TheFutureParty
A Community-based Media Company
MrBeast is joining a consortium of investors in submitting an all-cash bid to acquire TikTok’s US operations before President Trump’s 75-day extension on the app’s ban ends. The Big Picture: The race is on to see who will land the most coveted social media platform in the world (if China really does allow a sale). Whoever can curry […]
As TikTok’s fate in the US hangs in the balance with Donald Trump back at the Resolute Desk, every American social platform is racing to remake its image in the troubled platform. The Top Notification: President Trump is already making some hard-to-keep promises on reinstating TikTok, including the US potentially taking a 50% stake in the app. […]
Duolingo is seeing a surge in new users because of people deciding to learn Mandarin, so they can better enjoy the Chinese equivalent of Instagram, RedNote (Xiaohongshu in Chinese). Why It Hits: Politicians on both sides of the aisle regret having passed the divest-or-ban TikTok law, learning the hard way that a majority of Americans aren’t happy […]
With TikTok’s US expiration date approaching, there’s a mad rush to eulogize it, purchase it, find alternatives, or extend its American life. Why It Hits: The dust is far from settled on what TikTok’s fate will be. But whatever happens, social media is definitely entering a new era, which will once again reshape online life. Behind […]
A decentralized movement is happening on the outskirts of social media: Mastodon’s CEO is transferring ownership of the social platform to a new nonprofit, and a new initiative aims to protect the infrastructure that Bluesky is built on from the whims of billionaire owners. The Big Picture: Amid X’s transformation under Elon Musk and existential changes happening […]
TikTok started making its case against the US government’s divest-or-ban law in front of the Supreme Court on Friday… and so far, it seems that the Justices are siding with upholding the law. That means TikTok could really be gone on January 19th when the law takes effect. Why It Hits: We don’t need to make the […]
Meta announced that it’s swapping out its third-party fact-checkers with a community-notes model over the next few months in hopes of fighting back against alleged bias and censorship. The Big Picture: Meta is once again changing with the tide. After nearly a decade of trying to thwart extremism, hateful speech, and misinformation on its platforms, the company has decided that […]
After a week of bad press, Meta has seemingly deleted its nonhuman chatbot profiles from Instagram that quietly rolled out in 2023… signaling a potential retreat from its plan to offer a community of AI users. Why It Hits: Meta has been trying to find a way to make chatbots across its social media ecosystem a thing to […]
Platforms such as Partiful and Timeleft are using their apps as a jumping off point to get people to meet IRL… and they’re finally taking off in popularity. The Big Picture: Plenty has been written about how social media has made people more connected than ever, but also lonelier than ever. While there’s been many benefits of creating digital communities, people […]
Software company Flipboard is set to unveil an app next year called Surf that connects platforms across the fediverse (the open, social web that Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon, and others are a part of) in customizable and interactive feeds. The Big Picture: Fediverse CEO Mike McCue is betting that the future of social media will not be about walled-garden […]