Motley Fool Money
Twitter Faces Threats from AI and Meta
Wed Jul 05 2023Description
The episode covers Twitter's adjustments to combat data scraping, the implications of AI content and monetization, the rise of walled gardens on social media platforms, Meta's potential impact on Twitter with Threads, Evelos' entry into the medical aesthetics market, A Cushionet's focus on golf equipment, trends in the golf industry, Philip Morris' transition to a nicotine business, and challenges faced by Disney.
Insights
AI companies are scraping data from social media platforms like Twitter and Reddit.
Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook have implemented restrictions to combat this issue. OpenAI is facing lawsuits related to data scraping.
The rise of AI content raises questions about data ownership and monetization.
Companies like Adobe use their own databases to avoid legal issues. The nature of content and its monetization is being reevaluated.
Meta's Threads feature could impact social media platforms like Twitter.
Instagram has a larger user base than Twitter, making it attractive for advertisers. Threads might be part of the Fediverse, allowing interoperability with other platforms.
Evelos is a player in the medical aesthetics market.
Their lead product competes with Botox and they have plans to enter the dermal filler market. They expect significant revenue growth.
A Cushionet focuses exclusively on the golf equipment business.
They are a leading provider of golf equipment, including brands like Titleist and FootJoy. This sets them apart from Topgolf Callaway.
The golf industry is experiencing growth despite the pandemic.
Year-to-date rounds are up in the US, indicating a strong demand for golf. A Cushionet benefits from this trend.
Philip Morris is transitioning from cigarettes to reduced risk nicotine products.
They are a leader in products like nicotine pouches and heat.burn. products. Regulatory risks may impact pricing power.
Disney faces challenges but has a loyal customer base.
Park margins, streaming profitability, and recent flops from Pixar are areas of concern. However, Disney has opportunities to address these issues.
Chapters
- Twitter's Adjustments and Implications
- AI, Social Media Platforms, and Walled Gardens
- Meta, Evelos, and A Cushionet
- Golf Industry Trends and Philip Morris
Twitter's Adjustments and Implications
00:05 - 07:45
- Twitter made adjustments over the holiday weekend, requiring users to be logged in to see tweets and limiting the number of posts users can view in a day.
- This is in response to increased data scraping by AI companies.
- Elon Musk has expressed concern about companies taking Twitter's valuable public data for free and commercializing it.
- The move by Twitter has larger implications for the internet as a whole, as we have become accustomed to freely accessing and sharing information.
- Instagram and Facebook have already implemented similar restrictions, but Twitter's openness made this change surprising.
- The rise of AI content is accelerating and forcing us to rethink the nature of content and its monetization.
- Reddit, known as the front page of the internet, also plans to charge for API access to protect its valuable content from large companies.
- As these platforms mature, they need to find ways to generate profit and keep their services running.
- OpenAI, owner of chat GPT, is facing class-action lawsuits due to data scraping. These language models are self-taught through massive amounts of data.
- The question arises: who owns this data? Some companies like Adobe use their own paid-for database for generative AI purposes.
AI, Social Media Platforms, and Walled Gardens
07:24 - 14:48
- Companies like Adobe use their own database of images to avoid lawsuits when using generative AI.
- Businesses using large language models are concerned about potential exposure and lawsuits.
- Companies that own IP, whether their own or user-generated, may be in a better position regarding exposure.
- The rise of AI may lead to stronger walled gardens and paywalls on websites.
- Meta's entrance into the micro-blogging space with Threads could impact social media platforms like Twitter.
- Instagram has a larger active user base compared to Twitter, making it an attractive platform for advertisers.
- Threads might be part of the Fediverse, allowing interoperability with other platforms like Mastodon or Blue Sky.
- The shift towards walled garden properties may benefit larger companies and make it harder for upstarts to compete.
Meta, Evelos, and A Cushionet
14:29 - 21:22
- Meta has the infrastructure and resources to create a competitor to Twitter's Threads feature.
- Threads could be cheaper than Meta's metaverse ambitions, benefiting smaller startups.
- Evelos is a multi-product aesthetics company in the medical aesthetics market.
- The market for medical aesthetics is valued at $9 billion and growing at a mid-teens rate.
- Evelos' lead product, JUVO, competes with Botox and has a different go-to-market approach.
- Evelos plans to enter the dermal filler market in 2025 with a co-branded product called EVOLIS.
- They expect their revenue to reach $700 million by 2028 with a compound annual growth rate of 29%.
- A cushionet is a leading provider of golf equipment, including brands like Titleist and FootJoy.
- A cushionet focuses exclusively on their golf equipment business, unlike Topgolf Callaway.
Golf Industry Trends and Philip Morris
20:56 - 27:15
- A cushionet is a leading provider of golf equipment, including brands like Titleist and FootJoy.
- A cushionet focuses exclusively on their golf equipment business, unlike Topgolf Callaway.
- The golf industry has experienced a boom, with year-to-date rounds up 5.5% in the US.
- Philip Morris is transitioning from a tobacco business to a nicotine business.
- Consumption of cigarettes has declined, but overall nicotine consumption remains flat.
- Philip Morris is a leader in reduced risk products like nicotine pouches and heat.burn. products.
- Regulatory risks and enforcement may impact the pricing power of nicotine businesses.
- Disney has a large customer base with strong brand loyalty.
- Disney faces challenges in park margins, streaming profitability, and recent flops from Pixar.
- However, Disney has the opportunity to transition and address these issues.