C_NCENTRATE 939: 400km per hour trains, phosphate, Retatrutide, anti-depression tactic... +++
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META’S THREADS IS A PRIVACY NIGHTMARE (OBVS)
Meta launched Threads a day early this week to little fanfare that came from Meta. The service already has +70 million after 48 hours and is likely well over 100 million as you are reading this. Incredible? Yes. Surprising? Hardly. Meta has three massive platforms (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram) each with +2 billion users apiece. Currently, Thread’s user base equates to around 1-2% of total users on Instagram alone. Put another way, in three days Meta created a userbase that is a third of the size of Twitter.
There’s plenty of room for Threads to grow, but will it do more than just get large numbers who don’t use the service after a week? Right now, Threads is basic.; no search, gifs, hashtags, trending, lists, groups, or anything. Threads is a firehose that does not suit a lot of popular Instagram users it seems based on the content we have seen. Time will tell if the features they (hopefully) add will keep people around. Top brass just came out saying they aren’t into news and politics which kind of chops the legs off of a tiny thing most people call discourse. Will people mindlessly scroll for images, text and, er, not a lot else?
Herein lies the problem for Meta and probably why their terms and conditions are written the way they are. Firstly, the big news, once you sign up for Threads you can’t delete your account without also deleting your Instagram. The likelihood of someone with even a small amount of following doing this is incredibly small. Score one for Zuck. Secondly, the breadth and overreach of the terms are staggering (and, worth noting, pretty much the same as they are already for Facebook/Instagram etc). Meta could have chosen to change its spots, but the move shows the opportunity Meta has laying at the company’s feet. Does it mean Meta is using all that data on you? No. Could they? Yes. Will they? Wouldn’t you?
REMINDER: C_NCENTRATE will increase in price soon, possibly to +£100 a year. Subscribe today for £20 a year, or £5 per month before the higher price comes into effect. You’re about to get a lot more bang for your buck…
SO WHAT?
__ DO __ Know Threads is an ego play as much as a data play. Zuck and Elon are ramping up their beef with talks of cage matches etc. Both need to grow up and provide valuable services and fix problems they have and haven’t caused. Is Threads it? No. Could this be step one to creating a super app? Some believe so. Start thinking how much of a priority Threds might be for your brand. // __ DON’T __ Ignore the power of surveillance and take time to create some original, quality content that will serve you until Threads really shows its true colours.
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One night of sleep deprivation has been shown to have an antidepressant effect. /3 mins
India is really investing in space. /6 mins
Researchers have created a highly conductive metallic gel for 3D printing. /3 mins
China now has a train that travels 400-450km per hour. /3 mins
EU hails discovery of 100-year supply phosphate rock deposit in Norway (used for solar panels, fertiliser and EV batteries etc). /4 mins
Laser death rays are being used on weeds, 80x faster than humans. /12 mins
Driverless vehicles need to learn to get out of the way of emergency services. /4 mins
The EU AI Act is already coming up against steep criticism. /5 mins
We’re seeing more buzz around blocking the sun’s rays or ‘solar radiation modification’. /4 mins
Retatrutide, the glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist (GLP-1), has helped patients lose an average of 58 lbs (26.3 kg) after a 48-week treatment. /3 mins