Social Media Buzz Weekly: Roundup of Social Media Updates

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. TikTok Launches New ‘Creativity Program’ to Provide More Revenue Opportunities to Creators

https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/20/tiktok-revamped-creator-fund-creativity-program-beta/

TikTok has introduced a new ‘Creativity Program’, which it’s launching in beta with selected creators, to begin with.

TikTok’s Creativity Program aims to reward creators for posting longer videos, with only content longer than a minute in length eligible for funding. To start earning, creators must create and publish high-quality, original content longer than one minute. Creators will have access to an updated dashboard to view video eligibility, estimated revenue, and video performance metrics and analytics.

2. Twitter’s Making SMS Two-Factor Authentication a Twitter Blue Exclusive Feature

https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/product/2023/an-update-on-two-factor-authentication-using-sms-on-twitter

Twitter is switching off SMS-based two-factor authentication for all non-Twitter Blue subscribers from next month. This means that the most commonly used form of authentication, in order to keep your account safe from hacking, will now only be available to those willing to pay Twitter $8 per month.

3. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki is Stepping Down, to be Replaced by SVP Neal Mohan

https://blog.youtube/inside-youtube/a-personal-update-from-susan/

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki is stepping down and will be replaced by current YouTube SVP Neal Mohan at the helm of the app.

Wojcicki was one of Google’s first employees, joining the company in its early stages, before taking on various leadership positions across the business. Wojcicki has overseen a period of massive growth for the app, which has added a billion users since she took on the role in 2014. Wojcicki has also played a key role in building out the platform’s creator monetization system, via the YouTube Partner Program, which now pays out over $10 billion to creators every year.

4. Instagram Launches ‘Channels’ Broadcast Chat Feature

https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/16/instagram-broadcast-chat-feature-channels/#:~:text=Meta%20CEO%20Mark%20Zuckerberg%20announced,%2C%20polls%2C%20reactions%20and%20more.

Instagram is rolling out a new feature called ‘Instagram Channels’, which is essentially a group messaging function within the app where you can stay up to date on specific topics, brands, people, etc.

Instagram Channels is a ‘broadcast chat’, which will support text, images, and polls, all within IG Direct. Once you join a channel, it will be added to your IG Direct chat list. You can then read and react to messages posted in the chat – though you can’t post yourself to the chat feed.

5. TikTok Launches Live-Stream Trivia, with Cash Prizes in the App

https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/16/23602533/tiktok-trivia-interactive-livestream-contest-john-wick

TikTok has launched a new TikTok Live trivia series that will give users a chance to win money in the app.

TikTok Trivia will run for five days, beginning February 22nd, and will be presented in partnership with Lionsgate, in support of the new movie ‘John Wick Chapter 4’. In addition to this, TikTok is also partnering with creators from diverse communities who will go live following the TikTok Trivia sessions, in order to further build on the experience.

6. Twitter Will Now Allow Cannabis-Related Ads in Certain US States

https://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/advertising-marketing--branding/1284666/in-a-policy-shift-twitter-will-now-accept-cannabis-advertising

Twitter has announced that it’s relaxing its regulations around cannabis-related advertising in certain US states, with brands now able to promote ’brand preference and informational cannabis-related content for CBD, THC, and cannabis-related products and services’.

Cannabis advertisers will need to be officially licensed, and will only be allowed to market their products in jurisdictions where their licenses apply, but they will now have more freedom to be able to promote cannabis products to engaged users via tweet.

7. LinkedIn Highlights Key Professional Development Trends in 2023 Workplace Learning Report

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/LinkedIn-Publishes-2023-Workplace-Learning-Report/642857/

LinkedIn has published its 2023 Workplace Learning Report, which looks at the key shifts in workplace skills development, based on internal and survey data among LinkedIn members.

LinkedIn’s data shows that 93% of organizations are concerned about employee retention, with many seeing learning and development opportunities as key to keeping staff. LinkedIn has also included a listing of some of the top LinkedIn Learning courses you can take which hone in on the key areas of demand, providing a direct pathway to addressing these elements in your planning.

8. Meta’s Oversight Board Announces New ‘Expedited Review’ Process

https://www.oversightboard.com/news/943702317007222-oversight-board-announces-plans-to-review-more-cases-and-appoints-a-new-board-member/

Meta’s Oversight Board has announced a change in approach, which will see it hear more cases, more quickly, enabling it to provide even more recommendations on policy changes and updates for Meta’s apps.

In the expansion of this, and in addition to its ongoing, in-depth work, the Oversight Board says that it will now also implement a new expedited review process, in order to provide more advice and respond more quickly in situations with urgent real-world consequences.

9. Instagram Announces Removal of Live Stream Shopping Elements

https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/14/instagram-is-killing-live-shopping-in-march-will-focus-on-ads-instead/

Meta is abandoning its live shopping push on Instagram, after pulling out of live shopping on Facebook in August last year.

Starting on March 16, 2023, Instagram users will no longer be able to tag products while live-streaming- a capability that has been broadly available to U.S. businesses and creators since 2020.

Wrapping Up

And that was a wrap of this week’s Social Media Buzz. We’ll be back next Monday 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.