Hired in a Snap

It’s no secret that social media has changed the way we interact with our friends and peers. Now, it’s changing the way many young adults could interact with potential employers.

McDonald’s is a force to be reckoned with in Australia, employing 30,000 young adults each year. Despite its reach, McDonalds has dealt with an image issue globally when it comes to hiring teens. Many see the job as menial and uncool, making it hard for McDonalds to attract young and talented employees. Their solution? Use the platform young people are on to entice them to work for the company. Their social media platform of choice is Snapchat, an app that has become well-known for its disappearing messages, flattering filters, and strong celebrity presence.

The concept is relatively simple – in just 10 seconds, users can create a “Snaplication” explaining why they would be a good addition to the McDonald’s team. Complete with a filter dressing the user in an employee uniform, this lens fits right into the Snapchat world. McDonald’s executives say a followup interview will be necessary, but the Snaplication will provide a glimpse at the personality of the applicant.

“We’re looking for that positivity, bubbly personality, someone we think would be good in a customer service role. Based on what my daughter sends to her friends, you do get a bit of a glimpse [from a 10-second video].”
The Verge

After just three days of running this new campaign, McDonald’s saw a reach of 312 million people. Four times more applications than normal were received in the first week, and the lens received over 13,000 hours’ worth of use in the first day. If nothing else, McDonald’s just hit the advertising jackpot.

What are the implications of this unique hiring process? This kind of precedent makes way for all sorts of new uses for social media. Will company-wide announcements be made over Facebook Live one day? Will important team decisions be made with a Twitter poll? Will the casual and cool nature of this hiring process entice other businesses to approach millennials entering the workforce differently than they have other generations? The digital landscape is ever-changing, bringing the real world with it the whole way.

YouTube Deactivates All Comments Under Minors’ Content to Fight Predators

Lately, the talk of children’s safety while using online platforms like YouTube has been debated. This is due to the fact that many minors find themselves being targets to adult predators online. Recently YouTube has been the platform for small predatorial rings, where content creators share videos and images of minors that are sexually charged.

YouTube has quite a history concerning content moderation, and has come under hot water for many content creators who have posted illegal content. So far, YouTube has decided to disable the comments under content made by minors.

For some, this isn’t a great idea because it gets rid of both good and bad engagement with posts. For those who make money off of the platform, this lowers their engagement stats, and will keep them from knowing what their subscribers think.

For others, they see this as a small step in the right direction while the social platform updates more efficient ways of filtering and monitoring comments. So far, around 400 accounts have been disabled through this method. This is not a lot in comparison to the billions of YouTube channels that exist globally, however, the company claims that they are working to filter using “trigger” words or language.

It’s unfortunate that one has to worry about the exploitation of children on the internet, but there has to be steps towards stopping it. We cannot allow views, likes, comments, or subscriptions keep us from remembering the safety of children.

For the individuals who think disabling comments are too much, I happen to disagree. I believe that the safety of any individual especially those who are minors- are worth much more than any comment on a video.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/youtube-deactivates-comments-on-videos-featuring-minors-to-combat-predatory/549469/

Nickelodeon Uses VR to Give Interviewers a New Experience

Nickelodeon Entertainment Lab created a virtual reality experience to promote the reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle prequel. They set up a booth at Comic-Con where the interviewer was able to put on the VR headset and become a part of the cartoon’s world. Once there, they could talk with characters Donatello and Michelangelo in real time. The production took many weeks of finding the technology that could make this experience possible and weaving it all together into a comprehensive, well thought out system.

The creators used a variety of tech including Adobe Character Animator, a TriCaster system, MIDI controllers, Unreal Engine and NewTek products to pull it all together. The project put gaming, film, broadcast, and animation together simultaneously to produce the interviews while they were happening.

The Ninja Turtle’s show environment was put into a video game engine and the interviewer was keyed into the world with green screen. They used live-action cameras to film and combined that with gaming footage to create a mixed reality video. Since the whole video was being broadcasted and edited at the moment it was happening, the team was able to hand the interviewer a flash-drive with the footage, ready to publish, as soon as they were finished.

As for the future of film, VR is predicted to play a large part in it. Gaming and film are becoming more intertwined as movies use video game engines to create special effects. Chris Young, Senior Vice President of the Nickelodeon Entertainment Lab, said “The days of QuickTime and 2D video will fall away. I think the idea of immersing yourself into your entertainment is an idea that’s coming at us like a runaway train. That’s why we’re trying to understand that world with so much energy and effort.” Using this Comic-Con experience was a great way to promote Nickelodeon’s new series and also push the front of what can be done in virtual reality.

WhatsApp Celebrates 10 Years Of Connecting Friends And Family All Across The Globe

The popular messaging application “WhatsApp” on app stores worldwide, turned 10 years old this week.

WhatsApp now has over 1.5 billion users, more than 1/6 of the entire earth’s population. One of the perks of WhatsApp is the functionality of being able to message those around the world with only a WiFi connection. In celebration of their 10th anniversary, WhatsApp launched the “first iteration of the WhatsApp Business app” which aims to bring business owners more user-friendly interactions with customers in hopes to maximize opportunities around the globe.

WhatsApp also introduced their own variant of stories, and an ad program as well. This is foreign soil for other messaging companies too. Nobody enjoys seeing ads in their private messages because it’s a private space. I understand why WhatsApp is trying to generate more revenue from its giant user base, but pulling it off will not be an easy task. I’m curious to see if these ads within the messaging component itself will last. Maybe they should look into doing what Instagram and SnapChat already do. Embedding ads into the stories function of the application makes them almost impossible to avoid, generating more money for the company. Ads are a pretty tricky road to navigate, and most users do not enjoy seeing them on their feeds. However, if WhatsApp can figure out a way to embed these ads in a non-invasive way, they will grow exponentially.

I’m excited to see what other features WhatsApp offers next. The amount of growth that they’ve seen in the last decade is truly remarkable. Going from an SMS replacement to the biggest free messaging application in the world is a very respectable feat. Here’s to 10 more!

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/whatsapp-celebrates-its-tenth-anniversary-as-it-continues-to-broaden-its-bu/549137/

The weekly about the Daily

I wasn’t so much into podcasts up until Christmas break, but now, I’ve become inspired by one.

The Daily, a podcast produced by the New York Times and hosted by Michael Barbaro, discusses current events and issues facing the nation. Often, Barbaro hosts other Times reporters and other relevant sources to make the show more credible.

Since I’ve started listening, the Daily crew started a weekly newsletter about the production and history of the show, and facts about the people who create it.

The first (and only) newsletter, The Names We Almost Called This Show, talked about all of the aspects that made the Daily what it is – the name, the introductory song, the people and the research process.

Barbaro said,

“This newsletter grew out of our sense that you might want to better understand how we make the decisions we do. How we think about stories. How we process the news. How we use sound.”

I agree with Barbaro that creating the newsletter is so important for audiences. Often, readers get so caught up in the content of stories without thinking about the work it took to reach the final product.

During the Trump administration, while journalism is under attack (especially organizations like the New York Times), it is important to evaluate the steps journalists take to ensure they are avoiding bias and seeking the truth.

Aside from personal interest, I applaud the team of the Daily for actively taking steps to reach a higher level of credibility. I’m interested to see what the future newsletters look like and how they will relate to the podcasts.

I hope to see more organizations seeking to produce behind-the-scenes content such as this, and seek to have a more personal relationship with their audiences.

“We’re beginning a conversation — and hope that it really is a conversation, with two sides. You and us. We’ll highlight responses to episodes (good and bad) and answer questions about our decision-making.

“From the start, “The Daily” has been about deepening people’s connection to the news and the reporters who gather it. For us, this newsletter is about deepening our connection to you,” Barbaro said.

Is Print Dead?

I work for an advertising agency on campus, Morris + Mitchell and this semester we were assigned to market the company TimelyMD. It is a company that provides telehealth via the internet. This means that you can “facetime” a doctor from the company at any time and they will diagnose you and write a prescription for you. TimelyMD was started by 3 ACU alumni which is why they want to specifically target ACU college students as their market.

One of our biggest contributions to the company this semester was putting a giant billboard displaying what the company offers directly outside the Campus Center. They wanted it to be clear to students how to schedule an appointment, call the doctor, then steps following. They also wanted to specifically focus on the new counseling sector they were offering. We worked the entire fall semester on the design and processing of the billboard then this semester we finally got to see the finished product on campus. While the billboard is huge and looks amazing, I wonder now if it is actually being noticed by students. I, personally, noticed it because it was my project but when I asked around to a few of my friends (who walk past it daily) they had no clue what I was talking about.

This leads me to the idea, is print advertising dead? We are so used to online and digital advertising that we don’t notice print as often anymore. So what comes next for print? Will the entire next generation know of anything besides digital advertising? Experts believe that there will still be a place for print advertising in the future but it will more so be in local markets. I think it will be extremely interesting to see the future of advertising.

Council, Forbes Communications. “Does Print Still Have A Place In The Future Of Advertising? 10 Experts Weigh In.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 2 Mar. 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2018/03/02/does-print-still-have-a-place-in-the-future-of-advertising-10-experts-weigh-in/#77ca21525fc6.

Influencer Marketing on Social Media

Influencer marketing is the latest form of advertising on social media used by marketers. Influencer marketing is when brands reach out to individuals who have a significant following on social media and ask them to promote the brand’s products. More brands are re-allocating part of their marketing funds to include influencer marketing. The key to influencer marketing is to reach out to an influencer who’s following matches the target demographic of the brand. This allows the brand to reach its target audience without making a traditional advertisement.

The usage of influencer marketing has received a mixed review from marketers and consumers.

The best thing about influencer marketing is the fact that it’s giving a voice to a whole new group of individuals. Influencers who have strong opinions on certain topics are able to voice those opinions to an audience and have their voice be heard. Those who are ethically sound are able to work with and promote brands they truly believe in. People love when the influencers they’re following give personal insights into their lives with the products and brands they use. Another advantage of influencer marketing by brands is that it can also be free. Marketers reach out to influencers with a wide range of following numbers and offer them free products in return for a post with the product or the brand. Some companies will pay influencers with a large following, but for influencers with a smaller following, they only offer the product for free or with a discount.

Some individuals are concerned with the sincerity of the influencer who is promoting a certain product or brand. Often times, influencers will blindly accept deals from companies they haven’t done any research on and promote a product they haven’t used. This raises an ethical problem because influencer marketing has no regulation and those who deceive their followers will receive no form of legal punishment. Advertising a product to an impressionable audience is considered deceptive when followers are trusting influencers they look up to to be honest and in reality they’re not. Some influencers are receiving money while tricking their audience into thinking they genuinely use a product or brand.

Inevitably, influencer marketing will continue to grow and become a normal way to advertise in 2019.

Hotchkiss, G. (2019, February 07). Here’s how influencer marketing will redefine advertising in 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019, from https://azbigmedia.com/heres-how-influencer-marketing-will-redefine-advertising-in-2019/

Off the Basketball Team…Now What?

Last week, the university announced it had removed juniors BJ Maxwell and Jalone Friday from the basketball team for “violating university policies and behavior inconsistent with the values of the university.” And that’s all we know about it as of now.

I, just like many others, want to know what caused them to be removed from the team, yet still remain at the university. But ACU has since been quiet since releasing their statement. There’s the possibility that they could be under investigation, which is why the university aren’t talking about it. The Optimist reported that neither Lance Fleming, Allen Ward nor any of the coaches commented on their dismissal – and Emerald Cassidy would not comment further on it after releasing the statement.

I hope that the situation is not swept under the rug like other incidents that have happened within ACU Athletics in the last few years. If Friday and Maxwell did something wrong, the student body should know about it. The university shouldn’t try to hide it or sugarcoat it.

In full disclosure, Maxwell works as a writer for The Optimist, and I’m the video director. At the end of the day, I hope that the outcomes of the situation are in the best interests for Maxwell and Friday. They are very good basketball players. Maxwell has always been respectful towards me and other staff members. I don’t know what happened and maybe I never will. But we, as students, deserve to know the good and bad things that happen within the campus community.