🔥TikToks clones and Twitter (Melt)downs🧊
In this week's Hot or Not, TikTok may be on thin ice but the platform clones won't stop coming. And Twitter continues to be in a slow, painful meltdown.
Welcome back to the fifth edition of our digital trends newsletter Hot or Not. Make sure to read all the way to the end to learn about the return of the Interhacktives podcast and read our coverage for Wednesday’s International Women’s Day.
But first, what’s up and what’s down in the world of digital media:
🧊🔽 Twitter
What a week it’s been at Twitter. It began with a BBC Panorama look into the chaos and only got worse from there. On Monday links and pictures stopped working, finally giving journalists an excuse for not being able to leave. They announced the removal of live broadcasts archives - so make sure you have any downloaded. Later in the week, Elon decreed new hate speech rules and Gray Linker’s tweets have caused serious rows at the BBC.
🧊🔽 TikTokÂ
The bans contines. We published a list at the beginning of the week of where TikTok is banned and are already having to update it, with bans now sweeping across EU governments. Despite this journalism on TikTok continues to grow, and this week we compiled a list of the top 10 accounts to make sure you’re following in 2023.
🔥🔼 TikTok clonesÂ
TikTok may not be too hot with governments, but users sure love it. And that’s perhaps why other platforms continue to push their TikTok clones. Meta announced more features to Facebook Reels, Spotify has revamped discovery tools to beta mimic TikTok, and Reddit have introduced a separate feed for video. Everyone seems to be betting on short-form video.
🔥🔼 Google TrendsÂ
Google Trends has a new look. You’re now able to see real-time search trends and links through to publishers. This seems like good news for SEO driven content writers everywhere.
What’s new with InterhacktivesÂ
The podcast is back! With weekly episodes every Wednesday, this week Marieta and Laura chatted to experts about AI and its implications for journalism. You can listen on Soundcloud or YouTube.
Our International Women’s Day coverage is also well worth a read. Check out the interviews with two Heads of Audience, this rundown of the best female data journalists to follow, and learn about the gender pay gap at some of the UK’s biggest newspapers.
Thanks for joining us again this week folks! Don’t forget to head over to Substack to like the post and share it with your friends and colleagues. As always I’d love to hear your feedback or suggestions. And I hope you have a good week! Â
Katie Jones Â
@katiejeanjones_Â