The good, the bad, and the ugly
Just Another Day in Social Media. 🤪
It's been almost two years since Australia convinced Facebook and Google to start paying media outlets for news that generates clicks and advertising revenue. And it looks like the News Media Bargaining Code is paying off. As reported by Reuters, a recent report from Australia's Treasury Department suggests that the additional revenue generated through these deals has allowed news outlets to hire more staff and make other investments. It's so nice to see digital platforms sharing the love (even if they don't want to).
Here are today's top stories:
Saddle up for a final look at the social media landscape — The good, the bad, and the ugly
TikTok and YouTube release their "Best of 2022" lists
And need another reason to love Gen Z? The return to the mall
Saddle Up
Social media often feels like the Wild West. The platforms always seem to be challenging each other to a shootout. Sometimes they steal each other's cattle. And you never know when a new cowboy is going to ride into town. And this year, it feels like the dust would barely settle before another major change or shift took place.
So as we wrap up 2022, I thought I would survey the social media landscape to see who's prospecting some new social media gold, who's trying to keep their spot on the frontier, who's at risk of being run out of town.
Let's ride out... (and yes, I do love Western movies if you couldn't tell 😉)
The Good
While TikTok is only expected to get even bigger in 2023, there's another platform that also seems to be riding high — and that's LinkedIn. The once-stodgy, Microsoft-owned company is now a place for creators and for sharing vulnerability. It's also one of the platforms likely to gain from the Twitter exodus. And to reflect that, LinkedIn continues to build out its features and programs. Here are some of the most recent additions:
Social media managers will be happy to learn that the platform will soon offer in-app scheduling
Many of us who use it personally may like the fact that Microsoft is bringing over the "Focused" and "Other" categories of sorting direct messages.
And brands on LinkedIn may want to take advantage of three new features for Pages, including Newsletters, Product Pages and an updated Competitor Analysis dashboard***
***Two quick notes about the updates to Pages: When it comes to newsletters, I wouldn't recommend building a newsletter ONLY on a social media platform, as you have less ownership. But there's probably a way to incorporate existing content into this as a secondary way to share. And for Product Pages, these are only available to certain categories of companies.
The Bad
While LinkedIn seems to be doing well, Instagram could have had a better year. In fact, some are even suggesting it may be getting ready to ride into the social media sunset. According to a recent article in The Atlantic, "Instagram is Over" (at least for Gen Z). The article points to a pivotal moment this summer when the company said it would move to a full-screen video experience (like TikTok), which had many — including celebrities like Kylie Jenner — pushing back. "Make Instagram Instagram Again" began to trend. Related to that, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg admitted in October that he made a mistake by not prioritizing video sooner. Meanwhile, Instagram keeps trying to stay relevant by copying apps like BeReal, which allow communities to share authentic photos in real time. And while copying features in the past seemed to work, this time it may be starting to look like it's trying too hard.
But even if things look bad on the home front, we need to remember that Instagram has 1.2 billion monthly active users. And many of them aren't Gen Z. So while it may be "ick" for some, it's likely not going anywhere any time soon.
And The Ugly
Ugly doesn't even begin to describe the chaos taking hold at Twitter. Amid the mass firings and resignations is an even darker truth.
A platform that once helped to build communities and deliver breaking news is now a hotbed of hate. According to researchers from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, the Anti-Defamation League and other groups that study online platforms, antisemitic posts soared 61% in the two weeks after Elon Musk took over. Slurs against Black Americans and gay men have also risen dramatically. And this is not all that surprising given that Musk allowed Kayne West to return — only to then suspend his account when Ye violated a rule against incitement to violence. Meanwhile, there are reports that a known Neo Nazi was also allowed to return to Twitter.
Meanwhile, Elon is still trying to suggest that Twitter is committed to public conversations. Based on all of these reports, I guess we all know which conversations he is talking about. 😡
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ICYMI
🔴 Instagram creators share what they want businesses to know about brand deals [Instagram Blog]
🔴 Facebook releases its "Most Widely Viewed Content" report for Q3 2022 [Meta Blog]
🔴 TikTok comes under scrutiny from the FBI [Mashable]
🔴 Snapchat releases report promoting the use of augmented reality in the Attention Economy [Snapchat Blog]
🏆 BEST OF 2022 🏆
This is the time of year when social media companies begin releasing their "Best of" lists for the year. You'll probably see some surprises here, as well as some of the usual top content creators. Enjoy!
The Discover List: Meet the TikTok Creators of 2022
2022 A Year on YouTube (Canada)
A Year on YouTube: 2022's Top Trending Videos and Creators in the U.S.
GENERATION FUN
Meet You In the Food Court
Growing up the 80s and 90s, I loved the mall. Even today, if my husband or a friend suggests going to the food court, I get giddy. So I was pretty happy to learn that a new generation is also ready to embrace the mallrat culture — Gen Z!
According to CNN, retail industry analysts suggest that Gen Z came out in droves during Black Friday, treating it as a social event with friends.
But I'm not just nostalgic about this; it also hints at a larger trend. Both Facebook and commerce platform Shopify admitted this year that they were forced to lay off workers because they miscalculated the demand for online shopping once the peak of the pandemic was over.
For retail brands, mixing online/augmented reality with in-person experiences might be the key to shopping in the future. And the metaverse that Meta is building might also want to take into account that people enjoy being online and together in real life.
Either way, it looks like we've got a new generation of mallrats, and I couldn't be more stoked.
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