The tech world never ceases to amaze me. In fact, Amazon never ceases to amaze me. It seems like this Internet giant can do everything. They can deliver your packages and groceries. Furthermore, Amazon can control your home. Now, Amazon can sell you a car. That’s right: Amazon and Fiat Chrysler sell cars online.
So Amazon and Fiat Chrysler team up. They’re going to sell cars online. Also, they’re going to sell cars at deep discount prices. But there’s bad news. This offer is only available in Italy. In addition to that, the offer stands for only three models: Fiat Chrysler 500, Panda, and 500L. That’s because these three cars are some of the top selling in Italy. They also appeal to the young and adventurous consumers.
Maybe this sounds out there. It shouldn’t. Because Amazon launched Amazon Vehicles Hub in August 2016. However, that was to learn and compare cars, not to sell them. So how do you sell a car online? The buyer clicks on the car he wants online. Then the buyer picks up the car at the dealership. Of course, they still have to do the proper paperwork. The buyer shouldn’t rush the next day, either. The car will be ready for pick-up two weeks after the online purchase. But this is available in Italy only. So why talk about it?
Because this could come to the USA. If it’s successful in Italy, it will come to the USA. It will go around the world. In fact, half of Italy’s population say they would consider purchasing a car on the Internet. Plus, buyers get 33% off for buying a car online. So the demand and initiative are there. I wonder how many Americans will be okay with purchasing a car online? Look at how many Americans get groceries online. Would you purchase a car online?
History is made today. And the bickering and hate is almost over; we can only hope. Because today is US Election Day. Personally, I want to bury myself in Netflix and I’ll hear who won tomorrow morning. But since some of you are gluttons for stress and punishment, here is where you can follow election coverage online.
Since so many Americans are on You Tube, why not start there? Several You Tube channels will keep election coverage going all night long. Such channels include MTV, Bloomberg, NBC, Telemondo, Info Wars, and Young Turks. Also, Twitter will stream BuzzFeed’s election coverage starting at 6pm Eastern, 5pm Central and 3pm Pacific. This is just the start.
Because we know Facebook wants in. Which is why CNN, ABC News, New York Times, PBS, and others will stream election coverage through them. In addition to that, most of us have smartphone apps. Many news apps, including Fox News, CBSN, C-Span, Politico, Vice, Slate, and several others will offer coverage. Google and Bing will share polling data as soon as the polls close. In fact, do you know where your polling station is? If not, Google can help you with that as well. You can even watch election results through VR technology.
So there you have it. But what about us who actually want to keep our sanity? Thank goodness for the Weather Channel. Starting at 3pm Eastern, the Weather Channel will offer you 9 hours of ‘chill marathon‘. This includes nature scenery and smooth jazz. Of course, You Tube has thousands upon thousands of non-election channels for your escape. If America needed a ‘Netflix and chill’ night, it’s tonight. If you’re trying to escape the election coverage, Facebook is NOT the place to do so. My FB friends are obsessed with this election. I’m guessing many of yours are too. That’s why I’m not logging on Facebook for the next week or so. What are some other places you can follow election coverage? What are some other places you can escape election coverage?
Twitter was one of the social media giants. But note how I say ‘was’. Now, Twitter is in trouble. The Chicago Cubs won the World Series. It’s their first one in over a century. But not even tweets celebrating this historic feat can lift Twitter out of it’s misery. Nonetheless, despite the decline, Twitter still innovates. Let’s see how.
First of all, we know Twitter delivers NFL games to us for free. It’s also streaming presidential debates. That should be good for them because these debates are the highest rated in history. Furthermore, they’re peddling video apps to other social media big wigs, like Apple TV. Twitter streams other mainstream content as well. They now changed their Twitter character limits, and even banned repeated Twitter abusers. All of these are very innovative? And there are other ways. But is it enough?
It doesn’t look like it. Stocks continue to plummet. In addition, abuse and bullying continues. In addition, people from celebrities to politicians report all kinds of abuse. This abuse ranges from racial slurs to death threats and rape threats. They’re laying off around 1 in 11 of their employees. Finally, one of their great innovations was Vine video-sharing. Now, they have to cut that off.
Several complained Twitter failed to advertise their NFL delivery. Therefore, only those on Twitter knew about it. So they failed to bring new followers to Twitter. Plus, NFL ratings are down this year. So they picked the wrong year to launch this. Yes, the debates brought in high numbers. But look at how contentious this election is. Don’t you think these debates will only increase bullying and abuse? Many complain Twitter doesn’t do enough to keep users safe, and they don’t enforce their own rules. As my high school US history Mr. Lawson said, “Rules are only good as enforced.” And now thy want to talk about peddling video apps. But the thing is, by 2016, we can get these apps anywhere. Are these innovations too late for Twitter? Can anything be done to save Twitter?
So, many of you know of Facebook’s Gameroom app. If not, then you can read about it here. The social media conglomerate wants to go even further. Facebook Messenger conquers video games…or at least attempts to.
Therefore, Facebook Messenger will soon launch ‘Instant Games’. In this app, you can play small, light games. Hence, one can play with or against their FB friends. Instant Games could debut as early as this month. Due to their large bankroll, Facebook calls on big time game makers for help. These include King.com, the people who brought us Candy Crush. In Instant Games, friends would take turns playing, instead of against each other. Some of us are old enough taking turns playing the Atari, Nintendo or Sega Genesis. It will kinda be like that.
Nobody at Facebook is talking. Also, we don’t even know what games they’re testing. Nobody know what the first of ‘Instant Games’ will be. But tech media insiders are speculating. For instance, King.com has a Facebook page for Shuffle Cats Mini. Could that be one? Facebook also has a cozy relationship with game maker Big Viking. Big Viking’s premier game is Galatron. It’s a space game that is very popular. It’s like Galaga for the 2010s.
But between me and you, all this speculation is not good for ‘Instant Games’ promotion. If you want to compete, let alone conquer video games, let your public know something. On Facebook platforms, Basketball, Candy Crush and Soccer have are successful. I would start there. Speaking of Galaga, you can never go wrong with the classics. While they’re add it, throw in some Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, or Kung Fu. Apple and Google have a huge chunk of the smartphone gaming market. Facebook wants a bigger piece of it. I know it’s early testing, but won’t all this secrecy hinder their dreams? What games would you like to see in Instant Games?
The Democrat Party was hacked last summer. This was during the Democrat National Convention. You’re also familiar with Wikileaks releasing condemning emails about presidential candidate Hilary Clinton. For months, everyone assumed Russia did it. Maybe it wasn’t Russia after all.
Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange tells a different story. According to Assange, Russia has no involvement. Neither does Moscow or Russian president Vladimir Putin. Alternative news site RT follows this story. On this site, veteran reporter John Pilger interviews Assange. In the interview, he calls Russian involvement in the hacking ‘fictional’. Assange also denied Wikileaks played a role. Assange says the allegations further promoted anti-Russian hysteria. But on the other hand Assange says, “I actually feel quite sorry for Clinton as a person…”
Hacking plagued the Hilary Clinton campaign for months. Around March 2016, Wikileaks got 30,000 emails from Mrs. Clinton’s private server. Furthermore, 20,000 emails leaked out. These emails exposed a bad attitude toward Bernie Sanders. But what happened last month was the ultimate nail. Wikileaks released over 50,000 emails. They’re connected to John Podesta, Bill Clinton’s former Chief of Staff. But now, this batch of emails has everybody in the hot seat. These emails also erased Mrs. Clinton’s comfortable lead in the polls.
Therefore, I don’t know who to trust. Here at Computer Geeks our Managed Services regularly detect hacking attempts. ?IT Support sees everything and it’s scary. ?Maybe Russia had nothing to do with the hackings. Maybe Assange had nothing to do with it. But I love the way (I mean this with the utmost sarcasm) the media spun this around. Everybody, especially mainstream media, made Russia look like the villain in all this. Even I’ve written blogs that went that way. So if I misled you that way, I sincerely apologize. It turns out Moscow may not have hacked into the any of the emails. But if they didn’t, then who did? Managed Services allows us to trace where hackers are from but even then a good hacker can make it look like thy’re from Russia when they’re not. ?These thousands of emails didn’t just fall on Assange’s desk or sneak by IT Support. So where did they come from? And who can we trust?
We knew this day would come. And now it is here. Mobile online use surpasses desktop online use. While this is a first, this shouldn’t be a surprise.
So these statistics go back to 2009. But back then, smartphones and tablets were in their infancy. However, the change was slow. As recent as October 2013, about 75% of online use came from desktops. But around this time, the turn got more drastic. By October 2015, 45% of online use came from mobile sources, compared to 55% coming from desktop sources. Now, history is made. The majority of Internet traffic, 51.2%, comes from a mobile device. Now compare that to 48.8% from a desktop device. While that is a slight majority, we should expect this trend to continue.
We can thank StatCounter for this numbers. They’re are also some telling tales here. In mature Western markets, like the US, Australia, and Great Britain, desktop online use has a fairly wide gap, like around 56-55%. It’s rising markets, like India, Brazil, and China, that’s driving the mobile numbers up. Also, gaps in Western nations are shrinking too. For example, in October 2014, 35% of online traffic came from mobile devices. Two years later, it was 42%. Another interesting tidbit: the number of people using only mobile Internet rises. What drives this?
First of all, smartphones in many Asian nations are flying off the shelves. And here in America, smartphone companies complain that high end smartphones decline in sales. That may be true. But cheaper smartphones are steady in sales. Not too people I know want to pay over $600 for a smartphone. This is especially true when the $100 ones work almost as well. Maybe that’s why online smartphone traffic numbers are slower here. But here is what is clear: If any business wants to thrive, even survive, they must cater to smartphone and tablet consumers. What do you make of these numbers?
