Easy come, easy go
New apps on their way in & social media features on their way out
Meta has confirmed that “Facebook is not dead nor dying, but in fact alive and thriving.” (Phew, glad that argument has been put to bed). However, Instagram (also owned by Meta) may not be as lucky. According to an analysis of search trends from cybersecurity website VPNOverview, there were more than 900,000 searches for “how to delete Instagram” over a recent six-month period. Number two was Facebook with 385,410 similar searches, followed by Snapchat at 217,400 searches. Now, which one would you delete? 🤔
In today’s newsletter:
New Apps to Watch For & Features You Can Say Goodbye To
Survey Says… This is How You Like to Create Instagram Content
Reply With A 🫴
EASY COME, EASY GO
It’s never a good idea to get too comfortable with the current state of social media, because it all seems to constantly change and shift. But over the last few weeks, the number of reports about new tools and sunsetting features is higher than usual.
Here’s what you need to know about some potential new apps — including one from Meta — as well as features that will expire this month.
Coming at you… 👇
Meta is Working on a Twitter Competitor — Several news outlets, including the BBC and CNN, are reporting that Meta (which owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp & Messenger), is working on a decentralized text-based app. The project is codenamed P92, and is being led by Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri, according to Platformer. It’s still in the early stages. But I’m sure we’ll hear more soon. And in case you’re interested, here’s what Chief Twit Elon Musk had to say.
Instagram Founder Has Big News — Kevin Systrom recently told Bloomberg News that it’s time for a new social network (😳). And he is building it. Artifact is described as “a personalized news feed powered by artificial intelligence.” According to the Bloomberg article, Systrom says the app will start out as a place where you can get news customized to your interests and favourite publications, and evolve into a social network.
Spotify Revamps the App With TikTok-Like Feed — It was only a matter of time, before the Spotify app went from ears to eyes. It’s debuting a new Home feed that features a vertical video feed, just like TikTok. Spotify has also launched a DJ powered by artificial intelligence.
Say goodbye to… 👋
Twitter’s 2FA No Longer Free After March 20th — Two-factor authentication, which provides an added layer of security to your online accounts by sending a text message to your phone after entering your username and password, will be disabled on Twitter on March 20th, UNLESS you are a Twitter Blue subscriber. Elon Musk says it’s not that secure anyway. But he’ll still let you use it for a fee of course. 🙄
Meta is Pausing Bonuses for Content Creators — Well, that didn’t last long. A program that Meta launched in 2021 to provide bonuses to creators for Reels content is being put on pause, according to TechCrunch. It will impact all Reels creators on Facebook, and U.S. content creators on Instagram.
Instagram is Ending Live Shopping in March — Shopping has actually been deprioritized on social media apps in a number of ways. Meta recently announced that as of March 20, 2023, Live Shopping would no longer be available on Instagram. Earlier this year, Instagram also removed the Shop tab from its main navigation. TikTok has also struggled with its Live Shopping feature in the U.S. and Europe.
Reddit Says Goodbye to Live Audio Chats Feature — In a recent post, Reddit announced that it is sunsetting its audio-chat feature, Reddit Talk, as of March 21, 2023. The reason given: Supporting this project in the short term required a lot of resources, “more than we anticipated.” There is no timeline to bring the feature back.
SURVEY SAYS…
According to a recent poll posted to the @thesocialplatypus Instagram account (“What is your fav type of Instagram post to create”) the community responded with everything BUT Reels.
I’m always curious about this, because Instagram really wants us to create Reels and videos. But historically, most of us have used Instagram to post photos, which is probably what we’re most comfortable doing there. It’s also a lot easier than creating videos, especially when you have to think about covers for the videos, etc.
Any thoughts?
ICYMI
TikTok introduces “Series” — a new way to share premium content [TikTok Blog]
Twitter plans to extend long-form tweets to 10,000 characters [Social Media Today]
LinkedIn turns 20 in May — Here’s an in-depth article from Fast Company
REPLY WITH A 🫴
Several brands were busy on Twitter last week, asking the community to tweet at them with a 🫴 in exchange for — well, a variety of things.
For the Giphy account, it was, as you might guess, gifs. The Giphy Twitter account often does this, but it seems like this last one really caught on, because other brands jumped on board.
Here are some other threads you might want to check out:
