Aldo's Notes #31
The One with updates to Microsoft Advertising; Vicuna LLM for $300; Hoffman and Altman talk AI; WhatsApp payments start in Brazil and search engines vs social media for news
Microsoft Advertising Unveils Global Professional Service Ads & Streamlines Platform with Key Updates
Microsoft has announced April updates to its Advertising products.
Professional Service Ads: Now available globally, these ads help consumers connect with professionals in various industries, boosting businesses' reach to potential customers.
Enhanced CPC: Upgraded on the Microsoft Audience Network, this change requires no action from advertisers but can be optimized for better success.
Broad Match Modifier: Now serving as broad match keywords instead of phrase match, this change aims to improve conversions and CPA without affecting bidding strategies.
Asset Library: Bulk operations have been introduced, simplifying the workflow and saving time in managing visual assets.
Target Bid Value: A new column in the campaign grid allows for easier viewing and editing of target bid values when certain bid strategies are in place.
Why it matters: further enhancements to the platform that wants to challenge Google for advertising dollars
Meet Vicuna-13B: The Affordable, Open-Source Chatbot Rivaling Industry Giants
Another week, another chatbot developed for less money and delivering great performance.
Open-source chatbot: Vicuna-13B fine-tuned using LLaMA and ShareGPT user conversations.
Competitive performance: Rivals popular chatbots like ChatGPT and Google Bard at lower cost ($300).
Outperforms models: Outshines LLaMA and Stanford Alpaca in most cases.
Publicly available: Training and serving code accessible, with an online demo for testing.
Optimized training: Utilizes 70,000 user-shared conversations, handles long conversations, and minimizes costs.
Evaluation challenges: Performance assessed using GPT-4, but standardized evaluation remains an open research question
Bottom line: the evolution of this space is mind-boggling.
Read more here.
A summary of a conversation between Reid Hoffman and Sam Altman.
AI, including GPT-4 and ChatGPT, can amplify human capabilities, enhance productivity, and align with human values.
AI tools can transform work, education, and creative industries by tackling tasks like content generation and providing individualized support.
AI models should not dictate truth; instead, they should offer multiple perspectives for informed decision-making.
AI's role in solving large-scale problems involves working alongside society and its institutions, rather than as standalone solutions.
Ensuring AI alignment with human values and interests is crucial for safe and effective development.
Trying AI tools firsthand can help users better understand their potential and participate in the ongoing conversation about AI's future.
Why it’s important: it’s the thinking of two of the most knowledgeable people in the AI space.
Read more here.
WhatsApp Unveils Game-Changing In-Chat Payments for Small Businesses in Brazil!
WhatsApp introduces in-chat payments for small businesses in Brazil.
Easy and secure transactions without leaving the app.
Feature initially available to a limited number of businesses, with more to follow.
Users can search, shop, and pay within WhatsApp using a few taps.
Supports Mastercard and Visa debit, credit, and pre-paid cards from participating banks.
Payment security ensured through encryption and required Payment PIN.
Why it matters: adding new functionality to the app will enhance daily usage
Search Engines Surge Ahead as News Traffic Drivers, Leaving Social Media in the Dust
Search engines' importance as traffic sources for news sites has grown, while social media's role has slightly declined over the past five years.
Google accounts for 95% of search engine traffic; Facebook remains the top social network traffic generator despite shifting focus away from news.
Facebook drives over eight times more page views than Twitter, while smaller social networks like LinkedIn, Reddit, and Pinterest see a 70% increase in traffic generation.
News aggregators like Google News, News Break, Smartnews, Flipboard, and MSN have experienced an 88% increase in combined page views in five years.
Publishers should create engaging, platform-specific content to maintain and diversify traffic, converting external visitors into frequent readers.
Exploring new platforms should begin with small experiments to gather data on reader behavior and make informed decisions about investing in emerging platforms.
Why it matters: the role of social media for the benefit of news may be over-hyped