This is no joke

Just Another Day in Social Media. 😉

A new report analyzing the Instagram accounts of five high-profile women found that they regularly receive misogynistic and violent messages (which, unfortunately, many of us probably assumed). But even more troubling, according to the report conducted by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, is that "Instagram failed to act on 90% of abuse sent via DM to the women in this study." Now, the CCDH is demanding that Zuckerberg and others tackle #HiddenHate. We'll see what happens...

Here are today's top stories: 

• It turns out Twitter wasn't joking about an edit button

• Twitter experiments with "Unmentioning"

• A new Snapchat report makes a case for AR

• And a musical you don't have to leave home for

Read on ⬇️

*Note: This Social Platypus is taking the Easter long weekend off. I will see you back here on Monday, April 25th! 

 Twitter Does a 180 

So, I guess in July 2020 when the @Twitter account posted: "You can have an edit button when everyone wears a mask" and last year when it tweeted: "you don't need an edit button, you just need to forgive yourself" — those were just jokes? Because on April 1st of this year, when the account tweeted: "we are working on an edit button" I seriously thought that was an April Fool's joke. But nope, that turned out to be real news 🤷‍♀️. Here's what you need to know...

 The Button or Elon Musk — Which Came First 
The origin story for the edit button is a bit murky. On April 1st, as mentioned above, the @Twitter account posted that it was working on an edit button. But a few days later, Elon Musk — who recently became Twitter's largest shareholder — seemed to muddy things a bit when he tweeted out a poll asking people if they wanted an edit button (73.6% said "yes"). Some thought that perhaps the new shareholder had some pull (which I kind of understand after years of a "hard no" on the edit button).

A day later, the @TwitterComms account jumped into the conversation to confirm that the April 1st tweet was no joke — and that it did not get the idea from Musk's poll. In fact, it said it's been working on an edit button since last year, and is testing it in the Twitter Blue labs (Twitter Blue is a monthly subscription service; I pay for it, and I will absolutely let you know the minute I see any edit button testing!).

 What it Might Look Like 
The @TwitterComms account tweeted out a video of what the edit button might look like — featuring an option in a dropdown that would let us select "Edit Tweet." But there are still a lot of things to consider, such as the power that an edit button might give influencers who decide to change a message deliberately to make it less controversial. Jay Sullivan, the head of product at Twitter, tried to address this in a series of tweets. 

"Without things like time limits, controls, and transparency about what has been edited, Edit could be misused to alter the record of the public conversation. Protecting the integrity of that public conversation is our top priority when we approach this work," Sullivan tweeted. "Therefore, it will take time and we will be actively seeking input and adversarial thinking in advance of launching Edit. We will approach this feature with care and thoughtfulness and we will share updates as we go."

 Meanwhile, in Musk Land 
There are several reports that Twitter employees are worried about the implications of having Elon Musk as the main company shareholder. He has acquired 9% of shares, and also now sits on the Board of Directors.

In the past, Musk has questioned free speech at Twitter, and suggested the platform might be undermining democracy. And now, he's questioning various Twitter features, such as the Twitter Blue Subscription, which he suggested could use some changes. He's also posted a few polls, such as this one about turning Twitter's San Francisco headquarters into a homeless shelter. 

This week, Musk will speak at a Twitter board meeting. The eccentric billionaire is already making jokes about it, posting this meme of himself from that time he smoked weed on the Joe Rogan podcast. It's all just jokes, I guess. 🤦‍♀️ 

 SOCIAL SNACKS 

Unmentions and Enhanced Accessibility

Twitter's Safety and Accessibility accounts both tweeted out updates. Here's what you need to know...

• Testing Unmentions: Ever been mentioned in a tweet, but didn't want to stick around for the conversation? Last week, the @TwitterSafety tweeted: "We’re experimenting with Unmentioning—a way to help you protect your peace and remove yourself from conversations—available on Web for some of you now."

• Alt Badge and Exposed Image Descriptions: Images descriptions, otherwise known as alternative text or ALT text, make it easier for the visually impaired to understand what is being featured in an image. The @TwitterAccessiblity account announced last week that the ALT badge and exposed image description features are going global. Here's how to add image descriptions on tweets.

Gen Z is Reshaping Shopping, Communications: Snapchat

Gen Z expects brands to build a relationship with them, want to use augmented reality (AR) for shopping, and believe that visual communication is important to building connections. These are just a few of the findings of a new report from Snapchat, which surveyed 19,000 people across 16 markets. Sure, the report is a bit self-serving, as it emphasizes the importance of AR, which is what Snapchat lenses can provide. But I do think this will become more important in the future. For example, some of the top reasons for using AR to shop include: to make the shopping process easier and more fun, to see what size/style are best, and to get the opinions of friends of family. Don't we all want that?

Read the full report: Gen Z in 2022: Culture, Commerce and Conversations

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 ICYMI 

🔴 Instagram updates Reels editing tools to make it easier to re-order and edit clips [Social Media Today]

🔴 TikTok launches new program to help creative agencies reach its audience [TechCrunch]

🔴 Snapchat adds new American Sign Language Lens [Snapchat Blog]

🔴 Pinterest bans misinformation about climate change [CNN]
 

 UPCOMING EVENT 

Snap Partner Summit: Back to Reality
April 28th starting at 9 a.m. PDT
"We can’t wait to share the latest updates to our products, features, and partnerships across augmented reality, Minis, content, and more."

 MUSICAL-LIKE 

A Story About Friendship and Fame

If you're missing live theatre, this might be for you. For You, Paige (a play on the term "For You Page") is a TikTok musical, written by TikTok, for TikTok.

The Deets, as Described by TikTok
"In a story inspired by real TikTok creators, teenage music nerd Landon (played by Roman Banks) collaborates with his best friend Paige (played by Sri Ramesh) on a TikTok song inspired by her favorite book series. Landon’s TikTok goes viral, thrusting him into the spotlight — and leaving Paige behind. When a producer offers Landon the opportunity to adapt the book series into a musical, Landon discovers that the glory of doing it all himself isn’t worth the stress and enlists the help of Paige and the TikTok community to turn the show into a huge success."

Airing Live on @TikTok on April 14th at 7 p.m. EDT

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