Welcome to Edition No. 66 of my weekly newsletter, providing practical analysis in the world of digital content strategy.
Friday Five
I. Snapchat+ and Its Impact on Young Users
II. Meta's Dogged Focus on the Metaverse
III. How The Guardian Achieved Record U.S. Reader Revenue
IV. Mr. Beast Takes X for a Spin
V. Bing's Market Share Post-Bing Chat Introduction
VI. Other Important Updates
I. Snapchat+ and Its Impact on Young Users
Snapchat+ crossed 7 million subscribers, offering features like app customization, AI tools and insights into friends' lists.
Young users subscribe primarily to learn about their social standings, despite mixed feelings about the impact on their mental health.
The popularity among teenagers raises questions about regulatory scrutiny and ethical considerations.
-The Information Creator Economy Newsletter
🛠 Why does this matter?
• Highlights the growing trend of social media subscriptions and their impact on user behavior and mental health.
• Reflects Snapchat's strong influence on young users' social lives and communication habits.
• Raises potential concerns for future regulation and ethical guidelines in social media.
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II. Meta's Dogged Focus on the Metaverse
Despite a perceived shift in focus, Meta reaffirms its commitment to developing the Metaverse.
The company faces challenges but continues to invest in this digital interactive space.
The Metaverse represents a significant part of Meta's long-term strategy, but more recently it has been heavily focused on AI.
🛠 Why does this matter?
Indicates the enduring interest and potential in virtual and augmented reality spaces.
Suggests ongoing investment and development in futuristic technologies by major tech companies.
Makes it difficult for content creators to hit a moving target as Meta’s priorities shift. Then again, how many organizations are creating content for the metaverse?
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III. How The Guardian Achieved Record U.S. Reader Revenue
The Guardian U.S. raised a record $2.2 million in reader revenue, marking a 25% increase from the previous record.
Their success was driven by appeal emails from star columnists and notes from the editor, emphasizing the importance of confronting the climate crisis and supporting news as a right for all.
The Guardian U.S. now generates 55% of its revenue from digital reader donations, with recurring supporters being a key focus of their strategy.
🛠 Why does this matter?
Shows the effectiveness of leveraging high-profile writers and targeted messaging to engage readers.
Indicates a continued shift in media revenue models, with a growing reliance on reader contributions over advertising.
Highlights the success of fostering a community of dedicated, recurring supporters for sustainable journalism.
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IV. Mr. Beast Takes X for a Spin
MrBeast directly uploaded a clip to X (formerly Twitter) for the first time to “test” X’s ad revenue, which pales in comparison to YouTube, where he’s the world’s largest earner.
This move follows discussions with X owner Elon Musk, who has been eager to boost X's video content strategy
X says it’s increasingly focusing on video content to attract creators and viewers.
Despite revenue concerns, MrBeast's participation signals a potential shift in content creators' platform preferences and Musk's influence.
🛠 Why does this matter?
Marks a significant step for X in competing with YouTube, aligning with Musk's vision for a "video-first platform."
Serves as a potential endorsement of X's viability and Musk's aggressive push into video content.
Will creators suddenly start posting their videos to X instead of YouTube? Extremely unlikely. Not unless Musk creates a very attractive incentives program. And with the company bleeding cash, I’m not sure where that would come from.
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V. Bing's Market Share Post-Bing Chat Introduction
Bing gained less than 1 percent market share since integrating Bing Chat, despite high expectations.
The modest increase suggests challenges in shifting user preferences in search engine usage.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT helps power Bing Chat.
🛠 Why does this matter?
This illustrates the difficulty of taking a chunk out of the Google share, even with the help of the world’s most popular LLM, ChatGPT.
Highlights the challenges in introducing AI and chat-based features to change user habits.
Why would someone use Bing Chat when they can go directly to ChatGPT, which now integrates Bing? The biggest “winners” here were probably loyal Bing users who now have access to a cool feature in their preferred search engine. As the numbers show, though, this wasn’t enough to pull users from Google, which has its own chatbot (Bard) anyway.
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VI. Other Important Updates
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