Impressive Features of the New iPhone X Separate it From Previous Models

The introduction of the new iPhone X from Apple has changed the way we think about smartphones. Except for a design change here and there, the iPhone has progressed along a steady and predictable course, until now. The new iPhone X takes smartphone technology to another stratosphere. Apple technology exists under a critical public spotlight. Therefore, we can safely assume the development of the iPhone X was a long and carefully thought out process. Each function of the phone is narrowly tailored to immerse its user in an entirely new mobile experience.

The new iPhone X features an all glass, a full-screen design that significantly differs from previous models. With a 5.8-inch super retina screen, the smartphone not only pleases the eye but also wows with its impressive durability. However, perhaps the most exciting new feature of the iPhone X is its face identification capability. Face recognition has replaced fingerprint’s as the primary way to unlock the iPhone. With just a glance, the new iPhone X need not do more than recognizing its user’s face to take them to their home screen. Another notable feature of the new iPhone X is animojis. The smartphones true depth camera analyzes more than 50 different muscle movements to mirror your expressions in 12 animated emojis. Other attributes of the phone include impressive power efficiency, a neural engine, dual OIS, and unparalleled camera capabilities.

Many argue that anticipation for the release of the iPhone X reached higher than it has for any other smartphone’s release. The only downfall’s of this revolutionary new technology revolve around its steep price. Anyone wanting the new iPhone X must be willing to pay at least $1000. Compared to the iPhone 8, the new iPhone X can seem to many an unnecessary luxury. Only time will tell whether the new iPhone’s X’s price tag will have a negative effect on sales.

Before the invention of the internet, the world received all of its news from newspapers and televised broadcasts. In this time, those medias controlled how people understood the news because only professional journalists provided the content. These news sources maintain a certain journalistic standard that people find trustworthy. Now people get their news from Facebook.

News from social media has been a growing trend since the advent but, the vast majority of users reading their news from social media, get their news from Facebook. The Pew Research Center reports that 67% of all adults use Facebook. Considering 67% of adult Facebook users report getting their news from Facebook alone, this means 44% of the general population only get their news from Facebook.

An increasing number of adults get their news from Facebook alone

This statistic causes both shock and concern. The problem with almost half of adults receiving their news from Facebook is that this ‘news’ can come from any corner of the internet. These articles people share and post do not always have the rigorous editing and verifying process that traditional news sources have. Bloggers who have no one to answer to for using false facts/statistics or inputting far too much opinion write the majority of articles that go viral on Facebook.  These bloggers know this and use it to their advantage. These articles spread their personal agendas, on both sides of the aisle.

Facebook uses algorithms that show users what they are most likely to click on. This puts more and more of the news they currently read on their feed. Say one user always clicks on conservative articles, Facebook will continue to show conservative-leaning news. Same goes for liberals or independents. The real world implications of this are that these groups are reading completely separate narratives. This causes people to view the world news in a completely polarizing way. The real difference that we are seeing is that the world used to read the same stories and make opinions from there. The 44% of American adults now read opinions and decide the news from there.

The takeaway here is that people should vary how they receive their news. Social media alone will not cut it anymore. It simply does not show the full picture. To be truly informed the importance of reading all types of news. The kind you agree with and the kind you do not.

Social media influencers are social media users who have gained credibility in certain areas, such as fashion or entertainment. These individuals typically have substantial followers and impact perceptions of various products, people, or issues. Social media influencers use numerous platforms, but one the most persuasive is blogging because readers feel a personal connection to them through the more intimate and long-term setting of a blog. In some cases, bloggers have even become, if not more, influential than traditional journalism outlets. Continue reading →

Uber has recently added a tip feature to the application. Once users download the updated version, they are then asked whether or not they would like to add a tip at the end of their trip. The new Uber tip feature is just one of the many major changes that the company has implemented since the resignation of the old CEO Travis Kalanick. Continue reading →

Since 2009, wannabe actors, models, and musicians have aspired to display Twitter’s coveted blue checkmark on their profiles. That’s when you know you’ve made it, right? Not necessarily. It is becoming more and more common for accounts with comparatively small numbers of followers to earn verification. Continue reading →

The news of Amazon’s Whole Foods purchase that broke this past summer proved to be an epic acquisition for the e-commerce titan. The $13.7 billion dollar deal with Whole Foods left people to wonder what Amazon’s next move would be. Was this Amazon’s attempt to expand beyond e-commerce into physical retail? Or was this a power play? Continue reading →

Trending topics and tweets on twitter

Ever wondered what are trending topics and tweets on Twitter and who decides what is a trending topic? Many of us wake up, turn off our alarms, pick up the phone and check social media.Trending topics are a quick way to see what’s happening around the world and can be a great source for breaking news. Click on search or swipe to your left and you can see trending topic and tweets on twitter.

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Now more than ever the overlapping functions within Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat are a gray area. The nature of social media platforms lends itself to constant evolution. While social media powerhouses like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat are not becoming obsolete anytime soon, the purpose these platforms serve for users may be shifting. Remember when posting on your best friends Facebook wall was the first thing you did on their birthday? With similar nostalgia, you can remember a time when the function of posting “stories” belonged exclusively to Snapchat. Now that different platforms serve the same capacity, the user must align their social media priorities accordingly to adapt.

How do you choose between Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat?

This environment leaves these platforms questioning what exactly affects the decision-making process for users. Why would a user post a story to Instagram over Snapchat? Functionality and credibility. Users find themselves concerned with these two factors when deciding whether or not to engage new features. While functionality becomes apparent to users immediately, a platform’s credibility must build over time. As a result, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat must use different tactics to monopolize their shared user base.

Navigating the road to market domination makes taking concepts from the competition necessary. However, platforms then face the challenge of doing what their competitors do better. When Instagram gave users the ability to stream live video directly to their followers, Facebook’s identical feature suddenly seemed outdated. While competition characterizes much of the ingenuity social media platforms display, it can also set these platforms below their competitors.

Similarly to Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat’s service to you, the user experience always changes. Users become smarter and more observant with every post or like they give. Continuous growth and learning from users push platforms toward innovation. In turn, unceasing change keeps users using. This cycle, while never-ending, propels the user experience forward.

Snapchat’s Snap Map not only changes the way we consume news but adds an extra dimension. The function allows users to watch videos from snapchat hot spots. These show anything from a popular sporting event, a tourist location, and most interestingly places where events unfold, all in real time. Hurricane Harvey serves as a great example to how we can use snapchat to gain further insights into the news we receive from television, newspapers, blogs, and other forms of social media. Similar to Twitter, Snapchat’s Snap Map feature gives real time updates of the people living through the events. It also gives the added value of a visual in the form of a video.

Hurricane Harvey Shows us how Useful Snapchat’s Snap Map can be

During Hurricane Harvey Snapchat’s Snap Map marked the location with a “Houston Strong” tab for those who wanted to watch the devastation and the aftermath through the eyes of those living through it. Those who watched during that week saw the evolution of Houston from the hurricane to the beginning of recovery. In the first days users saw strong winds blowing down trees and tearing down anything not firmly planted in the ground. As the first wave of snapchats disappeared, new ones took their place. Not only did we see the flooding take its tolls on peoples homes and belongings but we saw their genuine reactions and emotions. While the news gives facts, shots, and interviews, snapchat takes an unfiltered an unedited collection of stories. This gives a true human perspective unlike any other kind of media. Each story gives a different point of view but also adds to a singular narrative. So many stories showed heartbreak, fear, and uncertainty, but also so many more showed collective hope, community, and strength. Together thousands of individual snapshots created one cohesive and all encompassing story of a city going through devastation and rebuilding.

Through Snapchat’s Snap Map we saw a more authentic view of Hurricane Harvey’s effect on Houston. This feature lends itself to being a valuable tool while learning about events, and allows for current updates from the center of the action. As communicators staying up to date and current on events goes hand in hand with the job. Snapchat’s Snap Map feature allows extra depth to the news we consume in other ways and will in time prove to be an essential piece of any developing story.

There are now new ways for people to see hurricane coverage other than the news. Snapchat provides a tool, called Snap Map, for people to post Snaps that people around the world can search and see. When Snap Maps was initially invented, most people thought it was a little creepy because anyone allowed could see people’s location. Over time the social media tool became utilized in a way that people did not see coming. People around the world can search an event, topic or city to see the related Snaps. After Hurricane Harvey and Irma, it proved Snap Map’s usefulness during hurricanes.

Snap Map’s usefulness during hurricanes was proven successful during Hurricane Harvey and Irma

Coverage of storms is difficult to catch during the heat of it, but Snap Map’s usefulness during hurricanes is the next new way to see storm coverage. Texas and Florida experienced these record breaking hurricanes, which resulted in power outages and dangerous flooding. The people who did not evacuate the affected areas went to Snapchat to show the world the prep before the storm, conditions during the storm and the aftermath.

Since Snap Map was invented to show Snaps from all across the world, it was heavily used during Hurricane Harvey and Irma. Snap Map’s usefulness during hurricanes was an added value for a variety of different reasons.

People in America, as well as, around the world were able to see the impact of Hurricane Harvey and Irma. The residents who evacuated, before the storms made landfall, were able to look at Snap Map in their neighborhood to judge whether or not their house was damaged. Not only is Snap Map’s usefulness during hurricanes interesting for people around the world, but it also helped the government and aid organizations know where to send first responders and supplies.

There was once a time when the extent of Twitter’s functionality was telling friends what you ate for breakfast. Those days are long since over. Social media is saving lives of hurricane victims by providing a means of communication in areas where phone lines have been severed. Continue reading →