beauty companies giving away eggs and gambling apps opening free grocery stores. it isn’t charity, it’s marketing that uses the affordability crisis as a hook for attention.

The advice people give social managers during dark times is to take a break from scrolling. The social team at @mprnews.org, who have been covering the ongoing ICE surge in Minnesota, doesn’t have that option. In today's newsletter I asked how they are doing.

some thoughts on the future of instagram

the instagram account "mikewaynedotcom" has posted over 250 ai-generated videos of ice over the course of just two days. most commenters have no idea they aren't real.

thanks for sharing!

“If Mosseri were being honest with himself on how to keep Instagram ‘authentic’, he would have used his essay to advocate for Al regulation, creator protections, and industry standards.”

@milkkarten.bsky.social on target, as usual

Instagram is betting on the momentum, not the reaction My response to Adam Mosseri.

wrote about why i think adam mosseri is wrong about the future of instagram

Post-social media It's time to rethink what the feed is for.

This is now my most-read newsletter of all time

Thanks Scott!

Thank you for sharing!

How much money do you make? The 2025 Social Media Compensation Survey is here!

I’m attempting to build the most comprehensive salary benchmark report for social media professionals. (No, we’re not all interns.) Help me by filling out this survey and sharing with friends who work in this field.

thank you lucy!

After five years of running Duolingo's social media, Zaria Parvez is leaving. I flew to Pittsburgh to chat with her about what she's looking for in her next role, the mental health of social managers, and why she's into "slow burn" content. In tomorrow’s newsletter.

Finally, all of this was very cost effective!!

Here’s an example of what an email flow looked like in DMs.

ManyChat also helped Mamdani's campaign collect emails. Gabriella estimates around 10k emails were collected from Instagram.

One of the most impressive uses of the tool was their comment-to-dm posts. I’ve shared an example of one here.

When Gabriella started working with the campaign in April, she immediately started setting up flows within ManyChat. As you can see below, they can be quite complicated on the back end.

The lightbulb moment.

Funny enough, ManyChat is typically thought of as an influencer tool. That's how Gabriella first heard of it. She has an influencer dog, Edna the Runt, who uses it.

Here’s how ManyChat, the tool the campaign used to mobilize followers, works.

Two months before the primaries, Gabriella Zutrau, an independent freelance digital consultant, texted @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social's campaign team with an idea. She knew of a tool that could turn online enthusiasm into volunteers. I spoke with her about the impact of a comment-to-dm automation tool.

Published the results to a survey about what it's really like to work in social media right now. The headline? Brands are leaving Twitter in droves.

The Agency Helping Progressive Candidates Break Through Online Melted Solids has worked with Zohran Mamdani, Bernie Sanders, and more.

i interviewed the agency behind many of @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social very good social videos

Broadway's ‘Oh, Mary!’ Takes Social Very Seriously I talk to Austin Spero, Social Director for 'Oh, Mary!', about treating audiences with intelligence, operating on gut instinct, and the importance of flirtation in marketing.

"The best social is a coy, playful flirtation. How do I authentically share the experience of a piece, a project, and leave you wanting more? My goal is to find, fulfill, and subvert where storytelling needs meet the expectations of the audience."

Have been looking at how brand posts are performing here vs other platforms. This comparison of the same post by @cpsc.gov shared across Threads, Bluesky, and Twitter is interesting.

thrilled to be here!