Keeping up with the happenings in social media is a full-time job, and don’t we know it! Some of the biggest names in the world got involved in various issues throughout 2022, from the pettiness of Elon Musk vs. Twitter vs. Trump vs. Kanye (exhausting alone just typing it), the outrage from Instagrammers not wanting their platform to become TikTok, to the introduction of and much copied BeReal app.

Here are the biggest moments in social media from 2022:

Instagram revolt

Everyone got seriously mad at Mosseri, even Kim Kardashian. Instagram CEO, Adam Mosseri, led major changes to the Instagram app (and let’s be honest, way of life) when updates were made on what felt like a DAILY basis.

Quick summary: Instagram was desperately trying to be TikTok. Reels were very clearly prioritised in the algorithm compared to static posts, so much so that Instagram beta-tested changing all posts to a 9x16 layout.

His “cool boss”-style video updates on his personal Instagram feed did little to appease major personalities and top creators on Instagram who dragged him for taking away their reach and engagement, and freedom to post in whichever format they please without algorithm penalties.

Despite Reels still being very much favoured, Instagram seems to have listened and slowed down the constant stream of major updates. Are they still giving us things we don’t want? Of course, but we feel it has steadied for the time being. Some attractive updates are in the pipeline, like scheduling capabilities in-app. Let’s hear it for the social media managers in the back!

BeReal

We reported on the new platform as it started to peak back in July, and at the time of writing that blog article, there had been 20 million downloads. As of October 2022, there are 20 million daily active users worldwide. We were keen to see how brands activated in the space, and saw US brand Kiehl’s asking TikTok followers what kind of exclusive content they’d like to see from the brand on BeReal.

Following on from the big uptake of BeReal, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat naturally made attempts to copy the dual camera mode in their own ways.

Twitter & Elon & Kanye & Trump & $11 for a blue tick

Where to begin. Head of Social, Bea, discussed this in some depth in a separate blog post, but it would be completely remiss of me to exclude it here. TL;DR: Elon wanted to buy Twitter then changed his mind, then back again, dropping a suuuuuuper casual $44 BILLION. (*quietly imagines elon putting his money to good use like, idk, famine relief and Ukraine and climate change, etc* )

THEN, there was the whole freedom of speech debacle when he un-banned and then re-banned Kanye West.

He is also charging individuals and companies for use of the blue verification tick which will be $8 or $11 once he makes up his mind. Although, 53% of brands won’t pay for verification.

TikTok (still)

We get it, TikTok isn’t going anywhere, although for the first time in what seems like a while, downloads of the app are potentially stagnating.

In other twists of the knife to other platforms, TikTok is becoming the go-to place for search and news for Gen Z.

We can’t wait to see what 2023 brings for the world of social media!