Dimon warns of competition diminishing banks’ role in financial services: The JPMorgan Chase CEO’s annual letter to shareholders identified rising competitors and defended tech spending as necessary for maintaining the bank’s standing.

3D advertising on rise as brands step toward the metaverse: Twitter and Meta are banking on new ad types to propel growth.

The super app model is moving to the West and will upend how consumers interact with financial services. Banks must start preparing now to make the changing tide work to their advantage.

TikTok is the social commerce platform of the moment, as brands and marketers look to cash in on the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt phenomenon. While TikTok may not have as large a shopper base as Facebook or Instagram, its shoppers are highly active and engaged.

Meta’s campaign against TikTok will do little to hide its own issues: Negative stories about rivals won’t fix its longstanding advertising and content issues.

Biden Administration prepares to promote innovation through tighter regulation: The DOJ’s support for antitrust bill could level the playing field for smaller firms but risks putting Big Tech on the defensive.

Communities, creators, and connection are the keys to success for brands looking to generate sales on TikTok in 2022.

Younger consumers turn to social media to inform their purchases: 45% of Gen Z shoppers use Instagram for product research, 1.5x more than look to Facebook and TikTok.

YouTube is the leading podcast platform among US adults who listen to 5 hours or more of these shows per week, with 55% tuning in there. Streaming audio platforms Spotify and Apple Podcasts take second and third place, respectively, while Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and Facebook round out the top five.

Instagram’s role in the metaverse will involve NFTs and the creator economy: At SXSW, Zuckerberg hinted at long-term metaverse plans and upcoming NFT features.

Google and Meta head toward another major showdown with Europe’s regulators: A new investigation alleges the two companies made a deal to block competition against Google’s ad system.

Everyone’s concerned about children’s privacy and safety on social media: As more consumers demand that social platforms be scrutinized, a case against TikTok’s handling of children's private data proceeds.

Twitter expands social commerce offerings to catch up with competitors: The social media platform won’t be a shopping destination anytime soon, but that won’t stop it from experimenting.

The “TikTok effect” on influencer marketing is palpable, but Instagram and YouTube are still highly relevant venues for creator video.

The metaverse may be far away, but video is here and now on social media—and consumer usage patterns are changing fast.

For many content creators, Instagram isn’t everything. In the US, 41.0% of creators run websites or blogs to reach their audiences outside of social media. Newsletters and podcasts are also tools they use to staying connected. But perhaps most notably, 43.3% do not use anything other than social platforms.

Big Tech faces dilemma in Russia-Ukraine conflict: While rushing to get refugees to safety, companies debate remaining neutral, which would seem like compliance with Russia, or leveling sanctions and risking retribution from the Kremlin.

Ukraine conflict presents a chance for social media to amend a history of misinformation: American tech firms clashed with Russia over the weekend, often rebuking its requests.

TikTok and Instagram were once again the top US social networking apps of 2021, downloaded 94.0 million and 64.0 million times that year, respectively. Snapchat took third place with a 10% jump in downloads, leapfrogging Facebook, whose downloads fell by 11%.

On today's episode, we discuss whether Donald Trump's new "Truth Social" platform can make some noise, Facebook rebranding the News Feed, whether LinkedIn is the best social network, Uber and Lyft's rebound, how Apple changed Facebook, an unpopular opinion about Disney, where Valentine's Day came from, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our director of forecasting Oscar Orozco and analysts Blake Droesch and Peter Vahle.