🍊 Reddit Protests and Twitter's Gameplan

Welcome to Prosek’s Digital Download: where industry-leading insights in financial services and digital marketing collide.

In this edition, we explore the digital protests happening on Reddit, Linda Yaccarino’s guiding principles to managing Twitter as CEO and yet another step in their mission to become the “everything” app.

We also take a look at how a few companies marked Juneteenth this year, notably all featuring their employees. 

– Lucille Bootman 

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3 Can’t-Miss Digital Updates

Social Media and Advertising

Over 7k Reddit Communities Go Dark in Protest Over Api Pricing Increase 

• What's happening: In May, Reddit announced that it would be increasing the price of its API access to make money off of developers that have been relying on Reddit data to power their systems. Most notably, various generative AI tools have been using Reddit and Twitter as key sources of conversational input to build their models. These businesses have been profiting by selling these models to their own customers resulting in substantial revenue based off of conversations from Reddit. Following this announcement, thousands of subreddits have gone private over Reddit’s decision to increase the price of its API access. 

• Why it matters: The protest simply signifies the concerns of developers and communities that heavily rely on Reddit’s data for various purposes – the price increase could have significant financial implications for developers and disrupt services that depend on Reddit's data. For businesses, the most important area to consider is the ongoing discussions and tensions surrounding API access as these developments extend beyond Reddit to platforms like Twitter. Understanding the broader impact on the ecosystem of platforms and developers is crucial.

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Twitter’s New CEO Outlines Her Guiding Principles for Managing the App   

• What’s Happening: Following her appointment as CEO, Linda Yaccarino published a series of Tweets outlining why she joined Twitter and shared what will guide her decision-making at the app.Yaccarino noted that she joined Twitter essentially because of Elon and his vision for transformation.The “global town square” needs transformation and Twitter is “on a mission to become the world’s most accurate, real-time information source for communication.” Her guiding principles are to think big, transform, and do it all together. Linda wants to question assumptions and build something new with input from every person, partner, and creator on the planet.

• Why it matters: Businesses and users alike should stay close to updates from Yaccarino as her initial tweets didn’t provide much context into actual business priorities. The story to follow is how she plans to use her guiding principles to attract advertisers back to the platform. 

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Twitter Experiments with Job Posts as Part of New ‘Twitter Recruiting’ Element 

• What's happening: A new recruiting function is being built into the back-end code of Twitter. The feature would let verified organizations (those with Gold checkmarks) display job listings on the company’s Twitter profile, with a link back to an application page on their website. The function shows options to display URL, title, location and salary. 

• Why it matters: This is actually a creative – while not groundbreaking – idea from Twitter and proves Elon Musk’s ambition to evolve Twitter into an “everything app.” For businesses with a strong Twitter presence, it offers seamless integration for recruitment and access to a wider pool of potential candidates. The real-time engagement aspect could allow for direct interaction with candidates, streamlining the recruitment process and enhancing the candidate experience. Although the rollout and scope may be limited, it's worth keeping an eye on this development.

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Good Reads

• Avoiding Diversity Theater: How Brands Can Celebrate Juneteenth Without the Cringe 

• From Likes to Leads: How B2B Marketers Can Harness the Power of Influencer Marketing

• Elon Musk and Twitter, the Entire Story So Far

• GLAAD: Social Media Companies are Enabling Real-World Violence

• Facebook Faces New Allegations of Gender Discrimination in its Delivery of Job Ads Research by Human Rights Group Suggests it's a Global Concern 

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Marketing Inspiration 

Citi commemorated Juneteenth by sharing quotes from employees on what the holiday means to them in a LinkedIn carousel format. 

JPMorgan Chase & Co. commemorated the day with a video from one of their directors that leads the Advancing Black Pathways initiative. They used this opportunity to drive awareness of their initiative that helps the Black community chart stronger paths toward economic success and empowerment.  

On Instagram, BlackRock featured employees across their US offices participating in various employee-led events hosted by their ERG, Black Professionals & Allies Network (BPN).