In this article it explores how much misleading information is put onto the news about the recent pandemic, It states one third of people have read and received misinformation on COVID-19. A survey that is spanning all around the world comes as people try to get a hold on online falsehoods. Google and Facebook are pulling out everything they can to try and take down misinformation. Large news companies are still receiving backlash that they are not doing enough in monitoring the information. Oxford University pulled from 8,500 people across six different countries. It showed that Spain and Argentina where over 40 percent of those polled said they had seen false information. Forty Percent is a very high number to be seeing false information on something so serious. In the US a whopping thirty three percent of people saw a great deal of false information. The U.S showed the greatest levels of polarization among the polled. We need to make sure all of the information we are receiving and publishing is correct. Misinformation especially on a topic like this can set people into a panic or make it seem like its letting up when in reality its not. People showed that the national government was the most credible source of news. With the recent pandemic tensions and anxiety’s are very high so we need to make sure what we are putting out in the world is correct and right. The fact one third of people are seeing false information is far too high, we need to limit it as much as we can.

 

 

 

In this app, it explains the different add ons Pinterest is adding to their platform and how much of a rise of use they see amid the coronavirus outbreak. The platform is seeing tons of traffic on their app, and they are taking advantage of it. They just added a segment that makes people be able to shop their pins. Now that people are looking for a replacement for physical shops, this is allowing Pinterest to take advantage of that and also helping to boost Pinterest’s broader eCommerce ambitions. “Pinterest is adding a new ‘Shop’ option to your created Pinterest boards, which will provide buyable product recommendations based on the Pins you’ve added to your collection,” the article states. More times then not, when I am on Pinterest, I am always trying to figure out where I can get certain items I’ve pinned, or other people have pinned. It makes recommendations based on interest, as well. It has a “For you” tab, which gives you items you have pinned or similar that the app thinks you may like. This is the right way for people who want to decorate there home or have ideas for there homes to go and find their dream items. I have many pins on my Pinterest that I have always wanted to buy somehow, and this gives me and others a chance to do that. There are items from clothes to decor to furniture and more. Pinterest is where people go to get inspiration, and they are bringing peoples inspirations to life.

In this app, it explains the different add ons Pinterest is adding to their platform and how much of a rise of use they see amid the coronavirus outbreak. The platform is seeing tons of traffic on their app, and they are taking advantage of it. They just added a segment that makes people be able to shop their pins. Now that people are looking for a replacement for physical shops, this is allowing Pinterest to take advantage of that and also helping to boost Pinterest’s broader eCommerce ambitions. “Pinterest is adding a new ‘Shop’ option to your created Pinterest boards, which will provide buyable product recommendations based on the Pins you’ve added to your collection,” the article states. More times then not, when I am on Pinterest, I am always trying to figure out where I can get certain items I’ve pinned, or other people have pinned. It makes recommendations based on interest, as well. It has a “For you” tab, which gives you items you have pinned or similar that the app thinks you may like. This is the right way for people who want to decorate there home or have ideas for there homes to go and find their dream items. I have many pins on my Pinterest that I have always wanted to buy somehow, and this gives me and others a chance to do that. There are items from clothes to decor to furniture and more. Pinterest is where people go to get inspiration, and they are bringing peoples inspirations to life.

In this article, it explains how you can help the small businesses in your community, even on Instagram. We all know this is a crazy time with the current state our country is in with the pandemic and how many local businesses have had to shut down. Instagram has made a section where you can buy gift cards using their app to help support businesses. “You can now set-up links to gift cards from Stories stickers and your profile so customers can help your business.” It states that if you think about it, your local bookstore is going to lose a lot of money due to the loss of traffic so they could offer a 5 percent discount on gift cards to get people to purchase those, so the book store is still getting a source of income. Also, with movie theaters, play centers, nail salons, and hair salons. This would be an excellent time for specific places like that to think of different ways to promote their business and get people to buy gift cards. Instagram is also looking to add a new ‘Support’ sticker to gather donations/promoting gift cards for SMBs and artists. Instagram is doing everything they can at this time to help businesses stay afloat, and so they don’t have to close. A big thing my family has been trying to do is get curbside pick up from our local restaurants and breweries. We have also purchased gift cards from there so they can have a flow of income and stay open. 

 

This article gives you a look at what fitness companies are doing to keep their members active and engaged while in quarantine. We all know that in the last few weeks, many states have been put into a shelter in place, which means you can only leave your house for groceries, and if you require medical treatment. This eliminates going to the gym and going to exercise classes such as yoga, cycle, and boxing. All of these places had to close there doors, for the time being, leaving people without there usual routine of being active. Certain areas implementing free or for a low rate online classes so that you can stay active and get a good sweat in at home. For example, those companies are participating in being Beachbody, P90X, Barry’s Bootcamp, Peloton, and many more. The fitness and health club industry estimates around 30 billion dollars annually and keeps rising every year. They are keeping people active and fit through this quarantine and helping people stay sane with having classes throughout the day. There are over 30,000 membership-based exercise facilities in the U.S. It is giving the fitness companies more exposure, and so they can keep making money. People are streaming more and more workouts. Since the quarantine started On Demand streaming, exercises are the fastest-growing fitness category. On-demand fitness spends spiked 58.7% since 2018 and nearly 130% since 2017. This will also help keep people in their houses when they should be and help social distancing by still being able to take classes with your friends just online and at your homes.

 

In this article, it explains the measures being taken to get information out about Coronavirus. As we know, the Coronavirus has surfaced and grown immensely in the past few months. It is now starting to spread around the United States, and people need to be prepared and educated on what’s happening. Media platforms are taking action and making sure their users are aware of it. What Instagram is doing is “highlighting links to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and local health authorities​ whenever someone taps on a hashtag related to COVID-19.” I think these are outstanding features to have in place. It is also mapping out longer-term solutions to help connect people who are searching for related terms that have to do with COVID- 19 with credible information. Making sure the information they are putting out in the world is correct is much needed. Instagram is taking serious measures in checking over the information before it is posted and restricting hashtags. All of the media platforms are doing an excellent job so far in relaying information and making sure everything is credible. They are taking the steps required. Instagram is one of the most popular media platforms people use, so it is great they are doing this. This article portrays just how serious the spread of the Coronavirus is getting. Making sure we are washing our hands, not touching our faces and making sure we stay home if we do not feel well are vital things you can do to stop the spread. 

 

Influencer marketing is a massive aspect in Today’s world. There are countless influencers; for example, you would find the most influencers on Instagram. Influencers have the power to change and affect people’s purchasing decisions because they have many followers, authority, and knowledge about it. Influencers have become such a big marketing tactic for companies. In this article, Vamp surveyed over a hundred marketers to figure out how they work with influencers and where they see success. What they found out from doing this was that eighty percent of people said that influencers showed the same or better in assets than brand created ones. It states that companies also save forty-one percent more in engaging in influencers. The only thing is figuring out who they should pick to influence their company because, in some cases, they can be a make or break for them. There are 3.4 billion people on Instagram, so that creates a vast space for people to advertise and get there a product out there. There are also a few types of influencers. They can be the Mega influencers, and that is someone who has over a million followers, macro-influencers are about the same but have fewer followers. The last two are micro-influencers and nano influencers, which are people with only a couple thousand down to a couple hundred followers but still manage to get the product out there. There are also a few different ways people can be influencers. They can on there blogs, podcasts, Instagram’s, and even youtube channels. I believe influencers are such a growing thing company’s should jump at the first chance they get to have one.

 

 In this article it explains how Snapchat is launching a new feature which is called “Here for you” which helps people who are dealing with mental illness or emotional crisis. It also gives people insight on how they can help their friends who are coping with any of these things. It will be coming out in the upcoming months. It will include different safety resources from professionals when people search for topics that have to do with mental illness—for example, anxiety, depression, stress, and a lot more. If someone were to google depression, it would come up with all different shows and episodes to educate people and teach you how to cope and handle it. It shows what you can do and that there are many resources and ways to handle it. It talks about all of these mental illnesses and emotional crisis in a constructive way. Social media has become such a significant aspect in people’s lives today, and there are about 186 million Snapchat users today. The number of people with mental illnesses is also increasing, so by having this platform and educating people when they are young, they will know how to handle everything. I thought this was an excellent article, and I believe what Snapchat is doing is fantastic. Millions of people suffer from mental illnesses and emotional crises every day and having this feature on a platform that people use hours upon hours a day is beneficial and can tell people they are not alone.

In this article, it dives into twitter and how they are looking into banning fake videos and photos. There are several faked photos and videos put on to twitter nearly every day. These photos and videos can impact people’s safety and cause harm to others. That is why twitter is creating a “balancing act” so “allowing parody and removing disinformation — that social media companies face as they try to police the content posted to their platforms more aggressively.” Twitter has had a lot of issues with this. They took a survey from 6,500 people, and around seventy percent thought it was unacceptable for twitter to do nothing about it. People distort and lie about the information that can be crucial to the public. Many media platforms try to buckle down on this, but twitter will now face pressure from all around that they do a better job with it. There have been many examples in the past but one being that there was an edited fake clip of former vice president Joe Biden making racial slurs, but it was not real, and it circled the internet worldwide. Joe Biden was made out to look very bad, and it wasn’t even real. I thought this article was so interesting to read because I have also seen for myself faked pictures and videos that are done so well that they are seen as real. Twitter needs to put their foot down and make sure it doesn’t happen again so that the public remains safe.

Apple could see some impact from coronavirus in China, Cook says

In this article it explains how Coronavirus is effecting Apple. Coronavirus is a deadly disease that started in Wuhan, China. It is spreading rapidly and has affected up to 4,500 people in China. The disease it starting to be fatal killing up to 100 people. Apple could even see some significant impact on the virus. They could have to close their stores in Wuhan and reduce hours in other locations because of it. Several of their retail partners have also closed stores in China. Apple had robust sales, in there first quarter setting a record for the highest it’s ever been. China is Apple’s biggest iPhone market, so they are worried about what this virus will do to their sales. Many of their electronics are also assembled in China, so many factors could go into Apple’s decline in sales and revenue. Apple, as of now, is very unsure what will happen to their products, income, and sales. They are currently working on mitigation plans to make up for their expected production loss. The way that the coronavirus is spreading it does not look good. It has also spread over to the United States and Europe, so it is multiplying. This is not good for businesses because workers and production could be affected by this deadly disease. It interested me to learn that the virus isn’t just effecting people, its effecting companies, and their production. Apple is supporting and donating to help find the cure and get this disease contained, so it doesn’t effect anyone else.