TODAY’S EDITION

Instagram is testing a new Early Access feature that lets creators post a Reel exclusively for their followers for the first 24 hours before it becomes public.

These Reels show a clock with a star icon on the cover in the grid and a blurred cover labeled Early Access. When viewers tap in, they see a message encouraging them to follow the creator to watch the Reel, along with a timer for when the Reel will be available for everyone and a follow button.

Instagram has not officially announced the feature, but I spotted creators like The Pasta Queen using it, and others have shared that they have access as well.

Why it matters: Early Access gives creators a way to reward their audience with advance viewing while also encouraging new people to follow. By restricting Reels during the first 24 hours, creators can spark curiosity and drive growth based on FOMO.

Here are some example use cases:

Early Access joins Lockable Reels, a feature Instagram debuted with The Weeknd that lets creators lock Reels behind a secret code. It adds a layer of gamification to content access.

Early Access is somewhat the opposite of the popular Trial Reels feature. Trial Reels shares content with non-followers first to test performance, while Early Access prioritizes a creator’s community before it goes public.

If rolled out widely, Early Access could unlock new creative opportunities for creators and brands to connect with their audience, reward loyal fans, and experiment with exclusive content or offers for those who opt in.

TikTok rolled out a new Nearby Feed, an iteration first spotted in 2022, in select countries including the UK, France, Italy, and Germany. The feed appears as a tab on the home screen, with the tab name reflecting the user’s location. Content shown is based on a mix of the user’s location, the topic of the content, and when it was posted.

Why it matters: The Nearby Feed gives users a dedicated space to browse local businesses, restaurants, events, and creators that match their interests. With younger audiences increasingly turning to TikTok as a search engine, this feed makes it easier to find places to go and things to do, whether at home or while traveling.

It also benefits local creators and small businesses. According to Oxford Economics, 46% of TikTok users in the UK have visited a local shop, restaurant, or attraction after seeing it on the platform.

This effort toward local discovery is not unique to TikTok. Instagram has previously tested a Nearby feed for Reels and shows local-based content on its Maps feature, while YouTube now automatically tags locations in restaurant and travel content to help viewers explore places featured in videos.

Dedicated feeds for localized content could also create new advertising opportunities. Platforms could use these experiences to provide more value to small businesses and regional companies that want to reach audiences in specific locations, especially when the goal is to drive physical actions such as visiting a store or sitting down at a restaurant.

Spotify Wrapped arrived this week, the streaming platform’s annual year-in-review experience. This year’s release was bigger than ever with nearly a dozen new features, including:

Artists, songwriters, creators, authors, and even advertisers received their own Wrapped experiences with data on growth, fan engagement, and milestones. Spotify also shared top lists for artists, songs, albums, podcasts, and audiobooks.

Why it matters: This year’s Wrapped was Spotify’s biggest launch to date. More than 200 million users engaged within the first 24 hours, a 19 percent increase year over year. Last year, it took 62 hours to reach the same milestone. Wrapped continues to be a cultural moment that drives global conversation and inspires copycats across the industry, including YouTube, Apple, Amazon, and others.

With deeper personalization, more social features, and support for multiple formats, Spotify addressed user feedback from last year while strengthening its most impactful marketing moment.

While no other platform has yet matched Spotify Wrapped’s visibility, it highlights a key opportunity for any platform or app to build their own year-in-review experiences as these initiatives can generate massive earned media.

Meta announced new partnerships with news publishers including CNN, People Inc., and USA Today for Meta AI. When users ask news-related questions, Meta AI will now show information from these publishers with direct links. In recent years, Meta moved away from news content. With AI changing how people search for and consume information, the company now needs to support a wider range of content to match user behavior and keep its AI assistant competitive.

Meta created a new, centralized hub for Facebook and Instagram account support. Users can report issues, recover accounts, and get help from a new AI assistant. Since accounts are the core of a creator’s livelihood, any additional support to resolve issues will be welcomed. Most creators would still prefer human support, but AI gives platforms a way to serve creators at scale.

Instagram shared the history of its navigation bar, highlighting key updates over the past 15 years and the latest change putting Reels and Direct Messages front and center. Adam Mosseri noted that more people use DMs than posting to Feed or Stories, making the update data-driven, even if users aren’t thrilled.

Facebook launched its first-ever Facebook Marketplace holiday shop, including curated selections from creators like iJustine, Tay BeepBop, and April Lockhart. This follows increased searches for certain categories during last year’s holiday season. With new social, collaborative, and AI features, combined with creator involvement, Facebook is aiming to tap into growing interest in secondhand resale gifting.

Threads is testing a new feature inspired by the “Dear Algo” trend. Users can personalize their feed by adding “Dear Algo” to a post, signaling what they want to see more or less of for three days. Others can see, connect with, or repost these messages if their profile is public. It’s yet another move by platforms to give users more control over their recommendation experience.

TikTok reported its biggest Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend ever. Nearly 50% more shoppers bought on TikTok Shop in the U.S. compared to last year, driving over $500 million in sales across four days. There were 760,000 live streams generating more than 1.6 billion views. TikTok Shop’s growing success has become hard for creators and brands to ignore, especially during big shopping moments.

Roblox hosted Creator Showdown, its first creator invitational tournament. Eight creators competed in a three-hour live-streamed event for a $50,000 prize pool. After helping creators earn $1 billion in revenue, Roblox is expanding earning opportunities and growing its presence in new formats that can attract new creators and audiences.

Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) announced he will shut down his wallpaper app Panels at the end of the year. The app faced backlash over pricing and ads when it first launched about a year ago. Brownlee cited challenges in scaling Panels, showing that even with large audiences and distribution, creators still need product-market fit and the right teams to execute on their new businesses.

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