Reality Bites Zuck 💸📉

👀 TLDR:

In this week’s What’s Appening, we turn our attention to the metaverse or lack thereof. It’s been almost two years since Facebook became Meta and since then, they’ve lost over $20B on this initiative. In other news, we dip into X and see how the rebrand is going (hint: it’s as chaotic as you’d expect). And we look at why Netflix and Disney are advertising for senior AI roles amid the Hollywood strikes. Our Stat of the Week looks at our unrelenting appetite for YouTube Shorts. And What’s dAppening says a Happy Birthday to the cornerstone of web3 - the Ethereum Network.

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Takes 🎬️

💰⏬ Meta – Metaverse Project Has Lost More than $21 Billion Since 2022

Meta has lost $21.3 billion on “the metaverse” since 2022. Where does the money go? Two words, Reality Labs, Meta’s department that oversees VR technology (Meta Quest Headsets, Horizon Worlds, etc.). For example, in Q2 2023, Reality Labs made an operating loss of $3.7 billion against sales of just $276 million. Similar patterns have been recorded for every quarter since launch. The math is easy: Sales are about 6-10% of what Meta is spending on R&D. Zuckerberg has pleaded for patience with investors, who are happy enough to give it to him, for the moment. In essence, Meta remains an ads company – a very profitable one – and it can suck up those losses from Reality Labs, with investors allowing Zuck to indulge in his pet project. But that will only hold as long as the good times roll. If Meta can’t absorb all that spending, investors will surely demand to know why so much so many billions are going on a project that few, with the exception of Zuckerberg himself, seems in the least bit excited about. #RealityBites Read more here.

✖️🆕 The Latest on Twitter’s Divisive Rebrand

It’s been just over a week since Twitter rebranded as X, and it’s still proving to be divisive and chaotic. X has almost removed all the old bird logo stuff, much to the chagrin of many users. There is also the tale of the @X handle, which was owned by Gene X Hwang. The management removed the handle from Hwang without notice or payment, offering some crappy merchandise as compensation. Twitter did get special dispensation from Apple to have “X” in the App Store, though, as Apple usually does not allow one-lettered products to be listed. Also, the threat from Threads seems to have dissipated, with reports showing that user numbers on the rival platform have almost halved over the last two weeks. But he has another rival to deal with: TikTok announced it would be introducing text-only posts on its platform. #WeekInX Read more here.

📺🤖 AI – Amid Hollywood Strikes Netflix Advertises $900K AI Role

The writers’ and actors’ Hollywood strike continues. And, it has done a good job of raising awareness of how AI could impact those working in the creative arts. “AI will not replace us” is the chant coming from the picket lines, but it seems that studios and streaming platforms are holding firm, including Netflix, which has advertised for some senior management roles in AI. It’s not clear that Netflix is proposing these roles for AI content creation directly. However, it does seem that studios – Disney has also advertised for AI roles recently – are starting to lean that way. #AITV Read more here.

🧐 Stat of the Week: 2B Users

🤳📸 YouTube – Google Says 2 Billion Monthly Users Are Viewing Shorts

It’s earnings season, so we get to unpack all the stats from Big Tech’s revenue reports. Like Meta, Google defied expectations on ad revenues, but we were interested to note the remarkable popularity of Shorts (the ultra-short-form videos) on YouTube. Google reported that 2 billion monthly logged-in users were watching them now, putting it ahead of TikTok and Reels by Instagram. That’s a rise of 500 million in a year. #BigShorts Read more here.

🕸️ What’s dAppening?

🎂🎱 Ethereum – Hopes and Fears as Network Celebrates 8th Birthday

On 30th July, the web3 community came together to celebrate the 8th birthday of the Ethereum Network. It was on that date in 2015 when the first transaction was created and the network went live. Bitcoin remains the king of cryptocurrency in terms of market cap, but it is on Ethereum where the next generation of dApps, DeFi platforms, NFTs, and web3 services is being built. It’s not perfect, of course. Gas fees can be horrendous, and UX (in web3 generally) is still incredibly prohibitive. But Ethereum is where the dreamers of web3 are trying to build a new internet, one that puts power back in the hands of users. After eight years, it is becoming abundantly clear that there can be no web3 without Ethereum. #HappyBirthdayETH Read more here.

Meanwhile at 3Advance…

It’s the monthly roundup of What’s Appening with Kate and Paul. Watch as we deconstruct another explosive month in tech - from Twitter’s rate-limiting to its fascinating new branding as X, and the new social apps that threaten to destroy each other. Watch the latest recap below.

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