Pollinger’s Productivity : Feb 2025
| Meta’s Q4 2024 Results: AI and AR in spotlight |
| Meta closed out 2024 with impressive financial results, reporting Q4 revenue of $48.39 billion, marking a 21% year-over-year increase. The company’s full-year revenue surged to $164.50 billion, up 22% from 2023, while net income skyrocketed 49% to $20.84 billion. These figures highlight the strength of Meta’s business model, particularly in advertising and its expanding AI capabilities. |
| On the operational front, daily active people across Meta’s platforms reached 3.35 billion, a 5% increase from the previous year. |
| Insights: The sustained user growth underlines Meta’s ability to keep people engaged despite increasing competition from platforms like TikTok and YouTube and emerging decentralised networks like Bluesky. As predicted, the attention on the Metaverse and VR was misplaced, with consumer adoption failing to meet expectations. But Meta’s focus on AR and AI is the right way forward. AI is already proving essential in content recommendations, ad targeting, and platform engagement, while AR has more practical applications in enhancing real-world interactions. Meta’s investment in AI-powered experiences and AR glasses is a smarter bet for shaping the future of social media, blending the digital and physical worlds in ways that users will actually adopt. The challenge now is execution and whether Meta can turn these innovations into mainstream successes in 2025 and beyond. |
| Instagram introduces new video editing app |
| Following my piece on Instagram’s new ‘Movie Gen’ feature which allows users to transform photos and video clips into cinematic mini-movies, Instagram has unveiled ‘Edits’, a standalone video editing app designed to provide creators with a comprehensive suite of tools for crafting high-quality content. Available for pre-order on the iOS App Store and expected to launch on March 13, 2025, Edits offers features such as a higher-quality camera, advanced editing capabilities, AI-powered animations, generative captions, and overlays including text, sound, voice effects, filters, and stickers. The app also includes a dedicated tab for inspiration and trending audio, a section for tracking ideas and drafts, the ability to share drafts with collaborators, and insights into video performance. |
| Insights |
| Instagram’s launch of Edits is a timely development, considering the increasing popularity of video, the growing demand by creators for sophisticated yet accessible editing tools and the uncertainties surrounding CapCut (the TikTok video editor). |
| Threads begins testing ads in the U.S. and Japan |
| Meta has started testing ads on Threads in the U.S. and Japan, a significant move as the platform continues its expansion. With over 130 million monthly active users, Meta is looking to monetise Threads by integrating ad placements similar to those on Instagram and Facebook. Initial ad formats include in-feed placements, which will likely be refined based on user engagement and advertiser demand. |
| Insights: Meta’s strategy with Threads has always been about building a community-first experience, avoiding the aggressive ad rollouts seen on other platforms but ads has to come at some point. The key challenge will be maintaining engagement without overwhelming users with commercial content. Small businesses should keep an eye on how Threads’ audience reacts this be a great new advertising opportunity BUT it could also lead to users’ disengaging and leaving the platform for Bluesky and elsewhere. The likelihood is that backed by the might of Meta and the close ties with Instagram, Threads will continue to grow. |
| Copilot now included in Microsoft 365 Personal and Family – What happens next? |
| I’ve predicted that Microsoft Copilot would become a standard feature across its productivity suite, and now, it’s happening. Microsoft has officially announced that Copilot is now included in Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plans. This marks a major step toward making AI assistance mainstream for everyday users, not just businesses. |
| Insights: On the business side, with the office productivity suite being renamed Microsoft 365 Copilot, it’s inevitable that Copilot will soon be fully bundled into Word, Excel, Teams, and other core Microsoft apps by default, eliminating the need for separate subscriptions. AI-powered assistance will become as fundamental as spell check or auto-save, making intelligent automation an expectation rather than an add-on. It also means businesses should start preparing for an AI-first workplace. |
| OpenAI enhances AI reasoning model while Microsoft offers previous version for free |
| OpenAI has made significant strides in enhancing AI reasoning capabilities. Recently, on 31 January, they released o3-mini, a reasoning model that’s faster, more cost-effective, and more accurate than its predecessor, o1. This advancement aims to make the solving of complex mathematical and logic problems more accessible to a broader audience. |
| In a related move, Microsoft announced that it is making OpenAI’s o1 reasoning model, available for free to all Copilot users via “Think Deeper” button. This feature enables Copilot to handle more complex questions by considering them from multiple angles, providing step-by-step solutions beneficial for tasks such as coding or planning. |
| Insights: |
| These developments underscore the rapid evolution of AI in enhancing reasoning capabilities. |
| Gemini now on Samsung phones |
| Following last month’s articles on Apple’s Siri being able to access ChatGPT for quick messaging, Gemini is will shortly be available on Samsung phones. Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S25 series, launching on 7 February will officially support Gemini AI. This marks a significant milestone for AI integration in smartphones, directly competing with Apple’s AI push and Google’s Pixel lineup. With Gemini embedded, phone owners can use AI-driven features such as real-time voice assistance, advanced image editing, and smarter predictive text. |
| Insights: Samsung’s decision to integrate Gemini AI reflects the growing importance of on-device AI for speed and privacy. Given the power of Gemini, it will probably eclipse Samsung’s own Bixby, potentially phasing out the latter. For social media and content creators, Gemini’s AI capabilities could make tasks like caption writing, image generation, and audience engagement predictions easier. This move also aligns with the AI arms race in mobile tech, with Samsung leveraging Google’s AI ecosystem rather than solely relying on its own. |
How to improve engagement on social media with interactive content |
| Engagement is key to growing your audience on social media, and one of the best ways to boost interaction is through interactive content. Here are some practical ways to get your followers more involved: |
| Polls and Questions: Platforms like Instagram Stories, LinkedIn, Threads and X (formerly Twitter) allow you to create quick polls. Use them to gather opinions, start discussions, or make content more participatory. Quizzes: Create fun, relevant quizzes on Instagram Stories that encourage users to comment and share their results. This works well for brand engagement and community building. User-Generated Content (UGC): Encourage followers to share their own experiences related to your brand or industry. Feature their posts on your profile to boost visibility and credibility. Instagram works best for this. Live Q&A Sessions: Host live sessions on LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook where followers can ask questions in real time. This helps humanise your brand and build trust. LinkedIn is best for a business audience and Instagram for consumers. Carousels: Use Instagram Carousels for step-by-step guides or storytelling. AI-Powered Chatbots: Use AI-driven Chatbots to automate responses and create engaging, interactive experiences that offer quizzes or personalised recommendations. Amazon’s Rufus is a good example of how to do this well. |
| Interactive content not only grabs attention but also encourages users to take action, leading to higher engagement and better relationships with your audience. |
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