Dez Reads. Who’s Headed to Bluesky?

We’re back!

Washington is in full-on gossip mode around the presidential transition and the new Congress. We speak of none of that here at Dez Reads.

I am interested in the supposed mass migration from X to Bluesky, and we lead with Nathaniel Beach’s take on the rise of the platform this week. I think my take is that the all-powerful algorithm will generally catch you in a feedback loop no matter which website you choose to feed you information, and if Bluesky is successful, we’ll merely have more pleasant polarization online for the foreseeable future. At some point, though, internet users will be looking for a fight, so they’ll need to find a way to come back together with their digital enemies to have something to complain about.

Further this week, Will Kim explores a tragic consequence of AI among our lonely youth, Mike Bova has a great take on niche streaming services, Steven Schlein looks at further disruption in the cable TV space, and I express my annoyance with a $1 million banana duct-taped to a wall.

Thanks, as always, for reading along with us.

Here we go.

Tech.

AP. What is Bluesky, the fast-growing social platform welcoming fleeing X users?

“You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” This defining quote from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight could capture the ironic journey of Twitter creator Jack Dorsey, whose fledgling platform seeks to be the “Twitter Killer.” Bluesky, a decentralized social media platform, has skyrocketed to 20 million users in record time in the aftermath of the 2024 US presidential election.

As Bluesky’s growth surged, comparisons to Dorsey’s former app, now Elon Musk-owned and rebranded as ‘X,’ became inevitable. Musk’s controversial leadership, polarizing rhetoric, and changes to the platform pushed left-leaning users toward Bluesky, creating a growing exodus from ‘X.’ With Musk’s takeover leading to calls for it being a “conservative echo chamber,” Bluesky’s emergence in the market raises questions about the future of social media.

I fear that one of two results could develop. In one scenario, big tech continues to entrench users in tailored algorithms and partisan echo chambers that will lead to extremism and segregate users by ideology. In another, Bluesky’s decentralized model fosters interoperability, breaking social media silos and allowing free-flowing, diverse discussions.

Obviously, I hope for the latter to come true, and Bluesky is scratching the surface of making that a reality. Democratized communication could, and should, rebuke big tech’s control over dialogue, paving the way for a more open, interconnected digital future.

– Nathaniel Beach

NYT. A 14-Year-Old Boy Killed Himself to Get Closer to a Chatbot. He Thought They Were in Love.

As someone who regularly uses AI in his everyday life, I have to confess that out of curiosity, I once tried to engage in a normal conversation with ChatGPT. But when I realized that it was trying too hard to sound human, I was immediately turned off.

In this tragic story, a young boy named Sewell Setzer struck a chord with a more affable AI named Character.ai, a platform where users can chat with all kinds of pop culture characters – from Harry Potter to Beyonce. Sewell’s obsession with his imaginary Game of Thrones character and its awkward responses to his suicidal confessions contributed to his suicide.

This is a stark reminder of what is most important in the ongoing AI revolution: humans are what make AI, not the other way around. As much as it has become a helpful tool, AI cannot replace human intuition, emotion, and company. This lesson should be emphasized especially to young children and the elderly – audiences who are most vulnerable to tech’s double-edged dangers. As this New York Times story aptly put it, “Chatbots don’t engage in relationships. They merely perform humanness.”

– Will Kim

Culture.

WSJ. Someone Is About to Pay $1 Million or More for a Banana Duct-Taped to a Wall.

Call me uncultured Midwestern swine, but I’m annoyed by this $1 million banana “art.”

It isn’t the fact that anyone could create this piece with almost zero effort or imagination (as the headline states, it’s a banana duct-taped to a wall). What is sticking in my craw is the fact that fruit rots, and the purchaser of this work will need to constantly replace the banana. I fully understand that art is a window into the mind of the artist, so for me, the minute I replace the artist’s banana with my own, the original artwork is null and void.

I know inflation has been stubbornly persistent at the grocery store, but a million bucks for a banana and tape is a bridge too far, even for an aspiring art lover such as myself.

– Josh Culling

Business.

NYT. The Streaming Wars Didn’t Kill the Little Guys. In Fact, They’re Thriving. 

The streaming wars over the last few years have always been dominated by giants like Netflix, Amazon, and Disney, with the assumption that smaller streaming services would never be able to compete. But recent trends reported by the NYT are showing that these niche platforms are starting to carve out a space of their own.  

The recent launch of Hallmark+ is the perfect example. Rather than going head-to-head with the biggest players, Hallmark is focusing on what they do best: Christmas movies and feel-good TV. As Hallmark’s COO John Matts puts it, “We don’t have to make content that’s all things to all people.” It probably doesn't hurt that this year it appears people are starting the holiday season earlier than ever before.

It appears that niche streaming services like Hallmark+, BritBox, and AMC+ are tapping into something that the bigger players seem to have overlooked or don’t care much about – dedicated audiences. While the bigger players struggle with higher costs and subscription retention, these niche platforms are seeing impressive growth by delivering exactly what their audiences want. According to Antenna, niche platforms saw a 27 percent increase in subscriptions last year – outpacing the major players significantly.  

This is similar to what we are seeing in the media space: audiences are willing to subscribe to newer niche paid services and opting out of much of the legacy media. Both are good reminders never to underestimate the power of loyal and engaged audiences. 

– Mike Bova

Yahoo. Comcast considers spinning off cable networks 'to play some offense' amid industry turmoil.

In the 2015 film “Steve Jobs,” Michael Fassbender in the lead role tells journalist Joe Pforzheimer of GQ about all the disruption that personal computers would cause in the workplace, how some people would thrive and others become obsolete. The Pforzheimer character says, “Well, at least it won’t impact my profession.” Jobs rolls his eyes, looks away, and says under his breath, “Oh, yes it will.” 

For the past 30 years, journalism has tried adapting to the brave new world of modern technology. Basic newspaper websites started showing videos and then became the primary source because they could carry more content than a print edition. As cable news took off, the three main network newscasts went from “must see” to an afterthought for most of the public.  There is no need to wait until 6:30 pm to find out what’s going on in the world.  And now, as cable news becomes more segmented and competes with new media – podcasts, YouTube channels, Instagram, TikTok – it’s disruption time.

– Steven Schlein