GM Readers! ☀️

Welcome to the 1st issue of Evolving Internet Insights — a weekly newsletter curating the top stories and our insights on the “Evolving Internet.”

The Evolving Internet covers everything from AI, Web3 and all the emerging tech in between.

Thanks for reading!

Liang and Dan 🙌

P.S. This newsletter will evolve like the internet does, please give us feedback in the comments section or reply directly via email! 🙏

💾 Byte Sized Stories

This week’s top stories with our insights on top.

1. Instagram’s Threads Hits 100M Users in 5 Days

⚡️ TL;DR: Instagram’s Thread app, a Twitter alternative, crossed 100M users in just 5 days, almost 1/3 the size of Twitter’s user base. Threads reached the 100M user mark faster than ChatGPT did… it took ChatGPT 2 months.

⚡️ So What: Threads rapid growth highlights the power of incumbent network effects. If you have an Instagram account, it’s very easy to sign up for Threads (a few clicks). Instagram has 2+ billion users that Threads can target to sign up. This underscores the power of Big Tech and how hard it is to compete with network effects.

And they haven’t even turned on many promotions yet!

Read More Here, Here

P.S. If the rapid rise of Threads wasn’t enough, maybe Musk and Zuck can settle this in their “cage match”.

2. Blackrock and Larry Fink Likes Bitcoin

⚡️ TL;DR: Blackrock, the world’s top asset manager with ~$9 Trillion AUM (assets under management) is pushing for a BTC ETF. Larry Fink, CEO of Blackrock, has also changed his tune towards crypto saying that crypto can “revolutionize finance.” In 2017, he called crypto an “index for money laundering.”

⚡️ So What: Given Blackrock’s influence, if they get approved for a BTC ETF, other top asset managers will probably follow with similar products. Institutional investor interest in BTC and crypto not only brings liquidity, but also adds to the legitimacy of the industry.

In emerging tech, two key forces drive adoption: technology and liquidity. Builders have been laying the technological foundation for Web3 for over a decade now. Yes there is still a long way to go on the technology front. But Blackrock and institutional investors would bring a step change in liquidity to the space.

Read More Here, Here

3. The EU & US Finally Agree on a Data Privacy Framework

⚡️ TL;DR: As they say, data is the new oil. Governments and big tech companies from both sides of “the pond” came together in their best remix of the song, “Why Can't We Be Friends?” The European Union and the United States finalized the much-anticipated EU-US Data Privacy Framework (EU-US DPF) — allowing user data to be transmitted between the EU and US. It also gives EU users the ability to object to the improper collection of their data by U.S. agencies.

⚡️ So What: Having clear rules around data and privacy impact all sectors of tech. And since tech and business is global, having clear frameworks across jurisdictions that work in lockstep with each other provides clarity to businesses. Data is even more core to AI — there are now questions being raised on what data can be used in training models. And of course different jurisdictions have differing opinions.

When new tech comes out, we tend to focus only on the tech, but the surrounding non-tech (governance) issues are critical to figure out. Tech like AI might exist on the global internet, but humans and companies still have to answer to their respective jurisdictions.

Read More Here, Here

📊 Let’s Get Graphic

One visual we couldn’t stop thinking about.

⚡️Takeaway: Worldwide Desktop and Mobile Web Traffic to ChatGPT dropped 9.7% from May to June — a drop for the first time.

🧠 Brain Food

One focus topic to feed your brain.

One of the key questions on the minds of business leaders, investors and founders we talk to is: Where will value accrue in Generative AI?

Legendary VC firm, a16z wrote a blog post that went through the different parts of the Generative AI stack. It’s a great explainer and highlights where value can potentially accrue.

We love this graphic from the blog post 👇

⚡️TL;DR: Infrastructure wins again (for now 😏), some insights below👇

⚡️At the Infrastructure Level: The bottom of the stack that includes hardware and cloud platforms (commonly referred to as the compute layer) is actually where a lot of the constraint in the industry is. This part of the stack will accrue value because there are only a handful of companies that manufacture hardware powerful enough for AI compute. (Nividia, which makes GPUs, joined the $1 Trillion Market Cap Club earlier this year).

⚡️At the Model Level: As the AI industry continues to grow, new models are being introduced — many of which are also open source. It’s unclear if model providers will capture outsize value for the benefit that their models provide because there are many models one can choose from. This means models might become commoditized. 

⚡️At the Application Level: AI Applications have taken off this past year. Many have seen user growth, but as the a16z blog post points out, the key challenge is still retention / engagement. Since many of the models are open source and (ChatGPT) plugins are available for everyone to use, there is a lot of competition in all AI App categories. AI lowers the cost of production, but it lowers it for all — so competitive advantage goes to those who can retain their users.

🐇 Down the Rabbit Hole

Some deeper dives to help you get smarter on emerging tech.

1. Age of AI: Everything you need to know about artificial intelligence: a great primer on everything generative AI. This is a good resource to share with your organizations if they are just getting started.

2. How to Blow Up a Timeline: A deep dive that explains what is happening to Twitter and how it might be losing its competitive edge as the Internet’s sole town square. Social Media seems to be entering a 2nd age with the rise of new products like Threads and decentralized alternatives.

3. What is ChatGPT and Why does it Work?: A long read covering the nuts and bolts of ChatGPT. If you are a business leader trying to go one layer deeper into how ChatGPT works, this one is for you!

🌊 Watercooler Talk

Overheard from our community

“It’s so hard to get my project pushed through at work, everyone is fighting for compute resources…”

P.S. Got some watercooler talk for us? Share your suggestions in our comments section!

💡 Thinking in Public

This is where we ask for your thoughts.

Subscribers of ⚡️Evolving Internet Insights⚡️ get access to one long form essay per month, where we take a topic related to the Evolving Internet and dive deeper on it.

Here are some ideas for the next essay, which one are you most interested to read?

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DISCLAIMER: This post is provided strictly for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing written in this post should be taken as financial advice or advice of any kind. The content of this post are the opinions of the authors and not representative of other parties. Empower yourself, DYOR (do your own research).