Tag: flags
TechCrunch+ roundup: Unicorn origins, red flags for investors, generative AI meets copyright law
Every startup isn’t ready to hire a full-time marketer, but that’s no excuse to toss money out the window on paid acquisition.
TechCrunch+ roundup: Unicorn origins, red flags for investors, generative AI meets copyright law by Walter Thompson originally published on TechCrunch
Twitter flags Substack links as unsafe as feud continues
The Twitter versus Substack battle rages on, as the social media app seemingly continues to discourage promoting offsite Substack posts by marking all site links as “unsafe” for users.
On April 7, Twitter appeared to add a warning to all external Substack links, the Verge reported, prompting users to steer clear of the platform and describing them as possibly “spammy or unsafe.”
Elon Musk later denied claims that the site was blocking Substack links, tweeting on Saturday:
1. Substack links were never blocked. Matt’s statement is false.
2. Substack was trying to download a massive portion of the Twitter database to bootstrap their Twitter clone, so their IP address is obviously untrusted.
3. Turns out Matt is/was an employee of Substack.
Substack co-founder Chris Best then rejected Musk’s claim that Substack was downloading Twitter data outside of the bounds of its API database. “We believe we’re in compliance with the terms, but if they have any specific concerns we would love to know about them! We’d be happy to address any issues,” wrote Best.
Earlier this week, the newsletter platform seemed to initiate the final straw against Twitter by launching its new Substack Notes feature — a “recommendations” feed that looks strikingly similar to the traditional, scrollable social feed at the crux of Twitter’s use. As many seek to leave the Elon Musk-owned social media app, Substack seemed to be providing alternatives, including a recently launched chat function that lets newsletter writers and followers engage with each other.
In response, Twitter has speedily put up roadblocks to Substack promoters on the platform, including the site’s official account. On Thursday, Twitter blocked Substack users from embedding tweets in stories. Not long after, tweets with links to Substack posts seemed to be barred from engagement, only allowing users to quote tweet posts — no likes or retweets for anyone. Soon, no one could engage with the official Substack Twitter account, either, with Musk openly “breaking up” with Substack writer and Twitter Files reporter Matt Taibbi.
Substack told Mashable that the moves were a strike against the freedom of its writers. “Their livelihoods should not be tied to platforms where they don’t own their relationship with their audience, and where the rules can change on a whim.”
The new anti-Substack addition seems to be the most pointed attempt at keeping Twitter users off of Substack. According to The Verge, this is the first adjustment to Twitter’s URL policy since 2020. Twitter has not yet offered an explanation.
UPDATE: Apr. 8, 2023, 2:31 p.m. EDT This story was updated with statements from Twitter CEO Elon Musk and Substack co-founder Chris Best.
Google flags apps made by popular Chinese e-commerce giant as malware
On Monday, Google announced that it had flagged several apps made by a Chinese e-commerce giant as malware, alerting users who had them installed, and suspended the company’s official app. In the last couple of weeks, multiple Chinese security researchers accused Pinduoduo, a rising e-commerce giant that boasts almost 800 million active users, of making […]
Google flags apps made by popular Chinese e-commerce giant as malware by Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai originally published on TechCrunch
TechCrunch+ roundup: M&A red flags, handling problematic CEOs, E-1 visa questions
Early-stage investors don’t closely manage the founders they shower with cash, even when things go off the rails.
TechCrunch+ roundup: M&A red flags, handling problematic CEOs, E-1 visa questions by Walter Thompson originally published on TechCrunch
Google Voice now flags suspected spam calls
Google Voice has made it easier to filter out spammers trying to call your number. The tech giant has announced that the service will now flag suspected spam calls and will clearly label them as such, complete with a big red exclamation mark. Spam calls and texts have been a huge issue for a years, and they aren’t going away anytime soon — according to the FCC, consumers in the US receive approximately 4 billion robocalls per month and that Americans had lost nearly $30 billion to scam calls in 2021. Google says the feature was designed to help protect you “from unwanted calls and potentially harmful scams.”
The new label that says “suspected spam caller” will show up not just on the incoming call screen, but also in call history for future reference. If you confirm that the call is spam, any future call from that number will head straight to voicemail, and all its call history entries will be sent to the spam folder. But if you confirm that the number is legitimate and isn’t a spam caller, the warning will never be displayed for it again. Here’s what the label would look like on the call screen:
Google uses the same artificial intelligence that’s in charge of identifying spam calls across its ecosystem to pinpoint spam callers for this feature. Apparently, that AI has been filtering out billions of spam calls a month for the tech giant. To note, the new label will only appear if your spam filter setting under Security is turned off. If it’s on, all calls Google suspects to be spam are sent to voicemail from the start.
The Wall Street Journal: Activist investor wants Six Flags to cash in on its real estate holdings
Lensa AI, the app making ‘magic avatars,’ raises red flags for artists
If your Instagram is awash in algorithmically generated portraits of your friends, you aren’t alone. After adding a new avatar generation tool based on Stable Diffusion, the photo editing app Lensa AI went viral over the last few days, with users sharing their uncanny AI-crafted avatars (and the horrible misfires) in stories and posts. Lensa’s […]
Lensa AI, the app making ‘magic avatars,’ raises red flags for artists by Taylor Hatmaker originally published on TechCrunch