Social Trends & Tools, Jan 15
Here's why you shouldn't worry about the new social networks in the App Store
[Photo by Nicolas HIPPERT on Unsplash]
💣 Insurrection Aftermath
Big tech impeached the president this week, as Trump got banned by Facebook, Snapchat, Twitch, Twitter and TikTok and suspended by YouTube; every site from Pinterest to Peloton removed posts with #StoptheSteal hashtags and Parler was dropped by Amazon, Apple and Google which led to mass downloads of alternative social and messaging apps.
(Don’t worry, even with the bump it’s going to be a while before you need to come up with a Gab or a MeWe strategy, catering to conspiracy theorists isn’t the most sustainable audience play.)
Of course, the ban wasn’t a move taken lightly by Silicon Valley and caused a fair amount of existential angst for Twitter’s Jack Dorsey: “I feel a ban is a failure of ours ultimately to promote healthy conversation.” Twitter’s also taking the unusual step of resetting the @POTUS account to zero followers.
Considerably less introspective was Sheryl Sandberg’s it-didn’t-happen-on-Facebook interview. Mmm. OK, Jan.
📲 AOC Really Gets Social
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went live on Instagram following last Wednesday’s attack on the Capitol, where she "thought [she] was going to die." She didn’t go into detail because of security concerns but her transparency about the trauma and how she plans to recover from it is all the more remarkable given the lack of official press conferences.
💯 Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Speech
Who had Arnold Schwarzenegger uniting people with a 7-minute monologue denouncing nazis and white supremacists on their 2021 bingo card? If you watch one thing this weekend, make it Arnold’s heartfelt reaction to the coup attempt which he tied to the broken men of his father’s generation who supported Nazi Germany. This is how you make a statement condemning hate.
🗽 Andrew Yang: Creators Welcome
Andrew Yang is running for mayor of New York and has made his position clear: the city needs to welcome TikTok Hype Houses to the city. (Primer: What’s a Hype House.) It might sound silly but never forget the OG creator collab house, MTV’s The Real World, debuted in New York in 1992 so stranger things have happened.
💰 More Ways for Creators to Monetize
Sponsored posts might be the most popular way for creators to work with brands but new opportunities have popped up that make it more lucrative than ever:
Snapchat’s one million dollars a day Spotlight Fund was announced last fall and, according to one creator, is now paying out major money.
Update: this has been confirmed with multiple creators.TikTok creators are making bank with Amazon affiliate links, leading to popular hashtags likes #AmazonFinds and #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt.
YouTube’s currently testing shoppable videos with a limited number of creators.
🗂 Resource: How to Make Better YouTube Thumbnails
Roberto Blake is a creator’s creator. If you’re just getting into YouTube this year, he produces some of the best how-to content for aspiring creators to build their brand, like his recent thumbnail tutorial. But is 2021 too late to start a YouTube channel? He’s got an answer for that.
🚫 Ignore This Hashtag
Actor Armie Hammer has been trending on Twitter this week. Do not jump on this hashtag. In fact, do not dig into this bizarre story unless you’re really curious and unaffected by morbid kink. These are things I wish I could unsee.
📈 Trending Content People Felt Good About
You’ve been making tortillas all wrong. So, it’s a good thing #tortillahack popped up to show you how to make this supreme snack.
The web loved all things Bridgerton: there was the musical, the workout music, the pug version… Where there’s a will, there’s a meme to be made.
Sea Shanties had a moment as TikTok’s viral trend of the week. It also led to the highest Google search spike for sea shanties of all time.
Sad teen song Drivers License by Olivia Rodrigo was another combo hit, trending on TikTok and breaking Spotify records for the most streamed song in a day.
Women love cheese. That’s it, that’s the tweet.
Taco Bell knows its audience: which led the CEO to use the potato Snapchat filter to announce potatoes were back on the menu.
