In Q2 2022, Meta’s Messenger attracted 52% of the top 10 US messaging apps’ daily active users, down 6 percentage points from the same quarter two years earlier. Discord increased its share by 7 percentage points over the same period, riding a pandemic surge that has not dropped off.

Podcast listening keeps making gains, and the medium is becoming a bigger part of marketers’ audio strategies.

US-based Mana’s perks like debit card points and special offers on subscriptions for gaming services are tailored toward its target affinity group.

Among US gamers, Facebook Gaming is the most popular destination for viewing live gameplay, with 42% watching esports and other gaming livestreams on the platform.

Gen Zers make heavy use of many social networks to create connections, consume multimedia, play games, and share content.

WhatsApp chases Discord's success with Communities feature: The platform's upcoming tools could help create intimate, niche communities—a formula for high engagement and brand interest.

Sony integrates Discord: Two weeks after Microsoft’s efforts to buy Discord crumbled, Sony announced an investment in and partnership with Discord that will embed it in its gaming services.

Clubhouse has buzz, but social audio isn’t as simple as it looks. The most promising marketing use cases are for thought leadership, virtual events, and influencer marketing.

On today's episode, we discuss why paid newsletter subscriptions are having a moment, the competitive advantages of the biggest players, and why marketers should (or shouldn't) get involved. We then talk about HBO Max's upcoming ad-supported offering, whether Microsoft buying Discord makes sense, and the real problem with password sharing. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer analyst at Insider Intelligence Nina Goetzen.

Microsoft is in talks to acquire the popular chat platform, part of a greater focus by Microsoft on social media.