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 button…or by using your voice as it integrates with Google Voice.     And if voice is your thing, Apple is offering a cut price Apple Music subscription at just £4.99 a month…the catch is you can only control the songs it plays by using your voice. Might get a bit irritating if you like listening to music on public transport, then everyone around you will hear what you’re asking it to play.     And lots of new followers over the weekend for @evemuirhead and her GB women’s curling team who took Olympic gold.    Eve has shared an incredible picture of her team jumping in celebration right in front of the Olympic Rings.    

Comsteria Podcast

Cheap Apple Music...but only if you talk to it!

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 television starts showing that format.     If you’ve never used ‘dark mode’ on your phone or computer it might be worth trying it. Many who have will tell you it’s the best decision they made and they’ll never go back.   Fans of dark mode say it’s easier on their eyes, if you’re prone to reading on screen at night or during low light it will reduce glare and makes your battery last longer.   Dive into settings and turn dark mode on to try it and it’s also available within particular software, platforms and individual websites.   Once again the weather is likely to take centre stage today with Storm Eunice expected to cause serious disruption. There’s a red weather warning in place for parts of the south of England, amber through the rest of the country and yellow across much of Scotland.   Remember the Met Office has a terrific, award winning TikTok channel, find it @metoffice and the official website, metoffice.gov.uk.   For unofficial, amateur weather discussion you might like Windy Wilson Weather on Facebook. 

Why you should try 'dark mode', will 'Shorts' come to TV?

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 to the fact that there’s a lot more that ‘news’ in it.     I’m not convinced but researchers at Gartner believe within 4 years, 25% of us will use the meta verse for at least an hour every day to buy things, work, socialise or be entertained.   The suggestion seems to be that rather than shops having a simple website, they’ll offer a more immersive, virtual reality experience so it’ll look and feel like you’re walking round the store, rather than browsing a website.   Of course the technology geeks see this brave new world as a licence to print money so it’s in their interests to make us all thing it’s going to catch on.   Here’s one for music fans - Apple has bought an artificial intelligence company that’s working on technology that would make songs sound different depending on where you listen to them.   So for example a song sounding mellow when you wake up in the morning but becoming heavier and with more drums as you walk into your local gym. And within an exercise session, new music could be generated depending on how fast you’re moving.

Storm Dudley trends, Apple buys AI music company.

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 priority information coming across.   Well this coming Saturday is International Pecha Kucha Day.   A diverse range of special guests will be taking part from around the world - organisers are calling it a 24 hour worldwide celebration of creativity, optimism and love - find out more at pechakucha.com   It’s free to watch the sessions and you’re even invited to share your own Pecha Kucha through social media using the hashtag ipk2022     Zoom and Teams get much of the attention when it comes to webinars but Google Meet might be worth another look.   It integrates very easily with Google Mail and Calendar, there’s nothing to download and if you’ve got files already stored on Google Drive it’s seamless to share them with participants through the life chat or to drop them into the presentation itself.   The system looks deceptively simple which leads some users to think it doesn’t have the more advanced functions of its competitors - but it often does - even down to the virtual backgrounds and generating captions.

What Is Pecha Kucha? Is Google Meet any good?

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 ‘digital voice’ or ‘IP voice’ or VOIP.   That means the phone handset will plug into your WiFI router and the same goes for any answering machine service you might use.   The major companies should be providing guidance on where to buy compatible equipment and what to do if you don’t have wifi or even broadband internet at all.   Special arrangements will be put in place for vulnerable customers and there are issues to resolve around battery backups because landline phones relying on the internet won’t work at all in a power cut or if your internet goes down.   No-one knows exactly how those issues will be resolved or who qualifies as ‘vulnerable’ and it’s important to stress nothing is being switched off right now. It’s just about awareness.   Sp speak to your telephone providers and there’s also some good impartial advice at which.co.uk   Finally a quick teaser for you - how many Google searches do you think are conducted every day?   Latest figures from Internet Live Stats claim the answer is 8.5 billion.

The end is in sight for the landline phone, how many searches on Google each day?

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 and remember in the UK you can report cyber fraud to the national reporting centre that’s at www.actionfraud.police.uk       Apple has finally taken action over an issue with its AirTag tracking devices which had seen them misused by stalkers.   Now your phone will tell you if there’s an unknown AirTag tracker in the vicinity and it will make it beep loudly so you can quickly find where it is.       And while the Rams and the Bengals contested last night’s Super Bowl, one  NFL star is putting his face to an innovative online learning platform aiming to do for education what Netflix has done for movies and what Peloton did for fitness.    Emile Learning is backed by Atlanta Falcon’s linebacker Brandon Copeland who delivers a course on financial literacy on the platform.

AirTag stalking issue, Valentine's Day online romance scams.

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 do quite well out of it.     Nintendo held a live event this week to highlight some of their upcoming games and new features.    Among the talking points - Super Mario is getting a football game called Mario Strikers, Battle League, out on June 10th.   A revamped Mario Kart 8 Deluxe  promises a range of updates - new courses designed to breathe new life into the game will be released in waves over the next 2 years, starting on March 18th.   And the popular sports game Wii Sports will return for the Nintendo Switch - Switch Sports is out at the end of April.   Finally the internet is an absolute battleground with companies selling stuff in time for Valentine’s Day.   From lingerie to virtual gifts and digital cards there’s plenty going on - but with the day itself on Monday you’ve still got the weekend to get things right in the real world!

Super Mario gets football game, Mario Kart revamped, Pinterest announces conference.

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 Exchange Commission, Meta watts that if new arrangements aren’t put in place it would ‘probably’ not be able to offer many of its significant products and services within the EU.     Galaxy phone maker Samsung has been talking up its commitment to sustainability with a new range of phones which are made with recycled materials including water bottles and fishing nets.   To coincide with safer internet day earlier this week - Some fascinating discussion on social media with users sharing how much ‘screen time’ they spent using their phone - a rough average seems to be about 6 hours although some of that could include listening to radio or audio books where you’re not actually looking at the screen.   #screentime #eyecare and #putitaway are worth a look if you’re interested.

Is Facebook really going to shut down in Europe?

Have you ever visited someone else’s website and wondered how they built it?   If it’s built using the Wordpress system, it should be easy to find out.   Visit whatwpthemeisthat.com and type in the address for the website you’re interested in.   It should tell you what theme the website was built with and sometimes additional details including some extra plug ins and features it has.   That’s whatwpthemeisthat.com   Lego is making a big splash on social media this week with its brick by brick version of the new McLaren Formula 1 car.   F1 driver and long time Lego fan Lando Norris is appearing in a series of promotions for the company.     Diego the black and white great dane dog has been trending the last 24 hours - he’s a big lad 15 stone, 6 feet tall and often mistaken for a cow.   Twitter account @myldn featured the pet as he went around the capital with his owner and won an army of fans.   And if the current state of politics has got you feeling a bit fed up you might find some light relief in the form of @jonathanpienews   The satirical news reporter is the new UK correspondent for the New York Times, helping transatlantic audiences make sense of what’s going on over here.

Jonathan Pie joins New York Times, how to find what theme a website is built with.

2022 looks certain to be the year of the cost of living squeeze and as we look for ways to save some money, technology will be top of many people’s lists.   Look across the video streaming services and music platforms you pay and consider if you’re paying for the same thing twice.   For example, some mobile phone contracts come with access to Apple Music or Spotify already bundled in.   There can be some crossover between Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime and services like Sky Movies and Virgin Media. When it comes to sport, are you really using the subscriptions you have or might it be better value simply to pay as you go when there’s something you really want to see.   If you are completely committed to a platform and really wouldn’t want to be without it then make sure your loyalty is rewarded - either by paying for a full year upfront which often leads to decent savings, or perhaps threaten to leave and see if you can get a better deal than the one you’re on.   Around the web of course there are many deals and discount sites with advice from the likes of moneysavingexpert.com and deals platforms like GroupOn and ItIsOn.   And a quick heads up - Amazon Prime which bundles together deliveries and some music and video streaming - has just increased its prices in America, by 17%.   If it does the same here, the monthly price would jump from 7.99 to 9 pounds 34.

Amazon Prime price hike, technology and the cost of living squeeze.

The smart light bulb market is expected to quadruple by the end of this decade. Experts believe it could be worth 11 billion US dollars by 2030.   The latest products have a range of features - letting you choose colours, patterns and setting up schedules.   You can control the lighting from a smartphone app or via your voice.   It’s around £20 for a pack of 2 smart lightbulbs.   That’s a fair bit more than a standard LED bulb but they should last between 10 and 15 years.   One thing to watch with smart lightbulbs is they do rely on your wifi internet connection and in some cases can cause conflicts with other devices on your network.   It’s worth checking with your internet service provider as they might have some guidance on how to set things up correctly.   The first generation of smart bulbs used an internet hub to connect to your router - more modern ranges don’t and you only require the bulbs themselves.   So make sure you read the instructions on the box before you buy.

Smart Lightbulbs Explained

Just days after the release of research showing Facebook’s continued social media dominance we now have numbers from Facebook itself showing the first drop in the number of people using it every day for 18 years.   It’s a small drop, from 1.930 billion to 1.929 billion but it’s sent shares in the parent company tumbling and boss Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged the impact of rivals such as TikTok and YouTube.   But is it younger audiences and cooler platforms or is it a knock on effect from the row about Facebook’s attitude towards privacy? Is it that users don’t like Facebook and what it stands for, rather than simply the platform itself?   It’ll be interesting to see if this is a wider downward trend or if the numbers bounce back up next time.   It’s still making more money though with total revenues up a touch on the previous period.   And how about something light and fluffy for the weekend..if you don’t follow Thoughts of Dog on Twitter you really ought to. With 3.7 million followers each tweet is carefully composed as though it came from inside the mind of an energetic, playful family pet dog.   It even has its own calendar. Find it @dog_feelings   And the Winter Olympics get underway in Beijing today.    A-Team star Mr T has been sharing his support for the USA curling team on Twitter.   Find key moments from the games right on the Google homepage just search ‘winter olympics.’

Facebook's numbers drop, is this the cutest account on all of Twitter? Mr T and the Winter Olympics

How would you fancy attending a Jennifer Lopez concert, dancing along with the rest of the crowd and even releasing a dove when she sings a love song? You could even control the laser light show.   Well now you can, or at least, a virtual, digital avatar version of you can.   It’s all part of Snapchat’s new promotion to promote J-Lo’s latest film, ‘Marry Me’.   Check it out for yourself at marrymevirtualconcert.com - this is a glimpse into what we mean by ‘the metaverse’ and while there’s no doubt experiences like this will cause some interest I think people will quickly tire of them.   There’s a fascinating report out into the world’s digital habits.   The Digital Trends 2022 study from WeAreSocial.com shows 12 and a half trillion hours were spent online each year with big increases in social media use, particularly for YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.   The report also found running adverts on social media is becoming significantly more expensive.   Although Facebook remains the platform with the greatest number of users, YouTube enjoys the greatest amount of time.   With the world’s population just short of 8 billion, just over 4.9 billion are connected to the internet, with that number growing every year.   And 4.6 billion using some form of social networking platform.   You can see the full data which also looks at the type of content we consume on the internet at wearesocial.com   And you can still vote in this year’s BRIT Awards which take place on Tuesday - check @Brits for more.

Jennifer Lopez virtual concert, essential social media stats.

It’s award season and entries are open until a week on Friday, that’s 11th February for the Webby Awards.   The Webbys have been honouring the best of the internet since 1996 and celebrates all things digital including websites, video, social media, apps and games, podcasts and more.   Winners will be announced in May and there’s a public vote for the prestigious ‘People’s Voice’ award.   For now, it’s all about entering, so if you’ve done something online you think deserves recognition you can find out more at webbyawards.com     I think Facebook’s parent company is making a huge mistake throwing so much money into the MetaVerse, the so called virtual world it thinks we’re going to inhabit.   If anything, people are already making pledges to spend LESS time online with social media and more time in the real world - I honestly believe people simply don’t want this and it’s going to end up like 3DTV - a clever idea, an interesting novelty but doesn’t work all that well and eventually quietly disappears.   I willing to put my reputation on the line and say now - the MetaVerse will never catch on.       If you’re an NFL fan, Twitter wants your Super Bowl predictions in 6 words or less.   It might end up displayed on the roof of the stadium ahead of this year’s match on February 13th. Follow @twittersports for more.

Prediction: The MetaVerse will fail, Webby Awards open for entries, Super Bowl prediction tweets

If you’re one of the few people who has a video instead of a static image on their Facebook profile picture, it’s about to disappear.   The social network has announced it’ll start removing them from the 7th of February - when they’ll be replaced by the cover image.   Users affected will see a message from Facebook asking them to choose a new profile picture if they’d prefer not to have their cover image and profile picture become the same.   Linkedin also allows video profile pictures and like Facebook, they’re not widely used to I’d expect Linkedin to follow suit at some point in the future.   Podcaster Joe Rogan is promising to strive for ‘more balance’ on his podcast after a row about COVID misinformation verses censorship led to music stars Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pulling their music from Spotify, which exclusively hosts Rogan’s podcast.   The row seems to be cooling with Spotify agreeing to add ‘advisory’ noticed to episodes which deal with Covid.   Prince Harry and Megan Markle had also expressed concern about the issue.   The final countdown is on to the Winter Olympics which start in Beijing this Friday with the opening ceremony.    The official Twitter and Instagram accounts can be found @beijing2022 but since those platforms are banned in China the games’ website is linking to Weibo, WeChat and TikTok.   The early rounds of Curling and Luge actually start tomorrow.   And that reminds me to wish you a very happy Chinese New Year - pop that phrase into Google and you’ll get some nice firework animations.  

Facebook video profiles scrapped, Joe Rogan promises more balance and Winter Olympics social channels.

Colin Kelly presents a regular podcast for communications professionals. Brought to you from the Comsteria studio in Glasgow, Scotland and discussing all things business, communication and digital with emphasis on leadership and professional development.