Aubrium Blog
Research, evidence and original analysis on how social platforms work — no listicles, no recycled advice.
X by the numbers: what the platform will say, and what it will not
The first audited user count in four years arrived in a rocket company's IPO filing. Here is what changed, what we can verify, and what still has no source.
The complete history of Instagram
How a chronological photo app for friends became an algorithmic video feed that mostly shows you strangers. Fifteen years of announcements, acquisitions and reversals, each one dated and sourced.
YouTube by the numbers — revenue, reach, and the claims you cannot check
Alphabet reports over $60 billion in annual revenue. Pew finds 84% of US adults use it. YouTube claims 540,000 jobs. Here is what the filings actually say.
Social media by the numbers: the master dossier
Every platform, every user count, every source checked. The one cross-platform reference built from primary documents, updated for 2025.
LinkedIn by the numbers — the platform creators underrate
LinkedIn has 1.3 billion members but only 310 million use it monthly. One percent post weekly and generate 9 billion impressions. Here is what Microsoft and LinkedIn actually publish.
Instagram and TikTok became search engines — and Google admits it
A Google exec said 40% of young people now search on TikTok and Instagram instead of Google. Both platforms added keyword search and TikTok built a search ads business. Being findable is replacing being viral.
Instagram Notes: the feature nobody understands
Notes sit at the top of your inbox. They last 24 hours. Almost no one knows what they do. Here is what Meta actually published about them.
DMs are the new feed — the platform is going private, and the signals prove it
Instagram's own ranking documents confirm it watches whether you send a post. The features built since 2019 all point the same way. Here is what changed.
Cold DMs that actually get a reply — what the research says
The evidence on brevity, specificity, shared connections and what drives a response. Templates included as illustrations of findings, not promises.
