Changing the Game 🏀🤼‍♀️

👀 TLDR:

In this week’s What’s Appening, we cover some long overdue promotion of women’s sports. Women’s sports has always suffered from poor exposure, but this may be changing with brands like Roku, Google, and YouTube now actively addressing the problem, or should we say opportunity. As the popularity of women’s sports grows, so should access - and that’s exactly what’s happening. Elsewhere this week, we report on the arrival of the ChatGPT app in the App Store. We also have news on a new app from Meta, which looks like yet another Twitter clone. Our Stat of the Week sees a huge fine handed down by the EU. And What’s dAppening has news of an Axie Infinity NFT game arriving on the App Store.

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Takes 🎬️

🏀📱 Women’s Sports – Apps and Streaming Services Focus On Raising the Game

This week, Roku announced it would launch Women’s Sports Zone, a centralized hub that focuses on women’s sports events and documentaries. The hub gives the ever-growing female- sports market a dedicated platform, making content easier to access and promote. The announcement coincided with the start of the new WNBA season last Friday, which drew a record audience on cable as basketball star Brittney Griner made her long-awaited return to action. We’ve been watching this space a long time, and there are some great resources like Just Women’s Sports already making waves (not to mention our friends over at Watch Women’s Sports that are revving up for launch later this Summer). Roku’s dive into the space is much welcomed, but they’re not alone in (finally!!) realizing the opportunity! Google has been working in partnership with the WNBA via its Changemaker program to enhance the “discoverability” of the league, while YouTube has confirmed it will be live-streaming 19 Women’s Champions League matches next season. With this Summer’s FIFA World Cup hitting our screens, we expect the appetite for women’s footie continues to grow… But back to basketball: We’ll end this take with news that the Official WNBA app just got a makeover, using TikTok-style video feeds in an effort to win over younger fans, as well as other features to distinguish it from the men’s NBA app. With all these ‘appenings the last week, it really feels like there’s some momentum here. It’s great to see tech making a positive impact. #SupportWomensSports Read more here.

🤖🏪 OpenAI – ChatGPT Lands (For Free) in the Apple App Store

Each week, a new coup for the unstoppable juggernaut of ChatGPT. OpenAI announced the launch of the official ChatGPT app in the App Store this week (an Android app is soon to follow). The app is free to download, syncs history across devices, and integrates with Whisper (OpenAI’s speech recognition tool). While the app is free, you should note that there are premium features unlocked by having a ChatGPT Plus account, which includes faster response times and early access to new tools. While the app has so far been well-received, some have pointed out that users may be unaware of the privacy issues; ChatGPT must be trained on human inputs, and OpenAI admits that your conversations can be (anonymously) sent to and viewed by humans working on the project. Nonetheless, a ChatGPT app for iPhone is going to expand the reach of the AI chatbot, and, thankfully, it will probably signal an end to all those poor imitation ‘imposter’ AI apps that have littered the App Store for the past few months. #ChatGPTApp Read more here.

🗞️📲 Instagram – Yet Another Twitter Clone Is in the Works

It seems that everyone wants to be the new Twitter these days. With the hype dying down a bit from the invite-only Bluesky app, Meta is also looking to get into the game with a text-focused app due out this summer. The app is standalone, but it is partially integrated with Instagram, meaning Insta users won’t need to change handles, etc. As with Mastodon and Bluesky, the as-yet-unnamed app will be decentralized. The word is that Meta is trying to onboard some big names early, including major athletes and actors, to give some exposure to the project. While the company admits it is behind in the let’s-dethrone-Twitter race, it believes it has an advantage due to the reach of its “family of apps”. Early screenshots leaked show the new app does, indeed, look a lot like Twitter. All of this is ironic, of course, as Twitter itself is going through so many changes – this week, it was announced that paid users can now upload two-hour videos, and the whole idea of Twitter as a microblogging site doesn’t really fly anymore – that it’s veering away from the structure these challengers are trying to mimic. Still, it will be interesting to see who wins the race to challenge Twitter, or if all of these projects end up falling flat. #YetAnotherTwitterClone Read more here.

🧐 Stat of the Week: $1.3B Fine 

⚖️👊 Meta – Record $1.3 Billion EU Penalty Puts Focus on Data Sharing

Meta seems to be hit with so many fines and legal actions by the European Union that we almost overlook the news reports these days. But this is a big one. Not just in the size of the fine – a record-breaking $1.3 billion – but in what it says about the business of data sharing. The Facebook and Instagram owner was found guilty of breaching GDPR data regulations, notably in how it sends and profits from European users’ data in the US. Meta, naturally, will appeal the decision, but it once again shines a light on how our data is being used by Big Tech companies. The fine comes as US and European regulators continue to thrash out a deal on transatlantic data sharing, which could have huge repercussions for companies like Meta and Google. #MetaDoingFine Read more here.

🕸️ What’s dAppening?

🍏🎮 Apple – NFT Game Axie Infinity: Origins Launches in the App Store

Our second story about an App Store launch this week, but one with a very different flavor. Axie Infinity is the play-to-earn NFT game that saw a huge rise in popularity during the pandemic. The launch of “Origins” is not the full decentralized web3 experience that you would have with Axie Infinity, but you can think of it as something of a “Lite” NFT game. Origins is only listed in App Store in Asia and parts of Latin America, where the game is hugely popular, but a wider release is expected soon. The significance of an App Store listing should not be overlooked, though, given Apple’s refusal to play ball with products that involve in-game trading of crypto and NFTs. It’s not quite Apple opening the door to NFT products, given the mechanics of Origins compared to the original Axie Infinity game, but it’s been left slightly ajar. #AxieApple Read more here.

Meanwhile at 3Advance…

If you've ever seen a baby take its first steps, you know the feeling. At 3Advance, we get the same feels when our clients launch into the wild (and land their first paying customer!). We are so proud to see the fellas at Boaturu secure two maritime milestones this month — they signed up their first marina and received their first client booking within minutes after going live. 💪 We see big things on the horizon for this B2B boat rental marketplace. Keep your binoculars peeled on Boaturu!

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