Community | University 

June 27, 2025

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. X Bans Hashtags in Promoted Posts
   (The platform that made hashtags famous is now restricting them—for advertisers. )

2. Apple changes App Store rules in EU to comply with antitrust order
   (Apple’s walled garden just opened a side gate—but only in Europe. )

3. Microsoft shuts down iconic 'Blue Screen of Death'
   (End of an era. The Blue Screen of Death wasn’t just an error—it was a rite of passage. )

The Growth joke of the day

Email crush: “Still time to join us live.”
Me: Clears calendar. Refreshes inbox. Joins with camera on.

What's New in Growth Hacking/Growth Marketing?

Strategies

• Threads now lets you manage Hidden Words separately from Instagram, set time limits
  Threads, Meta’s competitor to X, now has its own Hidden Words setting that operates separately from Instagram. The feature allows you to filter out posts that contain words, phrases, or emojis you don’t want to see in feeds, search, profiles, and replies.

• LinkedIn Adds Video Covers for Articles and Newsletters

  LinkedIn’s rolling out a new option to make your articles stand out in-stream, which also aligns with its broader push on video content. Soon, all LinkedIn members will be able to add a video in the header image slot on a LinkedIn article.

• Google launches Doppl, a new app that lets you visualize how an outfit might look on you

  Google is launching a new experimental app called Doppl that uses AI to visualize how different outfits might look on you, the company announced on Thursday. The app is available on iOS and Android in the U.S.

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  People

• Travis Kalanick is trying to buy Pony AI — and Uber might help
  Uber founder Travis Kalanick is exploring a deal to buy Pony AI’s U.S. arm. He may use the acquisition to reenter autonomous tech via growth investment, likely leveraging his ghost kitchen network for synergies in logistics and mobility data.

• Tesla head of manufacturing Omead Afshar fired by Elon Musk
  Tesla CEO Elon Musk has fired Omead Afshar, the automaker’s vice president of manufacturing and operations, CNBC has confirmed, following declines in car sales in key markets this year.

Upcoming Webinar!

This isn’t just a webinar, it’s your blueprint for sustainable success in a world of boom-and-bust cycles and short-lived digital virality.

Discuss how while marketing fundamentals have remained the same, consumer behaviour and the balance between tactics and strategy has shifted.
Join Andrew Temes, a seasoned brand strategist and marketer, for an eye-opening session that reveals why understanding customer behavior is only the beginning—and how timeless strategy consistently outperforms fleeting tactics.

LIVE WEBINAR | JULY 3, 2025 | 9AM PT - 12PM ET - 5PM GMT
With Andrew Temes Founder & Principal Executive Marketing Academy.

What's New in Artificial Intelligence (AI)

• Meta Looks to Acquire More Talent for its Expanding AI Push
  Meta is in advanced talks to acquire PlayAI, a startup specializing in AI voice replication technology. The goal is likely to incorporate customized, realistic AI voices into its wearables and bot platform for deeper user engagement.

• Cancer drug candidate developed using supercomputing and AI blocks tumor growth without toxic side effects

  A new cancer drug candidate has demonstrated the ability to block tumor growth without triggering a common and debilitating side effect.

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