Brand Management: New Meta Features, Cristiano Ronaldo YouTube Channel
Social Networking Service: Bluesky is the latest alternative to X (formerly Twitter) to strike a chord with users. With only 1.8 million active monthly users on the platform, Bluesky hasn’t hit the same heights as X’s other main competitor, the Meta-owned Threads at 200 million active monthly users. However, many popular news outlets like The New York Times and CNN post daily to the social media platform. Like X, Bluesky allows its users to post their thoughts in 300 characters or less. Unlike X and its competitors like Instagram, Bluesky runs on different servers rather than one centralized hub. This essentially gives users more control over their content and audience, letting them build their feed from the ground up. As a newer platform, there are downsides to Bluesky such as its inability to host video content, but the platform is making strides to not only catch up to its competitors, but exceed them.
Elon Musk interviewed former President Donald Trump on X using the Spaces feature on August 12th, 2024. The livestream was delayed by forty minutes due to glitches within X’s systems. 878,000 listeners tuned in prior to the interview’s start, likely overwhelming X’s systems. Musk claimed that the delay was due to a DDOS attack, though no evidence has been given of such an attack since the livestream. Topics of conversation included the assassination attempt on Trump, Trump’s return to X, and Musk’s possible involvement in the Trump administration should he win the 2024 presidential election.
Meta now allows cross-platform posting onto Threads from Instagram and Facebook. Cross-platform posting has been a feature available between Instagram and Facebook for years making the expansion of the feature to Threads logical. Users must opt into the feature and link their Threads account to use it. Cross posting is available on both Android and iOS.
Meta canceled a high-end mixed-reality headset that was in development by its Reality Labs division. The device, named La Jolla, was meant to compete with Apple’s VR headset Vision Pro and had an expected release date of 2027. However, Andrew Bosworth, CTO of Meta, was quick to reassure that other VR headsets are in various forms of development.
An Iranian hacking group utilized Whatsapp to target President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. The information was publicized by Meta in a blog post on August 23, 2024. The hackers’ goal was to exploit “political and diplomatic officials, and other public figures, including some associated with administrations of President Biden and former President Trump.” The group, known as APT42, also targeted people in Israel, Palestine, Iran, and the U.K. Meta has previously faced scrutiny for election interference in various countries including India and the United States through Facebook. With the U.S. presidential election only months away, this cyber conspiracy may make Meta users and voters wary of Meta.
Threads added custom feeds and a media tab to the platform. The new media tab is the same as X’s, allowing users to view all the media a user has posted to their profile. Creating custom feeds allows Threads users to select profiles and hashtags to view content in a designated feed separate from the main algorithm.
LinkedIn added in-feed video carousels to streamline video content on LinkedIn’s mobile app. The title of the feature is self-explanatory, acting as a rotating carousel or slideshow of videos. These videos are shown under “Videos for you” clearly taking inspiration from TikTok’s “For You Page”. An algorithm which shows videos to users in this feed based upon profile details and in-app activity.
X launched a new AI chatbot named Grok 2. Premium and Premium+ users will have access to two new bots, Grok 2 and Grok 2 mini, a smaller version of the AI. Grok 2 is powered by Flux for its image generation feature and enhances already existing AI features on X. It is being heavily marketed on the platform in hopes of securing more X Premium and Premium + members. Grok is featured on X’s left-side function bar underneath “Messages” with a blue “New” sticker to inform users. As X’s latest attempt to draw in revenue after a 70% decline in ad revenue since Musk’s acquisition, we can only watch and see if this venture is financially successful for the platform.
After launching Channels in February 2023, Instagram now allows users to tag channels while uploading posts. The feature follows the same route as tagging other accounts or products, the only key difference is a separate button to click on to physically tag the channel. Channels were created to provide a direct connection between creators and fans, allowing larger accounts to send mass messages to followers. This new tagging feature is a way to notify members of a channel of a post rather than sending a mass message.
Instagram users can add music to their profile in a new feature by Meta. Reminiscent of MySpace’s songs on profile feature, Instagram users can select 30 seconds of a song to feature on their profile by clicking “Edit profile” in the profile tab. The structure of the feature is similar to music features already available on the app such as adding music to stories or in “Notes”. Unlike MySpace, the song a user selects will not autoplay in the app when viewing a person’s profile.
Discord updated their activity tracking feature to highlight what users have been playing for the past 30 days. Users can now see activity logs for friends over the past month. Previously the feature only showed current activity usage in video games or apps like Spotify. The update not only backlogs activity for a month, it highlights how often a user has played a certain game or used a certain app with “streaks” similar to the Snapchat and TikTok features of the same name. Users can turn off the feature in the “Activity Privacy” section of Discord’s settings menu.
Online Video Platform: Nielsen’s newest TV and streaming report shows that YouTube now makes up 10.4% of all TV viewing in the US. It is the first streaming platform to hit the double-digit mark. Though streaming currently makes up 41.4% of all TV viewership in the United States, this statistic is made up of all streaming services currently available. Cable still has a secure hold on the TV market making up 26.7% of viewership and beating any individual streaming service. However, YouTube specifically being the number one streaming service raises questions about user generated content competing with large studios and companies. Additionally, these numbers account for the switch between streaming platforms and cable due to the Olympics. Despite the event, YouTube still maintained a strong viewership throughout the past quarter.
YouTube added QR codes to all channels giving content creators another way to promote their channel and content. Scanning a QR code automatically takes the scanner to a channel’s main page. The process of finding your own QR code is simple. As explained by YouTube:
To find your QR code, navigate to the ‘You’ tab at the bottom of the menu of the YouTube app, tap the chip under your handle that says ‘Share Channel’, and then tap ‘QR code’ in the menu that pops up to see your Channel’s QR code. You can then save it to your phone’s camera roll if you so choose, or pull it up to show someone nearby, so they can easily scan it to find your channel.
Cristiano Ronaldo broke the record for fastest YouTube channel to reach one million subscribers, hitting the milestone in only an hour and a half. His channel, UR Cristiano, debuted with a video of the unveiling of his wax figure for Madame Tussauds back in 2022. Though the video is barely over a minute long, it currently sits at over 33 million views in the week since its publication (as of writing). Ronaldo hopes to use his channel to be closer to his fans by sharing organic and original content that reflects bits of his life.
YouTube and Shopify are collaborating to give content creators an easier avenue to sell to fans. The YouTube Shopping affiliate program allows Shopify merchants to collaborate with content creators to sell their products. Meanwhile, content creators can tag products in their videos so viewers can easily click and purchase them. YouTube also added a “Youtube Shopping extension” via the Chrome web store. Commission is available to creators who tag products from specific merchants and can find out how much they’ll earn by using the extension on their site.
YouTube added new features to their NFL Sunday Ticket including features for fantasy football players and improvements to Multiview. Fantasy fans can use “Fantasy View” which lets users link their NFL fantasy football account and follow fantasy players while watching games. YouTube has expanded this to include Yahoo Fantasy as well. Multiview is now capable of watching up to four NFL Sunday Ticket games at the same time and is available on TVs, and mobile devices for YouTube TV members. Additionally, spoiler mode allows users to hide scores for specific teams, a new “jump to last channel” shortcut was added for channel surfers, and a wide range of more advanced playback controls including broadcast delay have also been added for your best viewing experience.
Jools Lebron now has a team handling copyright behind her iconic phrase. Lebron went viral this past month on TikTok for posting several videos where she uses the phrase “Very demure, very mindful”. Unfortunately, someone snagged the trademark for the phrase before she grasped the concept of copyright, leaving her unable to monetize the phrase through merchandise. However, it seems that everything is under control as Lebron took to TikTok this past week to announce that she has a team working on obtaining the copyright for her phrase.
TikTok released their 2024 holiday marketing guide with a heavy focus on the EU market. The guide includes usage insights and data pointers to map strategies for both companies and content creators. The guide begins with a look at holiday shopping plans, giving suggestions as to when creators and companies should post their campaigns for maximum profit. Specific statistics including when TikTok users shop for gifts and what products they are most likely to buy are included, a great metric to strategize outreach. TikTok also includes an outline for videos for advertisers with a formula of a killer hook within the first 3-5 seconds, unique selling points making up the middle 10-20 seconds of the TikTok, and a clear CTA in the final 3-5 seconds. This specific outline and guide will likely be boosted by the algorithm for even better sales. Having TikTok directly state what will work best on their platform is a great tool that companies and content creators should utilize if they’re hoping to make a profit.
Industry: X HQ is leaving San Francisco and moving to Texas near CEO Elon Musk’s aerospace and Tesla ventures. The move follows a recent California law banning school districts from requiring that schools notify parents if their children ask to be referred to by a different pronoun as their sex, which Musk firmly and publicly opposes. Plenty of X’s members have been relocated to offices in Palo Alto and San Jose previously, but this decision marks an official move out of San Francisco. X has been stationed in the bay area for a decade and been a symbol of San Francisco’s startup culture.. However, it appears that city officials are ecstatic that the company is finally leaving town. The city’s chief economist, Ted Egan, claims that X’s departure would have little effect over the city because it has already shrunk so much due to layoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic and Musk’s drastic cuts during his takeover. Speaking not just for himself, but for the entire city of San Francisco, City Attorney David Chiu who previously supported the 2012 tax break that lured Twitter to begin in San Francisco said this:
I share the perspective that most San Franciscans have, which is good riddance.- San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu
X is currently facing bans in Brazil and Venezuela due to political quarreling. CEO Elon Musk has attacked leaders in both Brazil and Venezuela for what he views as efforts to limit free speech in both countries. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has already blocked national access to X for 10 days but has yet to place a permanent ban on the social media platform. X only has about 1.55 million users in Venezuela, so a loss from the country supposedly wouldn’t be that large. However, with X already having massive usage declines since Musk’s acquisition of the platform, losing Venezuela’s market is still ultimately a loss. Brazil’s conflict with X arose after the platform refused to shut down certain accounts that Brazilian leadership claimed were spreading false reports and hate speech. X declared that it was unable to take action since they were not given adequate information by Brazilian officials. Upon questioning, Musk confirmed that he would not be blocking the requested accounts despite receiving a Brazilian court order. As a result, Brazilian officials are threatening to arrest local X employees leading the company to shut down its Brazilian offices though the app itself is currently operational in the country. With Musk continuing to defame Brazilian officials like judge Alexandre de Moraes, it is possible that X may lose Brazil as a market as well. X maintains that the country’s demands are illegal and out of line with its free speech policy, the same stance it's holding towards Venezuela. However, a Brazilian ban would have a much greater impact on the platform compared to Venezuela with Brazil having the sixth highest number of active users on the app at 21 million users.
TikTok appealed to the U.S. government to sift through classified materials about TikTok. Despite the U.S. government fear mongering that its users will have their private data sold to China if TikTok is not sold to a U.S. company, the government has yet to provide specific examples or evidence that any information could be weaponized by the Chinese Communist party. A court will decide if ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company) will be granted this internal information to prepare for the ongoing legal battle between ByteDance and the United States.
Nepal lifted its TikTok ban after previously banning the app for disturbing “social harmony and goodwill”. ByteDance has agreed to cooperate with Nepal’s law enforcement to address TikTok-related crime and content regulation leading to the ban’s lift. Prior to the ban, over 1,600 TikTok-related cyber crime cases were registered over four years in the country. The app had 2.2 million Nepalese users at the time of banning, leading to protests by users who claimed the app was a source of income and a free speech forum.
