Studio Bytes

Hello, welcome to Studio Bytes. This is the first entry into our blog all about apps, design and development. If you're a Studio client, we hope this blog will help you understand the tech behind your favorite apps. If you're a techie, we hope you'll find new and interesting app development techniques here. And if you're a developer or investor, we hope you'll find tips on turning your app idea into a reality. So pull up a seat, have a browse around and enjoy! ;-) Feedback? - hello@buildwith.studio

If Gas seems familiar to you, it’s probably because it is

It's been four years since Nikita Bier sold his social app TBH to Facebook. Facebook was quick to shut it down. But Bier is back with a new app called Gas, and he's determined to prove that Facebook was wrong to shut down his original idea. Gas is now the number one social app in the United States.

When TBH was first created, it was a simple poll app that allowed users to answer anonymous questions about their friends. It quickly rose to the top of the App Store charts. According to Bier, unfortunately Facebook told him that TBH didn't fit their "vision for the future" and shut the app down.

But Bier clearly saw potential in the TBH concept and decided to create Gas, a new social app that is very similar to TBH. Gas allows users to post anonymously about their friends and read what others have posted about them. The main difference between the two apps is that Gas also allows users to post anonymously about themselves.

Since its launch, Gas has been a huge success, becoming the number one social app in the App Store. Bier definitely has got a plan to do things better because he once admitted shutting down TBH was his idea. In an interview with Business Insider, Bier said, "I'm building Gas to prove a point that TBH should still be alive today."

Stop Trying To Make The Metaverse Happen

Some of Facebook's largest investors are pressuring CEO Mark Zuckerberg to focus on advertising and de-emphasize his long-term vision for the social network to become a digital "metaverse." The letter, which was sent to Zuckerberg last week and seen by Bloomberg, was signed by representatives of three investment firms that hold a combined $2.5 billion stake in Facebook.

They argue that the company should increase transparency around its political advertising practices, improve content moderation and do more to stop the spread of misinformation. "We believe now is the time for Mr. Zuckerberg to simplify Facebook's strategy and vision," the letter says. "This will better align decision making across the company, enable rapid execution and improve shareholder value."

Elon’s Musk Twitter Firing Spree

It's no secret that Tesla CEO Elon Musk is a bit of an eccentric billionaire. He's made headlines for everything from launching his own rocket company to digging tunnels under Los Angeles. Now, it seems he's set his sights on Twitter. According to reports, he's in talks to buy the social media platform and plans to fire as many as 3/4 of its 7500 staff. That seems like a lot of people to fire...or does it?

When you look at Twitter's history, it's not hard to see why Musk would want to make some changes. The company has been plagued by financial and managerial problems for years. In 2016, Twitter laid off 9% of its workforce in an effort to cut costs. The following year, another 8% of employees were let go.

But what do they all do? Twitter has not fundamentally changed its user experience since increasing the character count. But it has created a massive team of content moderators which would unquestionably be the focus of Musk’s initial cuts based on his consistent commitments to permitting all forms of legal speech.

Little Bytes To Chew…

Startups are raising less cash than last year. According to Crunchbase, 50% less capital was deployed to startups in Q3 of 2022 than in Q3 of 2021. Deal flow is about the same (and higher than 2020) but check sizes and valuations are down. Expect things to change in the new year.

Apple cut production of its newest iPhone. Consumers are cutting back on spending amidst rising interest rates and inflation, and Apple has responded by reducing production of its newest iPhone 14 Plus, according to CNBC. Some new iPhone customers have reported receiving phones earlier than expected, further indicating Apple might sell fewer phones than it anticipated.

Microsoft launched a Canva competitor with AI. At its latest Surface Hardware Event, Microsoft unveiled a new design program similar to Canva: Microsoft Designer. Now included as part of Microsoft’s 365 office cloud, Designer automates the creation of many standard documents. Most interestingly, Microsoft has embedded AI image generator technology DALL-E to instantly embed custom clipart, backgrounds, and animations into design files.