hi buds,
the biggest product launches from yesterday feel a bit dystopian:
youtube is doubling down on micro-transactions, which means we’ll be seeing more npc content in the future ??? (yum, yum, ice cream, so good)
hawk tuah is launching an ai mobile app ?????????????
more broadly, it feels like a weird time in tech right now, with job openings at a three year low, and ai threatening to continue making that situation worse. i have a lot of close friends between jobs, stressed as they search for their next roles, overwhelmed by the volume of highly qualified applicants on the market.
these days, i often find myself wondering if the golden days of tech are behind us. similar to how the fiñañcê industry reminisces on the 80’s with great fondness (eye watering compensation, obscene parties, and absolute unhinged vibes), i wonder if the tech industry will look back on 2012-2022 as a bygone era, never to be seen again.
it’s unclear to me how many vc-backed companies (and vc’s frankly) will survive the ai revolution, with software becoming 10x - 100x easier to build. with no legitimate platform changes since mobile ~10 years ago, and no legitimate platform changes on the horizon (bearish on ar/mr/vr, a convo for another time), it sometimes feels to me like all the software to be built has already been built.
this would explain partially explain these weird ass product launches, as we extend to (and beyond) the logical extremes of what software can be.
however, as i was whining chatting about this with a friend recently (product executive at a pre-ipo tech company), he reminded me that we should see a slow but steady stream of interest rate cuts this year and beyond. theoretically, this would directly correlate with increased vc funding, and thus better market conditions for tech employees.
tbh though, i’m not fully sure i buy this. idk if interest rate cuts address fundamental supply / demand issues i see in the labor market (as ai greatly diminishes demand for labor). i also am unsure whether increased vc funding will be distributed across many smaller startups (as we saw in past boom cycles), or accrue to a handful of large players (openai, anthropic) and get spent on compute.
but fingers crossed. i would love another zirp era. when i first came out of college, things were fricking awesome. i was getting free food / clothes left and right? offsites in monterey? my startup took me to a michelin star lunch?? those were the fricking days baby. let’s run it back jerome!!!!! i love you man!!!!!!
love you bud buds, talk to you tomorrow
dj satoda
twitter: @djsatoda
email: [email protected]
YESTERDAY’S PRODUCT LAUNCHES
absolute must-read, cannot miss:
hawk tuah launched pookie tools: a dating advice app using ai to guide users through modern relationship challenges
very interesting:
one medical launched low-cost plans for hair loss, erectile dysfunction, skin care starting at $10/month. this seemingly places them in direct competition with popular d2c telehealth brands like hims and ro
mildly interesting:
youtube launched livestream monetary gifting, allowing viewers to send animated gifts using digital currency to streamers
snapchat announced family-focused location sharing, with alerts that let parents know when their teens leave or arrive at specific spots
google launched the gemini ai app for ios globally. ios users now get a standalone app instead of relying on the google search app, or mobile web
those were all the product launches from yesterday. until tomorrow, stay safe, eat good food, and tell your momma you love her.
bye bye, love you,
dj
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