that—through relying on a narrow definition of abuse—seems to often assume the best possible intent of the abuser.

A post that says "Bro stay in Africa" (reportedly allowed to stay up on Instagram) doesn't include any words that could reasonably be banned, but it's dumb, racist abuse that makes sense once you read it in the context it's presented. Moderation policies need to become more sophisticated to account for this.

Meanwhile, fans of simple solutions to complex problems will not be happy to hear that Twitter says 99% of the accounts it suspended for sending abusive messages sent to footballers via its platform during Euro 2020 were not from anonymous accounts.

Join us live on Twitter Spaces this Monday:

Special Guests: Carole Cadwalladr & Prof. David Caroll

When: 16 August @ 4pm (BST)

Carole Cadwalladr exposed the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and Professor David Carroll is a well-known personal data activist as seen in the Netflix documentary ‘The Great Hack’. They’re both members of the self-styled 'Real Facebook Oversight Board’ so this is set to be a great conversation about what’s wrong with social media and how they think it should be fixed.

👀 ICYMI...

Stories you need to know about:

Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp:

It's rare that Facebook finds itself on the right side of a privacy scandal, but this week it got a chance.

  • Facebook has shuttered an anti-vaccine influencer campaign allegedly based in Russia and targeting the US, Latin America, and India. [BBC News]

  • But there are still deep divisions between Facebook and the White House over vaccine misinformation. [New York Times $$$]

  • Facebook seems to be charging 15% more for ads that brands can specify not to run near sensitive topics. [AdAge $$$]

  • Facebook has delayed its return to the office in the US until January. [The Verge]

Twitter:

Brazil winning silver in the women's street skateboarding was the most tweeted about event of the Olympics.

TikTok:

TikTok appears to not test its beauty filters on a diverse range of faces.

And the rest…

The company has raised a fresh $410m of funding, on its road to being listed on the stock market.

  • YouTube will make children's uploads private by default. [Variety]

  • YouTube has launched a global campaign to promote Shorts via ads on rival platforms TikTok and Snapchat. [9to5google]

  • Two YouTube rippers have shut down in the the US and UK after giving up a legal fight. [TorrentFreak]

  • Tech platforms are racing to comply with new UK privacy rules, coming into force next month. [Axios]

  • Video platform Rumble, popular with conservatives, is going to pay creators who 'challenge the status quo', including journalist Glenn Greenwald [Washington Post $$$]

  • Twitch is to share more information with streamers about why they've been banned. [The Verge]

  • Twitch says it will do more to safeguard users, following a user campaign asking it to 'do better'. [Gizmodo]

  • An interview with Lionel Messi on Twitch drew an audience of more than 317,000 people. [AdAge $$$]

  • Snapchat says it's successful at quelling misinformation on its platform. [Social Media Today]

❓ Question of the week

What's the social media manager tool you wish existed... but disappointingly doesn't?

Check out this thread of hopeful suggestions, and maybe add your own?

👌 Pro tip of the week

What makes a tweet go viral?

This thread has some insightful answers + smart tips to level-up your tweets 👇

📈 Chart of the week

The Information is great at offering reference charts like this. Here's how all the main social platforms currently compare on features...

📊 Stat of the week

You probably thought it was high, but...

🌟 New feature of the week

If you've ever had to start again after spending ages carefully crafting the perfect Instagram Story, you'll love this...

🔨 Tool of the week

This service creates songs in seconds using A.I. But rather than using them as royalty-free background music for your videos, it lets you earn royalties yourself from other people streaming and using them.

🐣 Tweet of the week

How QR codes are REALLY made?

A still screenshot doesn't do this one justice. Tap through to see it in action!

🔍 Insights

Social media data, insights and reports to give you an edge at work:

  • What makes video content work on Facebook? The company has offered pointers. [Social Media Today]

📲 Quick hits

Updates, experiments, and useful info snippets:

  • Facebook Dating has been enhanced with three new features: Match Anywhere, Lucky Pick and Audio Dates. [@alexvoica]

  • Instagram now lets you limit comments and requests on popular posts. [Engadget]

  • Instagram now has an audio tab in search, to help you find music trends to tap into for Reels. [Social Media Today]

  • Instagram is working on lists, letting you mute a group of users in one go. [@alex193a]

  • Instagram is working on a redesigned clips editor in Reels. [@alex193a]

  • Instagram is still working on a 'fan clubs' feature. [@alex193a]

  • Instagram may soon offer a parallax effect for chat themes. [@alex193a]

  • WhatsApp is testing new emoji in its Android beta. [Android Police]

  • WhatsApp will let you port your chat history and media between iOS and Android. [The Verge]

  • WhatsApp is working on status updates on the contact information page. [@WABetaInfo]

  • WhatsApp has a new 'Fantasy Football for All' sticker pack. [@WABetaInfo]

  • Twitter's Super Follow feature has been detailed in new screenshots. [9to5Mac]

  • Twitter is working on adding scheduled Spaces to Google or Apple calendars. [@alex193a]

  • Twitter has expanded its Spaces voice effects test to 50% of iOS users. [@TwitterSpaces]

  • Twitter has introduced new music-related 'hashflags'. [Adweek $$$]

  • Twitter could soon let you block or report a user straight from your followers list. [@alex193a]

  • Twitter is working on the ability to pin conversations. [@alex193a]

  • Twitter may start using phone numbers to verify user accounts. [Insider $$$]

  • Twitter Blue now includes a 'view in reader mode' button in threads. [Adweek $$$]

  • YouTube now lets you skip video chapters with a two-finger tap on Android. [9to5Google]

  • YouTube on desktop now has a pop-out preview player for the Home feed. [9to5Google]

  • YouTube Studio now has dark mode and hashtag usage statistics. [Social Media Today]

  • Twitch has fixed a vulnerability that let trolls circumvent chat filters. [The Verge]

  • LinkedIn will now let users feature reviews and ratings from clients for the services they offer. [@MattNavarra]

  • LinkedIn is testing a prompt inviting you to turn a comment into a new post. [@MattNavarra]

  • Snapchat is developing the ability to link your friends list with your phone contacts. [@alex193a]

  • Signal now lets you set messages to disappear by default. [TechCrunch]

📖 Weekend reading

"The Metaphysic founders envision using deepfakes to do everything from making older entertainers appear younger to creating video doubles of famous people that can be used to make commercials — or any type of content — without needing them to be physically on set."

💀 Meme of the week

📅 Back next week...

...And that’s everything you need to know about this week, folks!

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Right... Time for me to go on a very weird Tinder date.

Don’t ask...My adventures in dating continue!

— Matt

PS. I ❤️ getting emails from you...

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This newsletter is edited by Martin SFP Bryant.

Copyright 2021: Matt Navarra Media Ltd

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