Powerful Communication Podcast

Can concrete go digital?!

Well, sort of.

A platform is using artificial intelligence and machine learnings to make the use of concrete more efficient.

It's responsible for about 8 percent of all global carbon emissions - the process of making it and moving it around uses large amounts of energy.

Cloud Cycle is a new start up which uses sensors in the truck to monitor fresh ready mix concrete, ensuring it's delivered in the most efficient way and reducing waste.

Some interesting news from the financial technology sector.

Currensea is a debit card that removed foreign exchange fees for international payments - it's just received 4 and a half million pounds in funding to fuel expansion plans.

And the Mumsnet website, famous for its parenting forums and blogs has partnered with a digital bank and pans to offer financial services from next year.

I'd expect to see more of this through the financial crisis - anyone who's built up a large audience could raise revenue from passing on deals and discounts to visitors but how to do it while keeping your independence and credibility is the challenge.

'Moonshot' is the word used in the tech industry for huge, innovative projects aimed at finding the next big leap forward for society.

Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook have all had experimental projects or innovation prizes in the past..but now it looks the the Big Tech Moonshot era is over with the companies pulling back, and tightening their budgets.

Focussing on their core mission seems to be the buzzword - whether that's messaging apps, advertising or, artificial intelligence.

On the subject of AI the European Commission is proposing new rules to help people harmed by digital devices like drones, self driving cars and voice assistants.

The plans would set limit on how the machines could be used and would make it easier for victims to sue if they're harmed by the technology.

And an interesting new Kindle from Amazon - it's called the Kindle Scribe - not only can you read with it, you can also write on it too - the company says it's ideal for note taking and scribbles which until now have been quite difficult to do on tablets and e-readers.

Google is to close down its cloud gaming service Stadia in January.

The company announced the move - which was widely expected - in a blog post.

It's promised to refund all hardware and software purchases made through the Google Store and users will be able to continue playing games until the service closes.

Google says the service hadn't gained the popularity it hoped for but that the system and concept had been proven to work and would be redeployed elsewhere.

Yesterday we talked about Netflix planning to stream games - I don't know who they'll partner with but Google certainly sees opportunities to let other providers use its infrastructure to stream games, without the need for a console.

Liz Truss was all over social media yesterday with clips from her local radio interviews shared widely.

The Prime Minister's strategy of lots of individual interviews rather than one big national piece backfired as users shared clips of tricky moments from the interviews, some going so far as to make up compilations of the best/worst bits.

Finally TikTok has reported a huge jump in the number of fake accounts on its platform.

It's also revealed it removed 113 million video clips this spring which broke its rules - this is TikTok trying to show that it is capable of policing the platform itself and perhaps doesn't need regulation.

Could we end up playing video games on Netflix in the future?

The streaming giant is setting up its own games studio, which will be based in Finland.

There are more than 220 million Netflix subscribers around the world but the company has lost users and revenue since the end of the pandemic.

It's also facing competition from movie studios launching their own streaming services and taking some of their films and TV shows OFF Netflix.

Investing in its own content is part of the solution but it's also slowly but surely been doing more with video games - it's bought a couple of small studios already and is thought to be planning more games based on its TV shows.

Facebook owner Meta has taken action to shut down two misinformation operations based in Russia and China which had aimed to use Facebook and Instagram to influence public opinion about the invasion of Ukraine and other political issues.

Meta says the operation began in May and involved a network of more than 60 websites mocked up to look like real news outlets and then used Facebook pages to spread the links.

This is one of the risks when so many of us get our news from an algorithm based system.

Powerful comments from Apple chief Tim Cook who's criticised his industry and his own company over the lack of women in leadership roles in the sector.

In an interview with the BBC's Zoe Kleinman, Cook said there's no excuse for the lack of women at the table at the world's tech firms and says technology won't achieve nearly what it could achieve without a more diverse workforce.

He also spoke about the virtual worlds known as the Metaverse and predicts in the future people will wonder how we lived without augmented reality.

Artificial Intelligence is also in the news right now - with TikTok creator Milan Jaram reimagining Simpsons characters using AI and putting them into unlikely situations, such as the Simpsons characters posing as Calvin Klein models.

And some interesting advice on the USA Today website sharing ideas to give your phone a new lease of life - if you can't afford an upgrade but want to improve its performance.

The article explains how to replace the battery on some models, how to free up memory space, make it run faster and remember many phone providers will offer trade in deals - so that new one you've got your eye on might not be as out of reach as you think, as always - shop around and get the deal that works for you.

A change on Instagram and I think it's one most users will welcome - videos under 60 seconds using the 'Stories' feature will no longer be split into 15 second segments.

Up until now there was a split second gap between the segments - that's going to end, making for a more seamless viewing experience.

TikTok meanwhile sees Google in its sights and wants to become the starting point for users looking to discover something on the internet.

In short, TikTok is becoming a search engine.

As part of the shift, you'll now have 2 thousand 200 characters in the description section of videos, making it easier to describe what your video is about and making it easier for people to find.

Previously the character limit was just 300 characters.

And while we often focus on high tech social media scams and internet safety I have been hearing about loads of scams through landline phones.

Either referring to missed online shopping deliveries, vaccine appointments, or IT problems….be especially wary of anything asking you to press a particular number on your keypad or to phone a number to put things right.

If you're not absolutely certain it's genuine, just hang up.

Are you using Emojis all wrong?

Research out today from language learning platform Preply claims young people have developed their own, secret Emoji language.

Apparently using a crying laughing emoji is old hat now and all the kids use the 'skull' emoji to show something is hilarious, 'so funny I could die'.

An emoji of a goat means 'Greatest Of All Time', clapping hands can be used in a sarcastic way, answering back to criticism, the information desk person is often used as a shrug, like 'who knows' or 'I don't care' and a bee is often used to refer to pop star Beyonce.

So now you know.

domo.com have published their annual 'every minute of the day' internet data infographic.

Among the findings - shoppers spend almost half a million dollars on Amazon every minute, there are 1.1 million swipes on Tinder, 90 million dollars of Cryptocurrency are purchased and more than 230 million emails sent.

It's the 10th year the data has been released and there are some fascinating comparisons between how things were at the beginning and how they are today.

As the nights draw in remember technology can help with the smooth running of a secure home.

Smart bulbs can be set via an app to automatically come on at dusk to give the impression someone is in.

Just make sure they're compatible with any other smart devices you might have in the home - many - but not all - of the modern brands are inter compatible so you won't need a 'bridge' to connect to your router - but be sure to read the small print and if you've any doubt, ask the retailer.

Some will also work with a voice assistant so you won't even need to use your phone to turn the lights on and off.

There are smart outdoor security options too, like the Google Nest range of cameras and Amazon's 'Ring' doorbells.

Be sure to comply with privacy rules - you're supposed to put a sticker on your window telling people they may be on film and make sure any video or audio recording devices are set to only capture people who are within the boundary of your property.

Again, read the small print and follow the manufacturers instructions.

Almost every day now we're seeing articles about the decline of Facebook and its parent company Meta.

The latest comes from the Wall Street Journal which reports Instagram Reels are failing to have the impact the company hoped for and are already in decline.

The feature was launched in 2019 in response to the rise of TikTok.

It appears to have done nothing to slow the rise of TikTok, the newspaper claims it's so bad Meta has now stopped reporting how long people are spending engaging with Instagram.

TikTok seems to be on an unstoppable trajectory to becoming the number 1 social media platform, the Queen's funeral was live streamed on TikTok yesterday - it's now about much more than simply entertainment.

I think this will impact traditional television - many people sit and watch TikTok in the evening the way they used to watch mainstream television - but there's far fewer adverts and it's an individual experience rather than a shared one.

Could there be a day where there's a 'best of' TikTok channel on TV, and will the company keep advertising light or try to cash in on the popularity it's enjoying?

The start of the college and university term means now is a great time to get a deal on a laptop if you're looking for one.

Many of the major retailers have discount deals on some of the big brands, including Chromebooks.

High quality graphics cards, webcams and processor speeds are what pushes up the price - if you're not going to use it for playing games then you're likely to be able to get what you need at a much lower budget.

I caught an interesting article in the Sunday Times over the weekend suggesting Facebook's taking a hit as lots of 3rd party organisations drop the 'log in with Facebook' button.

All manner of websites offered it as a convenient way of accessing your account but more and more appear to be dropping it because of privacy concerns.

And a new feature for TikTok users.

TikTok NOW will prompt uses to share a selfie or video using the front and back camera at a random time each day, there's going to be a separate TikTok Now app with additional privacy for Under 16s.