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Hello, geeks!

Welcome to the final edition of Geekout for 2025.

And what a year it has been!

It’s rather ironic that the biggest news story in this final edition of Geekout for 2025, is the conclusion to the top story at the very start of the year!

Geekout - January 24, 2025:

We’ll dig into everything you need to know about TikTok’s U.S. sale deal in a moment.

As well as everything else that went down in social over the past 7 days.

Before we get into it…

__________

3 cool things 👇 👀


📊 This is a must-read…
The most comprehensive 2026 social media study of the year. Based on data from 39M posts, across every major platform.

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💰 Bookmark this…
Not sure what to pay creators in 2026? This FREE Cheatsheet breaks it down —incl. 2026 Creator Pay Benchmarks.

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__________

P.S. Geekout’s taking a Christmas break…

The first edition of Geekout for 2026 will land in your inbox on Friday 9 January.

SPONSORED – NEW 2026 INSIGHTS – FREE REPORT

Metricool's BIG 2026 Study – Here's What’s Actually Working in Social Media 🔥

39 Million Posts… Every Major Platform…

Metricool’s largest ever social media study just dropped!

Take a look at the wild insights that drove this year’s social strategies.

And discover where brands should focus in 2026.

Here’s a Sneak Peek of the Insights: 👀👇

  • 📈 YouTube Video Views surged
    76% views increase, reminding us that YouTube still remains a leading video platform.
    -

  • 📌 Pinterest engagement up 26%
    Even as impressions and interactions fell, each view counted more—letting creators and brands reach a smaller, more connected audience.
    -

  • 📉 LinkedIn Impressions are slipping
    Impressions dropped 23%, signaling a tougher fight for visibility as competition increases
    -

  • 👀 Instagram Carousels quietly won
    Over 3x the interactions compared to single image posts, yet they remained the least used format

It’s one of the most comprehensive social media studies of the year!

🔐 Unlock The BIG 2026 Social Media Study — 60+ slides of data, insights, and pro-tips!

Download 2026 Insights 📈

🔥 GEEKOUT HOT 5

Geekout’s pick of the hottest headlines in social this week:

TikTok signs deal for sale of U.S. unit after yearslong saga

The deal would end a yearslong saga to force TikTok's Chinese parent ByteDance to sell the company's U.S. operation.

  1. Facebook tests charging monthly subscription for sharing links [LINK-TAXING]

  2. YouTube signs deal to stream the Oscars exclusively from 2029 [AWARD-WINNING]

  3. Instagram is testing a TV app to bring Reels to your big screen [IGTV-VIBING]

  4. Parents of sextortion victims sue Meta for alleged wrongful deaths [PROSECUTING]

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🚨 EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT

Facebook tries breaking the core deal of social media

A Facebook test makes link-sharing a paid feature for creators

As I revealed earlier this week, Facebook is taking a step many people think is a step too far… charging to share links.

Yep, if you have a Facebook Page or a professional account, Facebook thinks there’s a chance it can make a business out of forcing you to pay up for a Meta Verified account to post more than a small number of links per month.

It’s important to note that as I understand it, this is “a learning experiment” rather than a permanent change. It’s focused on a small group of users to see how it changes their behaviour.

Platforms run tests on small numbers of users all the time. But while something like a short-term limit of three hashtags per post on Instagram might be a small inconvenience, it’s something you can work around. This time it’s different.

The challenge Meta has here is that even if this link-charging test disappears, social media managers will likely be left with less confidence in Facebook as a platform.

Link posts have typically ranked poorly for a few years now, but unverified gossip on the grapevine talks of improved performance for link posts lately, perhaps as a precursor to this test?

Users creating content for platforms to monetise is the main deal at the heart of social media. Charging users to create content takes things into uncharted territory that will make many pros uncomfortable.

But hey, we’ve still got that inelegant workaround known as “Link in comments”… For now, at least.

_________________

TikTok is FINALLY ready to sell its US arm to Trump’s buddies

TikTok U.S. Deal to Close Next Month: Oracle and Silver Lake Confirmed in Buyer Consortium

Can you believe that the ‘ban or sale’ TikTok saga in the US has been going on for OVER FIVE YEARS?!

It was first floated in July 2020, during the first Trump presidency. And now, in a pre-Christmas miracle, a deal is done and due to close on 22 January.

The Hollywood Reporter says that the deal includes “retraining the content recommendation algorithm on US user data to ensure the content feed is free from outside manipulation,” Oracle overseeing data protection, and specifying that “ultimate decision-making authority for reviewing and approving all content moderation and related policies within the United States.”

ByteDance still retains a stake in TikTok US but the key point to note is that Oracle and Silver Lake, two of the main investors in the consortium buying control, are Trump-friendly outfits.

Critics will no doubt be keeping a close eye on how Trump-friendly the new US algorithm is when it launches. As we’ve seen with X, an owner’s political views can easily and quickly skew a platform’s vibe.

Keeping the US President happy without scaring off advertisers and creators is a challenge I see in TikTok’s near future.

One small mercy: unlike with X, a more MAGA TikTok is something everyone else around the world won’t need to deal with 😆

✨ NEW & NOTEWORTHY

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

Meta   Meta  /  Facebook  Facebook

Image: Meta

  • Meta has started using your chats with Meta AI to shape ads and content, after a low-key announcement in October

  • Meta tolerates rampant ad fraud from China to safeguard billions in revenue, according to leaked internal docs

  • Meta paused its third-party Horizon OS programme, sidelining Asus and Lenovo headsets indefinitely

  • Meta is adopting an ‘AI-first’ strategy by offering staffers access to a growing list of AI tools from Google and OpenAI

  • Meta adopted a new age-check system to meet global child safety laws

  • Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses will get virtual handwriting and Instagram Reels support in 2026

  • Meta Quest now supports Disney+, with a giant virtual cinema screen

  • Facebook wants you to know who is making more new friends than you (thanks FB 😏)

  • Facebook has been spotted with a new app dock

__________

Instagram  Instagram

Instagram rolls out special features for New Years celebrations | Image: Meta

  • Instagram is rolling out New Year features, including new fonts and text effects, hidden Easter eggs, special Add Yours stickers, and Seasonal AI restyle modes

  • Instagram Edits is getting new object-targeting effects, letting you tag, blur, pixellate, scribble on, or add sparkle to specific objects in a video (these are pretty cool!)

  • Instagram has quietly rolled out looping carousels, which may help boost views (have you got this yet?)

  • Instagram has increased its limit on hashtags to 5, after briefly reducing it to 3, but Mosseri is still reminding people hashtags won’t boost reach (booooo!)

  • Instagram’s Auto-Scroll feature has rolled out to more people

  • Instagram has been spotted offering ‘Shop the Look’ buttons on Reels

  • Instagram is promoting playable games in its app, redirecting users to Meta Horizon experiences

  • Instagram now lets you add a Taylor Swift song to your Notes or profile to get a matching theme for the era

__________

Threads  Threads  /   WhatsApp  WhatsApp

Threads new Community Champion and Flair tags | Image: Meta

__________

X / Twitter  X (Twitter)

X’s new ‘Ratio Finder’ tool launched | Image: X

  • X launched a “Ratio Finder” ranking the platform’s most disagreed-with users, or “ratio victims” (oh boy 🫩)

  • X is testing a “Seen” tab to help you revisit previously watched videos

  • X is suing the startup that tried to take over the Twitter trademark, and updated its ToS to say it owns the name

  • X reported $752 million in Q3 revenue, marking its strongest quarterly growth since Elon Musk’s takeover

  • X wins appeal to lift a block on Australians seeing footage of Charlie Kirk’s killing

  • xAI is struggling to sell Grok to businesses, given the bot’s dodgy reputation

  • X has launched new lock screen widgets for iOS

  • X is offering 40% off annual plans for Premium Business if you subscribe before 20 December.

__________

TikTok  TikTok

TikTok’s U.S Award Show Winners Revealed | Image: TikTok

__________

YouTube  YouTube

YouTube’s voice replies feature rolling out to more users | Image: YouTube

__________

LinkedIn  LinkedIn  /   Reddit  Reddit  /   Snapchat  Snapchat

LinkedIn launched its own version of Wrapped | Image: The Tab

  • LinkedIn launched its own ‘Wrapped’ so you can rewind your 2025 on the platform (spoiler: a LOT of people’s wrapped told them they were in the top 5 or 10% of users 🤔)

  • Reddit’s volunteer moderators are being overwhelmed by AI-generated content, according to new research

  • Bluesky launched a new contacts-matching feature it claims is far more privacy conscious than similar features elsewhere

  • Snapchat launched its personalised 2025 recap highlighting memories, chats, and stories

  • Snapchat is adopting Apple’s Age Range feature to filter underage users from its app.

  • Telegram added passkeys and scam-proof gift purchases

  • Google Maps has dropped X and added Reddit and Facebook as native share options

__________

🔥 Want to see more hot NEW features spotted in the wild this week?

Just head to the ‘More news’ section below!

🤖 SOCIAL AI

The newest social media AI features spotted this week:

Meta AI’s latest Vibes is building upon OpenAI’s Sora and its ‘Cameos’ feature

On Vibes, you can also now place yourself into images and videos or even generate entirely new ones from scratch

__________

Also spotted this week 👀

💬 YOU CAN QUOTE ME ON THAT

When I’m quoted in the news, you’ll find it here:

Earlier this week, I spotted Facebook experimenting with charging users to post links, by making it a Meta Verified subscription perk.

When i first heard about it, I was sure it was fake news. I’ve seen countless scare-mongering, baseless rumours about this for years.

I dropped an email to my contacts at Meta to check if it was fake news.

Facebook’s new test charging users to post links | Image: Meta

But to my surprise, it turns out, this time, it’s true. Wild!

Meta confirmed the test was indeed very real, and gave me an official comment which I shared online.

Since then, I’ve spent all day today (Thu 18 Dec) fielding calls and emails from news publishers around the world, asking for my thoughts on Meta’s surprising (and quite frankly, ballsy!!) move.

Read my analysis featured in:

Also this week:

💀 LOL

So many people (including me!) were named a ‘Top 5% catalyst’ in LinkedIn’s version of Spotify Wrapped!

In fact, some people think everyone got the same data 😱

🌡️ VIRAL

The killing of Rob and Michele Reiner shocked the world, but perhaps not as much as Donald Trump’s response angered people from all corners of politics and entertainment.

But this is a guy who likes to go viral whatever the reason, so I’m sure he’s happy with the reaction to his post…

__________

Also going viral this week: 🔥

🪧 BRANDS

How much is Boxbollen spending on influencer marketing?!?

Snoop Dogg, Will Smith, The Kardashians, Jay Shetty, Bill Gates, Jessica Simpson and loads more big names have been promoting it across their social accounts!

__________

More brand news this week: 👀

  • TikTok is going to push new Supergirl trailer to every user in the US and 13 other territories

  • How brands like Chewy, JCPenney, Mattel, Target and Walmart are showcasing creators as high-impact retail partners on YouTube

  • Inside TikTok’s fan-edit frenzy—and how brands like Doritos and Lionsgate are using it to reach Gen Z

  • Inside the agency building Keir Starmer a TikTok army

    … Also, “In a shocking twist, Keir Starmer’s TikToks are borderline competent” ( 👈 take a look 👀

👀 MY FAV READS

An interesting read about how TikTok’s algorithm takes users down a ‘mental health rabbit hole’:

“TikTok’s algorithm favours mental health content over many other topics, including politics, cats and Taylor Swift, according to a Washington Post analysis.”

TikTok’s mental health ‘rabbit hole’? It’s not in your head.

🗓️ BEST OF 2025

Looking back at the year:

Of all the words-of-the-year we’ve seen from dictionary publishers in the past couple of weeks, Merriam-Webster is the one that has nailed it:

Merriam-Webster’s 2025 word of the year is ‘slop’

Also:

🙊 WHAT DID YOU SAY?!

“VR is not dead”

– Meta CTO Andrew ‘Boz’ Bosworth pushes back against reports the company is deprioritising VR

__________

Also overheard this week: 👂

  • “Every country takes very seriously the way that it protects its borders and makes sure that it has a grip on people who come into the country that are aligned with its own values and principles.”

    -

    – UK Trade Secretary Peter Kyle shrugs off concerns about the US wanting to probe tourists’ social media histories

😮 WTF?!

How did this streamer end up with a live feed on the White House website last night?!

As this newsletter goes out… no clue! 🤷‍♂️

Mystery Video Stream Appears on White House Website

__________

Also WTF this week: 👀

🤦‍♂️ FAIL

Are we surprised? Grok spread false claims about the Bondi Beach shooting, because of course it did. It’s par for the course these days….

Grok is spreading misinformation about the Bondi Beach shooting

More fails:

  • Pinterest warned users of a data breach impacting its Shuffles app

  • Instagram notifications were out of control for some users yesterday

🪦 RIP

Social media features heading for the graveyard:

It’s goodbye to YouTube’s annual Rewind videos.

YouTube has unlisted all YouTube Rewind videos dating back to 2011. They’re now hidden unless accessed via direct links or playlists.

The platform says the tradition is over as it shifts to personalised year-in-review formats.

YouTube makes all its past YouTube Rewinds unlisted

Also:

👔 YOU’RE HIRED!

Hot new social media jobs worth checking out this week:

__________

More top social media jobs spotted this week 💼

📲 NEW APPS

Crazy that it took so long, but YouTube Create has finally landed on iOS.

YouTube Create App

__________

Also:

🧪 SOCIAL SCIENCE

Analysis of 756 million social media profiles reveals older generations fuel most online political polarisation and conspiracy theory engagement.

Older users show high interaction with conspiracies like flat Earth and UFOs, while also being prone to misinformation.

Gen Z, meanwhile, focuses more on activism and identity than partisanship.

Older Americans driving polarization, online conspiracy theories, study finds

👌 PRO TIPS

Threads recommends going all-in on replies to boost reach… plus more tips….

Via the always awesome Link-in-Bio newsletter (Rachel Karten)

Threads posting tips | Image: Link-in-Bio newsletter

__________

More pro-tips worth checking out ✨

📊 SOCIAL STATS

700 MILLION

– The number of hours podcasts were watched on TV via YouTube in October, that’s up from 400 million a year earlier

__________

Even more social stats: 📈

  • STARMER HARMERS: YouTube channels spreading fake, anti-Labour videos viewed 1.2 billion times in 2025

  • X HIT: Despite growth this year, X’s revenue is still roughly 35% below Twitter’s pre-acquisition peak

  • YOUTHQUAKE: LinkedIn reports 18–24 users now form 20.5% of its fast-shifting base this year

  • NOT SO TOXIC: Americans overestimate online toxicity by up to 13 times. Just 8.5% of Facebook users spread misinformation, not 47% as believed

  • BRANDED: 94% of respondents in a Snap study welcome brand outreach across emails, SMS, DMs, and chat alerts

📈 CHARTED

There’s no escaping the rapid rise of AI chatbots

The Rapid Rise of AI Chatbots | Image: Sherwood News

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Even more social charts: 📈

  • BRANDED: Creators are putting brand quality at the top of their partnership wish list

  • TOUGH STUFF: The biggest challenges facing social marketers

  • IN POD WE TRUST: Podcast listeners trust their hosts more than any other influencer type

💥 EVEN MORE SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS & UPDATES

UK Parliament has rejected calls to repeal the Online Safety Act, and backed tougher rules.

The UK Government (and Ofcom’s) next target…? VPNs.

Teens have swarmed to them as a tool to work around age verification rules. These may soon be locked down as well.

To repeal or not repeal: UK Parliament discusses the Online Safety Act

The debate comes after a petition to repeal the law got 500K signatures

_________

Also this week… 🚨

  • Australia’s under-16 social media ban is driving teens toward obscure and emerging platforms. [Financial Times $$$]

  • The US has threatened penalties against European tech companies amid a fight over regulation. [New York Times $$$]

  • The Trump administration has launched US Tech Force to recruit around 1,000 staffers from the likes of Meta, xAI, and others. [Nextgov]

  • LinkedIn Verification is surging in India, its fastest-growing market. [TechCrunch]

  • MrBeast plans to launch a YouTube channel focused on finance and investing. [Business Insider $$$]

  • TikTok Shop has reorganised its global e-commerce product and data science teams. [Business Insider $$$]

  • The Golden Globes have announced their first-ever podcast category for 2026. [Variety]

  • LinkedIn has unveiled 20 ‘Big Idea’ predictions for 2026 across tech, health, and culture. [LinkedIn News UK]

  • Malaysia will place major platforms under national law automatically beginning January next year. [Bloomberg $$$]

New features and updates:

  • Meta’s latest update for Quest brings major upgrades to hand-tracking. [Road to VR]

📰 WEEKEND READS

Geekout’s pick of the best longer reads to sink into over the weekend:

This is a fun read: ‘Track Star’ is the YouTube series that brings out the music lover in celebrities and civilians alike.

How Track Star Became a YouTube and TikTok Music Phenomenon

__________

More great weekend reads:

😳 AND FINALLY…

Tap through below to watch a very amusing marketing spin on the classic Christmas movie Love Actually.

Introducing… Marketing Actually! 🤣 👇

📅 BACK NEXT WEEK…

That’s a wrap on Geekout for 2025! ✅

Thanks for sticking with me this year — whether you’ve read every word, or just scrolled to the spicy bits each Friday. I appreciate you.

Before I log off, shut down my inbox, and pour my first festive drink...

One last (wild AI) thing…

I thought I’d share this random wild thing that happened to me yesterday.

After doing a load of media interviews about Facebook’s link post charging drama…

I Googled “Facebook Navarra” to quickly find how the reporters quoted me in their articles…

Here’s what Google’s AI summary spat out:

A pretty useful real-time Google AI summary result!

Then I got curious about just how much Google’s AI knew about me.

I asked if it knew who i’m dating. And it’s response was scarily accurate. 😲

It knew all the details! Including the specifics of my Ibiza proposal.

But then Google’s AI went massively off track and lost the plot completely.

Apparently, Sarah has a wild career history, including working for the Royal Family.

She’s still waiting on the pay rise.: 🤣

Whilst it’s very flattering, it’s also totally hallucinated and 100% incorrect!

I’m just glad Google’s AI isn’t telling people anything disturbing and false about me. Yet.

Merry Christmas, geeks! 🎄 🎉

P.S. This newsletter is edited by Martin SFP Bryant

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