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BeReal Launches Their Latest Feature with Spotify Collaboration: Your Daily Posts Can Now Include Songs and Podcasts You’ve Been Listening To On Spotify (April 24)

BeReal and Spotify are partnering up to launch a new feature that allows users to include what they are listening to on the BeReal app. BeReal, a relative newcomer to the social media industry in 2020, has users taking pictures of themselves and their surroundings every day at random times. Since the application emphasizes authenticity within the highly glamorized world of digital media, Spotify explains this feature will add “another layer of authentic personalization and connection to your BeReal.” 

To access this feature, users will need to tap on the music icon before posting their BeReal. Alternatively, you can go to the BeReal settings section, tap the music feature, and follow the instructions to connect to Spotify. Once both applications are connected, BeReal will automatically receive the song or podcast the user listened to when the post was taken. The album cover of the song or podcast will appear at the bottom of a user’s post. In addition, a short snippet of the song or podcast can be listened to by other users within their BeReal feeds.

Both platforms have announced that users in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Australia can access the collaboration. They will be enabling this feature for more countries in the future. 

Many have noticed that this integration comes after BeReal has seen a 61% decline in the number of people who use the app daily, as noted by Apptopia. In October of last year, there were 15 million users who routinely posted on their BeReals, which declined to less than six million last month. Because BeReal is straightforward in its company’s mission statement and product use, there are not many features that can be added. However, this new collaboration could excite former and current users while maintaining that authenticity attribute within BeReal. 

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LinkedIn Rolls Out Three New Features For Users to Authenticate Their Identities (April 17)

On April 12, LinkedIn announced it would strengthen its users’ identity verification measures. The Microsoft-owned company is adding new features to its extremely popular employment-focused platform, including three new identity measures that will be offered at no charge. Looking at social media platforms–Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter–that provide verification services, it has become crucial for the company to authenticate aspects of a user’s identity and job history. If someone attempts to make a copycat account, there will now be apparent differences between the verified profile and its imposter. 

The first feature LinkedIn has created to facilitate verification among its users is by entering a security code on their profile that they will receive through their work email. 

The company has partnered with the airport security service Clear to provide their second option for user verification. Clear will take your U.S. phone number and government-issued ID to see whether it matches your profile’s name. While it is your responsibility to trust a third party with your personal information, Clear has already established itself in America for its travel verification systems. 

The final option LinkedIn has offered users is to confirm their name and employer through Microsoft’s Entra Verified ID credential. This workplace identification system was launched last year, and has been tested with companies like Accenture, Avanade, and Microsoft. It is expected to be available for public use by the end of the month.  

Since June 2022, LinkedIn has noted many fraudulent activities on its platform and hopes to remove fake accounts by expanding verification. It is essential to boost authenticity for the 900 million users the platform has. Its timely announcement also contrasts Twitter’s paid verification model that many users and companies have criticized Elon Musk for. Oscar Rodriguez, Vice President of LinkedIn, notes that he wants to give all LinkedIn members access to these new innovative and accessible features that will “give you the confidence that who you’re connecting with and the content you come across is trusted and authentic.” 

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Twitter Announces 50% Ad Reduction for Twitter Blue Subscribers, But Is it Enough to Get More Paying Users? (April 12)

On April 6, Twitter announced a new element they will be adding to Twitter Blue, which aims to reduce 50% of ads subscribers see in the app. Twitter Blue, the company’s new $8 monthly subscription that offers features such as adding the blue verified checkmark to your account, has not been faring well among users. Twitter Blue only has 500,000 paying subscribers–”0.2% of Twitter’s total user base.” So the company is now attempting to call on more subscribers by implementing this new feature. 

Twitter’s description of the new feature explains that fewer sponsored tweets will appear on the “Following” and “For You” pages. “See approximately 50% fewer ads in the For You and Following timelines. As you scroll, you will see approximately twice as many organic or non-promoted Tweets placed between promoted Tweets or ads,” Twitter’s announcement read. 

Based on the announcement, Twitter will only reduce ad exposure on their primary timelines and maintain the same advertising initiatives on other pages. However, many are skeptical if this feature will ultimately benefit or serve as a disadvantage since a large portion of Twitter’s revenue comes from advertising. 

Platformer’s report in December 2022 shows that Twitter generates $12 per US user from ad exposure. So, this new feature would cost Twitter “$6 in ad revenue per user per month.” However, it is only until the next few months that the company can see whether or not Twitter Blue proves to be successful among the general public and compensate for the loss in ad revenue. 

Elon Musk, owner and CEO of Twitter, hopes to earn 50% of the company’s income from Twitter Blue subscriptions to lessen the reliance on advertisements. This would take approximately “75% of users… around 190 million profiles,” which could be argued as a long way to go for the company.  

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Amidst Worldwide Scrutiny, TikTok is Fined $16 Million in the U.K. for Failing to Enforce Age Limit Regulations on Kids (April 4)

Early this morning, the U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced that TikTok would have to pay an estimated $16 million for breaching data protection laws and misusing children’s data on the app. The viral and Chinese-owned video app allowed “up to 1.4 million U.K. children” under the age of 13 to use the platform for over three years without having parental consent. In addition, ICO criticizes TikTok for violating its own rules by failing to remove underage children from its platform (despite the company’s policy barring children from using the app) and not making users aware of how their data was being collected and used. 

In addition to breaking its policies, ICO announces that TikTok has failed to comply with British data protection laws, where organizations using children’s (under 13) personal data must gain parental consent. Ultimately, British regulators disapprove of the app’s failure to authenticate their users’ ages and remove those that are underage. 

This decision relates to violations made from May 2018 - July 2020 and was previously set at a $31 million fine. However, a representative from ICO explained that the decision to lower the fine comes from “striking its initial finding of unlawful use of special category data” by the app. Still, the costly penalty was explained by the U.K. Information Commissioner John Edwards, where TikTok has exposed kids to “harmful, inappropriate content” and may have allowed them to be tracked and profiled. 

This most recent penalty follows the criticism TikTok had faced in the past weeks with the U.S. government’s call to ban the app throughout the nation, despite having already ordered to remove the platform from government-issued devices.

A representative from TikTok has made a statement, disagreeing with ICO’s decision: “TikTok is a platform for users aged 13 and over... we invest heavily to help keep under-13s of the platform.” While the social media company opposes the decision, they are pleased that it has been reduced to half ICO had initially set last year. 

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Under Elon Musk’s Orders, Twitter Monetizes Blue Checkmarks and Other Features. But It’s Failing. (April 4)

As of April 1, Twitter has announced that it will be removing its customary verified checkmarks “from the profiles of celebrities, journalists… and other public figures.” This news comes following Musk’s plan to monetize the app and encourage users to pay for these verified check marks, which was once a complimentary feature on the app. However, this is not the only feature Twitter will be taking away from non-paying users. Only Twitter Blue accounts (paying subscribers of the app) will have their tweets displayed on the ‘For You’ tab, an attempt to drive an increase in sales from subscriptions. 

While users can still see tweets from accounts they follow in their ‘Following’ tab and non-paying profiles in the ‘Explore’ tab, the app maintains that non-Twitter Blue accounts will have limited visibility. 

While Twitter Blue’s numbers show 450,000 current subscribers as of last week, it only accounts for 0.18% of the app’s total users. In addition, many media outlets have announced that they will not be paying for Twitter Blue, including the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Vox, and others. Even celebrity and Los Angeles Lakers athlete LeBron James announces that he “ain’t paying.” 

Prominent organizations and celebrities refuse to pay for these subscriptions and verified badges because Musk has destroyed their meaning. Verification on Twitter does not establish credibility, nor can it authenticate a user’s identity since you only need to pay $8/month for the verified badge. Twitter was once a space where users could find public figures and trusted that it was a platform that could fight off impersonation and misinformation, thus making it a widely accepted news source. Musk has used the blue checkmark to increase the app’s revenue since he believes it “signaled social clout.” 

There is fear that Musk’s new plans for the app might see businesses and public figures flee Twitter in search of a new and better media platform. 

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Snapchat Introduces New AI Technology Used By ChatGPT to Boost Subscriptions (Feb 27)

Just hours ago, Snapchat announced their new addition to the application exclusive to Snapchat+ subscribers: My AI. With the rising popularity of the artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT, Snapchat employs the same technology created by OpenAI pinned to the top of the chat tab. Here, users will see a purple-skinned AI character that they can pose multiple questions while simultaneously personalizing its name and wallpaper for the chat. During their press release, Snapchat reveals, “My AI can recommend birthday gift ideas for your BFF, plan a hiking trip for a long weekend… or even write a haiku about cheese for your cheddar-obsessed pal.”

While Snapchat+ (a collection of pre-release features available to subscribers for $3.99/month) already has 2.5 million users, adding My AI could further boost subscriptions and the app’s popularity. However, it remains unclear whether or not the feature will be available to non-paying users in the upcoming weeks.

Snapchat is aware that AI is a relatively new technology and warns its users of glitches that might occur when using the feature: “My AI is prone to hallucination and can be tricked into saying just about anything.” This leads the company to warn users that all AI conversations will be stored and reviewed to improve the experience. This warning could refer to the chaotic launch of Microsoft’s Bing AI technology, where users began taking the strange responses they received from their chatbot to Twitter. More so, Snapchat is aware of its primary audience of young users, so emphasizing safety and avoiding harmful topics is especially important for the company.

ChatGPT’s launch last November has taken over the internet to help with customized cover letters, writing original jokes and code, and grading essays, among other things. They further opened the conversation on AI among the general public, so it is unsurprising to see other social media platforms incorporating the technology to attract more users. Unlike ChatGPT, however, Snapchat explains that their feature does not operate like a search engine but works for messaging another person.

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Google Faces Antitrust Lawsuit on Monopolizing Ad Technology (Jan 31)

Last Tuesday, the Justice Department and eight states decided to sue Google for monopolizing the technology that controls online advertising. They have accused Google of gatekeeping the ad tech stack--a technology where website publishers sell ads and companies buy them to promote their goods and services. Using their company's dominance in today's technology sphere, Google prevents ad buyers and sellers from using other platforms that provide more favorable offerings. This is the second antitrust lawsuit to face Google within the past two years.

In a press release by the Justice Department, Attorney General Merrick Garland claims that "website creators earn less, and advertisers pay more." In other words, Google earns by buying the tools needed to create online ads for buyers. As a result, advertisers would pay more to appear on search engines, and website publishers made less money, while Google took most of the revenue. For example, in 2007, Google bought DoubleClick (an internet advertising company) for $3.1 billion while making $16.6 billion in annual revenue for its search engine and online advertising business. Besides taking control of these online ad tools, Google also has power over the Exchange, an auction house that hosts the buying and selling of these ads.

Through this lawsuit, the DOJ hopes for Google to sell portions of its ad tech stack to prevent the company from having complete control over digital ad publishers and advertisers. Many applaud the Justice Department's move as Big Tech companies are currently seen to have exceeding control over information and commerce online. More so, Attorney Garland explains that they are doing this for the sake of protecting "consumers [by ensuring] economic fairness and opportunity for all." This is emphasized especially by having a jury decide this case for the first time, uncommon among antitrust cases that have been heard by a judge.

Many wonder what will be in store for the Big Tech company with the upcoming case, as well as their recent announcement of laying off 12,000 workers. Will this case pave the way for publishers and advertisers to make more money, or will another company take Google's place?

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My Sector is Social Media (Jan 31)

My sector is Social Media and I will be following Forbes, Social Media Today, and Vox.