Dataminr is helping to save local journalism October 31, 2019 Journalism is in a tough spot. For decades, money and jobs in the industry have been in decline. The government’s Cairncross review, released last year, revealed the scope of the problem. It found that total press industry revenues had declined by more than half over the previous 10 years, and that the number of full-time [...]
Virtual influencers pose ethical dilemmas for the ad industry October 28, 2019 Last month, I reported on the rise of virtual influencers – fake online personalities created using computer-generated imagery and controlled by brands or media agencies. The most famous example is Lil Miquela, a fictional character invented by LA-based studio Brud. “She” has 1.7m followers on Instagram, has appeared in a Calvin Klein commercial alongside the [...]
Facial recognition tech powered by AI poses a threat to society October 24, 2019 Facial recognition software feels like it has stepped out of the realms of science fiction and into reality. Thanks to massive developments in artificial intelligence (AI), cameras and surveillance systems can now check and analyse someone’s facial features in real time. This is a profound step forward in the realms of biometric security, and major [...]
Mercato Metropolitano’s founder is a man on a mission October 21, 2019 The words Elephant & Castle and trendy food market don’t normally go together. It’s an area that’s unfortunately more associated with crime and poverty than gourmet dining. But since 2016, a patch of unassuming land around the corner from the Ministry of Sound has played home to Mercato Metropolitano. This upscale hotspot has around 50 vendors [...]
Hearthstone is caught in a Blizzard over Hong Kong protest October 17, 2019 The protests in Hong Kong have featured prominently in the news cycle since kicking off in March. All across the world, we’ve seen extensive coverage of the outbreaks of violence, as well as the excessive use of force by police to suppress the demonstrations. It’s likely that you’ve been following the story, but what you [...]
Strong Roots’ Sam Dennigan talks exporting and the environment October 10, 2019 Exporting is a major topic ahead of the Brexit deadline of 31 October. Hundreds of thousands of business across a range of sectors are understandably concerned about how to overcome the challenges associated with exports after leaving the EU. Sam Dennigan, founder and chief executive of Strong Roots, managed to crack this conundrum with a [...]
World Mental Health Day: How can an app boost your wellbeing? October 8, 2019 This Thursday is World Mental Health Day. Now before you roll your eyes at yet another article discussing the importance of our mental wellbeing, it is worth remembering the massive cost of mental ill-health to society. According to the OECD, the direct and indirect costs of it – such as absences from work and decreased [...]
Meet the company helping to build trust in influencer marketing October 7, 2019 It’s not hard to find critics of influencer marketing. This is an industry that is not short of scandals. There have been instances of social media stars failing to label marketing content as ads, promoting things that turn out to be fraudulent – see the Fyre Festival debacle – or even creating fake content. In [...]
Uncanny valley: Explaining the rise of virtual influencers September 30, 2019 I have fallen down a social media rabbit hole. I’ve been scrolling through the feed of an online influencer called “Lil Miquela”, and watching her videos on YouTube. Her Instagram is just like any other influencer account. There are pictures of her on nights out with friends, several of her posing in trendy clothes, even [...]
Gone phishing: How easy is it to fall for a fake email? September 26, 2019 Some time ago, I received an odd email allegedly from Google, saying that it had received a request to delete my Gmail account. According to the message, I had just 48 hours to cancel the request. All I had to do was click on a link and enter my account details. I had not made [...]
