What’s hot?

This week, it feels like we’re answering the question “What’s not hot?”, because ridiculous employee demands, app bans and comic sans are real no-no’s from us (and we’re sure Paris Hilton would agree).

But fear not, we’ve still got the juicy stuff – we would never let you down like that.

The influencer you need to look past: The PA job

It’s often said that influencers are the new celebs  – celebrities who are “just like us” (except no one pays me £3,000 for an Instagram post. If anyone is willing to, please DM me).

When we think of celebrities, obviously we think of Hollywood, red carpets, parties, and glamour. But a lot of us also think of the term ‘diva’, a frustratingly gendered term that we use to describe celebrities who are a bit too big for their boots. So, it makes sense that there would be influencer divas too, right?

This point was proven this week with a job advertisement for an influencer’s PA went viral, due to its pure ridiculousness. If you’re feeling a little bit unhappy with your current employer, we’d recommend taking a look to brighten your day. Highlights include:

• Flexible hours (but you will be with the influencer most of the time)
• Fresh coffee in the morning (you’re serving it)
• This is the one that really got is….It’ll be calm and quiet (so long as you can “compartmentalize emotion and remain professional”)

The update you need to see: Instagram throws it back to year six IT

Instagram has dropped four new story fonts, which is perfect for any brand whose social guidelines state they must use comic sans. Since my year six IT class is not a ‘brand’ so to speak, this update is fairly worthless. It’s a fun new update for everyday users as font options are doubling, though snazzy consumers usually find their way around this by using sites like igfonts.io (that’s why you people using a font you can never, ever find – they’ve invested serious time in that story).

For brands, it doesn’t mean too much. If your brand guideline font IS an Instagram story font, it’s pretty unoriginal. If not, you’re probably using separate apps like Mojo to create animated stories with your own font. Here’s hoping Instagram gets the full Microsoft suit sometime soon, less we face the wrath of the brand team once again…

The video series you need to watch: Socially challenged

The Drum has launched a new video series for social media managers, offering wisdom from the industry’s brightest minds. In addition to top tips and accounts you should follow; video guests will answer personal questions about their likes and dislikes within the industry. The first episode went out yesterday – check it out here.

The new, old kid on the block: Snapchat’s back

We spoke about Instagram’s Reels last week, assessing whether it’s a worthy competitor of TikTok. Another social platform has decided to step up to the plate and try to take TikTok’s crown, and it’s unexpectedly expected: Snapchat. The app is now allowing users to add music to snaps, with a series of music partnerships. It’s an interesting idea from Snapchat but it doesn’t quite have the viral ability that TikTok has and Reels potentially has – there’s no ability to share beyond the initial user and recipient – nonetheless, it’s nice to see Snapchat modernise and keep up with consumer trends.

The story you need to come up with: Trump and TikTok

If you felt like this was a long week, imagine working at TikTok. Now they are busy…Not only have you got the President of the USA banning you, but you’re also launching a European data centre. It’s a lot to keep up with, and don’t even get me started on the dances you’re supposed to know (we assume all employees participate in the dances? Right? A Google-campus all-for-one-and-one-for-all vibe?)

Between October 2017 and March 2019, the number of adult TikTok users in the US multiplied by 550%. It’s baffling to try and work out how much this number must have risen in the past twelve months. But it looks like we’re headed to a steep drop, since Trump has decided to ban Chinese apps, including TikTok.

Also this week, TikTok announced plans to open an Irish datacentre for European users, joining it’s already existing datacentres in Singapore and -you guessed it- the USA. We’d recommend keeping up with this story as it evolves, but we would also recommend that you don’t do so by following Trump on Twitter. Save yourself the stress.