Discord is paying for teens to give each other compliments
The Discord app is seen on an iPhone in this photo illustration in Warsaw, Poland on April 3, 2021.
Jaap Arriens | NurPhoto | Getty Images
We’ve been here and done this before when it comes to social media: a new, fast-growing app is providing a way for online users to share inspiration and encouragement. At some point in most social media companies’ histories, dating all the way back to Facebook’s role in global “democratization” during Arab Spring, early social media success has been focused on positive effects.
The world has come a long way since Arab Spring and through many reckonings with both the benefits and risks of social media, including the potential health and wellness impacts on teenagers. Seattle Public Schools’ recently filed lawsuit against TikTok, Meta, Snap and others alleging a youth mental health crisis caused by social media.
Social media is also facing one of its greatest legal challenges ever, with the Supreme Court poised to review whether Section 230 statute of the Communications Decency Act should provide these companies with immunity from user content liability claims, as has been the case throughout their rise.
So there is good reason for the next big thing in social media to be all about positivity, and here we are again, with social media company Discord announcing the acquisition of Gas this week, a quickly growing social media company designed to promote positive affirmations.
“Gas is all about uplifting and empowering each other through positive affirmations. Its tremendous success shows the opportunity that exists in creating a playful yet meaningful place for young people,” Discord stated in a blog post about the deal. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Gas allows users to anonymously share compliments with one another via polls, or as TheVerge noted in a report on the deal, “The app is designed for anonymous compliments and positive affirmations or, as kids say, gassing your friends up.”
The app has gained increasing popularity among teenagers. In just two months since its August launch, Gas surpassed TikTok and BeReal in Apple’s App Store free app rankings, reaching 1 million daily active users. It was crowned as “the hottest app right now” by The Wall Street Journal. It boasted 30,000 new users per hour in October.
Gas already has had its early issues — it was caught up, unfairly, in a sex trafficking hoax this fall, which forced its founder to respond after three percent of users deleted their accounts.
But Gas has continued to grow as a place for teens to engage with peers, amassing 7.4 million installs.
If you have not heard of Gas, it did not come out of nowhere. Its founder Nikita Bier previously sold tbh, another poll-based app, to Facebook in 2017, but the app was shut down in less than a year due to low usage. Nonetheless, Discord said in the blog post that “Gas’ founders have a proven track record of creating exciting apps and experiences.”
Snapchat’s platform has feature multiple anonymous polling apps, including Yolo and LMK, where users can ask questions to their friends who can then answer anonymously — and also turned out to be far from immune to abuse. Last year, Snap banned anonymous messaging apps.
While anonymous features can pose a specific form of risk to user safety and increase harassment, Gas says it avoids these obstacles by polls consisting of Gas-approved compliments. These compliment prompts prevent users from creating their own polls or sending direct messages, which could include harmful content.
Gas itself explains in its app description that, “Gas is where friends tell you what they love about you. And no, they won’t dunk on you like other anonymous apps. How it works: 1) Join your school 2) Add friends 3) Answer polls 4) Get flames when picked.”
Discord has had its own share of safety issues associated with its success among a younger demographic, with increasing harassment reports on the platform in recent years. The company has been investing heavily to combat this problem, acquiring Sentropy, an AI-based software company focused on fighting abuse and harassment online. Its latest transparency report, published in December 2022, the company said it had disabled 42,458 accounts and removed 14,451 servers for child safety violations during the third quarter of 2022, a 92% decrease in the number of accounts disabled when compared to the previous quarter.
Entering the social app scene in 2015 as a platform for video game players to chat with one another, Discord has been expanding beyond its roots as an alternative to spotty Skype chats for gamers. The two-time CNBC Disruptor 50 company, has moved beyond its predominately gaming-based uses, with a more general use case voice chat platform and live stream capabilities, while also allowing users to monetize their servers.
As social audio boomed, Discord released Stage channels in 2021, giving users a new way to organize and host large audio events. In July, it released Threads, a way to branch a conversation off of a channel’s main feed without removing it from the channel. The company also has premium membership features, allowing creators and community owners to require a subscription to access all or part of their server, tiered perks, and view analytics on member engagement.
Microsoft was reported to have made a bid for the company at one point, though no deal was reached.
Discord, unlike the first generation social media giants, does not make money from advertisements, and that gives it something else in common with Gas beyond a focus on a younger demographic. Gas has gained its almost $7 million in user spending through paid subscription features like “God Mode” which provides users with hints on who gave them compliments.
For the time being, Gas will operate as a standalone app, but this doesn’t rule out the potential for polls to become a new method of communication on Discord.
“We’re always working to create an inclusive world where no one feels like an outsider and we’re excited to welcome Gas to the Discord community as our next step to fulfilling that vision,” Discord said in the blog post.
One of the toughest tasks the companies will find, as many social media apps have before — keeping the story positive.
CNBC is now accepting nominations for the 2023 Disruptor 50 list – our 11th annual look at the most innovative venture-backed companies. Learn more about eligibility and how to submit an application by Friday, Feb. 17.
Driverless WeRide robotaxis for Uber.
Courtesy: Uber
Uber on Wednesday rolled out fully driverless rides in its fourth market, launching the service in Abu Dhabi in partnership WeRide, a Chinese autonomous vehicle company.
The ride-hailing company said the launch in the United Arab Emirates capital represents the first driverless robotaxi service in the Middle East. In the U.S., Uber already offers robotaxi services in Austin, Phoenix and Atlanta through Alphabet’s Waymo.
Riders in Abu Dhabi can book a WeRide robotaxi when requesting an UberX or Uber Comfort ride, the ride-hailing company said.
WeRide, which is listed on the Nasdaq, formed its partnership with Uber in September 2024 and began offering autonomous rides with an operator on board in Abu Dhabi last December. Uber and WeRide also debuted robotaxi rides with a safety operator on board in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia, in October. In May, Uber said it plans to roll out the WeRide service to 15 more cities, including in Europe, over the next five years.
In recent years, Uber has bet big on autonomous vehicle technology through partnerships.
Uber started offering a robotaxi service in Austin and Atlanta earlier this year, and in Phoenix in late 2023. In July, the company landed a six-year robotaxi deal with electric vehicle maker Lucid and AV startup Nuro.
WeRide, meanwhile, has launched full driverless robotaxi services in China’s Beijing and Guangzhou, according to its website.
Uber has not said how it splits revenue from robotaxi rides with its partners.
Competitors have also readily adopted the technology, with Lyft announcing a deal with Waymo in September to launch robotaxis in Nashville next year.
Uber said the driverless vehicles in Abu Dhabi will operate in certain areas of Yas Island. Riders can boost their chance of a robotaxi drive by selecting the autonomous option. On-board support is available during the ride through the app and an in-vehicle tablet.
WATCH: WeRide CEO: We are using both Tesla and Waymo’s approach to scale robotaxi operations
Amazon’s new MK30 Prime Air drone is displayed during Amazon’s “Delivering the Future” event at the company’s BFI1 Fulfillment Center, Robotics Research and Development Hub in Sumner, Washington on Oct. 18, 2023.
Jason Redmond | AFP | Getty Images
Amazon is facing a federal probe after one of its delivery drones downed an internet cable in central Texas last week.
The probe comes as Amazon vies to expand drone deliveries to more pockets of the U.S., more than a decade after it first conceived the aerial distribution program, and faces stiffer competition from Walmart, which has also begun drone deliveries.
The incident occurred on Nov. 18 around 12:45 p.m. Central in Waco, Texas. After dropping off a package, one of Amazon’s MK30 drones was ascending out of a customer’s yard when one of its six propellers got tangled in a nearby internet cable, according to a video of the incident viewed and verified by CNBC.
The video shows the Amazon drone shearing the wire line. The drone’s motor then appeared to shut off and the aircraft landed itself, with its propellers windmilling slightly on the way down, the video shows. The drone appeared to remain in tact beyond some damage to one of its propellers.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident, a spokesperson confirmed. The National Transportation Safety Board said the agency is aware of the incident but has not opened a probe into the matter.
Amazon confirmed the incident to CNBC, saying that after clipping the internet cable, the drone performed a “safe contingent landing,” referring to the process that allows its drones to land safely in unexpected conditions.
“There were no injuries or widespread internet service outages. We’ve paid for the cable line’s repair for the customer and have apologized for the inconvenience this caused them,” an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC, noting that the drone had completed its package delivery.
The incident comes after federal investigators last month opened a separate probe into a crash involving two of Amazon’s Prime Air drones in Arizona. The two aircrafts collided with a construction crane in Tolleson, a city west of Phoenix, prompting Amazon to temporarily halt drone deliveries in the area.
For over a decade, Amazon has been working to realize founder Jeff Bezos’ vision of drones whizzing toothpaste, books and other goods to customers’ doorsteps in 30 minutes or less. The company began drone deliveries in 2022 in College Station, Texas, and Lockeford, California.
But progress has been slowed by a mix of regulatory hurdles, missed deadlines and layoffs in 2023 that coincided with broader cost-cutting efforts by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.
The company has previously said its goal is to deliver 500 million packages by drone per year by the end of the decade.
The hexacopter-shaped MK30, the latest generation of Amazon’s Prime Air drone, is meant to be quieter, smaller and lighter than previous versions.
Amazon says the drones are equipped with a sense-and-avoid system that enables them to “detect and stay away from obstacles in the air and on the ground.” The company recommends that customers maintain “about 10 feet of open space” on their property so drones can complete deliveries
The company began drone deliveries in Waco earlier this month for customers within a certain radius of its same-day delivery site who order eligible items weighing 5 pounds or less. The drone deliveries are supposed to drop packages off in under an hour.
Amazon has brought other locations online in recent months, including Kansas City, Missouri, Pontiac, Michigan, San Antonio, Texas, and Ruskin, Florida. Amazon has also announced plans to expand drone deliveries to Richardson, Texas.
Walmart began offering drone deliveries in 2021, and currently partners with Alphabet’s Wing and venture-backed startup Zipline to make drone deliveries in a number of states, including in Texas.
WATCH: Amazon unveils satellite terminal for enterprise customers — but Starlink still dominates
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment3 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024