📡 Do you even care about others' 💕💔?!
Welcome to this Sunday’s Pulse!
Hope you and all your loved ones are safe and healthy from this damn Coronavirus.
Now, let’s just wash hour hands and jump straight in… it’s a long issue…
— 𝕭𝖊𝖓 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 [ 𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖘𝖕𝖊𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖛𝖊 𝖎𝖝 ]
🗞 NEWS
The EU Commission staff were told to switch to Signal from WhatsApp [Politico] — Signal, developed in 2013 by privacy activists, is supported by a nonprofit foundation that has the backing of WhatsApp founder Brian Acton, who had left the company in 2017 after clashing with Facebook’s leadership.
Google is exploring the use of machine learning and AI to optimise the layout of machine learning chips [NextPlatform] — and it’s super smart!
Apple disabled the iOS developer account of Clearview AI for using the Developer Enterprise Program to distribute its app among its reported 2,200+ customers [BuzzFeedNews] — remember the story of Clearview AI on the Daily podcast a couple of weeks ago? No!? Really!? Listen to it here.
Twitter verified the account of a fake candidate for Congress created by a 17-year-old to test its election integrity efforts; the account is now suspended [CNN] — I mean… 😂
Confirmed: LinkedIn Stories are coming [LinkedIn] — and not Twitter… yet!
🦠 CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)
Organisers announce that this year’s Game Developers Conference has been postponed from March to summer amid COVID-19 concerns [Polygon]
Amazon restricts employee travel in US, Google restricts travel to Italy, Iran, Japan, and South Korea as a Google employee in Zurich is diagnosed with COVID-19 [Verge]
Amazon says it has barred 1M+ products from sale in recent weeks that had inaccurately claimed to cure or defend against the coronavirus [Reuters]
Facebook cancels its F8 developer conference amid growing concerns around COVID-19, says it is planning “locally hosted events” and livestreaming content instead [CNet]
Ex-Apple employees and supply chain experts say preparation for new iPhone production, which usually starts early in the year, may be delayed due to COVID-19 [Reuters]
Samsung temporarily shuts down a factory in South Korea due to Coronavirus [TNW]
🧠 INSIGHTS
Caring about others - Credit: Toimetaja tõlkebüroo on Unsplash
It’s hard to care about other people’s feelings online
From the coronavirus to mass shootings, things don’t feel real on the internet!
The internet is so big. Yesterday I saw a javelina running in Tuscon, AZ, set to “Running Up That Hill”; today, I saw merch for SARS-CoV-2, the name for the virus that causes COVID-19 — what we’ve all been referring to, humorously or not, as “the coronavirus.” It’s really only possible to keep up with what’s going on online in your particular corner of the web, though I do think it’s fractal and that local dynamics are the same as the system-wide ones.
An interesting piece by Bijan Stephen on the Verge.
📊 STATISTICS
Top Podcast Publishers - Credit: Statista
The World’s Top Podcast Publishers
Reporting strong results across the board in its latest quarterly earnings release, the music streaming giant Spotify gave a special mention to an entertainment trend which has really taken off recently. In a letter to shareholders it wrote: “We have seen early indications that our investments in podcasts are having a positive impact on conversion of free to paid users”. Spotify isn’t the only company to see the benefits of the medium, either.
As the latest data from Podtrac shows, publishers are pulling in huge audiences from around the globe with their podcast content. In January alone, NPR had 185 million unique downloads and streams, while iHeartRadio hit 177.7 million.
from Statista.
I 💛 podcasting & I 💛 stats… you have no idea how much I enjoyed this post! 😂
Consumers' Expectations Regarding Their Data - Credit: MarketingCharts
7 in 10 Consumers Believe They Should Be Compensated for Their Personal Data
Four out of 5 US adults believe it’s very important that their data is kept private. However, far fewer (29%) marketing executives agree to the same extent, per a survey of 2,000 US adults and 500 marketing executives by Braze.
Americans are feeling less confident in the security of their personal information than they did 5 years ago. Amidst that backdrop, more than 9 in 10 (94%) adult consumers surveyed for this latest report say they expect companies to tell them something about the use of their data.
Read more on MarketingCharts.
📱 TOOLS & APPS
MorningBrew: one of my favourite daily business newsletters.
Definitely recommended
AI Image Enlarger: Enlarge photos/images without losing quality [iOS | Android | macOS | Windows | WebApp]
Open Peeps: A hand-drawn illustration library.
Their website was up when I check, but down when I’m writing this… Hopefully, it’ll be up again by the time you click! Otherwise, try later — it’s worth it.
🔍 SPOTTED
Spotify is working on “Follow Feed” of “New releases from artists you follow and more” https://t.co/8DdoUXtseq
this new facebook app menu design looks... ________ https://t.co/IrZ7k46KPz
Twitter is working on implementing Conversation Controls in the web app https://t.co/DHQfHbxJt1
🎧 AUDIO STIMULATION
Creatures Of Habit - Hidden Brain
At the beginning of the year, many of us make resolutions for the months to come. We resolve to work out more, procrastinate less, or save more money. Though some people stick with these aspirations, many of us fall short. This week, psychologist Wendy Wood shares what researchers have found about how to build good habits — and break bad ones.
It was a super interesting episode and I learned a lot from you — I think you will too.
🐦 TWEETS of the WEEK
On Facebook everyone pretends to be friends.
On Twitter everyone pretends to be an expert.
On LinkedIn everyone pretends to be professional.
On Instagram everyone pretends to be happy.
In real life...
Been advised to cut down on my
screen time per day so am reducing
it by 50%. It's causing a few issues
but I'm adapting. https://t.co/kYNhPVhpE7
me when daylight savings begins and it’s 7pm with the sun still out https://t.co/Rhqlrb1nd6
This Khole x Febreze sponsored post is....interesting. Few big mistakes in the execution. Let's look at them. https://t.co/kK8DaqaJAu
Press F to pay respects https://t.co/eTMxuctLFZ
😂 FUN STUFF
No he didn’t. Did he. 🤢 https://t.co/I6UFAalAgG
👆no fucking way! 😳🤢🤮😱 🤯
😂 but click on the photo... there's more - Credit: LOLNEIN.com
That's all for this week...
If you have already shared Pulse with a friend, thank you! If you haven’t, let me know why — or just do it. You’re smart; you know how.
Ciao