Close Out July With The Social Media News You Can Use
Was it just me or did July go by very quickly? As we head into August, here is the latest social media news that you can use. This week, we’ll talk about Elon’s rebrand of Twitter into X, Zuckerberg reveals how Meta and its apps are faring, and TikTok is adding text to certain posts.
Once you’re caught up on the latest social media news in June, be sure to check out more of my writing, like covering my favorite social media tools to use, like GoCharlie.ai. and more deep dives on specific topics on my blog.
Elon Rebrands Twitter to X
Twitter owner Elon Musk announced that he is rebranding the company as X. The billionaire announced on Sunday that he wanted to "bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds." Musk said he crowdsourced the design and chose the letter X because it "represents the unknown and the potential."
Musk's decision to rebrand Twitter is part of his plan to transform the company into an "everything app." He has said that he wants X to be a platform people can use for payments, news, and food orders. Musk's rebranding of Twitter has been met with mixed reactions. Some have praised the new logo and the company's new direction. Others have criticized the move, saying it is unnecessary and will alienate users.
The best part, Meta received a trademark in 2019 for its own X logo to be used across a variety of internet-related services, including social networking and digital messaging. Grab the popcorn.
And Zuckerberg Reveals Threads Is Struggling
In an earnings call earlier this week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed to investors and employees how the company is faring. For several quarters now, Meta's revenue growth has slowed as the company faces increased competition from TikTok and other social media platforms.
In the second quarter, the company's advertising revenue, which accounts for the majority of its revenue, was down 4.1% year on year. And Meta's Threads debuted on July 5 and quickly gained 100 million users, according to Zuckerberg. However, several studies have found that engagement has declined since then.
"We have a lot of work to do to really make Threads reach its full potential...Even if I believe we're off to a good start, that's not a predetermined conclusion just yet." He also stated that he is "optimistic" that Threads will become an excellent app in Meta's family of apps over time. The other four are Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and Whatsapp.
TikTok Adds Text Posts To App
First it was Twitter (I mean, X), then Threads, and now TikTok is exploring text-focused posts. Text posts are now an option for users on everyone's favorite video app. Users can now create posts by selecting from photographs, videos, or text.
TikTok's text posts have a 1,000 character limit, but users may still add noises, location tags, stickers, and many of the other features they're used to. A text post looks quite similar to how Instagram Stories now look. And, just as with video content, other users can interact with your text content by stitching, dueting, and commenting. This text post addition comes shortly after the launch of Threads and the rebranding of Twitter to X. Learn more here.
