this is super-creepy and weird

March 05, 2021

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Hello, geeks!

Before we dive in… Did you see this creepy A.I-powered tool which brings the dead back to life? (well, kind of.) A bit of fun and no doubt achieved its goal of capturing a ton of new email addresses for them :)

DID YOU SEE…

So… Breaking news as I write this week’s newsletter...Twitter is working on an undo send button, and of course, it reignited the “give us an edit button’ brigade.

Twitter was spotted surveying users last July asking whether they would pay a subscription for a bunch of new features, including an undo send button. Personally, I still don’t think having an edit tweet button is a good idea, but this compromise may appease a few of those demanding one.

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HIDDEN GEM: GIFRUN: A handy tool to create GIFs from YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Vimeo and more

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I was reading an article about Rishi Sunak, (British MP and Chancellor of the Exchequer) and his “slick” social media presence. Setting aside the politics, I have been impressed (in general) with the Conservative Party’s use of social media in the past 12 months, including the social media activity of individual ministers such as the Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.

A lot of this can be attributed to the Conservative Party bringing in controversial (but successful) social media consultants from Topham Guerin, and individual ministers hiring smart, digitally savvy SpADs. Do you agree? @mention me in a tweet and let me know.

I stumbled across a LOT of (potentially) useful NEW social media manager tools this week. Here’s a list of some of the best ones for you to go play with:

  • PINTEREST DOWNLOADER: Auto-downloads all images from a Pinterest board into a .zip file

  • FACEBOOK AD LIBRARY PRO: A Chrome Extension to show an advanced analytics widget in Facebook's Ad Library

  • TWITTER PEEP: A Chrome Extension to quickly view tweets related to an article you're reading / video you're watching

  • TW-RL: Curate Twitter. Save and organize tweets or threads

  • CLUBHOUSE TOOLS: 30+ useful Clubhouse tools all in one place

— Matt

P.S. 🏠 Join me on Clubhouse TODAY (FRI 5 MAR) at 4PM UK / 11AM ET / 8AM PT in our Geekout Weekly room. If you think this newsletter is geeky… join this later! :)

🚨 Everyone's talking about...

It's hard to think of a field that has matured quite as fast as social audio. At the start of January, Clubhouse was still a niche app among the tech set, but its acceleration has been impressive ever since.

And with Twitter Spaces outstripping it on the Android development front (a Clubhouse Android app is actively in the works but Spaces rolled out in beta to all Android users this week, although starting a Space is still limited to a few thousand users in total), social audio is officially a field of social media rather than just a hit app.

And where new opportunities emerge, the money swiftly follows. As the New York Times reports:

Audio Collective is one outgrowth of the audio boom. The company, which announced its formation on Thursday, will offer event planning, brand consulting, and support and community for creators working in the field. Its founders also plan to lobby Clubhouse for stronger moderation policies, better insights and performance metrics, and monetization tools.

This won't be the only company offering these services, and the news reflect the fact that while anyone might soon be able to start a Clubhouse room or Twitter Space, not everyone can make it engaging and rewarding for listeners and participants alike.

The question remains over how popular social audio will be when the events industry returns (or even just being able to go out and socialise with friends). But think of social audio as being like live podcasts and there's certainly space for both physical and online audio events... even if that may be at the expense of traditional pre-recorded podcasts.

That didn't take long. Facebook's Oversight Board is already annoyed about the limited options it has in recommending what the company can do.

As Gizmodo reports:

“We’re already a bit frustrated by just saying ‘take it down’ or ‘leave it up’,” [Alan] Rusbridger told members of the House of Lords, Britain’s upper house of Parliament.

He continued: “What happens if you want to make something less viral? What happens if you want to put up an interstitial? What happens if, without commenting on any high-profile current cases, you didn’t want to ban someone for life but wanted to put them in a ‘sin bin’ so that if they misbehave again you can chuck them off?”

He makes a good point, that sometimes it's not just a case of taking something down or reinstating it. The best solutions can sometimes be more nuanced.

But some observers online laughed when Rusbridger went on to say that he thought the board should ask to see Facebook's algorithm — like he thought seeing a lump of code would suddenly make sense of everything Facebook does.

But he's right: if the Oversight Board — essentially a group of paid super-moderators —doesn't understand how Facebook picks what users see, how can anyone else? So whether Mark Zuckerberg likes it or not, if Facebook is serious about having an Oversight Board, giving them more, er, 'oversight' over how the company operates under the hood is going to be essential.

When Facebook's NPE division launches a new app, you can be sure it'll make headlines. But then it'll drift off into obscurity before eventually closing down. So it's difficult to feel optimistic about BARS, a new app that lets users share videos of themselves rapping over professionally produced beats.

I've not given it a go yet (and an age gate when you sign up for the US-only waiting list suggests perhaps they have some slightly younger users in mind), but BARS could be fun.

But hey, maybe Facebook just isn't ready to handle the Geekout crew's flow just yet.

👀 ICYMI...

Stories you need to know about:

Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp:

Facebook says it has built A.I. that “sees” what it is looking at. It was trained on more than 1 billion Instagram images

  • Facebook could give advertisers unprecedented control over where their ads appear in the News Feed, with new features currently in testing. [AdAge $$$]

  • Facebook began allowing political ads in the US again yesterday. They had been restricted since the election in November. [Axios]

  • But many political groups apparently found a way around the ban and advertised anyway. [Politico]

  • The UK culture secretary warned Facebook it is "putting its bottom line above the public interest," after he talked with Nick Clegg late last week. [The Guardian]

  • Facebook News will launch in Germany in May. Many of the country's major publishers have already signed up, although one big name is missing. [CNN]

  • A Facebook exec claims Rupert Murdoch's News Corp tried to hold “a knife at their throat” over news in Australia. [Financial Times $$$]

  • Instagram Checkout isn't a hit with many big brands so far. [Digiday $$$]

  • UK influencer Molly-Mae Hague broke advertising rules when she conducted an £8,000 giveaway on Instagram. [BBC News]

  • Far-right Facebook pages that publish misinformation get far more interactions than other news sources, a study has found. [Wired]

  • Facebook News is growing as a referral source for news publishers. [Digiday $$$]

Twitter:

Twitter announced tougher new action against Covid-19 vaccine misinformation on its platform.

  • Twitter says it isn't worried about Apple's upcoming iOS user tracking changes, which Facebook has fought recently. [CNBC]

  • Twitter has opposed a 'Tweet' trademark application from a bird food company. [TechDirt]

TikTok:

TikTok has launched a Safety Advisory Council in Europe to help it with content moderation issues.

  • Trans creators on TikTok say the For You page fosters transphobia and targeted harassment. [Insider]

  • TikTok owner ByteDance is reportedly building a Clubhouse-style app for the Chinese market. [Insider]

And the rest:

Social DJing is back, as two services created by people involved with the 2013 hit app have launched.

  • YouTube says it will only lift its Trump suspension when "the risk of violence has decreased." [CNBC]

  • Twitch has released its first transparency report as it looks to improve transparency around its moderation efforts. [Wired]

  • Reddit has no plan to ban adult sexual content, unlike most other social platforms. [Axios]

  • LinkedIn says it will stop collecting cross-app user tracking data on iOS, meaning it won't have to display Apple's in-app warning when it launches. [9to5Mac]

  • Brandwatch has been acquired by Cision to create a social listening giant. [TechCrunch]

  • Time spent viewing Snapchat Spotlight rose 55% from January to February 2021, Evan Spiegel told the Morgan Stanley TMT conference. [@xpangler]

  • Deleting a Clubhouse account presents challenges, especially for sex workers. [Mashable]

  • A charity drive on Clubhouse raised $140,000 for Texans hit by the state's recent extreme weather. [OneZero]

❓ Question of the week

You know the drill! Click through and get involved!

🐣 Tweet of the week

🔍 Insights

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

  • Does saying “Link in bio” affect your Instagram post performance? Hootsuite investigated. [Hootsuite blog]

  • Facebook has offered tips on how to make the most of paid online events. [Social Media Today]

  • Facebook has expanded its Community Manager Certification program with support for new languages. [Social Media Today]

  • TikTok will hold a summit event for small- and medium-sized businesses on 24 March. [Social Media Today]

📲 Quick hits

Updates, experiments, and useful info snippets:

  • Facebook is has been promoting its Brand Collabs Manager tool to Groups Admins. [@MattNavarra]

  • Facebook Group members can now make Q&A posts. Previously, this was only available to group admins. [Facebook Community]

  • Facebook is marking International Women's Day and Women's History Month with new custom sticker sets and a new section in its Community Help Dashboard. [Social Media Today]

  • Facebook now lets more users switch off political ads entirely. [Social Media Today]

  • Facebook has a ‘tap and hold’ image preview feature when attaching an image to a new post. [@MattNavarra]

  • Facebook has been spotted letting users set a reminder to view a post again later. [@MattNavarra]

  • Instagram has launched Live Rooms, letting up to four creators broadcast together. [TechCrunch]

  • Instagram has introduced the ability for businesses to grant other staff access to an account's messages. [TestingCatalog]

  • You can now pin three comments in an Instagram post. [@jleomonsk]

  • Instagram is considering adding simple video editing tools to its interface. [@vishalshahis]

  • WhatsApp has officially launched desktop video and voice calling. [TechCrunch]

  • WhatsApp is preparing to let you create and use custom animated stickers. [TechRadar]

  • Oculus has partnered with VirtuClear to offer prescription lens inserts for Quest 2. [UploadVR]

  • The eagerly awaited 120Hz option on Oculus Quest 2 may only work with a few games. [TechRadar]

  • Twitter will soon let users schedule a Space. Users will be able to sign up for reminders straight from your tweet about it. [@c_at_work]

  • Twitter is also working on allowing co-hosts and moderators in Spaces. [@c_at_work]

  • Private Twitter Spaces are also in the works. [@wongmjane]

  • You can now create Twitter Spaces from fleets. [@MattNavarra]

  • Twitter fleets now offer emoji stickers. [Social Media Today]

  • Twitter is trying to tempt users to turn on personalised ads. [@MattNavarra]

  • Twitter has been spotted advertising for app downloads via Instagram Stories. [@MartinSFP]

  • Twitter continues to refine its Birdwatch anti-misinformation tool. [@birdwatch]

  • Twitter is testing a new e-commerce card featuring shopping-related data. [Social Media Today]

  • Twitter has published new privacy help resources, including improved support for people whose accounts are hacked. [@Damokieran]

  • Twitter will remove support for embedding feeds of Likes, Collections, and Moments on websites from 23 June. [Social Media Today]

  • TikTok's Q&A feature has now rolled out to all users. [TechCrunch]

  • TikTok is testing a ‘Topics’ section in the discovery tab. Tapping a specific topic takes you to a feed of related videos. [@MattNavarra]

  • TikTok has launched a new TikTok for Business profile in its app to share marketing tips, usage insights, and upcoming events relevant to businesses. [Social Media Today]

  • TikTok's app for Samsung TVs will soon launch in the US. [CNet]

  • TikTok has a new ‘Ad Experience Specialist’ feature. Users can opt-in to view and rate the appropriateness of ads for other users and help advertisers improve their ads. [@MattNavarra]

  • YouTube's TikTok-like Shorts feature has gone live in the US. [Ars Technica]

  • YouTube Shorts has also been spotted live in Spain. [Portalic]

  • YouTube analytics now offers the ability to track how many new and returning viewers are engaging with your videos and channel. [9to5 Google]

  • YouTube is testing design changes to comments. [Android Police]

  • YouTube has been spotted rolling out the ability for creators to share up to five images with subscribers at a time. [@shil_diptanu]

  • Snapchat is testing Bitmoji stickers featuring avatars in wheelchairs [Adweek]

  • Snap has announced a partnership with Gannett, in an effort to reach more SMB advertisers. [Social Media Today]

  • Google's Discover feed has started surfacing YouTube content in its ‘Short videos’ carousel. [9to5Google]

  • LinkedIn is working on the ability for you to add pronouns to your profile. [@alex193a]

  • Pinterest has announced new marketing tools, including 'Pinterest Premiere' video ads. [Social Media Today]

  • Retro-style photo-sharing app Dispo has launched a promo video imagining cofounder David Dobrik as an old man. [Mashable]

  • SoundCloud is offering a better deal to independent artists thanks to a new, fairer way of paying out royalties. [The Verge]

  • Cameo has started offering gift cards, so you can let your loved one pick the celebrity video they most want. [Adweek $$$]

  • Amazon's mobile game clip sharing app, GameOn, has arrived on iOS after a previous Android launch. [TechCrunch]

📖 Weekend reading

Insights into what's going on inside the head of the man who runs WhatsApp, when it comes to some of the app's most pressing issues.

💀 Meme of the week

Credit: @workinsocialtheysaid on Instagram

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📅 Back next week...

I think that was our most jam-packed edition of Geekout yet!

But you made it to the end.

Nice one.

A quick reminder...

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Join me on Clubhouse TODAY (FRI 5 MAR) at 4PM GMT / 11AM ET / 8AM PT for Geekout Weekly.

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Time to go… Need to prep for my Clubhouse room.

Have a great weekend.

Goodbye geeks!

— Matt

This newsletter is edited by Martin SFP Bryant.

Copyright 2021: Matt Navarra Media Ltd

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