💻 [OBO DIGEST] Don’t Mess with Texas

A New Influencer Lawsuit, YouTube Updates, $10K for Your Poop, and More Online Business News…

Written by: Online Business Owner • February 14, 2022

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If you’re like me – between the ages of 33 and 48 – then you already know that last night’s Super Bowl commercials and Halftime Show were made just for you.

It’s pretty cool to be the age group that appears to have real buying power in the world (even though Gen Z are the real trendsetters)!

The Dr. EV-il appearance for GM really had me feeling my age last night. And the Planet Fitness ad featuring Lindsay Lohan was probably my favorite. You can find a full recap of all of the commercials here!

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News + Happenings

Texas Files Lawsuit Against Fitness Coach, Influencer

Image Source: Brittany Dawn/YouTube

Content warning: this article discusses eating disorders.

Online business owners aren’t out of reach of the long arm of the law.

The Texas attorney general has filed a lawsuit against Dallas-based fitness influencer and coach Brittany Dawn Davis for misleading customers who had eating disorders and failing to deliver promised services.

Davis promoted her services for “personalized” diet and exercise plans on social media – with a following of over 465K on Instagram and nearly 250K on YouTube – where she also shared about her own journey with overcoming an eating disorder. She started her online business in 2014.

Court documents detail how “thousands of consumers purchased packages that were priced from $92 for a one-time consultation to $300 for three months of individualized coaching and training.”

But, many customers report never receiving the individualized feedback they were promised and others shared that the plans made their eating disorders worse. 

The lawsuit also accuses Davis of charging a shipping fee although all of her programs were delivered digitally.

According to People, “[t]he Texas attorney general alleges that Davis and her business ‘engaged in false, misleading, and/or deceptive acts or practices,’ violating the Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA). It is seeking between $250,000 and $1 million for civil penalties, attorneys' fees, and costs.

Why this matters for online business  –

While it feels like online business is the wild west of the internet, cases like this show that digital entrepreneurs, creators, and influencers aren’t immune from legal action for their business practices.

It is important for online business owners to understand the claims they are making in their marketing and to ensure they are delivering the products or services promised. 

Not only can failing to do so ruin your reputation, it could lead to legal action.

Another lesson learned is that just because you aren’t marketing your program, product, or service to address a particular issue or problem, if you talk about that issue or problem in your marketing and through sharing your personal story it could create confusion for consumers.

If you or someone you know is battling an eating disorder, please contact the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) at 1-800-931-2237 or go to NationalEatingDisorders.org.

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What’s In Store for YouTube This Year

YouTube’s Chief Product Officer, Neal Mohan, is out with a new blog post detailing the video platform’s roadmap for 2022.

Last year, YT introduced a host of new features and tools for creators and viewers alike, including: Shorts (YouTube’s TikTok ripoff), shopping, chapters, new parental tools, new designs and navigation, expanding video formats, and adding more VR and AR tools.

This year, the platform plans to continue it’s innovation and development for three key groups: Creators, Viewers, and Partners, with a heavy focus on creator tools and strategies for monetization.

Here are a few of the updates coming to YouTube to help Creators…

• Shorts – new effects and editing tools, the ability to reply to individual comments, monetization through BrandConnect, integrating with Super Chat and Super Stickers, and the ability to shop directly from a Short.

• Insights – to aid in content creation, YouTube will be harnessing the power of YT and Google’s data to introduce new insights in YouTube Studio that will help with content ideas.

• Live – collaborative livestreaming is coming to YouTube in 2022!

• Safety – YT is testing Channel Guidelines to allow creators to set expectations for the tone of conversations on their channel.

• Shopping – YouTube is planning to expand upon their successful tests of shopping on the platform in 2021 by adding a new Shopping suite of features. We can expect shoppable videos, live shopping, and native in-app shopping this year.

As always, the blog post we referenced here is heavy on ideas and light on dates, timelines, and plans for execution. So, much of this is a game of “wait and see.”

If anything, it’s exciting to see YouTube continue to prioritize not only Creators and their experience on the platform but ways for them to monetize their channels and build businesses from their content.

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$10K for Your 💩 (And No, We’re Not Shitting You)

Install-it-yourself bidet brand Tushy, well known on Twitter for their love of potty and poopy humor, is giving away $10,000 to one lucky shitter (oops…we meant winner) who shares a picture of their post-Super Bowl poop with the brand.

(Yes, this is real. And yes, we couldn’t believe it either).

The contest, in celebration of “Super Bowel Monday,” is happening now (you have until 11:59pm PT tonight to enter). You can win by posting a pic of your post-Super Bowl doodoo on Twitter with the hashtag #TUSHYSuperBowel or by sending your picture (the brand has begged for “no more videos, PLEASE”) via Twitter DM. 

Reviewing the contest hashtag is NOT for the faint of heart (or those with a weak stomach).

Why this matters for online business –

Ummm…it doesn’t?! This is one of those “if we had to see this and read about it then you have to see this and read about it” scenarios. But, also, it’s a clever campaign? Maybe?!

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Instagram Improves Content Management & Security

Managing your older content on Instagram has been a chore over the years, even as the app has added new features like the content Archive. 

As the platform has grown and users have created more content, there’s been a need for a simple way to bulk manage content on the ‘Gram.

Instagram is finally responding with their new “Your Activity” feed, rolling out to all users in the coming weeks.

Your Activity will allow you to…

• Bulk manage (delete and archive) your content (posts, stories, videos, and Reels).

• Bulk manage (delete) your interactions (comments, likes, story sticker reactions, etc.)

• Sort and filter your content and interactions by date and search for past comments, likes, and stories replies from specific date ranges.

• Find content that you’ve recently deleted or archived.

• View your in-app search history.

• See the links you’ve visited.

• View the amount of time you’ve spent on the platform.

• Download your information.

Instagram is also rolling out their “Security Checkup” tool to all users to help ensure your account is safe. To complete the Security Checkup, go to your Profile and tap the menu in the upper right corner, next tap “Settings”, “Security” then tap “Security Checkup.”

These updates are being announced in celebration of Safer Internet Day. The platform also reminds users to ensure you are using a unique and complex password along with two-factor authentication to keep your account safe!

Why this matters for online business –

In the past, changing your branding, pivoting your products, or updating your IG aesthetic has meant you either leave the old stuff as is or go through the annoying process of manually archiving posts one-by-one. The new ability to bulk manage content is a godsend for creators and entrepreneurs.

It’s also important to keep your account safe as losing access to your Instagram account could cause a lot of unnecessary stress and frustration – make sure you’re doing a Security Checkup once a month to review your account’s safety.

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Social Media News + Updates

Ⓜ️  Meta (FB and IG’s parent company) is in another dispute with the EU regarding privacy concerns and threatens to shut down services in Europe

📌  Pinterest announces 2nd annual “Pinterest Presents” virtual conference set for March 10 – to feature guest speakers and product announcements

🐦  Twitter added 6 million users in Q4 (most of them outside of the US) and posted a 22% YoY increase in revenue  

🔗  LinkedIn is testing a new option to allow US-based users to hide political content in their feed

🤖 Reddit is expanding their “Reddit Talks” audio room option with replays, comments and emoji reactions, and a web-based player

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In Other News

🖋️  AI writing software Jarvis changes name to Jasper after Disney and Marvel threaten legal action. (Medium)  

👍  What color emojis should you be using to represent your skin tone? And is the yellow emoji really the default? The answer may be more complex than you think. (NPR)

🖥️ Popular chat platform Discord is testing new features to make their user experience more easy to navigate including new forums, server homepages, and new moderation tools. (TechCrunch)

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THE ONLINE BUSINESS SHOW

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About The Contributor

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