Founder & CEO of @Battenhall, commentator on social media, @TEDx speaker, this year's Campaign Mag CEO of the year. Wrote the page on social media on @wikipedia
Joined January 2007
- Tweets 38,226
- Following 3,252
- Followers 9,922
- Likes 10,225
2,492 Photos and videos
Pinned Tweet
Mar 20
20 years ago tomorrow, the first tweet was posted. Thanks @jack for the memories
6 Jan 2007
Had to delete my old Twitter account as the mobile wouldnt register
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Jun 7
The Morocco Norway match is really blurry wondering if all the matches will look like this. Also ITV & HBS having a mare with the loss of sound and loss of pictures š¤¦š»āāļø
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Mar 21
Just come off BBC Radio interview about Twitter's 20th birthday and I called it Twix. A: it has a ring to it. B. need more covfefe
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Drew Benvie retweeted
Feb 5
Today weāre launching Battenhall Labs ā our new global innovation unit focused on applying emerging tech across marketing & communications. š§Ŗ
From AI personas to proprietary measurement tools, Labs turns complex data into practical advantage for brands. š¤
Find out more in our latest blog from our Chief Innovation Officer and Labs lead, Phil Sheard: btnhl.com/4c9etVY
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Jan 22
A social media ban for kids in the UK seems inevitable now, but to do it on safety grounds is fraught with problems.
- There are alreadyĀ age restrictions, they don't work
- Kids use VPNs already to for example use apps at school
- Social media isn't the problem: dark social is
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Jan 22
An ineffectual social media ban for kids will be the legislation's undoing.
Or worse, those who experience real harms from social media, dark social, messaging apps, the dark web or AI will be less safe as a result.
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Jan 20
In my role as head of the youth social media safety nonprofit @raisegeneration I commend @leicesterlizās announcement of the governmentās three month consultation on social media use for under 16s in the UK.
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Jan 20
Working on keeping young people safe has been one of my biggest priorities over the last five years, and why I founded Raise. The reality of online safety is highly nuanced and the approach needs to be both sophisticated and progressive. Iām hopeful that the UK can achieve both.
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9 Dec 2025
Australiaās under-16 social media ban is now in force, and hereās the biggest reason it will backfire: Teens are safer on social media than on the alternative, which includes messaging apps used as social networks, dark social, and fake-age permitted adult social.
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9 Dec 2025
Weāre about to find out whatās more harmful to teens than algorithmically shaped, moderated and peer-protected social media. Itās AI companions, dark social and fake social IDs.
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9 Dec 2025
What Iād love to see: progressive tech reforms, education programs and a better understanding of how agile teen digital escape artists really are. If govts think banning social media for kids will make lives safer, they are sorely mistaken as to how the real world really works.
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22 Nov 2025
Twitch and Kick added to the list of social media that will be banned for Australiaās under-16s from December 10th.
open.substack.com/pub/drewbeā¦
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15 Nov 2025
Canāt believe the Italy score vs South Africa just turned on to see them draw level. Scrum penalty against the Springboks too nuts
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5 Nov 2025
Big day today itās the annual Battenhall social media briefing event at The British Library in London. 300 brands registered to attend this year and I need to finish learning my lines. šš¼āļøš„
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16 Oct 2025
Proud as punch to win two
agency of the year awards at PR Week last night. battenhall.com/blog/battenhaā¦
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12 Oct 2025
A primer on Sora, ChatGPT's AI social network that has hit 1m users faster than anything before it. You need invite codes, a U.S. account, and ChatGPT Pro... for now. But brands are in the mix, as are influencers, real and synthetic alike.
open.substack.com/pub/drewbeā¦
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8 Oct 2025
Looking for followers on Sora 2. And yep I have invite codes but mainly want to follow my network on there šš¼
sora.chatgpt.com/profile/dreā¦
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13 Sep 2025
Decided to start writing my Substack again. Thoughts on the year ahead in social mediaā¦ open.substack.com/pub/drewbeā¦
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22 Aug 2025
It is fascinating seeing how, through social media, AI is becoming many users' top friend. But if you know someone with children, please ask them to read this, as it's important in shaping how we understand how kids are affected by AI and social media raisegeneration.com/post/swiā¦.
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22 Aug 2025
This is a research project by Raise, and one which has been worked on through numerous teen focus groups, volunteer planning sessions, and which I hope will be of use to media and regulators alike once it's complete.
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