instagram influencers are fake AF

June 03, 2022

*Read this newsletter on the web for the best experience*

Hello, geeks!

I hope you’ve all had a jubilant week 👑 (*badum-tish* 🥁)

LOTS going on in social media land this week. I’m going to bring you up to speed in a moment. But first…

Did you see…

…You can watch the full video clip in my private Facebook Group for social media geeks.

Right… Shall we make a start? Your Geekout news download starts…. NOW! 👇

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🔥 GEEKOUT HOT 5

  1. Sheryl Sandberg is leaving Meta after 14 years at the top [LEAN OUT]

  2. Twitter is scaling back work on its creator platforms [REVUE BETTER BE SAFE]

  3. TweetDeck for Mac is being shut down by Twitter in July [THIS SUCKS]

  4. Meta launched a long list of new Reels features for creators [NEW STUFF]

  5. Amber Heard’s lawyer blames social media for losing case [OBJECTION]

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As always, I’ve read ALL this week’s social media news updates, so you don’t have to. Here’s a speedy rundown of most important or noteworthy developments:

Meta’s developing a new privacy-safe ‘basic ad’ product to “save its advertising business”… Messenger added a ‘Calls’ tab (I'm not sure anyone will use it much)... Instagram may soon let others view your profile pic super-sized… Instagram increased the character limit for profile names from 30 to 64 characters (can’t wait to see someone max that out)..

Instagram launched an AMBER alerts feature to help find missing children… WhatsApp is working on an edit button for sent messages (the abuse potential is strong with this one)...

Instagram is testing avatar reactions stickers for stories (anyone else bored of those cartoon avatars yet?)... Instagram’s boss confirmed it’s working on a 9:16 full screen image upload option.

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💎 HIDDEN GEM | 9 Top Tips to Finding Your Brand’s Voice on TikTok

  • TikTok is the hottest social media platform for brands in 2022

  • But finding your brand voice on TikTok can be tricky

  • Check out Emplifi’s top tips for TikTok with real-world examples, to help you get started on TikTok

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LinkedIn’s new analytics page for posts is nearly ready, including a new ‘audience’ tab for post analytics… YouTube’s mobile app is now a more useful second screen when synced with your smart TV…

Twitter removed nearly all its image filter effects (anyone know why?)... Twitter Communities added a pinned tweet feature and a chronological/algorithmic feed option… Twitter Spaces 30-day recording expiry limit may be going away (hope this is true)... And it may be about to fix video attribution in tweets.

TikTok’s enhanced editing tools are now being tested with select users… TechCrunch found out more info about TikTok's new ‘Clear Mode’ feature… TikTok users with 10k+ followers will now get access to its playlist feature (very useful)... Snapchat launched two new features: 1) Shared Stories 2) Dynamic Travel Ads… And it’s working on new 3D Bitmoji Selfies.

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WORTH A LOOK 👀

📈 TIKTOK: Check out TikTok’s new ‘Trends Discovery’ tool [GOING VIRAL]

✨ GIF-TASTIC: Is this the next generation of GIFs? [CHECK IT OUT]

💵 MONEY: TikTok stars who made more $ than America’s top CEOs [TIKTOK RICH LIST]

🍪 LOL: If tech companies made cookies [NOM-NOM-NOM]

⚡️ PRO-TIPS: A guide to photo dumps for brands and marketers [LEARN ME UP]

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Want more? Read on my friend… Analysis of the news headlines social media pros are talking about the most is coming up next 👇

— Matt

P.S. The Geekout Twitter Space will be back next week.

🚨 Everyone's talking about...

Timed to PR perfection for a story you don't want to cause too much of a fuss—the announcement went out minutes after the Depp/Heard verdict—Meta announced on Wednesday that Sheryl Sandberg is stepping down from the chief operating officer role she has held for 14 years.

But Sandberg has been more than a standard COO. She was the 'adult supervision' (to borrow a phrase from Google history) that helped Mark Zuckerberg turn Facebook from a scrappy startup into the behemoth we know today.

While some of her responsibilities have been passed to others over the years, there's no doubt her departure will be felt at Meta. Not too much, though, as she'll still be on the company's board.

The Wall Street Journal reports there has recently been "a company investigation into Ms. Sandberg’s activities... including a review of her use of corporate resources to help plan her coming wedding", which was still ongoing last month, but Meta claims this is not related to her departure.

Zuckerberg says the next COO will have more traditional responsibilities for the role. That will be current chief growth officer Javier Olivan, already a powerful figure within the company.

As the Verge notes, Mark Zuckerberg has reorganised the company's leadership so that power is entirely consolidated under him, so don't expect Zuck to be following Sandberg out the door any time soon.

And the changes at Meta didn't stop there. The news of Sandberg's departure (she's not actually leaving until after the summer) was followed by the announcement of a reorganisation of the company's A.I. team, designed to help Meta deploy the technology more efficiently company-wide.

As for Sandberg, she told Meta employees "it’s time to write the next chapter of my life".

I really tried not to mention El*n in this section of the newsletter. But while he's been focusing on Tesla in public this week, the storm he's caused inside Twitter with his acquisition bid continues to swirl.

Bloomberg reported this week that CEO Parag Agrawal has kicked off a reorganisation of staff:

Executives told workers of plans to pull back resources for some long-term ambitions, including audio spaces, newsletters and communities, in favor of focusing on more immediate needs, like user growth and personalization efforts, according to people familiar with the matter. That means many employees will be shuffled within the company’s consumer product group, the people said.

This set off alarm bells for me — Geekout runs on Twitter's Revue newsletter platform and most weeks we run a Twitter Space to accompany it. There's no sign these products we use will disappear, but they clearly risk being somewhat sidelined (don't worry - Geekout will continue whatever happens!).

Twitter has made a big push into the creator economy over the past couple of years. While not all of its initiatives were working, Spaces are clearly popular and things like Communities and Super Follows arguably just need a few tweaks and the right promotion to become successful.

We'll have to wait to see how that plays out, but a bigger storm could be brewing for Twitter staff. Musk made clear this week that he's no fan of remote work, saying Tesla employees had to return to the office or lose their jobs. Given Twitter is incredibly flexible about its employees locations these days, will the new boss reverse that course if the deal goes through? That could prove very unpopular indeed.

There were wails of despair across my Twitter feed this week from Twitter addicts distraught that the company is shutting down the Mac version of TweetDeck in a month's time.

For some, the web version just doesn't cut it, but like it or not, that's the future of Twitter's app for its most obsessive users. And the Windows and mobile versions of the app died long ago.

Twitter has been working on a new version of TweetDeck (for the web only) for quite some time, and testing it with a small number of users. Code found in recent weeks points to this new TweetDeck becoming a Twitter Blue subscriber perk soon.

But the death of the Mac app might not coincide with a wider rollout of the new TweetDeck. In a tweet, Twitter said the closure was so they could "focus on making TweetDeck even better and testing our new Preview," and that "more invites to try the Preview will be rolling out over the next few months".

People who have tested the new TweetDeck say it's not quite there yet in terms of things like speed and information density, so it's probably for the best if it's not launching yet. But Mac owners are going to have to get used to old TweetDeck in a browser for the time being. Or you could always try an alternative.

🗣️ Interview of the week

If you've ever opened up Know Your Meme to check what everyone's suddenly going on about, this interview with Don Caldwell, editor-in-chief of the site, is well worth a read.

🐤 No-context tweet

🤯 WTF?!

"According to an expert on artificial intelligence, would-be parents will soon be able to opt for cheap and cuddle-able digital offspring"

🔭 Musk watch

This is 👌

If you missed what this is all about, Sky News Australia explains the backstory here.

⤴️ Viral on TikTok

Why you've seen Binley Mega Chippy everywhere this week.

📃 Report of the week

Ofcom's Online Nation report is well worth a peruse if you want to understand UK social media use.

Ofcom also found that social media giants are failing women.

👀 Must-read of the week

"We need better boundaries" - do we need better ways to avoid being 'always on'?

🔨 Tool of the week

I love this quick, distraction-free reading tool. because it displays the webpage text in a separate distraction-free page.

This is great for people like me with ADHD and who read a lot content online across the day.

📈 Chart of the week

📊 Stats of the week

Tap through to learn more than you ever thought possible about pets on TikTok, in this thread 👇

🚨 New feature alert

This could be big news. Twitter could soon allow third-party tools provide content controls within the Twitter app itself. Think custom algorithms and dynamic blocklists, perhaps.

🤖 Future tech of the week

😬 Cringe of the week

Drop the mic Nadine. Please.

✅ On-point meme

💬 You can quote me on that

When I’m in the news, you’ll read about it here…

The Uvalde shooting has thrown a spotlight on a lesser-known social media app called Yubo

I spoke to NBC News about Yubo and its appeal to teen users.

🔵 Meta news

I bet there's a lot more of this kind of thing going on than we know about. "Intelligence agents wanted accounts of journalists and activists to be removed, whistleblowers say."

  • Meta has been accused of copying patented haptics tech for Quest 2. [Bloomberg $$$]

  • Meta will change its stock ticker symbol to $META from 9 June. [The Verge]

Insights to give you an edge at work:

  • What do marketers need to know about Instagram 'photo dumps'? [Hootsuite blog]

New features and tests:

Facebook:

  • Meta has announced Pride Month features across its apps, including themed stickers, AR and VR projects, and a LBGTQ+ safety hub. [Social Media Today]

  • Facebook's dark mode on iOS appears has disappeared for many users, although it's probably a mistake. [9to5Mac]

  • Facebook will soon remove the 'Hide all listings from friends' feature in Marketplace. [@ahmedghanem]

Instagram:

  • Instagram is adding Poll, Quiz and Emoji slider stickers to Reels, and officially extending the maximum Reel length to 90 seconds. [TechCrunch]

  • Instagram will include Amber Alerts in US users' feeds to help find missing children. [The Verge]

  • Instagram has been spotted testing avatar reactions along side emoji reactions for Stories. [@pururajdutta]

  • Instagram is testing a new 'Send' button for messages. [@hammodoh1]

  • ...and the Photos icon appears to be getting a refresh too. [@hammodoh1]

  • Instagram is enabling rainbows 🌈 for a number of hashtags for Pride Month. [@alex193a]

  • Instagram has been spotted testing a new way of handing images send in messages. [@ec_wife]

  • Shopping via Instagram messages has been spotted in action in Turkey. [@yousufortaccom]

  • Instagram is testing a 'priority' label on certain chats in the inbox. [@hammodoh1]

  • Instagram appears to have increased username character limit from 30 to 64 characters. [@RyanDoesSocial]

  • Instagram is “exploring” the ability to upload full-screen 9:16 images. [@MattNavarra]

  • Instagram could soon let you choose which Rubicon blockchain wallet you'd like to add your digital collectible to. [@alex193a]

  • Instagram is working on a redesigned share sheet , and a Remix button. [@salman_memon_7]

  • Instagram is still working on the ability to post digital collectibles that can be bought or won by users. [@alex193a]

  • Instagram could soon let you expand users' profile photos. [@alex193a]

  • Instagram continues to work on camera-based replies to Stories. [@edizmeta]

  • Instagram is working on redesigned elements to messages. [@edizmeta]

  • Instagram appears to be readying a 'trending Reels' feed. [@salman_memon_7]

Messenger:

WhatsApp:

  • WhatsApp is rolling out detailed reactions for shared albums to beta testers. [WABetaInfo]

  • WhatsApp is working on an edit message button for sent messages. [WABetaInfo]

  • WhatsApp is testing a filter for unread chats in its desktop app. [XDA Developers]

🐣 Twitter news

The SEC began investigating Elon Musk's Twitter share purchases as early as April, it has been revealed.

New features and tests:

  • Twitter has launched algorithmic timelines in Communities. [TechCrunch]

  • Twitter is rolling 'Circle' out more widely. [Android Police]

  • Twitter Communities admins can now pin tweets on the web version of the feature. [@HiCommunities]

  • Twitter's edit feature will include a countdown timer for how long you have to edit a tweet. [@nima_owji]

  • ...and you won't be able to engage with an old version of an edited tweet. [@nima_owji]

  • Twitter is working on 'Content Control Tools, which appear to be a way for third-party tools to plug into Twitter's own app. [@wongmjane]

  • A new label has been spotted in Twitter: "people you follow often like {user)’s tweets". [@kerempekedis]

  • Twitter appears closer to launching an 'About' tab on profiles. [@nima_owji]

  • Twitter could launch a redesigned navigation bar. [@wongmjane]

  • Twitter is working on linking the attribution of reposted videos to the source Tweet. [@wongmjane]

  • Twitter could soon roll out a redesigned conversation UI. [@alex193a]

  • Twitter has unveiled its latest seasonal app icons for Blue subscribers. [@jonah_manzano]

  • Apple's WWDC 2022 hashflag is now live on Twitter. [AppleInsider]

🔺 TikTok news

The series will cost $4.99 to watch, after two free episodes.

  • TikTok has announced activities for Pride Month, including a number of live-stream programmes. [Social Media Today]

  • Halsey now has a release date for their album. The star caused a stir by complaining about the release being tied up in a dispute over TikTok promotion. [Variety]

New features and tests:

  • TikTok has launched its playlists feature for creators with more than 10,000 followers. [@jonah_manzano]

  • TikTok is testing adding Stories to the Inbox page. [@hammodoh1]

  • TikTok has started testing its enhanced clips editor. [@jonah_manzano]

  • TikTok has been spotted showing 'search' above certain comments. [@jonah_manzano]

💥 More social media news and updates

"The ruling means Texans won't be able to sue big tech platforms for content decisions until the law gets a full trial."

  • Social media giants aren't doing enough to protect women online, UK regulator Ofcom has found. [TechCrunch]

  • British MPs will investigate influencer pay amid evidence of a racial gap. [The Guardian]

  • Snap has filed a patent application for animating 3D avatars based on full body tracking of a user captured in a video. [Patent Drop]

  • LinkedIn is getting better at beating spam and scams, the company says. [Social Media Today]

  • Pinterest has acquired an A.I.-powered shopping startup called The Yes. [TechCrunch]

  • Pinterest has expanded its creator fund to the UK and Brazil, with an emphasis on LGBTQIA+ creators. [Social Media Today]

  • Foursquare founder Dennis Crowley has co-founded LivingCities, a mysterious early-stage startup building a social layer for virtual spaces. [TechCrunch]

  • The Jonas Brothers have supported the launch of a company called Scriber that le4ts celebrities charge fans for exclusive content via text messages. [Axios]

  • 3D GIFs? A company called Looking Glass has invented 'portable holograms'. [The Verge]

Insights to give you an edge at work:

  • Want to get smarter at marketing on Reddit? The company has shared some creative best practices. [Social Media Today]

New features and tests:

  • Snap and YouTube are running special initiatives for Pride Month. [TubeFilter]

  • YouTube for Android and iOS can now connect to your TV for easy commenting and sharing. [TechCrunch]

  • LinkedIn is working on an 'Audience' tab in analytics. [@nima_owji]

  • ...and LinkedIn is working on new post analytics too. [@nima_owji]

  • LinkedIn is developing a redesigned inbox split between 'Focused' and 'Other'. [@nima_owji]

  • LinkedIn is still working on a 'Repost' feature. [@nima_owji]

  • LinkedIn could add a 'Post a Job for Free' ad to the navbar. [@nima_owji]

  • Snapchat has added a 'Shared Stories' feature. [Social Media Today]

  • Snapchat now offers 'dynamic travel ads'. [Adweek $$$]

  • Snapchat has been spotted offering 3D Bitmoji selfies. [@KenSchillinger]

  • Discord has added text chat to voice channels. [TechCrunch]

  • Tumblr now lets you disable the ability for people to reblog your posts. [The Verge]

💲 Advertise in Geekout

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You should advertise in Geekout!

Get in touch: [email protected]

📖 Weekend reading

Influencers discovered there’s money and clout to be made in covering breaking news... The trial became an online phenomenon, thanks in large part to the creators and influencers who pivoted their accounts to focus solely on the trial, almost universally with pro-Depp stance.

😳 And finally...

Oops.

📅 Back next week...

…And that’s a wrap!

You are now fully briefed on EVERYTHING new in social media this week.

—

💖 CAN YOU HELP ME?

I spent a full day writing this edition of Geekout

I sent it to 19.5k people (including you) for free

I’d really appreciate it if you shared it with your network

—

Right… Time for me to go drool over the NEW all-electric DeLorean. 🔥

Sadly it won’t have a flux capacitor. ⚡️

Goodbye geeks!

— Matt

________________

This newsletter is edited by Martin SFP Bryant

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