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Hello, geeks |
I’m writing this week’s Geekout following a week from hell. |
Things got a little crazy and I ended up in an ambulance. No joke. This isn’t clickbait! |
Thankfully, I feel a lot better than I did a few days ago. However, it has meant I'm not operating at peak performance. This week’s Geekout may not buzz as much as it usually does or it might be missing a few bits and pieces. Sorry folks. I hate letting you down. 😟 |
But back to business… |
The icon for Meta’s new Twitter-style app has been discovered. The colour choice looks a lot like Canva and Twitter’s app icons. More on that a little later. |
Insider’s published a list of top creator economy experts to follow in 2023. And they included me! A nice surprise during a crappy week for me personally. |
BTW… I think I found my new car number plate. This is 👌 |
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[In the style of Jim Carey] Alrighty then! |
Let's get into it, starting with the hottest headlines in social this week: |
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🔥 GEEKOUT HOT 5 |
Twitter Now Worth One Third of What Elon Musk Paid For It [BYE BYE BILLIONS] Reddit’s New API Pricing May Kill Third Party Client Apps [SHEDDIT] Meta Reveal Quest 3 Days Before Apple MR Headset Launch [VR WARFARE] Instagram’s Twitter-Rival App Logo Discovered And It Looks Familiar [BLUE BIRD] Bluesky has hit 100,000 members while still in invite-only beta [BLUE SKIES]
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A lighter week of social media platform news this week. With a sprinkling of new features spotted in the wild… Here’s what’s worth knowing about: |
Meta / Messenger / WhatsApp |
Meta announced new video scrubbing options for Reels (skip 10-15 secs etc) … Facebook is working on a Playlists feature for Reels … Instagram is testing new user controls for recommended posts and new notifications for creators … WhatsApp is rolling out ‘Companion mode’ to more iPhone users … And WhatsApp may soon let you share your screen in a call. |
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🔥 VIP COMMUNITY FOR TOP SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGERS… JOIN US! |
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Get real-time social media news alerts direct from Matt Navarra Access the VIP group chat with the world’s best social media managers Members manage social for brands including: McDonalds, Disney, Netflix
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Twitter |
Twitter’s head of trust and safety has quit after only 7 months in the job (I wonder why 🤔) … Elon Musk has suggested Twitter could be given a new name in the future … Twitter reportedly cut key software just before DeSantis’ glitchy Twitter Space … EU regulator says Twitter has agreed to stress test ahead of enforcement of new rules … Elon Musk has revealed more details about plans for video monetisation for creators … And Twitter may soon let you hide your Likes. |
TikTok / YouTube / Snapchat / BeReal |
TikTok creators’ financial info and social security numbers reportedly got stored on servers in China … ByteDance has expanded TikTok CEO’s job responsibilities to include Lemon8 … |
TikTok is testing a new ‘One-liner’ commenting feature … Snapchat is working on a ‘Replay again’ feature for Snapchat+ subscribers … BeReal is launching a messaging feature called RealChat … |
And finally… Take a look inside MrBeast’s “top secret” $14m filming studio. |
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DID YOU SEE… 👀 |
⚡️ PRO-TIPS I: The Ultimate Guide to Facebook Ad Formats [VIEW GUIDE] ⭐️ PRO-TIPS II: The Ultimate Guide to Instagram Ad Formats [CHECK IT OUT] 🤖 CHATGPT: How to Use ChatGPT for SM + 43 Prompts To Get You Started [TAKE A LOOK]
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It’s time to dig a little deeper into the news headlines everyone’s talking about this week… |
Twitter’s valuation nosedive (ouch!), Reddit’s insanely expensive API pricing, and Bluesky’s new member milestone… |
Keep scrollin’ for Geekout’s analysis. 👇 |
– Matt |
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🚨 Everyone's talking about... |
 | Twitter Is Now Worth Just 33% of Elon Musk’s Purchase Price, Fidelity Says | uk.news.yahoo.com/twitter-now-worth-just-33-185709652.html |
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As the founder of SpaceX, Elon Musk should know a thing or two about flying too close to the Sun. |
The man who helped kickstart a new space race and made electric cars desirable certainly seems to have met his match with social media. |
Twitter is now worth just one third of what Elon Musk paid for it less than a year ago. Is it the biggest fail in social media history? It must be up there. |
Musk’s vision for the company is still unfolding, so there’s a chance he could still turn it around. But the company has been non-stop drama since he arrived, which must make the efforts of the greatly shrunken ranks of staff all the more challenging. |
Within the last 24 hours, Twitter’s latest head of trust and safety, Ella Irwin resigned. There’s no word on why, but it came hours after right-wing site The Daily Wire complained that Twitter had censured it for misgendering people. |
Had Elon Musk’s Twitter discovered that it had to “go woke” to avoid “going broke”? It seems not. Elon Musk said the move was a mistake and misgendering (while “rude” and not something he said he personally does) is allowed on the site. |
Meanwhile, with the company’s new ad industry native CEO in place, Twitter is opening up to programmatic ads as it looks to boost ad revenue. This doesn’t bode well for Twitter’s shift towards subscriptions. |
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 | Reddit may force Apollo and third-party clients to shut down, asking for $20M per year API fee | 9to5mac.com/2023/05/31/reddit-may-force-apollo-and-third-party-clients-to-shut-down |
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One success Elon Musk might have had at Twitter is emboldening other platforms to get tougher on third-party developers. |
The creator of popular third-party client Apollo announced Reddit was asking for an eye-watering $20 million per year to keep using its API. |
As 9to5Mac explains: |
After reassuring Christian that the new API pricing would be “reasonable and based in reality” and that Reddit “would not operate like Twitter,” it sounds like the company is doing a 180 or has very different ideas about what “reasonable” and “based in reality” mean. Reddit told Christian the new cost would be $12,000 per 50 million requests. Since Apollo does about 7 billion requests per month, that comes out to ~$1.7 million per month or $20 million per year for Apollo’s API access. Christian notes that “Even if I only keep subscription users” those numbers would necessitate double the subscription cost of Apollo just to break even, let alone earn any income. | | | | – Michael Potuck, 9to5Mac |
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The news has spooked other third-party developers who use the Reddit API. |
Reddit told TechCrunch that it doesn’t want to kill third-party apps, but: |
We’re committed to fostering a safe and responsible developer ecosystem around Reddit — developers and third-party apps can make Reddit better and do so in a sustainable and mutually-beneficial partnership, while also keeping our users and data safe | | | | Reddit statement to TechCrunch |
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That last point about keeping its data safe is an important one. |
While third-party apps can be a significant source of engagement (third-party Twitter apps–now all cut off–historically accounted for 17% of all engagement, a former exec has said), social media bosses have their eyes on the dangers of letting A.I. companies train their models on their data without any control or payment. |
In April, Reddit announced plans to charge people who wanted to use Reddit data to train A.I, while Elon Musk has been publicly wary about letting Twitter data go to A.I. researchers too cheaply. |
Third-party apps could be collateral damage in this shift, and that’s sad to see. But another impact could be worse. Scientists say they can’t rely on Twitter anymore since API prices were set much higher, and the ability for social media to help us understand the world is being hobbled. |
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 | Twitter Alternative Bluesky Hits 100k Members Before Exiting Beta | www.slashgear.com/1300427/bluesky-hits-100k-members-beta |
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Bluesky hype might have died off in the past couple of weeks but it’s still growing. As Slashgear explains: |
The decentralized social network is undergoing work during an invite-only developmental phase, yet it's just crossed the 100,000 mark for users. Newly updated usage stats show that more than half of this count contributed over 3 million posts to date, averaging 55 posts per account since data collection started on May 1. That leaves about 43,000 users who probably signed up to take a tour. | | | | Quentyn Kennemer, Slashgear |
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Not bad numbers for an app that is still in invite-only beta. The platform is making solid progress with some of its fresh ideas, like the ability to set up and share custom algorithms to give users a more personalised experience. |
Decentralisation hasn’t arrived yet, so Bluesky has a long way to go, and any prediction it might eventually replace Twitter wholesale seems unlikely to prove true. It seems more likely that, as Ryan Broderick wrote for The Information this week: the next Twitter is just thousands of smaller Twitters. |
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😆 LOL tweets |
BeReal is trying all sort of new ideas at the moment, but maybe they should try this, which would be a real hit with bosses managing work-from-home teams! |
 | Soren Iverson @soren_iverson |  |
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BeReal Corporate automatically takes photos of your screen and shares them with your manager https://t.co/ABEopuZdnP |  | | | May 26, 2023 | | |  | | | 14K Likes 798 Retweets 121 Replies |
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🪧 Brand Twitter |
 | Pride Month was once an easy win for brands. Now, the stakes are much higher | edition.cnn.com/2023/06/01/business/pride-month-companies-reaction/index.html |
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Brands taking a stance on social issues is nothing new, but it’s sadly increasingly risky for them to show support for groups like trans people, especially if those brands don’t have the courage of their convictions to stand by that support when the heat is on. |
A Twitter thread from Innocent this week about how to communicate respectfully with trans people turned into a storm after a pile-on from a group of Twitter users calling for a boycott of the brand. |
Innocent swiftly deleted the thread, explaining that it wanted to be “respectful and inclusive”. That’s something they succeeded in not being to trans people by deleting the thread. |
📖 Algorithms uncovered |
This was a week for platforms opening up a bit more about their algorithms. YouTube published a useful explainer video. |
 | Matt Navarra @MattNavarra | |
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YouTube's Algorithm 2023: What Creators Need to Know YouTube's Creator Insider team reveals all https://t.co/Q77xjQmynP |  | youtube.com/watch?v=67TkpH…
YouTube Algorithm 2023: What Creators Need to Know
Hello Insiders! Today we're here with Todd, Director of Search and Discovery, to chat about all things algorithm.Check it out and leave us your comments and ... |
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| | | Jun 1, 2023 | | | | | | 9 Likes 0 Retweets 0 Replies |
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Meanwhile, Instagram shared some useful info about how it sorts posts, Reels, and Stories. Well worth a look: |
| Matt Navarra @MattNavarra | |
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Instagram Shares New Explainer on How its Feed, Reels and Stories Algorithms *Really* Work https://t.co/pVsuBdx1di |  | socialmediatoday.com/news/instagram…
Instagram Shares New Explainer on How its Feed, Reels and Stories Algorithms Work
Instagram chief Adam Mosseri has provided an in-depth overview of its various ranking systems. |
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| | | Jun 1, 2023 | | | | | | 54 Likes 13 Retweets 0 Replies |
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📺 Worth a watch |
Shadowbanning is a hot topic for some Instagram creators. And Adam Mosseri’s attempt to clear up confusion this week won’t have satisfied everyone. |
| Matt Navarra @MattNavarra | |
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Instagram's boss attempts to explain 'shadowbanning', but creators still aren't happy Skip to 6 minutes 12 seconds ⏯️👇 https://t.co/2INJwmzVoC https://t.co/EoWC1MrMJu |  | mashable.com/article/instag…
Instagram attempts to explain 'shadowbanning', but creators still aren't happy
Shadowbanning continues to be a problem for people on Instagram. |
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|  | | | Jun 1, 2023 | | | | | | 64 Likes 13 Retweets 8 Replies |
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💡 New feature spotlight |
As A.I. makes it easier to create convincing fake images, it’s good to see Twitter has expanded Community Notes to images. |
The crowdsourced factchecks will appear whenever anyone shares the same image in the future, too. |
 | Twitter Expands Community Notes to Attached Visuals in Tweets | www.socialmediatoday.com/news/twitter-expands-community-notes-attached-visuals-in-tweets/651581 |
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😮 WTF?! |
Mark Zuckerberg is on something of a fitness kick at the moment. Is he ‘going buff’ like Jeff Bezos before him? |
“The Facebook founder, in a post on his own page, said he had completed the ‘Murph challenge’ in 39 minutes 58 seconds, a time that one user said would put him in the top 1% of those who completed the event” |
 | Mark Zuckerberg completes extreme fitness challenge in 9kg vest | www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jun/01/mark-zuckerberg-completes-extreme-fitness-challenge-in-20kg-vest |
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Also: |
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🔨 New tools |
This iOS app is a fun new take on the web browser. |
“You can add your favorite websites or choose from its suggestions, then swipe through the sites to see what’s new or shake the app for a surprise web page when boredom strikes.” |
 | Web Roulette is an addictive, 'swipeable' web browser for the TikTok era | techcrunch.com/2023/05/30/web-roulette-launches-an-addictive-swipeable-web-browser-for-the-tiktok-era |
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Also: |
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🔌 New gear |
 | Zuckerberg unveils Meta Quest 3 VR headset days before Apple reveals its own | www.cnbc.com/2023/06/01/meta-quest-3-unveiled-ahead-of-apples-planned-vr-headset-debut.html |
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Hmm… why might Meta have unveiled the Quest 3 this week? Probably because Apple is widely expected to reveal its own debut headset on Monday. |
The Quest 3 is 30% thinner than its predecessor, and promises colour mixed reality and twice the graphics performance. It certainly impressed Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in an early hands-on. Meta’s comms team was smart to get an influential Apple reporter in before next week! |
Meanwhile the Quest 2 has been dropped back down to $299.99 and will stay on sale for a good while yet, as a cheaper option versus the Quest 3’s $499 starting price. |
Meta also unveiled new VR controllers and 20+ new VR games. |
🤖 A.I.-mazing |
The ways A.I. is transforming social media: |
“Snap’s new ‘Dreams’ project will enable you to place your likeness into created realms, powered by generative AI.” |
 | Snapchat Tests New ‘Dreams’ Element as Social Apps Continue to Develop Generative AI Elements | www.socialmediatoday.com/news/snapchat-tests-dreams-element-social-apps-develop-generative-ai/651471 |
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Also: |
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😮 What did you say?! |
“You can run but you can’t hide”…! |
 | Thierry Breton @ThierryBreton | |
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Twitter leaves EU voluntary Code of Practice against disinformation. But obligations remain. You can run but you can’t hide. Beyond voluntary commitments, fighting disinformation will be legal obligation under #DSA as of August 25. Our teams will be ready for enforcement. | | | May 26, 2023 | | | | | | 5.78K Likes 2.2K Retweets 5.28K Replies |
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💡 New feature spotlight |
This is great to see: Bluesky now lets you choose from custom algorithms other users can create and share (or you can make them yourself if you have a bit of coding experience). |
 | Bluesky launches alternative feeds with custom algorithms | 9to5mac.com/2023/05/26/bluesky-feeds-custom-algorithms |
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📊 Stat of the week |
I already mentioned this one above, but it’s worth flagging up just how important third-party apps were to Twitter engagement before Elon Musk cut them all off. |
| Matt Navarra @MattNavarra | |
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Third-party Twitter apps historically accounted for 17% of all engagement, former exec says And Elon Musk cut them all off https://t.co/dxO0qbTc0p |  | 9to5mac.com/2023/05/27/thi…
Third-party Twitter apps historically accounted for 17% of all engagement, former exec says
Back in January, Twitter made the decision to kill off third-party clients as part of changes to its API. In... |
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| | | May 30, 2023 | | | | | | 27 Likes 12 Retweets 1 Replies |
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📈 Charts of the week |
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Also: |
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 | Meta News |
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/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23951352/STK043_VRG_Illo_N_Barclay_4_Meta.jpg) | Meta will test blocking news for some Canadians ahead of new law | It follows similar tests from Google. | www.theverge.com/2023/6/2/23746473/meta-canada-news-block-test-facebook-instagram-online-news-act |
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…and Meta has threatened to pull news from its apps in California over a journalism payment bill. [Axios] Meta has told office workers to return to their desks three days per week. [Wall Street Journal $$$] Meta has told UK regulators it will limit how it uses ad data to boost Facebook Marketplace. [TechCrunch] NHS trusts shared patient details with Meta without consent, as their websites were hosting tracking pixels. [The Guardian] Meta wants the FTC to ask federal court to change its privacy settlement. [Bloomberg $$$] Meta Verified is now available in Canada. [Meta Newsroom] Russia has fined WhatsApp for first time for not deleting banned content. [Reuters $$$] The man who named the metaverse is optimistic, despite Meta's troubles. [CNet]
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New features and tests: |
Facebook: |
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Instagram: |
The logo for Instagram’s Twitter rival app has been uncovered. [@alex193a] Instagram has announced scrubbing for Reels, letting you rewind or fast forward 10 seconds on iOS and 15 seconds on Android. [@oncescuradu] Instagram has added a new ‘Add Yours’ section inside the Professional Dashboard. [@ahmedghanem] Instagram now shows follower counts on Reels ads. [@howfixr] Instagram has turned hashtags rainbow for Pride Month. [@JackHorwood] …and lots of other hashtags related to Pride Month will show up in rainbow colours too. [@alex193a] Instagram is testing a new user control for recommended posts and a transparency tool for creators. [TechCrunch] Instagram is working on the ability to play a Quiz game in Live videos. [@alex193a] Instagram is working on a tab for business notifications. [@ahmedghanem]
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WhatsApp: |
WhatsApp is rolling out Companion Mode for iPhone users, letting you log into the same account from multiple smartphones. [9to5Mac] WhatsApp is testing screen sharing for video calls. [WABetaInfo] WhatsApp is working on search filters for channel discovery. [WABetaInfo] WhatsApp is testing the first version of its new Updates tab. [WABetaInfo] WhatsApp is testing profile pictures in group chats again. [WABetaInfo]
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The rest: Creator Studio/adtech/Quest and more: |
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 | Twitter News |
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 | Elon Musk says Twitter has 'no actual choice' about government censorship requests | “Criticized for giving into governments’ censorship demands, Elon Musk on Sunday claimed that Twitter has ‘no actual choice’ about complying those requests.” | edition.cnn.com/2023/05/29/tech/elon-musk-twitter-government-takedown/index.html |
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Elon Musk is looking for ideas to change Twitter from employees - even if they overturn one of his previous changes. [@ZoeSchiffer] Twitter is failing to remove hate speech by Blue subscribers, according to a new report. [The Daily Beast] The Chair of the Dutch parliament has called on Twitter to prevent threatening messages on its platform. [Reuters $$$] Twitter will face a stress test of its compliance with the EU’s Digital Services Act this month. [Wall Street Journal $$$] Cost-cutting on third-party software was part of the reason for the tech problems with Ron DeSantis’ Twitter Space last week, it has been reports. [The Information $$$] Twitter owes $830,498 to a PR company across six unpaid invoices, according to a lawsuit. [Reuters $$$] AOC called out Elon Musk for engaging with a ‘parody’ of her on Twitter. [Deadline]
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New features and tests: |
Twitter’s recently reported eToro integration has started to roll out. [Social Media Today] Twitter is working on the ability to hide your likes in your profile. [@512×512] Apple’s latest Twitter hashflag is live ahead of WWDC next week. [MacRumors]
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 | TikTok News |
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 | TikTok Creators’ Financial Info, Social Security Numbers Have Been Stored In China | “TikTok has stored the most sensitive financial data of its biggest stars — those in its "Creator Fund" — on servers in China.” | www.forbes.com/sites/alexandralevine/2023/05/30/tiktok-creators-data-security-china/?sh=489cf7127048 |
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Insights to give you an edge at work: |
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New features and tests: |
TikTok has added a ‘one-liner’ commenting feature. [@MattNavarra] TikTok now lets you invite your friends for a chat directly on the platform. [@jonah_manzano] TikTok has been spotted prompting creators to make some video edits on CapCut. [@oncescruadu] …and CapCut Pro is now available in the UK. [@MattNavarra]
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💥 More social media news and updates |
 | AI: War crimes evidence erased by social media platforms | “Footage of potential human rights abuses may be lost after platforms delete it, the BBC has found.” | www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-65755517 |
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Insights to give you an edge at work: |
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New features and tests: |
Snapchat has launched an AR learning hub. [Social Media Today] Snapchat is working on a ‘Replay Again’ feature for paying subscribers. [@alex193a] BeReal is adding a messaging feature called RealChat. It’s being tested in Ireland first. [TechCrunch]
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📖 Weekend reading |
 | How generative AI will affect the creator economy | “ChatGPT did not write this article, but maybe it wrote that Instagram caption.” | mashable.com/article/ai-chatgpt-influencer-creator-economy |
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😳 And finally... |
This Amazon delivery driver is exactly who you want to have travelling with if you ever find yourself in bear country… |
 | Amazon TikTok Praises Driver for Confronting Bear in Order to Deliver Package | www.vice.com/en/article/ak3e8g/amazon-tiktok-praises-driver-for-confronting-bear-in-order-to-deliver-package |
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💲 Advertise in Geekout | Geekout has 28,000+ subscribers Geekout subscribers manage social media for the world’s biggest brands including Apple, Amazon, BBC, Edelman, Redbull, Twitter, McDonalds, Nike, and more Geekout has an industry-beating open rate of 50% and a 20% click rate!
| You should advertise in Geekout! Get in touch: matt@mattnavarra.com |
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📅 Back next week... |
… Congrats, you made it to the end of this week’s Geekout! 👊 |
I’m heading back to bed to recharge and get myself well! 🤒 |
Goodbye geeks! |
– Matt |
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This newsletter is edited by Martin SFP Bryant |
