US government intensifies stance against TikTok: A permanent ban from government devices could push the public sector to further remove TikTok from devices. But some fear the service is too big to fail.

“Attention must be earned in an instant.” That’s according to our analyst Paul Verna. “The dominant ad formats [on social media] are below 15 seconds and in some cases as low as 3 seconds.”

Musk loyalists put to the Twitter stress test: Bedrooms for Musk associates at Twitter’s headquarters, lawsuits, and failed content standards give competing social media platforms an opportunity to attract users.

Smartphones will play an even bigger role in 2023, connecting devices and experiences while advertisers adjust to a world with less user data.

Advertisers are ditching a tumultuous Twitter in the wake of Elon Musk’s erratic behavior, combined with an underwhelming (or downright concerning) earnings season for Big Tech.

Twitter and TikTok regulatory losses would be Meta’s gain: Musk’s Twitter acquisition has attracted federal scrutiny and TikTok could get banned. There might be hope for Facebook and Snapchat after all.

On today's episode, we discuss why Snap saw record slow revenue growth in Q3, how it still managed to grow users by so much, and where the company goes from here. "In Other News," we talk about the concern over BeReal not having a financial model and what to make of a new social app that is ranked No. 1 in the app store ahead of BeReal and TikTok. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Jasmine Enberg.

Amazon’s Q3 earnings are a mixed bag: Strong sales and ad growth helped return the retailer to profitability, but the company’s retail business continues to lose money.

Another brutal quarter for Snapchat: The company’s repeated failure to garner ad interest has left it in a bleak position with an uncertain future.

Walmart has big plans to grow its ad business: Its ad tech platform is working with TikTok, Snap, and Roku to measure how social media and CTV advertising affect sales.

Grocers seek to make inroads with lower-income consumers: Walmart, Albertsons, and BJ's Wholesale Club are among the retailers eyeing the sizable customer segment.

Pinterest’s new “Don’t Don’t Yourself” ad campaign highlights the platform as a site for genuineness and creativity, while hinting at the darker sides of other social media networks.

Leaked memo gives insight into Snap’s future: Older users, enterprise AR, and Snapchat+ growth are all part of the puzzle.

Snap in survival mode: Snap is laying off some of its augmented reality hardware and software talent, stalling years of innovation and putting its leadership position in AR at risk.

Google and Meta have maintained a steady lead in digital ad revenues worldwide, ahead of the likes of Amazon, Twitter, and Snapchat. But that's not without their own growing pains. Both Meta and Google saw revenues dip by several billion dollars in Q1 of this year. Still, the companies are tens of billions of dollars ahead of triopoly competitor, Amazon, in digital ad revenues.

Shopify broadens the services it offers merchants: It partnered with YouTube to allow creators and merchants to sell products on their channels and bolstered its logistics platform by buying Deliverr.

Pinterest wants to be more than just shopping inspiration: The platform’s evolution into a full-funnel commerce app has caught the interest of activist investor Elliott Management.

Twitter’s value topples: Elon Musk withdraws from the $43.4B deal and causes a $2.5B drop in Twitter’s market value. A lawsuit could produce a range of possible outcomes for both parties.

This year, US adults will spend 25.7% of their social media time on Facebook, down 9.6 percentage points from 2019. As Facebook’s share drops, TikTok’s will continue to grow. US adults will devote 16.7% of their social time to TikTok this year, up 12.2 percentage points from 2019.