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Hello, geeks! | Well… What a week it has been. | I just escaped from jail… Instagram jail 🚨 | More on that in a moment. But first… | This was one of the MOST clicked links in Geekout this year! | ICYMI… Get 40+ viral social content ideas for your niche for FREE | __________ | | I wonder if Instagram overlord Adam Mosseri wished I would shut the f**k up this week. | For some time now, both Threads and Instagram users have been complaining about increasingly questionable, and sometimes bizarre, content moderation decisions being made by Meta's automated systems. | And this week, I too found myself in Instagram jail for a crime I did not commit. And when I appealed the judgement, Meta automatically rejected it within seconds! 🤬 | Going forwards, all my IG and Threads post would be downranked. And my posts would no longer be shown to non-followers. To say I was pissed would be an understatement! | And my experience this is far from an isolated case. | Keep scrolling for the full Meta content prison break story below 👇 |
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🔥 GEEKOUT HOT 5 | Geekout's pick of the hottest headlines in social this week: | /cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24774108/STK156_Instagram_threads_3.jpg) | Instagram and Threads moderation is out of control | Meanwhile, Threads is filled with engagement bait posts. |
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| Facebook launched a big Gen Z-focused redesign [REFRESHING] TikTok sued by 14 U.S. states alleging its addictive features harm kids [SCAREMONGERING] Brazil lifted ban on Elon Musk's X after it paid a $5 million fine [REINSTATING] Meta launched 'MovieGen' advanced A.I. video generator [INNOVATING]
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FREE 'GET OUT OF INSTAGRAM JAIL' CARD 🎟️ | | Ok… That doesn't exist. But maybe it should? | But if you advertise in Geekout, your life becomes 347% better (maybe) | Geekout has 30,000+ subscribers Geekout subscribers manage social media for the world's biggest brands including Apple, Amazon, Disney, Redbull, McDonald's, Nike. Geekout has an industry-beating open rate of 50+% and a 12+% click rate! Geekout ads typically generate 2-4% ad click-through-rate! Limited number of slots available in November and December.
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🚨 EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT… | Threads' growing pains |  | Instagram and Threads moderation is out of control |
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| It's awkward when you spend your life sharing and talking about the news, and then you become part of the news. | That happened to me this week, after the automated moderation built into Threads decided I needed to have my reach to non-followers cut off. Why? I shared a post about a hoax. My post made very clear it was a hoax and was meant to help make sure people didn't fall for it. | But that nuance wasn't enough for the AI which also seemed to think there was a copyright infringement involved too?! Very odd. | Anyway, moderation problems like this have been been going on for weeks, with users complaining to Threads boss Adam Mosseri to no avail. So I felt a little uncomfortable when he responded to my post to say he was looking into it. | Moderation issues are just one of Threads' problems right now. It appears to be struggling as it experiences steady growth in users. | Engagement bait continues to be a real problem (as Mosseri admitted this week), and some popular accounts are complaining about engagement levels dropping off. | No wonder Bluesky is seizing the moment to launch a Threads account in a bid to coax people over to its own platform. | Threads will hopefully fix these problems soon. Having AI moderation that goes all Robocop on you for nothing means Threads is a risky place to make your home as a creator. | As for my problem, I had to use Google to find the post in question to delete because Threads search is STILL so terrible. | But it turns out I didn't need to. My appeal (which Threads had told me was instantly rejected) was actually accepted, according to Mosseri. | So a happy ending for me… but for the likely hundreds of thousands of other creators who depend on Meta's platforms to make a living, and don't have the luxury of Mosseri's personal attention, these moderation mistakes can be catastrophic for their careers. | I hope the news spotlight on the issue this week is a turning point and Threads turns that content moderation dial down a notch. 🤞 |
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✨ NEW & NOTEWORTHY | Everything else you need to know from the past seven days… |
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Meta / Facebook 👥 |
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Instagram ✨ |
 | Screenshot: Instagram's new WhatsApp sticker for Stories |
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WhatsApp 💬 / Threads 🧵 |
 | Screenshot: WhatsApp's new customisable chat themes |
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YouTube 📺 |
 | Screenshot: YouTube's new expanded Song Snippets feature for Shorts |
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TikTok 📱 |
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LinkedIn / Snapchat / Reddit… ⚡️ |
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LinkedIn wants to kill your work productivity further, with the launch of its fourth daily puzzle game, Tango 🧩 LinkedIn now lets you add more details to your "Open To Work" status The White House has officially joined Reddit Twitch now has a dress code for streamers. Put those "genitalia, buttocks, hips, female-presented nipples, and underbust" away, it says Snapchat began testing two new ad formats: Sponsored Snaps and Promoted Places Telegram has upgraded its gifts offering, verification, video chats, and more Google will host its own Creator Summit at the end of this month Bluesky joined Threads and was trending on the platform as moderation issues plague Meta's X-rival Mastodon rolled out revamped notifications, a refreshed look and more
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🔥 Want to see more hot NEW features spotted in the wild this week?
Just head to the 'More news' section below! |
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🤖 SOCIAL A.I. | The newest social media A.I. features spotted this week, all in one place: | | |
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😆 LOL | | |  | | agencyprobs | | Add a comment... |  |
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📈 MEMES | When Elon Musk took to the stage to support Trump (can you imagine the outcry if Jack Dorsey had done that for Biden in 2020?!) he instantly clocked up another meme for himself with his weird jump-dance thing. |  | Jo @JoJoFromJerz |  |
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It was the darkest of times it was the dumbest of times. | |  | | | 2:33 AM • Oct 6, 2024 | | | | | | 59.3K Likes 6.31K Retweets | 4.41K Replies |
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| | | And the unflattering photo memes didn't stop there… | |  | Parody Keir Starmer @Parody_PM | |
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There's something familiar about the look on Elon Musk's face when he shakes hands with Trump. | |   | | | 9:33 AM • Oct 6, 2024 | | | | | | 490 Likes 72 Retweets | 32 Replies |
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🌡️ VIRAL | THAT dolphin face meme was the viral success of the week. Although apparently it's actually a porpoise. I've always wanted a real porpoise in life… |  | The Smiling Dolphin Meme Is Actually A Porpoise And He's Tired | "Listening to people explain the rules of a board game I will forget within 30 seconds." |
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|  | Aisha @aishamadeit | |
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when someone says "thanks that was a good question" | |  | | | 6:34 PM • Oct 1, 2024 | | | | | | 169K Likes 11.9K Retweets | 71 Replies |
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|  | anı 🌙 @kinganiii | |
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me waiting for my friend to look my way so i can wave hi but they never do | |  | | | 9:52 PM • Sep 26, 2024 | | | | | | 122 Likes 5 Retweets | 3 Replies |
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🙊 WHAT DID YOU SAY?! | "Shut the f*ck up" | – Adam Mosseri became a mini-meme on his own platform this week after this quote got shared widely (sorry Adam!). Fact check: it was actually just about cable ties, of all things. | |
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👌 PRO TIPS | If you're not in Threats moderation jail… 😬 | Here are some tips to grow your presence on platform. |  | Meta Shares Tips on Growing Your Threads Presence | With 200 million monthly active users, the platform may prove valuable for those looking to grow their community. |
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| ALSO… | |
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😮 WTF?! |  | Mark Zuckerberg is leaning into his fashion era and considering selling Classics-inspired T-shirts |
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🤦 FAIL | How TF does this even happen, Elon?! 😆 | "Citing Friday court filings, Reuters reports that X says it's paid the fines and requested to have services restored." | "But, Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the funds went to the wrong bank." |  | X reportedly paid its Brazil fines to the wrong bank, causing further delay in reinstatement case |
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👔 YOU'RE HIRED! | Hot new social media jobs worth checking out this week: | | |
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📊 SOCIAL STATS | 80% | – The percentage of LinkedIn users who play one of its puzzle games on a given day and then return to play again the following day. LinkedIn Games are addictive! | 61% of PR professionals plan to increase their LinkedIn use, while only 15% plan to focus more on X and 11% on Facebook MrBeast's audience is in decline as controversies and backlash continue LinkedIn says 10 million people have signed up as freelancers on its Services Marketplace On X, Accounts backing Republican candidates spent 3x as much on political ads than those backing Democrats from March 6 to Oct. 1 — $3m vs. $1m TikTok is part of the reason that Google's share of the US search ad market is expected to drop below 50% next year Pinterest says users are leaning into pop culture for Halloween this year, with searches for "it girl Halloween costumes" up 170% since last year" OnlyFans says it paid $20 billion to 4 million creators since 2016
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📈 CHARTED | The majority of accounts followed by U.S. adult TikTok users are creators, influencers and internet celebrities, according to a new Pew Research study. 📲 | The 'typical U.S. adult' follows no politicians or journalists on TikTok… | | |
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 | MORE META NEWS |
|  | Facebook and Instagram Restrict the Use of the Red Triangle Emoji Over Hamas Association | Users of Meta's platforms could see posts taken offline if they include the upside-down red triangle emoji. |
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| Instagram is helping Brazilians dodge a national sales ban on vapes. [Rest of World] Germany's antitrust authority has forced Meta to make significant changes to how it handles Facebook and Instagram user data. [TechCrunch] Meta still hasn't released a WhatsApp app for iPad, a year after it was announced. [9to5Mac]
| New features and tests: | Facebook: | | Instagram: | Instagram now shows creators tips on how to improve their broadcast channels. [@theahmedghanem] Instagram now showcases trending songs in the 'For you' and 'New releases' feeds through a new symbol. [@oncescuradu]
| Messenger: | | Threads: | | WhatsApp: | WhatsApp Business now allows you to manually remove the verification badge if your business doesn't want it. [@jonahmanzano] Google Ads is testing variations of its Click-To WhatsApp Messages feature. [Search Engine Roundtable]
| The rest: Creator Studio / Adtech / Quest and more: | |
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 | MORE X NEWS |
|  | Posts encouraging eating disorders were recommended to X users | X is just the latest platform to struggle with user groups creating eating disorder content, where teens can fall down a rabbit hole that promotes extreme thinness. |
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💥 EVEN MORE SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS & UPDATES |  | US and UK announce joint children's online safety group to push for common fixes | The U.S. and U.K. governments announced Thursday they will set up a joint children's online safety working group to cooperate on safeguarding efforts in |
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| Truth Social users are losing ridiculous sums of money to scams. [Truth Social] YouTube is fixing its recent wave of accidental spam bans. [Android Police] Twitch has made its complicated rulebook easier to follow. [Engadget] A new study from Tulane University explains why rage clicking is so common, especially when it comes to politics—it's called the 'confrontation effect.' [Fast Company $$$] Some current teens could be spared Australia's controversial age restrictions on social media. [The Guardian] Russia has blocked Discord for violating Russian law. [Reuters $$$] …and Turkey has also blocked Discord, for refusing to co-operate with authorities. [Reuters $$$] Wall Street is warming to Pinterest. [Bloomberg $$$] US states are targeting social media companies over kids' health and safety as Congress hesitates. [Axios] Neo-Nazis are fleeing Telegram for encrypted app SimpleX Chat. [Wired $$$]
| New features and tests: | YouTube on Android TV now has a better way of handling multiple profiles. [Android Authority] Snapchat has updated its music sticker to display in various styles, including showing song lyrics, similar to Instagram. [@theahmedghanem] Lemon8 has added a 'Share Profile' button. [@lindseygamble_] Clubhouse is working on an improved hand raising option for rooms. [@alex193a]
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📰 WEEKEND READS | Geekout's pick of the best longer reads to sink into over the weekend: |  | Where Have All the Chief Metaverse Officers Gone? | The captains of industry that were going to pilot us through new virtual worlds are still around. They're just going by a new name. |
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😳 AND FINALLY… | When you're one of the world's richest people, buying your wife a Porsche minivan–when a Porsche minivan doesn't exist–is just something you ask your staff to sort out… |  | Mark Zuckerberg just turned Porsche's minivan concept into a reality. Sort of. |
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📅 BACK NEXT WEEK… | … And that's pretty much EVERYTHING you need to know this week, folks! ✅ | __________ | Before you go… | | I will be speaking at a bunch of events around the world in the next 3-4 months. | If you live in any of these locations, let's have a Geekout IRL meetup! | Kosovo | Growth Tank Event | November 8th, 2024 Brussels | BAM Marketing Congress | December 5 - 6th, 2024 Dubai | One Billion Followers Summit | January 11th - 13th 2025
| The first drink's on me. Just hit reply to this email if interested 🍻🍻 | __________ | Alrighty… I'm heading off to celebrate my Instagram jail freedom. | Goodbye, geeks! | | p.s. This newsletter is edited by Martin SFP Bryant |
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