ICYMI: Fighting for "TikTok Refugees"
Instagram, Snap and YouTube are making moves
⏰ 1-SECOND SUMMARY
Instagram is testing a Reels pause feature
Threads allows users to create and share custom feeds
YouTube is expanding access to Communities space to more creators
ByteDance may be willing to pull the plug on TikTok
Adam Mosseri traded his Instagram AMAs for a paparazzi interview
Snap’s Evan Spiegel is posting more publicly and taking a swipe at Meta
YouTube is making it easier for TikTok creators to repurpose their content as Shorts
New apps are emerging to compete with the usual social networks
Report: Influencer activations deliver engagement at 1/20th the cost of a Super Bowl spot
Brands and streaming platforms want influencer-led storytelling, while creators are proving their IP can live across multiple platforms
💻 ROADMAP
📲 Meta Updates
Spotted: Adam Mosseri has previously said you’d be able to customize your Instagram grid. Now, the option to “Edit Grid” has been spotted by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi.
Meta is testing a Reels pause feature with a small group of users
You can now create and share custom feeds on Threads. You can add up to 150 profiles and 5 topics to a feed, and create as many as 128 feeds.
Threads published a blog post of tips and tricks for using the platform,
📲 YouTube Updates
YouTube is expanding access to Communities to more creators. It’s a Discord-style space for conversations between creators and subscribers. Just so there’s no confusion, YouTube will rename the “Community” tab to “Posts,” where creators can still share photo and text updates.
YouTube will surface device type data more prominently in the Audience tab to help creators understand where their content is being consumed — especially as the platform pushes for more living room viewing on TV sets.
📲 TikTok Updates
Ban Watch: ByteDance may be willing to pull the plug on TikTok, according to this Washington Post article, unless they get meaningful trade and tech policy concessions.
📲 LinkedIn Updates
LinkedIn video views are up 36% year-over-year and video creation is growing twice as fast as other post types on the platform. LinkedIn also announced some updates to help increase discovery, engagement and growth, including:
▶️ More videos will start surfacing in search results
▶️ Your profile snapshot and a follow button will be more prominent within the video experience
▶️ You can track average watch time to see how the content performs
A LinkedIn feature that lets people see when a profile photo was taken: Y/N?
🪜 SOCIAL CLIMBING
Established platforms are copying features and taking shots. New apps are emerging. Here’s a quick recap of what we’ve seen this week in the battle to capture people’s attention and win over “TikTok refugees.”
Adam Mosseri got stopped on the street by paparazzi and asked for Instagram growth hacks — a very visible change in pace from his weekly AMAs. Mosseri said there’s no silver bullet and confirmed hashtags don’t work for growing likes and reach. “Turns out you need to create quality content to earn attention, not just abuse hashtags,” responded hashtag inventor Chris Messina on my Threads post about this story.
Snap’s Evan Spiegel set his Snapchat profile to public on Monday and has been hosting AMAs all week, blending questions about his favorite filters (3D Avatar AI) and foods (burgers) alongside queries about the algorithm and Snap’s 2025 SMB advertiser focus. While it may look like he’s taking a page from Mosseri, Spiegel took a swipe at Meta for all the features they’ve copied by listing himself as “VP Product @ Meta” in his bio.
YouTube partnered with Repurpose.io to give creators 3 months of free access to seamlessly repurpose their TikTok and Instagram content on the platform. The company is also running ads on TikTok targeting content creators encouraging them to ‘live their best life’ on YouTube.
We’ve also seen a slew of new apps offered as alternatives for the current (and sometimes problematic) social networks and private spaces, including:
Scroll Happy, which has an algorithm that prioritizes for feel good content;
A category called the timeline apps (Tapestry, Surf, Reeder, Unread and Feeeed) that ingest all kinds of feeds into one chronological timeline;
Flashes, a photo-sharing app built on top of Bluesky is in beta mode
Dub, a Gen Z fintech app that allows you to copy portfolios of top investors;
Diem, a social search platform that replicates group chats with close girlfriends;
Blacklisted, a professional networking platform developed by and for the Black community;
And BuzzFeed is said to be considering developing its own social media platform to better distribute its content.
👆 CLICK THRU
Hollywood wants its next 'Beast Games'
Streamers are increasingly chasing influencer-led content, inspired by the success of MrBeast’s Beast Games on Amazon Prime Video and The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives on Hulu, reports Business Insider. Now, platforms like Netflix, Amazon, and Max are racing to lock in their own creator-driven hits, with big names like Jake and Logan Paul leading the charge.
To me this speaks to something bigger — not only do brands and streaming platforms want influencer-led storytelling, creators are proving their IP can live across multiple platforms by actively expanding themselves into books, podcasts, and scripted projects.
Case in point: TikToker Sabrina Brier’s That Friend started as a recurring character on social, became an audiobook with Simon & Schuster, and is now being adapted into a TV series with AwesomenessTV.
Alex Cooper, after locking in a SiriusXM deal, is growing the Unwell Network world into a full-fledged media brand with a 24/7 music channel and two live talk shows. She also just announced an immersive, three-day Spring Break event.
Even Tinx, known for her TikTok and podcast advice, is diving into fiction with her debut novel Hotter in the Hamptons this spring.
Brand Takeaway: Creators aren’t just making content, they’re building franchises. If you’re only treating social as an ad channel, you’re missing the bigger play. I’ve said this before but take a chunk of your social ad budget and invest in original, high-quality, high-concept entertainment that people actually want to watch — or risk fighting for attention in a world where creators already own the cultural conversation.
Creator Takeaway: A niche is great (mid-size fashion, early career advice, private chef meals) but if you want mainstream success, you need a signature series — something fans obsess over and that can expand into TV, film, podcasts, books, merch, and live events. If you don’t have that yet, what’s stopping you?
📊 DATA DROP
Nerds could have partnered with Addison Rae 16 times throughout 2024 for the price of one 30-second Super Bowl spot.
-Captiv8 crunched the numbers on Super Bowl LVIII and what it signaled for this Sunday’s Super Bowl LIX in 2025: With influencer activations delivering engagement at 1/20th the cost of a Super Bowl spot, Captiv8 predict brands will explore alternative, social-first investments rather than relying solely on a $7M ad buy.
👀 ICYMI: JUST THE HEADLINES
The strategy that earned these creators a Super Bowl ad -Publish Press
YouTube says it’s the ultimate destination for football culture -YouTube Blog
Snap launches AR Lenses and content partnerships for the Super Bowl -Social Media Today
“Charcuterie board” was a top trending search relating to Super Bowl food in the past week -Google Trends
The NFL doubles down on creator spotlights with a Kai Cenat vs IShowSpeed Super Bowl pre-game -TubeFilter
Hillmantok University is a digital HBCU inspired by ‘A Different World’ -Rolling Stone
A bill banning social media for children under 13 advances -Politico
Teens spend a quarter of the school day on their phones -Axios
The rise of the pickle on social media: How pickles and olives became the avocado for Gen Z -Vox
Thanks for reading!