The World of Social Media

South Africa is once again rallying against gender based violence (GBV), calling for a nationwide GBV Shutdown on the 21st. Across social media, people are changing their profile pictures to purple, a powerful symbol of unity, dignity, and the fight for justice.

If you’ve seen talk about the TikTok Pilot Program recently and wondered what it’s all about, you’re not alone. In simple terms, it’s TikTok’s way of letting a few selected creators and brands try out new features before they go public. Think of it like a test phase, where TikTok experiments with new monetisation tools or ad types to see how they perform in the real world.

The trend started with musician Sophia James, who uploaded seven videos titled Group 1 through Group 7 as part of an experiment with TikTok’s algorithm. The seventh video exploded in popularity, and she jokingly said, “If you’re watching this, you’re in Group 7.” That simple sentence turned into one of the fastest-spreading social-media trends of 2025.

On 16 October 2025, YouTube experienced a global outage that disrupted streaming and content access for millions of users worldwide. While service has since been restored, the incident raised serious concerns about platform dependence, business continuity, and digital resilience for brands and creators who rely on YouTube as a primary communication and revenue channel.