We Are Social’s Tuesday Tune Up
TikTok is releasing its comment dislike button to all users worldwide
*Runs to comments* TikTok is officially rolling out its comment dislike button globally to all users after they began testing it in April. The feature is used solely as a resource for TikTok to receive feedback directly from its users, in turn creating a better UX. The dislikes will not be shown publicly, nor will the commenter receive a notification. The goal is to foster genuine, authentic interactions and for users to identify inappropriate or irrelevant comments. Let’s hope this gets rid of the bullies and makes more room for the comedians because let’s be honest, the comments are the best part of TikTok.
YouTube is turning on the money hose for shorts – and taking on TikTok for real
The battle of vertical video supremacy continues as YouTube prepares to turn on aggressive monetisation for its short form vertical format, Shorts. This promises to help millions of creators make money on the platform, allowing those who qualify for the YouTube Partner Program a share of the ad money generated in Shorts. Creators who don’t qualify can still make money through tips, subscriptions, and merch sales. It will take some time, but YouTube is certain TikTokers will flock to (or back) to its rival platform.
TikTok ups post descriptions to 2,200 characters
Post descriptions on TikTok started at 150 and were doubled to 300 last October. Now, they have increased the limit to 2,200 characters. The TikTok update states that this increase will allow creators to express more details, giving them the opportunity to get closer to their audience, generating more engagement while becoming more searchable and better recommended by TikTok to viewers. Speculators might say this is a huge game changer in TikTok becoming a reliable search engine. SEO matters!
Facebook is experimenting with letting users help write speech rules
Meta and BIT (Behavioural Insights Team) worked to find 250 people who were broadly representative of the Facebook user base. They brought them together virtually to educate them about climate issues and platform policies and provided them access to outside experts (on both climate and speech issues) and Facebook employees. At the end of the process, Facebook offered the group a variety of possible solutions to problematic climate information. The group deliberated and voted on their preferred outcomes which were taken under advisement by Facebook teams working on a policy update. Both the participants and Meta were impressed with the process and the results, and Meta plans to run further experiments in platform democracy.