Musk Monopoly, Un-Social Media & SNARF
5 in 5 - Brave & Heart HeartBeat #227 ❤️
This week we'll be talking Elon Musk's attempt to buy OpenAI, what happens when AI tries to read the news and what actually is social media anymore?
Plus, introducing SNARF and the new social media trying to outsmart it, followed by tips on how to motivate yourself at work.
Let's get into it.
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#1 - Musk Monopoly Continues
This week, Musk has levelled up his feud with OpenAI and it’s leader by trying to buy it… because that’s what Musk always does when he’s upset about something.
Musk announced that he and a group of investors had submitted a $97.4bn bid for “all assets” of the company to their board of directors, seemingly hoping that they’ll get dollar signs in their eyes and override Sam, again.
Altman replied on X with a snarky offer to buy “Twitter” instead, saying that Musk’s offer to buy the company was just an attempt to slow them down, followed by a sick burn. Saying that his “whole life is from a position of insecurity… I don’t think he’s a happy person”.
Has he been listening to our podcast?
Musk’s motley crew of investors includes Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of stealth government contractor Palantir, and Ari Emanual, CEO of entertainment company Endeavour.
He seems to want to buy it because he wants them to return to their non-profit origins and become fully open-source. Musk is so rich that, memorably, when he thinks a company is doing something wrong, he buys it. Twitter not free speech enough? Shut up and take my money.
Or is it a case of if you can’t beat it, buy them?
#2 - AI Chatbots Can’t Read News
While AI has made the belief of fake news even higher, AI chatbots can’t seem to read the real news either.
According to research undertaken by the BBC in which they asked four GenAI tools to answer 100 questions using their articles as a source, one fifth of the answers gave factual errors on numbers, dates or statements, and thirteen percent of quotes sourced to the BBC were altered or fake.
The BBC’s chief executive for news warned that Gen AI tools threaten to undermine the public’s “fragile faith in facts”.
This research is quite concerning considering how much some of us rely on AI on to answer our daily questions…
#3 – What is Social Media anymore?
Jonathan Stringfield, VP at Microsoft and author of the book Get in the Game, about meeting your business goals through gamification, wrote a fascinating article about the current state of social media – no longer social at all.
It used to be a way to connect people, sometimes those who already knew each other, to share life updates or connect around a certain interest.
Now the whole point of social media is to sell things to people, using that information about what they’re interested in. Originally used to build community around certain interests, social media has become a way to target and sell people things according to those interests.
One of the best quotes in the article was about how platforms originally meant to connect with “people” you care about, shifted to “things” you care about, finally to the “content” you kind of care about, to be replaced by the next bout of content in a couple of seconds.
People are officially no longer the focus of social media, selling stuff through content to people is.
#4 - BuzzFeed Island
Someone who does want to create a truly SOCIAL platform, however, is BuzzFeed.
Remember BuzzFeed, with the quizzes? Well, they’ve written an impassioned manifesto about the state of the current social media sphere, and specifically the type of content that dominates our social media.
And they have named that content: SNARF - Stakes/Novelty/Anger/Retention/Fear.
According to them, this is the type of content that evolves when an AI algorithm is given free reign to maximise usage. It’s what gets the people going, apparently.
And so, that’s what creators continue making, because that’s what gets the views, the clicks, and the revenue.
BuzzFeed posited that creators are now pushed into a corner, they have to keep creating this harmful content because otherwise their livelihood is gone.
Their answer? A new social media platform which doesn’t rely on an algorithm to push the content that gets the worst out of us, and hopefully, a more positive online space.
#5 - 5 Ways To Find Motivation at Work
If you’re anything like us, the month of January drained your motivation.
You’re not alone, apparently employee engagement in the US sank to 31% in 2024, which is a ten-year low. According to Forbes, here are five ways you can get your motivation going:
1 - Avoid Distraction
Apparently almost 50% of employees are distracted at least once every 30 minutes, with a third reporting being distracted at least once every 15 minutes. Although easier said than done, single-tasking rather than multitasking has been proven to help you stay motivated.
2 - Set Achievable Goals
And by achievable, we do really mean acievable. A lack of motivation can sometimes come from overwhelm, and by breaking those tasks down into achievable sections, you can gain motivation from completing one at a time.
According to a study at PwC, people who set at least four daily goals per week were 34% more likely to hit their KPI targets than those who didn’t. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
3 - Focus on Family
We’re a little bit more sceptical about this one. According to Forbes, you should think about providing for your family as a way to motivate yourself.
Seems a bit stressful, but the idea could be reworked. For example, when you’re struggling to get motivated or feeling a bit sick of your work, think about WHY you’re doing it.
Maybe think about the money, and what you use it on for yourself, like little treats or saving up for a new sofa, or think about the experience that you’ll get from your current role, or the city you’re living in.
4 - Growth Mindset
We find the growth mindset a bit too Diary of a CEO, but it speaks for itself.
5 - New Skills
Learning new skills gives you a sense of accomplishment and creates a feeling of personal growth and progression, and experts say that any way you can seek opportunities to learn and collaborate will help boost motivation.
We’re definitely going to be trying these.
Brave & Heart over and out.
Bonus
Duolingo Owl
The Duolingo Owl… is dead.
That’s right. The marketing geniuses at Duolingo have killed off the owl.
We don’t think he’s dead forever though…
To find out more on how you can retain your top talent, or how we can help you with digital solutions to your business and marketing challenges, check out our case studies.
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