🌀 chaotic check-in
hi legends,
instagram finally blessed us with a real ipad app (rip to those cursed, zoomed-in pixels). meta resurrected Pokes like it’s 2010 and we’re all crushing on our lab partner again. youtube shorts just smoked tiktok on teen holiday wishlists. and Dove’s #ShareTheFirst? a masterclass reminder that creators aren’t side dishes, they’re the whole dang buffet.
also, i may or may not have joined a karaoke contest for free pizza… and now i own a plastic trophy that literally says “Loudest Noise.” dreams do come true.
today's menu
🫖 trending tea
15 years later… IG finally shows up
Instagram shuts down duplicate Trial Reels. Now any Trial Reels that are duplicates, direct copies or re-uploads will be downranked and shown to less people.
Instagram is tweaking notification ranking to reduce user fatigue, prioritizing updates that actually matter instead of spamming your lock screen.
Creators with pro accounts (or 100K+ followers) are getting inbox upgrades like multi-select filters, customizable shortcuts, and folder tools to make DM chaos a little less chaotic.
After 15 years, Instagram finally dropped a dedicated iPad app, which means no more stretched-out iPhone screen experience.
Users can now pin their own comments, a feature Mosseri teased just weeks ago after being directly asked about it.
Instagram is rolling out an educational editing series hosted by creator Adrian Peter, with 20 tutorials covering everything from keyframes to camera techniques dropping throughout the year.
Reels are about to become infinite scroll mode: a new auto-play feature jumps straight into the next video without you even touching the screen.
Meta’s big September reveal
Meta’s throwing a spotlight on its annual Connect event happening September 17–18, where Zuckerberg will likely flex the company’s AI and metaverse muscles and maybe serve us something wearable.
Also, Meta’s gearing up to drop a developer toolkit for smart glasses, opening the floodgates for more AR/AI apps on their hardware. Less “glasses as gadgets,” more “glasses as mini-computers.
Meta published its latest regulatory transparency report, detailing government data requests, content restrictions, and other compliance updates.
Facebook is bringing back the classic Poke, complete with new features like poke counts, streaks, and even a leaderboard page.
Advertisers are getting fresh insights thanks to Meta’s updated incremental attribution tracking, making it easier to measure the real impact of campaigns across channels.
Adam Mosseri said they’ve “fixed” Instagram Stories so posting more than one Story a day will no longer decrease the reach of your Stories overall.
from Sesame Street to Gen Z Streets
YouTube is quietly testing an AI-powered Shorts filter that “deblurs” and “denoises” videos, but creators say it makes them look overly polished, even AI-generated. After pushback, YouTube’s Rene Ritchie confirmed they’re building an opt-out option.
Creators can now share direct links to community post invites, making it way easier to bring fans into the conversation.
Sesame Street just landed a new content deal with YouTube, meaning Big Bird and Elmo aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
YouTube’s latest Culture & Trends Report maps out how Gen Z and Gen Alpha are reshaping creativity. Think: identity as a flex, remix culture, lo-fi vibes, and participation > perfection. Quick breakdown here.
51% of teen boys and 43% of teen girls bought something after watching Shorts ads, higher than TikTok. With 66% of teens regularly watching and 18% spending 1.5+ hours daily, Shorts are shaping early holiday wish lists.
TikTok gets chatty
TikTok just leveled up its DMs. Now you can send voice notes up to 60 seconds and drop up to 9 images or videos at once in chats. But if you're sliding into someone’s inbox for the first time, you can’t sneak in a personal pic or vid as that first move.
Over in Europe, TikTok is still sky-high – EU users up to 170 million, marking a ~25% bump since 2023. But plot twist: that happened even as human moderation staff dropped 26%, meaning AI is literally doing the heavy lifting.
TikTok's rolling out a fresh feature that transforms your typed text into vibrant images. When you select the "Text" post option and enter your message, TikTok's AI generates a background image complete with emojis and stylized text.
creator economy
Peach & Lily's unconventional approach involved sending unbranded skincare products to influencers, sparking curiosity and organic buzz. This strategy led to engagement rates five times higher than previous campaigns, highlighting the power of authenticity in influencer marketing.
Hyundai, in collaboration with Popfly, is searching for a "Director of Influence" to create authentic adventure content. The selected creator will receive a year-long loan of a Hyundai Palisade SUV, empowering them to travel and produce content that resonates with their audience.
Mom influencers are making waves at every stage of the marketing funnel. From generating authentic buzz at the awareness stage to driving conversions and fostering brand loyalty, their influence is undeniable. Their lifestyle content on platforms like Instagram Reels and TikTok helps introduce products to the right audiences, whether they're shopping at Target or browsing Amazon.
✨ main character moment
Dove’s #ShareTheFirst: How a Legacy Brand Went All-In on Creators
When Unilever’s new CEO Fernando Fernandez took the reins in early 2025, he didn’t just shuffle budgets, he detonated the old playbook. His pledge? Make Unilever “social-first,” shifting 50% of ad spend to social media and influencers and multiplying creator partnerships “20 times over.” He even joked about wanting “one influencer in each zip code in India and municipality in Brazil.” Bold words, but Dove – Unilever’s biggest brand – was already halfway down that road.
Why Dove was ready
Dove has been cultivating creator partnerships since 2017. Its “Real Beauty” platform, built around confidence and authenticity, naturally aligned with influencers who reject filters and distortions. So when Fernandez announced the pivot, Dove’s leadership called it “music to our ears.” As Marcela Melero, Dove’s chief growth officer, put it: “We’re doubling down on what we were already doing.”
@francescascorsese Join me and #ShareTheFirst ! @Dove #DovePartner
The campaign: #ShareTheFirst
The insight driving Dove’s latest push was simple but powerful:
9 in 10 women take dozens of photos just to find one “perfect” selfie.
6 in 10 don’t share happy moments at all because they feel self-conscious.
#ShareTheFirst – Dove’s first fully creator-led global campaign. Instead of polished studio shoots, the brand asked influencers to post their first unfiltered photo, reframing imperfection as authenticity. Creators weren’t amplifiers; they were co-producers shaping the entire movement.
Dove tested the concept with UK creator Lucy Reeves, then scaled it to 100+ influencers across 14 countries.
Every post was shot on creators’ own phones, in their own style, with their own captions. Because every creator has a unique voice and audience, even with the same campaign brief they produced very different content. As Dove’s team notes, “if you give three creators the same brief, you’re not going to get back the same content – they know what works for their community”.
Thanks to these pre-built communities, Dove could activate new markets in as little as 48 hours, something no traditional production cycle could achieve.
These methods turn creators into co-producers, not just spokespeople.
From social to streets
The campaign wasn’t confined to Instagram feeds. At London’s Liverpool Street Station, Dove staged an OOH takeover: 64 digital screens mimicking a camera roll, flooded with real creator selfies. Passersby watched rows of nearly identical filtered shots interrupted by one bold “first photo.” It was a simple, striking way to drive home the message that real beauty is spontaneous.
Why this worked
Creators as Co-Authors, Not Megaphones
Instead of scripting a message, Dove gave creators freedom to tailor it for their communities. This turned the campaign into a many-to-many ecosystem rather than a one-way broadcast.Trust Built Over Time
Many of Dove’s collaborators have worked with the brand since 2017. That long-term commitment gave the campaign credibility, these influencers weren’t just cashing in on a one-off brief.Purpose That Resonates
Dove doubled down on its “No Digital Distortion” pledge, refusing AI or filter-altered women in ads. By holding that line, the campaign became more than content, it became proof of values.Agility at Scale
With creators driving production, Dove cut timelines drastically. What once took months now took days.
The bigger picture
#ShareTheFirst isn’t just a clever hashtag. It’s proof of concept for Unilever’s new social-first future. By showing how a global legacy brand can hand creative control to influencers and still stay true to its purpose, Dove is setting the template for every other Unilever brand (and beyond). Dove’s creator-led campaign exemplifies the shift Fernandez is pushing: using social media and influencers not as an afterthought, but as the centerpiece of brand communication. It leverages research-driven insight (understanding women’s posting behaviors), empowers a diverse set of voices (co-creation with many influencers), and reinforces brand purpose (real, unfiltered beauty).
As Fernandez rolls out his “20x more influencers” plan, campaigns like this demonstrate why: creators aren’t just trendier. They’re faster, more authentic, and most importantly: TRUSTED.
For brands watching from the sidelines: if Dove can rewire its marketing machine around creators, what’s stopping you?
👀 what stopped our scroll
An underrated law? Kidlin's Law.
That if you write down a problem clearly and specifically, you have already solved half of it.
The act of clearly & specifically describing a problem on paper creates a deeper understanding of its components & makes it easier to find solutions.
— #Dr. Julie Gurner (#@drgurner)
1:35 PM • Sep 6, 2025
Krishnamurti has once said: “Where there is attention, there is no problem.”
@aretevue Volume Negates Luck. - #alexhormozi, entrepreneur, investor, and author, makes an inspiring appearance. Volume Negates Luck: where #motiva... See more
👇
P.S.
You don’t win by waiting for the “perfect” piece of content.
You win by flooding the market with so much strong content that one of them breaks through and then you double down.
That’s how you stop guessing and start scaling.
That’s how you turn “maybe it’ll work” into “wow, it worked.”
That’s how you brute-force growth.
JoinBrands creators = endless content, endless signals, endless shots at success.
So don’t sit there hoping for luck.
Make so much noise, the market has no choice but to hear you.
👉 Do the work. Take the shots. Let JoinBrands creators hand you the volume that creates your next big win.