Getting schooled
We hope you had a great Labour Day weekend! And while it's definitely going to be a different kind of back-to-school this year (thanks, COVID), it feels like we've automatically switched into learning mode. So in honour of September, we've put together a special back-to-school edition of The Social Platypus! 📚
And if there's one thing we've learned already, it's that Twitter and Facebook have their work cut out for them monitoring Trump's tweets — like this recent one about voting twice. 🤦♀️
THE THREE T'S
Instead of the three R's (reading, writing and 'rithmatic), we thought we'd share the three T's — Twitter Quote Tweets & Trends, as well as some TikTok how-to's.
Quote Tweets If you've looked at your tweet metrics lately, you might have noticed something a little bit different. "Retweets with Comments" has officially changed to "Quote Tweets" (you can find it right between "Retweets" and "Likes.") And when you click on Quote Tweets, it allows you see all of the comments on the retweets in one place. "Tweets about a tweet add more to the conversation, so we've made them even easier to find," the company says.
Trends
Half a million. That's how many times people tweeted the phrase "Why is this trending?" on Twitter last year. And that's a big part of the reason Twitter is going to try and start educating users on why something is trending. It's going to do this by: (1) pinning a representative tweet, and (2) adding a brief description to some tweets to help add some context. "There is more we can do to help people understand why something is trending and to provide transparency around how something trends. We need to make trends better and we will," the company says.
TikTok how-to's...
If you've been curious about how to post to TikTok, Mashable recently published this great how-to. But TikTok also wants to share some important lessons with you. This includes a product tutorial on how to use photos, as well as details on how to use a new feature called "Stitch" that allows you to "clip and integrate scenes from another user's video into their own." TikTok also unveiled a new Marketing Partner Program for Advertisers that provide access to 20 certified partners who can help with campaigns and content.
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ICYMI
Story time
Facebook is reportedly testing the ability to view Instagram Stories right inside the main Facebook app, according to social media expert Matt Navarra. Cross-posting Instagram Stories to Facebook has been around for a while. But with this new test, Instagram Stories appear in the list of Stories at the top of the Facebook app. How can you tell the difference? Instagram Stories have a pink/orange hue around the profile pic vs. a blue circle for a Facebook Story, according to the Verge. However, only Instagram followers who have linked accounts to Facebook and turn on this setting will be able to see the Stories, according to screenshots shared by Verge. But since this is just a test, there's no telling what/if a launched version will actually look like.
If you can't say something nice...
While managing hate on social media is a bit like playing whack-a-mole, some social media companies are trying to make an effort. For example, Facebook and Twitter recently removed Russian-backed accounts targeting left-leaning voters in the U.S. The accounts — which posed as independent news sources — were falsely spreading information about racial justice, and trying to steer voters away from the Biden-Harris Democratic presidential campaign. In addition to killing accounts, Facebook also announced last week that it is adding forwarding limits to Messenger. Now messages can only be forwarded to five people or groups at a time in an effort to "slow the spread of viral misinformation and harmful content." (Or maybe we just shouldn't share that sh*t, amirite?)
This group gets a gold star ⭐️
And the award for most commented-on music video goes to... K-pop group BTS! The group's recent English-language pop sensation "Dynamite" currently has a record 6.7 million comments on its YouTube video, breaking a previous record that the group set. This follows another record that BTS broke last week when releasing its video on YouTube. "Dynamite" racked up the most online music video views within 24 hours (more than 100 million!).
TWITTER LISTS 101
What if you could quickly check a select group of Twitter accounts without having to search or follow each individual one? You can! Twitter Lists are probably one of the platform’s best-kept secrets. And the good news is they are easy to create and manage.
NEWS-LIKE
🔴 Twitter Hack May Have Had Another Mastermind: A 16-Year-Old [New York Times]
🔴 TikTok Talks Could Face Hurdle as China Tightens Tech Export Rules [Wall Street Journal]
🔴 Facebook's Pre-Election Day Ban on Political Ads Will Likely Suppress Important Speech [Slate]
🔴 Apple Delays New Anti-Tracking Privacy Measures [BBC News]
🔴 Snapchat Had a Big August Amid TikTok Uncertainty [TechCrunch]
METRICS-LIKE
The latest numbers for August 2020 are out, and once again TikTok is the top non-gaming app, according to mobile analytics firm SensorTower. TikTok saw more than $88 million in user spending (85 per cent of that came from the TikTok version of the app in China, known as Douyin). YouTube came in second, with close to $84 million in gross revenue. Fifty-five per cent of YouTube's revenue was from the U.S.
HAPPY-LIKE
If anyone deserves to get a scholarship for dance, it's this 11-year-old from Nigeria. A video of Anthony Mmesoma Madu pirouetting barefoot in the rainy streets of Lagos went viral, and got the attention of many around the world, including the artist director of the American Ballet Theatre. Anthony — Good luck at the American Ballet Theatre's summer school next year!
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