Welcome to Social Media Buzz Weekly, your weekly bulletin of the latest social media updates. With the social media landscape evolving with each passing day, it can be challenging to keep a tab on the rapid developments. Well, not anymore, as we have taken it upon ourselves to keep you abreast of every happening in the social media space.
So, without any further ado, let’s look at some of the most significant developments from the last week in the world of social media.
1. Reels Creators Angered Over Meta Revenue Share Payments Error
Meta’s facing new backlash from short-form video creators after its latest payment notifications for its Music Revenue Sharing program, which enables video creators to earn a share of in-stream ad revenue from their Reels on Facebook that contain licensed music, informed them of huge pending payout amounts, in error, which Meta has since been forced to correct.
Some Facebook creators were notified that they’d be receiving tens of thousands of dollars from the program, which was based on a glitch in Meta’s system. Meta has since sent out a notification clarifying the mistake and reducing those payouts significantly.
2. Meta Bans News Content in Canada Over New ‘Online News Act’
Meta has announced the next stage of its opposition to the Canadian Government’s Online News Act, which will now see Canadian publishers banned from Facebook and Instagram, in order to avoid fees and charges associated with their access within Meta’s apps.
Canada’s Online News Act ostensibly aims to address imbalances in the local news ecosystem, by forcing large online platforms, like Meta and Google, to pay publishers for news content that’s shared across their platforms. But both Meta and Google have pushed back, saying that the proposed regulations don’t accurately reflect the state of the modern news ecosystem.
3. TikTok Announces ‘Gimme the Mic’ Music Talent Contest
TikTok has announced that it’s hosting its own musical competition in the app, which will give aspiring musicians a chance to win exposure and prizes.
Called “Gimme the Mic”, the event will provide a platform for wannabe music stars to showcase their talent, and canvass the TikTok community for votes. The format of the event follows the TV talent show process, with registered entrants posting a submission video using the hashtag #GIMMETHEMIC. From there, the top 30 most popular creators (based on video interactions) will be selected to move on to the semi-final, which will be hosted via TikTok LIVE. The top 10 will then move onto the Grand Final event, to be hosted on September 10th.
4. Instagram Rolls Out Improved DM Control Options to Help Users Avoid Unwanted Contact
Instagram’s expanding access to its new DM control options, which are designed to help users avoid unwanted contact, particularly in the form of images and videos that they don’t want to receive.
new restrictions, which Instagram first began testing back in June, will mean that DMs from users that you’re not connected with, in the app will now be limited to text-only invites, which the recipient will have to accept before you can make any further contact. Users will only be able to send a single invite to each user. That’ll help users avoid bots and spammers who submit sometimes offensive images and videos in DM requests, in a bid to get more attention in-stream.
5. Snap Launches New Initiative Which Will Reward Top AR Creators with Cash Payouts
Snap has announced a new funding Program for AR creators, which is designed to help foster the next wave of digital creatives in its apps. Snap’s new Lens Creator Rewards program will ’celebrate the most creative Lenses’, with dedicated funding for the best-performing innovations, based on various engagement metrics.
Snap says that Lens performance will be determined ‘by a proprietary formula based on views as well as other various engagement metrics’. That keeps things suitably vague, as Snap may want to tweak the incentives for the program over time, though the fact that there are no specific thresholds or measurements could be problematic if the payment amounts fluctuate.
6. Pinterest Reports Slowing User Growth in Q2, More Engagement Among Younger Audiences
Pinterest has published its Q2 2023 performance update, which shows some concerning signs for overall platform growth, though it is growing, which is a positive trend.
Pinterest added 2 million more users in Q2, taking it to 465 million monthly actives. That’s Pinterest’s slowest growth rate in a year, though again, it is growing, which in itself is welcome news after the platform suffered a decline in usage following the pandemic bump. In Q1 2021, at the height of the COVID lockdowns, when everyone was seeking alternative shopping options, Pinterest rose to 478 million users, before sliding back over the next year to 431 million. Since then, it’s been steadily regaining its footing, so while its growth has slowed in this quarter, it is maintaining an upward trajectory, though slower growth will logically spook the market.
7. X is Adding a New Option to Sort User Posts Based on Engagement
X is close to launching a new feature that will enable you to sort a user’s posts on their profile, so you can find their top-performing updates, based on likes, replies, etc.
The new feature will soon allow users to sort a profile’s posts with filters like ‘Most recent’, ‘Most Liked’, and ‘Most engaged with’. X could look to add more qualifiers to this listing over time, providing another way to find each user’s best-performing posts and get a better sense of what they share in the app.
8. X Users Can Now Participate in Spaces Streams via Desktop PCs
X Spaces users can now log in as a speaker on desktop, providing another way to engage in the platform’s audio chats.
Users can now send a request to speak via the desktop version of the platform, providing another way to link into the Spaces experience. Users have been able to listen in to Spaces chats on desktop PCs for some time, but you weren’t able to participate, as Spaces was built around mobile functionality, including the mobile mic. That’s been a limiting factor for podcasters and those who’d prefer to use higher-end audio equipment, with the mobile mic not offering anywhere near the same level of customization and control in-stream.
9. X Sweetens the Deal on Creator Subscriptions, Offering Greater Revenue Share
X CTO Elon Musk has announced an expanded revenue opportunity for creators that activate subscriptions in the app, with X itself now taking less of a cut from subscription revenue over time, and feeding more back to the creators themselves.
Creator Subscriptions, which X re-launched back in April, enable all X users with over 500 followers to activate paid subscriptions in the app. Creators also need to have to post 25 times within the preceding 30 days and be over 18, while they can charge either $2.99, $4.99, or $9.99 per month for access to their exclusive elements (though X is also looking to add variable price points soon).
10. X Will Now Let XBlue Subscribers Hide Their Blue Checkmark in the App
X has launched a new element within its renamed XBlue package which lets you disappear your blue tick if you’re a paying user.
According to X, subscribers can choose to hide their checkmarks on their accounts. The checkmark will be hidden on their profile and posts. The checkmark may still appear in some places and some features could still reveal that they have an active subscription. Some features may not be available while the checkmark is hidden.
Wrapping Up
And that was a wrap of this week’s Social Media Buzz. We’ll be back next week with more news and updates for you from the social media world. Till then, stay tuned!
If you want to read more on the latest developments taking place in the social media space, take a look at ClickInsights’ Social Media Buzz, wherein we bring to you monthly reports on everything going on in social media, ranging from platform updates to policy changes that influence the way we market.