Let’s BeReal: the next era of social media is here

BeReal, Wordle and the changing landscape of social media   [View entire message](   Looking for your next opportunity? [Apply now]( to thousands of tech jobs hiring worldwide Pssst: our job listings share salary and equity up front 👀   BeReal, Wordle and the changing landscape of social media Slow your scroll 📱 BeReal and Wordle are part of a massive shift in the way people use the Internet. Fed up with mindless scrolling, airbrushed photos, and randos in personal spaces, millions of people are gravitating to apps that offer more intimate, filter-free experiences with their IRL friends. At a time when influencer marketing platforms continue to [attract VC checks]( social media platforms focused on more [“real”]( interactions are starting to catch on. BeReal sends a notification at a random time everyday that gives its millions of users 2 minutes to snap a photo with their front and back camera simultaneously—no filters allowed, no time for primping—and shared with only a select group of friends. It’s reminiscent of the Snapchat era in many ways, only this time users are only given one chance a day to post a photo and the newsfeed is limited to what photos were shared that day. Similar to the one-time daily action of Wordle, it means something to do everyday with less endless scrolling. Social sharing is also moving out of apps and onto the home screen. BeReal recently introduced a feature called “[WidgetMojis]( that serves up photos of friends without opening the app. Wordle creates a similar type of everyone-participates social routine outside the boundaries of the Meta-verse. People play the game online and then text scores among their friends. A changing legacy Legacy social media companies are quickly changing tact to get with the times. It’s a story we’ve seen play out many times before. Snapchat adds the Stories feature, Instagram nabs it. TikTok gets hot, Instagram pivots to [short-form video](. Now, here’s another one for the list. Last week Instagram quietly added a feature to its TikTok-clone Reels called “[Dual]( that lets you record with both your front and back camera simultaneously. It remains to be seen if this feature will compete with the uncurated image of BeReal, or if it will become another channel for users to manicure a rosy digital presence. Pinterest is taking on TikTok by adding short-form videos with Idea Pins. The image pinboard and bookmarking site aimed at driving e-commerce is forced to reckon with a market where video content is [increasingly]( driving purchases. Perhaps sensing the anti-social media vibe of today’s teens, WhatsApp [recently added]( more privacy in recent weeks. Recommendation media Social media companies like Facebook are shifting away from an emphasis on friends and social graphs in favor of carefully curated, magical algorithmic experiences that match the perfect content for the right people at the exact right time. So-called “[recommendation media]( is fast becoming the new standard for content distribution on the Internet. Spotify is attempting a delicate balancing act. Having risen to Big Tech status largely because of its algorithms, the company now looks to incorporate more human influence in music curation by creating a personalized playlist called a “[Friends Mix]( that’s informed by what your friends are listening to. It feels like a new era of the Internet is upon us, and it’s hard to imagine what might come next. As we’ve seen in previous generations of the Internet, platforms will seek more efficiency as technology advances—though, with any luck, they’ll always be room for [misfits](.   Trending in tech 👾 Is Web3 knocking? The shift in how we use the Internet continues to present opportunities for tech companies in the red-hot area of [Web3](. Web1 was for static reading and one-way communication, and Web2 was the social media era that popularized user generated content. Now, Web3 presents a whole new world of technology focused on individual ownership and the decentralized Internet. It's a space that's rapidly growing, with job openings tripling in the past year across different roles in engineering, community management, product strategy, and more. If you want to be a part of building this next generation, now could be the time to make the jump into Web3. See our guide: [The Job Search: Finding Web3 Startup Jobs]( Sharing is caring 🤝 At a time when just about everything’s more expensive for just about everyone, the sharing economy is the big winner. The sharing economy industry shifted dramatically during the pandemic but is revving back up now that travel has returned. In the U.S., an estimated 90M people participate in the sharing economy, which is expected to grow to [$1.5T by 2024](. There’s huge growth in everything from shared rides and homes to offices and luggage storage. See our list: [5 Companies Moving the Sharing Economy Forward]( A cure for travel fever Following years of Covid restrictions, people are clamoring to get back to traveling, even as prices for gas and flights soar. The travel and hospitality industry stands to benefit from our [collective desire to get away]( and the rise of of a [digital nomad workforc](. The market is projected to grow substantially over the next 5 years, from $4T to nearly $7T as companies capitalize on opportunities to introduce new services and tech that elevate the travel experience. See our list: [5 Top Hospitality Tech Companies Hiring Now]( Tech for good Some of the most attractive organizations to work for today are the ones taking it into their own hands to [make positive change]( in the world. The nonprofit sector is growing at a steady clip and expected to reach $345B in the next 5 years. That means a lot more nonprofit organizations that will be looking for new tech tools to advance their causes. The good news for altruistic-minded job hunters: Doing good doesn’t always require a pay cut. Many nonprofits use stipends and grants to bolster salaries to competitive levels. Also, many for-profit tech companies are making tools specifically to help non-profits achieve their missions. See our list: [5 Tech Companies Doing Good in the World](   In the news 📰 Column, a [public benefit company]( other outdated public information systems, like government procurement officers placing project proposal notices, or trustees placing sheriff sale notices to manage virtual property auctions.) that provides software to streamline the placement of public notices, raised a $30M Series A led by Lux Capital and plans to take on other analog systems, like project proposal notices, for local governments. The newly formed Portal Ventures launched a $35M fund for [pre-seed investments in crypto]( companies focused on the “picks and shovels” segment of the market, which includes infrastructure and enabling software needs. Los Angeles-based [Boulevard]( raised a $70M Series C led by Point72 Private Investments to help hair stylists, nail salons, and other businesses in [beauty and wellness]( book appointments, message clients, and take appointments. California-based customer engagement and retention platform [CleverTap]( raised a $105M Series D led by Canada’s pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) with participation from Tiger Global and others that [doubles]( the company’s 2019 valuation.   Hot startups hiring now 🔥 [Lido]( Lido is building a no code platform to empower business users to make their own apps [Apply now]( [AssemblyAI]( We’re a marketplace & platform building the future of labor [Apply now](   We want to pay you [$200]( for every friend you get hired through AngelList Talent! [Refer & Earn]( Follow us on our social channels and stay up to date on the latest in startup news and job search tips: [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( AngelList Weekly 90 Gold St San Francisco, CA 94133 [Unsubscribe]( | [Update preferences](