Q2 + July Trends Report - Threading it All Together

A look back on the last four months and what to be keeping an eye on

Some of you may remember when I launched my first quarterly trends report in April. My goal was to take a look back at the last three months, pull out some themes and interesting stats, and also share some things people should be paying attention to going forward.

I’m excited to release the second one for the second quarter, plus most of July. Given the Fourth of July holiday and just summer life, it’s taken me longer to put this together. I promise I’ll get on a more regular schedule going forward.

UPDATE: This is now available to everyone. This report is for my paid subscribers only. It takes me a lot of time to assemble this, and your support allows me to do that. If you can’t sign up for a paid subscription, shoot me a note, and I’ll hook you up.

What will you get in this report? It’s 23 slides full of goodness, such as:

1. Key themes from the last four months

2. Key announcements and events broken down by month

3. Select announcements from the platforms on AI, safety, and democracy

4. Some interesting graphs on social media usage and the rise of podcasts

5. A graph looking at how long it was from a platform being created to its CEO testifying before Congress (spoiler: the time frame is getting A LOT shorter)

6. AI stories from around the world

7. A look ahead at the stories likely to shape the next few months

8. Stories I don’t think enough people are paying attention to

As a reminder, I’m on a new posting schedule where Wednesdays will be more in-depth pieces, Thursdays will be the calendar, and Sundays will be links to what I’m reading. This promises to be a busy end of the week - so get ready.

Thank you for being a paid subscriber. Your support means a lot to me.

Without further ado, here is the Q2 + July trends report!

Feel free to share it with folks in your organization or quote it in any way you find helpful. A sneak peek at some of the things in there. 

Key themes include:

1. AI’s threat to democracy/AI will save the world - Experts worry that democracy is not ready for its AI test while Silicon Valley leaders such as Marc Andreessen and Yann LeCunn say that AI will save the world.

2. Chilling effect of court cases/House inquiries - Concerns that pending court cases and injunctions on government engagement with platforms as well as continued House inquiries will have a chilling effect on work around the online information integrity environment.

3. Trust and Safety community professionalizes - Over 800 people attended the second annual TrustCon conference as the Trust and Safety field continues to expand.

4. Platforms evolve - Meta launches Threads which grows to over 100 million users in less than a week. ChatGPT had taken two months and TikTok nine months to reach that milestone. Twitter rebrands to X.

5. Campaigns start to take shape - The U.S. campaign strategies get into focus. Themes include podcasting, AI generated ads, less digital spending and influencers. Indian campaigns are embracing influencers too.

Things I’m watching the next few months are:

1. All the court cases - Between the Supreme Court and others numerous cases are working their way through the system. These cases will have a chilling effect in many ways as companies and organizations aren’t sure what will or won’t be legal.

2. First GOP primary debate August 23 - This is the real kick off for the 2024 election. Will Trump show up?

3. UK online safety bill - This bill is due to pass before the end of summer. Will it? Former Meta public policy vice president and member of the Uk House of Lords Richard Allan has some thoughts on how this might play out.

4. Will Trump return to Twitter - He can now. When will he? His team is reportedly working on a strategy.

5. Zuck vs Musk - From a potential cage match to competitive platforms and a rumor that Meta owns the trademark for “X” as it relates to “online social networking services” this might be the real match up for 2024.

And, the stories I don’t think people are paying enough attention to:

1. The new debate partners - The RNC asked the Ruthless podcast with over 3 million listeners to do a pre-game show ahead of the first debate. Rumble is the online video partner. How will this impact how people engage with the debates?

2. SCOTUS case on govt use of social media - Amicus briefs were filed in two cases regarding if government officials can block people from their social media platforms. SCOTUS will take this up in the Fall and it could also have an impact on the 2024 race.

3. 2024 elections are almost here - If you’ve followed me for even a little while you know this is a message I’ve been hammering since 2020, but it’s almost here! Taiwan’s election is in January - ONLY FIVE MONTHS AWAY. 2024 will be here before you know it. Don’t be behind.

Read the full report now!