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Here’s Why Meta Is Committed to Recreating TikTok’s Algorithm
Kristin Snyder
Kristin Snyder is dot.LA's 2022/23 Editorial Fellow. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
TikTok’s algorithm is dominating the social media landscape.
Instagram recently increased its push to re-create TikTok’s success, with the company changing its platform to prioritize Reels. Facebook is also shifting its interface to prioritize algorithmic content over posts from friends—and as companies try to increase user engagement and ad revenue, some users long for distinctly different platforms. Both Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner shared a petition via Instagram stories urging the app to “stop trying to be tiktok.” The petition, which has over 160,000 signatures, was launched by photographer Tati Bruening and requests a return to a focus on photos.
“We have TikTok for a reason, and let’s face it, the only reels uploaded are recycled TikToks and content that the world has already seen,” Bruening wrote in the petition. “What’s innovative and unique about old stale content? Nothing!”
Instagram head Adam Mosseri took to Reels Tuesday morning to reassure users that the app will still support photos, even though “more and more of Instagram is going to become video over time,” he said.
Evan Britton, founder of Santa Monica-based Famous Birthdays, told dot.LA that the pivot to video stems from advertising trends. It’s harder for advertisers to place a video ad between photos than between videos. Switching mediums allows Instagram to make more revenue per user, Britton said. Some analysts believe Reels has the potential to surpass TikTok in ad revenue.
Britton also said Instagram’s previous model of chronological, friend-based feeds would eventually lead to a lack of content to view, whereas algorithms provide an endless loop of content and increase engagement.
Though users are more comfortable controlling their feeds, Britton said drawing in viewers through the algorithm helps with post interaction. Gen Z, in particular, uses TikTok more than other social media platforms because of its interest-driven algorithm. He said pushback stems from the late-in-the-game shift from Instagram’s original interface. Despite complaints, Britton believes there is no practical reason for Meta to abandon its commitment to video.
“When people open up Instagram and it is slowly morphing, more and more, into Tik Tok, people are going to stay longer,” Britton said. “If people didn't love Instagram so much they wouldn’t be concerned about it changing.”
Major influencers like the Kardashian-Jenner clan probably want their preferred social media platforms to have distinct differences, as do the microinfluencers who have struggled to navigate the ever-changing algorithms. But, Kim, there’s people that are dying—including social media companies that have to make a profit off of free content.
“It's going to [result in] higher revenue per user for watching videos, and there'll be more engagement in time in the app because there's an endless supply of content because it's based on interests versus who you follow,” Britton said.
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Kristin Snyder
Kristin Snyder is dot.LA's 2022/23 Editorial Fellow. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
https://twitter.com/ksnyder_db
Here's How To Get a Digital License Plate In California
03:49 PM | October 14, 2022
Photo by Clayton Cardinalli on Unsplash
Thanks to a new bill passed on October 5, California drivers now have the choice to chuck their traditional metal license plates and replace them with digital ones.
The plates are referred to as “Rplate” and were developed by Sacramento-based Reviver. A news release on Reviver’s website that accompanied the bill’s passage states that there are “two device options enabling vehicle owners to connect their vehicle with a suite of services including in-app registration renewal, visual personalization, vehicle location services and security features such as easily reporting a vehicle as stolen.”
Reviver Auto Current and Future CapabilitiesFrom Youtube
There are wired (connected to and powered by a vehicle’s electrical system) and battery-powered options, and drivers can choose to pay for their plates monthly or annually. Four-year agreements for battery-powered plates begin at $19.95 a month or $215.40 yearly. Commercial vehicles will pay $275.40 each year for wired plates. A two-year agreement for wired plates costs $24.95 per month. Drivers can choose to install their plates, but on its website, Reviver offers professional installation for $150.
A pilot digital plate program was launched in 2018, and according to the Los Angeles Times, there were 175,000 participants. The new bill ensures all 27 million California drivers can elect to get a digital plate of their own.
California is the third state after Arizona and Michigan to offer digital plates to all drivers, while Texas currently only provides the digital option for commercial vehicles. In July 2022, Deseret News reported that Colorado might also offer the option. They have several advantages over the classic metal plates as well—as the L.A. Times notes, digital plates will streamline registration renewals and reduce time spent at the DMV. They also have light and dark modes, according to Reviver’s website. Thanks to an accompanying app, they act as additional vehicle security, alerting drivers to unexpected vehicle movements and providing a method to report stolen vehicles.
As part of the new digital plate program, Reviver touts its products’ connectivity, stating that in addition to Bluetooth capabilities, digital plates have “national 5G network connectivity and stability.” But don’t worry—the same plates purportedly protect owner privacy with cloud support and encrypted software updates.
5 Reasons to avoid the digital license plate | Ride TechFrom Youtube
After the Rplate pilot program was announced four years ago, some raised questions about just how good an idea digital plates might be. Reviver and others who support switching to digital emphasize personalization, efficient DMV operations and connectivity. However, a 2018 post published by Sophos’s Naked Security blog pointed out that “the plates could be as susceptible to hacking as other wireless and IoT technologies,” noting that everyday “objects – things like kettles, TVs, and baby monitors – are getting connected to the internet with elementary security flaws still in place.”
To that end, a May 2018 syndicated New York Times news service article about digital plates quoted the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which warned that such a device could be a “‘honeypot of data,’ recording the drivers’ trips to the grocery store, or to a protest, or to an abortion clinic.”
For now, Rplates are another option in addition to old-fashioned metal, and many are likely to opt out due to cost alone. If you decide to go the digital route, however, it helps if you know what you could be getting yourself into.
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Steve Huff
Steve Huff is an Editor and Reporter at dot.LA. Steve was previously managing editor for The Metaverse Post and before that deputy digital editor for Maxim magazine. He has written for Inside Hook, Observer and New York Mag. Steve is the author of two official tie-ins books for AMC’s hit “Breaking Bad” prequel, “Better Call Saul.” He’s also a classically-trained tenor and has performed with opera companies and orchestras all over the Eastern U.S. He lives in the greater Boston metro area with his wife, educator Dr. Dana Huff.
steve@dot.la
Meet the LA Startup Founder Who Had Two Hours To Prep Her 'Shark Tank' Pitch
03:48 PM | April 01, 2022
Photo courtesy of Curie
One Sunday afternoon last September, Sarah Moret was hiking through Griffith Observatory when she received a voicemail from the producer of “Shark Tank,” ABC’s hit entrepreneurial reality show. The voice message notified her that she had just two hours to get to the “Shark Tank” studio and pitch Curie, her aluminum-free deodorant brand, to the show’s “Sharks”—its panel of investor judges featuring Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Barbara Corcoran, Daymond John and Kevin O'Leary.
"I just jumped in the car; my fiancé was driving, and he brought me home as fast as possible in the carpool lane," Moret told dot.LA. "I curled my hair, got ready in 20 minutes and did my makeup in the passenger seat of his car for a primetime TV show."
Sarah Moret at the top of her hike, moments before she received a call from the producers of "Shark Tank."
Photo courtesy of Curie
Moret first applied to be on “Shark Tank” in 2020, but didn't receive a callback. She heard back from the show after reapplying the following year, with initial plans to film in July—but the producers bumped her filming date and put her on standby until September.
"I compare it to being like an understudy in a play," she explained. "I didn't have a set filming date. I was just told that I would get a phone call if there was space in the schedule for me to film.”
But Moret was confident she had a product worth waiting for, and the entrepreneurial know-how to scale it into a successful business. Most conventional antiperspirants in the market are made out of aluminum that can cause armpit irritation; while there are natural, aluminum-free deodorant brands, Moret said they also irritated her skin or left her smelling like a gym bag. Curie, her solution to these problems, uses sage oil and probiotics to beat the stink, arrowroot powder to absorb the sweat, and chamomile and aloe to soothe the armpits.
Prior to launching Curie in 2018, Moret worked as an associate at Santa Monica-based venture capital firm Crosscut Ventures, where she earned a spot on the investing team. There, she learned the ins and outs of the startup world.
“Curie started from a personal need,” Moret said. “I'm an athlete and at the time was a marathon runner, and just couldn't find anything that worked.”
Curie generated revenues of $125,000 in its first year of selling deodorant sticks. The following year, the startup had $700,000 in sales. At the start of 2020, she raised $1 million through a convertible note capped at $5 million to continue growing the brand. It has gradually expanded its product offerings to include body wash, moisturizing body oil, a detox mask and hand sanitizers.
Before appearing on “Shark Tank,” Curie’s body products were already sold in over 300 stores nationwide including Nordstrom, Anthropologie and fitness gym Soulcycle. It had also frequently appeared on shopping network QVC.
Fast forward to September 2021, and Moret finally entered “the Tank” with her eyes set on Corcoran and Greiner. She wanted to make a deal with one or both of them because, as Moret put it, “I just gravitate towards female investors or founders.”
Curie's line of deodorant sprays in three scents. Photo courtesy of Curie
When Moret’s episode of “Shark Tank” finally aired last month, she was surprised to find herself the first one up. Moret confidently introduced Curie on national television without a hint of sweat on her face or dirt from the hiking trail. She charmed the Sharks with her background and solid numbers—her opening pitch was for a $300,000 investment in exchange for a 5% equity stake—but four out of the five Sharks didn’t bite, saying she had raised too much money early on and had too many products.
This wasn’t new to Moret: Her first efforts at pitching Nordstrom and QVC had been rebuffed as well. “Rejection is a part of being an entrepreneur,” she said. “You're always going to get no’s; you can't let those no’s stop you or discourage you.”
It all came down to the final Shark, Daymond. When he produced an offer—$300,000 for 20% equity—that Moret deemed too low, she shot back: “I know my worth, I know the company's worth and I'm not backing down.”
After Moret countered with $300,000 for 12% equity, Cuban and Corcoran combined on an offer of $300,000 in exchange for 14% equity. Moret took the deal, as Cuban quipped: “I never thought I would be in a women’s deodorant business, ever.”
After the show aired, Curie sold out all of its deodorant products in 24 hours and now has some 5,000 customers on its waitlist. Moret said the company has plans to roll out further products, but supply chain issues have impacted their progress.
“Our biggest hurdle right now is just getting back in stock quickly, so we can get people their deodorant,” she said.
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Decerry Donato
Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.
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