Proximity

The UX of AI 

Jan 29, 2018 | ,

Using Google Clips to understand how a human-centered design process elevates artificial intelligence.

As was the case with the mobile revolution, and the web before that, machine learning will cause us to rethink, restructure, and reconsider what’s possible in virtually every experience we build. In the Google UX community, we’ve started an effort called “human-centered machine learning” to help focus and guide that conversation. Using this lens, we look across products to see how machine learning (ML) can stay grounded in human needs while solving for them—in ways that are uniquely possible through ML. 

Source: The UX of AI – Library – Google Design

U.S. to make streaming services pay more for music

Jan 29, 2018 |

US copyright authorities on Saturday decided to increase over the next five years the royalty payments music streaming companies like Spotify and Apple Inc (AAPL.O) must make to songwriters and music publishers. The National Music Publishers Association said the ruling, which has not yet been made public, will require streaming companies to give 15.1 percent of their revenue to songwriters and music publishers. The previous rate was 10.5 percent.

Source: U.S. to make streaming services pay more for music

Why Amazon Alexa is the best way to future-proof your smart home

Jan 28, 2018 | , ,

Amazon is in a better position than any other company to dominate ambient computing, the concept that everything in your life is computerized and intelligent. Amazon’s Alexa platform continues to get better while remaining open to third parties, unlike Apple’s Siri. Buying into Alexa now will future-proof your home.

Source: Why Amazon Alexa is the best way to future-proof your smart home – Business Insider

Google, Please Put Your Clips AI in the Next Pixel Camera 

Jan 27, 2018 | , ,

Clips is basically a GoPro with a clip on the back that can also serve as a stand. The unique part is how Google embedded its machine learning skills directly into the camera, so you don’t actually take pictures with it. Instead, you just put Clips somewhere, then go about your day, and the AI will sit back like a voyeur until it sees the perfect shot, which it will then capture as a brief Motion Photo with ideal composition and a sort-of candid feel that you couldn’t get anywhere else.

Source: Google, Please Put Your Clips AI in the Next Pixel Camera « Android :: Gadget Hacks

Shake-up at Facebook highlights tension in race for AI

Jan 26, 2018 | ,

“Facebook has this amazing business where they don’t even have to troll the Web for content. People just upload their stuff and then they serve it back out with ads attached, and they print money. It’s great to be Facebook,” Domingos said. But its “machine learning has to respond. And if it doesn’t respond, the whole site will be in much worse shape.”

Source: Shake-up at Facebook highlights tension in race for AI – The Washington Post

YouTube Gaming grew its streamer base by 343% in 2017, Twitch by 197% 

Jan 25, 2018 | ,

YouTube Gaming, Google’s rival to game-streaming site Twitch, is starting to pick up traction. According to a new report from Streamlabs, Twitch continues to dominate the live streaming space, but YouTube grew its monthly active streamer base by 343 percent over the course of 2017. Twitch, by comparison, grew 197 percent.

Source: YouTube Gaming grew its streamer base by 343% in 2017, Twitch by 197% | TechCrunch

Beyond Pokémon: Augmented Reality Is a Universal Design for Learning Tool

Jan 24, 2018 | ,

The success of Pokémon Go is demonstrating that augmented reality (AR) is reaching the masses quickly and can be a robust tool to enhance student engagement and learning. Leveraging AR for instructional purposes has the potential to become a powerful medium for Universal Design for Learning (UDL) by providing new tools for multiple means of representation, action and expression, and engagement. One of the advantages of using AR applications and AR platforms is the ability to display context relevant digital information to support students’ needs in real time and in specific contexts. Although many educational AR applications are in their developmental stages, the rapid growth of AR is likely to continue. The examples presented in this article focus on how educators can use mobile devices and AR to apply the principles of UDL. Combining AR with the principles of UDL can help educators create lessons that are accessible, engaging, and powerful for a diverse range of learners.

Source: Beyond Pokémon: Augmented Reality Is a Universal Design for Learning ToolSAGE Open – Zachary Walker, Don D. McMahon, Kara Rosenblatt, Tracy Arner, 2017

Burger King Made This Good But Weird Ad About Net Neutrality 

Jan 24, 2018 | ,

We’re pretty sure their only interest in net neutrality is advertorial, but we’re still clicking.

Source: Burger King Made This Good But Weird Ad About Net Neutrality – Digg

It is the age of brands — or rather, #woke brands, those hyper-aware corporate behemoths with gargantuan marketing departments that see in every social and political cause du jour an opportunity for 15 minutes of web infamy. Net neutrality may seem like a wonky telecom battle with little relevance to a fast-food giant. But it has attracted millions of Americans’ comments and seemingly touched a nerve, particularly among millennials — a fickle crowd that Burger King seeks now to court with its ads.

Source: The curious case of Burger King’s sudden support for net neutrality – Recode

Hip Hop Culture Is Officially Banned From Chinese TV 

Jan 23, 2018 | ,

China is not here for hip hop culture, or at least, that’s what their government made clear recently. According to Time and a Chinese news outlet called Sina, the country’s top media regulator — the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of the People’s Republic of China (SAPPRFT) — is cutting TV’s ties to hip hop. They require that “programs should not feature actors with tattoos [or depict] hip hop culture, sub-culture (non-mainstream culture) and dispirited culture (decadent culture).”

Source: Hip Hop Culture Is Officially Banned From Chinese TV | 92 Q

Snap Makes Its Most Important Design Change

Jan 23, 2018 |

Snap is struggling. Snapchat may have 178 million daily users, but its growth has plateaued while its competitor Instagram continues to expand. As Snap’s stock sinks, the company is trying to address its growth problem. For instance, it has even given up the esoteric, speakeasy-style interface that millennials adored and adopted a more conventional approach to UX that would be more intuitive for anyone to use–especially people over 34, the company hopes.

Now, Snap has announced it will go even further to woo the masses: The company is going to open up the “Discover” contents of its app, even to people who don’t use Snapchat. Starting today, you will be able to share many Snapchat Stories to external social media platforms with a link. On Twitter, that means Snap videos will play natively, right inside the Twitter feed. On most other platforms, or even email and texts, snaps will appear as a link, bringing you to Snapchat’s website to watch the clip.

Source: Snap Makes Its Most Important Design Change

Spotify Has 4 Paths To Profitability, None Are Good For Labels, Artists 

Jan 22, 2018 |

Spotify, which accounts for an estimated 17% of all major label revenue, has rejuvenated the music industry. But it’s own revenue future is far murkier. Spotify, like its competitors, is loosing hundreds of millions each year. And while an eminent public stock listing will replenish reserves, eventually the streamer must become profitable.

Source: Spotify Has 4 Paths To Profitability, None Are Good For Labels, Artists – hypebot

In the battle for the future of voice computers, Google is moving fast — but Amazon is still moving faster

Jan 21, 2018 | ,

  • Google was aggressively pushing its Assistant at CES 2018, with a marketing blitz and a party with a performance by John Legend.

  • Google announced a bunch of new, key partnerships with companies including LG, Sony, and Lenovo to integrate with the Google Assistant.

  • However, Amazon’s Alexa, and its line of Echo smart speakers, still dominate the market, with no signs of slowing down.

Source: Google Assistant versus Amazon Alexa – Business Insider

The New York Times’ stock jumped following Facebook’s “trustworthy” news announcement 

Jan 20, 2018 |

ShoShortly before markets closed yesterday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted that the social media company’s News Feed would prioritize news from sources that are “trustworthy, informative, and local.” Facebook users themselves will be responsible for determining what those are.

Source: The New York Times’ stock jumped following Facebook’s “trustworthy” news announcement – Recode

Differences in age, gender, and income at the top platforms 

Jan 20, 2018 | , ,

  • US Facebook users aged 45-54 are spending more time on Facebook, and represent 21% of the total time spent on the platform, more than any other age group.
  • The age composition of Snapchat users in the US has become more evenly distributed over the past year, and it appears the company is doing a better job of attracting older users.
  • Teens are starting to use a category of social media called “digital hangouts.” These are apps that enable users to video chat with several friends simultaneously. Over 60% of users on Houseparty, one of the most popular digital hangout apps, are under 24 years old.
  • LinkedIn is popular among high-income users. Forty-five percent of US adult internet users with an income higher than $75,000 annually are on LinkedIn, making it more popular among this demographic than Instagram (31%), Pinterest (35%), or Twitter (30%).

Source: THE SOCIAL MEDIA DEMOGRAPHICS REPORT: Differences in age, gender, and income at the top platforms – Business Insider

Why Are Millennials So Into Astrology? 

Jan 17, 2018 |

“Over the past two years, we’ve really seen a reframing of New Age practices, very much geared toward a Millennial and young Gen X quotient,” says Lucie Greene, the worldwide director of J. Walter Thompson’s innovation group, which tracks and predicts cultural trends. Callie Beusman, a senior editor at Broadly, says traffic for the site’s horoscopes “has grown really exponentially.” Stella Bugbee, the president and editor-in-chief of The Cut, says a typical horoscope post on the site got 150 percent more traffic in 2017 than the year before.

Source: Why Are Millennials So Into Astrology? – The Atlantic

Facebook is a ‘living, breathing crime scene,’ says one former tech insider 

Jan 16, 2018 |

With more than 2 billion users, Facebook’s reach now rivals that of Christianity and exceeds that of Islam. However, the network’s laser focus on profits and user growth has come at the expense of its users, according to one former Facebook manager who is now speaking out against the social platform.

“One of the things that I saw consistently as part of my job was the company just continuously prioritized user growth and making money over protecting users,” the ex-manager, Sandy Parakilas, who worked at Facebook for 16 months, starting in 2011, told NBC News. During his tenure at Facebook, Parakilas led third-party advertising, privacy and policy compliance on Facebook’s app platform.

Source: Facebook is a ‘living, breathing crime scene,’ says one former tech insider – NBC News

Lyrics Take Centre Stage In Streaming Music 

Jan 16, 2018 |

Streaming music has put the audience in control, letting music fans choose what, when and where they listen. One of the most dramatic changes that streaming has enabled is the expansion of music from a lean-back, linear experience into something far more engaging and interactive. Now fans lean forward to choose the songs they want, build playlists, comment and share. Lyrics are centre stage in this shift, transforming from static-print-hidden-away-inside-album-sleeve notes, to a dynamic extension of the music itself. Lyrics permeate the streaming music ecosystem, from websites, through YouTube and Vevo to the streaming services themselves.

Source: Free Report: Lyrics Take Centre Stage In Streaming Music | Music Industry Blog

Facebook Couldn’t Handle News. Maybe It Never Wanted To.

Jan 13, 2018 |

In many ways, Facebook’s planned changes to News Feed are a retreat from the online public square the company helped create. They’re a tacit admission that the company’s great news experiment — which made it one of the most successful publishers in the world — failed. And now Facebook wants to go back to an idealized safe space, free of hyperpartisan pages, misinformation, and fake news. But when you’re home to nearly 2 billion humans, no change is ever simple; Facebook moved fast, broke things, and changed the way that the world produces, consumes, and shares information. And changing course more than a decade into one of the most disruptive social experiments ever might prove more than just a little difficult.

Source: Facebook Couldn’t Handle News. Maybe It Never Wanted To.