Archive: social media
Page:
The Kind of Regulatory Moment Crypto Needs
By Vin Narayanan on April 28, 2023
Crypto Market Musings As I write, bitcoin is trading around $29,000. Ethereum is trading close to $1,900. And the rest of the markets are a mess. Welcome to crypto allergy season, everyone. The bear market is over. The bull market hasn’t started. That means cryptos aren’t moving up in lockstep. And they’re not moving down in unison. Some days will be good. Some days, the markets or certain cryptos will have allergies. Macroeconomic factors…
Startup Insider: TikTok Under Fire for Privacy Concerns
By Early Investing on February 8, 2023
It seems like everyone is on TikTok these days. More than 3 billion people have downloaded the short-form video sharing app as of 2023. And TikTok boasts 1 billion monthly active users — more than Twitter, Telegram, Reddit, Pinterest, and Snapchat. TikTok users watch more than 1 billion…
Twitter and the Fight Against Fake News
By Allison Brickell on November 2, 2022
Well, it finally happened. After several legal snags and a full-blown trial, Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion. One of Musk’s first priorities as the owner of the social media giant is to change Twitter Blue. Twitter Blue is an optional $4.99-per-month subscription that Twitter…
Why Musk (Probably) Didn’t Buy Twitter as a Free Speech Play
By Vin Narayanan on April 27, 2022
Elon Musk finalized his deal to buy Twitter this week for $44 billion. If you’ve been following me on Twitter (@vinistic), you know that I’ve been obsessed with Musk’s efforts to buy Twitter and…
Instagram Embraces NFTs
By Vin Narayanan on April 15, 2022
NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are having a moment. These tokens typically represent some sort of collectible — often a digital collectible. But NFTs can also be used to represent wine, sneakers and other physical goods. Like bitcoin, NFTs are based on blockchain technology. Each NFT…
Investing in Alternative Social Media Platforms
By Adam Sharp on February 22, 2022
There’s a war going on in social media. Government is applying pressure to platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to censor “misinformation.” There are many examples, but conversations around COVID are especially prone to being censored. For example, for much of 2020 and 2021, talking…
The Metaverse Must Be Decentralized
By Adam Sharp on October 29, 2021
As soon as I saw the headline, I cringed. “Facebook changes its name to Meta.” The new name is a not-so-subtle reference to the Metaverse. Facebook plans to invest $10 billion to build an immersive VR platform (demo here).
Trump Media and Technology Group Looks to Tackle Big Tech
By Adam Sharp on October 22, 2021
Full disclosure: I own a small amount of DWAC shares (.02 percent of portfolio investment). Note that this is a highly speculative investment and is already up a ridiculous amount. Do not construe this as financial advice. On Thursday, former President Donald Trump launched a special…
Look Beyond Big Tech Investments
By Allison Brickell on October 13, 2021
Last Monday, Facebook experienced an outage that lasted for about six hours. Users couldn’t access Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Whatsapp or OculusVR. The effects were felt across the world. Suddenly, everyone who relied on Facebook or WhatsApp for communication was left in a lurch. Even…
Big Tech’s Disturbing Censorship Continues
By Adam Sharp on August 31, 2021
Big tech censorship continues to be a major concern. I first wrote about this issue almost a year ago. I’ve also written about how it creates investment opportunities. And this trend of censorship shows no signs…
Big Tech Censorship Creating Startup Opportunities
By Adam Sharp on February 23, 2021
Back in October, I wrote a piece titled Big Tech’s Growing Vulnerability. In it, I discussed the rapidly increasing amount of censorship on sites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. No matter how you view the big tech controversy, I think…
Big Tech’s Growing Vulnerability
By Adam Sharp on October 30, 2020
Today we’re going to talk about big tech censorship — and how it makes established social media platforms vulnerable to disruption. I’m going to try my best to avoid the political side of things and focus solely on the investing implications. YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Apple and…
Follow the Startup, Not the Sector
By Andy Gordon on September 25, 2019
When you’re looking for startup investments, don’t get blinded by shiny sectors. The startup comes first - not diversification for diversification’s sake.
Arbit Poll: How Can We Improve the First Stage Investor Experience?
By Early Investing on September 12, 2019
In this month's poll, we'd like to hear your thoughts on what you like about First Stage Investor and how we can do better.
Airdrop Alert: Rally
By Vin Narayanan on July 9, 2019
This week’s airdrop is Rally, a social media rewards system that wants you - not social media companies - to earn money for your data.
Airdrop Alert: Belacam
By Allison Brickell on April 16, 2019
Belacam is a social media site that rewards engaging content.