[Mark Zuckerberg via Meta AI]
The Group Chatās back thanks to Netflix; Brands are rethinking ad budgets; Coachellaās being compared to the Hunger Games; and Mark Zuckerberg is a Settlers of Catan pro?! Here we goā¦
ā° 1-SECOND SUMMARY
YouTube remained the dominant streaming platform in March
TikTok announced Footnotes, its version of Community Notes
Meta published a new report ā Generation Zeitgeist ā on Gen Z social habits
11 weirdest details emerging from Metaās antitrust trial
POV: 3 influencer experiences that seriously missed the mark
Candy Crush wisely put customers ahead of influencers in their latest campaign
ChatGPT might soon be part of a social network
Study: Thereās a deep divide between experts perception of AIās potential and what the public thinks
ICYMI Pro subscribers: check your inbox on Monday for an interview with Rare Beautyās Director of Creative Strategy, MacKenzie Kassab whoās writing the companyās newsletter: Rare Beauty Secrets. Itās a good one ā and the first half is free for everyone!
š» ROADMAP
š² YouTube Updates
YouTube invited live streamers, podcasters, Shorts creators and shopping affiliate program members to join its sounding board, Creator Research, for studies and research panels. Apply here.
YouTube dropped a Culture & Trends Report on virtual creators, which theyāve broken into Vtubers, Gaming Virtual Creators, Virtual Artists and Virtual Humans.
YouTube is expanding location auto tagging to travel and restaurant-related Shorts to help viewers find locally relevant content. The location tags will be based on your Shortās title and description. Whether youāre a hospitality-based businesses or creator, itās a great opportunity for greater visibility in the app.
YouTube shared 23 tips for turning your long-form content into Shorts.
YouTube expanded its Hype limited beta to more creators in Taiwan, Brazil and Turkey ā Hype puts eligible videos on a new leaderboard that can help content get discovered by new viewers.
Spotted: YouTube is working on a new timer feature to stop you from doomscrolling Shorts.
YouTube is launching a new AI music-making tool to generate instrumental music that can be added to creator videos.
š² LinkedIn Updates
LinkedIn has been on a content streak lately, now theyāve launched a micro site for creators: Create on LinkedIn, with tips to getting started.
š² TikTok Updates
TikTok announced Footnotes, its version of Community Notes on posts. The new feature is meant to give app users more context about content on TikTok.
Spotted: TikTok is showing reviews next to the comment section but only on selected videos with a tagged location.
š² Meta Updates
Meta is hosting a Reels webinar for UK and European marketers but the event seems open to all who want to participate (if you donāt mind getting up early for this one). RSVP here.
Meta published Generation Zeitgeist, a report on Gen Z insights:
Gen Z share content to connect with each other
Short-form video acts as a search engines
Gen Z is almost always in āconsideration modeā ā scrolling and shopping have become interchangeable
Adam Mosseri just announced Blends, which taps into Metaās Gen Z insights that people want a curated feed of recommended Reels between them and their friends.
Spotted: A new feature that allows you to filter Reels by most viewed or recent.
š² Patreon Updates
Patreon is testing Live Video to allow live streaming 24/7. The new feature offers an interactive and uninterrupted ad-free livestreaming experience.
š² Snapchat Updates
Snapchat announced Snap School sponsorships, giving brands the chance to get in front of its creator community through sponsored workshops.
š TRIAL WATCH
11 of the Weirdest and Most Interesting Details to Emerge from Metaās AntiTrust Trial
The Federal Trade Commission is accusing Meta of a "buy or bury strategy" in acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp since it viewed the apps as threats. Here are the most interesting details to emerge during Mark Zuckerbergās testimony:
Mark Zuckerberg tried to settle this antitrust suit by offering to pay $450 million, but the FTC wasnāt buying it
Friending and friend sharing are losing steam, Zuckerberg confirmed this week: āThe amount that people are sharing with friends on Facebook, especially, has been declining⦠Even the amount of new friends that people add ⦠I think has been declining. But I donāt know the exact numbersā
In 2022, Zuckerberg proposed a āpotentially crazy idea is to consider wiping everyoneās [Facebook] graphs and having them start againā
As TikTok became popular, Metaās āgrowth slowed down dramaticallyā
In 2018, Zuckerberg contemplated spinning Instagram off from Meta as a separate company
In 2013, Zuckerberg tried to buy Snapchat for $6B but was rebuffed by Evan Spiegel. "If we would had bought them we would have accelerated their growth," Zuckerberg testified
Instagram had a better camera app than Facebook, said Zuckerberg, āso I thought it was better to buy themā
Meta's former chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, initially thought they paid āway too muchā for Instagram
Sandberg wanted to block Google from advertising on Facebook
In between business talk, Zuckerberg offered to teach Sandberg how to play the board game Settlers of Catan
In a 2008 email, Zuckerberg said āit is better to buy than competeā
If the FTC proves its case, Meta could be forced to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp.
Related: Why antitrust breakups of Google and Meta could be difficult
š§ š” POV
Not Now, Influencers
Itās been a rough week for influencers and celebrities.
Parasocial relationships work best when we can relate to the influencers we follow. But when our āfriendsā start flaunting experiences that feel completely out of reach ā especially while everyone else is struggling ā it ruins the illusion. Thatās when the resentment sets in, and the backlash begins.
In other words, influencers ā and the brands that hire them ā need to read the room. What might have worked 6 months ago might seem tone deaf now.
Take Coachella: Depending on which part of the internet you're on, you either saw people camping in their cars and peeing in bushes⦠or influencers jetting in on private planes and crashing in luxury villas. āItās dystopian,ā said creator Alec Harrison. The whole thing even drew Hunger Games comparisons ā with āthe peasantsā stuck in District 12 while influencers lived it up in District 1.
Then thereās Blue Origin: Launching a group of ultra-wealthy women into space for ā checks notes ā 11 minutes didnāt exactly inspire awe. A quick check of Google Trends shows breakout topics alongside the shuttle launch included criticism from Kara Swisher and Emily Ratajkowski. One person on Threads summed it up: āIn another timeline, the all-female space mission mightāve hit differently, but weāre in the middle of a constitutional crisis and I donāt give a fuck about Katy Perry.ā
Even The Masters Tournament caught heat. Some golf fans expressed frustration that influencers got invited to Augusta National, skipping the famously exclusive ticket lottery. Itās an inevitable part of The Masters entering its Content Creator Era. Interestingly, Masters runner-up Bryson DeChambeau now lists himself as āContent Creatorā first, and āPro Golferā second on his Instagram bio.
Related: Candy Crush took diamond rings meant for influencers and offered them to customers instead (this is how you pivot during an economic downturn!)
š DATA DROP
56% of AI experts say AI will have a positive effect on the US over the next 20 years versus 17% of the public ā revealing a deep divide in the perception of AIās potential
-via to the Pew Research Center study on how the U.S. public and AI experts view artificial intelligence
Two-thirds of Gen Z travelers said they use social media for inspiration and 41% of consumers overall use social media to research and discover destinations
-via a recent survey by Data Axle, reported by Marketing Dive
š£ QUOTE OF THE WEEK
āConventional celebrity culture isnāt disappearingājust yet, anywayābut it is losing ground to micro-fame and platform-specific stars who shape consumer trends and cultural conversations at a faster rate than traditional A-listersā
-via āThe Business of Influenceā, a new report from Day One Agency with youth culture expert and After School writer Casey Lewis on the current and future state of fame
š ICYMI: JUST THE HEADLINES
YouTube remained the dominant streaming platform in March -Adweek
OpenAI is working on a social network as part of ChatGPT -The Verge
A new AI startup founded by Yale students wants to compete with LinkedIn -Business Insider
The Creatorsā Guild of America Is Launching a Contract Rider to Protect Creators ā To use the rider, creators must be members of the CGA -Passionfruit
Revolve faces a $50M lawsuit alleging influencers hid paid brand partnerships -AOL
The $1,000 MrBeast Experience is the New Fyre Festival -Passionfruit
Part of the tension at Coachella stems from a waning internet era marked by the dominance of Instagram and the Millennial generation -Megan E. Collins
VidCon released its first round of Creator Track speakers, including āSecret Lives of Mormon Wivesā stars Mayci Neeley and Layla Taylor -Nerds That Geek
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