the new worst job in social

February 18, 2022

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

Hello, you!

Welcome to this week’s jam-packed edition of Geekout.

To kick things off:

  • This might be the (new) worst job in social [HELL NO!]

  • My Facebook Group experiment went very wrong, very quickly [FULL STORY]  

  • I revealed my favourite Twitter accounts [VIEW LIST]

  • Meet the ‘Tinder Swindler’ Swindlers [HELLO SIMON] 

  • The Instagram account you’re not following… but should [FOLLOW]

Moving on… This week’s most noteworthy social media news updates:

🔥 GEEKOUT HOT 5

  1. Meta’s Apologist-in-Chief, Nick Clegg got a promotion [LINK] 

  2. Meta revealed new cringey corporate slogans [LINK] …And Facebook’s News Feed has a new name [LINK] 

  3. Instagram rolled out Private Likes for Stories [LINK] 

  4. Snapchat launched Ads in Stories with revenue share for creators [LINK]

  5. Twitter made it easy to spot good bot accounts [LINK] 

—

Ready for my brain dump of everything else that got my attention this week? Lets go…!

Twitter is working on showing Spaces hosts how many people RSVP’d…And it added more payment services to its Tipping feature (but is anyone even using it?)... Reels on Facebook is now a thing for more users… Snapchat will soon let you change your username in-app… Donald Trump’s Truth app was made available to hundreds of test users…And here’s Trump’s first Truth post (looks a bit like exactly like Twitter).

Tinder Swindler Simon Leviev is now selling personalised video messages on Cameo for $200 (of course he is)... TikTok’s Avatar feature has been spotted in the wild… Baby Shark is being made into a feature-length movie (please god, no)... Facebook changed the name of News Feed to just ‘Feed’. Then came the memes… Disney appointed an exec to lead its metaverse strategy.

__

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How the UK’s number 1 baby food brand increased customer interactions by 215% and average daily Instagram reach by 112% | Learn how

__

Twitter rolled out its Safety Mode feature to more users (I have it… troll me so I can test it out)... TikTok is giving the world an unprecedented view of the build up to war in Ukraine… Meta’s flashy Super Bowl ad got mixed reviews (dystopian vibes was the general take)... And Meta’s Foo Fighters metaverse gig thing was plagued by tech issues…

Meanwhile, BuzzFeed shone a spotlight on more issues with Meta’s Horizons VR world… It turns out Joe Rogan got paid more (a lot more!) for that Spotify deal.

…And finally, I get the best reviews on Twitter 😂

—

WORTH A LOOK… 👀

⭐️ WORK IT: What a celebrity social media manager does [LINK]

🛠 TOOLS: New video editing tools worth checking out [LINK]

✍️ TIPS: Write better headlines like the pros at LinkedIn News [LINK]

🤓 TIKTOK: The psychology of TikTok [LINK] 

🤖 EXPLAINER: How Instagram’s algorithm really works [LINK] 

—

Told you it was jam-packed!

Right… Let’s dig into those top stories in a bit more detail. 👇

— Matt

P.S. Join us for the Geekout Debrief on Twitter Spaces at 8AM PT / 1PM ET / 4PM UK today (FRI 18 FEB) - LISTEN / REPLAY

✨ SPECIAL GUEST: Will Oremus, Washington Post

⚡ Breaking news

Big cultural moment in the UK right now: More than 200,000 people are currently watching planes struggling to land in high winds, live on YouTube. It's like #DrummondPuddleWatch but with planes and a bit more action.

🚨 Everyone's talking about...

Ahoy there, Metamates! Mark Zuckerberg announced a bunch of changes this week aimed at transforming Meta's internal culture as it prepares for a future packed with more regulation, antitrust investigations, and that big shift to metaverse.

As Insider reported:

[Zuckerberg] said in a post on his Facebook page that he had told employees in a virtual all-hands meeting that he wanted the workforce to adopt a new motto: "Meta, Metamates, Me."...

Zuckerberg made some other announcements during the meeting, like the company's move away from the value of "move fast," which he said would be tweaked to "move fast together." Facebook is known for its early-days anthem of "move fast and break things."

It's all a bit... cringe, isn't it? Like when your bosses decide that rather than make deep, difficult, but necessary cultural changes, they think a few new slogans will do the job. In fact, it's exactly like that.

To be fair, Google employees are called Googlers, which is pretty silly in its own way. But 'Metamates' is several leagues sillier. Even the man who came up with the name later admitted it wasn't even his first choice.

The announcement came alongside other changes, like the Facebook News Feed being renamed the Feed (well, it doesn't have much news in it these days, does it?), a move that spurred a bunch of memes.

But perhaps the most significant change was the promotion of Nick Clegg to sit right at the top table of the company alongside Zuck and Sheryl Sandberg. With Clegg now president for global affairs, it's a sign how important making the right impression with politicians and regulators will be to Meta's future.

But even now, with three captains ruling over a global team of Metamates, there's still no doubt that Zuck's iron grip on the company remains. Whatever Meta's future holds, it's still firmly his responsibility for better or worse.

If you thought Google—an advertising company reliant on tracking people's online activity— wouldn't follow in Apple's footsteps to shift away from rampant user tracking on its mobile platform, you'd have been proven wrong this week. Brace yourselves, Meta.

As CNBC reports:

Google said it’s developing new privacy-focused replacements for its advertising ID, a unique string of characters that identifies the user’s device. The digital IDs in smartphones often help ad-tech companies track and share information about consumers.

The changes could affect big companies that have relied on tracking users across apps, like Facebook parent Meta. Apple’s adjustments hit Meta particularly hard, for example. Meta said earlier this month Apple’s privacy changes will decrease the social media company’s sales this year by about $10 billion. That news contributed to wiping $232 billion from the company’s market cap in a single day, eventually pushing the total below $600 billion. Last June, Meta was worth more than $1 trillion.

Google's approach will be slower and more cautious than Apple's, reflecting the fact that Google's reliance on ad revenue means it can't afford to be as blunt as Apple, which takes a 'privacy above all else' approach because it takes far more of its revenue directly from consumers than Google does.

So while Meta stands to lose out again here, at least it has time to figure out solutions. Google itself, of course, likely stands to win here - earning privacy points from consumers while still knowing plenty about what its users are doing on its own mobile platform.

It's no secret that YouTube is rife with misinformation and conspiracy theory rabbit holes that can radicalise users in dangerous ways. Just last month fact-checkers from around the world sent the platform an open letter urging it to do more to tackle the problem.

Now YouTube has announced a three-pronged strategy:

  • Catching new misinformation before it goes viral

  • Addressing shares of misinformation

  • Ramping up misinformation efforts work around the world

This is just top-level words for now. The platform hasn't announced practical actions, but even if it's late at getting serious about the problem, at least YouTube is addressing it in what seems like a serious manner.

In its announcement blog post, YouTube notes that context is important, and that (for example) blocking all shares of a video might be counterproductive if, say, a report about misinformation wants to embed a video for educational purposes.

But hopefully these tricky nuances won't stop YouTube moving on from making the right noises as it has done this week, to taking the right actions soon enough.

🎧 Podcast of the week

Bloomberg’s Foundering podcast is excellent.

The TikTok story in season 2 was so good, and season 3 is all about Amazon. Listen to the trailer here...

👀 Must read of the week

Teen TikTok star’s ‘fan’ turns up at her home with a gun. Dad shoots him dead. A dark, disturbing, but true story.

❓ Question of the week

Working in social media is no easy gig. But what would it take to make people quit? Tap through to find out... 👇

🐣 Tweet of the week

When Instagram spam becomes a meme (for the love of god, Instagram, fix this!)

👌 Pro tip

I asked for account recommendations on Twitter, and my followers shared LOADS for you to check out 👇

🙋 Poll of the week

This week I asked my LinkedIn followers a fun question with a revealing result...

🔵 Meta news

All the latest from Meta brands: Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and beyond:

It's early days for seeing how long they'll stick around, but it seems a lot of people are at least trying Horizon Worlds.

  • Meta's policing of Horizon Worlds has been called into question again after a world that deliberately broke the rules was deemed acceptable. [BuzzFeed News]

  • Texas has sued Meta over its facial recognition system. [Financial Times $$$]

  • Publishers have been underwhelmed by Instagram's video ad revenue sharing programme. [Digiday]

  • The Facebook story will be told in the second season of TV show Super Pumped. Season one focused on Uber. [Entertainment Weekly]

  • New details have emerged about the spat between Meta and Apple. [Vox]

  • Meta is gradually getting to grips with underreporting of ad conversions on iOS following Apple's privacy changes. [Social Media Today]

  • Meta has completed its acquisition of Kustomer, after getting clearance from regulators. [Reuters $$$]

  • Meta's Super Bowl ad didn't entirely get the reaction the company will have hoped for. [Slashgear]

  • Meta now allows businesses to advertise and sell Covid-19 testing kits. [Adweek $$$]

  • Meta's stream of a Foo Fighters gig in Horizon Venues didn't go exactly to plan. [UploadVR]

  • Mark Zuckerberg's vision of the metaverse could be held back by a need for hardware that doesn't yet exist. [Protocol]

  • Full body tracking is probably not viable for Quest 2, Meta says. [Road to VR]

New features and tests:

Facebook:

  • Facebook News is rolling out in France. [Meta newsroom]

  • Facebook has added six new writers to its Bulletin newsletter platform. [@facebookapp]

  • Reels is rolling out on Facebook. [@MattNavarra]

  • Facebook could soon support posting reactions to Reels videos. [@alex193a]

  • Facebook is still working on the Status feature that could soon support photos and videos. [@alex193a]

Instagram:

  • Instagram is rolling out private Likes for Stories. [Social Media Today]

  • Instagram has a new 'long-press and hold to quick share with a friend' feature. [@MattNavarra]

  • Instagram is working on letting you search for users by username or name. [@alex193a]

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

  • Instagram is still working on letting you pin up to three posts to your profile. [@alex193a]

  • The font of the Product sticker is now changeable on Instagram. [@ahmedghanem]

  • New filtering options for Instagram messages have been spotted in the wild. [@WFBrother]

  • Reels now suggests audio to make videos with. [@WFBrother]

  • Instagram is working on an 'Add Yours' sticker for Reels. [@alex193a]

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

  • Instagram is building a 'Remix this photo' option for Reels. [@alex193a]

WhatsApp:

  • WhatsApp is rolling out the ability to listen to an audio message while in another chat on iOS. [9to5Mac]

  • More information has been spotted about WhatsApp's forthcoming Communities feature. [WABetaInfo]

  • WhatsApp is testing cover photos for business profiles. [Times of India]

  • WhatsApp is rolling out a return to the previous contacts list interface. [WABetaInfo]

  • WhatsApp is testing rich document previews. [XDA Developers]

🐣 Twitter news

Parag Agrawal’s move to take time off after the birth of his child is a positive step in the US, where paternity leave isn't always normal part of being a new parent.

  • Twitter has started blocking explicit adult content in Germany, following pressure from regulators. [Wired]

  • Twitter has announced special activities around the Oscars. [Adweek $$$]

  • And Twitter a partnership lined up to tie in with NBA All-Star Weekend. [Social Media Today]

  • Elon Musk has faced heat for his tweets again, after he likened Justin Trudeau to Adolf Hitler. [The Guardian]

New features and tests:

  • Twitter is expanding its 'safety mode' to around 50% of users in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. [TechCrunch]

  • Twitter has officially launched labels to identify 'good bots' on the platform. [TechCrunch]

  • Twitter now lets you pin up to six conversations in your DMs tab. [@TwitterSupport]

  • Twitter is working on additional admin controls around invites. [@nima_owji]

  • Twitter has added ETH support to its tipjar feature. [TechCrunch]

  • Twitter has been spotted offering the like and downvote buttons on some tweets in the notifications tab. [@yousufortaccom]

  • Twitter Blue subscribers could soon be able to publish videos in 1080p. [@alex193a]

  • Twitter will soon show Spaces hosts how many people RSVP’d. [@MattNavarra]

  • Twitter Spaces has added switched up some of its reaction emojis. [@SBkcrn]

🔺 TikTok news

TikTok has provided the world with an unprecedented view of the tense ongoing situation in Ukraine.

  • TikTok is still poaching hundreds of content moderators from big tech contractors in Europe that serve the likes of Meta. [Financial Times $$$]

  • TikTok has been criticised for recommending live 'simulated sex' videos. [Mashable]

  • Reports that TikTok can circumvent user privacy controls on iOS and Android are exaggerated and distorted. [Apple Insider]

  • The Ting Tings are enjoying a fresh burst of fame thanks to TikTok. [Variety]

Insights to give you an edge at work:

  • TikTok has launched a new Brand Safety Center as "a central hub for insights, articles, partnerships and all things brand safety and transparency at TikTok." [@TikTokBusiness]

New features and tests:

  • TikTok's avatars feature has started rolling out to some users. [@MattNavarra]

💥 More social media news and updates

Snapchat is to offer revenue share on ads for some of its biggest creators.

  • Privacy campaigners have warned the UK government against its plan to enforce age checks on platforms that host explicit adult material. [The Guardian]

  • The EU could finalise new regulations for social media companies as soon as June. [Reuters $$$]

  • Americans think social media companies should police themselves without government intervention, a new survey says. [CNet]

  • California could soon introduce UK-style child safety laws for social media. [Financial Times $$$]

  • Tinder is alerting users about its use of human and automated moderators in private messages. If you don’t agree, you can’t send a message. [@MattNavarra]

  • Disney is serious about the metaverse. It's appointed an exec to oversee the company's activities in the space. [Reuters $$$]

  • Donald Trump's Truth Social platform is in beta testing. It looks just like Twitter. [Mashable]

Insights to give you an edge at work:

  • How effective is Snapchat advertising? Snap has published new data. [Social Media Today]

  • Want to make more use of Idea Pins in Pinterest? The company has some inspiration for you. [Social Media Today]

New features and tests:

  • Snapchat and Ticketmaster will help you find nearby events on the Snap Map. [TechCrunch]

  • Snapchat will soon let you change your username. [The Verge]

  • Snapchat is working on a 'director mode'. [@alex193a]

  • LinkedIn has added new features for service pages. [@MattNavarra]

  • Nextdoor will now let users connect with one another, a bit like LinkedIn. [CNet]

  • Bumble is working on a 'Collectives' feature which seems to be some kind of forum in the app's BFF mode. [XDA Developers]

📖 Weekend reading

"There is no better human alive to tell this story than Deb Liu... for the first time, Deb shares the story behind Facebook Marketplace."

😳 And finally...

Someone figured out how to get computer generated voices to flirt... and it's deeply unsettling.

📅 Back next week...

… And *that* is everything you need to know this week!

You get a gold star for reaching the end ⭐️

Enjoyed reading this week’s Geekout?

Don’t keep it to yourself!

Help me out?

Right… I’m heading off to see if my garden has blown away (#StormEunice).

Update: It has. F**k!

Stay safe, geeks.

— Matt

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_________________

This newsletter is edited by Martin SFP Bryant. 

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