No More Likes? The social networking sites that want to take away our likes.

On By Janell M.In UncategorizedLeave a comment

instagram-hiding-likes-button-remove

https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/20/tech/instagram-hiding-likes-user-reaction/index.html

https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-instagram-youtube-killing-like-subscribers-2019-9

In the past month many social media platforms have been considering taking likes off of content that we posts. That’s right, the picture that you took several times, to get that great angle will never show all the likes you received (and deserved)  . The more important question is how will this change social media?

The reason that these companies want to rid likes is due to the likes becoming a quantifying sign of self worth. In a discussion with some of the Instagram developers the decision came about because they believed that likes are ‘a kind of digital one-upmanship on social media and making users feel bad’.

Though many of us can understand why the site wants to eliminate the feature, many Instagram-based brands are wondering how this change will effect them and their user engagement. Though the likes will be taken away, this will not take away the algorithm. This means that the kind of posts you like will still be suggested to you, and the related content with the most like will be suggested to you first.

We have no idea as to when the change will take place, but hopefully it has positive effects.

Iphone 11, Cop or Drop?

On By khelt0In Consumer behavior, News Media, TechnologyLeave a comment
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/10/technology/iphone-11.html

It’s about that time that the new models of the iPhone are being released and for many, the question remains whether people should keep the phones they have now or upgrade. There are some people in the world, who feel the need to have everything new and up to date, no matter what model they currently have. I have an iPhone 7, and it has been a pretty reliable phone for the past 4 years, and I don’t have many complaints. I will be jumping from a 7 to an 11, but for people with iPhone X’s and XR’s will it be worth it to make the switch? There has been some talk online about pricing since the Keynote took place on Tuesday. The base model iPhone 11 is being released for $700 compared to the last years model retailing for $750. It took some consumers by surprise seeing the price drop in the pro models compared to the models last year. Apple has been increasing prices in iPhones over the past couple of years in order to counteract the shortage of iPhone sales. As I was watching the Keynote, I was struggling to try and find the dramatic difference in the models from this year and last year and there wasn’t much to offer. At least the price of the phone doesn’t jump with there being a solid technical reason to. Last year, when Apple released their top models at over $1000 it seemed as though they reached a ceiling, and the XR model that sold at $750 wound up being the top seller. As usual when the new models start to be released the iPhone 8, and the XR price will get discounted. I am curious to see how the new phones are going to sell, compared to last year. I am also curious to see that if these models dont sell as planned, what will Apple do next?

Will Gamers continue stopping at GameStop?

On By Chris ColeIn Consumer behavior, Video GameLeave a comment

As video gaming continues to evolve, the market for video gaming evolves as well. Technology continues to redefine the way we spend our money. GameStop, a primary retail store for video games recently announced that they are closing over 200 stores across the country. Many video gamers have been buying their games digitally, as opposed to buying a physical copy in stores. According to Business Insider, GameStop is “…applying a more definitive, analytic approach, including profit levels and sales transferability, that we expect will yield a much larger tranche of closures over the coming 12 to 24 months,” Jim Bell, GameStop CFO, said on Tuesday. GameStop is trying to manage its budget while they breath new life into the gaming chain. GameStop has a lot of competition. Digital video game purchases are made to feel so much more convenient. Like physical CD’s, soon video games will be primarily streamed/downloaded on the internet. The past few years have been rough for GameStop, they have continued to fire people, their sales were down 14.3% and throughout the year the company has lost 415 $million. Hopefully, GameStop can evolve with the times and provide their customers with an experience that makes going to GameStop worth it.

‘Fake News’ Fears: 95% of Americans ‘Troubled’ by Current State of Media, Poll Finds

On By niarobIn Fake NewsLeave a comment

Americans Tune In To President Trump's First State Of The Union Address

A survey of 1,100 Americans by Bospar, a PR agency based in San Francisco, CA. The survey, which includes about 1,100 adults, found that 95% of these adults were troubled by the current state of media.A little more than half of these people believe that “fake news” in the media was a key cause. 49% and 48% believe that “reporting gossip” and “lying spokespeople”, respectively, were key causes of the issue. Other factors like “celebrity opinion” and left-and right-wing agendas also spark concern for many adults in America when it comes to social media.

Nowadays, it’s harder for people to trust the media. In my opinion, because of the vast amount of ways to get information (traditional news, online news, print news, social media, etc.), some of that information is bound to be wrong or misleading. However, things have gotten out of hand because more and more people are writing and reading and believing fake news articles.

In the survey conducted by Bospar, 67% of people believe ethics in journalism will worsen during the 2020 campaign. 22% of people believe that online journalists are most trustworthy and only 15% said that national TV anchors and reporters were most trustworthy. This was interesting to me because people believe an online author that’s somewhat anonymous to them over national anchors that appear on national TV to tell the news as their job. One would think anchors are supposed to develop some type of relationship with their viewers over an online author they’re unfamiliar with.

I think the problem of “fake news” is one of the biggest problems we have today, Because of social media, anyone is allowed to post anything online, true or not. Many people are falsely informed due to fake news. It’s really an issue we should all be talking about more.

Female Journalists Facing More and More Online Harassment

On By rachelshelley22In UncategorizedLeave a comment

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/08/media/women-journalists-cpj-safety-survey-reliable-sources/index.html

Reading this article from CNN Business sadly did not surprise me too much. A new survey from the Committee to Protect Journalists confirmed that online harassment is in fact the biggest threat to mostly female and gender non-conforming reporters.

I think that this article highlights two very real facts about the society we live in today. 1. Women and minorities have always had to deal with harassment in the workplace, but 2. The harassment has never gone away, but instead evolved with the rest of the world around it- and it adapted to the technology around it. In a way, technology has made it much easier to receive hurtful messages. People can hide behind their screens and never encounter any sort of face-to-face confrontation, while spewing out hateful and inappropriate words. Online trolls are prominent in every social media platform and have made their way to chatrooms, and so much else.

This poses a threat to the field of journalism in general. If reporters feel that their work is causing these harmful words, perhaps they give in to what the people want and we see an agreeable reporter in which case- journalism is not doing what it was created to do.

Next In Line: the iPhone 11

On By Jared GiovanIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Screenshot-2019-09-10-at-22.27.17-Edited

https://www.forbes.com/sites/gordonkelly/2019/09/10/apple-iphone-11-vs-iphone-11-pro-whats-the-difference-new-iphone-upgrade/#5f8e32226818

On Tuesday September 10th, Apple unveiled the new iPhone 11 among many other new products. During the press event, social media exploded with pictures, videos, and memes of the new iPhone. The new phone is set to have three different stages: iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max. The iPhone 11 starts at $699 and jumps up to $1099 for the iPhone 11 Pro Max. All three phones feature an updated camera system with the regular iPhone 11 consisting of two cameras and the iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max consisting of three. The updated cameras come with “night mode” for low-light settings, front-facing slow motion video, and an upgraded 12 megapixel front facing lens. As stated before, the iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max comes with a newly developed three camera system featuring an ultra wide, telephoto, and regular lens. On top of the new camera system, the iPhone 11 features a new A13 Bionic processor, new phone colors, and an increase in screen brightness.

Besides the iPhone 11, Apple announced a plethora of other new products. Among the new products is Apple’s new streaming service Apple TV Plus, the iPad 7, the Apple Watch Series 5, and Apple’s new gaming service Apple Arcade. In my opinion, I think a lot of these new products are pretty cool. I am excited to see Apple’s new streaming service, especially because it is said to be in direct competition with Disney’s new streaming service Disney+. It will be interesting to see what movies and television shows will be included in the streaming service. I am also pretty excited to see what Apple is going to do with Apple Arcade. It’s going to be hard to get a ton of people to switch/pay for their gaming service because of the already popular consoles like Xbox, Playstation, and the Nintendo Switch, however it will definitely be an easy sell for video game fanatics. It will be interesting to see the way Apple markets the product, how they develop it in the future, and how original/unique/addicting their games are. If they intend to have games like the new Mario Kart apart of the subscription, I will definitely pay the extra money to play. All in all, even though Apple didn’t release any news about a game-changing product, it is still a pretty cool update from the multinational technology company.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/10/20838905/apple-iphone-11-pro-max-event-news-summary-highlights-ipad-watch-tv-plus

https://www.thedailybeast.com/apple-debuts-new-iphone-11-and-the-iphone-11-pro

https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-iphone-11-pro-max-specs-vs-iphone-xr-xs-max-colors-specs-new-price-camera-storage-a13/

https://www.engadget.com/2019/09/11/apple-arcade-is-a-tough-sell/

 

To Save Our Democracy, We Need To Save Local News

On By andreabecassisIn Consumer behavior, News Media, TechnologyLeave a comment

I found this short article really interesting because it relates to last week’s reading on local news platforms across the United States and how they are making efforts to stay alive by merging with each other. The article emphasizes the importance of local news not for the sole survival of American journalistic tradition, but for the significant role it plays in politics. Since American political dialogue focuses heavily on state and local power, it is essential to have efficient and transparent forms of local news, which have the ability to examine, check and challenge the discourse of their hometowns.

         Last week’s reading talked about the merging practices that are being carried out in order to revitalize the world of local news in a hostile environment where many platforms are shutting down due to lack of audience/revenue. However, the results shown by these tactics will probably not achieve the final goal of returning the public’s attention to their local politicians because the news being shown on local channels are mass-produced by parent companies, which appears to be an effort to simply keep newspapers’ names alive rather than their niche content.         This article argues that rebuilding our local news ecosystem will also strengthen the public’s trust in the media, since it is easier to connect with journalists reporting on substantial local matters rather than banal stories created for entertainment. It is important to make local politics more public so that the population can base their support on transparent information

Article and photo: https://medium.com/@michaelshapiro_67828/to-save-our-democracy-we-need-to-save-local-news-4d38254405d7

Dave Chapelle’s special divides audiences and critics

On By Joshua RussellIn Netflix1 Comment

DaveyImage source : https://www.pajiba.com/tv_reviews/review-dave-chappelles-netflix-standup-special-sticks-and-stones.php
In recent years Netflix has gone through many changes. Of theses one of the most interesting is going form simply hosting television and movie content to producing their own shows. This Netflix created content has ranged wildly form documentaries to animated action shows. But of this vast array of choices it is the comedy special that remains the most popular. This may change however, with the most recent special by famed comedian Dave Chappelle noted for becoming highly controversial.

The special, entitled Dave Chapelle: Sticks and Stones, has come under the scrutiny of many critics. The focus of these criticisms where largely regarding the topics Chapelle decided to discuss in the special, such as the cases of sexual assault leveled at Michael Jackson or the LGBT community. Chapelle’s jokes where often seen as insensitive or unnecessarily cruel when discussing their subject matter. As a result of this many critics panned the series and tore it to shreds on online forms.

Surprisingly, the general audience has had the complete opposite reaction. Dave Chapelle’s show has received a ninety-nine percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. This indicates that the audience may be clued into a point of view mentioned in the article, that the offensive tone of the special was a strategic move on Mr. Chapelle’s part in an attempt to generate interest, in one form or another, in the several other specials he has upcoming. Another possibility is that this gauge of the audience’s opinion is misrepresented or exaggerated. Whatever the case may be, several experts both in comedian and media marketing mentioned in the article feel the critics view is unlikely to stop Chapelle from having more specials on Netflix, especially considering the host of other streaming services that would gladly Add him to their roster.

Considering the time, we live in and the content in the special, Netflix took a calculated risk in airing it. However, judging by audience reaction it has paid off. But it is worth noting that such gambles may not always pay off, and the resulting backlash could be catastrophic in the cut-throat world of streaming services.

Article Link : https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/07/dave-chappelles-netflix-special-is-offending-critics-but-viewers-dont-care.html

Google vs. Apple: The Future of Video Game Streaming

On By grosso611In Video GameLeave a comment

With the subscription model becoming the new business model for all things media, it was only a matter of time before the gaming industry saw it too. Over the past year, Google and Apple have released their plans for two separate video game platforms named Google Stadia and Apple Arcade, but they are not the traditional video game services people are used to. Instead, both offer unique experiences with different ways to deliver games, leaving everyone to wonder which platform will succeed, and which one will bite the dust.

Google Stadia is an online video game streaming service specifically for streaming popular titles and existing games through the internet. Similar to streaming videos, Stadia will use the internet and the power of Google’s data center to process the games and stream them directly to a Google Chrome Web Browser extension. Starting at $10.00 a month, anyone with a high-speed internet can stream games to their computers, opening up the gaming world to anyone who wants to play, even those who do not have a powerful computer with strong hardware.

Apple Arcade took a slightly different approach. While Apple Arcade still uses the subscription model for consumers to access the video games, costumers are going to be able to download the games directly to their Apple devices from the gaming library. While most games will be exclusively for Apple, this service allows the option to download games and play them regardless of internet access. The starting price for the service is $4.99 a month and is launching September 30th.

Google and Apple are considered to be the biggest tech companies in the world, and the fact that they both are launching a gaming subscription platform is really exciting. While both are clearly competing for the same costumers, there’s no telling which one will win. One thing is for sure; the gaming community is about to change.

Article: https://www.cnet.com/how-to/google-stadia-vs-apple-arcade-streaming-game-services-everything-we-know/

The Decentralized Web

On By NicholasIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

The ISIS flag next to symbols of Twitter and Facebook

Image source: https://101blockchains.com/web-3-0-examples/

In this digital age, internet in the U.S. is arguably a human right. It’s essential for everyday communication, networking, knowledge consumption, impulse buying, and navigation–among everything else us humans need.

But what about the rest of the world? It can be striking to think about what the internet means to people internationally. To some, it’s the only way to protest against a tyrannizing government. It’s a way for groups to come together, to console each other, to brainstorm a resistance, and to get the rest of the world to hear and listen to them.

Take Ethiopia for example. The country shut down the entire nation’s internet as a form of punishment due to rioting.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-internet/internet-in-eastern-ethiopia-shut-down-after-regional-violence-idUSKBN1KT0T4

Concurrently, in some developing countries, terrorist organizations use online platforms to promote radical ideology, strategy, and domination.Image result for isis propaganda

Image source: https://www.mic.com/articles/130993/the-real-enemy-is-the-isis-propaganda-machine-to-win-the-u-s-must-beat-it

This past December, mainstream operators Facebook, Twitter and Telegram cracked down on ISIS. The radicals specifically dominated Telegram with thousands of accounts, before they were all deleted.

ZeroNet logo

Related image

RocketChat logo

Now, ISIS turns to the “decentralized web” for their communication, with platforms such as RocketChat and ZeroNet. Since the developers of these platforms have “no way of acting against content that is stored on user-operated servers or dispersed across the user community”, ISIS is free to utilize these networks (“ISIS is using new social media sites,” Harley).

Image source: https://blog.computes.com/worlds-first-decentralized-web-app-%C3%B0app-powered-by-computes-b64bc5f91e47

The decentralized web is a hybrid way of using the internet that gives users the ability keep their date safe, without the risk of it being distributed to media corporations to be sold to other parties. In a sense, this empowering form of internet was birthed from the era of scandals involving media conglomerates stealing information without proper consent of the user.

Though, RocketChat offers ISIS limited reach, with only a reach to the 1,000 people who have registered profiles. That being said, some ISIS members still attempt to navigate Telegram.

ISIS media operatives see the banning their accounts as an opportunity to explore other forms of the decentralized web.web 3.0 examples

Image source: https://101blockchains.com/web-3-0-examples/

This piece, and searching through definitions of the online web, had me thinking of the next generation of web browsing. As history shows, the internet has had astronomical expansion these past couple decades. And of course it must continue to evolve, even if it’s the demise of all things virtual.

I ponder what the presence of decentralized web will grow to be, and if it will become commonly used by not only these select groups, but by average citizens. Or it may be the beginning of something utterly dangerous to mankind.

Source material: https://www.thenational.ae/world/isis-is-using-new-social-media-sites-after-facebook-and-twitter-crack-down-1.908339