AI such as the Amazon ‘Alexa’ or the Google Home has become a common part of the every day American household. I even have one in my apartment, not necessarily that my roommates and I wanted one, but that it was given to us as a free prize. These devices are being handed out and distributed through millions of homes world wide. When it finally came out that this tech is listening in on our conversations and recording it, people became much more weary of what they had to say around them, or buying them in general. Now, years since this information came out, Ben Zhao and his wife Heather Zheng, both computer science professors, came up with a device that would make the Alexa unable to hear your conversations after having their own debate on whether or not that should have an Alexa in the house.

Their device made in the form of a bracelet emits ultrasonic signals when it is turned on by its user. This creates a sound impossible for humans to hear but is still able to be picked up by and recording microphones so that instead of hearing what people are saying, it can only hear the high pitch noise coming from the bracelet. People have created tech to block out Amazon speakers where you cover the speaker with the device to block out sounds from being recorded. To Zheng and Zhao, they believe that a device to keep people safe from being recorded should be portable so that people can move about their daily lives without having the fear of their conversations being recorded. In the wake of almost total surveillance, inventors are coming out each year with new way to combat the invasion of their own privacy. Since 2012, people have come up with eyeglasses to blur their face from security cameras, clothing to mask heat signatures from drones, and even coats to jam radio waves from people trying to collect information from your phone. There is no doubt that with each passing year, people will become more and more innovation to prove their privacy should remain intact despite the growing amount of surveillance tech.

       A few weeks prior to the Super Bowl the brand Planters took over Twitter’s trending page after killing off their brand mascot, Mr. Peanut. When it comes to Mr. Peanut, he is usually someone that you would hear about in passing. To the younger generation, he doesn’t mean much. Over time, Planters became somewhat of a forgotten brand since not many kids are buying bags of peanuts, and if they are, buying them specifically for the planters brand. Planters realized that they needed to revamp their brand and become relevant again, and to do this, they had to kill off Mr. Peanut…or so we thought.

       The commercial aired by Planters during the Super Bowl started out as a funeral for Mr. Peanut. In the audience were other brand mascots such as Mr. Clean and the Kool Aid Man. As the ad plays out, the Kool Aid Man’s tears bring Mr. Peanut back to life, but this time, as an adorable baby. The hashtag #BabyNut soon took to Twitter. Many people on the app started falling head over heels for Planters new mascot. Soon the brand became more popular in those few minutes than it ever had before.

This idea to rebrand and make their mascot a baby was no doubt caused by the Baby Yoda trend. In an effort to reach a younger audience to become talked about, Planters saw the effect that Baby Yoda on Twitter uses and thought that their brand could get just as popular. By piggybacking off of the Star Wars brand strategy, many people are thinking that Planters is trying to rip-off Baby Yoda with Baby Nut. As the idea for baby themed mascots seems to gain more traction, how many more brands will start to hop on the baby bandwagon.

 

With dance challenges and explainer videos, publishers invade TikTok to court Gen Z

After being rebranded from its former name of Musical.ly, TikTok has now become one of the most popular social media apps for younger generations. As a never ending scroll of jokes, memes, opinions, and whatever the users find interesting enough to point out, this app has gained the attention of an audience ranging from ages 16 and 24 years old. Due to its youthful audience, the humor on this app is very different than what other generations would find amusing. To put it simply, nothing is taboo to joke about on TikTok. Depending on recent news trends or what types of jokes gain more traction, the range of material can be from partaking in dance trends, all the way to joking about the “World War 3” draft. Now that a new platform for spreading information has emerged, many news providers are broadening their reach in order to bring correct and current news to the apps audience.

Whether it be from Instagram or Twitter, the members of Generation Z rarely obtain their news from its original sources. Many different news providers have made the effort to provide a social media presence for widespread news so that the people who find scrolling through a news website or reading the daily paper boring can stay informed about current issues. These news sources are now making the move to establish themselves on Tiktok. Companies like ESPN, NBC News and The Washington Post are now launching accounts to incorporate their news into the trends circulating the TikTok app. Their content ranges from behind the scenes videos to employees taking part in certain dance trends all so that they can gain followers and popularity in order to inform people when the jokes and misinformation get out of hand later on. During the trend of the idea of a WW3 draft, USA Today made a post giving its audience a “What You Need to Know” video about the tensions between the US and Iran. Despite not gaining as much popularity as other trending videos, this post reached at least 50,000 people, videos concerning news about the Australian fires reaching 63,000.

Tiktok is seen as an escape for the younger generation from the actual troubles of the world, and these companies know this. Despite wanting to get the news out there, there is an understanding that this funny and ultimately happy app isn’t something that should be overrun by news since that is not what Tiktok users are there for. Dave Jorgenson, a journalist for the Washington Post said, “If i can find a TikTok that fits within what people are talking about on TikTok that also is related to the news, I will do that, but I never want to force it in with what already is trending on TikTok (CNN).” The bridge between social media and the news is one that depends on the type of content an app is meant for. Twitter and Facebook, although used for humor, are also mainly used as a source of daily news and current events based on its trending pages. Apps like TikTok are made purely for jokes and wasting time for the younger generations. However, the attempt by news sources to find ways to keep this generation informed has been a  successful one in that they understand the boundaries in where they should push news to its audience, and when the audience should be left alone to their viral dance trends.