The Shift: Issue #20
Big Tech: The House antitrust committee report; Instagram at 10; No Filter; The rise of the Meta Me; Microcopy + UX writing.
This week, the House Antitrust Subcommittee released its long-awaited report into online markets – how Big Tech (Google, Amazon, Apple & Facebook) have developed monopoly and are abusing their power to stifle the competition. It’s a brick at 400+ pages (+ 2,540 footnotes) and evidence-based – conversations with previous and current employees, users & sellers – a greatest hits of bad behaviour. Amazon has been described as “a data company that just happens to sell things.” An inside look at the acquisition of Instagram by Facebook - here are the most revealing bits. There’s more focus on Google than the other three with some notable omissions: Microsoft, TikTok and Spotify. TikTok is Chinese owned and a baby, so doesn’t yet have the size and breadth…
It’s striking that Republicans and Democrats are on the same side, even if they are offering different solutions on how to deal with a monopoly of power. They’re not talking about breaking companies up (too simplistic and a step too far in the current climate – they have enough on their plate!!). But offering recommendations to make Big Tech easier to compete with. It also gives us a broader understanding of what the anti-trust law should exist to protect – perhaps the most important line in the report: “The Subcommittee recommends that Congress consider reasserting the original intent and broad goals of the antitrust laws, by clarifying that they are designed to protect not just consumers, but also workers, entrepreneurs, independent businesses, open markets, a fair economy, and democratic ideals.”
So, what next? They have to read & digest it and come back with what changes they will make…
Happy 10th birthday, Instagram!
To celebrate, Instagram has brought back its retro icons for one month only and launched several new features – a Stories Map to highlight stories you’ve shared over the last three years, two wellbeing updates to discourage trolling and abusive remarks, and an IGTV shopping update (given it’s our shopping channel of choice these days).
Key trends:
More than 1m posts mentioning ‘memes’ are shared daily
50% of users see a video posted on insta every day
900m emoji reactions sent daily
We send 3x more DM’s than comments
Love it or hate it, Instagram is a cultural phenomenon and has rewired society for good and bad. Here’s beauty writer Sali Hughes on meeting the woman who trolled her online (it’s really not about you…) I’m reading No Filter – Sarah Frier’s excellent book on the history of Instagram and how Silicon Valley works.
The history, characters and themes revealed themselves through hundreds of interviews, not just with current and former employees and executives, but with influencers, teens, celebrities and business owners whose lives have been changed by Instagram.
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