Born Again: Is Tech Back?

That Was The Week #3, 2023

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Essays of the Week

The Big Tech Rebound is Underway -

Mark Zuckerberg says Meta is making this the 'year of efficiency'

A New Bubble Is Forming for AI Startups, But Don't Expect a Crypto-like Pop

The Why of Tech Layoffs -

What are we going to do about Generative AI content farms?

ChatGPT reaches 100 million users two months after launch @Dan Milmo

News of the Week

Introducing Substack Pledges -

and in Conversation (Video)

OpenAI Announces Paid Subscription for ChatGPT

Facebook now has 2 billion users - Karissa Bell @karissabe

Meta lost $13.7 billion on Reality Labs in 2022 as Zuckerberg's metaverse bet gets pricier - Jonathan Vanian @JONATHANVANIAN

Musk's Twitter Scores Super Bowl Deals, a Boon for Struggling Ad Business - Erin Woo

Startup of the Week

FTC Loses Antitrust Challenge to Facebook Parent Meta - Dave Michaels and Jan Wolfe

Tweet of the Week

Twitter Itself...

Editorial

What a difference a week makes. From last weeks "Unicorns are Dying" headline we are forced to ask "Is Tech Back" this week.

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I almost didn't notice but Facebook (Meta) stock has had a big rebound since its 52 week low in November 2022. Up over 100% since then.

Before we get ahead of ourselves it is still down from its high of almost $380 a share, and this week's uptick was preceeded by Mark Zuckerburg announcing a $40 billion share buy back and a new emphasis on "efficiency", or cost savings. But on the other side, it reached 2 billion weekly users. Wow....

In a week where the Fed slowed its interest rate rises and most tech stocks are in a third straight week of gains it is right that declares that the "The Big Tech Rebound is Underway"

Big Technology

The Big Tech Rebound Is Underway

3 years ago · 18 likes · Alex Kantrowitz

In the same week ChatGPT reached 100 million users and also announced a $20 a month pro subscription. Microsoft announced it will be embedded in a pro version of Teams for $10 a month.

Substack continues its product led growth and interviews in a wide ranging interview. The new feature is a "Pledges" service where va reader can show you they believe your work is valuable. This feature allows your subscribers to pledge to become a paid subscriber if and when you turn on paid subscriptions. Clearly That Was The Week already supports paid subscriptions, so pledges does not work here, you can just pay.