10 million sign up for Meta's Twitter rival app, Threads

Media to extend back.

10 million sign up for Meta's Twitter rival app, Threads

By NPR, July 6, 2023

The logo for Meta's new app, Threads.

Meta's new app appears to mimic Twitter, a direct challenge to the social media platform owned by Elon Musk.

Credit: Richard Drew/AP

Meta has unveiled an app called Threads to rival Twitter, targeting users looking for an alternative to the social media platform owned — and frequently changed — by Elon Musk.

Threads is billed as a text-based version of Meta's photo-sharing app Instagram that the company says provides "a new, separate space for real-time updates and public conversations."

It went live late Wednesday in Apple and Google Android app stores, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying 10 million people had signed up in the first seven hours. There were some early glitches, including Zuckerberg's posts — or Threads as they're dubbed — not loading in several places including the United Kingdom, India and Lebanon. But his replies to other users did appear.

Threads launched in more than 100 countries — including the U.S., Britain, Australia, Canada and Japan — and has already drawn celebrity users like chef Gordon Ramsay, pop star Shakira and actor Jack Black as well as accounts from Airbnb, Guinness World Records, Netflix, Vogue magazine and other media outlets.

From NPR

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China Game Company Appoints Humanoid Robot as CEO

 Beyond a gimmick?  Like to see decision based examples.

Chinese Game Company Appoints Humanoid Robot as Its CEO  By Interesting Engineering

NetDragon Websoft, a China-based mobile game company, has appointed an artificial intelligence-powered virtual humanoid robot, named Ms.Tang Yu, as CEO of subsidiary Fujian NetDragon Websoft.

The company said in a statement that Tang Yu will "serve as a real-time data hub and analytical tool to support rational decision-making in daily operations, as well as to enable a more effective risk management system."

Tang Yu's duties also include providing a fair and efficient workplace for all employees.

Founder Dejian Liu said the company "will continue to expand on our algorithms behind Tang Yu to build an open, interactive, and highly transparent management model as we gradually transform to a metaverse-based working community."

From Interesting Engineering  

CEO Warns of Use of Algorithms

A warning, but they and we use algorithms in so many things,  and Apple of course for all the right purposes.

Apple CEO Sounds Warning of Algorithms Pushing Society Towards Catastrophe    By ZDNet 

January 29, 2021

Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company believes the best measure of technology is how it improves lives.  Apple CEO Tim Cook has said it is time to face the consequences of having algorithms push users towards more engagement at any cost.

Speaking at the Computers, Privacy, and Data Protection conference on Thursday, Cook said too many companies are asking what they can get away with .... 

"At a moment of rampant disinformation and conspiracy theories juiced by algorithms, we can no longer turn a blind eye to a theory of technology that says all engagement is good engagement -- the longer the better -- and all with the goal of collecting as much data as possible," he said.

"What are the consequences of seeing thousands of users join extremist groups, and then perpetuating an algorithm that recommends even more?"

From ZDNet

CEO Moment: Leadership in a New Era

McKinsey's look at what the new leadership may look like.

The CEO moment: Leadership for a new era
July 21, 2020 | Article
By Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, Kevin Sneader, and Kurt Strovink

Article (12 pages)
COVID-19 has created a massive humanitarian challenge: millions ill and hundreds of thousands of lives lost; soaring unemployment rates in the world’s most robust economies; food banks stretched beyond capacity; governments straining to deliver critical services. The pandemic is also a challenge for businesses—and their CEOs—unlike any they have ever faced, forcing an abrupt dislocation of how employees work, how customers behave, how supply chains function, and even what ultimately constitutes business performance.

Confronting this unique moment, CEOs have shifted how they lead in expedient and ingenious ways. The changes may have been birthed of necessity, but they have great potential beyond this crisis. In this article, we explore four shifts in how CEOs are leading that are also better ways to lead a company: unlocking bolder (“10x”) aspirations, elevating their “to be” list to the same level as “to do” in their operating models, fully embracing stakeholder capitalism, and harnessing the full power of their CEO peer networks. If they become permanent, these shifts hold the potential to thoroughly recalibrate the organization and how it operates, the company’s performance potential, and its relationship to critical constituents.

Only CEOs can decide whether to continue leading in these new ways, and in so doing seize a once-in-a-generation opportunity to consciously evolve the very nature and impact of their role. Indeed, as we have written elsewhere, part of the role of the CEO is to serve as a chief calibrator—deciding the extent and degree of change needed. As part of this, CEOs must have a thesis of transformation that works in their company context. A good CEO is always scanning for signals and helping the organization deliver fine-tuned responses. A great CEO will see that this moment is a unique opportunity for self-calibration, with profound implications for the organization.  ... "