This Week on Social - Lawmakers Push for TikTok Ban

Each week the insights team at The Goat Agency pull together the latest news from the social space in a weekly social media news round-up. This week we cover the ongoing push to ban TikTok across the UK and US, YouTube's multi-language analytics and generative AI heads to Google suite.

Don’t forget you can follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter for real-time announcements of all our new blog content!

Don't Miss This Week's Headlines!

Lawmakers Continue to Push for TikTok Ban

The UK has announced a ban of TikTok on Government devices, following the same actions as US states who have also banned the app from government-owned mobiles.

Amid rising global tensions, concerns around the Chinese-owned app have become more pressing.

The question is whether TikTok bans should be expanded to all users, which is currently under consideration in the states. The pressure from the Government is for TikTok to be sold off from its Chinese owners if it wants to keep operating in the west.

The BBC have also declared that all staff should remove the app from corporate devices.

YouTube's Multi-Language Analytics Encourage Creators Toward Global Expansion

YouTube’s multi-language audio (MLA) tracks enable creators to expand their audiences, and now with new specific metrics, can refine their content to match new audience intent.

Creators can break down viewership by language and geography, enabling them to understand how using MLA drives more engagement, or not. This provides creators with more insight into how these additional language options perform and if MLA is a worthwhile strategy.

Google Adding Generative-AI to Gmail, Docs, Slides and More

After talking down tools like ChatGPT and delaying its foray into AI, Google is now looking to install its own generative AI across its suite.

The process will be very similar to ChatGPT, which Microsoft is now integrating into all of its apps and processes.

Google seems to have been forced into this decision following the demand for the new AI-integrated Bing, and other tools gaining traction. 

Across Gmail, Docs, Slides and more users will be able see new functionalities, such as:

• The capacity to draft, reply, summarize and prioritize Gmail
• New ways to plan, proof-read, write and rewrite in Docs
• Auto-generated image, audio and video creation in Slides
• Automated formula generation and contextual categorization in Sheets
• Generative background in Meet
• New workflows and process options in Chat

Google is looking to make a big splash in the generative-AI market with a big step for efficiency tools.

TikTok Now Enables You to Reset 'For You Page'

Away from the pressing concerns of bans, TikTok is rolling out an option that lets you refresh your algorithmic feed.

If you’re tired of seeing the same-old content, TikTok will soon allow you to reset what the algorithm thinks you’re interested in.

This gives users more freedom to dictate their in-app experience, something that other social platforms likely can’t provide at this stage.

This will also help limit the amount of exposure to harmful elements, and avoid repetition in-app.

YouTube Enables Thumbnail Selection In-app, Adding to Shorts Infrastructure

YouTube is now giving Shorts creators the capacity to choose a frame from their clips as a thumbnail on iOS.

Creators can already choose a thumbnail for their Shorts within YouTube Studio, but this new process makes it possible within the in-app upload flow, helping to streamline the upload process.

Shorts has become a major part of YouTube’s vision for the future, with the app now facilitating 50 bullion Shorts views each day. YouTube is working to maximize opportunities for short-form creators too.

This could become even more pressing if TikTok is banned across the US and Europe, leaving TikTok creators searching for a new outlet.

While TikTok still remains available, which short-form platform is better for your brand?

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And that’s all for this week, but don’t forget to follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter for real-time announcements of all our new blog content!

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