Digital Insights - 3 March 2023

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey launches new social media platform Bluesky 

• Jack Dorsey, Twitter's former CEO and co-founder has launched his own social media platform today, called Bluesky.

• The platform, in its beta version, has been launched as an invite-only application on Apple’s AppStore and is based on the principle of allowing users to build a shared and open social network. A public launch is expected to be on the way.

• Dorsey began to develop Bluesky in 2019, while still at Twitter, which largely funded the creation of the new platform. It is now a separate entity and launched as a public benefit company, though initial conversations between Dorsey and Twitter’s current CEO, Elon Musk, explored the option of them collaborating on an open-source protocol prior to Musk’s purchase of Twitter.

• The platform has already received criticism from developers and peers including Mastodon for challenging its own network, the Fediverse -- an interconnected web of servers which can post independently but also communicate between each other.

• Elsewhere, other social media platforms such as Medium, Tumblr, and Flickr, have also expressed interest in adopting the ActivityPub standard which is the open and decentralized social networking protocol behind Bluesky.

A letter from YouTube’s new CEO

• Neal Mohan became CEO of YouTube in February, having previously served as the company’s Chief Product Officer. As he begins his new role, he sets out his priorities for 2023 in an open letter on the platform’s blog.

• Supporting the Success of Creators: YouTube will seek to support creators by offering more ways to monetise their content, cultivating closer connections and creator feedback and growing communities in popular niches such as gaming.

• Building the YouTube of the Future: the platform will seek to provide an enhanced experience for its billions of viewers – meeting the viewer where they watch content whether on TVs or devices and offering new content channels. YouTube is also looking to expand creation formats such as developing ‘shorts’ and podcasts.

• Protecting the YouTube Community: this will include investing in people and technology to increase consumer safety, with greater focus on child safety. YouTube will also engage with government and regulatory bodies to develop adapted legislation to protect consumers.

• YouTube’s new CEO concluded that tech is facing “challenging headwinds” and highlighted AI’s potential, cautioning it must be balanced with responsible stewardship.

UK businesses, beware of the Gender Pay Gap bot on International Women’s Day

• The Gender Pay Gap Bot is a Twitter account that automatically responds to companies’ tweets around gender equality with the business’ median gender pay gap (GPG) and a comparison to how it’s changed year on year.

• The idea is to highlight companies posting “performative” content on social media by spotlighting where they may be falling short.

• The bot is active all year round, but especially so on the 8 March - International Women’s Day (IWD), when many companies tweet related content to mark the day.

FGS Global advice: International Women's Day

Our general advice is that IWD should be driven by internal initiatives rather than external statements, which can look performative. To minimise the perception of statements being disingenuous, we would overall recommend considering sharing employee content on corporate social channels, rather than making singular statements. 

For any questions feel free to email the Content | Digital | Data team here.

Coca Cola partners with Bain and OpenAI

• Coca Cola is set to use OpenAI-derived tools, such as ChatGPT and DALL-E, to overhaul its marketing strategy. In a deal struck with consultancy Bain, the drinks conglomerate is looking to integrate generative AI tools into its wider marketing strategy.

• Annie Hou, SVP and Global Head of AI and behavioral sciences at MRM, believes it was inevitable that a brand such as Coca Cola would be one of the first to enter the partnership, noting Coke’s legacy of engagement with emerging technologies.

• Hou cautions, however, against still prevalent issues with generative AI platforms, particularly with respect to brand safety and privacy. She notes the $120bn hit faced by Google after the premature release of its Bard tool.

• The piece also points the advantages to being the “first mover” in the AI space, with improvements in production volumes and analysis of campaigns for huge companies such as Coca Cola.

CEOs divided on what ChatGPT means for their businesses

• As ChatGPT continues to create waves in the corporate world, CEOs have responded in varying ways on what the technology means for their companies.

• Bank of America has stated that the adoption rate of the technology has been unprecedented, leading up to what it believes could be another “iPhone moment”, with an accompanying economic impact of some $15.7 trillion by 2030.

• Tesla’s Elon Musk has responded stating he will develop a “based” AI to counter what he characterises as increasingly “woke” AI.

• Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, opines that there will likely be “a fragmented AI universe”, cautioning that, like the fragmented social media and news landscape, this could have negative implications.

• The CEO of media company Axel Springer, Mathias Döpfner, believes the tool will cause disruption akin to what the Internet caused for newspapers, stating “artificial intelligence has the potential to make independent journalism better than it ever was—or simply replace it”.

Privacy concerns around TikTok grow

• On Tuesday, Canada announced it is banning TikTok from all Government-issued mobile devices, reflecting increasing worries from Western governments over the Chinese-owned app. The ban is set to come into force on 15 March.

• Following a review by Canada's Chief Information Officer who stated the app "presents an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security”, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there was enough concern about security around the app to require the change.

• Outside of Canada, US government agencies have been ordered to wipe the Chinese app from all staff devices within 30 days, alongside a number of American universities banning the app from being used on their networks over cybersecurity fears.

• Elsewhere in the UK, Rishi Sunak is under growing pressure to ban TikTok use by Government officials in a bid to align with EU and US attempts to mitigate potential cybersecurity risks.

• TikTok addressed the cybersecurity fears on the app and responded noting it was "always available to meet with (…) government officials to discuss how [it protects] the privacy and security of Canadians”, adding that “singling out TikTok in this way does nothing to achieve that shared goal”, and that “all it does is prevent officials from reaching the public on a platform loved by millions of Canadians.”

AI start-ups gain investor interest as businesses seek to automate tasks and generate content

• AI start-ups are gaining interest and investment from businesses looking to automate tasks, analyse data, and generate content. Abacus.AI and Pilot AI are examples of start-ups offering AI-powered tools to businesses.

• Generative AI companies that create new content from existing data are drawing hundreds of millions of dollars in funding, whilst the AI industry is expected to grow and contribute almost $16tn to the global economy by 2030.

• PwC predicts the growth will be divided between increased productivity and consumer demand for enhanced products.

• The FT notes that it is yet unclear how much companies will pay for AI tools and how regulators might impose restrictions. Despite this, companies are rushing to join the movement, knowing that it is being rewarded in the markets.

• Public market gains have been seen in companies like Nvidia, Microsoft, and Buzzfeed after they announced their AI-powered services.

BeReal's potential for advertisers fades beyond user-generated content hype

• BeReal, a French social media app that prompts users to post unfiltered photos of themselves once a day, has been used to encourage people to look more authentic with user-generated content (UGC) being increasingly used in marketing and advertising.

• Once seen as a panacea for brands looking to connect with younger audiences, the hype surrounding UGC is starting to fade. And while still an effective way to reach younger consumers, brands need to be strategic about how they use it.

• BeReal has become more of a focus for brands to appear authentic and has been used to build a community of loyal customers.