The internet has been transformed by social media, and the many platforms are now critical to how we communicate online. The Verge keeps a close eye on everything that’s happening in the social media landscape, covering key players like Meta, X, and TikTok, reporting on new features, following cultural moments, and breaking down the policies that shape how the platforms work.
A spokesperson told TechCrunch that Tumblr will join the open social web once it finishes its move to WordPress.
When the migration is complete, Tumblr users will be able to federate their blogs through ActivityPub. Users may even gain access to “other open web integrations,” such as the ability to “run other custom plug-ins or themes,” TechCrunch reports.
The Vice President, along with National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, has been tasked with “quarterbacking a deal to save TikTok” before President Trump’s enforcement pause deadline arrives in April, according to Punchbowl News.
The Wall Street Journal backs that up, saying Trump gave Vance the job, counting on his (reportedly unimpressive) venture capitalist background to get the deal done.
[punchbowl.news]
Adweek reports media buyers and marketers are “eager” to test the new ad features on Threads, hoping for new audiences and lower ad costs. Ads launched with a “handful of brands” last month.
Advertisers don’t seem deterred by Meta’s much publicized loosening of its content moderation policies, even as X expands a lawsuit against advertisers it says boycotted the network over fears for brand safety after Elon Musk’s takeover.
Meta’s CEO agonized about leaks, defended working with Trump, and gushed about AI and smart glasses.
Tapping on the new feature gives you a dedicated feed of all the images and videos posted by the account you’re viewing — including your own. Instagram head Adam Mosseri says the Threads media tab has rolled out globally, alongside the ability to tag people in the photos you share, and a “markup” feature that allows users to highlight or draw on quoted posts.
It also has more than 320 million monthly active users, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on today’s earnings call. Last night, Bluesky announced that it surpassed 30 million total users.
During the call, CFO Susan Li also said that Meta is working on “a number of updates to our recommendation systems” for Threads.
[Meta Investor Relations]
During Meta’s fourth-quarter earnings call today, Mark Zuckerberg kept dropping hints about big plans for Facebook. He’s focused on making it more “culturally influential.” He even suggested that some changes could hurt the business in the short term. The goal is to “get back to how Facebook was used back in the day.” So, more of stalking your classmates and less AI Shrimp Jesus?
The platform crossed the milestone last night, and it happened about a month and a half after the 25 million mark. Bluesky still has a long way to go to pass Threads, though; Meta’s platform has more than 100 million daily active users.
Asked by reporters if Microsoft is in talks to take over TikTok’s US arm, the president was succinct: “I would say yes.” The company is reported to be among several investors, including Oracle, working on a joint bid. Microsoft previously tried to buy the social site back in 2020, which CEO Satya Nadella called the “strangest thing I’ve ever worked on.”
[Bloomberg.com]
Bluesky’s video posts are still limited to just one minute, but they should be easier to find outside of feeds now that you can simply swap to that tab to see any videos that someone has posted.
Otherwise, the team says its new 1.97 update has added a quick menu to block and/or delete a conversation after reporting a DM.
Some advertisers see Meta pulling back from moderation as a signal they should stop pushing social media outlets to keep hate speech in check, according to The Wall Street Journal. Some have reportedly already stepped back:
...the Association of National Advertisers, [which] represents major advertisers such as Procter & Gamble, AT&T and General Motors, quietly ended a brand-safety effort called “Engage Responsibly,” partly to avoid scrutiny or litigation...
After sharing some screenshots of the feature earlier this month, Alessandro Paluzzi shared a couple more of the feature today.
If you want to join the Community Notes waitlist, you can do that here.
From Alessandro Paluzzi, who recently posted screenshots of how writing Community Notes might look like on Threads, too.
Dozens of subreddits announced they’re banning links to posts on X, following Elon Musk’s appearance at a Donald Trump event where he made a gesture that looks a lot like a Nazi salute.
r/NBA is taking the X ban a step further and will also ban links to Meta platforms, moderators announced today.
You can catch the national mood from time to time using the iOS App Store’s top free apps list.
After today’s TikTok chaos, the top 20 apps there are taken up mostly by VPNs and video editing or social media posting apps, with a little ChatGPT and Temu sprinkled in for good measure.
The platform grew from “2.89M users to 25.94M users” last year and the moderation team has “roughly 100 moderators,” according to the report.
The language-learning app reports a 216 percent increase in Mandarin learners from the US compared to last year, as over 700,000 users flock to Chinese-language social app RedNote ahead of TikTok’s possible ban. Duolingo is leaning into the marketing moment, using TikTok itself to celebrate its unlikely (and unofficial) partnership with RedNote.
Users will be able to post up-to-four-image photo posts and 1-minute-long videos, according to TechCrunch. Comments will be supported, as will DMs. Developer Sebastian Vogelsang plans to launch Flashes “in a matter of weeks” after an iOS TestFlight beta period, the outlet writes.
The app will reportedly be free to use with some subscription-based features, just like Vogelsang’s other Bluesky client called Skeets.
Musk posted last night that the platform’s algorithm will soon “promote more informational/entertaining content” in order to “maximize unregretted user-seconds.”
He added in a separate post that X is working on ways to “adjust the content feed dynamically.”
The Indian government has lifted its cap that previously restricted the Venmo-like feature in WhatsApp to 100 million users.
As TechCrunch notes, Google and Walmart currently operate the vast majority of the digital payments market in the country. But that could be about to change; India is WhatsApp’s largest market with over 500 million users, and the messaging app is already heavily relied on there by small businesses.
