please don't do this, twitter...

July 16, 2021

*View this newsletter online for the best reading experience*

-- Geekout with Matt Navarra is back! Check out the new episode --

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Hello, Geeks!

First off this week…

Twitter boss’s tweet suggests an ‘Edit Tweet’ button could be coming soon! 😮

AND...

Instagram is testing a controversial change for viewing videos in your feed. 😬

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So...I thought I would try something new for the Geekout newsletter this week. There are a LOT of news, updates, new features EVERY week. To help get you to the most interesting things I’ve spotted in the past 7 days, here’s my Geekout HOT 10 things you need to know about this week:

🔥 GEEKOUT HOT 10

  1. Facebook launches $1 billion fund for creators…Show me the money! 

  2. ‘Twitter for Professionals’ mode spotted… New screenshots

  3. Instagram begins testing new ‘Reshare’ sticker for Stories

  4. WhatsApp is finally becoming easier to use on multiple devices

  5. Snapchat may soon look a lot more like TikTok… New feature spotted

  6. Hot new emojis coming soon… Which one will be your new favorite? 

  7. Twitter will now tell you why you’re not worthy of a blue tick

  8. Instagram is testing video editing features on desktop 

  9. Facebook launch Soundmojis for Messenger… These could get annoying!

  10. Twitter is testing a new time-saving DM feature…I really want this one!

Like the Geekout Hot 10? Let me know if this format is useful and worth keeping!

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DON’T MISS THIS…

🎙Geekout with Matt Navarra is back!

My podcast is finally back. And this time we are doing it LIVE on Twitter Spaces.

Our first guest this week was the Head of WhatsApp - Will Cathcart.

We chatted about WhatsApp’s controversial encryption plans, what’s next for WA Business, which most-requested new features may be coming soon (or not!), and LOTS more.

Miss it? No problem...!

Download and listen again via the podcast edition [Available: Mon 19 July]

🔥 Hot Social Media Job

Headland Consultancy has an awesome new job vacancy for a top social media geek.

It’s an amazing career opportunity to work on social for some of the world’s BIGGEST brands. Headland’s clients include TikTok, Pepsi, eBay, ASOS, KFC, and many others.

BONUS...You also get to work with my good friend Bene Earl (she’s pretty damn cool).

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ICYMI

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Time to dive into the biggest news stories making the headlines in the world of social this week. 👇

— Matt

P.S. 🗣JOIN MY GEEKOUT TWITTER SPACE!

Join us for Geekout Weekly on Twitter Spaces today (Fri 16 July) at 4pm [UK]. I will give you a full debriefing on all the biggest news stories impacting social media managers this week!

Just tap this tweet to get notified when we're about to go live!

Listen again to previous editions via the SpaceCasts podcasts feed

🚨 Everyone's talking about...

Sometimes, killing a feature quickly is just as important as developing it quickly in the first place.

Fleets were supposed to be a way of getting people who don't tweet to share more on Twitter. And then they sat hogging screen space as a largely useless bar of faces for most people, except that one person you follow who shared a million fleets per week for some reason.

Now—just 16 months after they first appeared in a limited test— fleets are weeks from death. But it seems the content creation tools from fleets will find their way into tweets, so all is not lost if you were one of those rare fleets fans.

But judging by the user reactions I've seen, Twitter made the right call. 'Stories' were just wrong for Twitter.

Contrary to what we've seen from pretty much every social app over the past couple of years, not every app needs Stories. Twitter might be the first company to make the brave step to admit that they're just not necessary everywhere. I don't think it will be the last.

The England football team may not have won the Euro 2020 final last weekend, but they've certainly helped shift public debate about online racism forward.

Public outrage over racist comments made against Black team members turned into a week of national debate in the UK about what to do about the issue, and who was to blame.

The social platforms got their fair share of criticism. Headlines roared that Boris Johnson had summoned tech bosses to Downing Street to give them a dressing down. It turned out they were already going to be visiting for an event anyway, which took some of the drama out of the occasion.

But stories of racist emojis being allowed and moderation mistakes over handling the abuse, not to mention Facebook employees getting frustrated at the company's slow speed of addressing the problems, show that the platforms really do have a lot more work to do. Facebook published this detailed response to address concerns about online hate on its platform, listing how it's tackling the problem.

Ultimately though, it's society that needs to stop being racist. New rules that could see people who abuse footballers online banned from matches should help. But as one viral tweet from an England team member suggested, some of the responsibility for changing society comes right from the top.

Last week we heard about how Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg's relationship has become strained in recent years. But now more revelations about Facebook have emerged as the publicity machine for New York Times journalists Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang's new book 'The Ugly Truth' kicks into full gear.

One of the most important points it makes is how Facebook tends to prefer to 'blame the messenger' when bad news breaks, rather than look internally at any flaws the company may have. Facebook tends to treat itself as perfect, and views any evidence to the contrary as just bad publicity that needs to be managed.

But the most stark example of that this week came from another New York Times Journalist, Kevin Roose.

Roose wrote this week about how Facebook reacted to his Twitter account that uses data from Facebook's Crowdtangle tool to expose just how popular misinformation is on the platform.

Rather than thank Roose for highlighting a problem that needed fixing, Facebook execs attacked him. It's worth reading his article in full to get a feel for how deflection rather than introspection is Facebook's approach to dealing with crises. Its failure to treat criticism as an opportunity for learning could turn out to be the company's Achilles heel.

👀 ICYMI...

Stories you need to know about:

Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp:

Facebook is expanding its fintech play.

  • The head of UK spy agency MI5 has called WhatsApp encryption a 'gift' to criminals. [The Telegraph $$$]

  • Advertisers are panicking over the effect of Apple's tracking pop-up on Facebook's targeting capabilities. [Bloomberg $$$]

  • Facebook has followed Amazon in calling for the new FTC chair to lose her job due to her stance on breaking up big tech companies. [Wall Street Journal $$$]

  • Facebook is struggling to increase the number of women in its engineering ranks. [Bloomberg $$$]

  • Facebook has accused Iranian hackers of using its platform to spy on the US military. [Financial Times $$$]

  • Facebook is giving up on a brain interface for typing via AR glasses, although the tech could still be useful for people with speech impairments. [The Verge]

  • The average Instagram influencer earns $2,970 per month. [The Drum]

  • Facebook has delayed its long-awaited brand safety audit for advertisers. [Digiday $$$]

  • The Irish Data Protection Commissioner has been asked to investigate data sharing between Facebook and WhatsApp. [Silicon Republic]

  • Amazon quietly acquired Facebook's satellite internet team earlier this year. [The Information $$$]

Twitter:

Oops: "Twitter has permanently suspended a ‘small number’ of fake accounts it mistakenly verified just weeks after re-launching its public verification process. Six verified accounts, all created on June 16th, were discovered."

  • And Twitter's verification system has been criticised for making it too easy for journalists, and too hard for activists, to get verified. [Wired]

  • Twitter is removing more abusive content than ever before, as revealed in its latest transparency report. [Engadget]

  • Twitter has revealed how its business resource groups are supported and run. [Axios]

TikTok:

The scale of TikTok's vaccine misinformation problem has been revealed by new research.

  • TikTok now requires creators to use a new 'brand content' toggle in a new test on accounts with more than 10,000 followers. [AdAge $$$]

  • TikTok has opened a pop-up shop in London, offering a chance to meet stars of the platform, and get content creation tips. [The Guardian]

  • TikTok owner ByteDance met with Chinese government officials earlier this year over data security concerns. Such concerns have led to Beijing punishing some Chinese tech companies lately. [AdAge]

  • The White House is using TikTok to boost vaccine takeup among young Americans. [NPR]

And the rest:

Shorts is finally going to be available everywhere.

  • Discord has acquired Sentropy, a company that uses A.I. to identify abuse and harassment. [The Verge]

  • Clubhouse has partnered with TED for exclusive content, two months after Clubhouse hired the person who used to book TED Talks. [Social Media Today]

  • Cuba has restricted access to social media apps in a bid to curb anti-government protests. [Al Jazeera]

  • Dua Lipa is the latest celebrity to get sued for posting photos of herself on social media. [Forbes]

📈 Chart of the week

Now Facebook has entered the fray, how do the platforms compare when it comes to the cash they're paying out to creators?

📊 Stat of the week

A big milestone for TikTok, and another reason for Mark Zuckerberg to keep a keen eye over his shoulder...

❓ Question of the week

If your parents are anything like mine, they are clueless about what my job in social media actually involves.

"He plays around on Twitter..." doesn't exactly sound like a proper job, Mum!

Check out this epic Twitter thread of replies which shows how depressingly little our folks 'get' what we do 🙄

PS... This was my favorite response 😂

💬 You can quote me on that

When I get quoted in the news, you’ll find it here…

I helped Lifewire make sense of why WhatsApp's planned photo quality options are worth paying attention to.

🔨 Tool of the week

How much can you make from being a creator on different platforms? This tool calculates the fees the platforms take so you can figure out how rich (or not) you can become.

🐣 Tweet of the week

🔍 Insights

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

  • Twitter has shared some tips on filing a successful verification request. [@verified]

  • Want to prove your Snapchat ads knowledge? Snap has a new certification for you. [Social Media Today]

  • Want to understand the Facebook News Feed algorithm? The company has published a new explainer. [Social Media Today]

  • Small business wanting to make more of TikTok? Here's a new series of events for you. [AdWeek $$$]

📲 Quick hits

Updates, experiments, and useful info snippets:

  • Facebook has started notifying some users when their posts were removed by automation. [Engadget]

  • Facebook aims to retain bug bounty hunters with a new 'payout time bonus'. [TechCrunch]

  • Facebook has officially launched Groups features mentioned here before, including Group Experts. [Social Media Today]

  • Facebook is teaming up with AT&T to offer AR experiences. [Engadget]

  • You can now create an ad directly from the Creation Menu in Facebook's Business Suite app. [@newinsocial]

  • Instagram has launched a Security Checkup feature to help users secure their accounts and recover hacked accounts. [9to5Mac]

  • Instagram has new ways for creators to drive traffic to their Instagram Shop. [TubeFilter]

  • Instagram now lets you use WhatsApp for two-factor authentication. [Android Central]

  • Instagram's Messenger API is now available for business accounts with between 1,000 and 100,000 followers. [@MattNavarra]

  • Instagram is testing a promo for the Facebook app. [Engadget]

  • Instagram has confirmed that auto-captions for feed posts are coming. [Social Media Today]

  • Instagram is developing the ability to add hashtags to Rooms. [@alex193a]

  • Instagram IGTV videos can now be monetised from one minute in duration. [@newinsocial]

  • Instagram is building a Billie Eilish chat theme. [@Alex193a]

  • Instagram is working on tab dedicated to saved Reels. [@alex193a]

  • Instagram and Messenger have new 'Space Jam: A New Legacy'-themed features. [Adweek $$$]

  • WhatsApp is working on support for HD photos and video. [@WABetaInfo]

  • WhatsApp is building a Snapchat-style 'view once' option for photos and videos. [WABetaInfo]

  • WhatsApp is working on an in-app tool for reviewing account bans. [WABetaInfo]

  • WhatsApp is developing a new interface for calls. [WABetaInfo]

  • Twitter now lets you change who can reply to a tweet even after you publish it. [@TwitterSafety]

  • Twitter has added auto-captions to voice tweets. [The Verge]

  • Twitter is working on a 'sign in with Apple' option in addition to Google sign-in support. [@wongmjane]

  • Twitter is working on a new timeline layout with full-width photos. [@wongmjane]

  • Twitter is testing a 'related fleets' section underneath certain tweets. [Social Media Today]

  • Twitter is working on a profile card showcasing a user's Revue newsletter. [@nima_owji]

  • Twitter is reducing the number of Topic suggestions in users' feeds. [@TwitterSupport]

  • Twitter is building a Twitter Blue settings page on the web. [@wongmjane]

  • TikTok now has an Amazon Fire TV app in the UK, France, and Germany. [The Verge]

  • TikTok now has an option to sync your Facebook friends list with TikTok. [@MattNavarra]

  • Clubhouse has launched a text DMs feature called Backchannel. [The Verge]

  • Snapchat now has a 'Shop Your Screenshots' feature. [@KenSchillinger]

  • A new Snapchat profile design has been spotted. [@DMthisPM]

  • And Snapchat's map has been spotted sporting a places database. [@DMthisPM]

  • Snapchat is testing a 'stories left to watch' bar similar to Instagram's. [@KenSchillinger]

  • YouTube has added three new Twitch-like features for creators. [The Verge]

  • YouTube can now automatically segment videos. [Social Media Today]

  • Reddit now has a smarter algorithm for users' home feeds. [AdWeek $$$]

  • Firefox has made it easier to log into Facebook-linked sites in private browsing mode. [Engadget]

  • Apple has brought its 'Today at Apple' tutorials to YouTube. [Engadget]

📖 Weekend reading

"The social network is aiming to be a destination for creators and their viral memes. But TikTok and YouTube got there first."

💀 Meme of the week

📅 Back next week...

...AND

YOU

ARE

DONE!

That’s EVERYTHING you need to know this week.

Time for me to go make a 🍹 and get my weekend started.

Goodbye geeks!

Matt

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This newsletter is edited by Martin SFP Bryant.

Copyright 2021: Matt Navarra Media Ltd

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