Tech Bytes - Week of Jun 6
Tech News to Actionable Insights for Smart Business Leaders
📰 Recent Top Tech News
Prosus acquires Stack Overflow tech learning community for $1.8 Bn
Twitter launches ‘Twitter Blue’, the first paid social media subscription
Antivirus maker Norton Adds Cryptomining Mining feature
The Takeaways
Stack Overflow, the programming focused learning and online community platform was acquired by Prosus Investments for $1.8Bn. Prosus is one of Europe’s largest tech investment companies, famous for its early major investment in Tencent, the Chinese internet and gaming giant.
🔎 Our Take
This acquisition follows Prosus’ investments in Udemy and Codecademy, other large learning platforms with a focus on computer programming. Prosus has sold some investments in other maturing markets (like in China) to tap the wave of online learning and self-taught programming. With COVID permanently changing the landscape of remote work and hit on in-person schooling, online self-learning is the way of the future, and investors like Prosus know this.
🧁 Your Takeaway
Online Self-learning is the new norm. For your own company, use online manuals and online video training for new and existing employees. If your company has more than one service, ensure that your online presence teaches your clients how to get the maximum value from your company.
2. Twitter started rolling out “Twitter Blue” for $3 per month, in Australia and Canada. This service offers a few enhancements such as ‘30 second Undo’, Reader Mode for long tweets, Bookmarking mode. Twitter confirmed the Free usage will not go away.
🔎 Our Take
Of all the major social media networks, Twitter is the first to offer any kind of paid subscription for additional services. This is the first step away from an advertising only revenue model popular with free services, though this first iteration is very limited. Platforms like Facebook have to balance the line between attracting advertisers to their platform and ensuring that there is a large userbase willing to see ads.
🧁 Your Takeaway
As of this post, at least 12,000 users have started paying, even for the small features. Find those small little delights in your organisation and offer them up to even a smaller set of customers who are keen for more.
3. Norton, popular for its Antivirus software, now has a built-in crypto-mining feature that helps mine Ethereum, a well-known cryptocurrency. Norton will also take 15% of the gains generated by running the software on users computers.
🔎 Our Take
After years of watching actual viruses infecting users computers and secretly start running crypto mining programs, Norton realised that there is good money to be made here. We expect other software applications to start doing the same, though what makes it interesting is the 15% cut Norton makes, which may end up even more profitable than their antivirus business.
🧁 Your Takeaway
If you can’t beat them, join them. Look out for trends in your industry, especially disruptive ones. Bring legitimacy through your brand and offer customers a trusted place to get involved.
Jargon Buster
Cryptomining: The process of generating cryptocurrency. In an oversimplified analogy, crypto mining generates ‘coins’ by solving mathematical puzzles. The answers to the puzzle are uploaded to the network which confirms you get the reward.
The actual value of the reward has little to do with the solved answers and more to do with the human perception of how rare they are.
Dear QTBees,
Always be looking forward, for that is where there are opportunities to improve upon. Start each day as a reset, as a new base to launch from. There’s nothing to do then, but to succeed.
Stay Awesome!
Vishal
Founder & Director
Quantana
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