Can you believe we’re already half way through September? From now through year end, see how time flies… Perhaps you’ll even be doing that with your new Apple Watch? This week’s installment of The Weekly Download focuses on Apple’s release of three new iPhones, Instagram’s new resource for parents, Uber’s plans to extend transportation options, Facebook’s deeper dig on fact-checking, #RyanNeedsGrinder and Friday Fun.
Let’s dive right in!
Apple’s iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR
On Wednesday, Apple announced their three new iPhones for 2018; the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR. And Apple Watch Series 4.
Regarding the new iPhone design, not much has changed, but the materials have.
Most noteworthy is the new chip: the A12 bionic processor. This new A1 bionic chip allows processes (five trillion operations per second) like machine learning (AI), improving the quality of photos, improving the phones battery life and is first of its kind. Apple Watch 4 comes with larger display, louder sound and longer battery life as well as some potentially life-saving features. And for those of us Apple fans who aren’t planning on investing in any hardware, the new iOS 12 will start rolling out next week.
Instagram’s Parental Resource
In an effort to help keep parents informed about what their kids are doing online, Instagram announced their new Know How Guide. (You can also download it here.)
According to the fastest growing social media platform they’re taking this initiative because, “We feel a great responsibility to make sure Instagram is a supportive community for teens to connect and share, and we want to make sure you as a parent feel informed and empowered to help guide them. We believe that the first step is understanding why they use Instagram, and what tools are available to make sure their experience is positive, intentional and safe.”
The guide gives parents a rundown of how the social platform works. Instagram’s short video within the guide provides information on how to set comment controls and make accounts more private. In addition, they highlighted some of their newer features. For example, their time management tool that ensure the minutes they’re spending online are more intentional.
Know How Guide encourages parents to have informed conversations with their kids about how they are using their technology.
Parents or not, we encourage you to check it out.
Uber… Everything!
According to Mashable, Uber wants to be the “Amazon of transportation.” They’re looking to offer more than just car-sharing. Earlier this year, Uber bought the bike-share company Jump and is growing even more with their partners Lime who supply scooters through the Uber app.
We’re looking forward to seeing what this means for the future of Toronto’s ride-sharing!
Facebook’s Fact-Checking Update
We know that Facebook has been cracking down over the past two years looking to eliminate as much fake news and misinformation as possible. They’ve hired 27 partners in 17 countries (and counting), who specialize in fact-checking and focus their efforts on reviewing newsworthy articles.
This week, Facebook announced that they had extended their fact-checking to photos and videos. Facebook is using artificial intelligence that tracks signals like feedback and engagement from users to identify false content.
False photos and videos are categorized by manipulated or fabricated content, out of context content and text or auto claim content.
Ryan Gosling’s Visit to Toronto Café
There’s something in the air during TIFF that gets people excited and persistent. A Toronto coffee shop, Grinder Coffee, pulled off a marketing stunt that even they didn’t think was possible. They called, and Ryan Gosling answered.
Over the course of 10 days, Grinder Coffee used a life-sized cardboard cutout of the Ontario-born movie star and tweeted the hashtag #RyanNeedsGrinder to create hype and hope around a potential visit from Ryan Gosling during his stay in Toronto for TIFF.
The employees of Grinder Coffee got creative and even got Mayor Tory to participate in their efforts. It turns out, their persistence was rewarded with a visit from the Ryan Gosling himself, and the internet couldn’t be happier about it! Next time you think the social media playing field is no longer level for small businesses, think again.
And this happened… #ryanneedsgrinder worked. The man himself showed up. What a good sport, a well brought up Canadian boy. We truly appreciate Ryan taking the time the time to visit us during #tiff. Take that @idriselba your loss. pic.twitter.com/8rMMWOs32J
— GrinderCoffeeGerrard (@GrinderCoffeeTO) September 11, 2018
Friday Fun
People are always looking for ways to fix things that aren’t broken. But this is a type of fixing we can get behind. How funny are these?
https://twitter.com/thorsbanners/status/1027042075244605440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1027042075244605440%7Ctwcon%5Elogo&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fentry%2Fabba-songs-marvel-movies-avengers-thor_us_5b961be4e4b0162f472ebd22
https://twitter.com/ruddmcu/status/1037059953465470976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1037059953465470976&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.com%2Fentry%2Fabba-songs-marvel-movies-avengers-thor_us_5b961be4e4b0162f472ebd22
