Should we be worried about Instagram’s map feature? Tech Instagram’s new location-sharing feature, dubbed ‘Instagram Map’, has been rolled out to 170m users, but a journey through the platform reveals a perplexing reality: it’s a digital ghost town. While Instagram’s parent, Meta, has billed the feature as a “new, light way to connect”, many users are finding themselves alone on the map, prompting a [...]
Meta: Zuckerberg’s open source gamble collides with EU regulation Tech Meta has refused to sign the European Commission’s new AI Code of Practice, escalating tensions with Brussels just weeks before landmark regulation kicks in. The voluntary guidelines – designed to help tech giants prepare for the EU’s sweeping AI Act – were rejected outright by Meta’s global affairs chief Joel Kaplan, who warned they introduced [...]
Musk’s X tops UK news as Grok says it’s ‘likely’ most viewed – while Meta and TikTok falter Tech Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, has become the UK’s most downloaded news app, marking a surprise comeback for a platform many had dismissed as fading. Despite years of falling ad revenue, user churn, and accusations of toxicity related to its controversial founder and chief executive, the app is likely the most viewed news [...]
Meta surges on bold AI spend – but tariff risks loom May 1, 2025 Meta platforms delivered strong first quarter earnings after market close on Wednesday, with revenue and profit surpassing Wall Street expectations thanks to continued growth in advertising and an aggressive push into AI. But the firm’s exposure to global trade tensions and regulatory headwinds in its European market present a complicated picture for investors evaluating the [...]
Microsoft, Meta, Tesla & Apple: What this week’s tech earnings tell us about the AI boom January 31, 2025 Microsoft, Meta, Tesla and Apple kicked off the tech earnings season this week, giving us snapshot of how spending on AI is shaping the tech sector. Here’s what we’ve learnt about the AI boom so far. AI spending shapes the tech sector This week started with the rise of Chinese startup DeepSeek causing headwinds on [...]
Is this the age of the unfiltered CEO? January 29, 2025 Mark Zuckerberg’s recent conversation with podcaster Joe Rogan stays in my mind for a number of reasons. The idea of the world’s Nerd-in-Chief stripping off and shooting pigs with a bow and arrow was one of the more bizarre images to emerge from the chat, along with his slightly cringeworthy enthusiasm for fighting other men [...]
X and Meta: Who’s benefiting from Tiktok’s brief hiatus? January 20, 2025 As Tiktok temporarily went down on Sunday afternoon, rival social media platforms such as X and Meta scrambled to fill the void left by the app’s absence. Several competitors moved quickly to capitalise on its downfall, hoping to attract its 170m US user base by picking up its various features. Before the ban took effect [...]
Zuck rediscovers love of free speech – just in time for Trump 2.0 January 8, 2025 Will Mark Zuckerberg’s drastic policy changes tempt me back to Facebook? Nope. I quit the platform in 2010, after a friend request from an uncle made me realise it was no longer just a safe space for sharing morning-after-the-night-before photos and gags with university pals. Having left the party 15 years ago, it’s been interesting [...]
Telegram boss Pavel Durov charged: What next for social media moguls like Musk and Zuckerberg? August 29, 2024 Like his recent collection of topless Instagram photos, Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, is probably feeling slightly exposed right now under the scrutiny of global powers. He has just been charged by French authorities for allegedly allowing criminal activity to flourish on his platform. Durov has avoided jail time for now, out on a [...]