SOCIAL
Twitter Launches Super Follower Only Spaces as it Builds on its Creator Monetization Options
Twitter’s rolling out a new subscriber-only element to help creators build their in-app communities, with Super Follower only Spaces now available to selected creators that offer subscriptions.
As explained by Twitter:
“Now with Super Follows-only Spaces, creators can offer an extra layer of conversation to their biggest supporters beyond Tweets by engaging them through live audio.
As you can see in the above screenshots, the new Super Followers only Spaces will have a different color palette for the Spaces link, with a note at the top that it’s a ‘Super Followers only’ broadcast.
Those who aren’t paying subscribers will still be able to see these broadcasts when shared, but they’ll need to sign on as a Super Follower to get access.

That could be a good way to help build your subscriber base, by offering exclusive Spaces that others can see the preview for, and also see who else is tuning in, which may act as a strong enticement for them to also sign up.
Super Follows, overall, remains minor element, as Twitter continues to experiment with creator monetization features, with a view to giving top creators more reason to make the app a bigger focus.
Twitter hasn’t released any official stats on Super Follower usage, but in its most recent earnings report, the company noted that it brought in $94 million from subscription and other revenue (including data licensing) in the period, which is a decrease of 31% year-over-year.
Given that Super Follows was launched in September, that would suggest that interest, thus far, has been very low – though at the same time, not many people can actually activate the option as yet.
Users that do have Super Follows available can set a monthly subscription cost of between $2.99 and $9.99 a month, with Twitter taking a small percentage of each transaction.
Part of the problem with Super Follows, however, is that there’s not a heap of reason for people to pay, as they’ve been able to access people’s tweets for free forever. So why would they start paying for them now?
The process does enable creators to share exclusive tweets with their paying subscribers, and there are other ways to offer members-only elements. But in general, Super Follow goes against the nature of the platform, which has always been about more open, public conversation.
That perceptual shift is likely a key impediment for broader Super Follows adoption, which also relies on creators to come up with detailed strategies as to what they’re going to offer to their paying audience.
For many, that’s more difficult than it sounds. And while some users might like to think that people will just pay to read their tweets – because they like them and what they share in the app already – the reality, evidently, is that they won’t, unless there are some really enticing add-on elements to motivate that spend.
Which is where Super Follower Spaces could come into play, and it could end up being a good, simple lure to help creators maximize their subscribers in the app.
It’s a fairly low cost, low commitment content add-on. And if you have followers that are highly engaged in what you have to say already, airing an exclusive audio show could be the thing that makes them more comfortable about parting with their hard-earned cash.
We’ll find out – Twitter says the option is being rolled out to all Super Follower creators from this week.
Super Follows is still in testing with select creators in the US on iOS. Subscribers globally on iOS and Android will be able to join and request to speak in these Super Follows-only Spaces, while subscribers on web will be able to join and listen, but not speak in these broadcasts.
SOCIAL
Walmart says it has stopped advertising on Elon Musk’s X platform

Walmart said Friday that it is scaling back its advertising on X, the social media company formerly known as Twitter, because “we’ve found some other platforms better for reaching our customers.”
Walmart’s decision has been in the works for a while, according to a person familiar with the move. Yet it comes as X faces an advertiser exodus following billionaire owner Elon Musk’s support for an antisemitic post on the platform.
The retailer spends about $2.7 billion on advertising each year, according to MarketingDive. In an email to CBS MoneyWatch, X’s head of operations, Joe Benarroch, said Walmart still has a large presence on X. He added that the company stopped advertising on X in October, “so this is not a recent pausing.”
“Walmart has a wonderful community of more than a million people on X, and with a half a billion people on X, every year the platform experiences 15 billion impressions about the holidays alone with more than 50% of X users doing most or all of their shopping online,” Benarroch said.
Musk struck a defiant pose earlier this week at the New York Times’ Dealbook Summit, where he cursed out advertisers that had distanced themselves from X, telling them to “go f— yourself.” He also complained that companies are trying to “blackmail me with advertising” by cutting off their spending with the platform, and cautioned that the loss of big advertisers could “kill” X.
“And the whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company,” Musk added.
Dozens of advertisers — including players such as Apple, Coca Cola and Disney — have bailed on X since Musk tweeted that a post on the platform that claimed Jews fomented hatred against White people, echoing antisemitic stereotypes, was “the actual truth.”
Advertisers generally shy away from placing their brands and marketing messages next to controversial material, for fear that their image with consumers could get tarnished by incendiary content.
The loss of major advertisers could deprive X of up to $75 million in revenue, according to a New York Times report.
Musk said Wednesday his support of the antisemitic post was “one of the most foolish” he’d ever posted on X.
“I am quite sorry,” he said, adding “I should in retrospect not have replied to that particular post.”
SOCIAL
US Judge Blocks Montana’s Effort to Ban TikTok

TikTok has won another reprieve in the U.S., with a district judge blocking Montana’s effort to ban the app for all users in the state.
Back in May, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed legislation to ban TikTok outright from operating in the state, in order to protect residents from alleged intelligence gathering by China. There’s no definitive evidence that TikTok is, or has participated in such, but Gianforte opted to move to a full ban, going further than the government device bans issued in other regions.
As explained by Gianforte at the time:
“The Chinese Communist Party using TikTok to spy on Americans, violate their privacy, and collect their personal, private, and sensitive information is well-documented. Today, Montana takes the most decisive action of any state to protect Montanans’ private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the Chinese Communist Party.”
In response, a collection of TikTok users challenged the proposed ban, arguing that it violated their first amendment rights, which led to this latest court challenge, and District Court Judge Donald Molloy’s decision to stop Montana’s ban effort.
Montana’s TikTok ban had been set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024.
In issuing a preliminary injunction to stop Montana from imposing a full ban on the app, Molloy said that Montana’s legislation does indeed violate the Constitution and “oversteps state power.”
Molloy’s judgment is primarily centered on the fact that Montana has essentially sought to exercise foreign policy authority in enacting a TikTok ban, which is only enforceable by federal authorities. Molloy also noted that there was a “pervasive undertone of anti-Chinese sentiment” within Montana’s proposed legislation.
TikTok has welcomed the ruling, issuing a brief statement in response:
We are pleased the judge rejected this unconstitutional law and hundreds of thousands of Montanans can continue to express themselves, earn a living, and find community on TikTok.
— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy) December 1, 2023
Montana attorney general, meanwhile, has said that it’s considering next steps to advance its proposed TikTok ban.
The news is a win for TikTok, though the Biden Administration is still weighing a full TikTok ban in the U.S., which may still happen, even though the process has been delayed by legal and legislative challenges.
As I’ve noted previously, my sense here would be that TikTok won’t be banned in the U.S. unless there’s a significant shift in U.S.-China relations, and that relationship is always somewhat tense, and volatile to a degree.
If the U.S. government has new reason to be concerned, it may well move to ban the app. But doing so would be a significant step, and would prompt further response from the C.C.P.
Which is why I suspect that the U.S. government won’t act, unless it feels that it has to. And right now, there’s no clear impetus to implement a ban, and stop a Chinese-owned company from operating in the region, purely because of its origin.
Which is the real crux of the issue here. A TikTok ban is not just banning a social media company, it’s blocking cross-border commerce, because the company is owned by China, which will remain the logic unless clear evidence arises that TikTok has been used as a vector for gathering information on U.S. citizens.
Banning a Chinese-owned app because it is Chinese-owned is a statement, beyond concerns about a social app, and the U.S. is right to tread carefully in considering how such a move might impact other industries.
So right now, TikTok is not going to be banned, in Montana, or anywhere else in the U.S. But that could still change, very quickly.
SOCIAL
EU wants to know how Meta tackles child sex abuse

The investigation is the first step in procedures launched under the EU’s new online content law known as the Digital Services Act – Copyright AFP Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV
The EU on Friday demanded Instagram-owner Meta provide more information about measures taken by the company to address child sexual abuse online.
The request for information focuses on Meta’s risk assessment and mitigation measures “linked to the protection of minors, including regarding the circulation of self-generated child sexual abuse material (SG-CSAM) on Instagram”, the European Commission said.
Meta must also give information about “Instagram’s recommender system and amplification of potentially harmful content”, it added.
The investigation is the first step in procedures launched under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), but does not itself constitute an indication of legal violations or a move towards punishment.
Meta must respond by December 22.
A report by Stanford University and the Wall Street Journal in June this year said Instagram is the main platform used by paedophile networks to promote and sell content showing child sexual abuse.
Meta at the time said it worked “aggressively” to fight child exploitation.
The commission has already started a series of investigations against large digital platforms seeking information about how they are complying with the DSA.
It has sought more information from Meta in October about the spread of disinformation as well as a request for information last month about how the company protects children online.
The DSA is part of the European Union’s powerful regulatory armoury to bring big tech to heel, and requires digital giants take more aggressive action to counter the spread of illegal and harmful content as well as disinformation.
Platforms face fines that can go up to six percent of global turnover for violations.
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