2024 Predictions 📆

Why should you try to find patterns?

It helps you predict the future.

That’s the goal of Cyber Patterns: to equip you with the patterns, strategies, and hacks to help you win the social media game.

Now it’s time to use these patterns to predict what happens in 2024 across social media, newsletters, and tech.

SOCIAL MEDIA PREDICTIONS 2024

1. TikTok still doesn’t get banned. A couple weeks ago, I DMed Jacob Helberg, the commissioner of the US-China Commission, to ask why the heck TikTok hasn’t been banned yet. Surprisingly, I got a response. And his answer was scarily simple: “Fear of banning a popular social media app.” It’s an election year so no one wants to piss the masses off. And now that more and more Americans are relying on TikTok for income thanks to the super-popular TikTok Shopping, it’s getting harder by the day to ban it. For better or worse, I don’t think TikTok is going away anytime soon, so you’re safe to build there (for now).

2. 𝕏 survives and thrives. While 𝕏 seems like a hellhole according to mainstream media, Elon’s team has added more new features than the prior 10 years at Twitter: ad revenue share for creators, the ability to post full 2-hour podcasts, making phone calls on 𝕏, and more. Despite people screaming about its death, site traffic is up 22.3% YoY from November 2022-2023—and with the upcoming elections, I’m betting 𝕏 continues to hit all-time highs. Elon also revealed that 𝕏 will be adding in-app peer-to-peer payments which is great news for creators, freelancers, and businesses alike. I’m doubling down on 𝕏 this year and scheduling 3+ tweets/day (best way to schedule tweets here).

3. Meta shuts down Threads. I haven’t opened it since Week 1. I don’t know anyone who posts on it. When you Google “Meta Threads data”, there’s not a single news article since July. Meta tries to promote it to Instagram users, but Threads just ain’t it. I think they’ll shut it down or just incorporate it over to Instagram by end of 2024. To each their own, but personally, I’m not wasting time posting there.

NEWSLETTER PREDICTIONS 2024

1. Big thriving newsletters will buy up old startups’ email lists. There’s big newsletters out there that are making millions. There’s also startups that raised money in 2021 that are now going bust and are selling all their assets. Boom, newsletters will buy their email lists. Then the startup founders get to say they were “acquired” in their bio 😂 Sooo if your startup is going under, you may be able to get cash. I’ve already spoke with 2 big newsletter owners who are looking for lists.

2. Paid subscriptions will become the norm over ads. The newsletter ad market is 💩, so we’ll see lots of newsletters prioritizing getting paid subscriptions; for the ones that can’t figure a paid offering out and aren’t in the top .01% at selling ads, many will shut down as they become unprofitable to run. If you write a newsletter, don’t plan to rely on ads—start developing a valuable paid offering. Ex. For my newsletter's premium membership, I host a 1-hour strategy call, publish an extra post, and post a private podcast every week for only $99/month. That’s 4 hours meeting face-to-face with me and lots more hours writing posts and hosting a podcast for $99. Saying it aloud, I realize I probably need to raise prices again next year.

3. Famous musicians will launch newsletters (using Beehiiv for maximum growth and monetization). Newsletters are a no-brainer way add extra income for musicians: sell merch, plug new music, promote a tour, etc. And they don’t even have to write it. I’m actually pitching Marshmello’s team on ghostwriting his newsletter next month (🤫 Shhh don’t tell anyone) so hopefully I make this prediction come true.

TECH PREDICTIONS 2024

1. The Apple Vision Pros will be a hit. Sure, when Google Glass debuted in 2013, people got beat up for wearing them, but it’s been 10 years and the world has become far more online and cyberpunk. In the past month, I noticed that Meta’s Wayfarers have been blowing up with gen-z and getting shared a lot organically. Here’s my thesis: Google Glass crawled, so Snapchat Spectacles could walk, so Meta Ray-Bans could run, so Apple Vision Pros can fly at the speed of light. Somewhere in there, Meta Quest is standing in the background eating a double bacon cheeseburg and screaming “what about me?”

2. Humane’s AI Pin won’t cross mainstream. But I don’t think it’s because of the product. I think the product is dope. I think the issue is all marketing. After talking with one of the AI Pin designers at a party, I wrote a tweet that landed me in conversation with a higher-up on the team. We get talking and it turns out they literally have 0 marketing employees lol. I mean I wasn’t too shocked after seeing the product announcement video, but c’mon man, you’re trying to go to market without a market-ing team? Until they get their shit straight on the marketing side of the things, they can’t go mainstream.

3. AI girlfriend apps will make millions. I think this stuff is sad af, but unfortunately, there’s a market for it and VCs who see there’s billions to be made investing in it. Personally I’ll be getting married to my very human naturally intelligent fiancée, but to each their own, am I right?

CYBERPUNK HYPERLINKS

The #1 destination for creative cyberpunks

🤑 6 juicy startup ideas from Greg Isenberg, Jordan Mix, and Theo Tabah. Best jam session ever.

🚀 It’s time to accelerate. Beff Jezos (founder of the effective accelerationist movement) spoke on the Lex Fridman Podcast.

🕵️‍♂️ “It’s odd to me that much of the real-world Internet exists in the shadows and unsearchable,” ponders Antonio Garcia Martinez.

📸 Remember Flip Cameras. Flash back to 2011, I was making some killer YouTube videos with these ngl.

MEMES OF THE WEEK

Thanks for reading nerds.

Create some cool shit this week.

Jason Levin