PSA: I have started federating my Threads posts via @alexheath, which means they should now be visible on here, though I can’t reply to / follow Mastodon users from Theads yet.

My posts will be at that profile going forward, and hopefully I’ll soon be able to redirect this account to avoid any confusion.

reporting notes on the OpenAI debacle from last night’s newsletter:
- A coup led from the research side of the house
- Altman has been looking at outside biz endeavors for a bit now
- My hunch is that was announced at DevDay last week played a role
- OpenAI probably about to look a lot less commercial

https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/17/23966446/what-happened-to-sam-altman-open-ai

Sam Altman's advice to devs building on OpenAI's new bot platform:

“I think, on the whole, most developers will be happy for the additional distribution that ChatGPT provides for what they create. But as we say, don’t build a thin wrapper on top of OpenAI. We are planning to build the obvious features that you would expect for a robust platform over time, and there is an enormous value to build.”

https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/7/23951673/openai-chatgpt-store-ai-devday

Here's the full transcript of Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino's internal X all-hands that took place last Thursday, during which Musk said he wants the platform to compete with YouTube, LinkedIn, FaceTime, dating apps, and even your bank.

Also: his thoughts on sharing bad news in meetings and the state of journalism https://www.theverge.com/23940924/elon-musk-x-twitter-all-hands-linda-yaccarino-super-app

“I think this is the fastest rate of innovation maybe ever for any internet company.”

Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino just addressed X employees internally for their first joint all-hands. I listened to the 45-minute call and wrote about what was said for this week's newsletter.

TL;DR: Musk wants X to replace your bank by next year https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/26/23934053/x-twitter-elon-musk-linda-yaccarino-first-all-hands-meeting

This week’s newsletter: Why fresh layoffs inside Google this week signal that more could be on the horizon.

Also: good times at OpenAI and not-so-good times at TikTok https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/20/23925712/google-reckoning-layoffs-command-line

Every year, Evan Spiegel sends employees a letter about the company’s big-picture strategy. This year's letter gives a sobering view of how Snap's own goals keep shrinking. ($500 million of free cash flow next year vs. $1+ billion it hoped for this year)

“Anywhere else, it would be tempting to give up and simply settle for incrementalism,” per Spiegel. “Not at Snap.”

But can he turn things around? https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/13/23916186/what-happens-to-snap-command-line