Everybody wants to rule the world
Just Another Day in Social Media. 😉
Many of us are still processing what happened with Roe v. Wade. In this digital era, one area of concern for women in the U.S. is the potential danger of using period tracker apps. The worry is that the information collected within the apps may be used to determine if a woman has sought abortion care, making them a target of prosecution. Shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court announced the decision, the period-tracker app, Stardust, announced it now offers end-to-end encryption. And not surprisingly, it is now the second-most downloaded app in the App Store in the U.S. just behind TikTok, according to App Annie. Stay safe, friends. ❤️
Here are today's top stories:
Meta ramps up TikTok-ification in 2022
Take Note, Twitter wants to woo writers
And a new selfie era is here
Read on ⬇️
TikTok Won't Stop
We are halfway through 2022 (and what a calm and relaxing first six months it's been 😳). And that means it's time to look back at some of the bigger social media stories of the first six months, so we can see where we're headed. In a recent LinkedIn poll, there was one clear winner when it came to social media news. So, let's start there...
TikTok-ification
Meta has three approaches to competition: buy, steal, or kill. With TikTok, which was the most downloaded app in Q1 of 2022, stealing seems like the only option for Meta at this point. And while Facebook may not feel like the "cool" place to be, Meta also owns Instagram. And that's where a lot of the TikTok-ification is happening.
Recently, Meta announced new features for Instagram Reels (its TikTok copycat), such as Templates and Stickers. It also extended maximum video time to 90 seconds. (Earlier this year, TikTok also extended its max video time from 3 minutes to 10 minutes). Despite these updates, it doesn't feel like Reels — initially launched in August 2020 — has really caught on. But a bigger update to Instagram could change that.
Insta is also now testing a full-screen Home Feed. I talked about this in a , including challenges and changes related to how captions and content are created. Despite the challenges, a full-screen Home Feed puts video front and centre, and that means more of us will be using Reels to get our content seen. And btw, Instagram continues to warn creators that original content will receive higher views (aka, don't share your TikToks).
While these changes all happened in the first six months of 2022, we all knew this was coming, especially when Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri announced one year ago that the world's most famous photo-sharing app was now going to focus on video (as well as creators, shopping and messaging). "We're no longer a photo-sharing app, or a square photo-sharing app," Mosseri said in a video posted on social media. He said the research shows that people come to Instagram to be entertained, and video is one of the best ways to do that.
In addition to entertaining us, Facebook is also considering changing the algorithm so that we see posts from people we don't know (similar to TikTok's For You Page). This is according to a leaked memo reported on in The Verge. The memo also suggests Facebook will bring messaging back into the app to reflect TikTok's messaging functionality.
Meanwhile, other platforms are also seeing success via TikTok-ification. YouTube recently announced that its TikTok copycat, YouTube Shorts, is being watched by 1.5 billion logged-in monthly users, and says Shorts help drive to longer-form content.
The takeaway: As TikTok continues to grow in users and influence, many of its features will start appearing across all of the social media platforms.
Twitter's Edit Button
Outside of the TikTok-ification of, well, every platform, one of the bigger updates of 2022 was a Twitter announcement on April 1st that the company was working on an edit button. Given that it was April Fool's Day, I took it as a joke, especially given that Twitter has been adamant in the past that there was no way it was going to do this.
Elon Musk, the on-again-off-again potential owner of Twitter, didn't help things when he tweeted out a poll asking people if they wanted an edit button (73.6% said "yes"). Some thought that perhaps as a new shareholder (this was pre-Twitter buyout), he had some pull.
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.
Still no word on when this might drop (or if Musk will ever actually buy Twitter). Stay tuned...
Other 2022 Stories:
Twitter introduces Product Drops [Twitter Blog]
Pinterest launches Idea Ads [Pinterest Blog]
Shopify unveils partnerships with Apple, Google and Twitter [The Globe and Mail]
Instagram begins testing NFTs [The Verge]
Snapchat announces a new hand-held drone, called Pixy [Snapchat]
Meta announces it's opening its first-ever retail store [Meta Blog]
LinkedIn announces new tools for creators [LinkedIn Blog]
SOCIAL SNACK
Take Note, Twitter Wants to Woo Writers
It's been a while since a new Twitter feature really captured my attention. But I have to say that I'm really curious about "Notes" — a new longer form content feature that is currently being tested with a select group of writers in Canada, Ghana, the U.S. and the U.K. The feature, which reminds me of LinkedIn Articles, would allow Twitter users to create a single piece of content that includes photos, videos, GIFs and tweets. It's being marketed at writers on Twitter who are looking to go beyond the Thread. Want to know what it looks like? This is the Note that Twitter created to announce the new feature. Twitter says it will test out the new feature for the next two months. Stay up to date via the @TwitterWrite account.
Managing social media is hard enough — staying up-to-date shouldn't be. Level up your social media knowledge in minutes a week. Sign up for our newsletter today!
ICYMI
🔴 Instagram announces new ways to verify age [Instagram Blog]
🔴 LinkedIn launches initial rollout of its new "funny" reaction [Social Media Today]
🔴 Snapchat has a new accelerator program for Black creators [Snapchat Blog]
🔴 Meta introduces Meta Pay [Meta Blog]
🔴 Messenger announces ways you can take control of your privacy [Messenger Blog]
TIKTOK TRAINING
If you're thinking about using TikTok for your brand, but unsure (or nervous) about where to start, you might want to check out this upcoming series from Hootsuite: Fearless on TikTok: Find Your Confidence in 3 Days. I can't vouch for this at all, but I did sign up myself. It's a series of sessions covering why brands should be on TikTok, video making tips, and advice from creators. If I learn anything fun, I'll share it in an upcoming newsletter. And if you decide to sign up, let me know what you think!
THE NEW SELFIE
Welcome to the 0.5 era
If someone in your life asks you to take a 0.5 selfie, you may just shock and amaze them when you tell them you know exactly what they are talking about. Thanks to a recent article in the NY Times, here's what you need to know:
What is it: Unlike the perfectly curated selfie that most of us know, the 0.5 selfie utilizes the ultra-wide-angle lens on newer versions of the iPhone, which produces a distorted and unusual picture
It's pronounced as: Point five
It's named after: The ability to tap 0.5x on the camera to get that ultra-wide-angle lens
Why Gen Z likes it: It's less curated and more fun. Also, because the camera is on the back of the phone you can't watch yourself taking the selfie, so you get what you get, which apparently makes it the "antithesis" of a regular selfie.
Hey, congrats — you made it to the bottom of the e-newsletter!
If you really liked it, why not forward it to a friend. 💌