Content:
The Social Media AI War Continues
Personal Journey Update
Weekly Fact
Quote of the Week
The Social Media AI War Continues
TikTok and Meta are leveraging AI to redefine the content creation landscape.
Key Points:
TikTok's AI Song Feature:
TikTok unveils "AI Song," a new feature empowering users to incorporate AI-generated music into their videos.
The software, driven by an LLM named Bloom, enables users to input prompts, generate personalized lyrics and customise genres.
TikTok's Ambitious Plans:
TikTok aims beyond music and seeks to dominate the entire content creation process.
Going back to 2020, TikTok introduced CapCut, a comprehensive video editing tool with over 200 million monthly active users.
The introduction of AI-generated music aligns with TikTok's strategy to give users more control over background music in their videos.
Meta's Generative AI Breakthrough:
At the 'Meta Connect Conference,' Mark Zuckerberg unveils Emu, an image generation model powering breakthrough features.
'Emu Video' allows users to generate AI-powered videos directly from a text prompt, demonstrating Meta's commitment to simplicity in content creation.
'Emu Edit' takes content manipulation to the next level, enabling users to make impressive alterations to both photos and videos using basic text commands.
The Meta vs. TikTok Showdown:
Meta's strategic move positions it in direct competition with TikTok's CapCut, intensifying the race to control the complete content creation process.
Both platforms, armed with substantial capital, are gearing up for fierce competition to capture user engagement from start to finish.
Personal Thoughts:
I’ve tried TikTok’s AI-generated music and right now it’s terrible. Although it’s bad I’m sure some creative geniuses will find some use for it. Probably for a comedic video that’s needs something a little weird.
Like all AI though, it will learn and get better over time all by itself. This is one of the main reasons AI is being pushed so much.
I’ve made a reminder so we can come back to this in 6 months and see how much the TikTok AI-generated music has improved, it should be an interesting comparison.
Prediction: Bitcoin Will Drop Below $36,000 Before Bouncing Back
Matrixport, known for its smart predictions, has made another bold statement about Bitcoin's performance in the year's first quarter.
Key Points:
Matrixport's Bitcoin Prediction:
Matrixport, a leading crypto platform, forecasts a challenging Q1 for Bitcoin.
The predicted scenario involves a drop in Bitcoin's price to approximately $36,000.
Despite this bearish outlook, Matrixport anticipates a resilient recovery for Bitcoin.
Bitcoin's Recent Price Movement:
Bitcoin recently experienced a dip, reaching $39,000, triggering concerns among investors.
Questions arise about the role of ETFs in influencing this dip, altering expectations of a bullish market.
TradeFi's Impact on Bitcoin's Prospects:
TradeFi's engagement with the Bitcoin spot ETF falls below anticipated levels.
This lower-than-expected interest contributes to the forecasted decline in Bitcoin's value.
Matrixport's Low Prediction and Resilient Rebound:
Matrixport's detailed report indicates a projected low of $36,739 for Bitcoin.
The rebound is expected due to Bitcoin's robust foundation and liquidity, countering initial ETF-related challenges.
Grayscale's Bitcoin Spot ETF Outflows:
Grayscale's Bitcoin spot ETF, GBTC, recorded a net outflow of $394 million on January 25.
However, a slowdown in outflows over three days hints at a potential trend reversal.
ETF Issuers' Influence on Market Dynamics:
ETF issuers, actively buying substantial amounts of Bitcoin, emerge as influential market players.
The industry grapples with understanding the impact of these actions on Bitcoin's price.
Remember this is not financial advice these are only my honest opinion and I am in no way shape or form an expert. Any investments you make should be backed by your OWN research or with the help of a professional financial advisor.
A Friendlier Orb on the Horizon
Worldcoin, known for its futuristic Orb device, is set for a significant upgrade. Alex Blania, CEO and co-founder of Tools for Humanity, the creator of Worldcoin, exclusively shared insights on the upcoming changes.
Key Points:
Orb's Evolution:
The Orb, Worldcoin's distinctive iris-scanning device, is undergoing a transformation after over 180 days since its public launch.
Alex Blania, in a recent fireside chat, disclosed that the next Orb iteration will be introduced in the first half of this year.
The revamped design aims for a more approachable and user-friendly appearance.
A 'Friendly' Makeover:
The new Orb will sport alternative colours and form factors, departing from its original sci-fi aesthetic.
The objective is to make the device look "much more friendly" and draw inspiration from the sleek design associated with Apple products.
Blania emphasized that the updated design will be "way [more] turned down."
Tools for Humanity Background:
Tools for Humanity, the company behind Worldcoin, has raised approximately $250 million from notable investors like a16z and Bain Capital Crypto.
The Orb, known for its iris-scanning technology, assigns a "World ID" to users, enhancing identity verification and preventing multiple accounts.
Public Reaction to the Orb:
The current Orb design, a five-pound chromatic bowling ball-sized device, has generated mixed reactions, with some loving its sci-fi appeal while others remain sceptical.
Blania acknowledged the polarized opinions and revealed that the Orb has sparked interest, with attendees willingly scanning their irises during events.
Global Presence and Growth:
Worldcoin's beta-testing focused on adoption in various cities globally, including Buenos Aires, Nairobi, Lisbon, and Bangalore.
Despite facing criticism for targeting developing economies, Worldcoin has witnessed substantial growth, with over 190,000 new accounts created in the last seven days and a total of 3.13 million users.
Worldcoin's User Acquisition Strategy:
Blania outlined a straightforward strategy: racing toward billions of users as rapidly as possible, reflecting Worldcoin's ambitious goals.
Personal Thoughts:
No matter what they make it look like, this just isn’t for me.
Why do I need to give another tech company more information about myself?
The bad vibes I get from this company are crazy.
The name Worldcoin first of all is straight from a glaringly obvious Hollywood film plot where the good guys turn out to be the bad guys.
Making their information-harvesting orbs look more friendly is exactly the same tactic deep-sea anglerfish use to lure their prey before devouring them.
I don’t know what you think but getting my eyes scanned by some creepy tech company just isn’t on my to-do list.
Personal Journey: Slowly Improving My Habits
My goal was to get more organised this year and so far it’s going well.
There’s still work to be done but you have to take it one step at a time. Trying to improve everything at once just creates more chaos.
One thing that’s great for getting organised and more importantly staying organised is improving your habits.
Habits that help you towards goals and keep the to-do list as low as possible.
For example, I use the Opel app (not an advert) to turn all my social media apps off at 8 pm.
Some of you may think these apps are pointless as you can just turn them off and bypass their blocks but for me, it’s working well.
Turning on social media apps and mindlessly scrolling for a lot of us has become a muscle memory action. So many times you find yourself taking a step back mentally from what you’re doing and thinking, how did I even end up on TikTok… again?
The muscle memory action puts us on social media without us even realising, muscle memory actions are something we do without thinking. That’s where social media blocking apps come in. They create that extra hurdle to jump over which means we have to think about the action more before doing it.
For most people that extra action will give them time to make a more informed decision about whether it’s a good idea to go on social media or not. That decision will usually result in not going on social media because we all know it’s not good for us.
The more times this situation occurs, which will be a lot. The more you’ll get in the habit of thinking before turning on social media, even while the app blocker is off.
No social media = more free time = more productivity and organisation.
Again this is not a paid sponsorship for the Opel app, it’s just the one I’m using as it’s free. It’s the only one I’ve tried so there are probably better ones out there.
Give it a go, I bet it’ll work more than you think.
Weekly Fact
We only keep 1 out of every 10 apps we try.
It is estimated that about 80-90 percent of the apps we install are deleted in the long term.
It seems users are picky with what they want to use their limited storage for!
Quote of the Week
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