The Week In Facts n°22
Technology: It happened: Elon Musk officially owns Twitter
It’s for real this time. After months of legal drama, bad memes, and will-they-or-won’t-they-chaos to put your favorite rom-com to shame, Elon Musk has closed his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter.
Musk reportedly cleaned house on Thursday, firing CFO Ned Segal, Head of Legal, Policy, and Trust Vijaya Gadde, and General Counsel Sean Edgett right out of the gate. Though it’s still an aggressive and abrupt day-one move, Agrawal was inevitable given his well-documented clashes and a failed virtual meeting with Musk.
On this, the first day that Elon Musk officially owns Twitter, it’s also not clear what direction Musk plans to take the platform.
It remains to be seen if Musk will turn back the clock on those experiments or see some through while claiming to reinvent the wheel (monetizing creators, is certainly an original idea!), but it’s difficult to imagine how he can accomplish any of his goals while potentially gutting the company’s workforce.?
Musk’s denial of reports that he plans to cut 75% of Twitter’s staff is far from reassuring considering that laying off a third or half of employees would still cost thousands of workers their jobs.
The conclusion to the monthslong saga is just the beginning of a new chapter of uncertainty at Twitter, raising a million questions about what the platform is actually worth, what it’s for and what, exactly, he plans to do with it.
NFT: Twitter Will Allow Users to Buy and Sell NFTs Through Tweets
Social media platform Twitter today announced that it will let users buy, sell, and display NFTs directly through tweets in partnership with four marketplaces.
The integration, called NFT Tweet Tiles, displays the artwork of an NFT in a dedicated panel within a tweet and includes a button to let users click through to a marketplace listing.
The integration—which is still in testing—currently works with marketplaces from four specific partners: Solana-centric marketplace Magic Eden, multi-platform NFT marketplace protocol Rarible, Flow blockchain creator Dapper Labs, and sports-centric platform https://www.dhirubhai.net/redir/general-malware-page?url=Jump%2etrade%2e
A Twitter representative confirmed to Decrypt that the feature is blockchain-agnostic, so all networks are supported so long as the links are from a partnered marketplace.
The representative added that the “feature is currently being tested with select Twitter users across iOS and web,” and that those users will see the NFT Tweet Tile integration if they’re in the test group. A Twitter Blue premium subscription is not required to use the feature.
Metaverse: Gucci Vault opens a metaverse world in The Sandbox with games and vintage fashion
Gucci’s virtual world is now open on digital real estate platform The Sandbox, expanding its Gucci Vault metaverse hub and making it the first major fashion brand to have its own space on the platform.
Called Gucci Vault Land, the virtual world is open from today until 9 November. Designed to be a landing space for all of Gucci’s “multiverse” and Web3 efforts, the world will be home to curated NFT artwork,?
Gucci’s previous NFTs, its community, its garden concept (users enter the space via a “Garden of Curiosities”) and the brand’s vintage pieces, which will be on display, though not for sale. The space also gamifies education about Gucci’s heritage and products.
Fashion brands have been quick to begin experimenting in the metaverse and with NFTs, but these activations will be put to the test as Forrester predicts a “metaverse winter” as hype cools off.
or now, Gucci’s continued commitment to firsts in the metaverse indicates the long-term value the brand sees in the digital space.
In March 2022, CEO Marco Bizzarri told Vogue Business that “Gucci is not afraid to be a first mover in many areas and will continue to adopt this mindset and challenge the status quo.”?
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Web3: Telegram Launches Username Auction Using TON Blockchain
The popular instant messaging service Telegram launched its marketplace for Telegram handles on Thursday.
“This will enable Telegram handles, comprising both usernames and channels, to be bought and sold using Toncoin,” explained Telegram in a press release.?
Toncoin (TON) is the token of The Open Network, which is the spiritual successor to Telegram’s independent blockchain ambitions—thwarted by federal regulators two years ago.
The auction is being hosted on Fragment.com, a dedicated “detached website” for users wishing to participate.?
Telegram will initially post four-to-five character handles for auction, the lesser of which can be bought for a minimum of 126 Toncoin ($200). Some of the highest value auctions live right now are for handles like “bank,” “casino,” and “auto,” all with minimum bids above 30,000 TON.?
Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov was inspired by its success, which has culminated in the company’s latest endeavor. In his personal channel, the CEO teased “bringing a little bit of Web 3.0 to Telegram,” using NFT-like smart contracts.?
Is it the beginning of a new era?
Mobility: Porsche profit soars with 911 sales driving returns
Porsche’s operating profit jumped 41 percent to 5.05 billion euros ($5 billion) in the first nine months from the same period last year partly due to exchange-rate effects and healthy sales of its iconic 911 model, the sports-car maker said in a press release.
Porsche’s deliveries in the first three quarters rose 2 percent to 221,512 cars, with sales of the combustion-engine 911 -- its most profitable model -- jumping 9 percent.
In this volatile and difficult market environment we are demonstrating our ability to operate profitably, in particular through cost discipline and an attractive product mix,” Chief Financial Officer Lutz Meschke said in a statement.
Porsche became Europe’s most valuable automaker earlier this month when its market capitalization overtook that of VW a week after the initial public offering in Frankfurt.
The company is well ahead of peers including Ferrari and Aston Martin when it comes to electrifying its lineup.
Will they go on shining?
Fashion: Inside Gymshark’s First Store
Gymshark’s first permanent store is true to the brand’s gym-loving messaging.
Clothing rails carrying the brand’s staple tank tops, hoodies, and leggings double up as functioning squat racks, and the ground floor is home to a “sweat room” where people can book daily group fitness classes.
Set to open Saturday on London’s Regent Street, the two-story flagship represents a landmark moment for Gymshark and founder Ben Francis, who built the brand from a niche label adopted by pockets of gym lovers in the UK in the early 2010s to a direct-to-consumer business valued at ￡1 billion ($1.2 billion) following an investment from growth equity firm General Atlantic at the height of the pandemic.
“Our ambition is to simply be the biggest British international brand ever,” said Noel Mack, Gymshark’s chief brand officer. “Whether that expansion looks like flagships on 5th Avenue and the Champs Elysées, or small click-and-collect spots around the world, we will see.”