this is meta’s plan to kill elon’s twitter

… Ding, Ding! FIGHT! 🥊

Author

Matt Navarra
March 10, 2023

Hello, geeks

Welcome to this week’s Geekout! 👋

Breaking news…

Meta has confirmed its building a decentralised text-only social network.

Instagram boss Adam Mosseri is leading the project, and apparently, you’ll be able to log in using your Instagram account.

Basically… Twitter by Meta.

So, I have a question for you:

📊 POLL: Are you excited by a Twitter clone from Meta?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Also this week…

DID YOU SEE

ALSO…

A shout out to Zach Poczekaj who is the social media manager for @RitzCrackers.

He posted this tweet which led to this madness. 😆

Well played, brand social media managers. 👏

Alrighty… Let’s get into it. Here are the hottest headlines in social this week:

🔥 GEEKOUT HOT 5

  1. Meta Is Building A Decentralised Text-Only Social Network [TWITTER KILLER]

  2. TikTok Ban in U.S Creeps Closer With New President-Backed Bill [BAN BREWING]

  3. Twitter Insiders: We Can No Longer Protect Users From Trolls [BREAKING POINT]

  4. WhatsApp: We Wouldn’t Remove E2EE To Comply With UK Law [WAR OF WORDS]

  5. YouTube Reverses Controversial Swearing + Monetisation Policy [YOUTURN]

It’s been a busy week for social media platform updates and new features.

From the 1,000’s of items in my RSS feeds this week, these were the ones most worthy of your attention:

Messenger is being put back inside the Facebook app (Meta realised it made a big mistake)... Facebook rolled out longer 90-second Reels (plus new tools for creators)... Meta tweaked its special rules for VIPs.

New features spotted being tested on Instagram: 1. ‘Add yours’ sticker for feed posts, 2. Share post prompt when screenshotting, 3. Shared Story (collabs) feature… Facebook is testing a ‘Contributions’ feature for Groups… WhatsApp is working on a self-destructing group chats feature.

Twitter is rolling out a ‘new’ “Freedom of speech not freedom of reach” policy (apparently it’s not much different from current rules)... The EU told Elon Musk to hire more content moderators at Twitter (EU regulators can’t wait to start punishing Musk)...

Meanwhile, Twitter rolled out 4,000 character tweets to Twitter Blue subscribers (10,000 character tweets coming soon)... And Twitter plans to roll out encrypted DMs and threaded replies.

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TikTok will now block links to app store pages on creator profile bios (this includes link-in-bio links like Linktr.ee)... A TikTok whistleblower has alleged new data access abuses in the U.S… TikTok launched a new ‘Series’ monetisation feature for creators (with increased 20 minute long TikToks!)...

Spotify held its ‘Stream On’ event to reveal: Big plans for video podcasts, revamped podcasting tools (goodbye Anchor) A new Instagram Stories-like feature called ‘Clips’, and a redesigned app which is very TikTok-esque… Discord jumped on the AI-hype with its own ChatGPT integration (including AI-powered auto moderation enhancements).

And finally…

Twitch will now take a harder stance against deepfake porn (welcome to 2023, folks!)

DID YOU SEE… 👀

  • 🚨 COMING SOON: NEW Geekout Pro for Social Media VIPs [SCROLL TO THE END FOR MORE!]

  • 📺 YOUTUBE: The 30 Most Popular YouTub Creators In 2023 [VIEW LIST]

  • ⚡️ PRO TIPS: 7 Tips For Automating DMs On Social Media [TELL ME]

  • 🤖 NEW TOOL: Fast AI-powered Instagram Caption Generator [TRY IT OUT]

Let’s zoom in on the stories generating the most headlines and dunk tweets this week...

Geekout analysis of the biggest developments in social is coming up next 👇 #keepscrolling

– Matt

🚨 Everyone's talking about...

Meta is building a decentralized, text-based social network

Is this the Twitter replacement we've been waiting for?

After years of off-and-on speculation that it might happen, Meta has confirmed it’s working on a Twitter rival.

Money Control broke news about the project yesterday, and Platformer got official confirmation:

“We’re exploring a standalone decentralized social network for sharing text updates,” the company told Platformer exclusively in an email. “We believe there’s an opportunity for a separate space where creators and public figures can share timely updates about their interests.”

Details about the project are scant. The product is still in its earliest stages, sources said, and there is no time frame for it being released. But legal and regulatory teams have already started to investigate potential privacy concerns around the app so they can be addressed before launch, we’re told.

Casey Newton – Platformer

The project, codenamed P92 according to Money Control, is reportedly being led by Instagram chief Adam Mosseri.

The news comes after Jack Dorsey-backed Twitter alternative Bluesky entered private beta on iOS last week, and many influential tech-focused Twitter users have shifted over to mainly use Mastodon and seem happy to stay there.

Decentralised Twitter alternatives, where users can set up their own servers instead of relying on a central organisation to run the platform, are certainly having a moment in 2023.

But Mastodon can be notoriously tricky if you’re used to the simplicity of Twitter, and it remains to be seen if Bluesky or this new Meta offering can shave the rough edges off the user experience while maintaining a decentralised ideal where no one party is in full control.

But even if project P92 ends up coming to market, you’ve got to wonder how Meta will turn it into a moneyspinner - and whether if can be truly decentralised if it starts turning the product into another user-tracking ad network.

Twitter insiders: We can't protect users from trolling under Musk

As he prepared to sketch out his vision for Twitter at a flashy conference this week, Elon Musk probably didn’t want any reminders leaking out of how chaotic the company is under the hood.

A BBC report this week delved into how the company has let many of its user safety initiatives slip, and painted a picture of a paranoid Musk stalking the corridors, shadowed by bodyguards and leaving important anti-trolling features unstaffed.

“There are no guidelines. There’s no respect. There’s absolutely zero transparency. It’s awful,” as staffer said this week in a separate report.

This all came in the week that a study found many of the rulebreakers Musk reinstated are spreading hate and misinformation.

After refusing to engage with the BBC ahead of the report’s publication, Musk issued a childish response that suggested he was fine with trolling, and anyone who didn’t want it should go elsewhere.

That was just the beginning. A former employee’s tweets as he tried to find out if he had been fired or not led to Musk mocking the employee’s disability and suggesting he was a lazy worker.

After a day of back-and-forth drama where pretty much no-one except his flying monkey troll fans thought he was in the right, Musk deleted the offending tweets and issued an uncharacteristically formal apology. Lawyers get to you, Elon?

The childish responses didn’t end there. A new FTC investigation, to see if Twitter is complying with its data privacy obligations under its consent decree, led to Musk hitting back in a way that echoed Donald Trump at his most petulant. But the investigation is just normal procedure - nothing to get worked up about.

All of this comes as the failures and downtime continue to rack up at Twitter, a result of a staff stretched thin. There have been six significant outages in 2023 so far, and it’s only early March. Who’s got the Fail Whale’s phone number?

And the cost-cutting continues: it’s removing saved live videos and killed its Tor presence that let people use Twitter while protecting their privacy.

Musk might say he’s upbeat about the financial future of the company, but the EU demanding he hire more moderators might hurt his goal of being cashflow positive next quarter.

Still, it’s all plenty of fodder for a new documentary about Musk in the works from Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney.

Senator's TikTok whistleblower alleges data abuses

It feels like we’ve been talking about the creeping likelihood of a TikTok ban in the US for ages but there have been some significant developments this week that are worth talking about.

First, there was the supposed TikTok whistleblower who has been in touch with Senator Josh Hawley:

Hawley writes: "The whistleblower describes TikTok’s access controls on U.S. data as 'superficial' at best, where they exist at all. As an example, he describes how TikTok and ByteDance employees — including members of the Chinese Communist Party known to be on ByteDance’s payroll — can switch between Chinese and U.S. data with nothing more than the click of a button using a proprietary tool called Dorado... In his words, “[i]t’s just like a light switch."

Ashley Gold – Axios

If this is accurate, all the bans around the world we’ve been reporting for weeks might not be a bad thing.

But of course, this is just a letter for now. Without independent confirmation, it’s hard to say how legit it is. Still, it adds pressure to TikTok in a week where the FBI’s director said “This is a tool that is ultimately within the control of the Chinese government and to me it screams out with national security concerns.”

A US-wide TikTok ban is a step closer, after the Biden-backed, bipartisan RESTRICT Act arrived in Congress.

TikTok has been ramping up its response, both quietly meeting with lawmakers and asking creators to join it in Washington DC to fight calls for a ban. Video ads were even spotted at Reagan Airport DC - trying to catch the attention of influential folks inside the Beltway?

And TikTok’s troubles in Europe are on the rise, too. This week, the Czech Republic’s cybersecurity watchdog has warned against using TikTok, and Denmark’s public broadcaster advised staff not to use TikTok.

TikTok has launched ‘Project Clover’ to convince European politicians that it's safeguarding user data. But will the plan work amid such a huge wave of distrust?

Even the Chinese version of TikTok has been attracting fresh regulatory attention. Whether it deserves it or not, ByteDance can’t catch a break right now.

😆 LOL tweets

🐣 Brand Twitter

We’ve seen some quick wit this week from the social team at Aldi UK, who are always really good.

Aldi and M&S famously got into a legal spat over caterpillar cakes a few years ago. 👇

And really, how else could you reply to this?!

Meanwhile, Paramount UK offered up a fun ‘choose your own adventure’ Twitter thread:

📈 Going viral

MrBeast has a range of chocolate bars on sale in the US, and he called on his fans to make sure they were all neat and tidy on store shelves around the country. People got angry.

Aside from the sheer cheek of telling fans ‘help me make more money’, supermarket staff tidy up the shelves themselves (it’s called ‘facing’ - the second-best retail word after ‘planogram’) because they want to sell as many of MrBeast’s bars as they can too.

Sending your fans to do pointless work seems pretty silly. Still, the dumb stunt got us talking about MrBeast, so mission achieved, I guess..

MrBeast Sparks Backlash After Asking Fans To Clean Up Shelves

😮 WTF?!

“Are they undercover cops? Are they phishing scams? Or are they attempts to sow racial division?”

Twitter Bots Are Promising Cheap Guns to Anyone Using the N-Word

👀 Read of the week

How a social network falls apart

“LiveJournal and Tumblr fell apart under new ownership that didn’t understand their communities. The story could be the same for Twitter.”

And don’t miss:

📺 Worth a watch

Pro tip: you might need a VPN to watch these outside the UK 👇

Also:

🛠️ New tools

This one is proving to be super popular, for obvious reasons 👇

This one will be a massive timesaver if you use YouTube a lot…

And here’s a really interesting new opportunity for creators on TikTok:

TikTok introduces paywalled content, with videos up to 20 minutes long

Creators will be able to set the price for exclusive content.

🪦 RIP

Features heading to the great beyond:

This news caused a stir on the Geekout Facebook Group chat this week…

Facebook Depreciates Hashtag Topics in Groups

Also:

  • Twitter is deleting archived video livestreams. [Social Media Today]

  • Reddit is shutting down its Clubhouse clone Reddit Talk [TechCrunch]

  • YouTube is killing those annoying video overlay ads next month. [9to5Google]

🗣️ Industry chatter

Is TikTok almost ready to make its play to take a chunk of the search ad market? It sure looks that way….

Inside TikTok's plan to take some of the $112 billion search ad market from Google and Microsoft

“Advertising insiders say TikTok is showing all the signs of an 'imminent' search ads rollout. It's been beta-testing search ads since March 2022.”

🤔 Opinion

For some, LinkedIn has already become the next Twitter, with the professional benefit they used to get from Elon Musk’s platform in years gone by having shifted over to Microsoft’s.

Maybe LinkedIn should make more of that…

💡 New feature spotlight

LinkedIn has launched Collaborative Articles, where creators respond to A.I. generated prompts to write articles together.

Creators who contribute can earn a new ‘Community Top Voice’ badge for their profile.

LinkedIn’s flood of ‘collaborative’ articles start out with AI prompts

Using AI to start a discussion.

Also:

  • Reddit is testing a TikTok-style video feed. It's also working on splitting text and video posts into separate feeds. [The Verge]

🤦‍♂️ Fail of the week

Meta was trying to keep its GPT-style large language model just shared among A.I. researchers. Somehow it made its way to one of the worst places it could end up… 😬

Facebook's Powerful Large Language Model Leaks Online

💬 Quoted

Choice quotes from social media land this week:

“There are no guidelines. There’s no respect. There’s absolutely zero transparency. It’s awful”

– A Twitter employee describes working at the company, to The i news site

“This is a tool that is ultimately within the control of the Chinese government and to me it screams out with national security concerns”

– FBI director Christopher Wray talks tough about TikTok

“I feel like the worst part about social media is that it’s social”

– Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom, promoting his new app, Artifact

“Contrary to reports otherwise, Facebook is not dead nor dying, but in fact alive + thriving with 2 billion DAUs"

– Meta really wants you to know Facebook is still thriving

📈 Charts of the week

Teens: socialising alone in their bedrooms since 2010:

Also:

  • TikTok bans across Europe: mapped

📊 Stat of the week

YouTube sure is popular with gamers:

Also:

Meta News

Instagram and Facebook will pause their Reels Play bonus programs that paid creators in the US

Meta will pause its Reels Play bonus programs on Instagram and Facebook in the US, signaling the platforms will focus on ad-rev share models.

  • Meta will tweak its controversial ‘cross-check’ for VIPs, but has rejected some of its Oversight Board’s recommendations for changes to transparency around the system. [Wall Street Journal $$$]

  • UK Government ministers' use of WhatsApp poses transparency risks, according to the information commissioner. [The Guardian]

  • Meta could be forced to temporally suspend its services in Europe, if a new US_EU data pact doesn’t arrive in time. [Reuters $$$]

  • WhatsApp will make it easier for users to reject updates when they disagree with them, as it pledges to better comply with EU rules. [Reuters $$$]

  • …but WhatsApp says it would not remove its encryption to comply with the Online Safety Bill if such a rule became law. [The Guardian]

  • Meta has shared an updated and 'more representative' data set for its voice and face recognition A.I. [Axios]

  • Meta Verified could help you get Facebook account issues resolved. [Social Media Today]

  • Meta's Oversight Board will review the company's handling of election content in Brazil. [Engadget]

  • …it will also review moderation of Arabic word 'shaheed', which means ‘martyr’ in English. [Reuters $$$]

  • Meta has been accused of failing to moderate Horizon Worlds closely enough. [Washington Post $$$]

  • Instagram’s auto-cross-posting to Facebook has been confusing Gen-Z users. [New York Times $$$]

  • Meta must face trial over alleged theft of A.I. trade secrets, a judge has ruled. [Reuters $$$]

  • Meta will not make a second Quest Pro headset, CTO Andrew ‘Boz’ Bosworth reportedly told staff. [Insider]

  • Meta has dropped the price of its Quest Pro VR headset to $999, and the 256GB Quest 2 has also had a price cut. [The Verge]

New features and tests:

Facebook:

  • Meta is testing bringing Messenger back into the Facebook app. [The Verge]

  • Facebook Reels can now be up to 90 seconds long, and new features including ready-made Reels from memories are rolling out. [TechCrunch]

  • Facebook has a new ‘Contributions’ feature for Groups. [@oncescuradu]

  • Facebook now makes clear the type of notification it’s sending on iOS. [@ahmedghanem]

  • Facebook has been spotted offering an ‘Undo sent reactions’ feature. [@oncescuradu]

Instagram:

  • Instagram now gives some users a gesture control feature. [@jonah_manzano]

  • Instagram has been spotted showing a preview of the latest posts you’ve sent to friends. [@yousufortaccom]

  • Instagram wants you to share posts with friends the official way, not screenshot them. [@MattNavarra]

  • Instagram has updated the ‘About this account’ page. [@jonah_manzano]

  • Instagram has added a ‘Shopping Activity’ page in settings. [@MattNavarra]

  • Instagram is working on a Shared Story feature for collabs. [@alex193a]

  • Instagram could extend the ‘Add yours’ feature to posts. [@alex193a]

WhatsApp:

  • WhatsApp is testing a new two-pane layout for tablets and foldables. [WABetaInfo]

  • WhatsApp is working on a 'silence unknown callers' toggle to help tackle spam. [WABetaInfo]

  • WhatsApp has reduced the maximum size of Community broadcast channels to 2,000 members. [@MattNavarra]

  • WhatsApp is developing the ability to have groups self-destruct after a defined time period. [WABetaInfo]

Twitter News

TikTok ‘acting too slow’ to tackle self-harm and eating disorder content

Organisations including NSPCC say app has chosen to deny the problem and must take meaningful action

  • Elon Musk has thanked Disney and Apple for remaining two of Twitter’s biggest advertisers. [Variety]

  • The US can stop Twitter from releasing details about government demands for user information in national security investigations, a court ruled. [Bloomberg $$$]

  • Amazon threatened to withhold payment for Twitter ads because Elon Musk refused to pay its AWS bill. [The Information $$$]

  • Twitter’s lead EU regulator says the company launched Blue in the region without consulting regulators, despite pledging to do so. [Reuters $$$]

  • Twitter is reportedly planning to roll out its “freedom of speech but not freedom of reach” policy later this month. [@ZoeSchiffer]

  • Twitter bots have been promising cheap guns to anyone using the N-word. [Rolling Stone $$$]

  • Twitter has said nothing more about its ad revenue share programme hasn’t launched, a month after Elon Musk first announced it. [The Verge]

New features and tests:

  • Twitter is working on new direct message features including encryption and threaded replies. [Social Media Today]

  • 10,000 character tweets are coming soon, according to Elon Musk. [Social Media Today]

  • Twitter has rolled out 4,000-character tweets to Blue subscribers beyond the US. [@JackHorwood]

  • Twitter has been spotted offering a choice between 720p and 1080p video uploads in Media Studio. [@CarlSchmidt]

  • Twitter is working on a new Verification section in settings. [@alex193a]

  • Twitter looks close to launching its Coins feature. [@chrismessina]

  • Twitter seems to be working on better support for Blue subscribers. [@nima_owji]

TikTok News

TikTok ‘acting too slow’ to tackle self-harm and eating disorder content

Organisations including NSPCC say app has chosen to deny the problem and must take meaningful action

  • …and a US parent advocacy group says TikTok’s child protection efforts are just a PR stunt. [Daily Dot]

  • 45 state attorneys general have demanded TikTok produce subpoenaed materials sought in an ongoing nationwide consumer protection investigation. [Reuters $$$]

  • TikTok is fighting lawsuits over allegations in harvests data from its in-app browser. [Hollywood Reporter]

  • TikTok has won a US trademark trial over its Stitch video feature. [Reuters $$$]

  • ByteDance is hiring a books acquisition editor in the US. What could this mean for TikTok? [@katienotopoulos]

New features and tests:

  • TikTok has launched a ‘Series’ feature that lets creators sell premium episodes that last up to 20 minutes, for up to $190. [The Verge]

  • TikTok now blocks creators from adding an app store link to their bio. Instead, there’s a new app download link field on profiles, but for business accounts only. [TechCrunch]

  • TikTok has been emailing sellers about a new ‘Livestream ranking’ feature. [@MattNavarra]

  • TikTok now lets you share your new profile picture as a story. [@ahmedghanem]

  • TikTok has added an in-app human smuggling and trafficking alert, triggered by certain searches. [TikTok blog]

  • TikTok is testing a collapsible menu when you long-press a video. [@oncescuradu]

💥 More social media news and updates

YouTubers can swear at the start of videos again without getting demonetized

YouTube has finally backtracked on the controversial swearing and monetisation policy that many creators hated.

  • Utah is set to pass a law restricting minors from using social media without parental consent. And adults could lose access to their accounts if they refuse to verify their age. [Axios]

  • …as platforms work to improve their age verification systems. [Axios]

  • Recruiters aren’t happy with LinkedIn’s rising prices. [The Information $$$]

  • Snap’s stock price has surged as talk of a TikTok ban gathers pace. [Bloomberg $$$]

  • The UK’s Labour Party has called for better online protections for children. [Reuters $$$]

  • …while the Government says social media bosses face jail if they don’t provide data to bereaved parents. [The Telegraph $$$]

  • Twitch is taking a harder stance against explicit deepfakes. [The Verge]

  • …and it’s hosting a Creator Camp on 14 March, focused on keeping women streamers safe. [@Twitch]

  • More details have emerged from the invite-only beta of Twitter alternative Bluesky. [9to5Mac]

  • Work phones are making a comeback as workplaces ban apps like TikTok and WhatsApp. [Bloomberg $$$]

  • Pinterest's algorithm is helping men to find images of young girls, an investigation has found. [NBC News]

  • Student protests spreading via TikTok are causing a stir in UK schools. [The Guardian]

Insights to give you an edge at work:

  • How to automate DMs on social media. [Hootsuite blog]

  • 7 creators have shared their payouts from the first month of YouTube Shorts monetisation. [Insider $$$]

New features and tests:

  • Snapchat launched new AR content to mark International Women’s Day in France. [Social Media Today]

  • Discord voice chat is now available on PlayStation 5. [Eurogamer]

  • Discord has updated its bot with ChatGPT-like features and added other A.I. features. [TechCrunch]

  • Medium has launched a ‘premium’ Mastodon instance as a park for paying members. [TechCrunch]

  • Telegram has added a new Power Saving Mode, enhanced video playback speed options, and more. [Telegram blog]

📖 Weekend reading

How China takes extreme measures to keep teens off TikTok

TikTok announced a one-hour daily limit for users under 18, but authorities in China have pushed the domestic version, Douyin, much further.

😳 And finally...

Let’s go back in time to 2004, when some Geekout readers were still in preschool, and a plucky young social network was itching to get started…

📅 Back next week...

…And that’s your Geekout social media download. DONE ✅

Your brain just added 2 social media IQ points 🧠 ⏫

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Time to go… Have a great weekend everybody!

Goodbye, geeks.

– Matt

_______

This newsletter is edited by Martin SFP Bryant

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