Hello, geeks!

Welcome to the final edition of Geekout for 2023. It’s been a wild year for social!

Kicking things off this week… This WILD social media job ad (will you be applying?) 👈😆

Geekout Newsletter has had an incredible year. And that’s all thanks to you lovely lot letting me invade your inbox, every Friday. Thank you for reading my geeky musings! ❤️

Here are a few Geekout Wrapped stats for you… (📊 more stats here)

• Words written: 84,000+

• Total impressions: 1.2 MILLION!

• Total clicks on links: 500,000+

• Subscribers added: 12,000+ (all organic)

• Subscriber growth rate in 2023: 78%

• Average open rate: 54%

• Average click rate: 14%

The most read editions of Geekout in 2023:

• 🥇 I Could Get In Trouble For Telling You This

• 🥈 Mark Zuckerberg Blew Up My Threads Account

• 🥉 This Will Give You Nightmares

In the news this week… 

Comedian John Oliver delivered an EPIC takedown of Elon Musk in a 30-minute rant about Silicon Valley’s biggest super-villain / clown. 🤡

Oliver mocked Musk by describing him as “the less f**kable reimagining of Billy Zane’s character in Titanic.” 💀

Elon (unsurprisingly) didn’t find it funny and gave his 1-star review on X. 😡

It’s without doubt, the funniest thing I watched this week. Watch it here. 👌

And finally… Someone released the full version of BBC newsreader Maryam Moshiri’s viral middle finger fail 🖕. Here’s what really happened…. Worth a watch. 

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🔥 GEEKOUT HOT 5

The news you need to know this week:

1. TikTok Users Including Russell Brand Given Special Status + More Lenient Moderation [VIP RULES]

2. Leaked X Docs Reveal Staff Stripped Of Power To Remove Toxic Content [SEWER RISING]

3. TikTok Moderators Struggling To Assess Israel/Gaza Content As Internal Tool Removed [MOD PROBLEMS]

4. EU Launched Formal Investigation Into Musk’s X Over Illegal Content [BREAKING RULES]

5. ByteDance Caught Secretly Using OpenAI’s Tech To Build A Competitor [AI-SPY]

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• Geekout has an industry-leading open rate of 54% + a 14% click rate

• Geekout Ads typically generate up to 4% click-through-rate!

• NEW ad slots now available for January 2024.

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🚨 EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT…

Moderation is an easy place to cut corners… and costs

While social media companies are keen to tell us how good their moderation is, all too often we discover that corners are cut, costs are saved, and priorities beyond trust and safety have won out.

That’s been most obvious over the past year at Twitter/X because Elon Musk has been blatant about it. But The Guardian’s series of exposés about TikTok this week point to plenty of problems over there.

For example, TikTok moderators are reportedly told to be more lenient to ‘top creators’. While being careful with how they treat influential, big-money creators makes a lot of sense, if those people include problematic conspiracy theorists like Russell Brand, it’s at the very least a bad look.

Also, moderators were reportedly told not to take negative actions against more than 60 Amazon-related accounts because the ecommerce giant is a major advertiser on TikTok.

Oh, and moderators are reportedly struggling to assess Israel-Hamas war content because an internal tool for flagging videos in a foreign language has been removed.

And in news that will please US politicians keen to take TikTok down, moderators are reportedly told to let under-13s stay on the platform if they claimed their parents were overseeing their accounts.

It’s not just TikTok’s moderation that has been called into question this week. Ireland’s Business Post had a scoop alleging that X has deliberately reduced its enforcement against hate speech, while The Information reported that pressure to compete with TikTok has led Instagram to not always put teen safety first.

Moderators are the people who “sweep up the mess”, but time and again we’ve seen that executives seem to treat sweeping up the mess as a PR exercise, rather than essential platform hygiene.

I suspect they’d quickly complain if the janitors stopped cleaning the office toilets, but with its often outsourced and out-of-sight workforce, it’s easy to consider moderation as an all-too-easy place to cut corners and make savings.

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✨ NEW & NOTEWORTHY

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

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😆 LOL

As a big X outage drives more people to Threads, a reminder no-one cares about the audience you’re giving up…

Meanwhile, the US Postal service gave social media managers an excuse to vent:

Also:

• It might be time to update old memes

• Instagram should actually build this spoof feature

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🪧 BRANDS

As Rachel Karten pointed out this week, “brands have been challenging followers to “like” a post to make something bigger. It’s stupid. It’s funny. It’s good.”

Also:

• Is Meta using creators to post about its Ray-Ban smart glasses on TikTok?

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📈 GOING VIRAL

“In an unstoppable TikTok trend that is growing more satirical by the day, pretty pink ribbons keep popping up in all the wrong places.”

Also:

• Why videos of $500 beauty advent calendars are flooding TikTok

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💬 YOU CAN QUOTE ME ON THAT

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

Bluesky now has around 2.6 million users. Is this just the beginning, or has the platform already peaked? I spoke to Fast Company about the mistakes Bluesky made in its battle to be the best Twitter alternative.

Also:

• GQ invited me to give my predictions for tech in 2024

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🙊 WHAT DID YOU SAY?!

“The less f**kable reimagining of Billy Zane’s character in ‘Titanic’”

– John Oliver absolutely went to town on Elon Musk in the latest edition of Last Week Tonight.

Also:

• Reddit co-founder Steve Huffman said the platform was more like a 'homework assignment that got out of hand' than a business in its early days

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👀 MY FAV READS

Is 2023 the year the fediverse became a real vision of the future?

• How Twitter died in 2023 and why X may not be far behind

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🗓️ 2023 IN REVIEW…

• …but was 2023 the weakest year in history for memes?

• The best new social media apps of 2023

• 17 pop culture moments that blew up on social media in 2023

• A BIG roundup of what happened on the internet in 2023

• YouTube’s most-loved ads of 2023

• Mexican Singer Peso Pluma is YouTube’s most-viewed artist of the year in the US

• Twitter's wildest moments of 2023

• Elon Musk's nine unfunniest jokes of 2023

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⏭️ SOCIAL IN 2024

Who you might need on your team in 2024, and some tips on getting the budget to hire them…

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🛠️ TOP TOOLS

This is good news for social media managers:

Also:

• Google’s top Chrome extensions of 2023

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📲 NEW APPS

It’s not quite a like-for-like Zenly replacement, but the latest social app from the former Zenly team takes them back into social location territory.

(And if you’re looking for a closer clone of Zenly, Jagat says it’s hit 10 million users)

Also:

• Spill is now in open beta on iOS and Android

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😮 WTF?!

A.I. threatens to remove any sense of privacy we might think we have about anything we share online:

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🤦 FAIL

“Companies controlled by Italian influencer Chiara Ferragni were fined over insinuating proceeds from a cake sale would directly benefit a cancer charity.”

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👮 SCAM ALERT

Scams you should be aware of right now:

Also:

• A devious new phishing campaign looks to steal Instagram backup codes and hijack accounts

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🗳️ ELECTION SOCIAL

As we gear up for a big election year, here’s an inside look at the Biden campaign’s paid influencer strategy:

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👌 PRO TIPS

Knowledge worth knowing:

LinkedIn carousels (the ones they didn’t recently kill) are super-popular. Here’s some inspiration for yours…

Also:

• Brand tips for catching users’ interest on TikTok

• OpenAI has published a guide to prompt engineering

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🤖 SOCIAL A.I.

All the ways A.I. is transforming social media:

• Snapchat now lets you to create A.I. portraits featuring you and your friends together.

• Reddit is working on A.I. features including a tool to spot rule-breaking content before you post it

• Facebook is prompting Group admins to signup for new A.I.-powered tools

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📊 SOCIAL STATS

16

– The number of EU leaders who had signed up for Threads a day after it launched in the bloc

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📈 CHARTED

Generative A.I. is transforming social media, so it’s important to understand the tools that are available.

This new graphic from Brian Solis and JESS3 does a good job of showing where we are at the end of 2023:

• The top 100 most viewed YouTube channels worldwide in November

• The most downloaded apps in November

• Reels outperform TikTok clips in driving views

• The senators who can't quit Elon Musk's X

• Verified accounts on X are thriving while spreading misinformation about the Israel-Hamas conflict

• Gen Z doesn't trust Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos — but Oprah and Bill Gates garnered more confidence

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• Meta faces accusations over its content moderation in the Israel-Hamas conflict. [Financial Times $$$]

• Meta's censorship of Palestine content is 'systemic,' Human Rights Watch says. [Mashable]

• A bug blocked news on Threads in Canada, but now it’s back. Meta says it is focusing its news block on Facebook and Instagram. [Engadget]

• A Meta executive has pleaded guilty to stealing $4 million from the company. [BoingBoing]

• The European Commission is examining Italy’s tax case against Meta. [Bloomberg Tax $$$]

• Meta has been forced to apologise to a Qatari billionaire over crypto scams that used his image. [Financial Times $$$]

New features and tests:

Facebook:

• Facebook is testing a discovery tab within Search. [@theahmedghanem]

• Facebook now lets you save Reels before posting. [@theahmedghanem]

• Facebook is using a prompt to encourage users to create Reels. [@theahmedghanem]

Instagram:

• Instagram now lets you comment on photos or Reels using an avatar. [@jonahmanzano]

• Instagram now suggests new follows in the app header where Stories are displayed. [@theahmedghanem]

• Instagram is working on showing floating likes on posts and Reels. [@alex193a]

• Instagram has added an option called cross-posting under Creator Tools. [@jonahmanzano]

• You may soon be able to post animated emojis in your Instagram DMs. [@alex193a]

• Instagram has been spotted offering a Meta Verified filter on Reels. [@jonahmanzano]

• Instagram has been spotted offering a new Reels filter that showcases notes from your friends. [@theahmedghanem]

• Instagram is testing a shadow effect on in-app notifications. [@ihammod_oh]

• Instagram is still working on location-sharing for messages. [@alex193a]

• Instagram now supports read receipts for Instagram messages in the EU. [@oncescuradu]

Messenger:

• Messenger now lets you create broadcast channels directly in-app. [@theahmedghanem]

• Messenger now lets businesses create and manage ads straight from their inbox. [@oncesuradu]

Threads:

• Threads is rolling out view counts out to more users. [@theahmedghanem]

WhatsApp:

• WhatsApp has added a new calendar-based search option for Android. [Android Police]

• WhatsApp is working on a deeper integration with Instagram. [Android Police]

• WhatsApp is expanding the ability to invite admins to broadcast channels for more users, enabling them to add up to 16 admins. [@theahmedghanem]

• WhatsApp could soon let users you post status updates from linked devices. [Android Police]

The rest: Creator Studio / Adtech / Quest and more:

• Meta Verified chat support has shortened the wait time to just one minute. [@jonahmanzano]

• Meta Quest owners can use Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in VR… if they really want to. [The Verge]

.

• Australia’s eSafety commissioner has sued X over lack of transparency. [The Guardian]

• Brazil's first lady says she will sue X after having her account hacked last week. [Reuters $$$]

New features and tests:

• X is now showing subscriber-only content in the ‘For You’ feed with a paywall. [@oncescuradu]

• X is rolling out a new look for the Media tab on profiles. [Social Media Today]

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• TikTok’s content on some political subjects aligns with the Chinese government, a study says. But TikTok says the study was flawed. [NBC News]

• ByteDance’s sales have passed $110 billion to pass Tencent this year. [Bloomberg $$$]

• TikTok has launched a December Subscription Accelerator programme with rewards for creators. [@jonahmanzano]

New features and tests:

• TikTok now lets you link event tickets to your video. [@jonahmanzano]

• TikTok has added screen time settings. [@jonahmanzano]

• TikTok is testing a new Creator Center on desktop. [@theahmedghanem]

• TikTok has added a ‘Christmas content’ filter on desktop. [@oncescuradu]

• TikTok is pushing sellers to livestream for at least two hours at a time [Business Insider $$$]

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💥 EVEN MORE SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS & UPDATES

• YouTube is launching Premium and Music in 10 more countries. [9to5Google]

• YouTube has postponed the launch of a way of accounting for multiple people in a household watching together. [Digiday $$$]

• A group representing TikTok, Meta and X sues Utah over strict new limits on app use for minors. [NBC News]

• A proposal in New York would mandate open access to social media APIs. [TechDirt]

• The FTC plans to boost children’s online privacy with new limits on targeted advertising and push notifications directed at kids in the US. [Washington Post $$$]

• 21 US lawmakers have urged Joe Biden to probe the EU’s targeting of US tech firms. [Reuters $$$]

• Parler planning to relaunch ahead of 2024 US election. [NBC News]

• Claim, a social network that lets users earn and trade rewards with friends, has raised $4 million. [TechCrunch]

Insights to give you an edge at work:

• YouTube Shorts ads are more cost-effective than TikTok ads, according to new research. [AdAge $$$]

New features and tests:

• YouTube has tweaked ambient mode to be more vibrant on Android. [9to5Google]

• CapCut now lets you to send your videos directly to TikTok Ads Manager. [@theahmedghanem]

• CapCut is prompting users to edit clips “on a big screen”. [@oncescuradu]

• CapCut is developing a feature to boost TikTok videos from their app. [@theahmedghanem]

• Mastodon’s official app is starting to integrate with Threads. [@datadrivenmd]

• …and Mastodon app Mammoth is beginning Threads support. [@chris]

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📰 WEEKEND READS

• Meta's CTO on how the generative AI craze has spurred the company to ‘change it up’

• How a Disney casting exec uses TikTok, Instagram, and more to find talent

• How Discord became a perfect conduit for a leak of government secrets

• The four podcast stories that will shape 2024

• Creators and p*rn stars turn to A.I. doppelgangers to keep fans entertained

• Henry Rowley: The British 'posh boy' who became one of the year's breakout TikTok stars

• How Meta built the infrastructure for Threads

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😳 AND FINALLY…

The first YouTube video ever might be a piece of history, but that doesn’t mean it stands still….

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📅 BACK NEXT WEEK…

… And that wraps-up the last Geekout Newsletter for 2023! ✅

A big thank you from me (and Martin) for supporting Geekout this year, and being our kind of geeks. ❤️

Geekout will is now officially in ‘out of office’ mode for Christmas.

I will be back in your inbox with the first edition of Geekout for 2024 on Friday 12th January.

Right… Time for me to head off watch Home Alone for 143rd time, over-eat, and not drink in moderation. 🍷🍷🥃🥃🍖🍕🍿

Merry Christmas, Geeks! 🎅🏻

(And have an awesome New Year!) 🎉

p.s. This newsletter is edited by Martin SFP Bryant