Weekly social roundup

What is happening?

I’m going to be one of those people and go, “How is it already August?” Because seriously, how is it already August?

This week has been fairly tame when it comes to social media news. Zuckerberg is being Zuckerberg. X is still penalizing businesses that buy ads in new and strange ways. TikTok is still on the verge of being banned!

And that’s … about it.

But let’s get into it! There are new features, new apps (!!), and new music to discover this week.

A new app for ByteDance

A friendly, positive vibes-only TikTok has launched 👀

TikTok Pro is here (exactly three countries only: Germany, Portugal, and Spain) and claims to be a community “where you can discover the coolest, funniest, and most educational short videos and share special moments with your friends.”

The new TikTok is exactly like the original (yup, seriously), but it just doesn’t have live streams, shopping, or ads.

So, like, a better version of TikTok. How do I get it?!

According to TikTok, this new app is to try and lure non-users to the app … and hopefully turn them into fully converted TikTok lovers like the rest of us!

But will this work? What’s the need for a new app when it could try new ways to get people to download the original TikTok?

With TikTok potentially getting banned in the US next month and the EU raising its own questions about data protection, it seems as if TikTok is trying new ways to get people on its side in Europe. 

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Top social media highlights from the week 🗞️

Meta

• Meta’s VR glasses are even closer to reality, but let’s hope they look cooler than these.

• Misinformation? Never heard of her. Meta will no longer accept political ads in the EU.

• You need 1000 followers or more to go live on Instagram now.

• A new way to add locations to Instagram Stories is here.

• Edits has added an incredible amount of new features, including 150 new fonts (hot damn), and allows users to upload their own audio.

• Mark Zuckerberg says you can most definitely trust him with superintelligent AI. Seriously. We can definitely trust him, guys!!!

• If this is a thing you care about: Instagram DMs now lets you bold, italicize, or strikethrough words.

• Tired of spam? WhatsApp is creating a PIN code that people must enter before they’re allowed to text you.

• WhatsApp lets you re-share someone else’s status to your own.

• If you use a third-party app for Threads, you’ll soon have access to way more features, including geotagging, topic tags, photo deletions, and more!

• The battle of AI is really kicking off! Meta hired the co-creator of ChatGPT as its chief scientist for Meta’s Superintelligence Labs.

• Meta claims engagement is up on Instagram, all thanks to AI.

• The sale of Meta’s Smart Glasses has more than tripled already this year.

TikTok

• Mindfulness, but make it gamified? TikTok allows users to earn badges for completing wellness challenges … because that seems mindful.

• New parental features have arrived on TikTok, including the ability for parents to block accounts for their kids.

• This new feature from TikTok will let you know if your video will show up on For You pages.

• A TikTok singing competition TV show is on the way.

• New templates have been added to TikTok for photo posts.

• TikTok has partnered with retail and billboard companies to bring you TikTok IRL and not just on your phone.

• More gamification! TikTok allows you to “earn a Streak Pet” that you can name and interact with inside DMs.

• A new search feature has been created, where you can create text posts based on subjects that currently don’t exist on TikTok.

• A new and more joyful TikTok has launched in Europe.

• TikTok’s community notes, Footnotes, have officially launched in the US.

X

• Premium subscribers on X now have access to way more features inside DMs, including search, custom push alerts, and more.

• X is giving ads that are more “aesthetically” pleasing lower ad rates. Cool. Fun. Amazing.

• Grok Imagine, X’s AI video creator, has launched for select subscribers.

YouTube

• YouTube is allowing creators to say “f—“ without getting demonetized for it.

• Looks like YouTube is now being affected by Australia’s under-16s ban.

• Hop to the best part of any YouTube video with this button.

• YouTube will start restricting accounts for those under the age of 18 starting next month.

• You’ll soon not be able to skip ads on YouTube.

Other

• Reddit wants to be your #1 search engine (and already kind of is).

• Reddit has decided not to move forward with paywalls on certain subreddits.

You get some glasses, and you get some glasses!

AI glasses for everyone!!! 😎

That is Mark Zuckerberg’s dream future. Every person in the world is wearing AI glasses. Why? 

Well, he claims AI glasses will be the thing that “helps you achieve your goals, create what you want to see in the world, experience any adventure, be a better friend to those you care about, and grow to become the person you aspire to be.”

The Zuck thinks that super intelligence is a thing humanity needs … and we can definitely, most for sure, trust him with it.

Why does this sound like the beginning of a bad Sci-Fi movie?

The letter, which Meta posted on its website from Zuck, is filled with slight digs at OpenAI and other AI tools, while also pushing his AI glasses harder than ever. 

Seeing how many tech companies are going all in on AI is daunting.

How many of these tools are going to replace jobs? How many of these tools are going to replace thinking as a society? Are we all going to turn into the characters from Wall-E and live in space attached to a computer? Are we in a simulation already? 

Okay, I’ll stop. Deep breaths. 

Everything is fine! Zuckerberg says super intelligence is fine! And there’s no turning back now.

Oh, American Eagle…

A Very Meme-orable Week

@dannyisonline

guess we’re gearing up for Halloween early bc wtf was that #sydneysweeney #americaneagle #wtf #fyp

Oof. They say all press is good press, right? I’m sure American Eagle is holding tightly to that saying this week, after its new ad campaign with Sydney Sweeney went more than a little viral … for all the wrong reasons. 

The memes, think pieces, hitbacks, and more were on every corner of the internet. Even the CMO’s post on LinkedIn has gone viral (that she promptly deleted), not only for her thoughts on how well the campaign has gone (in her eyes), but also for her use of a completely AI-written LinkedIn post.

Yikes.

Did you see it too?

Uh oh, we all got duped by AI this week

Did you see the viral video of the bunnies hopping on a trampoline? Did you also spot that it’s … AI?

The viral video is one of the first videos where people are actually worried about being tricked by AI. The video, which looks like video footage from a Ring camera, appears to catch bunnies jumping on a trampoline.

However, it’s been revealed that the video is all AI, and the comments are up in arms over it. 

My personal favorite: “I’m getting scammed when I’m older.”

Same though.

A curated list of fun things to read

My favorite read of the week

Man, oh man. This substack is a BEAST, but it’s worth every single word (and penny, I am so sorry, it is behind a paywall!). 

It’s all about how the new norm is to summarize our feelings, thoughts, books, and life into short bite-size clips and how this is making us all, you guessed it, stupid and uninteresting!

We’ve lost the art of depth, understanding, nuance, and all the things in the in-between that make us interesting because social media platforms reward us for quick hooks and thoughts. 

I genuinely loved reading this post, and if you have been feeling a bit lost and wanting a bit more depth in your culture this week, I highly recommend.

Talk Social To Me … on socials

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Apps, apps, apps!

My new favorite app this week: Lapse

Okay, I had Lapse originally when they launched back in 2021 and then promptly forgot all about it (and apparently it went away too, so maybe it was also that).

Then, this past week, a friend of mine was taking photos on it, and I went, “HOLD ON! What’s that?!”

Lapse is an app that is similar to a point-and-shoot camera, where you take a photo and wait for it to “develop.” 

From there, you can add the photo to your daily journal, share it as an “instant moment” to friends, or delete it. 

To join, you annoyingly have to invite 5 friends (although I discovered a workaround and you can just send the invite link to yourself 5 times), and start posting to your journal.

*Not an ad or affiliate! Just something I genuinely loved re-discovering!

Time to start recording

Trending audio of the week 🕺

betches

9M followers

View more on Instagram

Choose Your Character

This sound mimics a video game character selection screen. A fun, energetic way to showcase your team members.

How it works:
Use the “choose your character” audio to present each teammate with a pose or funny expression. Add titles or roles if you like.

Example uses:

• Office introductions

• Restaurant staff features

Great for:

• Company culture content

• Hiring and team bonding posts

Ready for even more trends?

Get 20+ trends broken down for you every single week. Sign up for Social Sound Report, a weekly newsletter bringing you all the current trending audio and how to tailor it to your brand and niche!

An EP for the summertime blues

Listen of the week: Gigi Wilde

If you’re looking for something new to add to your playlist this week, Gigi Wilde’s new EP “Life at the Kitchen Table” has been my new go-to. 

I feel like I’ve been stuck in a rut with music recently and only consuming podcasts, so discovering someone new that I want to constantly have on repeat is such a treat. 

Annnnd, that’s all, folks!

Thanks for reading. I love you all, and can’t thank you enough for the support.

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See you next week!

Mackenzie