the worst job in social media (new entry!)

Hello, geeks!

Kicking things off this week… The most 😱INSANE 😱 social media manager job listing ever.

I wonder if the job comes with this office chair optimised for social media managers?

Meanwhile… Spare a thought for Instagram boss man Adam Mosseri. He gets a LOT of questions in his Insta DMs. His face here says it all.

In the news this week…

• …Meta is about to lift Trump’s Facebook ban (thanks for that Meta)

• …TikTok has a ‘heat button’ to make anyone go viral (that won’t be abused at all 🙄)

• …and Elon Musk’s ego is out of control

We’ll dig into all of these stories and more, in a moment.

BUT FIRST…

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…Ok, let’s get into it. 🤓

Here are the hottest headlines in social from the past seven days:

🔥 GEEKOUT HOT 5

1. Donald Trump’s Facebook Ban Lifted By Meta [PLEASE NO]

2. TikTok Has Secret Heat Button To Make Anyone Go Viral [HIT THE BUTTON]

3. Elon Musk’s Twitter Caves to Government Censorship Requests [FREE-ISH SPEECH]

4. Leaked: Apple’s Next-Gen Mixed Reality Headset Specs [SNEAK PEEK]

5. Meta Confirms Global Test of Encrypted Chats on Messenger [MORE DETAILS]

What else went down in social media town this week? Here’s a rundown of everything else I spotted and think you’ll want to know about:

Meta’s new business certification lets you showcase your company’s Facebook + Instagram expertise… Instagram’s new dynamic profile feature lets you show off your profile pic and avatar at the same time… Meta expanded its NBA partnership giving access to watch 50+ games in VR… And is Instagram going to remove its cross posting to rival sites feature?

Twitter launched more tools to help keep brands safe (and advertisers spending!)... Elon Musk reversed the decision to make Twitter’s algorithmic feed default (again)...Twitter’s controversial ‘God Mode’ can still be accessed by a lot of employees… Elon Musk teased plans for a higher priced ad-free Twitter Blue plan (I have thoughts about this)... Twitter has improved Bookmarks and made them a ‘Soft Like’... And no, you’re not imagining it. Twitter has changed its font.

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There have been more calls to ban TikTok in the U.S… Meanwhile, University campus TikTok bans are not going down well with students… TikTok has new privacy options for direct messages… And TikTok is telling creators it will take a 50% revenue cut from all virtual gifts… LinkedIn is boosting newsletter discovery by showcasing which ones you’re subscribed to… YouTube is going to give creators more context in notifications about policy violations.

Hootsuite will no longer offer a free plan for its platform after March 31… Twitch revealed a long list of new features for streamers including enhanced TikTok and Twitter clip sharing… ChatGPT has begun testing a premium ‘ChatGPT Pro’ plan costing $42 per month (ouch!)...

And finally…

Truth Social is full of ads for miracle cures, scams and fake merch (people surprised: 0)

DID YOU SEE… 👀

• 💻️ ALGORITHMS: How To Reset Algorithms on YouTube, Netflix, and More [SHOW ME]

• ⚫️️ DARK SOCIAL: When Should Your Brand Go Dark On Social [TELL ME MORE]

• ✨ PRO TIPS I: LinkedIn Posting Strategy Tips For 2023 [REVEAL TIPS]

• ⭐️️ PRO TIPS II: Snapchat Posting Strategy Tips For 2023 [REVEAL MORE TIPS]

It’s time to take a closer look at the most talked about developments in social this week.

Geekout analysis of the top stories coming up next (keep scrolling) 👇️

– Matt

P.S. This is worth checking out… 👌 Stay sharp on trends that drive the future

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🚨 Everyone's talking about...

Meta to reinstate Trump

Extend the ban, or let him back? It was predictable that Meta would take the easier route, and reinstate Donald Trump - and that’s what they’ve done.

Explaining the move, Meta’s Nick Clegg told Axios: “We've always believed that Americans should be able to hear from the people who want to lead the country… We don't want to stand in the way of that."

Fair enough, but Trump isn’t just any politician, and Meta isn’t letting him straight back onto Facebook and Instagram. Clegg says the company is building new tools to restrict certain posts in the future if necessary.

This makes it sound like Meta is trying to find a new balance between protecting the ability for politicians to use the platform while also safeguarding democracy from whatever anti-democratic tricks and lies a figure like Trump might pull around the next election.

But there’s still a question over whether Trump will even post to Meta’s platforms. He hasn’t posted to Twitter, weeks after being reinstated there. That said, recent reports indicate Trump is eyeing a return to Twitter and is set to ditch his exclusive deal with Truth Social, so Facebook could well be on the card too.

Civil rights groups think it’s reckless for Meta to reinstate Trump, even if advertisers are unfazed. Meanwhile, Truth Social’s management are probably left wondering what the future is for their platform without the USP of exclusive Trump posts. How will all the awful tat being advertised on there ever sell?

But given his past behaviour and how he’s acted on Truth Social, there’s a far-less-than-zero chance that Meta could be forced to ban Trump soon after he’s reinstated, and long before he gets a chance to try overturning an election again.

TikTok’s Secret ‘Heating’ Button Can Make Anyone Go Viral

Numbers: we social media pros build our lives around them. They tell us what works and what doesn’t, they impress our bosses, and other people’s numbers can guide our own creative decisions and strategies.

But there’s always that niggling fear that the numbers are nonsense. Sometimes, as with the controversy over Facebook video views, we find out there were indeed nonsense. And Twitter’s new ‘verified views’ don’t seem to mean anything different from the old (unverified?) ones..

Now TikTok has been caught in the act, too. It turns out the platform’s algorithm isn’t the only thing that decides the reach of content. Staff can manually boost a piece of content’s popularity via something called ‘Heating’”:

According to Forbes, TikTok uses Heating to flatter influencers and brands, and staff even use it to boost their own accounts and those of their friends.

TikTok told Forbes “We promote some videos to help diversify the content experience and introduce celebrities and emerging creators to the TikTok community. Only a few people, based in the US, have the ability to approve content for promotion in the US, and that content makes up approximately .002% of videos in For You feeds.”

Still, it’s a reminder that what appears to be successful on social media might be a mirage, and off-platform impact is often the best way of gauging whether that you’re doing is truly making a difference.

Elon Musk’s Twitter Bows to India Request to Censor Links to BBC’s Narendra Modi Doc

For all Elon Musk’s talk about freedom of speech, and his product chief’s talk of the importance of hearing from opposing views, Twitter has made some pretty worrying moves in India this week.

It has supported censorship of a new BBC documentary that Indian prime minister Narendra Modi doesn’t want anyone watching. It also reinstated Hindu nationalist accounts that engage in anti-Muslim activity. That sure sounds like silencing opposing views while promoting the kind of ‘opposing views’ that end up getting people badly hurt.

Its easy to argue that Musk-Twitter has a very American view of free speech and a blind spot for how free speech works in other countries, but its moderation decisions seem to be having an impact closer to home, too.

Increased attacks on American Jews and gay people have been linked to a growth in hate speech on Twitter, while Twitter faces a lawsuit from the European Union of Jewish Students over alleged failure to remove antisemitic content.

Still, we know that new Twitter has at least one clear red line: praising Hitler gets you kicked off. Just like his friend Kanye West, far-right figure Nick Fuentes was banned less than a day after he was reinstated this week - he had jumped straight onto Spaces and started talking about his love for the Nazi leader.

Not being able to get moderation right continues to impact on Twitter’s bottom like. Ad spend on Twitter reportedly fell by over 70% in December, according to new data. Twitter has added new brand safety tools to try to turn that around, but we’ll have to wait to see how well that works.

As it struggles to figure out just how much free speech it can get away with, Twitter should perhaps used Karl Popper’s paradox of intolerance as a guiding light. It states that the one thing a tolerant society can’t tolerate is intolerance, or things rapidly go downhill. The same is true on social platforms.

😆 LOL tweets

🐣 Meanwhile, on brand Twitter…

Brand tweets that caught my eye this week…

🪲 Bug alert

It’s not just you…

Also:

• YouTube says it’s fixing the bug that let someone fake a new oldest video on the platform

😮 WTF?!

Also:

• Snapchat has a trippy new video ad

🗣️ Industry chatter

Meanwhile:

• Twitter is talking tougher on enforcing disclosure of paid parnerships

📲 App of the week

Tapbots gained a legion of fans with its popular Tweetbot app for Twitter. But with third-party Twitter apps now banned, the developer must be grateful it had Ivory waiting in the wings. This is being celebrated as the slickest Mastodon client yet.

It’s well worth a look if you’re a Mastodon user on iOS.

🕰️ On this day…

This week saw an important anniversary in the history of social video:

🤔 Thought for the week

💡 New feature spotlight

👀 Reads of the week

Matthew Ball is a thought leader on all things metaverse, and his latest piece is well worth your time:

Also:

• Why the FT closed its Mastodon server: Running a presence on the fediverse brings way too many reputational, legal, and security risks. Letting social media companies handle these challenges might be best after all?

• Inside the secret Facebook groups where women review men. I'd rather not know this existed.

💬 You can quote me on that

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

I spoke to Insider about what the future might hold for Truth Social if Donald Trump jumps ship:

Now that Trump can return to Facebook, Truth Social could be all but doomed

🎤 They said it out loud

Choice quotes from big names:

Well yes, Adam…

Also:

• Meta’s A.I. lead isn’t impressed with ChatGPT. Fair point or sour grapes?

• Twitter co-founder Biz Stone still isn’t convinced Elon Musk is a good fit for Twitter

📈 Charts of the week

Also:

• The UK's most famous and popular influencers in 2023

• The most loving countries and cities in the world, based on 15 million tweets

• The 50 most visited websites in the world

📊 Stat of the week

Also:

• Meta’s spend on lobbying is down amid cost-cutting in big tech

• Ad spending on Twitter fell by over 70% in December

• LinkedIn now has 900 million members, but only around a third of them are active in any given month

Meta Pays BuzzFeed Millions to Generate Creator Content for Facebook and Instagram

“The partnership marks latest iteration of yearslong relationship between digital publisher and social-media giant.”

• Meta is paying BuzzFeed millions to generate creator content for Facebook and Instagram. [Wall Street Journal $$$]

• Meta has removed the far-right Ukrainian Azov Regiment from its dangerous organisations list. [Washington Posts $$$]

• Meta has expanded its partnership with the NBA, offering the chance to watch 50 games in VR and get team apparel from the Avatars Store. [Meta Newsroom]

• Meta is a sponsor for the upcoming Rugby World Cup. [AdWeek $$$]

• Meta is marking Data Privacy Day by prompting users to check their privacy settings. [Social Media Today]

• Homes are selling on WhatsApp

Insights to give you an edge at work:

• Meta now offers a business certification to showcase your company's Facebook and Instagram expertise. [Social Media Today]

• How Meta uses A.I. to figure out how old you really are. [Tech at Meta]

New features and tests:

Facebook:

• Facebook now lets you add a description and feeling/activity before launching a live video stream. [@jonah_manzano]

• Facebook Reels now supports adding a collaborator. [@jonah_manzano]

• Facebook has been spotted offering 'Missed friend updates' under the notification tab. [@ItsJeffHiggins]

• Facebook is testing 'Add Friend' and 'Message' buttons to the app footer as you scroll. [@ahmedghanem]

Instagram:

• Instagram has added a Reels tab on desktop. [@jonah_manzano]

• Instagram now lets you add your avatar as a second profile pic, and lets visitors to your profile flip between the two. [@instagram]

• Instagram could remove the ability to cross-post posts to third-party services. [@alex193a]

• Instagram is still working on a 'Channels' feature. [@alex193a]

• Instagram appears to have killed 'boards', a feature it had been working on for over a year. [@alex193a]

• Instagram is testing lead forms as an action button on business and creator profiles. [@ItsSachinShah]

• Instagram has been spotted offering a new UI for music selection in Reels. [@ahmedghanem]

• Instagram is testing some re-jigged options. [@hammodoh1]

Messenger:

• Messenger is testing end-to-end encryption by default, supporting more features than previously. [Meta Newsroom]

• Messenger is testing a Colour Filter accessibility feature. [@ahmedghanem]

WhatsApp:

• You can now download the beta version of WhatsApp's new native Mac app with Apple Silicon support. [WABetaInfo]

• WhatsApp is working on support for full-quality photo sharing. [WABetaInfo]

AI/VR/adtech and more:

• Meta has updated the terminology it uses for accounts reached within ad campaigns. [Social Media Today]

• Meta is testing support for alternative titles for videos in Business Suite. [@techjalal]

• Meta’s Hand Tracking 2.0 for its Quest devices is now the default. [The Verge]

• Horizon Worlds has switched to 'A' as the default jump button. It used to be 'down' on the right thumbstick. [The Verge]

• Meta has launched a website about how Rights Manager combats copyright infringement on its Facebook and Instagram. [Meta Newsroom]

Elon Musk Explores Raising Up to $3 Billion to Help Pay Off Twitter Debt

“The billionaire has held talks with investors about selling new Twitter shares.”

• Twitter's internal 'God Mode' is still too widely available, a new whistleblower claims. [Washington Post $$$]

• Tweetbot has shut down following Twitter's ban on third-party apps. Other apps are set to follow. [Engadget]

• Twitter now has 1,300 staff, down from 7,500 before Elon Musk's takeover, according to leaked records. [CNBC]

• ...but Elon Musk denies the figure is accurate, saying the company has around 2,300 active working employees. [Reuters $$$]

• Elon Musk has admitted that he ignored pleas to stop tweeting, as the trial into his notorious "funding secured" Tesla tweet continues. [The Verge]

• Twitter has been sued by the Crown Estate over unpaid rent in London. [Deadline]

• Twitter could have less than 300,000 Blue subscribers, according to recent research. [@travisbrown]

• Elon Musk has finally hugged the man who waited outside Twitter HQ for months for the chance to embrace the billionaire. [Insider]

New features and tests:

• Twitter has introduced a bookmark button under every tweet on iOS. [TechCrunch]

• Twitter's 'For You' feed has now launched onAndroid. [9to5Google]

• Twitter has expanded Community Notes contributions to users in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, [TechCrunch]

• ...but the app will now remember whether you were last on For You or Following when you open the app. [The Verge]

• Twitter is testing affiliation badges on journalists' profiles. It's working with the Daily Mirror in the UK. [Press Gazette]

• ...but it's not a perfect feature [NiemanLab]

• Twitter has changed its font on handles so it’s easier to spot fakes using numbers as 1etters. [The Verge]

• Twitter is testing ad targeting via search keywords. [Social Media Today]

• Twitter plans to reduce the amount of pre-roll video advertising you see, plus it’s adding the ability to share video to TikTok. [The Verge]

• Twitter has updated the Community Notes algorithm to boost "existing contributor impact scores by better recognizing helpful past contributions". [@CommunityNotes]

• ...and the Coins feature is still in development. [@nima_owji]

• Twitter seems almost ready to launch its Reddit-esque Awards feature. [@alex193a]

The new frontier in the US war on TikTok: university campuses

“Experts say banning the app over college networks will not stop students from accessing it over cellular data”

• US Senator Josh Hawley wants to ban TikTok nationwide. [Reuters $$$]

• TikTok’s spending on lobbying is slightly up in the US as it battles talk of a ban. [Insider $$$]

• …and it’s making more noise about its desire to avoid a ban. [New York Times $$$]

• More details have emerged of TikTok’s ‘Project Texas’ to wall off its US operations. [Lawfare]

• Creators are earning extremely low earnings from TikTok’s ad revenue sharing initiative. [Fortune $$$]

• …and TikTok will take 50% revenue share from virtual gift sales from 24 February. [@MattNavarra]

• TikTok has laid off employees in its talent acquisition team. [Insider $$$]

• TikTok is cracking down on remote work in the US. [The Information $$$]

• It's still early days for TikTok's push into search, according to marketers and ad execs. [Digiday]

• JP Morgan is under fire from a top US Senator for developing payments technology for TikTok parent ByteDance. [Forbes]

• TikTok ran a Chinese New Year themed marketing campaign centred around the theme of 'Red Envelope' messages. [AdWeek $$$]

• The New York Times has joined TikTok. [@FraZaffarano]

• Laid-off Googlers have shared their experiences on TikTok. [Insider]

Insights to give you an edge at work:

• TikTok has published a handy 2023 marketing calendar. [Social Media Today]

• Why Vice, BBC, WaPo, and others see new TikTok teams as the next wave of specialist publishing talent. [Digiday $$$]

New features and tests:

• TikTok now lets you better control who can DM you. [The Information $$$]

• TikTok has brought dark mode to the desktop. [@ahmedghanem]

💥 More social media news and updates

Meta, Twitter, Microsoft and others urge Supreme Court not to allow lawsuits against tech algorithms

“A wide range of businesses, internet users, academics and even human rights experts defended Big Tech's liability shield Thursday in a pivotal Supreme Court case about YouTube algorithms”

• Controversial social media laws in Texas and Florida have had their day in the US Supreme Court delayed. [The Verge]

• Hootsuite is killing the free version of its product at the end of March. [@MattNavarra]

• Microsoft has killed its social VR platform, Altspace VR. [Road to VR]

• India has announced guidelines for paid promotions on social media, and fines for disobeying. [TechCrunch]

• YouTube says it’s fixing the bug that let someone fake a new oldest video. [The Verge]

• A California court could soon decide whether social media companies need to pay for the damage to Americans’ mental health. [Politico]

• Reddit has hired its first-ever Chief Revenue Officer. [Bloomberg $$$]

• …but is downsizing some teams. [Insider $$$]

• Snap investors are worried about its prospects in the current ad market. [Bloomberg $$$]

• The FBI is looking into Snapchat’s potential role in a spike in Fentanyl poisoning deaths in the US. [Bloomberg $$$]

• The state of Utah plans vaguely defined legal action against social medis companies on child safety grounds. [TechDirt]

Insights to give you an edge at work:

• When should your brand go dark on social media? [Marketing Brew]

• Looking for tips on posting to LinkedIn in 2023? The guide has you covered. [Social Media Today]

• …and here are Snapchat posting tips for 2023. [Social Media Today]

• How YouTube is calculating creators' ad-revenue shares for Shorts. [Digiday $$$]

New features and tests:

• YouTube is adding new features to provide more context on policy violations. [Social Media Today]

• YouTube has launched a series of online courses that can be used to earn college credits in the US. [CNet]

• LinkedIn will make your newsletter subscriptions visible to others from 11 February. [@MattNavarra]

• LinkedIn now lets company page admins see which of their tracked competitors have the best-performing content. [@YasserM86]

• Snap has filed a patent application for AR smartglasses designed for people with prescription lenses. [Patent Drop]

• Signal is working on a text formatting feature. [@alex193a]

📖 Weekend reading

No Open-House Party. Influencers Just Want an Open Door.

“Developers are teaming up with niche influencers who trade targeted posts for entry into luxury residential buildings.”

• Can Big Tech make livestreams safe?

• Why are all these beauty influencers suddenly in Dubai?

• Why aren’t there any legal protections for the children of influencers?

• The rise of Esther Crawford in Elon Musk’s ‘hardcore’ Twitter

• Elon Musk’s epic quest for LOLs is only hurting Tesla

😳 And finally...

2023 is wild… and super f-ing weird:

YouTube streamer’s fish commits credit card fraud while playing Pokemon Scarlet & Violet

“A YouTube streamer whose fish plays Pokemon Scarlet & Violet was recently the victim of credit card fraud after the game crashed, leading to an exposed credit card number and accidental purchases.”

📅 Back next week...

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–

Right… This really is the end.

I’m off to get a strong drink and ‘extremely hardcore’ painkillers (back injury at the gym this week) 🤕

Goodbye geeks!

– Matt

_______

This newsletter is edited by Martin SFP Bryant