Facebook woos the kids

Facebook to Gen Z: Hello fellow kids!

On Friday, I asked my first year undergraduates how many of them used Facebook. Of the 30 of them across two workshops, only one did. And she cited “Facebook Mums” as the worst thing about the internet.

Facebook has a young people problem, in that almost none of them use it. That’s rather ironic for a site that started as a place for university students 20 years ago. The issue is not that it’s aged with its original users, but that it’s increasing the domain of Boomers. It’s where the current generation’s parents and grandparents hang out.

It began to feel like Meta was giving up on Facebook, given that the site barely merited a mention at the Meta Connect event the other week.

But, apparently Zuck hasn’t given up on it yet:

Facebook wants to woo more younger users to join its social network, instead of spending all their time on TikTok, Instagram, and other social apps. To do so, parent company Meta on Friday announced a series of changes to the older social network which will put greater emphasis on local community information, videos, and Facebook Groups, among other things.

Sounds horribly like a more localised version of TikTok, doesn’t it?

The local aspect is important:

For starters, Facebook is introducing a new tab called “Local,” which will pull in local content from across places like Marketplace, Groups, and Events into a single section. Here, users will find things like nearby activities, local groups offering items for sale or for free, local recommendations about new neighborhood hot spots, and more.

Initially, this is only being trialled in a handful of big US cities, but it bears watching if you’re in local news.

Casey Newton has done an in-depth analysis of the announcement [£]:

“We’re adding features that help young adults – and all Facebook users – explore their interests and connect with the world beyond their close friends,” the company said in a blog post. “Whatever you’re into, there are people on Facebook who can help you find and do more of it.”
It’s a statement that gently elides an important truth: that the public posts shared with giant list of friends which defined Facebook for its first decade plus have become déclassée, and what we once called social networks have increasingly become virtual stages for influencers to perform on, enhanced with messaging and other utility features.

Facebook is completing its transition from social network, where we interact with each other, to social media, where we consume content from creators.

Has the Telegraph found a buyer?

The UK’s right-leaning quality newspaper The Telegraph, where many former students and a fair few subscribers to this newsletter, has been for sale for a while. Reports are circulating that it’s found a buyer:

New York Sun owner Dovid Efune has emerged as the likely buyer of the Telegraph. Efune, who was born in Manchester and currently lives in the US, is said to have offered £550m ($722m) to buy the politically conservative publication. He is reported to be working with Oaktree Capital Management and boutique investment bank LionTree to raise the funds required to buy the Telegraph. The sale could officially occur as early as this week.

I imagine senior Telegraph staff will be watching with some nervousness. The sale of former stablemate The Spectator led to an effective decapitation, with Andrew Neil and Fraser Nelson being replaced by Charles Moore and Michael Gove as chairman and publisher, respectively.

And it’s another example of a digital publisher (possibly) acquiring a print one…

The WordPress wars, explained

Bill Bennett has written a concise explanation of the Automattic versus WP Engine fight and why it matters that’s a quick read than piecing the story together from my multiple posts on the subject:

The WordPress power struggle

Whatever the outcome of Matt Mullenweg’s fight with WP Engine, WordPress will never be the same again.

Bill BennettBill Bennett

And Finally… your chance to get down with Gen Z’s algospeak

TikTok has become a battleground between its moderation algorithms looking for specific words — usually sexual — and users finding ways of disguising those words. The ever-evolving “algospeak” is becoming a key cultural force among Gen Z and Gen Alpha — and journalists need to understand it:

Algospeak is not just a quirky internet phenomenon – it’s a vital clue to understanding how sensitive information is communicated online. As moderation policies tighten, journalists must become adept at decoding the shifting lexicon or risk overlooking stories that matter.

So, grab a hot beverage, kick back and get down with the kids:

‘Unaliving’ language online: How journalists can decode ‘algospeak’ on social media

Skibidi toilet. Fruity. Sneaky link. If you’re older than 25, TikTok might feel like a jarring plunge into a world where you’re no longer “cool,” and the kids are speaking a language you don’t understand. While it’s tempting to dismiss these new linguistic quirks as just another fleeting trend, there’s more at play beneath the surface.

International Journalists' NetworkIris Pase