ICYMI: Instagram Avatars Are Here 🤷🏻♀️
Here's what happened on social media this week, February 4
[“how the gang pulled up to black history month” - @badgirlriri via Instagram]
💻 ROADMAP
🤖 Instagram rolled out 3D avatars this week. If you’re scratching your head wondering what’s the difference between Insta’s 3D avatars, Snapchat’s Bitmoji and Apple’s Memoji — they’re basically all the same, a virtual version of how you want to be represented online. (See also: Roblox, Fortnite and any other platform that allows you to create virtual avatars.)
There are a few ways this could go:
You ignore avatars/bitmojis because unless you’re a virtual influencer, your humanity is what makes you unique.
You embrace it and use a different avatar/bitmoji on each platform until there’s one clear metaverse winner, which becomes home to your default virtual self and a lucrative money maker for the platform which sells accessories for your avatar.
Just like emoji are maintained and released by the non-profit Unicode Consortium, one organization creates a universal avatar/bitmoji to be used everywhere your virtual self wants to be represented online.
📲 And in news that should surprise absolutely no one, TikTok is also working on a customizable avatar feature.
👻 Speaking of 3D avatars, Snapchat is hosting a virtual concert featuring Jennifer Lopez on Friday. The show is meant to promote her upcoming rom-com Marry Me. JLo and the audience will all appear at the venue in bitmoji form.
🕹 Snapchat is reportedly working on a new selfie drone. There’s very little information available yet but it’s an interesting possibility to consider for expanded content options.
📉 It’s been a rough week for Meta. First came news that Facebook is losing users, a first in its 18 year history. And then Meta’s stock dropped 26% on Thursday following news that they missed their earnings estimates for Q4.
Mark Zuckerberg blames Apple’s iPhone privacy changes, growing competition from TikTok and shrinking advertiser budgets.
'People have a lot of choices for how they want to spend their time, and apps like TikTok are growing very quickly,' he said during an earnings call.
All this to say: Reels is going to be more important than ever for Instagram and Facebook as they gear up to compete against TikTok. Expect to see more innovation around Reels, which could mean new editing tools, more prominent placement in the feed and increased creator incentives to create Reels.
🔵 When 280 characters just aren’t enough: Twitter is testing a new article format, which could mean the ability to create blog posts within the app and then share via tweet. This is especially relevant if linking to Medium articles, creating Twitter Threads or posting screenshots of your Notes app are a part of your Twitter strategy.
👆🏻 CLICK THRU
❄️ The Winter Olympics kick off this Friday in Beijing. So, who’s going to be the Ilona Maher of the Olympic Village? It’s too soon to predict any breakout stars but snowboarders Maddie Mastro and Shaun White and figure skater turned coach Adam Rippon have all been pretty active along with Team USA’s little rock star of a social media manager.
🟩 The obsession with Wordle continues (here’s how brands have jumped on board the trend recently). First in line with their checkbook is the New York Times. The paper just bought the daily word game app for an undisclosed seven-figure sum. They say it will "initially remain free" to play, so enjoy it while you can.
🎙 The #ThatsNotMyName challenge is a unusual opportunity for celebrities to completely own a trend on TikTok. Everyone from Alicia Silverstone to Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Garner are sharing pictures and videos of the popular movie and TV roles they’ve played over the years. There’s a lot of collective eye rolling on this one but compared to 2020’s Imagine cringefest, I say let them have this one.
✈️ Elon Musk sent a DM offering $5,000 to a Florida teen who created an algorithm and bot to track Musk’s private jet. Musk asked Jack Sweeney to deactivate the Twitter account @ElonJet, reportedly for safety reasons. But the University of Central Florida freshman countered with a demand for $50,000, a Tesla Model 3 or an internship. Apparently the DM discussion wasn’t up for debate since he’s been blocked by Musk. Somebody needs to hire this kid.
👶🏽 Rihanna’s pregnancy is now Instagram official.
🏈 Tom Brady’s retirement is now Instagram official.
📖 ALSO ON MY READING LIST…
MrBeast is going full Willy Wonka with the debut of his new Feastables chocolate bars - Fast Company
'What Does Seggs Mean?' The Rise of Sex Euphemisms on Social Media - Vice
People Are Buying More Books Than Ever. Why? TikTok. - Tubefilter
Fashion Is Just TikTok Now - Vox
How Facebook took over the internet in Africa – and changed everything - The Guardian
It’s Not Your Fault You’re a Jerk On Twitter - Wired