ByClaudia Chau
A person engrossed in VR goggles with logos of ChatGPT, Meta, Apple, and the Fediverse floating around their head. They're dressed in a simple orange vest and baby pink turtleneck. In the background, a pastel-colored bar chart and a mesh of interconnected circles depict tech trends.

2023 is shaping up to be one of the most disruptive years in technology. There are huge shifts in  the tech landscape along with new emerging technologies, such as generative AI. We see this reflected in the topics people engage with on our platform. We took a closer look at the top tech topics that have fueled conversations and ignited passions in the first half of the year. 

Artificial Intelligence: ChatGPT, Generative AI, Machine Learning 

While artificial intelligence (AI) is not a new development in 2023, this is the first year we observe it becoming one of the hottest topics in the tech space. Last year, #Artificial Intelligence ranked number 89 under top tech topics on Flipboard. Now, it’s number 5. 

The increased interest in AI can be attributed to the launch of ChatGPT at the end of 2022, which caused a 67% increase in engagement in January of this year. Since then, interest in AI content has continued to increase, with three times more clicks to articles with that topic tag on Flipboard today compared to a year ago. Interest in related topics such as #Generative AI and #Machine Learning is also rapidly growing.

ChatGPT itself is also having its moment in 2023. Since its launch, interest in the topic has increased by 1032% and it is now a top 20 tech topic on Flipboard. After ChatGPT debuted in 2022, several new features and partnerships were announced in the subsequent 8 months. These included the integration with Bing revealed in February, the unveiling of an API service in March, and the launch of the mobile versions of ChatGPT in May. Each announcement led to a large spike in page views and user engagement. 

Tech Gadgets: Virtual Reality and Foldable/Flip Phones  

New tech gadgets are consistently of interest to Flipboard users. In the second quarter of this year, after Meta announced its Quest 3 headset and Apple revealed its new VisionPro, we observed a 154% increase in engagement with the topic #Virtual Reality Headset, a 43% increase with #Meta, and a 624% increase with #Apple. In the augmented reality battle between Meta and Apple, our data hints at Apple capturing more attention, with readers gravitating towards their announcements.

Another notable trend in the mobile world is the return of foldable and flip phones. Flashback to the early 2000s anyone? While Samsung was the first to develop this technology, Google and Motorola entered the market in July. Consumers quickly wanted to learn more about these new phones and engagement with #Foldable Phone content increased by 110%. As Samsung Flip, Samsung Fold, Google Pixel Fold, and Motorola Razr all have upcoming release dates, we’ll closely watch which phone will beat the rest.

Topics to Keep Tabs on: The Future of Social Media (Twitter, X, Threads, Fediverse)

Oh, how social media keeps us entertained! From new CEOs to new platforms, there is always something new in this space. One of the biggest content trends this year is driven by the introduction of Threads. In June, the media was already speculating about Threads’ impending launch. When it did arrive in July, its user base grew rapidly, reaching over 100 million within just a few days. More notably, engagement with stories about Threads shot up by 1,929% in July compared to June, when the media was already speculating about Threads’ impending launch.

The interest in Threads is not only because of its impressive growth or because it is a direct competitor to X (formerly known as Twitter), but also because of its promise to integrate with ActivityPub, an open, decentralized social media protocol. These plans are  bringing a lot of new interest to the Fediverse — also known as the open social web — which is a topic that saw a 38% increase in engagement last month. Moreover, other decentralized social media platforms also saw engagement go up: Mastodon (+37%), BlueSky (+563%), and ActivityPub (+10%). 

We aim to offer a lens into content trends and the digital zeitgeist through our content engagement data. From AI’s ascent to AR’s corporate rivalries and the rise of decentralized platforms, these insights shed light on the evolving tech landscape. Join us on LinkedIn for regular updates and look out for future posts here on our blog. 

— Claudia Chau, client solutions lead, is curating Cantonese Recipes