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Hello, geeks!

This week’s Geekout is all about confessions. 😮

I have one to share…. Will you share yours with me? More on that in a moment

But first… Don’t miss these:

• Exclusive Invite: Get Paid to Beta Test a New Influencer Platform…. Be quick… Only 350 spots available for Geekout readers! 🎟️
  

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__________

Confessions of a social media manager 🤫

Wow. Last week's rant about the VIP ticket fiasco update clearly sparked you all off!

My inbox blew up with dozens of confessions from fellow Geekout readers sharing their own horror stories.

I have to confess… Knowing I’m not alone dealing with chaos-causing clients or dumbass demands from bosses was surprisingly cathartic. 🧘 

It seems we all have an ‘Alison’ in HR who has a “great idea” for a LinkedIn post that makes you want to slam your head on the desk and scream FML! 🤦🏻‍♂️

I’d love to keep this going!

So… send your confessions about:

• Insane work requests or questionable "genius ideas" from your boss or colleagues.

• Your ultimate client from hell.

• Your biggest heart-stopping mistakes

• Any other jaw-dropping work-related disasters worth sharing.

Think of it as free therapy for those of us left with social media manager PTSD. — we’re all friends here! 😁

Best confessions get featured anonymously in Geekout in the coming weeks (with your permission only, of course).

And if you don’t want me to share them, I will enjoy hearing you vent (your secret is safe with me!).

Hit reply to send me your confessions

I may not be able to respond to every reply. But i will read every one of them!

P.S. Social media managers… Can you compete with THIS? 😱

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🔥 GEEKOUT HOT 5

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

2. Meta AI is finally rolling out in Europe, but with several limitations [EXPANDING]

3. TikTok Ban: Oracle emerges as key to most possible outcomes for TikTok US [NEGOTIATING]

4. Social media giants face big fines as UK’s strict online safety rules come into force [REGULATING]

5. X, Meta, Google, and Apple want Trump to take on Australia’s strict media laws [BATTLING]

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From Colin and Samir, every issue of The Publish Press breaks down 3 big stories shaping the industry - what happened, why it matters, and what’s next. 

Discover new trends and insights, as well as the latest job opportunities within the creator space… In under 5 minutes!

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🚨 EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT…

X bounces back. Or does it?

One thing you need to know in order to understand Elon Musk is that the valuations of his companies are based largely on the strong hype fumes he gives off to investors.

While some of us had Elon’s number years ago, investors (until the last couple of weeks, anyway) still seemed to believe that Tesla was worth way more than any other car company.

Why? Because it might eventually deliver things it’s been promising for years (like full self-driving capabilities), or shiny new things that distract it from the basics, like humanoid robots (for some reason).

And while the business fundamentals of X, which has driven away users and advertisers while screwing up user safety and embracing widely unpopular far-right influencers, might point to a drop in valuation since Musk bought it, it seems to have rebounded in value to the same $44 billion he paid for it.

So, what’s going on with the pricing of X’s new funding round?

Well, Musk reportedly put some of the money up himself, so that doesn’t tell us much. But still, there were some external investors involved here. And as The Information points out, they’re treating X as the Tesla of social media:

Meanwhile, some people suggests accounting tricks are at play.

But its likely that Musk’s proximity to power made investing in X look like a great way for investors to stay on side with the world’s most wealthy (and almost most powerful, given his proximity to Trump) person. Oh, and X is an excellent propaganda tool to have a stake in if you want to shape public opinion.

Investing in Musk’s companies is about believing in Musk. But he’s increasingly vulnerable. Just look at the desperate-sounding Tesla all-hands he livestreamed last night. It was a ‘greatest hits’ of Tesla promises intended to make it look like it he’s not massively distracted by his current main job of destroying the US government.

Should Trump decide to fire Musk, or should Tesla’s stock price continue to crater as customers and investors lose faith, $44 billion for X could look like a ridiculous miscalculation by those who put money in this time.

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✨ NEW & NOTEWORTHY

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

Meta / Facebook 👥

• Mark Zuckerberg revealed Meta's Llama models have hit 1 billion downloads 📈🤖

• The ‘whistleblower’ book Meta blocked from promotion continues to sell like hotcakes, and is now an Amazon and NYT best seller

• Meta is going to be using fact-checkers in Australia, indicating how it will shift policies to whatever works best politically in any country

• Meta’s CMO is relocating to Washington DC is preparation for the company’s landmark FTC’s trial next month

• Facebook now lets you save Stories as drafts

• Facebook now shows the Weekly Challenge under the Professional Dashboard

• Meta has a new ‘Add branding’ option for ads

• Meta Business Suite has new media editing tools, including stickers and text, drawing on photos, and effects

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Instagram ✨

• Instagram has a new ‘Shortcuts’ feature to share posts and Reels in DMs with a specific group of friends 💬

• Instagram added the ability to create a group chat when responding to a Story, among other small enhancements

• Instagram has sent an email detailing new updates on how Reels are recommended

• Instagram has started rolling out its new Maps feature to more users

• Instagram now lets you archive your Highlights

• Instagram now lets users choose between different microphone modes during video calls

• Instagram now allows you to zoom in and out on Stories by pinching the screen

• Instagram added a new feature to automatically confirm follow requests from people you’re following

• Instagram is testing a fourth button for Reels, “Follow”

• Instagram has changed the ‘double-tap to like’ animation to something a little more fun

• Instagram Reels is testing a new feature to automatically post new Reels to Stories

• Instagram now shows a prompt in DMs if the account you’re chatting with has an active subscription available

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Threads 🧵 / WhatsApp 💬 

• Threads has launched a big new feature update with topic tags in bios, follower-only replies and quote posts, a better video player, and more 🏷️

• Threads is working on the ability find and follow popular creators on Threads, that you already follow on X

• Threads is testing a ‘Weekly Recap’ feature that provides a general overview of your account activity

• WhatsApp has a new look for its web app

• WhatsApp will soon limit the number of broadcast messages users and businesses can send, to combat spam and abuse

• WhatsApp is testing an option to link your Instagram account directly to your profile

• WhatsApp’s business app is getting a new logo

• WhatsApp might soon get a new photo collage feature for status updates

• WhatsApp Status updates could soon play your favourite Spotify hits

• Meta launched new API solutions for WhatsApp Business, enhancing customer interactions.

__________

Twitter (‘X’) 🤡

• X analytics now shows how many of your followers are verified ✔️📊

• X is testing a new engagement feature for posts ‘React with video’

• Elon Musk shared, and then removed an X post absolving dictators for genocide (because of course he did)

• Elon Musk has been formally served with a summons in the SEC's lawsuit regarding his Twitter (now X) disclosures.

• Elon Musk has sued India’s government over takedown orders on X

• Elon Musk invested $150 million to acquire more shares in X last year at a valuation approaching the price he paid for the company in 2022.

• X users treating Grok like a fact-checker is sparking concerns over misinformation

• A 23-year-old man livestreamed his suicide on X, asking viewers to create a memecoin in his memory - people did so, in a disturbing turn

__________

YouTube 📺

• YouTube is testing a handy new Shorts editing experience, along with other new features 📱✂️

• YouTube is set to launch its shopping features in the UK this year

• YouTube is testing an option to remove end screens from clips

• YouTube is introducing a revamped BrandConnect platform for influencer marketing

• YouTube's dedicated 'Podcast' tab has rolled out more widely on Android TV

• YouTube Premium users could soon get higher audio quality options

• YouTube has added new tools for easier linking between brands and creators

• YouTube has announced a new commitment to enhance online safety for young users

__________

TikTok 📱

• TikTok is adding real-time AMBER child protection alerts to the For You feed in the US 🚨

• Wyoming entrepreneur Reid Rasner is making a multibillion-dollar offer for TikTok US, including a pledge for creator payouts

• …But some on Capitol Hill are still wary of any TikTok deal at all

• …Also, U.S. Vice President Vance hopeful ‘high-level’ TikTok deal will be completed by early April https://www.threads.net/@mattnavarra/post/DHTKhlbKr7T

• TikTokers have called for the 'chubby filter' to be banned

• TikTok now lets you reply to posts with a photo from your photo library

• TikTok added the ability to add clickable links to stories

• TikTok is now suggesting stories from accounts that a user does not follow

• TikTok has a new all-in-one Security Checkup dashboard

• TikTok now lets you add multiple songs to videos

• TikTok is reminding US users CapCut will also go offline if it gets banned

• TikTok added a ‘background audio’ setting

__________

LinkedIn / Snapchat / Bluesky / More… 💼

• LinkedIn launched a new numbers puzzle game called Zip 🔢

• LinkedIn is testing removing the Video tab for some users

• LinkedIn now lets Premium subscribers send a follow-up InMail using your monthly credits

• LinkedIn shared the top 15 most in-demand skills based on job and profile listings

• Reddit now lets you block your most-hated advertisers for a year

• Reddit is consolidating its DM and chat options into a single stream

• Bluesky made it easier for publishers to track link clicks from the platform

• Snap’s 5th-gen Spectacles have an update that includes new location-based tools, better hand-tracking, and new AR apps

• Discord launched a social SDK to enhance in-game social features

• Discord’s mobile app is getting video ads from June

• Telegram has crossed 1 billion monthly active users

__________

🔥 Want to see more hot news headlines or new features spotted in the wild this week?

Just head to the ‘More news’ section below!

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🤖 SOCIAL A.I.

The newest social media A.I. features spotted this week:

Also spotted this week 👀

• Instagram added a new Story feature called “Restyle your image with AI”

• Instagram profile banners have added AI chat

• WhatsApp might soon use AI to rewrite your status updates

• WhatsApp is testing an enhanced experience to chat and talk with Meta AI

• WhatsApp is adding Meta AI for business

• WhatsApp is working on a feature to initiate call-like sessions with the Meta AI chatbot

• TikTok has added a feature called ‘AI Alive’, which allows users to create moving photos for Stories

• Bluesky plans to let users opt out of AI training, protocol bridging, and data archiving, but some users are worried

• X is testing a new button for advanced search settings and modes for Grok.

• xAI has acquired generative AI video startup Hotshot

• xAI has launched an API for generating images

• CapCut has a new AI music creation feature

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😆 LOL

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💖 MEMES

MEME DROUGHT? What if the best meme in 2025… is no memes at all? 😱

“'When I’m really old and have grandkids, I’m gonna tell my grandkids about the TikTok Great Depression of March 2025.'“

@worley_cd

Scrolling TikTok has never been so boring 😭 #fyp

@mycatmeowsithink

YT SHORTS COLOBIZATION MARCH 25TH — GREAT MEME DEPRESSION #slimetok #juggtok #jollytok #ts #pmo #dandysworld #mainstream #💔 #🥀 #dih #unde... See more

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🌡️ VIRAL

LeBron James has become a genre of music. As Mashable explains:

“People are editing popular songs to be about the NBA star, and those remixes are everywhere on TikTok”

@xenjournal

made this in two hrs instead of studying 😭😭 #ebron #lebronjames #lebronsong #fyp #xenjournal

@andreas.prod5

Oh Mr. LeBron… || #lebronjames #nba #nbaedit #goviral #basketball

Also:

• The weeklong TikTok fight over whether NYC influencers are ‘boring’

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🪧 BRANDS

F**K OFF BRAND: Should your brand join Bluesky? Be careful…

An account claiming to be Doritos appeared on Bluesky, but without a verified custom domain. The brand’s posts were met with variations of “f*** off, brand.”

Bluesky users aren’t welcoming corporate accounts, creating a tough environment for advertising. The platform needs a business model, but integrating ads without backlash will be a challenge.

Read more about it in Ryan Broderick’s awesome Garbage Day newsletter.

Also:

• How Amtrak keeps its social media strategy on track for Gen Z

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🙊 WHAT DID YOU SAY?!

“A cheap, watered-down imitation"

- Telegram boss Pavel Durov labelled WhatsApp a poor copycat of his app, accusing it of copying features and spending heavily on lobbying to hinder Telegram's growth

Also overheard this week:

• "We're gonna have a staff of superintelligent, beautiful people kind of working for us"
  – Meta AI boss Yann LeCun paints a rosy picture of where AI is going
  

• “The day that Meta changed their name from Facebook to Meta, I did take literally all of my liquid cash and use it to buy Meta shares” 
  – Oculus founder Palmer Luckey says he bet big on Meta’s rebrand, even after Zuck fired him
  

• Meta's CTO Andrew ‘Boz ‘ Bosworth also revealed he "loved and hoped to keep" the Oculus brand
  

• "One of the most absolutely manufactured controversies of all time" 
  – Meta CTO Andrew ‘Boz ‘ Bosworth speaks out about outcry over the change from "VR/MR" to simply "MR"
  

• Signal’s Meredith Whittaker has warned that UK demands for backdoor access would “leave it vulnerable to hacks, breaches and theft”. She’s not wrong.
  

• “There will almost certainly be a high-level agreement that I think satisfies our national security concerns, allows there to be a distinct American TikTok enterprise” 
  – US Vice President JD Vance is optimistic a TikTok deal can be done by early April

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👀 MY FAV READS

“The concept of being ‘very online’ has become obsolete as internet culture permeates everyday life.”

This is one of several stories about digital minimalism spotted in recent weeks. — see. this one and also this (which i contributed to)

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😮 WTF?!

“Instagram’s unwillingness to moderate AI-generated content finds a new low," says 404 Media reporter Emanuel Maiberg

Also this week 👀

• AI-generated meme captions funnier than human ones on average, a new study found

• Bluesky made more money selling T-shirts mocking Zuckerberg than custom domains

• Mark Zuckerberg requested to be “gently mobbed” during a visit to Asia, and more of the wild claims made in hit book ‘Careless People’

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📲 NEW APPS

File this one under ‘interesting’ (but also under ‘icky’ because it involves memecoins)..

“Can a meme coin launch a content app to new heights? That's what Venmo co-founder Iqram Magdon-Ismael is trying with JellyJelly.”

Also:

• The Atlantic has a tool to let you search LibGen, the pirated-books database that Meta used to train its AI

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🪲 BUGGING OUT

LOW RES: YouTube videos not looking as good as usual? It’s not just you…

“YouTube streams are automatically playing in 144p and 360p despite users having a strong and stable internet connection. A fix is incoming.”

Also:

• A YouTube app bug opens and auto-plays Shorts by default . But there’s a fix…

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👔 YOU’RE HIRED!

Hot new social media jobs worth checking out this week:

Red Bull is on the hunt for a Producer/Editor, Social Media. [Santa Monica, CA, USA]

More top social media jobs spotted this week 💼

• Adobe is hiring a Director of Adobe Express Social Strategy [San Francisco, CA, USA]

• The BBC needs a Social Media Manager [Salford, UK]

• Marie Curie is looking for a Social Media Manager [London, UK]

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🪦 RIP

Social media features heading for the graveyard:

END NOTE: RIP TikTok’s Instagram-like Notes app. ❌

TikTok says the app and related features will be discontinued from May 6, with ByteDance suggesting you use Lemon8 instead.

Also:

• Meta explained that it’s killing the Move fitness-tracking feature in Quest due to low usage rates

• Threads appears to have removed the option to hide your replies tab

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👌 PRO TIPS

More pro-tips worth checking out ✨

• 10 pro tips for writing better social media posts

• Instagram Experiment: Does early engagement boost reach on Instagram? TL:DR - Yes

• YouTube has published a report about the brand promotion benefits of Shorts

• LinkedIn has shared video tips and insights

• LinkedIn has explained how to run live video events in the app via Zoom

• Snapchat has shared insights on how to connect with film and TV fans in the app

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📊 SOCIAL STATS

$3.45 BILLION

- How much brands will invest in YouTube creators in 2025, with over half of US marketers using YouTubers for promotions

Even more social stats: 📈

• YOUTUBE FTW: YouTube TV has surpassed 8 million subscribers, and is expected to rise to 12.6 million by 2026

• BUZZFEED’S MILLIONS: BuzzFeed will invest $10 million in its new social platform, BF Island

• CREATORS CASHING IN : Creators earned over $2 billion on Facebook in 2024

• TIKTOK ADS DOWN: TikTok's cost per thousand impressions (CPMs) have plummeted by 80% YoY, reflecting reduced advertiser demand

• TEENS ONLINE: 40% of UK teens spend 6+ hrs online daily. 1 in 5 exceed 8 hours

• PINTEREST ADS UP: Pinterest's CPMs have increased by 120% over the same period, indicating growing interest from advertisers

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📈 CHARTED

FACT-CHECKING: Fact-checks on X are getting faster, but not fast enough ⏱️

Bloomberg’s analysis of 1.1 million Community Notes shows the system struggles against political and financial incentives to spread lies on X.

Community Notes on X now appear in under 14 hours (down from 30 hours), but often after misinformation has already spread.

More charted social insights spotted this week: 👀.

• VALUABLE INFLUENCE: Influencer spend by brands is set to surpass $10 billion this year

• TEEN SOCIAL: Ranking the most used social media platforms used by US teens

• SPLITTING THE TIKTOK PIE: How TikTok ad spend could be divided up if the app shut down in the US

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• Meta has announced measures to protect Canada’s upcoming election. [Meta Newsroom]

• An Arizona Republican lawmaker is pressing Mark Zuckerberg for answers regarding Meta's business dealings with China. [Washington Post $$$]

• Meta’s potential exit from Delaware incorporation had the state’s governor worried enough to call special weekend meetings. [CNBC]

New features and tests:

Instagram:

• Instagram has tweaked the appearance of Story ads. [@theahmedghanem]

Threads:

• Threads has made the share sheet in the feed more compact by removing its icons. [@theahmedghanem]

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

• The Meta Quest passthrough camera API is out now for developers to play with. [UploadVR]

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• A leaked ByteDance document shows how TikTok scores staff on 'ByteStyle' and other performance measures. [Business Insider $$$]

New features and tests:

• TikTok Live events now include an exclusive access option, with pricing starting from $0.99. [@jonahmanzano]

• TikTok is working on an option to support multiple account access for its coin recharge website. [@theahmedghanem]

• TikTok has started showing Stories in the feed to more users (some users have had this for a while). [@theahmedghanem]

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💥 EVEN MORE SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS & UPDATES

• Father of the web, Tim Berners Lee is behind the latest protocol to aim to make social media as interoperable as email. [Financial Times $$$]

• California’s online child safety law has been blocked by a judge – again. [The Verge]

• Snap CEO Evan Spiegel believes that his company’s unique approach to AR hardware positions them ahead of rivals like Meta. [Bloomberg $$$]

• Text scams warning of unpaid road tolls fuelled by cybercriminal salesmen on Telegram. [NBC News]

New features and tests:

• Snapchat’s half-swiped messages feature is adding new social pressure to some users. [Wall Street Journal $$$]

• Substack rival Ghost is now connected to the fediverse. [TechCrunch]

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📰 WEEKEND READS

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

“White supremacists from around the world used Telegram to spread hateful content promoting murder and destruction in a community they called Terrorgram.”

More great weekend reads:

• TikTok is trying to be better for children. Parents are skeptical

• How Joel Kaplan became Mark Zuckerberg’s most trusted political fixer

• Netflix, Amazon, and Peacock bet big on YouTubers after 'Beast Games' success

• The one place on social media that still feels human: Facebook Marketplace

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😳 AND FINALLY…

Buy, Buy, Birdie:: Want a piece of social media history history? 🐦💰

“The roughly 560 lb. Twitter bird logo sign is once again up for sale, with the auction house estimating its value at upward of $40,000.”

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📅 BACK NEXT WEEK…

You have reached the end of this week’s Geekout.

A place only a few social media addicts reach each week. 😁 

Let’s get. you out outta here…

…I’m heading off to get ready for an old-skool club night with Judge Jules in Exeter.

I have my ibiza trance pants ready to party like it’s 1999. 🕺🏻

Have a great weekend, geeks!

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

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✨ Want to advertise in Geekout? Get in touch for rates + availability | Book Geekout Ad

🤝 Want to work with me? I’m available for consulting, advising, brand collabs, keynote speaking | Watch clips / Get in touch