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Hello, geeks! | This week's Geekout is very app-etizing. 📱 | Meta is gearing up to drop TWO new apps — one to take on TikTok, the other to rival ChatGPT. Big moves. | Meanwhile… | Creators and social media managers are falling for fake news about TikTok's algorithm. (Don't be one of them.) | The $240,000-a-year social media manager job that's making waves. | Thinking about going freelance? I shared my best no-BS advice for social media pros. | All of that… plus everything else new in social this week, coming up in a moment. | __________ | But first — check these out 👇 | | __________ | TikTok's Secret? Debunked ❌ | | Doing the rounds online this week, this viral screenshot claims to reveal TikTok's "secret" algorithm ranking system — complete with a points-based formula for how videos get reach. | | But here's the truth: It's almost certainly fake. AI-generated, to be exact. | 🔍 Why? | | Bottom line? TikTok's algorithm secrets remain just that… secrets. 🤐 | __________ | Also, did you see? | 📹 TOP TIP: Thinking about going freelance? My best advice for social media managers. [VIDEO]
💰 HOW MUCH?! OpenAI is hiring a social manager—for a jaw-dropping salary🤯 | 🎁 FREE GIFT for SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGERS: Scroll to the bottom of this week's Geekout for a FREE gift from me. Be quick… Only 25 available 👇 | __________ |
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🔥 GEEKOUT HOT 5 | Geekout's pick of the hottest headlines in social this week: |
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 | Instagram May Be Exploring a Separate Reels App | The standalone Reels app would be a more direct attempt to take on TikTok. |
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Apple introduces an age verification system for apps [POLICING] Elon Musk's Grok AI blocked results saying Musk and Trump "spread misinformation" [ELON-MUSKING] Meta is firing about 20 employees for leaking [INTIMIDATING] Meta plans to release a standalone Meta AI app [AI APP-ETIZING]
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We get it. Affiliate marketing can feel sleazy or complicated. | But stick with me for a sec. You might be leaving serious money on the table… | VPNs are a must-have for online privacy, and the industry is exploding—set to hit $92 billion by 2027. | People actually need VPNs for privacy, so you're not pushing some random product. | That means huge earning potential for creators, marketers, and social media pros. | And no, you don't need to be a full-time affiliate to make it work. | 🚀 Here's how it works:
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🚨 EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT… | Apple's surprise move might make child safety much easier |
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 | Apple introduces new child safety initiatives, including an age-checking system for apps |
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Who should protect kids from the dangers of social media? If you're a company like Meta, you probably think that responsibility should be passed on to app stores, because it's a stressful burden (with exposure to legal risks) if you do it yourself. | While it might not seem like app stores would want that duty, Apple made a surprise move yesterday by introducing a new, better way of making sure children can only download age-appropriate apps: | Parents will now be able to share information about their kids' ages, which can then be accessed by app developers to provide age-appropriate content. The App Store will also introduce a new set of age ratings that give developers and App Store users alike a more granular understanding of an app's appropriateness for a given age range. | | | | Sarah Perez, TechCrunch |
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| The approach here is actually a division of labour. Apps will set their own age ratings, and Apple will essentially enforce them by making only age-appropriate apps available to kids. | This should–in theory–work out well for parents, Apple, and developers alike. | And while developers are in control of their own age ratings, it does allow for an interesting future in which governments could force apps into a particular age classification, which could be enforced far more easily than it could in the past. | In a world where governments are increasingly keen to limit young people's access to social media, lawmakers will be paying attention. | All in all, promising news. The pressure will be now on Google to follow suit. |
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✨ NEW & NOTEWORTHY | Everything else you need to know from the past seven days… |
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Meta / Facebook 👥 |  | Meta's next-gen 'Aria' smartglasses | Image credit: Meta |
| | __________ |
Instagram ✨ / Messenger ⚡️
|  | Messenger's app logo has reverted back to FB Blue |
| | __________ |
WhatsApp 💬
|  | WhatsApp's new edit sticker photos feature for Status updates | Credit: @wabetainfo |
| | __________ |
Twitter ('X') 🤡
| | | __________ |
YouTube 📺
| | | __________ |
TikTok 📱
|  | TikTok's revamped desktop platform |
| TikTok revamped its desktop platform to challenge YouTube, featuring a new modular layout, refreshed 'For You' feed, a new Explore tab, and a floating player 💻 … Which now lets gamers livestream in landscape view TikTok is replacing Marketplace with TikTok One, a broader solution with AI tools, set to launch on April 1, 2025 Who might buy TikTok in the US? Here's an up-to-date list of the contenders TikTok launched a new in-app Oscars 2025 Hub A US federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against TikTok and YouTube over "choking challenge" videos TikTok is introducing a queue feature for subscribers TikTok is now organising song searches through a drop-down menu-like feature. TikTok is testing a new profile page design, with the name displayed at the bottom of the profile picture
| __________ |
LinkedIn / Snapchat / Twitch 💼
|  | LinkedIn's new 'comment impressions' metric | Image Credit: Lindsey Gamble |
| | __________ |
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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: |
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 | Instagram Tests AI-Based Tasks via DMs | The first step towards AI agents in Meta's apps. |
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💬 YOU CAN QUOTE ME ON THAT | When I'm quoted in the news, you'll find it here: |
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This TikToker's "healthy" lifestyle had people… puzzled at best, if not outright laughing.🤔🤣 |  | This Texan influencer's eye-opening 'healthy' morning routine sent people rushing to the bathroom – 17 of the funniest and most on-point responses |
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| | | | Also: | Backlash as Chinese influencer claims to earn $41,000 a day doing nothing Viral photo makes 'Puppy Mountain' in China an instant sensation
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After Duolingo milked an attention cycle with his 'death', Duo is back… because of course he is. 🔥 | "Y'all really think I'd let a Cybertruck take me out?" |  | Duolingo Resurrects Its Mascot, Duo the Owl, After Murder by Tesla Cybertruck |
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| For more, read Duolingo's TikTok mastermind on its 'unhinged' social strategy and killing its mascot. | Also: | |
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"You look like a highschooler going undercover as another highschooler with fewer friends" | - John Oliver describes Mark Zuckerberg (read more about why here) | Also overheard this week: | "Twitter added far more features with fewer people"
– Elon Musk this week seemingly forgot he rebranded Twitter "We expect there will be more"
– Meta after firing 20 staff for leaking news "[It's] impossible to do fact-checking at scale"
– Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian talks moderation "Someone like Jeffrey Epstein had to create his own private paedophile island… Now, these monsters, all they have to do is go on to set up a group on Facebook Messenger."
– British MP Paul Waugh is no fan of Messenger "The social media companies got more power over more speech than any institution in history"
– New US FCC chair, Brendan Carr, is on the warpath
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Warning: this is absolutely NOT safe for work. 🤬 | As Garbage Day explained: | "Last week, one of the biggest songs on iTunes was an (Australian-accented) robot voice reading a list of homophobic slurs and slang… | "The song started with a Tumblr post from last year, where multiple users shared stories about human resources training courses that used homophobic slurs in the context of "what not to say." A user named bigfoots-biggest-fan saw the post last month and completed the dance remix on January 20th." | It's all in the spirit of edgy satire, but don't say I didn't warn you if you blast this in the office… |  | The Slur Song |
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Given the way right-wing American social media has been going for a decade or more, it's perhaps unsurprising that the White House's new social strategy has more in common with 4chan than with what Biden's team used to do 😳 |  | The government or 4chan? The White House's social media account is sparking outrage | A series of viral posts from the official White House X account blur the line between political messaging and internet trolling. |
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If you saw this doing the rounds earlier this week, I hope you had a good time bleaching your eyes afterwards… 😱 |  | Bluesky Dubs AI Video of Trump Sucking Elon Musk's Toes 'Non-Consensual Explicit Material' | The platform has since reinstated the videos. |
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 | Meta and X Approve AI Ads Referencing Nazi War Crimes Ahead of German Elections, Research Finds | The ads promoted extremist hate speech. |
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Adobe Photoshop is an essential tool for many a social media pro. 🎨 | And now you can have a decent version of it on your iPhone, with a lot of the design, editing, and generative AI tools found in the desktop version… |  | Adobe's new Photoshop app for iPhone is more like the real thing |
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👔 YOU'RE HIRED! | Hot new social media jobs worth checking out this week: |
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More top social media jobs spotted this week 💼 | |
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🪦 RIP | Social media features heading for the graveyard: | RIP TikTok Marketplace. Its replacement is coming this spring… ❌ |  | TikTok sunsets its creator marketplace for TikTok One, a broader solution with AI tools |
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 | The Best Time to Post on YouTube [Based on Data From 1 Million+ Videos] |
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More pro-tips worth checking out ✨ | |
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$6 BILLION | - TikTok (with its Chinese version Douyin) has become the first app to reach this figure in annual consumer spending 💰 |
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Even more social stats: 📈 | BEAST MODE: YouTube star MrBeast is raising money for his company at a $5 billion valuation FACEBOOK FAKES: Fake accounts represented approximately 3% of worldwide monthly active users on Facebook during Q4 2024 PRODUCT DISCOVERY: Facebook is the most popular platform with 54% of shoppers preferring it ESSENTIAL STATS: 35+ Facebook statistics every marketer needs to know in 2025 GROKKED UP: Daily active users for Grok's standalone US app soared more than 260% last week, seemingly driven by interest in the new Grok 3 model LINKEDIN STYLE?: 85% of luxury brands have turned to the professional social network to reach those with money to spend TIKTOK AD POWER: 75% of kids ask their parents to buy something after seeing it in an ad on YouTube TIKTOK PROMOS: 29% of music fans indicated that they're more likely to buy a product if it's featured alongside a song they like.
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YOUTUBE vs. NETFLIX: Some context on the size of YouTube's ad business 🤯 | |
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More charted social insights spotted this week: 👀. | |
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 | MORE META NEWS |
|  | Meta Discusses AI Data Center Project That Could Cost $200 Billion | Meta looks to have the most potential to build toward AI's next stage, though xAI is also looking to compete in the rapidly evolving tech race. |
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| A US House panel has subpoenaed Meta and other tech giants over 'foreign censorship' of speech. [Reuters $$$] Comedian John Oliver is trolling Meta with a new, memorably-named website. [@MattNavarra] Meta must face a lawsuit claiming it prefers cheaper foreign workers. [Reuters $$$] Italy's PM Meloni met Meta's Joel Kaplan exec to discuss investments in the country. [Reuters $$$]
| New features and tests: | Facebook: | | Instagram: | Instagram has moved the Camera button from the top navigation bar to the Gallery section" (Posts, Stories, Reels). [@oncescuradu] Instagram is testing a hyperlink color with a more purplish hue. [@theahmedghanem] Meta has added a new chat theme for Messenger and Instagram DMs, "Tate McRae". [@oncescuradu]
| WhatsApp: | |
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 | MORE TIKTOK NEWS |
|  | TikTok owner ByteDance has been valued above $400 billion by key investors |
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| | New features and tests: | |
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💥 EVEN MORE SOCIAL MEDIA NEWS & UPDATES |  | Are you shadowbanned? The FTC wants to hear from you. | Shadowbans often hit LGBTQ and other marginalized creators. |
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| 9 US states are proposing to make Apple and Google responsible for age verification, instead of developers like social platforms. [9to5Mac] OpenAI has uncovered evidence of AI-powered Chinese surveillance tool. [New York Times $$$] Social media users are 'fearmongering' to promote health tests with limited evidence, a study found. [The Guardian] Tumblr is financially backing Iconfactory's Tapesty open social web timeline app. [TechCrunch] Telegram was fined nearly $1m by Australian watchdog for delay in reporting about terrorism and child abuse material. [The Guardian] Ofcom is calling on tech companies to step up action against 'revenge porn'. [The Guardian]
| New features and tests: | |
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📰 WEEKEND READS | Geekout's pick of the best longer reads to sink into over the weekend: |
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Why it's difficult to find matches, whether in your career or love life in 2025… ❤️ 💼 |  | LinkedIn and dating apps are failing users in the same ways |
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More great weekend reads: | |
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Next time someone tells you that you need to 'go outside and touch grass'…
…Make sure you fire up this app! 📱 |
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 | The Touch Grass app makes users prove they went outside |
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You've reached the end of this week's Geekout. | If you made it this far, you have far too much free time on your hands! 😁 | __________ | Before you go… A gift from me to you…🎁 | Get FREE Access to Geekout Pro for 1 Month | | Get real-time social media news alerts from me, on WhatsApp! | Check out Geekout Pro! 🚀 My exclusive WhatsApp community is your secret weapon for being first to know about everything new in social. | Geekout Pro members get: | Breaking News Alerts: The latest social media news as-it-happens 🚨 Early Access: Invite codes for hot, new social media apps 🎟️ VIP Chat Channels: Get expert support from top social media managers in the Geekout Pro Chat channels on WhatsApp 🧠 Insider info shared from my email inbox and DMs! 🤫 First Look: Early Access to Geekout Newsletter before we hit send to everyone else 👀
| 500+ of the world's top social media pros managing social for Netflix, Apple, RedBull, McDonald's and more, are already members ❤️ | TRY for FREE: 🔥 Get access to Geekout Pro FREE for 1 month. No commitment. | 👉 Use discount code: 1MONTHFREE [Only 25 codes available] | ✨ TIP: Using Geekout for work purposes? You can probably claim the monthly / annual fee as a work expense! | __________ | Right folks, time to head out. Have a great weekend, whatever you've got planned. | Goodbye, geeks | | P.S. This newsletter is edited by Martin SFP Bryant |
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