Reel Problems

Meta's in hot water for allegedly dodging Apple's privacy rules... Also: TikTok expands its SEO offerings to compete with Google Search... Reel's new rival could be its biggest threat yet... and more!

September 23, 2022

Meta Sued for Tracking Users

A few weeks ago, we reported on research claiming Meta can "monitor everything happening on external websites, without the consent from the user, nor the website provider."

Now, Meta has been sued for allegedly tracking *anything you do on any website*.

The suits stem from that research, which alleges that Meta's Facebook and Instagram apps inject JavaScript code onto websites, letting them track every single user interaction with third-party sites, including:

  • Passwords

  • Personal information

  • Clicks

👨‍⚖️ The Lawsuits

One proposed class-action lawsuit filed by two Facebook users this week claims Meta developed a workaround for Apple's privacy rules on iOS by tracking users through its in-app browsers without their consent. Some apps will pop open the user’s default browser, but that doesn't always happen inside Meta apps.

Quoting the suit:

This allows Meta to intercept, monitor and record its users’ interactions and communications with third parties, providing data to Meta that it aggregates, analyzes, and uses to boost its advertising revenue…

The plaintiffs also allege that the company is not only violating Apple's policies but also state and federal privacy laws. 

Another similar complaint was also filed last week.

A Meta spokesperson said the allegations were “without merit” and the company will defend itself “vigorously.”

  Quoting Meta:

We have designed our in-app browser to respect users’ privacy choices, including how data may be used for ads…

TikTok Comes for Google Search

A couple of updates to share with you from TikTok.

🚀 TikTok Expands SEO

First, the video platform just took 2000 steps in competing against Google Search. 

Descriptions can now run up to 2,200 characters from their current 300-character limit. This is something some accounts have had for a few weeks now, but this represents a wider rollout.

With more consumers turning to TikTok as a video-based search engine, this will be a welcome update for brands and marketers.

👎 Downvoting

Next, downvoting is coming to TikTok. The company announced today that it is rolling out a feature that lets users downvote comments. 

The thumbs-down icon will appear next to likes on individual comments under videos and will be available to all users. 

Similar to how downvoting works on other platforms, users can undo their vote by tapping the button again. However, only the person doing the downvoting will be able to see that they’ve done so, meaning the total number of dislikes a comment has will not be shown. 

Image: TikTok

Will Shorts Kill Reels?

As TikTok expands its product offerings, its rivals are racing to develop competitive products in an effort to keep up.

Recently, we reported that YouTube will start sharing ad revenue with Shorts creators, which could be bad news for its short-form rivals. 

🧠 Industry Perspective

Business Insider recently asked advertisers how TikTok, Reels, and Shorts compare. While they agree YouTube's new revenue program for Shorts will likely put some heat on TikTok, it's mostly bad news for Reels. 

Despite performance ad spending remaining strong on Facebook and Instagram, ad buyers said they are just not interested in Reels yet, as the audience isn't there.

A leaked internal Meta report showed that Reels is lagging big time compared to TikTok's market share — with fewer than a fifth of creators posting Reels each month. 

And Meta pushing the format is only making matters worse, according to the VP of Forrester Research:

Meta is aggressively trying to monetize Reels, which equates to essentially forcing it upon users... A forced engagement strategy won't bring Gen Z back to Meta's platforms and could end up accelerating their exodus.

On top of that, YouTube's upcoming revenue sharing plan could put another nail in that coffin, according to a spokesperson from market research company Tinuiti:

The news that YouTube will allow creators to monetize their content even if it has copyrighted music in it is a big deal…

Reels has been trying to lure creators to create content that's unique to Instagram but now will have much more competition from YouTube seeing that YouTube already has some of the most  creators with massive followings on their platform.

Metaverse FOMO

How much thought have you put into your brand's metaverse strategy? 

Although the recent downturn in tech has been particularly hard on faithful servants of the metaverse, like Meta and Roblox, companies are still handing out million-dollar salaries to "chief metaverse officers."

But, why? 

There's a great piece up on Bloomberg today that explains a big motivator is metaverse FOMO: CEOs don't want to miss the big next trend.

🤔 Who are these new web3 CMOs?

Sometimes they’re not even human. Publicis Groupe “hired” a lion-esque avatar called “Leon” as Chief Metaverse Officer who acts as a brand ambassador to navigate the “meta-jungle.”

That said, most of them are real people with real responsibilities. 

According to Crate & Barrel's chief metaverse officer, his day job is leading product design and development, but he says he spends about 20% of his time on meta-duties, such as:

  • Strategy

  • Outreach, and 

  • Finding ways to bridge physical and virtual domains

⭐ Who is the ideal Metaverse Chief?

One CMO says the perfect candidate can speak as fluently about AR and VR as they can about sales and marketing. Another executive says these chiefs must be capable of forming external partnerships and winning over internal skeptics. 

Where can one apply for a Chief Metaverse Officer position? Asking for a friend.

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