Community | University 

Jan 27, 2026

Hello, GrowthHackers

Welcome to your daily unfair advantage.

Every morning, we cut through the noise to bring you sharp insights, fast news, and fresh sparks to light up your brain and fuel your hustle. From scrappy hacks to big tech moves, AI shifts to culture flips this is your intel to stay ahead, move fast, and break boring.

Think of it as your growth-fueled espresso shot.
Short. Smart. Addictive.

Let’s dive in.👇

Quick Hits

1. Sam Altman Says OpenAI “Screwed Up” GPT-5.2 Writing Quality
   (Even AI needs a writing editor.)

2. Meta to test premium subscriptions on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp
   (Pay to exist, but make it social)

3. Microsoft has a new tool for IT admins to investigate security breaches
   (Cybersecurity tools growing faster than threats… hopefully.)

The Growth joke of the day

Why did the SEO expert break up with AI-generated content?
Because it ranked well… but had zero personality.

What's New in Growth Hacking/Growth Marketing?

Strategies

• WP Go Maps Plugin Vulnerability Affects Up To 300K WordPress Sites
  A security advisory was published about a vulnerability affecting the WP Go Maps plugin for WordPress installed on over 300,000 websites. The flaw enables authenticated subscribers to modify map engine settings.

• Google pays $68M to settle claims its voice assistant spied on users
  Google agreed to pay $68 million to settle claims its voice assistant illegally spied on users to, among other things, serve them advertisements.

• Node-based design tool Flora raises $42M from Redpoint Ventures

  Flora, a design tool used by designers at Alibaba, Brex, creative agency Pentagram, and entertainment company Lionsgate, has hit a new milestone. The startup has raised $42 million in Series A led by Redpoint Ventures

• YouTube Tests Paywall For Playback Speed Feature
  YouTube is quietly running an experiment that makes its playback speed controls a paid perk for some users, signaling the platform may put a long-standing convenience behind the YouTube Premium paywall.

• AI governance without strategy is setting marketing teams up to fail
  Marketers are racing to govern AI without planning for outcomes. New ANA data shows why policies alone create control theater, not value.

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People

Not many movements from our fellow Senior Growth Marketers today 🫠 

The Podcast Where Growth 
Actually Happens

At GrowthHackers, we believe the best insights come from the community itself.

That’s why for our next podcast episode,
"From Ideas to Impact: Building a Community Platform," 
we’re handing the mic to you. 🫵

Jack, the founder of ARK STEM, will be joining our next episode to discuss the journey of building platforms that matter.

What have you always wanted to ask a founder about community growth?
We’ll select the best ones to feature in the interview!

What's New in Artificial Intelligence (AI) 

• Airtable gets into the AI agent game with Superagent
  It might sound crazy to some, launching an entirely new product line while your flagship business has shed two-thirds of its paper value. But Howie Liu, the founder and CEO of Airtable, suggests it’s the sanest thing he could do.

• Pinterest to lay off 15% of staff to redirect resources to AI
  Pinterest said on Tuesday that it plans to lay off less than 15% of its workforce to cut back on office space and reallocate resources for its AI initiatives.

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