How to Navigate the Tectonic Social Platform Shifts Without Losing Your Mind, plus Gartner Updates the Web3 Hype Cycle

8/1/2022: Here’s what’s new and what caught my eye last week?

Change is funny.? The world can plod along in a leisurely and soporific state for years, and then suddenly everything changes in the blink of an eye.? That’s happened globally over the past few months, and inside the creator economy now over the last few weeks.? Facebook and Instagram are evolving so quickly as to be almost unrecognizable. YouTube seems obsessed with Shorts and replacing cable TV. Twitter and Snapchat are in big trouble.? The feds will likely hamstring TikTok over its unpruned Chinese roots.? On the flipside, LinkedIn and Pinterest are innovating with new creator products as they – in many ways – seem poised to fill the gaps for at least some creators. Details:

• Instagram Makes Flippy Floppy: After moving to replace the photo-centric feed with a TikTok inspired video version, creators rebelled.? Notably Kim Kardashian amplified a “Make Instagram Instagram Again” campaign, which first led Insta Chief Adam Mosseri to respond – and then pull back.? Lots of thoughts from smart people on this one, including predictions on whether the strategy is genius or junk, an impassioned elegy for Instagram from journalist and photographer Om Malik, Taylor Lorenz on why Instagram just doesn’t care,? and insight from Evan Britton on why the AI-powered feed is the right direction for Instagram. ? Cameron Dallas has what I think is the most constructive response - and advice - for IG.
• Facebook Revenue Declines, Layoffs Coming: ? After turning its main feed into a TikTok-style content-focused entertainment engine – and creating a new tab for the platform’s original mission, parent company Meta released the first declining quarterly results in its history. Zuckerberg responded with a swift kick in the pants to his global team, alluding to layoffs and other draconian steps to right the leaky ship.? Poor Gary in Chicago, he didn’t get the memo.
• Snap Gets Slammed: Oh dear.? Napkin Math lays out why Snapchat is probably screwed, focusing on the stock cratering, lack of Q3 guidance and the odd reaction from the exec team.
• More Trouble for TikTok: Another trove of documents leaked from TikTok dig the China hole even deeper.
• LinkedIn Announces New Discover Feed:? While other social networks are aping TikTok, LinkedIn charted a different course with its new Discover tab – designed to help users find stories, content and ideas from others not in their network.? It’s sort of a For You Page, but very different from the Shorts/TikTok/Reels low-cal approach.? Shameless plug – they highlighted this newsletter as part of the announcement (THANKS TEAM)!? They also launched a new “native carousel” feature.? Seemingly inspired by “Stories”, it’s a mashup of powerpoint and swipeable video that should evolve over time.??
• Pinterest Expand Video Options with Jellysmack Deal:? Pinterest continues to move into creator-first video with a deal with Jellysmack that brings five great creators to the platform.? It’s an interesting way to provide platform intentional content in a unique – and hopefully successful – way.

What’s Going on Here?? We’re seeing a tectonic shift in strategy across nearly every platform.? On one hand, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube are madly copying TikTok’s content-first approach, creating services that devalue creators and community-first content development. On the other hand, Pinterest, LinkedIn are working to enhance the relationship between creators and their communities with new features.? The Twitter/Musk kerfuffle will stymie innovation there, while Snap seems adrift. You need to re-evaluate your relationship TODAY with each platform to develop a strong point of view about how to leverage each to serve your own goals – whether you’re a creator, brand or CEO.? Gone are the days of putting all your creative eggs into one platform basket.?

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Other things of note:

• New Gartner Web3 Hype Cycle Released:? As if you needed more confirmation that NFTs and tokenization were headed for a crash – now Gartner confirms it.? Their super-useful and mostly correct hype-cycle analysis helps understand the adoption of new technologies.? Gartner’s latest analysis points to criminals and lack of killer use cases as the primary reasons we’re headed into the “trough of disillusionment”.? But brighter days are ahead – in, say, 2-5 years.

QUIBIS:?

• More insight from OG creator Cameron Dallas on how to leverage TikTok.
• TikTok rolls out new accessibility and translation tools.
• ?Live by the sword.? Die by the sword.? So sad for Addison Rae.
• Patreon’s Dylan Harari on understanding GenZ’s digital habits.
• Maybe the UK will let Meta buy Giphy after all.
• Where did all the top Chinese livestreamers go?
• Niche could be your next big social network.
• Geek alert – understanding the difference between AI and Machine Learning.

CRYPTIS:

• Influencer Marketing Agency Whalar releases play-to-earn gaming metaverse Mempo City. After playing around inside I have one over-arching question…? why?
• Maybe Helium is a good use case for Crypto – but it’s not going all that well today.
• Coin flippers are going to jail – but Coinbase says it doesn’t list securities.
• A16z invests in VeeFriends (congrats Gary!)

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What We’re Watching:?

• Politicians discover TiKTok.? Ken Russell is doing it right. Doesn't hurt that he looks sort of like David Dobrik (and was a YoYo champion too).

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