RODE have made a name for themselves manufacturing microphones and some of their range work well if you need sound for videos or live streams and video conferencing. Now, for the first time, Rode is getting into headphones. Their first set of headphones are aimed at high end users involved in ‘critical listening’ such as mixing and mastering. Thanks to podnews.net for breaking the story. Some new options for YouTube users if your channel has more than 1 thousand subscribers - a ‘Go Live Together...
Mar 30, 2022•1 min
canva.com is one of the most widely used online design tools in the world. The Australian company launched in 2012 and has grown quickly over the last 10 years. It lets you make graphics, presentations and videos simply and quickly - drag and drop - you don’t need complex design skills. Some people think that makes the designs look a bit repetitive and it’s hard to create a truly original look in canva. Many professionals will prefer tools like Adobe Photoshop…BUT with the amount of images many ...
Mar 24, 2022•1 min
‘Throwback Thursday’ is an internet trend where people post pictures and video clips from years gone by on their social media feeds. Lots of people take part from businesses to individuals and celebrities. It can be fascinating to see how technology looked in years gone by, to relive memories or to cringe at some of the fashion choices. Throwback Thursday also provides some escape from some of the negativity you’ll find on the internet and one of my favourite accounts to look at for this sort of...
Mar 24, 2022•1 min
I’ve got some new televisions to tell you about today, from LG. The new G2 Gallery Edition id the premium model - these are OLED televisions with increased brightness on the previous model and wall mounts in the box. There’s also an improved stand if you’d rather not mount them. The new range brings down the weight and features a thinner bezel. Sizes range from 55 inches all the way up to 97 inches. If you need something a little smaller than the C2 Series might be more appropriate - the company...
Mar 22, 2022•1 min
The head of Instagram has been giving more details about how Hashtags work on the platform and the impact they have on the number of people who see each post. Adam Nosseri says Instagram’s algorithm doesn’t automatically favour hashtags and push them out to people - although there is evidence they did at one time - instead, he says they’re used to categorise content and people interested in that subject matter will deliberately try to find it - resulting in increased reach. Instagram allows 30 h...
Mar 21, 2022•1 min
It’s been a long-time coming but the new version of Apple’s mobile operating system finally allows iPhone users to unlock their phones with Face ID while wearing a COVID protection mask. The feature is included in iOS 15.4 which is available for the iPhone 12 and onwards. The South By South West conference is taking place in Austin, Texas this week - it runs until Sunday. It’s the 35 annual event and while it has its roots in music and film, technology plays a big part in the discussions and sho...
Mar 17, 2022•1 min
Accessibilty is essential in today’s digital world. If you have a website, have you considered if it’s easy for people with visual impairments to access? Have you used colours and fonts which are difficult to read? Or challenging language that might be hard for someone to understand if English isn’t their first language? Technology is incredible and screen reader software helps people who are blind or partially sighted people navigate their way around websites. But that’s only possible if the we...
Mar 16, 2022•1 min
Digital has not been kind to bank giant TSB. It blamed a duplicate payment error on its IT systems once again. Thousands of customers were affected and found themselves paying for things twice. Some were left with little or no money in their accounts leaving some stranded or unable to pay for goods at the shops. After almost a whole day of uncertainty, TSB announced late in the afternoon that it would refund everyone affected overnight. WWE is the latest big brand to get involved in NFTs or ‘non...
Mar 15, 2022•1 min
This week is British Science Week so we thought we’d take a look at the impact of digital on science. The first point that catches my eye is that British Science Week is in fact 10 days, which started on Friday and runs until this coming Sunday. Keep in touch with all that’s going on on Twitter @scienceweekUK and the official website at britishscienceweek.org Your local schools, libraries, charities and businesses will have special events and activities for everyone to take part in - one of the ...
Mar 14, 2022•1 min
Mar 13, 2022•1 min
Shopping on Twitter is now a thing as the social network makes further moves into its e commerce strategy. 2022 seems to be the year Amazon faces some tough competition with the social networks all wanting to make it easier for us to buy things from businesses using the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. Social commerce is the battle ground. Twitter Shops is described as an ‘experiment’ on Twitter’s official blog. The feature is free and lets retailers choose up to 50 products ...
Mar 10, 2022•1 min
Some brands are great on social media when it comes to showing awareness and support for a particular cause. Others look a bit desperate and crass and sometimes even attract allegations of tokenism. International Women’s Day earlier this week is one example and some companies even fell victim to the Gender Pay Gap Bot. This is a Twitter account, set to find companies using social media to talk up some of their inclusion and diversity credentials but then alongside their original message, adds de...
Mar 09, 2022•1 min
Twitter users…if you’ve ever taken to Twitter to share details of a mistake you made - for example putting diesel in the petrol tank or salt instead of sugar in your coffee…it could prove to be a lucrative move. We’ve discovered that Specscavers is going round looking for ‘blunder’ Tweets and then paying the original composer of the Tweet if they give permission for Specsavers to turn it into an ad. Dan Beasley Harling, who appeared on the Great British Bake Off a few years ago is one example, w...
Mar 08, 2022•1 min
Unique content that people would pay for is the holy grail in today’s content driven digital economy…and podcasts are at the heart of it. Big tech companies are searching for the next Joe Rogan and they’re prepared to pay a lot of money to secure their services and tie them into exclusive deals. Expect to see podcasts given a more prominent position inside streaming services like Amazon Prime and Netflix, and all the main social media platforms are trying to think of ways to integrate podcasts i...
Mar 07, 2022•1 min
Listen up if you own a Fitbit Ionic Watch - the fitness trackers are the subject of a voluntary product recall after reports the battery could overheat and cause serious burns. The company is now owned by Google and says it sold 1.7 million of the Fitbit ionic devices around the world between 2017 and 2020. The company says 0.01% of the units sold suffered overheating but it’s acting out of an abundance of caution. Anyone who purchased a Fitbit Ionic can receive a £225 refund and a discount on a...
Mar 06, 2022•1 min
Ultra short social media videos are getting longer and at the same time, expect mainstream TV shows to get shorter! TikTok has announced it’ll soon permit video uploads of up to 10 minutes in duration, potentially paving the way for a whole new genre of entertainment. The feature will roll out to all users in the next few weeks and is set to heap pressure on YouTube which until now has had the longer form video space all to itself. BBC 1 recently showed a short form series called ‘Cheaters’, an ...
Mar 03, 2022•1 min
Businesses and public sector organisations around the UK are being warned to be extra vigilant when it comes to cyber security as the threat of an online attack sparked by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine intensifies. The National Cyber Security Centre issued guidance, saying there was a heightened risk of malicious cyber incidents overseas which could have an impact on UK institutions, services and systems. It did stress there was no knowledge of any current specific threats to UK organi...
Feb 28, 2022•1 min
The major social media platforms have been awash with messages of support for the people of Ukraine across the weekend with some users changing their profile picture to the Ukranian flag and celebrities ditching their usual selfies to highlight charities working with those affected by the conflict and sharing details of how to donate to the relief effort. There are also reports of millions of pounds worth of anonymous donations being made to the Ukranian military via Bitcoin. Several YouTube cha...
Feb 27, 2022•1 min
If you’re looking for some good accounts to follow on TikTok - the Met Office channel is probably quite useful just now. For laughs, check out Canadian star Call Me Kris who has more than 42 million followers for her sketches with a unique range of characters she all plays herself. Dr Julie Smith is a British psychologist who’s gained a huge following and a lot of praise for the way she brings mental health and particularly anxiety to live with simple actionable tips, aimed at the TikTok audienc...
Feb 24, 2022•1 min
‘Reels’ are the ultra short 15 second video clips originally launched by Instagram as part of their efforts to combat the rise of TikTok. They’ve been a huge success, so much so that Reels have now been extended to Facebook. So prepare to have your feed filled up with friends and family members as well as businesses you follow sharing video clips of them doing dances, pranks and other content which I guess you’ll either love or hate. I can’t see Reels being particularly popular on Facebook - I t...
Feb 23, 2022•1 min
Blogging is a really enjoyable hobby, a fun way to express yourself creatively and, if you put the work in, could even generate some income or become a whole new career. It’s easy to start, using a free platform such as blogger.com or wordpress.com and you can write about anything you like. There are successful blogs on almost any niche you can think of - from hillwalking to board games from the 1980s, personal fitness, health and wellbeing, pop culture and much, much more. I believe everyone ha...
Feb 22, 2022•1 min
Former US President Donald Trump’s new social media network has gone live in the United States. The ‘Truth Social’ app was developed by Trump’s new media company after he was banned by Twitter last year amid claims he was inciting violence during the Capitol Hill riots. The platform is available to iOS users in America and there are various reports of users experiencing technical problems. If reading novels is your thing then you might find an e-reader a better option than your phone. This year ...
Feb 21, 2022•1 min
We’re fast approaching a situation where webcams are built into our everyday lives and no longer require logging into a computer or even using a smartphone app to access them. Facebook Portal is already a feature in some households and now a new Sony Bravia television comes with a camera perched on top of it. The XR A95K recognises where you’re sitting when you’re watching TV and adjusts the sound and picture to give the best experience. It also lets you start a video call at the touch of a butt...
Feb 20, 2022•1 min
Social media video clips are getting shorter and shorter and now YouTube is pushing its ‘Shorts’ feature more prominently. Channels will include a new area for short clips, of up to 60 seconds in duration. The advantage YouTube has over TikTok and Instagram is since it’s owned by Google, ‘Shorts’ could be indexed by the search giant and made to appear on the front page of the Google search listings. As the ultra short video phenomenal grows, it’s only a matter of time until mainstream broadcast ...
Feb 18, 2022•1 min
The weather is dominating much of the conversation at the moment with #stormdudley trending across the UK. Severe winds and driving rain led to some dramatic images and video clips being shared across social media. One of the most shared shots was taken by photographer @peter_j_byrne and shows an enormous wave crashing into the seafront at Blackpool. Remember Storm Eunice is up next and the weather disruption is far from over. Facebook’s news feed will now be called simply ‘feed’, probably due t...
Feb 17, 2022•1 min
Do you work in an environment where there are lots of presentations and PowerPoints? One way to liven it all up is to explore the world of Pecha Kucha. This is a Japanese presentation technique where the speaker is limited to 20 slides which display for 20 seconds each and autoplay. This forces the presenter to be extremely well organised and to keep up otherwise they’ll get entirely tied in knots. For the audience, it’s great fun and means meetings are highly focussed with only the absolute pri...
Feb 16, 2022•1 min
The landline phone is on borrowed time and if you’re with one of the major networks such as BT or Virgin Media you might have received a letter telling you to get ready for the change. The old copper phone network will be completely switched off by the end of 2025 but many customers are being encouraged to make the change sooner. The important thing to keep in mind is that if you find yourself buying a new landline handset anytime from now on, make sure you get one that’s compatible with ‘digita...
Feb 15, 2022•1 min
Watch out for romance scams this Valentine’s Day with criminals targeting vulnerable singles on social media. More than 304 million dollars was lost to romance fraud in the US last year - victims looking for relationships are targeted by confidence tricksters who strike up a relationship with them and then claim to be ill or need money for travel. The situation is so serious that TikTok has issued a warning to its users to be extra careful, you can find out more under the hashtag BeCyberSmart an...
Feb 14, 2022•1 min
Pinterest must be the nicest social network, free from much of the bullying, abuse and vanity to be found on certain other sites. And it has a much smaller but very loyal user base. Now it’s holding a virtual event, the ‘Pinterest Presents’ conference on March 10th where it’ll show off some of its latest work around shopping - social commerce - where people buy things direct from within social media sites is going to be one of the big business battlegrounds this year and I think Pinterest could ...
Feb 11, 2022•1 min
Why are some media outlets suggesting Facebook and Instagram might shut down across Europe? I have to say I can’t see this ever happening and I’m convinced a compromise will be reached but there does seem to be some substance to the stories. Meta is the new name for Facebook’s parent company and it’s determined to overcome a ruling that prevents it from processing data from users in based in the EU on its servers based in the United States. In comments made in a report to the US Securities and E...
Feb 10, 2022•1 min
