Geekout with Matt Navarra

Latest Episodes:

10. Chartbeat's John Saroff on social analytics and the future of online publishing Jan 30, 2020

Show notes

Ask staff at many of the world’s leading newsrooms what software they rely on the most and Chartbeat will be near the top of the list. John Saroff is CEO of Chartbeat, which means he has plenty of insights into the way online publishers — and their audiences —are evolving.

John joins Matt Navarra and Martin SFP Bryant to talk about the changing habits of online publishers, the best ways to use social media to drive traffic and engagement to online brands, tips for smaller bloggers and publishers, and the future of Facebook’s often rocky relationship with the news industry.

Meanwhile, Matt and Martin talk over the week’s news, share the latest tests and tools you need to know about, and Matt gets grumpy about the Martin’s attempts to sledgehammer Aretha Franklin and Sylvester lyrics into the end of the show.

Geekout with Matt Navarra is sponsored by Pinterest. Inspire your audience and grow your company on Pinterest with a free business account. Learn more at business.pinterest.com.

News stories:

Damian Collins is replaced as chair of the UK Parliament DCMS select committee

Vine reboot Byte officially launches

Starting the Decade by Giving You More Control Over Your Privacy (and why it doesn’t do what it says it does)

In Quick Hits, we mention Instagram Addresses Questions on Algorithm, Comment Pods and Verification [Infographic]

Follow Matt and Martin on Twitter: @MattNavarra and @MartinSFP

Join the Social Media Geekout Facebook Group or discuss the show on Twitter using the hashtag #geekoutquestions.

Geekout with Matt Navarra is a Big Revolution production.

9. Vix Meldrew on the influencer industry in 2020 Jan 23, 2020

Show notes

Vix Meldrew is a content creator and the founder of Grow & Glow, a community for creators who want to build sustainable storytelling businesses.

Vix talks to Matt Navarra and Martin SFP Bryant about how the influencer industry is evolving from simple paid endorsements to more involved forms of storytelling. She discusses making the leap from school teacher to full-time online creator, the challenges of what many people consider a glamorous life, and how she helps others to develop the kind of career she has.

How can the influencer industry become more transparent and inclusive? Vix shares her thoughts. She also discusses her relationship with Pinterest, how the platform supports her work, and her tips for how influencers can make the most to fit.

Meanwhile, Matt and Martin talk over the week’s news, share the latest tests and tools you need to know about, and Martin extols the virtues of a 4G-enabled iPad when traveling.

Geekout with Matt Navarra is sponsored by Pinterest. Inspire your audience and grow your company on Pinterest with a free business account. Learn more at business.pinterest.com.

News stories:

The Secretive Company That Might End Privacy as We Know It

Facebook backs off plan to plaster ads all over WhatsApp

Snap founder says TikTok could dethrone Instagram

Follow Matt and Martin on Twitter: @MattNavarra and @MartinSFP

Join the Social Media Geekout Facebook Group or discuss the show on Twitter using the hashtag #geekoutquestions.

Geekout with Matt Navarra is a Big Revolution production.

8. Instagram's Vishal Shah Jan 16, 2020

Show notes

Vishal Shah is Instagram’s head of product, and he joins us to explain how he’s thinking about the world’s most popular visual sharing app as a new year begins.

Vishal talks to Matt Navarra and Martin SFP Bryant about how Instagram decides what to add to — and take away from — the app, how messaging app Threads is developing, why DMs are coming to the web now after so long, an insider’s view on the end of like counts, changes to IGTV, and much more. He answers a bunch of listener’s questions, too.

Meanwhile, Matt and Martin talk over the week’s news, share the latest tests and tools you need to know about, and share the joy of wearing makeup for the day after you’ve been on breakfast TV.

Geekout with Matt Navarra is sponsored by Pinterest. Inspire your audience and grow your company on Pinterest with a free business account. Learn more at business.pinterest.com.

News stories:

Twitter’s Jack Dorsey on edit button: ‘We’ll probably never do it’

TikTok explores curated content feed to lure advertisers [paywalled]

A Facebook bug exposed anonymous admins of Pages

Follow Matt and Martin on Twitter: @MattNavarra and @MartinSFP

Join the Social Media Geekout Facebook Group or discuss the show on Twitter using the hashtag #geekoutquestions.

Geekout with Matt Navarra is a Big Revolution production.

7. The New York Times' Taylor Lorenz Jan 09, 2020

Show notes

Taylor Lorenz of The New York Times has carved out a niche for herself as the journalist who explains youth culture online to the rest of us. Whether it’s Google Docs as a social network or party invites via Instagram, she understands the trends many of us would never hear of without her stories.

Taylor joins Matt Navarra and Martin SFP Bryant to discuss the rise of TikTok, the future of influencers, and why it’s better not to make predictions about the future. Oh, and Martin and Taylor have a heated disagreement over whether it’s Twitter or its users who need to change.

Meanwhile, Matt and Martin talk over the week’s news and share the latest tests and tools you need to know about.

Geekout with Matt Navarra is sponsored by Pinterest. Inspire your audience and grow your company on Pinterest with a free business account. Learn more at business.pinterest.com.

News stories:

ByteDance & TikTok have secretly built a deepfakes maker

Facebook bans deepfake videos ahead of the 2020 election

Snapchat quietly acquired AI Factory, the company behind its new Cameos feature, for $166M

Instagram failing to attract older people as user growth set to flatline

Some must-read stories by Taylor Lorenz:

The Hottest Chat App for Teens Is … Google Docs

Instagram Is the New Evite

How Twitter Became The Number One Social Network For Nudists

How the Pineapple Became the Icon of I.V.F.

Follow Matt and Martin on Twitter: @MattNavarra and @MartinSFP

Join the Social Media Geekout Facebook Group or discuss the show on Twitter using the hashtag #geekoutquestions.

Geekout with Matt Navarra is a Big Revolution production.

6. Hashtag inventor (and much more) Chris Messina Oct 10, 2019

Show notes

Chris Messina is the inventor of the hashtag, but he’s been asked about that far too many times for us to bring it up much here. Good thing that he’s a deep thinker about products, platforms, and social engagement, and has lots to say about topics we love on this podcast.

Chris joins Matt Navarra and Martin SFP Bryant to discuss whether social media is at an inflexion point, and where it goes next. We also go in deep on Instagram’s motivations behind launching the rather threadbare new app Threads; whether users will ever be asked to pay for Facebook; how to deal with information overload, and lots more.

Meanwhile, Matt and Martin talk over the week’s news and share the latest tests and tools you need to know about.

Geekout with Matt Navarra is sponsored by Pinterest. Inspire your audience and grow your company on Pinterest with a free business account. Learn more at business.pinterest.com.

This is the end of season one, but we’ll be back soon!

News stories:

Instagram introduces Threads, a new messaging app for your close friends

Google Weighs Acquisition of Rival to Video App TikTok

TikTok explains its ban on political advertising

Horny People, You’re Free: Instagram’s Following Tab Is Gone

Follow Matt and Martin on Twitter: @MattNavarra and @MartinSFP

Join the Social Media Geekout Facebook Group or discuss the show on Twitter using the hashtag #geekoutquestions.

Geekout with Matt Navarra is a Big Revolution production.

5. Pinterest's Colleen Stauffer Oct 03, 2019

Show notes

Colleen Stauffer is Pinterest's Director of Global Business Marketing. She joins Matt Navarra and Martin SFP Bryant to discuss this often misunderstood platform, how it can help digital marketers and social media managers, and she shares her views on the future of digital marketing.

We dig into the increasingly visual way we all communicate, what social media platforms can learn from Pinterest when it comes to tackling misinformation, how AR could fit into Pinterest's future, and how Pinterest is evolving as a platform.

Meanwhile, Matt and Martin talk over the week’s news and share the latest tests and tools you need to know about.

Geekout with Matt Navarra is sponsored by Pinterest. Inspire your audience and grow your company on Pinterest with a free business account. Learn more at business.pinterest.com.

News stories (Facebook special!):

With Facebook’s Coming News Tab, Only Some Will Get Paid

Current and former Facebook execs say reports WhatsApp will hand encrypted messages to UK police are wrong

In two hours of leaked audio, Mark Zuckerberg rallies Facebook employees against critics, competitors, and the US government

Follow Matt and Martin on Twitter: @MattNavarra and @MartinSFP

Join the Social Media Geekout Facebook Group or discuss the show on Twitter using the hashtag #geekoutquestions.

Geekout with Matt Navarra is a Big Revolution production.

4. Facebook's Andrew 'Boz' Bosworth Sep 26, 2019

Show notes

Andrew 'Boz' Bosworth is Facebook's VP responsible for VR and AR. He joins Matt Navarra and Martin 'SFP' Bryant moments after stepping off the stage at Oculus Connect 6, Facebook's latest VR developer conference. He talks us through some of the biggest news from the event and we explore how important virtual worlds could become to our lives in the future.

Is Facebook Horizon a second chance for Second Life? How will Oculus Business bring VR to the office? Can Facebook convince the public to put Portal cameras in their living rooms? How do the forthcoming AR glasses fit into Facebook's plans, and why was Boz's doctor using Google Glass while treating him recently? And is Facebook the right company to be doing all of this VR and AR stuff anyway?

Meanwhile, Matt and Martin talk over the week’s news and share the latest tests and tools you need to know about.

Geekout with Matt Navarra is sponsored by Pinterest. Inspire your audience and grow your company on Pinterest with a free business account. Learn more at business.pinterest.com. You can learn more about Pinterest Board Collaboration here.

News stories:

YouTube Rolls Back Verification Changes, Says Verified Creators Can Keep Their Badge

Snap's 'Project Voldemort' dossier detailed Facebook's copycat moves

Facebook to shut down its group stories feature next week

Facebook promises not to stop politicians’ lies & hate

Follow Matt and Martin on Twitter: @MattNavarra and @MartinSFP

Join the Social Media Geekout Facebook Group or discuss the show on Twitter using the hashtag #geekoutquestions.

Geekout with Matt Navarra is a Big Revolution production.

3. UK Parliament's Damian Collins Sep 19, 2019

Show notes

Damian Collins has social media regulation in his sights, and as chair of UK Parliament's DCMS select committee, he's got strong opinions on how to whip the tech companies into shape. Here he joins Matt Navarra and Martin SFP Bryant to explain why tech companies seem to particularly fear scrutiny from UK politicians, whether we need international rules to govern big tech, what he thinks about Netflix's The Great Hack (in which he appeared)... and just what is Mark Zuckerberg's deal, anyway?

It's a wide ranging and fascinating chat with a man leading the charge toward greater regulation of the apps we all use. And we talk over the week’s news and share the latest tests and tools you need to know about.

Geekout with Matt Navarra is sponsored by Pinterest. Inspire your audience and grow your company on Pinterest with a free business account. Learn more at business.pinterest.com.

News stories:

Facebook working on smart glasses with Ray-Ban, code-named ‘Orion’

Establishing Structure and Governance for an Independent Oversight Board

Nextdoor’s new Kindness Reminder wants to stop neighbors from being so mean

Facebook introduces Portal TV, a video chat camera accessory for your television

Follow Matt and Martin on Twitter: @MattNavarra and @MartinSFP

Join the Social Media Geekout Facebook Group or discuss the show on Twitter using the hashtag #geekoutquestions.

Geekout with Matt Navarra is a Big Revolution production.

2. CNN's Kerry Flynn Sep 12, 2019

Show notes

CNN media reporter Kerry Flynn joins Matt Navarra and Martin SFP Bryant to discuss the future of social media. Is there room for new platforms to break through? Is Facebook doomed to be associated with data misuse forever? What will tech look like in 10 years time? And is TikTok just a fad? We also get nostalgic over FriendFeed and Yo, and find out who Kerry would rather have over for dinner: Jack Dorsey, Mark Zuckerberg, or Evan Spiegel.

And we talk over the week’s news and share the latest tests and tools you need to know about.

Geekout with Matt Navarra is sponsored by Pinterest. Inspire your audience and grow your company on Pinterest with a free business account. Learn more at business.pinterest.com.

News stories:

Facebook Dating launches in the US, adds Instagram integration

Apple will live stream its iPhone 11 event on YouTube for the first time

Facebook is under investigation by state attorneys general for antitrust violations

Follow Matt and Martin on Twitter: @MattNavarra and @MartinSFP

Join the Social Media Geekout Facebook Group or discuss the show on Twitter using the hashtag #geekoutquestions.

Geekout with Matt Navarra is a Big Revolution production.

1. Twitter's Sara Haider Sep 05, 2019

Show notes

Twitter’s Director, Product Management, Sara Haider chats to hosts Matt Navarra and Martin SFP Bryant. We find out the latest on the much-requested edit button; the state of play with Twitter’s verification program; how product design can aid positive mental health; Martin pitches Sara his idea for a standalone DMs app, and Matt tries his hardest to uncover Twitter’s Konami code (they must have one, right?).

Matt and Martin also talk over the week’s news and share the latest tests and tools you need to know about.

Geekout with Matt Navarra is sponsored by Pinterest. Inspire your audience and grow your company on Pinterest with a free business account. Learn more at business.pinterest.com.

News stories:

Now Facebook says it may remove Like counts

Viral Deepfake App ZAO Sparks Mass Downloads, Memes and Major Concerns

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s account was hacked

Twitter disables tweeting via SMS after CEO gets hacked

Apply to use Twitter’s prototype app Twttr here.

Follow Matt and Martin on Twitter: @MattNavarra and @MartinSFP

Join the Social Media Geekout Facebook Group or discuss the show on Twitter using the hashtag #geekoutquestions.