✅ Monday briefing: Threadbare
Threads versus Twitter meets Black Mirror, Charlie Brooker and Oscar Wilde
Meta launched a lookalike version of Twitter last week called Threads. The pared-back version of the service has attracted 90 million sign-ups. We’ve included perspectives this week by Catherine Arrow, Helen Reynolds and Darryl Sparey.
Threads makes us all pawns in a battle between tech billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg for ownership of the public square. It’s a competition measured by subscribers, engagement, ad dollars, market capitalisation, and most recently the prospect of a cage fight.
How much data does Meta need to own? Every aspect of our lives is recorded across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and now, Threads. We’re helping build a massive corporate large language model of human behaviour. It’s the point that Catherine makes.
Series six of Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror dropped on Netflix recently and is as excellent as ever. Episode one, Joan is Awful, tells the story of a young woman whose life is played out over a streaming service as she records it on social media.
I fear I’m becoming the grumpy old man warning the kids to be careful. Brooker reportedly got ChatGPT to write an episode of Black Mirror but ditched it because it was so awful. As Oscar Wilde said, life imitates art more than art imitates life.
Media
🎥 AI NEWSROOM: Sky News showed how AI can replace elements of the editorial process. However, it concludes that a combination of AI and human intelligence is needed to provide optimal results. More information. Source Andrew Bruce Smith.
📰 AI DILEMMA: The Guardian is experimenting with AI as part of its editorial process. However, it has not been deployed in a live environment. It reports that AI cannot be trusted not to make stuff up even when provided with source materials. More information. Source Andrew Bruce Smith.
🗞 PITCH TO PUBLISH: New working patterns and commercial pressures in newsrooms are proving to be challenge for media relations practitioners. A new Vuelio report, ‘From pitching to getting published: A PR’s guide to media relations’ explores the evolving landscape of media relations and offers practical guidance. More information. Source Stephen Waddington.
Business
💵 CASH IS KING: Managing cash is critical in a challenging economy. Strategies include maintaining cash-flow forecasts, setting aside money for large costs, addressing bad payers, avoiding reliance on a single large client, and getting help if you need it. More information. Source Rachael Marshall.
💲 ALTERNATIVE FINANCE: Sources of finance such as debt and equity come with a business cost. Alternative funding sources include grants, R&D tax credits, Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, and Creative Growth Finance. More information. Source Sarah Waddington CBE.
Industry
🔄 REGIONAL MARKETS: The public relations boom of the past three years is over. London has been the main beneficiary despite strong regional growth. The movement and growth of regional communities around the UK due to COVID-19 was temporary. More information. Source Stephen Waddington.
🧷 PUNK PR: There are around 4,000 public relations agencies in the UK. Very few have a memorable brand proposition. It’s odd for an industry that prides itself on managing reputation. STORY launched a punk brand proposition last week. It has an assertive and distinct proposition. More information. Source Stephen Waddington.
⚽ FANTASY PR LEAGUE: The Fantasy Premier League competition ‘PR pros - a league of our own’ competitions has launched. It was highly competitive last year. Sign up now if you want to get play in the new season. More information. Source Ben Lowndes.
🔵 SOCIALLY MOBILE: We've opened applications for paid and funded places for the final cohort for Socially Mobile of 2023. The application deadline is 20 August, and classes start on 14 September. Check the website for more information, and hit the button on the top right to apply. More information. Source Stephen Waddington.
Social media and platforms
🤔 THREAD PRIMER: The new Meta app uses your Instagram community as its starting point. It operates like a stripped-down version of Twitter with @handles, replies and re-threads. It is only available on the iOS platform and not in the EU due to GDPR data offshoring issues. Meta has promised API-access and tools. Further information. Source: Darryl Sparey.
😴 THREADS DILEMMA: If you work in marketing or public relations you probably need to check out Threads and reserve an account. It is the most significant threat to Twitter so far and could be a potential destination for media and public relations communities. Further information. Source Helen Reynolds.
👩🌾 DATA HARVEST: 90 million people have jumped onto Threads since it launched last week. It's a data harvest play. Proceed with caution. Every post you make potentially contributes to Meta's large language models and training material for future AI tools. Further information. Source Catherine Arrow.
Artificial intelligence
➡ AUTONOMOUS PR: Cognosis breaks down a job into a series of tasks and then undertakes each one. You can modify and redirect it along the way. It's one of a range of applications that sits on top of the OpenAI large language models and takes us a step closer to an autonomous knowledge worker. More information. Source Stephen Waddington.
😱 DEEPFAKE SCAM: AI deepfakes are used by scammers to create fake ads featuring high-profile individuals. Financial journalist and broadcaster Martin Lewis is the latest individual to feature in this new con. He’s criticised ad platforms for not checking creative and is lobbying the government for regulation. More information. Source James Crawford.
Tools
🚀 AI DATA SCIENCE: ChatGPT Code Interpreter has an impressive capacity to understand and analyse spreadsheet data. The tool can, perform interpret data, perform data analysis, generate charts, and answer questions about a dataset. More information. Source Andrew Bruce Smith.
💷 PAY TO PLAY: Users will need to pay for verification to access Twitter’s social media management Tweetdeck platform. The change will be implemented in August. More information. Source Stephen Waddington.
We’ve raised £25,000 over the last couple of years with Hadrian’s Wall and Three Peaks summer fundraisers. Thank you to everyone who has supported us.
This year we’ve set out sights on the more modest challenge of running the Great North Run for Winston's Wish. It supports children and their families following the death of a parent or sibling. It’s been a huge support to us over the past six months.
I appreciate times are tough, but we’d appreciate any donation you can make. £5 would be great. £10 would be amazing. Thank you.
Disclosure: STORY and Vuelio, mentioned in this newsletter, are Wadds Inc. clients. Stephen Waddington is a founder and director of Socially Mobile.