The Social Quarterly is a series of presentations by Econsultancy that curate the latest trends, developments and statistics in social media.
The reports act as guides to what’s happening now in social media and what you should be keeping an eye on. This edition covers:
- Platform challenges: Making headlines this quarter, TikTok is facing a potential ban in the US amid national security concerns the platform is ‘a spy balloon in Americans’ phones’. Meanwhile, X has defied a court order in Brazil and is similarly facing a ban in the region. As regulators struggle to impose restrictions on the social media giants, will free speech arguments win out?
- Platform competition: TikTok remains steadfast it is not going anywhere, and after successfully securing a deal with Universal Music to restore chart-toppers to the platform, it is preparing to launch a challenger photo-sharing app to rival Instagram, called TikTok Notes.
- AI developments: A slew of new AI features have launched this quarter. Meta is rolling out what it purports to be ‘the most intelligent AI assistant you can use for free’, while Snapchat has expanded the functionality of its own AI chatbot alongside introducing new ‘AI-powered’ Lenses. While GenAI is a natural fit in these UGC-led spaces, will the introduction of these virtual assistants see consumers turning to the social apps over traditional search engines?
- Creators: Snapchat has credited its Q1 growth to its recently onboarded ‘Snap Stars’, while Instagram has announced changes to its algorithm to ‘give all creators an equal chance of breaking through’ and Threads is testing a bonus scheme for influencers. Is this evidence the apps are backing what one analyst has termed the ‘creator era’?