Bluesky: The rising star in decentralised social media
Bluesky, the decentralised X rival, founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, has reached 4m users within 24 hours of opening to the public – averaging 8.5 new users per second.
With the future of X uncertain following multiple scandals, Bluesky has been sharing how they would prevent similar issues. Dorsey stated that they have implemented content moderation plans to prevent harassment and hate speech, alongside “powerful AI detection services” to pick out deep fake images on the platform.
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Controversy surrounds X’s partnership with BetMGM
This week, X has once again come under scrutiny from users due to their recent partnership with betting company, BetMGM.
During the recent Superbowl, X users who were searching sport event related topics were presented with various odds for the game, with a direct link to the BetMGM website to place a bet.
X has strong links to the world of gambling, with 72% of sports gamblers using the platform to keep an eye on their bets – however many users have raised their concerns about integrating betting into the platform directly.
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Instagram and Threads cease political content recommendations
Both Instagram and Threads will stop recommending political content unless users explicitly choose to have it recommended to them.
Meta has been criticised in the past for their constant promotion of political content across their various platforms, however it’s interesting for them to make this change right now, ahead of an important year in the world of politics with the upcoming general election.
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X’s article innovation could change newsmaking
With his vision to make X an ‘everything app’, Elon Musk is set to add a new format to the platform which would allow users to publish articles in full directly onto X.
This new feature could provide businesses with the tools to target new audiences, with the potential that journalists may post their press releases directly to the platform.
The format could be utilised to target a younger ‘digital native’ audience who may not interact with traditional news outlets and prefer to source their news socially.
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Meta introduces AI-driven ad tools to drive better results for ad partners
40% of Instagram content now comes from AI recommendations, driving increased engagement on Facebook and Instagram. Video content remains pivotal, with a 25% growth in daily watch time and Reels being reshared 3.5 billion times a day.
Brands are also said to be leveraging Meta’s AI targeting tools, like Advantage campaigns, over interest targeting and are seeing better results by doing so.
Meta’s AI-driven ad tools are evolving rapidly, shaping marketing strategies in 2024. A roundtable discussion highlighted key insights, including Meta’s focus on AI content generation and click-to-message ads.
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