Are you planning a trip for the Christmas season, or New Years Eve, or winter break? Are you booking with Airbnb? Here’s a travel tip you can do nothing about: The whiter you name sounds, the better your Airbnb experience will be.
That’s according to a Harvard Business School study. The study shows Airbnb hosts are 16% less likely to host guest with ‘black sounding names’, like Raheem Jackson, than guest with ‘white sounding names’, like Jane Sullivan. Researchers conducting this study went as far to suggest black guests use pseudonyms. . One researcher even said African-Americans are better booking with mainstream hotels than playing race games with Airbnb. Researchers created over 6,000 fake profiles with names that sound white and black. They sent messages to five major US cities all across the country. The fake guests asked for a weekend in September. It didn’t matter if the hosts were white or black, it seemed the white guests’ requests were more honored. It didn’t take Airbnb long to respond and defend it’s name. In a statement, the company touts itself as one of the most open and diverse companies around today. The statement further said Airbnb recognizes potential discrimination, it will work with anyone to help reduce discrimination.
After Barak Obama was elected US President in November 2008, some said the last battle against American racism had been won. That’s not the case at all! Once again, tech/social media is not immune. I don’t blame Airbnb at all. But it’s time for a serious heart examination for each and every Airbnb host. Airbnb spokespeople tout their diversity. Now it’s time for Airbnb hosts to back it up. I propose before a host signs up to take guests, they should take a questionnaire test. Give them a set of names that sound white, black, Latino, Asian, and Arab. If they favor one race or ethnic group over the other, then that should disqualify them from becoming a host. It’s time this country had a discussion on issues like this, no matter how painful it might be. Where would you start?
Yesterday, I covered?Facebook‘s top talked about stories of the year. The number one event was the US presidential election. And they’re running away and cashing in with this one.
There is a website called FriendsWhoLikeTrump.com. It simply shows you which ones of your Facebook friends ‘like’ this outspoken and controversial Republican presidential candidate. This site takes you to a Facebook feature that shows who likes and follows Donald Trump. But you don’t even have to visit the website to find out. All you really have to do is type the phrase ‘my friends who like Donald Trump’ in the top bar of your Facebook?home page. But then again, you can do this for any of the 2016 presidential candidates. For instance, if you want to see who ‘like’ Hilary Clinton, just type ‘my friends who like Hilary Clinton’. Any Carly Fiorina fans in the house? Type in ‘friends who like Carly Fiorina’. You get the idea. But what strikes me is Donald Trump is the only candidate who actually has a website dedicated to finding out those who ‘like’ Trump. To the best of my knowledge, no other candidate has that.
That just shows me how contentious Mr. Trump’s campaign has become and how it’s divided so many people. I can easily see people deleting FB friends simply because they ‘like’ Donald Trump. Have you read some of the things people are saying about him and his supporters? Then again, have you read what Trump supporters have said about his critics and opponents? The hate is real on both sides. I also have a feeling not everybody who ‘like’ Trump really likes Trump. Some may use this as a tool to see what his campaign is up to. I’ll admit, I haven’t lived through that many US presidential elections. But this one is turning into the most bitterly divided one I’ve lived through (hint: I wasn’t born during the really contentious 1968 presidential race). Will FriendsWhoLikeTrump.com play into the division?
The holiday season means pictures…lots and lots of pictures. Everyone has that retentive friend or family member who needs that perfect photo. There is an app for him/her.
This is where website LuxMyPhoto comes in. LuxMyPhoto has an arsenal of professional photo editors at your commands. All you have to do is type in or click the command and push the button. Upload your photos to the website. Leave instructions to the editor. Then wait and watch what you get back. LuxMyPhoto left some bait for potential customers. Use Yahoo Tech’s Deal Seeker exclusive code 7J35NA. This code will get you 20% off for the rest of 2015. From the looks of it, you can edit just about anything on LuxMyPhoto. You can make?the color background lighter or darker. You can remove wrinkles, and even alter body parts. Are there too many people in the background? This website can erase them. Are you taking pictures of pets? LuxMyPhoto can get rid of the grass in front of the pets’ face. If you’re taking corporate pictures for a job interview, it can even get the wrinkles out of your shirt. So you took a picture of your presentation and that pesky flower is in the middle? This website can get rid of it too. Prices start at $23 a photo; that’s before the pre-New Years’ discount.
I would use LuxMyPhoto for corporate/business photos, but that’s about it. For personal photos, this website just encourages fakeness. There’s something real about people in the background, a crying baby, snow on a dog, a bad pose, or bad lighting. Those are the best photos because often, they tell the best stories. There’s one when I beg them to wait until I was ready to have my picture taken, but they snapped the photo anyway. That picture tells a story. But that’s just me. Would you use LuxMyPhoto?
We at Computer Geeks would like to wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday.
Yesterday, I talked about the streaming race. Amazon lags behind You Tube and Netflix. And if you’re an aspire screenwriter, you could help Amazon Studios be more competitive in the streaming market.
A few days ago, Amazon launched a free cloud friendly screenwriter software service called Amazon Storywriter. Actually, it’s a product of Amazon Studios. Even before Amazon Storywriter, they accepted scripts for films, children’s shows, and comedies. With Amazon Storywriter, they will take drama submissions. There are other new policies. Before Amazon Storywriter, scripts submitted to Amazon Studios took a 45 day unpaid waiting option. It would pay $10,000 for an extended period. With Storywriter, they will negotiate with the screenwriter about proper payment. The writer can accept or reject the offer. Since I’m no attorney, you can read about it for yourself here. ?Amazon Studio is trying to follow Netflix’s footsteps and produce their own original programming. They’re starting to succeed. They have a show called “Gortimer Gibbon?s Life on Normal Street”, already in it’s second season. Amazon Storywriter has auto-formatting to help the screenwriter create his/her masterpiece. It supports PDF, FDX, and Fountain formats. It works with a Mac as well as a PC.
Amazon Kindle was to help get struggling authors get noticed, even make the big time. Amazon Storywriter is designed to help struggling screenwriters do the same. This is a great vehicle to get many a screenwriter the big break they dream of, without kissing up to the big boys in Hollywood. This could also help Amazon produce independent entertainment that can help them in the streaming race. It can help more professional scriptwriters, such as those from the Writers Guild of America. If they’re negotiating with screenwriters for proper salary, and they didn’t do that before, what does that tell you? So I wonder, will Amazon Storyline help Amazon get the edge in the streaming race?
Is it safe to say traditional TV is dying? I say this because not only is streaming taking over, but the streaming field is getting crowded. There’s You Tube, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO Go, and that’s just to name a few.
Netflix is winning the streaming war, but barely. In the last year, Netflix and You Tube have been neck and neck in competing for the hearts and wallets for a hungry streaming public. By November 2015, Netflix had a slight edge. But both Netflix and You Tube had a huge edge over competitors Amazon, Hulu and HBO Go. In the past year, 51% of Americans say they used Netflix. You Tube placed slightly lower. Less than 30% polled say they ever used Hulu or Amazon for streaming. HBO Go placed last. Around 15% of Americans polled said they haven’t used this service in the past year. The survey is conducted by RBC Capital Markets. Many credit Netflix’s top rise due to it’s original shows. Recently, You Tube announced it’s ad-free service called You Tube Red. For $9.99 a month, viewers can watch all the You Tube shows they want with no ads. Will it be worth it? I guess only time will tell.
Both Netflix and You Tube have unique things to offer. Yes, Netflix offers great shows like Orange is the New Black and House of Cards. These shows have won big time awards. But You Tube offers something even greater: the opportunity for anybody to be a star! It offers the housewife with two crazy kids and crazier husband to become a household name. It offers gaming experts to teach the whole world that craft. You Tube has introduced us to many rising stars over the years. But then again, we watch shows by the season and catch up with Netflix; we also see really great new shows there. So who will win this streaming battle? Can’t we have both?
What if I told you Black Friday comes a week early this year? What if I told you the best deals will come on Thanksgiving Day instead of Black Friday?
Amazon announces eight days of deep savings beginning on November 20. The last day of their savings spree will be Black Friday itself. Amazon says it will offer deals every five minutes. And Amazon doesn’t want Thanksgiving to be just about family, turkey and football. That’s because their biggest deals will be on Thanksgiving Day. Their biggest deals won’t go up after the stuffing and pumpkin pie, but at midnight on Thanksgiving Day. They will have ‘ten deals of the day’ and will have ten more on Black Friday. There will be lightning deals throughout that period. If you’re an Amazon Prime member, live in one of the 20 chosen major US cities and use the Prime Now app, then you’ll get free two hour delivery service. But that’s not all. From Thanksgiving Day until December 8, Amazon advertises over 150 lightning deals. But there’s a catch. These lightning deals will only available through Amazon Shopping Mobile Android, Apple smartphone apps, and Fire OS apps.
Obviously, things have changed. I remember a time when it was almost blasphemous to shop on Thanksgiving Day. And there was a time when Black Friday was more peaceful. That’s about the only good thing I can find about this week long Black Friday deal. Maybe some of these deep deals will calm savage beasts all over America. Maybe on Black Friday, instead of trampling each other to death, maybe some will stay at home and shop on Amazon. But I don’t like the way they’re shoving the holiday shopping season down our throats earlier. Granted, Amazon isn’t the only one doing so. Call me old fashioned, but Thanksgiving is supposed to be about family, friends, football, and fellowship. So I’m turning my computer devices off that day, unless I’m wishing someone a good holiday through social media. Will you shop on Thanksgiving Day, even if it’s online?
