Hand-Picked Content
The Downfall of Ello
Blog, 20min
Ello was branded by the media as the “anti-Facebook.” It had no ads and no tracking. It got hyped up, and millions joined. The team raised money from investors, and then it went wrong. This is a complete write-up from the site’s early days and growth to its downfall, which led to thousands of users losing all their data without warning before the site went offline. This is a great read, especially now that another social network for artists is trending with a similar promise to Ello’s (see app section below).
OpenAI: A Ticking Bomb?
Article, 5min
The list of ex-OpenAI employees raising concerns over the company’s security and transparency practices is growing. They raise awareness of the fact that bad actors get access to untested products and can create societal harm by using them. Growth is prioritized over all other aspects. The NYTimes article lists recent incidents and quotes several ex-employees and their fears.
AI: Not The End Of Privacy
Blog, 1min
As a company that does not sell ads and adds features giving users more control over their personal data, Apple has built a name for itself by prioritizing user privacy. At its annual developers conference, Apple announced many AI features but avoided the term Artificial Intelligence. Instead, it calls it “Apple Intelligence” and claims it sets “a new standard in privacy.” Apple is cooperating with OpenAI, with both companies running on proprietary code, so trust is essential.
Hack your workflow
No Distractions with a Flip
This relatively unknown feature on Android phones is a real productivity booster. It’s called “Flip to Shhh,” and once activated, you can put your phone in do-not-disturb (silent) mode by flipping it screen down. No more fiddling with the software. Contacts marked as favorites will still get through.
Tools & Apps
Mind Mapping Made Fun
Productivity
Organize your thoughts with Kinopio—add text, links, images, and GIFs and connect them all together. Kinopio supports collaboration, sharing read-only versions, and offers up to 100 free cards on a board. And it comes with a fresh and playful user experience.
AI-Free Artist Friendly Social Network
Design
Cara is a social network and portfolio website for creatives fed up with their work being used to train AI models. The site has experienced high growth since Meta announced it uses users’ data to train its AI models. With Instagram being the go-to platform for sharing creative work, users were looking for an alternative—hence the growth of Cara.
Users can decide if their home screen should be their portfolio (which looks like an Instagram grid) or a timeline view of posts (which looks like a Twitter feed). The app is currently free to use, does not show ads, and is not fueled by VC money; therefore, it relies on its users to pay for the service.
While Cara caters exclusively to the artsy and creative community, it’s great to see a new type of “AI-free” social network evolving. We will likely see more sites and initiatives like these for different communities. User Page Example
AI Test Kitchen
Gen AI
Google’s AI Test Kitchen offers a way to experiment with Google’s generative AI tools for images, text, and music. As the term “kitchen” suggests, it is a showcase site where you can play around and get a feel for the capabilities of Google’s Gen AI models. Screenshots
Death nail for real musicians?
Gen AI
Udio is a site for creating and listening to AI-generated music. You can click through the tracks created by users via a prompt on the homepage. An interesting feature is the option to upload your own music and ask the AI to extend it further. Personally, I do not think this is putting any musicians out of a job, except if your job is to make music for hotel lobbies.
Alternative Podcasts App for Android
Productivity
Google did it again: They discontinued one of their apps, this time Google Podcasts. A great alternative is AntennaPod, an open-source Android project. I migrated all my podcast subscriptions to their app, and so far, I am liking it!
Fresh Reflections
Idea execution for everyone
Generative AI changes how far creatives can go in prototyping their ideas. I have been immersed in this topic for the last two years. Whether it’s prototyping a marketing campaign, a website, an app, or an entire product concept, the possibilities are expanding rapidly.
We have launched three new services targeted at individuals and teams who want to learn how to utilize these new skills in their everyday work. Check out Prototaiping.com and book a free discovery call to learn more (or just hit reply).
Off-Topic Links
Play Pong against AI
Game
“Pnogstrom is a really fun, weird, surprising update on the ur-arcade game.” via Linkfest