Recommend accounts worth following with Snapchat’s new ‘Suggest’ feature (The Next Web, 7/18/16)

This is a solid addition to the feature set since finding people is a constant pain and a big barrier to new user onboarding. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Snapchat in the very near future rolls out “Promoted Suggestions” in the same way Twitter has to add a revenue stream.

4 Tips to Increase Metrics by Highlighting Your Archives (MediaShift, 7/19/16)

Some great tips here both in terms of tools and other editorial tricks to keep deriving value from that archive of amazing content you’ve created. Of course this assumes you’re producing your own on-domain content and not just going all-in on other platforms, which limits your ability to do so and contributes to content decay in a big way. Basically, if you want to make your content work for you in the future you have to own what you publish today.

Selena Gomez’s Social Media Posts Are Evidently Worth $550,000 Apiece (Adweek, 7/19/16)

All snark aside, if this is what someone is willing to pay to reach the audience Gomez has then good on her for taking their money. As the story points out, it says a lot about how eager brand advertisers are to reach a female audience, which is using many social networks at a higher rate than men are.

Twitter will finally let you apply to be verified (Wired, 7/19/16)

It’s about damn time. One of the biggest headache-inducing conversations I’ve had over the years as a social media program manager was explaining to clients that no, there’s no process for getting verified. This is sure to result in an influx of requests and I’m sure some questionable people will get that little blue checkmark. But for brands who are struggling for identify, this is going to be a big help.

twitter verified

Leslie Jones And Her Racist Harassers Are Shining A Light On A Major Problem With Twitter (Buzzfeed, 7/19/19)

I’ll be honest and admit I have mixed feelings about how these things play out. While no one should have to deal with the amount of racist, horrible crap Jones – and countless other women and others – dealt with Twitter has a hard time squaring it’s “free speech wing of the internet” declaration from one that is responsible for making it a safe place for people of all kinds. The company’s knee-jerk reaction of banning Nero, a well-known troll who made a career of being a shithead, is one I can’t necessarily disagree with it also seems like it opted to do one big questionable thing as opposed to many small more important things. Regardless of all that, women should never be put in a position of feeling abused on a platform that’s meant to connect people and help them talk to each other.

The NBA is creating two new TV-style shows exclusively for Twitter (Recode, 7/19/16)

As I’ve said before, “original content” seems to be the way social networks are going to differentiate each other. But if everyone is working to become their own TV network then it becomes even more difficult for audiences to find what they want to watch, much less keep up with the variety of choices. It might – and I’m just thinking out loud here – be alright if not every outlet is offering their own stable of original programming.

With 11,000 subscribers, Talking Points Memo says its paid product has helped stabilize its business (Nieman Lab, 7/20/16)

Media pundits love talking about one model over another, almost like print magazines and newspapers didn’t rely on a mix of paid subscriptions and ads for decades before the internet. Good on TPM for finding a mix that’s working for it.