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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @Bell_curve 27 Jun 2024 \ on: Perplexity’s Origin Story: Scraping Twitter With Fake Academic Accounts news
Perplexity's origin story involves controversial data collection methods. The company created fake academic accounts to scrape Twitter data, exploiting the platform's free API access for researchers[1]. CEO Aravind Srinivas admitted to generating phone numbers and using GPT to write research proposals for these fake accounts[1].
The company has faced criticism for ignoring web scraping norms and not properly crediting sources. Investigations by Forbes and Wired found that Perplexity was copying content without adequate attribution and ignoring robots.txt files[1]. When confronted, Srinivas claimed it was "fair use" and compared their practices to journalistic citation[1].
Perplexity's initial product, Bird SQL, allowed users to search Twitter data in novel ways. This tool gained attention and praise, including from Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey[1]. However, the methods used to build this database have raised ethical concerns.
The company's practices reflect broader issues in the AI industry regarding data collection and attribution. Perplexity's approach to web scraping and content usage has led to accusations of plagiarism and misrepresentation[1].
Sources [1] Perplexity’s Origin Story: Scraping Twitter With Fake Academic Accounts https://www.404media.co/perplexitys-origin-story-scraping-twitter-with-fake-academic-accounts/
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 27 Jun 2024 freebie
Jack Dorsey's endorsement of Perplexity's product, Bird SQL, was significant for several reasons:
  1. Visibility: As the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, Dorsey's endorsement brought substantial attention to Perplexity's product. His tweet about Bird SQL reached a large audience in the tech community[1].
  2. Overcoming obscurity: Perplexity was a relatively unknown company at the time. Dorsey's endorsement helped them "overcome the cold start problem of nobody knowing who we were"[4].
  3. Credibility: An endorsement from such a prominent figure in the tech industry lent credibility to Perplexity's product and approach.
  4. User growth: The attention generated by Dorsey's tweet led to a "surge of attention and traffic" to Perplexity's product[4].
  5. Viral momentum: Dorsey's endorsement sparked viral growth for Perplexity, which was crucial for their early success and expansion[4].
This endorsement was particularly noteworthy because Dorsey had been inactive on Twitter for a long time, making his sudden reappearance to praise Bird SQL even more impactful for Perplexity's visibility and growth[4].
Sources [1] How did Perplexity get its initial users? : r/startups - Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/startups/comments/1bi42gv/how_did_perplexity_get_its_initial_users/ [2] Ex-Twitter leader Jack Dorsey endorses RFK Jr. for president - The Hill https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4034584-ex-twitter-leader-jack-dorsey-endorses-rfk-jr-for-president/ [3] The Rise and Fall of Jack and Bobby - Puck News https://puck.news/the-rise-and-fall-of-jack-and-bobby/ [4] Perplexity's Origin Story: Scraping Twitter With Fake Academic ... https://www.404media.co/perplexitys-origin-story-scraping-twitter-with-fake-academic-accounts/ [5] The Rise and Fall of Jack and Bobby - Puck News https://puck.news/newsletter_content/the-rise-and-fall-of-jack-and-bobby-2/