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Today is April 26, 2022, and all we have been talking about is a case of Irritable owl syndrome, if you will. We got the impression that Musk was just winging it here.
We know, we know, all of these puns are terrible, but what is a poor pair of newsletter writers to do when they pull our favorite social media site from the stork exchange?
The TechCrunch Top 3
- Same Twitter time, same Twitter channel: Today, we took a look at the aftermath of Elon Musk’s deal to buy Twitter, this time on the privacy front. Cybersecurity experts say that Musk’s idea to make Twitter’s tech open-source could make it more susceptible to attacks, though his ideas for going after spam bots may lead to better detection — and perhaps a reduction of followers for many people wondering about that blank egghead following them.
- Left Lane making a right turn when it comes to investments: It was the gift that keeps on giving for Left Lane CEO and managing partner Harley Miller, who closed the venture capital firm’s $1.4 billion fund on his birthday. The firm is targeting “internet-enabled consumer tech with recurring business models,” which Miller felt was a white space among all the other enterprise and SaaS investors. We wonder what his birthday gift will be next year.
- Teach a teen about money and you’ll raise a more financially conscious adult: At least that’s the goal most parents have. Being a good steward of your money is something even adults can have trouble with, which is why we’ve seen so many child- and teen-focused financial apps attract funding. The latest is Copper, which raised a $29 million Series A, offering debit cards, ATM access and digital wallet support. Parents can participate alongside their child, adding funds and monitoring their spending. Copper even helps with the financial basics, like what compound interest is.
Po-tee-weet?
We're really sorry, but you have to be on the internet right now. Go and look at some birds. The ones that live outdoors.
We are doing a lot of bird-watching today so you have it all in one place. If you have been offline for the past month, we put together a handy timeline which will give you some context.
We reported yesterday that the social networking site accepted Musk's offer to buy it. As you can see above, Carly isn't so sure, saying that this is going to be a privacy nightmare. We talked about how Trump wouldn't be coming back to social media and how that is hogwash.
Alex encouraged Musk to please not mess it up, as he took a punt at what is next for the social network. What will the diaspora do? Sarah was wondering if advertisers will make a lot of money on other platforms, and Amanda reported that the source code for the platform was locked away.
Startups and VC
The hardware guys were having a great day. The detail of the EV Corvette using excess battery heat to heat the cabin is very cool. The benefit of using waste heat instead of electric power is very clever. A space-obsessed 15-year-old that lives within us is very excited about the demoed 3D-printed rocket and the fact that it was a full-scale burn.
There is no non-Twitter news.
Klaviyo co-founder Ed Hallen’s 3 top pieces of advice for launching a startup
jayk7 (opens in a new window) is an image.
It's not unusual for founders to make the same mistakes as they try to overcome universal challenges.
Ed Hallen said luck was a factor in the company's success.
It's clear that we wouldn't have had luck into those choices if we'd known more upfront.
He shared three pieces of advice for new entrepreneurs. Don't try to change user behavior, instead look for a problem to solve.
Rather than focus on telling a story, we found a problem and came at it hard because we knew if we found enough people with the same problem, we could build a company.
Techcrunch+ helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.
Klaviyo co-founder Ed Hallen’s 3 top pieces of advice for launching a startup
Big Tech Inc.
- We talked a lot about cars yesterday, and even though Ford is trying to tease us with a second electric pickup truck, let’s head over to public market land to talk about the earnings announcements of Warner Bros. Discovery and General Motors (yes, we realize it’s still cars). Warner Bros. Discovery had some mixed reviews, with one star going to WarnerMedia, a unit it picked up earlier this month. AT&T delivered that blow already. The five-star ratings went to the Discovery and U.S. Networks units, which both saw a rise in revenue. As for General Motors, Jaclyn and Rebecca laid out some predictions (EV to the rescue!) for what we might see when earnings come out later today.
- If you like an app on the Apple App Store, you might want to check if it is on this list. Apple is attending to one of its regular cleanups, and Sensor Tower predicts some 3,000 apps will be taken off the shelves.
- Having a community is important, and Reddit perhaps has one of the biggest communities around. It is now putting some money behind it with a $1 million fund to help its users make their ideas and events become reality. And in other community news, YouTube is allowing users to send thanks in the way of a tip to content creators.
- Not much of a surprise here, but TikTok was the most downloaded app in the first quarter worldwide.
- Roku users rejoice! The streaming provider signed a multiyear deal with Lionsgate Films to freely stream some of the production company’s upcoming films for 2022 like “John Wick 4,” “Borderlands,” “Expendables 4” and “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” (haven’t read that book in 30 years, so yay it’s going to be a movie?).
