Social media roundup: Clubhouse booms, Parler returns, AI content moderation

The start of 2021 has been particularly rife with change for social media.

Here’s a quick roundup of the most important changes impacting indie hackers' marketing and distribution channels.

Post-Trump, attention economy shifts

Love or hate him, Donald Trump captivated Americans’ attention like no other figure.

In the final year of his presidency, Trump:

• tweeted an average of 33 times per day;
• was tagged roughly 1,000 per minute, the New York Times found;
• And was the 6th most followed Twitter account with 88 million followers.

But now that Trump’s been deplatformed, Americans appear to be refocusing their attention. In the first two weeks of February, there were about 13.8 million social posts on President Biden, according to data from social analytics firm Keyhole. That’s 87.5 percent less than the 104 million posts about Trump in the first two weeks of January 2021.

While other far-right politicians are hoping to fill the Trump void, Facebook’s downranking of political topics and the rise of in-depth newsletters are making it harder for them to command the same attention Trump once did. But before we celebrate a more thoughtful engagement with digital content, remember social media’s propensity to create powerfully-distracting tools.

“Until now, from the mass-media era to the social-media age, the attention economy has moved only in one direction, towards speed and ubiquity. Anyone who thinks it can be shifted into reverse — that attention deflation can last — is betting against a century-long trend.” —Scott Rosenberg

Clubhouse continues its boom

After a $100 million funding round and $1 billion valuation in January, audio-based social app Clubhouse continues to add new users by the millions.

As of Feb. 1, Clubhouse has more than 6 million users — up from 2 million in mid-January. Drawing praise from the likes of Elon Musk and Drake, the invite-only app is booming thanks to its simplicity, intimacy, and exclusivity. Other companies are taking note, including Gumroad, which will be using Clubhouse for all team conversations. Facebook is reportedly already building its copy of Clubhouse.

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Parler is back

Parler — the notorious social media platform adored by far-right groups — is back online with a new CEO.

Billing itself as the “free speech” alternative to Facebook, Parler was offline for about a month after Amazon Web Services booted the company for its users’ penchant to advocate violence. Parler is now being hosted by SkySilk and Mark Meckler — who co-founded the Tea Party Patriots — is serving as Parler’s interim CEO.

“Parler was built to offer a social media platform that protects free speech and values privacy and civil discourse. When Parler was taken offline in January by those who desire to silence tens of millions of Americans, our team came together, determined to keep our promise to our highly engaged community that we would return stronger than ever.” —Mark Meckler

AI tool takes aim at civility

Cybersecurity firm Sentropy is launching a free consumer tool that detects harmful content on your social media.

• Sentropy Protect helps Twitter users to proactively identify and protect themselves from abusive accounts, the company said.

• Unlike other tools that rely on user account info to find spam or bot accounts, Sentropy’s consumer tool uses machine learning technology and actual user behavior to identify abuse.

As online harassment and misinformation abound, social media giants are looking for solutions in companies like Sentropy. Other creative ideas have sprung up for content moderation, including a blockchain approach.