I have to hand it to TikTok; they are an absolute gift for newsletter writers focusing on digital marketing (a niche, I know). This is the 38th edition of this particular newsletter and the 12th time that the lead story has focused on the platform.

Some of those have been because of terrific ad platform advancements, an increasing influence in search, or its role in social shopping. Sadly, this week, it’s due to something much darker; executives knew about the harm caused to teens by the platform but did nothing about it.

Elsewhere, in an otherwise jam-packed week of updates, Google turns to nuclear power (a sentence I never thought I’d write), the EU has brilliantly delivered good news for X while at the same time giving it a massive slap in the face, and there’s been plenty of other news besides.

Let’s get to it!

TikTok execs aware of teen harm caused by platform

Newly revealed TikTok documents show that the company knowingly understood the harmful effects its platform has on teens, particularly regarding addictive behaviours and negative self-image. 

Despite this, in a move that will surprise no one who has ever seen corporations represented in mid-size blockbuster films, internal strategies focused more on public image than addressing the issues.

TikTok isn’t alone in attracting increased scrutiny (Snapchat has also had some poor moral choices aired recently), but this isn’t a great look. Aside from any personal thoughts, if you’re working with a brand or product championing solid ethics and morals, these are serious watch-outs when planning activity – not to mention the potential for tighter regulations on these platforms.

EU doesn’t think X is famous any more

If you’ll excuse the football-chant-based subheadline there, X (formerly Twitter) has avoided being designated as a “gatekeeper” under the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).

What does that mean? Being a gatekeeper would mean X was seen as a dominant platform controlling digital market access. Being labelled as such would subject it to significantly stricter regulations designed to ensure fair competition.

Not being subject to these regulations is good news for X. But the fact that this is because it’s not seen as significant or essential anymore fits alarmingly well with last week’s news that Fidelity is valuing it at 79% lower than Elon Musk’s purchase price. It could easily be painted as the latest in a line of humiliations for the platform.

X also announced this week that it will be diluting blocking; if you block an account, they’ll be able to see your posts, but they won’t be able to engage with you. It wasn’t all doom and gloom, however; X did reach an agreement with Unilever that means it’ll be dropping them from an ongoing lawsuit against advertisers, with the global giant due to resume activity (and, one assumes, ad spend) on the platform.

Google turns to nuclear energy to power AI

Google has signed a seismic deal to use nuclear energy to power AI data centres. This marks the first time a tech giant has turned to nuclear power to meet its energy needs, specifically due to the growing demand from AI. 

It’s a real demonstration of AI’s real-world impact and the massive investments significant players are putting into it. It’s safe to say that it’s more than a fad.

Further Reading

Threads and Instagram have had a number of moderation issues recently leading to users losing access to accounts. Chief Adam Mosseri has said that, although AI was an issue, the issue was largely due to human errors.

Threads also wants to prompt more engagement by signifying when users are online. However, Meta’s owners came under fire this week for using what should be inspirational, community-driven, real-world events to hawk AI features—some interesting food for thought. Sadly, Meta also announced another round of layoffs this week.

With the US Presidential election only a few weeks away, I’m slightly surprised by how little cause I’ve had to mention it. However, this week, Donald Trump made some interesting claims about Google, which he says is one of the first things he’ll “do something” about. He’s previously said that he “had a feeling Google is going to be close to shut down.” If he does get voted in, it’ll be interesting to see what transpires.

While we’re at Google, they’ve also said they’re adding a handy ‘Cheapest’ tab to flight searches, making it easier for budget-conscious travellers.

Elsewhere, Reddit is improving its keyword targeting capabilities. It’s a slightly underrated ad platform for reaching hyper-specific audiences.

Amazon plans to ramp up the number of ads on its Prime TV service next year – apparently, people don’t mind them, so they’re going to push it further.

A couple of broader digital marketing trends also caught my eye this week. First, while I don’t necessarily agree with every point in this LinkedIn post by “Growth Advisor” Gaetano Nino DiNardi, there are some great points about the platform-driven move to zero-click content and the importance of educating this internally. I think the take is overly binary, but it’s worth considering.

Finally, this is an interesting article about ad fatigue and how brands see diminishing ROI once consumers see too many ads. The headline won’t surprise you, but the details merit a deeper dive.

That’s it! If you found this interesting, I would appreciate it if you shared it with your friends and colleagues. 

If you’re feeling particularly generous, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you next week!

Happy Tuesday! My missive comes to you a little earlier than usual this week, as your writer will be away from his desk for a few days. Given it’s only been a few days since I last landed in your inbox, this is a relatively short one, but we’ve still got some exciting news from TikTok and relating to Meta, both on the future of ad targeting.

TikTok announces Smart+

TikTok announced this week a new suite of automated tools and targeting options designed to compete with Google’s PMax and Meta’s Advantage+. The announcement comes just in time for retail advertisers’ busiest time of the year.

It is nothing short of impressive to think of how far TikTok’s ad offering has come in just the time I’ve been a freelancer. Indeed, TikTok has been bullish about how these automated ads have performed in testing; then again, so have Meta and Google about their offerings, and overall, IRL, we’ve seen very, very mixed results.

While I’d certainly embrace TikTok ads if you aren’t already and your audience lives there, I might want to dip the toe in the water on these automated versions, rather than throwing all your budget at it.

Meta can’t target based on sexual orientation in EU, court rules

Meta’s ever-dwindling targeting options took another hit this week with the news that the EU’s top court ruled it can’t utilise users’ public statements about their sexual orientation for online advertising.

This signifies a broader trend away from demographic profiling and towards interest-based targeting, and from an ethical and moral standpoint, it’s a welcome one. If you’re a marketer playing in this sandbox and you aren’t already focussing on interest-based targeting, it really is time to start focusing more on that pillar.

If I were a Meta shill, at this point I would be telling you that Advantage+ is the ideal way around this. I’m still not 100% convinced, but it certainly seems to be the direction of travel.

Further Reading

Adobe has launched a set of tools designed to protect creators from being mimicked by AI.

A US judge this week ordered Google to open up its Android app store to competitors for at least three years, signalling the next development in a long-running saga with Epic Games (the makers of Fortnite) and others.

Better news for Google is the launch of its AI-organised search result pages in the US. Starting with recipes, you’ll see a “full page experience” utilising the best the web has to offer. I look forward to seeing it in action!

YouTube shorts are likely to get longer. Obviously.

And finally, a survey this week revealed that 83% of Instagram content creators use AI as part of their process. Hardly a shock, but an insight into how prevalent Generative AI is becoming.

After last week’s feature-heavy edition following numerous platform announcements and updates, today’s edition features some major financial concerns for X, as well as multiple lawsuits and a (somewhat creepy) look at what the future of advertising might look like on Meta. Let’s get to it!

X estimated to have lost 79% of its value

It hasn’t been a great week for Elon Musk and X. Firstly, there was the statement from Fidelity that it’s cut its estimate of X’s value by 79%. 

Yes, 79%. So, every $100 is now worth $21. You’d be distraught if your new car lost that value over the course of several years – but when it’s a $44 billion dollar acquisition, it must surely cause a level of anxiety unimaginable to anyone except, well, Elon Musk.

Then, perhaps less surprisingly, the FT reported that X has seen a significant decline in active users in both the US and the UK.

With plenty of alternatives available, and with Meta rumoured to be planning on introducing ads to Threads, I wouldn’t be placing too much emphasis on Twitter ad spend for a little while yet.

Snapchat sent back to earth following alleged inaction on abuse

After a decent few months of revenue/user growth and some interesting new features, it was a pretty rotten week for Snapchat. This week, the company has been under fire for issues around child safety. Worse, employees have been well aware of these issues and, well, not exactly prioritising solving them.

That said, there was some positivity, with a survey this week showing Gen Z is shopping more on Snapchat than on Instagram or TikTok. It’s hard to argue that if you’re pushing the type of product where your audience lives on Snapchat, it remains a viable option. But just be watchful of further negative headlines coming out – this feels like we’re about two wrong moves away from some advertisers receiving pressure on spending there.

Meta’s testing a feature which puts AI-generated images of you in your feeds

As social media lurches more and more towards something from Minority Report, this week we learned that Meta is testing a new feature that creates AI-generated content for you based on your interests or trends. Some of these images will incorporate your face.

So, not only will you see ads for a shirt you browsed a few days ago – you might now see an AI-generated version of yourself wearing said shirt. This feels pretty next level. It’s only in the testing phase at the moment, but it’s going to open a can of worms when it nears reality. One to watch.

Further Reading

Away from sci-fi and back to reality, Meta was also fined over $100m this week for a 2019 data breach which exposed hundreds of millions of passwords.

Over at TikTok, the platform announced new ‘flip’ stories this week, meaning creators can create a second ‘side’ to each story.

Elsewhere, Bing is continuing to improve its generative search offering, which now works for informational queries (for example, “how can I run a one-on-one meeting”). These little micro-updates might not sound exciting, but they’re building up to overhauling how search works.

Pinterest is also embracing AI advertising like never before (although later than most other social networks), announcing a raft of new features this week.

The WordPress vs. WP Engine situation escalated further this week, from a slightly overdramatic beef to a federal lawsuit, with WP Engine filing against WordPress alleging attempted extortion. Yikes.

That’s it! If you found this interesting, I would appreciate it if you shared it with your friends and colleagues. 

If you’re feeling particularly generous, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you next week!