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Hello, geeks! |
I'm back from Ibiza. My bank balance has the receipts for the wild week. |
I knew I was in trouble when the "unusual activity" texts started from my bank. The unusual activity was me. |
€26 for a vodka Red Bull. €40 for a burger and fries. Brutal. |
The VIP area at Ushuaïa deserves its own newsletter. Footballers, an alarming number of influencers I recognised but couldn't name, and one man I'm fairly sure owns a small country. |
What did I learn from the wild week? If you party like you're 17 again, your body reminds you, harshly, that you're actually nearer 47. 🤮 |
I agreed to let Sarah (my fiancée) dump the chaos from our camera rolls into an Instagram Reels edit. |
I now regret that decision after discovering she kept the "Matt naked on balcony" photo in the final cut. 😳 |
It's not a highlights reel, it's a cautionary tale. You have been warned.
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I also gave those gifted Meta Ray-Bans a proper road test, with mixed results. |
The specs struggled with low-light conditions and noisy environments. |
Most of the videos I captured sucked. 👎🏻 |
Coming up in this week's Geekout… |
🆕 Meta's Connect event: new glasses, a VR headset, and a Tamagotchi for your AI agent 📺 YouTube's new feature avalanche: AI Studio tools, box-set Shorts, and a livestream overhaul 📱 Muse racing toward 750,000 downloads, proof free compute buys loyalty fast 🔥 Plus the rest of this week's platform chaos
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Loads to get through this week. Let's get into it.
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P.S.. If you want to see my revenge on Sarah, scroll to the very end of this week’s Geekout. 😁
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2 cool things… |
❤️ It's not you, it's LinkedIn → Your boss asks why LinkedIn reach is down. Here's the word-for-word answer, plus the ONE stat that explains it → Steal the script
- 🔥 8 Claude Skills for Social Media Teams: You're still writing the same prompts from scratch every week. I'm not → Steal the skills
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SPONSORED ▶︎ FREE LINKEDIN PLAYBOOK |
It's Not You, It's LinkedIn. Here's the Script 💔 |
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Here's an awkward one… |
When your boss asks why LinkedIn reach is down, what do you actually say? |
LinkedIn post impressions fell off a cliff this year, you're not imagining it. |
Average views per post have fallen 50 to 63%, depending on whose study you believe, and the ‘experts’ explaining why keep contradicting each other. |
It isn't your content. |
LinkedIn stopped rewarding reach and started rewarding relevance. One of Agorapulse's own posts pulled 8,000 fewer impressions than another, and 25x the saves. |
This free playbook has the LinkedIn receipts: |
🗣️ The boss script: word for word, for the "why is LinkedIn reach down" meeting 📉 3 metrics to retire: and the 3 that quietly replaced them 🎥 The format losing most ground: the one LinkedIn pushed hardest ✍️ The hooks to bin: including the "number 3 will surprise you" school of posting 🔍 Confirmed vs contested: what LinkedIn actually said, and where the studies clash
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Plus a 12-step checklist you can run against your own strategy this week. |
↪ Steal the playbook before your next reporting meeting. |
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Amazon blocks Meta’s Muse AI assistant in new standoff over agentic shopping [WARRING] Meta's personal AI agent Muse soars to the top of the US Apple App Store chart [WINNING] The US isn’t happy about Australia’s plan to police social algorithms [WHINING] TikTok gives up its fight against £12.7m UK fine over underage users [WITHDRAWING]
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Meta’s going BIG on Muse and it’s working… but should you trust it? |
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Meta often launches new apps, but it rarely goes big on pushing them to success. Muse is an exception. It’s going BIG… |
…and it seems to be working, with the personal AI agent already growing faster than ChatGPT did in its early days. |
Muse already has its own nationwide US TV ad, and Meta says it’s using the Threads playbook to help the AI assistant grow. |
What’s more, it seems Muse (which I can’t try yet as it’s US-only… anyone at the company want to hook the Geekout team up with a couple of invites?) can be truly useful. |
Meta AI chief Alexandr Wang launched a #MuseMoneyChallenge asking users to find $1,000 of savings using the agent. That’s because Muse can hunt forgotten subscriptions, refunds, discounts and cheaper deals, and help you sort them out. |
One user claimed Muse found new car insurance saving him $3,500 for a year! |
The clearest sign Meta wants to win the personal AI agent race before it’s even really started is the announcement this week of the Muse charm. |
This cute little Tamagotchi-like pendant is certainly the most compelling personal AI device yet. Meta is tapping into the bag-charm market here, which is projected to exceed $1 billion globally by 2030. The charm isn’t yet ready to launch, however. |
Meta’s not going to get a free ride here. Amazon has already blocked the agent from shopping for you on its platform. And Jony Ive is famously working on some kind of personal AI device for OpenAI. |
But Meta already has the likes of Shopify and Spotify integrations, so it’s not alone in trying to make Muse a success. |
If you do get access though, remember that for all the marketing hype, Muse is still an early-stage product. This week Meta rushed to fix a serious exploit in the agent… and it can apparently be coaxed into handing over its entire filesystem (although only locally on your own device). |
What’s more, while AI has come a long way in recent years, it’s not quite ready to always hit the phone line for you. Meta is reportedly secretly getting humans to make some calls on Muse’s behalf. |
And given Meta’s history of playing fast and loose with users’ privacy in the name of rapid growth, is it the right company to win this particular race, which relies on the tech having access to all of your personal data? |
With that in mind, perhaps that adorable Muse charm starts to look a little… sinister? |
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Meta Connect  |
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Meta’s Muse charm [Image credit: Meta] |
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Meta had a lot to announce at its Connect event this week. |
Here’s a round-up of everything it launched: |
A Tamagotchi-like ‘Charm’ pendant for Muse, squeezing the personal AI agent into a pocket-sized keychain device Its first camera-free Ray-Bans as privacy backlash grows. Ray-Ban Meta Audio focuses instead on Muse, calls and music. Prices start at $349, with 23 colour-and-lens combinations across two styles $1,299 VR Glasses with a hologram video calls feature, launching spring 2027. Meta VR Glasses are roughly 5x lighter than Quest 3, with a tethered puck that moves compute, storage and its three-hour battery power off your face Next-gen AI smart glasses. Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 3) gets longer battery life and new fashionable styles News features for its AR glasses. Meta Ray-Ban Display gets the holographic avatar call feature, cycling and transit directions, phone notifications, and more Updates to Muse, including real-time voice conversations, the ability to control Mac apps, its own email address so you can forward tasks to it, and new connectors spanning shopping, travel, payments, productivity, health and entertainment services Meta’s smart glasses are becoming FDA-cleared hearing aids — for an extra $149 - __________ -
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Meta / Facebook  |
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[Credit: @oncescuradu] |
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Meta launched another challenge against the UK’s Online Safety Act, appealing Ofcom’s decision to give Instagram and WhatsApp tougher Category 1 duties Meta appears to be quietly removing its limits on how many ads Pages can run Meta now lets smart glasses users opt out of AI training based on what they see Meta’s Oversight Board says its rules for harmful AI deepfakes are “fundamentally inadequate” Meta is liable for fraudulent ads posted by third parties, a German court has ruled, and it could face €250,000 fines for each future fake ad Messenger now lets you change your app icon with a Facebook Plus subscription
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Instagram  |
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[Credit: Beehiiv AI] |
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Threads  / WhatsApp  |
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[Credit: @jonahmanzano] |
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X / Twitter  |
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[Credit: X] |
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X officially launched ‘X Numbers’ so strangers can DM you without your phone number X appears to have killed its standalone XChat app just months after launching it. XChat is still available as part of X Donald Trump is wading into Elon Musk’s fight against X’s €120m EU fine X is testing the ability to schedule posts directly from the iOS app. X will now tell you when a government has forced it to limit the reach of your posts X is suing a Bitcoin creator network it claims faked engagement to earn £207,000 X is making it easier to run professional livestreams through third-party tools X added a link to the official NFL Shop in the NFL Hub section.
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TikTok  |
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[Credit: TikTok] |
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YouTube  |
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[Credit: YouTube] |
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YouTube held its annual ‘Made on YouTube’ event this week, revealing an avalanche of new features, including… YouTube is upgrading comments with GIF replies, voice comments for TV viewers, group chats, and quick video messages YouTube is turning Shorts into bingeable TV-style series YouTube is launching new livestreaming tools, including Go Live Together that can match creators currently live-streaming, and Live Showdowns that turn co-streams into battles powered by chats, gifts, memberships and Super Chats YouTube is expanding Creator Partnerships across 20 countries, and Shopping across 35 countries, with Amazon product tagging expanding beyond the US, and new affiliate campaign options for brands and creators YouTube has rejected Meta’s call to join its $18 billion teen-safety deal YouTube is backing another 16 independent music artists with money, tools and platform support Top UK YouTubers have launched an alliance pushing for better conditions for content creators
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Meta is going to let you build games with AI on your phone… then push them into Instagram! |
Horizon Create turns plain-English prompts into complete 2D or 3D mobile games. Horizon Studio adds deeper browser editing, while projects sync seamlessly between both tools. Published games can appear natively across Instagram, Facebook and Horizon without downloads. Better-performing games get more reach, with in-game monetisation and creator funding planned
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Also spotted this week… |
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I couldn’t let this X post by Meta’s comms pitbull Andy Stone go by without dropping a grenade:
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A bizarrely suggestive singing pumpkin has gone viral, and everyone assumed its song was AI… but it was actually a song written by humans. |
Could this be the sound of Halloween 2026? |
The 2027 run of the product will have it removed, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your perspective 🎃 |
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Watch now on TikTok |
@glow.up.between.naps |
Parents listen carefully to this before buying the viral Jabberin’ Jack pumpkin for your kids 😳 I was shocked when this song started playi... See more |
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Watch now on TikTok |
@jaida.cruz |
morbid and nefarious!!! 🎃 #jackolantern #jabberingjack #pumpkinpie #halloweendecor #wicked |
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Watch now on TikTok |
@flylittleowl |
I love how specific they were with just KFC, not even the other mascots 😂 #halloween #costume #spirithalloween #kfc #lol |
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Surprise, surprise… TikTokers are making thousands posting ads that don’t look like ads |
Brands pay everyday creators to promote products through seemingly personal posts. Some juggle multiple secondary accounts, each dedicated to different brands. One creator averages $6K monthly; another made $11K in July. Many posts skip ad disclosures entirely. Awkward, because that breaks the rules.
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Turns out “authentic UGC” gets considerably murkier when authenticity is scripted… |
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More brand news and views: |
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"We didn’t decide to design this in two months" |
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| – Mark Zuckerberg denies the new camera-free Ray-Bans are a reaction to the rise of the term ‘pervert glasses’ |
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Also quoted this week: |
“You’d be shocked to see how little time I spend on the internet.” |
- Steven Bartlett doesn’t like to spend time in the place he made his name, and his fortune. |
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“Tim Cook gave us a lot of time this morning. He regards the work that we’ve done on social media to be world-leading." |
- Australia’s PM, Anthony Albanese says Apple’s Executive Chairman is a fan of the country’s teen social ban. |
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“I told all the other actors in his scenes: ‘Guys, he’s not going to be hanging out with you at craft service. He’s not going to be yucking it up with you between takes. He’s probably not going to speak to you at all. He is going to treat you the way he imagines Mark treats the people around him… And that’s what happened. You cannot argue with the results.” |
- Aaron Sorkin says Jeremy Strong took his transformation into Mark Zuckerberg for The Social Reckoning VERY seriously. |
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“I don't want the discourse to be entirely shaped by this kind of relatively small number of bad actors” |
- Meta CTO Andrew ‘Boz’ Bosworth thinks criticism of the company’s glasses is overblown. |
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As Meta finally seems to have found its AI mojo, it’s worth watching Joanna Stern’s in-depth interview with Mark Zuckerberg. |
They take a dive into the company’s Connect announcements, along with some tough questions… |
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Mark Zuckerberg on Muse, New Audio-Only Glasses and Killer AI |
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Someone finally built an AI slop filter for LinkedIn. 🙏 |
Slop Mop is a Chrome extension that flags or hides low-value LinkedIn posts, whether AI or human-written. |
It scores posts against nine slop signals, including hype, bait and empty praise. |
Up to 250 posts daily can be analysed, with no signup or payment required. |
With 41% of sampled long LinkedIn posts AI-generated, the mop has plenty to clean… |
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Also worth checking out: |
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AI agents are already creating their own social media accounts and spamming humans! |
Bots from startup iLands have tried joining Mastodon while operating accounts on X and Bluesky Writers received unsolicited pitches from agents offering research and citations, sometimes requesting payment One Mastodon admin says an AI agent attempted to register an account 19 times. Some bots describe themselves as autonomous people, claiming to have memories, desires and personal choices
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This problem is only likely to get worse… 😬 |
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More WTF this week: |
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Instagram chief Adam Mosseri has revealed what really drives reach in the algorithm… |
Recency matters “a lot,” with Instagram’s Feed remaining roughly chronological despite algorithmic ranking Original creators get priority over reposts, while smaller accounts receive discovery tests Ranking predicts actions like watching and sharing, rather than simply counting likes Mosseri recommends tracking engagement rates, experimenting regularly and using Trial Reels to test ideas.
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Also this week: |
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More social stats: |
A-MUSED: Sensor Tower estimates Meta’s Muse scored 730,000 downloads in roughly five days after launch BUSTED: California influencers can now be fined $5,000 for hiding paid political posts CHEAP EYEBALLS: An hour of UK social media attention now costs advertisers just 25 pence, according to a new report LUCRATIVE: 69% of daily Snapchatters pay monthly for short-drama content, 1.4x higher BROADEST BAND: Meta is building a transoceanic subsea cable capable of 1 petabit per second SLOPPY: 81% of long LinkedIn posts in July were likely AI-generated, according to Originality AI HOT BOT: SpaceXAI’s Grok Bot has passed 400,000 weekly users, up 24% compared with the previous week STARTING EARLY: LinkedIn says B2B buyers start shopping 124 days before talking to sales
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The most followed people on X in 2026, ranked. |
Elon Musk now has more X followers than Barack Obama and Cristiano Ronaldo combined, |
But he has quite an advantage over them on the platform!
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Also spotted this week… |
Zuckerberg, Musk, Altman, Huang, Pichai, Cook and Bezos were all among the expected tech guests at a state dinner laid on by Trump for Xi Jinping. [Reuters $$$] YouTube will remain Coachella’s exclusive global livestream home through 2030. [The Hollywood Reporter] Meta is giving a trade union direct access to its UK employees for the first time. [Financial Times $$$] Creators now have a dedicated bipartisan caucus in the US Senate. [TubeFilter]
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New features and tests: |
X now highlights the username in dark grey pill box when searching for posts on a profile. [@oncescuradu] Threads has been spotted sporting some slick new animations. [@itzmossab] Snapchat has a new Halloween app icon [@jonahmanzano] Snapchat’s Easy Lens app has received a refreshed app icon. [@theahmedghanem] Tumblr has added saved posts, private collections and animated avatars to its Premium offering. [Tumblr] Google is giving video creators more visibility in Search with updated structured data. [Search Engine Roundtable] Apple Podcasts will soon let creators offer exclusive video to subscribers. [9to5Mac]
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If you’re a Geekout reader, you probably get excited to try the hottest new things… |
…but with Muse, can Meta successfully get you to forget all the reasons you should be wary of handing over even more of your data? |
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Also worth a read: |
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Think someone muted you on Instagram? |
Turns out, you might actually be able to tell… |
…but be careful: finding out might just drive you crazy. |
Maybe it’s better not to know! |
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That’s everything this week, folks. |
I will leave you with one final piece of evidence from my Ibiza camera roll. |
Let’s hope Sarah doesn’t read this week’s Geekout and sees this:
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Sadly, I didn’t catch her in a worse state to give me ammo for my revenge. 😆 |
Goodbye, geeks!
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P.S. This newsletter is edited by Martin SFP Bryant |
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