This week’s FWD continues to cover updates from Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter. Following the finalization of the $44bn deal to buy the social network, Musk made big changes by dissolving its board of directors.

Musk’s takeover of Twitter has created widespread speculation, as he signals plans to overhaul how Twitter moderates the spread of information on its platform, including information from sources such as media outlets, public figures and celebrities.

News:

• Meta announces the first 25 members of its new ‘Creators of Tomorrow’ class in the US, which aims to highlight new talent and voices in the content creator industry.
• Google further develops its Performance Max product by adding a performance planner, ad scheduling service and performance explanations.

Start-up:

• SoundHound uses innovative voice-enabled AI to allow developers and business owners to maintain control over their brand image. The startup offers an AI platform with the fastest speech recognition and a voice assistant app.

Insights:

• In a series of tweets, Elon Musk outlines a new $8 per month Twitter blue package, including verification ticks for all.
• Google adds new shopping assistance tools including integrated promotions, side-by-side comparisons of similar products, and more.
• BeReal surpasses 53m global downloads since launching in 2020. The platform saw a 20% increase from August 2022 alone.
• Reddit continues to invest in its advertising tools, building an Ads API and announcing its first partners.