Happy weekend! 

Threads Updates

Get Embed code

Threads added embeddable codes. Posts can be directly shared on websites. One reason journalists and bloggers still prefer Twitter because this wasn’t an option. To try it out, click the Airplane Share icon on Desktop Web threads. You can then copy and paste the code anywhere that accepts HTML and loads scripts. 

Fediverse expansion

The Fediverse has opened up to over 100+ countries! Here’s an explainer:

I wrote this back in December 2023, but it holds up. It isn’t really how it works, but it is how we interface with it.

You can enable Fediverse beta in your settings. It will ask you every 30 days if you still want to do it, which is a bit grating.

Community Update

Lofi Girl generator has been going viral. Jump on board and make your own Lofi-selfie here. Then, quote me so I can see yours 🙂 

Here’s mine:

Trending Topics

Tons of sports and election talk, but I’ll leave that to more qualified individuals like @yorush and @aaronrosspowell.

Bonus! 3 posts you may have missed:

Bucket List Success

The book Lucas Meyer wrote on AI was released. I did the technical review for it, meaning that I went through all the source code and read the book front-to-back (more than one time, actually). So I can confirm it is exceptional.

Most AI resources are so shallow that you learn nothing, or so complicated that they have dense mathematical formulas intended for a small subset of experts. This type of content is important because it bridges those gaps and helps people fix real issues using the tech.

Pick it up with my affiliate link.

And make sure to take time to evaluate how far you’ve come. We often feel like things are small or inconsequential wins, but we need to celebrate them anyway. The more you do this, the more positivity you add to your life.

AI worsens

I playfully poke fun at the quick guardrails AI companies have been putting in place, which really doesn’t stop anything. It just makes it annoying for regular users.

Google blocked any query that might relate to politics for the presidential debate. I had to rewrite many innocuous queries because Gemini cast a wide net with their rejections.

The best part of AI chatbots is not needing to sugarcoat what you are saying. That doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be guardrails. I don’t think guardrails are censorship (as many others do.)

But everyone proclaiming “prompt engineering died” is wrong. The more guardrails, the more likely you will come across something you cannot easily accomplish. Prompt engineers will be required to finagle queries to fit those situations.

But, technically speaking, AI has improved dramatically since ChatGPT original released.

Silly Apple ads

Apple seems to be going through an interesting transition right now, but their IG ads are unhinged. It would have been unheard of or them to even use the term AI, and now it is a main part of their marketing strategy.

Of course, this post is just making a joke. I saw another one that was targeting students, and I wish I had taken a screenshot. It was way worse than this one.

Make sure to go through and comment on these posts if any spoke to you. I love hearing from you guys and I try to reply to every single comment.

See you all tomorrow :),

Lucas 

P.S. Bye and have fun, if you want