Social Trends & Tools, Feb. 5
ICYMI, here's what happened on social media this week
[Super Bowl foods via Google Trends]
This is a weekly roundup of trending social content and key platform updates to help you catch up and make sense of what’s coming.
🚨 Instagram: Stop Sharing Feed Posts to Stories
This week’s Instagram uproar was around an announcement they made that they would test a change in sharing to Stories. The move would restrict people from adding Feed posts to their Stories based on Instagram’s feedback “from our community.”
This struck me, and others I spoke to, as bad on several levels and here’s why:
Activists will lose out on the opportunity to have their voices amplified from supporters sharing their posts.
Small businesses will lose out on the opportunity of discovery if their posts aren’t being shared by customers.
Creators won’t get the credit they deserve if people start sharing screenshots instead of their actual posts.
And, last but not least, it puts a burden on under-resourced Social Media Managers to create more original content to keep up with the volume of content Instagram demands.
As one friend put it, “They should just block us from sharing our OWN feed posts,” instead of dismantling this fan-favorite feature.
But it might be an indicator of even bigger changes in store: this Tech Crunch report says Instagram is working on a vertical feed that would have you swipe vertically instead of tap horizontally through Stories. This would create an environment that prioritizes video over photos (aka Reels) so they can better compete with TikTok.
📺 Should You Watch Fake Famous?
No. Unless you hate influencers and you’re looking for a rambling narrative to confirm your bias.
HBO’s new documentary Fake Famous is meant to show how easy it is for influencers to buy fake followers. And I would have enjoyed an expose of the services that sell follows and likes. But it comes across as a smug indictment of shallow influencers and their fake fame. It’s such a tired trope and doesn’t look at the current shift toward more relatable content, the creators with legitimate influence or the socio-economic reasons that make becoming an influencer a reasonable career aspiration. So, that’s a pass from me… and others.
🏈 SuperBowl + Social Media = <3
It’s Super Bowl weekend or as brands call it, the Big Game (there’s a good explanation for the nickname). That means football, food trends and lots of buzzy moments on social. Here’s a quick recap of what to keep an eye on:
TikTok: Miley Cyrus is performing at the first-ever #TikTokTailgate. The NFL has invited 7,500 vaccinated health care heroes and CBS viewers to attend the pregame event.
Snapchat: Colin Kaepernick Vs the World vertical documentary premieres on Snapchat during Super Bowl weekend.
YouTube: All the teaser ads for the Big Game are being hosted as part of YouTube’s AdBlitz showcase. And parent company Google is sharing data trends around Super Bowl LV — I like your style Delaware.
Twitter: The most talked-about ads on Twitter will be announced during Brand Bowl LV.
Facebook: Messenger is releasing camera filters and stickers designed in partnership with the NFL.
👆 Click Thru
These are the other headlines that were on my radar this week:
😿 Coffee Shop Spreads Kindness
This is your try-not-to-cry challenge of the day: coffee shop employees in Dallas drove around practicing random acts of kindness. This was so sweet, I hope other brands copy this.
😵 Instagram Bans Stolen User Names
Instagram coordinated with Twitter and TikTok to ban users who were involved in stealing hundreds of rare “O.G. user names” like @killer @sick and @miracle. New York Times writer Taylor Lorenz dug into why the scams happened, which resulted in this amen insight: “If Instagram really wants to fix this problem…they need to go from the top down and start paying people who create content so there’s no reason for people to make money in other ways.”
👀 YouTube Shorts
The TikTok effect is coming to YouTube. Last week CEO Susan Wojcicki emphasized Shorts (short-form video) in an open letter about company’s priorities and Mr. Beast recently mentioned how Shorts were blowing up during a chat on Clubhouse. Shorts don’t seem to have rolled out to iOS yet (at least not on my device) but you can see them on Android. Perhaps it’s no surprise, a lot of clips were uploaded with the TikTok watermark.
🎤AOC’s Vulnerability Reduces Stigma
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez revealed she was a sexual assault survivor while talking about the Jan. 6 riots during an Instagram Live sessions. Experts say Ocasio-Cortez’s willingness to speak out could reduce the stigma and lift the shame that often surrounds trauma.
🌏 Celebrity Diplomacy
Rihanna and Greta Thunberg raised awareness for farmers protesting in India through their tweets, meanwhile the Indian government threatened to jail Twitter employees there unless they ban accounts critical of the government.
🏘 TikTok House Database
Insider put together (behind a paywall) an interactive database of the top influencer mansions and who lives in them. It’s a great resource if you’re in the creator space.
📲 Mark Zuckerberg on Clubhouse
Mark Zuckerberg (@Zuck23) and a bunch of top Facebook executives made a surprise guest appearance during a tech talk on Clubhouse. It’s unusual to see Zuckerberg pop up on another social app, which makes me wonder if he plans to invest in the company or wants to create a copycat feature. Stay tuned…
🤡 Bring It, Facebook and Twitter
Substack, the newsletter platform you’re reading this on, has been hilariously trolling Twitter and Facebook. The social media giants each have competing newsletter products coming out and your email inbox is soon going to become a battleground of providers.
Foodies: On Monday night I’m going to be co-hosting a room on Clubhouse with some creators, cooks and food lovers. Come join us if that’s your thing at 7pm PST.