May 17, 2022
Good evening, creators! Here’s a tip to get your creative content flowing this week…
There’s no question that short-form video is having a moment. But the landscape is changing so rapidly, it can be hard to keep up. Here’s three video content trends that I can guarantee will outlive the year:
1. Authenticity is key
In a sea of perfectly curated content, audiences are craving authenticity. Be real, be raw, and show your audience who you really are.
2. Go vertical
With platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels, vertical video is more popular than ever. If you want your content to be seen, make sure you’re creating in a vertical format.
3. Keep it short
Short-form video content is all about quick, snackable content. Keep your videos under 60 seconds for optimal engagement.
Now go forth and create!
But before you do, check out this week’s top stories:
- Twitter’s CEO and Elon Musk are beefing over bots
- TikTok’s continued domination of the app store
- Spotify’s foray into the world of NFTs
- Facebook’s new AR headset
- The rise of the decentralized web
Taylor Peterson
taylor@foodfightstudios.com
Editor | The SAUCE
the socialverse
The latest social media news, stories, and updates we’re keeping a pulse on.
Twitter’s CEO and Elon Musk beef over bot counts
Parag Agrawal, CEO of Twitter, says that spam and bot problems on the platform are not as bad as Elon Musk suggests. We all know that Twitter has a notorious bot problem, but according to a tweet from Agrawal this morning, the platform’s “actual internal estimates for the last four quarters were all well under 5 percent.”
The beef unfolded after Musk tweeted on that the $44 billion deal was temporarily on hold due to spam concerns. He said he still plans to go forward with the acquisition. Some of the key points in his campaign to buy Twitter include:
- Cut down on “spam and scam bots” and “bot armies”
- Prioritizing free speech
- Make the ranking algorithm more transparent
Until the deal is final, there’s a big question mark around what the impact for creators will be. Next time you’re on Twitter, take a look around and gauge the bot-tiness. Let me know what you find.
TikTok — the #1 most downloaded app, basically ever
Sensor Tower released a new quarterly report exploring trends in mobile gaming and apps (I suggest giving this one a skim — lots of great insights).
No surprise here. In the US, TikTok has been the top app each quarter since the beginning of 2021. The last app to actually beat TikTok was Zoom at the end of 2020. Figures.
Since 2021, TikTok and YouTube have been the top two apps in the U.S. App Store each quarter. If you need another reminder that vertical short-form video content is taking over en masse, here it is.
What we’re keeping a pulse on
Spotify jumps on the NFT train
Spotify is testing a feature that lets artists promote their NFTs on their profile. The test is currently being conducted with a very small group of artists on Android devices across the US.
No telling whether or not NFTs will come to Spotify for good (a spokesperson said some tests “end up paving the way for a broader experience and others serve only as an important learning”). But it’s looking that way.
Twitter, Reddit, Instagram, Facebook, and now Spotify… I told you there was no escaping the word ‘NFT’ in 2022.
Zuckerberg debuts sneak peek of new AR headset, Cambria
CEO Mark Zuckerberg last week gave a preview of the company’s new AR headset called Cambria. The headset is still in development, but it’ll use Meta’s Presence Platform, which blends virtual content with the physical world and incorporates more complex elements of spatial processing.
Doesn’t Meta already have a headset? Yup, the Oculus line. But the current Quest headsets don’t enable users to interact in full-color experiences, which is where Meta’s Cambria comes in. The Cambria aims to bring together virtual and IRL content in a more seamless, elevated way.
(Unrelated: the Cambria headset has nothing to do with Facebook’s big scandal from a few years ago. You know — the one with Cambridge Analytica in the name. Interesting choice for a product name, but I digress)
Web3 in practice
The decentralized web (aka Web3, aka the so-called Internet of the future) is closer than you think.
Where web2 is defined by big tech and data commoditization, web3 is a sea change for creators. It’s an opportunity to own and monetize our content directly through an open infrastructure. Some examples of the decentralized web that you’ve probably seen or heard of in practice: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Secretum, Decentraland.
