September 2-2024: A Recap of What Happened in The Digital Space Last Week

Happy September and welcome to this week's newsletter!

Here is a recap of what happened in the digital space that you need to know

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Pssst! Kindly click on the hypertext links to read more from the sources

X recently rolled out Audience analytics in the new analytics dashboard.? I shared my thoughts on Business Daily with KABUI MWANGI on what it means for creators and brands. Here is the link to the article?

Content creation: Why new X audience analytics feature is music to influencers' ears

Global internet monitor NetBlocks reported X has been restricted in Tanzania "as the police force issues an alert over alleged opposition party plans to raid police stations where political prisoners might be held"

Brazil vs Elon Musk: Here is What's Happening in Brazil

• On Wednesday Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes threatened to ban X? and Sralink in Brazil within 24 hours for failing to appoint a legal representative in the region. On Thursday, the court froze bank accounts held by Starlink.? However, Elon Musk said, "SpaceX will provide Internet service to users in Brazil for free until this matter is resolved, as we cannot receive payment, but don’t want to cut anyone off."

• X rolled out a new update to its analytics features for Verified Organizations users, which enables you to dig into keyword and topic-related trends in the app.
• Elon Musk announced X is working on highlighting more banger content from (currently) small ?? accounts. He says the current algorithm shows too much from accounts that are already big
• Bluesky tops app charts and sees ‘all-time-highs’ after Brazil bans X
• X's Grok 2 adds a download button to the images that you generate. You can also copy and post the image directly. You can also edit the prompt!

• You will soon be able to Edit DMs. The feature is already available for iOS users but you cannot edit images and encrypted DMs.

• You can now request Community Notes on Android and iOS. If there are enough requests on posts, top contributors will be alerted and can propose notes.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn now has a "Videos For You" section. You can swipe left and right to discover more videos. Once you tap on a video you will get a vertical feed similar to that of TikTok. TikTok is the pioneer of vertical feed. Meta then copied with Instagram Reels and Facebook Reels. YouTube Shorts, Videos on X. With Instagram any video you post automatically becomes a Reel.

Meta: Instagram, Facebook, Threads, WhatsApp

• Instagram was the most downloaded app in the world in July. It retained the #1 spot with 61M downloads from the App Store and Google Play, the same as June followed by TikTok and Facebook according to Appfigures

• Instagram rolled out the ability to comment on stories to enhance engagement on the app. The comments will be visible to anyone who views the story

• #Meta and #Instagram spotted developing a new social music-sharing feature that allows users to “continuously share” their music from Spotify, as opposed to selecting a song from Instagram’s catalogue.
• Facebook now has a feature called Imagine with AI, where you can generate images ready to publish- Jonah Manzano.

• Meta Platforms Inc. will close an augmented reality studio, Meta Spark that? was originally intended to compete with Snapchat to prioritize investments such as AI.
• Instagram has new updates to help you personalize your content.?

?New fonts, text animations and effects in reels and stories

?The ability to add text and stickers to photos and carousels

?Increased carousel limit to be up to 20 photos and videos in a single post.

• Instagram is rolling out the ability to add a song to your profile, giving you more ways to express yourself through music on Instagram. This feature allows you to add 30 seconds to a song. To add music, go to "Edit Profile" and "Add music to your profile"

• Threads confirms it is experimenting with ephemeral posts; posts that disappear within 24 hours with a limited number of users.?
• WhatsApp is rolling out an AR feature for call effects and filters, and it's available to some beta testers!
• WhatsApp is working on a username feature with PIN support. This update will provide users with the ability to choose a unique username that can be used instead of their phone number for new interactions.

Snapchat

• 13 years after launching on the iPhone, Snapchat has finally brought its app to the iPad allowing the app to fill your entire screen for the first time.

• Snap launched a new online guide for educators, which provides insights into a range of overviews of what Snap is, how it works, and its available safety measures.

TikTok

You can now run TikTok ads in Kenya! Business accounts & creators can promote content on TikTok with three marketing goals

???Boost Account

???Get Sales?

???Get Leads

To access the promote feature go to TikTok Studio on your Business account or switch your profile to a business account

• TikTok launched the first-ever Sub-Saharan Africa Safety Advisory Council to help them develop policies & processes that "tackle today’s safety concerns & anticipate the challenges of tomorrow.” Among them is Kenya's Lillian Kariuki, Founder and Executive Dir of Watoto Watch Network.
• TikTok is introducing a new “Manage Topics” feature that will give you more control over what you see on your For You feed. The feature is rolling out in the US.

• TikTok now has a new feature that allows you to create your own AI voice for text-to-speech in videos

Telegram

Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of the messaging app Telegram was arrested by French Authorities but he has been released under judicial supervision. Durov has been barred from leaving France while the authorities continue their investigation

It's reported that Telegram’s lack of content moderation and unwillingness to cooperate with law enforcement make Durov an accomplice to the drug trafficking, money laundering, and sharing of child pornography that allegedly occurred via the app —?

Telegram is popular in Russia and Ukraine. As of July 2024, Telegram reported to have hit 950 Million monthly active users

Spotify, Apple

• Spotify called out Apple for removing volume control for connected devices. Spotify says Apple is responsible for making things a bit more difficult for its iPhone-owning users
• Apple Podcasts can now be streamed from the web browsers; Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari in over 170 countries.
• Apple Expected to Debut iPhone 16, Apple Watch 10, and AirPods 4 on September 9th.

YouTube

• YouTube now allows users to mark the presence of AI-generated content in videos through a new setting, “Altered content.”
• YouTube expands the launch of Courses to more creators. Other new features

Ability to rotate featured pins in Live Shopping

Launch of the "Altered Content Label" to Studio Mobile and Main App.

Canva

Canva turned 11!

AI, Generative AI

• Google announced Gemini will allow users to generate people's images again. Google had paused the ability to generate people images in February this year after the tool created inaccurate images
• Midjourney CEO David Holz announced that anyone can now go to the company’s website and generate up to 25 images for free before signing up for the service.—PCMag
• Generative AI is rapidly increasing the number of fake reviews online, deceiving users into downloading apps infected with malware and also deceiving advertisers into placing ads across major app stores including the iOS store, Google Play store, and app stores on connected TVs.
• OpenAIs ChatGPT now has more than 200 million weekly active users; twice as many as it had in November 2023. On the other hand, its rival Meta AI has surpassed 400 million monthly active users and 40 million daily active users
• California’s legislature just passed AI bill SB 1047; SB 1047 tries to prevent large AI models from being used to cause “critical harms” against humanity.? Some hope the governor won’t sign it.
• OpenAI, Adobe, Microsoft & Elon Musk have shown support for the California bill AB 3211 requires watermarks in the metadata of AI-generated photos, videos and audio clips. On the other hand, Elon Musk supports the California SB 1047 safety bill while most tech platforms oppose it.

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I'm also always looking to collaborate with fellow digital marketing, social media, and tech enthusiasts. If you have any hot takes, industry insights, or partnership ideas, don't hesitate to reach out! email at [email protected]

See you next week!