YAP turns 2 tomorrow, and you know what that means for you. Ok, you don’t yet. But you will soon xx

He’s going to write poetry instead (he just like me fr.) Idk about you guys, but when someone whose literal job is to make sure AI doesn't go off the rails walks away saying the world is in peril, that's not a red flag, that's a siren, baby. It doesn’t help that his exit was incredibly vague. But the resignation letter reportedly warns that we're moving too fast, prioritising deployment over safety, and ignoring risks that could have serious consequences.

It's not the first time someone from inside one of these companies has sounded the alarm. But it is a reminder that the people building these systems are increasingly uncomfortable with what they're building. And yet the work continues. The models get bigger. The features get rolled out. And we’re just supposed to trust that someone, somewhere is keeping an eye on things.

In more news that will surprise no one, Meta has been found to be looking to sneak through a controversial system update. The company filed a system update that would let their Ray-Ban Smart Glasses scan faces in real time and identify people by cross-referencing Meta's massive database. They're framing it as a convenience feature, something to help you remember names or recognise acquaintances. But what it actually is is a wearable surveillance device that lets you identify strangers without their knowledge or consent. These glasses are already problematic. Adding facial recognition? And trying to do it on the sly? Giant red flag.

It’s times like these you need to send the Etsy witches some dosh in exchange for some kind of catastrophic shut down of all the tech giants and their legacies. Except, they’re no longer allowed to practice magic on Etsy ☹

For years, Etsy has allowed sellers to offer digital spells, tarot readings, and other metaphysical services, taking a cut of every transaction. And now, they've decided it's against policy. The official line is something about services that can't be physically delivered. But it feels more like Etsy trying to sanitise its brand image and distance itself from anything that might seem too fringe. Kinda sh*tty when you profit off a community for, like, ever, and only now that it's inconvenient decide to pull the plug on them. Especially a platform that claims to support niche. Boooo. 0/10 from me. 

-Sophie Randell, Writer

I want you to think about something for a second: imagine you wake up one morning and your Instagram reach has tanked 60%. No explanation or warning. It’s literally just shat the bed.

Or X changes ownership and suddenly your strategy doesn't work anymore.

Orrrr TikTok's algorithm decides your content isn't priority and you're shouting into the void with your mic on mute.

If your brand doesn't have a channel with a direct link to your audience - one you actually own - you're building your entire house on rented land. And the eviction notice can come at any time.

Social media feels like your audience. You've built 50k followers, people engage with your content, you see the numbers grow. It feels like you own that relationship.

Except, you don't. You're renting access to them, and the platform is your landlord.

You're the peasant, they're the high and mighty landlord. And we all know landlords' reputations.

To make matters worse, this doesn't come with any sort of contract. Terms can change literally overnight. The algorithm shifts, features get deprecated, entire platforms can become hostile to your business model without notice.

You have zero recourse.

If you're constantly feeding the algorithm, creating for the platform's priorities, accepting that you're in service to the landlord's whims - fine. That's a viable strategy.

But for most brands? That's exhausting, unsustainable, and strategically dangerous. You're one algorithm change away from irrelevance.

And email is the gold standard.

Email is fundamentally different from social media. It's one of the only places where the work compounds because the relationship is intentional. Your audience has given you explicit permission to engage with them. When they open your email, they're doing it on their terms, when they're ready - not when some algorithm decides to serve them your content in 0.5 seconds before it’s gone.

You own the list. You own the relationship. The platform (whether it's Omnisend, Beehiiv, Klaviyo, whatever) is just infrastructure. They're not the landlord controlling your access. You can literally export your list and move it tomorrow if you need to.

And no, this isn't about blasting the same email to everyone on your list.

Advanced segmentation these days means you can categorise your audience based on how they actually behave. Full-price customers versus sale-only shoppers, people who browse frequently versus occasional visitors, what they look at on your site, how often they engage, what they've purchased before.

This means you can adjust what you send, how you send it, and when you send it based on actual data about your specific audience. Not what the algorithm thinks they want to see. What they've demonstrated they're interested in.

It's personalisation that actually serves the relationship instead of just trying to game reach.

Social's great for discovery, for getting in front of new people, for cultural relevance. Use it. But don't build your entire brand strategy on it.

Don't make rented land the foundation of your house. Diversify. Own your channels: email, SMS, community platforms, whatever gives you direct access to your audience without a middleman who can change the rules whenever they feel like it.

Listen, platforms will always prioritise their interests over yours (duh). Algorithms will always serve the platform first, you second. And the relationship you think you have with your social media audience is conditional.

Build on land you own.

Your future self will thank you when the next algorithm apocalypse hits and you're not scrambling because your entire business was built on someone else's terms.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

The trend comes from a 5-second TikTok that's basically a masterclass in sarcasm. TikTok user @bigbelloboy1 is a Jamaican guy who opens his Burger King Whopper and finds a pickle just... sitting on top of the bun(?). Not inside. On top. Like a little garnish nobody asked for. In the most beautifully deadpan Jamaican accent, he goes "thank you Burger King, I needed a pickle at the top of my burger, that's what I needed for the day." The delivery is chef's kiss levels of bitter, and people are using it to roast life for piling on when you're already struggling.

My fav examples include:

Use the Burger King pickle audio. Caption it with whatever unnecessary disaster just got added to your already terrible day.

A few ideas to get you started:

-abdel khalil, brand & marketing exec

😂Yap’s funniest home videos: Valentine’s day surprise gone wrong
❤How wholesome: there’s still kindness out there
😊Soooo satisfying: Kinetic sand drop & squish
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight: One pot mince & pasta

Hey Florence!

So many people think they need to create content about the thing they do. But that's not the case at all. What matters is the feeling you want people to have when it comes to your brand. When you watch the content on our Attention Seeker channels, we never talk about marketing. Instead, all our content is based on hierarchy, which usually comes out as boss vs. employee.

If you can create content that's close to your product, great. For example, if you have an investing app, you might do street interviews about people's opinions or experience around money. But if you can't relate your content to your product, don't let that stop you. The point is to get attention, then you have an audience to speak to. Believe me, if you have millions of people watching you every month, someone’s clicking your link to find out what you do. So just focus on getting the views first. Everything else follows.

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

We get it. Creating content that does numbers is harder than it looks. But doing those big numbers is the fastest way to grow your brand. So if you’re tired of throwing sh*t at the wall and seeing what sticks, you’re in luck. Because making our clients go viral is kinda what we do every single day.