Thready or Not… 🧵🪡

👀 TLDR:

In this week’s What’s Appening, we cover the launch of Threads from Instagram (Meta). Many apps that have been dubbed the next ‘Twitter killer’ have failed to really take off. This time, however, Elon Musk has every right to be worried, not least due to the surging popularity of Threads (see our Stat of the Week). Threads is only half-baked in terms of features and still needs some work, but Meta has been onboarding users in their tens of millions. You can find out our take on it all below. In other news this week, we cover the addition of payments to Google Calendar, and we have a report on how bots are blighting gig-working apps. Our Stat of the Week looks at Threads’ record-breaking downloads. And What’s dAppening has news of a web3 game backed by NBA legend Magic Johnson.

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Takes 🎬️

🥊📝 Threads – Meta’s Twitter Clone Starts Off with a Bang

Threads is here. We’ve had ‘Twitter killers’ before, but none that have had the kind of muscle to really throw down the gauntlet quite like this one. Linked to Instagram, Threads is a Twitter copycat to such an extent that Elon Musk has decided to sue Meta for copyright infringement and poaching Twitter staff (didn’t he sack them all?🤔). We won’t spend too much time comparing the two here except to say that Twitter should be concerned in the long run, not necessarily the short. Musk has ostracized many Twitter users these past nine months in control, and there are a lot of individuals and organizations that have been either strongly vocal or intentionally silent (e.g., NPR hasn’t tweeted since being labeled a state-affiliated organization back in April) in response to new policies. Meta is clearly capitalizing on this discontent as well as making it ridiculously easy for Instagram users to migrate their accounts and network over to Threads, including their pre-built and recognized verified accounts. Remember how Musk decapitated this concept over on Twitter? Well, with this and all the other chaos over at Twitter, Zuckerberg has been set up for a slam dunk with Threads. As the fastest-growing app in history (see our Stat of the Week below), you might think that Threads is the finished article. It isn’t. There is still a lot of work to do with search, discoverability, and the timeline itself. There’s also a lot of talk about extreme data collection, one of the reasons that it has not yet got approval in the European Union. Yet, Meta has grand plans, including the integration of Threads with the Fediverse, effectively an interconnected web of social media sites that exist on different servers not controlled by Meta. In a nutshell, you will be able to communicate with users of other social media platforms (like Mastodon) linked to the Fediverse. So while Threads won’t simply kill Twitter, it can’t be denied that Meta knows a thing or two about social networks, so expect this to be more than just a flash in the pan. So let’s all hail the new Facebook Newsfeed app! Whoops, we mean “Threads”. #ThreadySteadyGo! Read more here.

📅💰 Google – Calendar App Allows for Paid Appointments

Google has partnered with payments behemoth Strip to enable payments on its Calendar app. The idea is that anyone providing time-based services, ranging from therapists to freelance beauticians, will be able to receive payment directly through the booking service. Google is taking a step back from the management side here, allowing individual users to set their policies for refunds and complaints. Stripe will handle all financial data. A similar payment feature is also available with rival calendar booking app, Calendly. #GooglePays Read more here.

🛒🤖 Walmart – Delivery Drivers Complain of Unfair Competition from Bots

Gig workers in the Chicago area have been protesting the proliferation of bots on the Spark app, a platform that allows delivery drivers to bid for jobs, notably from retailers like Walmart. The bots allow unscrupulous users, who have been accused of running cheap labor networks, to bid for jobs cheaper and faster than the regular drivers, pushing the latter to work longer hours for less pay. It’s not just Spark, either, as drivers that use apps like DoorDash and Instacart have also pointed to the growing problem of bots when it comes to bidding for gig-working jobs. #BotPain Read more here

🧐 Stat of the Week: 100M Downloads

🤳📸 Five Days of Threads – the Fastest Growing App In History

With 100 Million downloads in five days, Threads’ popularity is astounding. Yes, it has the advantage of being linked to Meta’s Family of Apps, and it is technically an extension of Instagram (you can use your same login details). Yet, despite the technicalities, it now holds the record. To put it into perspective, here are the timings of some other apps to meet 100 million users: ChatGPT 2 months; TikTok 9 months; Instagram 30 months; Spotify 55 months; Uber 70 months. It’s hugely impressive, more so when you factor in it’s not yet available in the EU. #FastestGrowingApp Read more here.

🕸️ What’s dAppening?

🏈📺 SimWin Sports – Where AI and NFTs Meet Fantasy Sports

The new Magic-Johnson-backed SimWin Sports platform has caught the eye recently. It fuses (wait for it) NFTs, AI, fantasy sports, and esports. That may sound like a bingo card reading of all the trend buzzwords of the last few years, but in essence, the platform is a 24/7 virtual football league. Users will use AI to train the virtual players, eventually earning revenue via the players’ salaries. Crucially, this does not involve the selling of your digital assets like other NFT-based games. Rather, you accrue earnings based on the players’ performances in fantasy sports. It is tied up with betting on the virtual games, so be careful about spending your money. However, the games themselves are remarkably entertaining, and you can watch free without spending any cash. SimWin intends to expand into other sports like soccer and cricket in future. #SimForTheWin Read more here.

Meanwhile at 3Advance…

Embracing the spirit of summer, 3Advance re-introduces the much-anticipated 3Advance Summer Fridays, where our team enjoys early departures every Friday this season. As a remote team, we prioritize the well-being of our members, recognizing the importance of rest and rejuvenation. Summer Half-Day Fridays are now in full swing, providing our team with valuable time to recharge. Last Friday, our team embraced the opportunity to pursue various activities, from exploring outdoor adventures to indulging in personal hobbies, ensuring a perfect balance between work and leisure.

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