First Impressions: Volume 9

Around 13% of the Meta workforce will be cut as a result of some of the company’s mistimed ventures.? The department responsible for developing the Metaverse, Reality Labs, is included in this mass layoff as the project hasn’t taken off nearly as much as Zuckerberg had originally planned.? Building an augmented reality universe that people would “live” in was extremely risky, and some would say that it’s a relief that the line has been drawn in the sand of where people would prefer to have real experiences instead of digitalized ones.?

YouTube continues to power forward with new and updated features for its YouTube Live as they attempt to creep up on Twitch’s presence in the market.? Go Live Together offers functionality that is not only interesting to Creators, but also to brands that are looking to innovate the ways that they work with influencers for new and fun campaigns.? Streamers have the ability to directly invite other YouTube users to join a stream, allowing for a level of audience interaction that is hard to find anywhere else.? What a cool concept for a giveaway winner celebration or for teaming up for a product review!?

Snapchat is making moves in the product development world with their newest AR lens that allows users to showcase interactive and visual updates of their workouts.?? Strava, the app that Snapchat has partnered with to make the new lens, has over 100 million users which will undoubtedly bring some natural hype as the integration finds its footing.? It wouldn’t be surprising if we see a surge in fitness brands partnering up with Snapchat health/fitness influencers as the excitement for this new integration is at its peak.?

Some new “Finally Features” have debuted for Instagram users, consisting of small, but important releases that should have come out a long time ago, according to Instagram.? A post scheduling feature was released which is actually a big win for Creators since times can get busy and the ability to make a bunch of content in one sitting, then scheduling it all out is extremely convenient, especially as we approach the holidays.? The other announcement was around an updated mobile version of Instagram.com.? One can't help but think if finding a way to enable links in organic posts would be a good “Finally Feature” to focus on...?

Musk buying Twitter is no news to anyone at this point, but the purchase is proving to have a ton of (un?)expected backlash from users on the platform.? Reports of elevated hate speech are flooding the web along with a mass pushback on the new “Pay $8 for your checkmark” feature.?Safe to say brands may want to steer clear of Twitter for now and instead continue to focus any promotional or influencer marketing efforts on platforms like YouTube, Instagram or others.???