The most loved (and hated) cryptocurrency in every country

Cryptocurrencies have been gaining more and more popularity in recent years, with many people investing in different types of digital currencies.

But not all cryptocurrencies are created equal. And they’re certainly not thought of as equal.

Some are widely loved by investors and enthusiasts, while others are met with a fair amount of scepticism and criticism.

But which of those cryptos do people love the most? And which digital tokens do they absolutely hate?

Those are the two questions that inspired the latest study from the crypto experts at CoinKickoff. And they found the answers by turning to that great arbiter of 21st-century public opinion - Twitter.

The CoinKickoff team ran nearly 1 million tweets mentioning the 100 largest cryptocurrencies by market cap through the AI-powered sentiment tracking software HuggingFace.

Then they translated all that data into several global maps showing the most loved and hated crypto in every country.

Let's take a look at the results.

The most loved cryptocurrencies

Ethereum and Solana tie for first place. They ranked as the most loved coins in 10 countries. The love for Ethereum and Solana is particularly strong in Sweden, Chile, and Costa Rica.

Cardona and Tezos are the most loved cryptos in six countries, putting them in joint third place.

Elrond makes a surprise appearance. Elrond is a cryptocurrency and blockchain platform designed to handle high volumes of transactions. It's one of the more complicated smart contract platforms, requiring deep technical expertise to appreciate. Still, it managed to come out on top in 5 countries. They include Bangladesh and Australia.

Bad news for Bitcoin

Bitcoin is the original cryptocurrency and remains the largest by market cap.

And - at least in crypto terms - it has a strong track record of stability and growth. Back in 2011, you could have picked up a whole Bitcoin for just $1. And despite an 80% drop in value since the 2022 high, that $1 would still be worth over $20,000. Not a bad investment.

Bitcoin is also on the verge of mainstream adoption. Companies such as PayPal and Square have started allowing their customers to buy and sell Bitcoin on their platforms, while institutional investors such as Goldman Sachs and BlackRock have started offering investment products tied to the price of Bitcoin.

Another factor driving mainstream adoption is the growing number of merchants and businesses accepting Bitcoin as payment. This includes everything from small online retailers to large brick-and-mortar stores, as well as a wide range of service providers such as law firms, accountants, and real estate agents.

The increasing regulatory clarity and support of governments and central banks towards Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are also contributing to its mainstream adoption.

But despite its strong fundamentals, Bitcoin still sits at the top of CoinKickoff's most hated crypto list.

According to Twitter sentiment, Bitcoin is the most hated crypto in 16 countries, including Finland, Vietnam, Finland, and Uzbekistan,

Crypto users in Qatar appear to have the biggest issue with Bitcoin. More than 1 in 5 (20.4%) of Bitcoin-related tweets coming out of this Gulf State contain what Bitcoin enthusiasts call fear, uncertainty, and doubt - a.k.a - the FUD. That's the highest percentage of negative tweets from anywhere in the world.

The world's most hated cryptos

Axie Infinity is the second most hated crypto. According to the CoinKickoff data, it's hated more than any other crypto in seven countries, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Axie Infinity is a blockchain-based game that allows players to breed, raise, and battle fantasy creatures called "Axies." Players can also earn cryptocurrency by participating in the game's economy, such as by breeding rare Axies or farming in-game assets.

But why do so many people hate Axie? Well, it's probably down to the price - with an emphasis on the down part. Investors who bought in during the crypto summer of 2022 have seen the value of their coins drop by 1300%. Ouch.

The network also suffered a major cyber attack in 2022, with hackers stealing more than $620million.

Uniswap, XRP, and Apecoin share third place on the most hated list. They're hated in six countries each.

Crypto sentiment in the USA

Around 20% of adults in the USA own cryptocurrency.

And if this study is anything to go by, we can bet that many of them hold a little bit of Stellar. Almost 70% (68.72%) of US-geotagged tweets mentioning Stellar were analyzed as positive by HuggingFace.

Stellar Lumens (XLM) is a digital asset and cryptocurrency that facilitates transactions on the Stellar network. The Stellar network is an open-source, decentralized payment protocol that allows for fast and cheap cross-border transactions.

The Stellar network uses its native digital asset, XLM, as a bridge currency to facilitate transactions between different fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies. The Stellar network also allows for creating and issuing custom tokens, making it useful for various use cases such as remittances, micropayments, and mobile money.

When it comes to negative crypto sentiment in the USA, Axie Infinity makes another unwanted appearance. Just under 1 in 3 (32.34%) of US tweets mentioning the coin were less than flattering; that makes Axie Infinity the USA's most hated crypto.

What does the study tell us about the future of crypto?

It is worth noting that the data from CoinKickoff is based on a survey of a relatively small sample of individuals and should be taken with a grain of salt.

Additionally, the crypto market is highly dynamic, and the sentiment towards a particular cryptocurrency can change quickly depending on the market conditions or recent news.

Future investing in crypto

Despite the scepticism and criticism that some cryptocurrencies face, it’s clear that digital currencies are here to stay. Bitcoin and Ethereum, in particular, have established themselves as major players in the crypto market, and are likely to continue to be popular among investors and enthusiasts.

However, it is important for investors to do their own research and to be aware of the risks and controversies associated with certain digital currencies before making any investment decisions.

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by Web Desk via Digital Information World

Is Instagram Over? Only 10% of the World’s Most Popular Influencers Use Instagram as Their Main Platform, Study Reveals

For decades, influential celebrities have been employed by businesses as part of a bigger promotional strategy. However, there has been a shift in recent years, with corporations wanting to collaborate with more social media influencers to attract an audience. But why and when did this become the era of the influencer?

Television was, for a long time, the main form of entertainment as well as the most widely used platform for the dissemination of marketing and advertising messages. Until YouTube was established in 2005.

One of the Internet's fastest-growing websites, YouTube quickly eclipsed Facebook with its estimated 2 billion active users per month. YouTube was first made available as a platform for sharing videos with people across the world, making it the first website where users could find online material produced by other people who shared their interests.

The influencer craze started in 2009, just 4 years after YouTube's debut, with the likes of Zoella, Alfie Deyes, Tanya Burr, and Caspar Lee sweeping the world and igniting the movement.

Social media platforms have expanded in accessibility for users as the Internet has grown. It should therefore come as no surprise that influencer culture has expanded to each of them, resulting in the success of today's most well-known influencers using a variety of online channels.

In an effort to determine which social media platforms have produced the largest full-time creators of all time, Higher Visibility has examined the influencers with the highest follower counts on each of the most well-known influencer-led social media platforms and tracked back to where they started their influencer journey.

Here are some key insights from the report:

• A mere 10% of the world’s most popular creators use Instagram as their main social media platform.
• 65% of the world’s biggest online creators leverage TikTok as their main platform as of 2023.
• Of the top-performing creators of 2023, 35% started their careers on YouTube.
• 10% of the world’s most popular creators began their careers on Vine.
• 80% of popular creators who began their careers on YouTube have stayed on the same platform .
• Though Instagram is seen as an ‘influencer platform’, just 10% of the most popular creators in 2023 currently use it as their main platform.
• Vine has created more popular full-time creators than Instagram.

Higher Visibility initially wanted to learn which of today's influencers had the most followers in order to determine which social media platform was producing the most full-time creators and influencers.

The winner was Khabane Lame, a social media star who became well-known in 2020 after quitting his job as a factory worker due to the coronavirus outbreak and starting to post videos on TikTok under the moniker "Khaby Lame." Using the app's stitch feature, Lame made popular responses to "life hack" videos. He rose to the position of the most-followed creator on TikTok on June 22, 2022.

Charli D'Amelio, a fellow TikToker, gained popularity on the video-sharing app and currently has 149,200,000 followers.

If we look more closely at particular platforms, we can see that many of the creators in the top 10 on TikTok really started their careers on the same app.

Even though TikTok only debuted in 2017, the app reportedly attracted its one billionth user just four years after becoming global. It had previously taken Facebook and Instagram over a decade to collect the amount of a user base as TikTok did, so it is not surprising that the number of creators on this app is also increasing quickly.

Although Vine was a short-form video-based platform, it’s interesting to note that many of the most popular personalities now utilize Instagram as their main platform.

The majority of popular YouTube creators in 2023 began their careers on YouTube. So, is it more difficult to build a following outside of YouTube once your influencer career has started there, and is it best to gain fans on YouTube from the start if you want to have a great career there?

Instagram is frequently considered an "influencers platform." In fact, according to recent research, as of 2022, the app would still account for 94 per cent of influencer marketing initiatives.

Instagram was the only social media network examined during the study where all of its top creators found their initial success on a single platform and stayed. The average number of followers held by users who were successful on the app, at 22,170,000, was the lowest of any app in the study.

This begs the question; does obtaining followers on other platforms become more difficult if you are successful on Instagram? And although TikTok's growth rate vastly outpaces Instagram's, does gaining Instagram followers present a chance to forge deeper connections with loyal fans?

TikTok ranked #1 overall among the platforms examined for having the greatest average number of followers among the top 10 influencers on the app. When compared to platforms like Instagram, which has a reported organic reach of 13.51 per cent, TikTok's reported organic reach for brands is 118 per cent. What effect, if any, does TikTok's "virality" and organic reach have on the success rate of the platform's full-time creators when this is taken into account?

Although many believe that YouTube's creator culture is waning, Higher Visibility’s research shows that it is a platform that draws devoted, long-term followers. YouTube was one of the first widely used platforms that allowed users all over the world to create online video content. If you didn't first establish your primary following on YouTube, has the window of opportunity for building a successful career on the site closed? Although some YouTube full-time creators have switched to TikTok, they have generally had less success there.

The third-place finisher is Vine, which hosted some of the most well-known artists of the modern era even after it shut down in 2016 after three years of operation.

Instagram comes in last with the fewest followers on average. The glamorous, idealised lives offered through carefully curated feeds on the picture-sharing platform were reported to be "over" in 2019, with people searching for more realistic, real-life content on other platforms. This report demonstrates that, even if this platform may have once been the preferred tool for influencer culture, times are unquestionably changing.

Read next: What’s the Most Toxic Platform on the Internet?

by Web Desk via Digital Information World

Identity Theft Incidents Increased by over 41% in 2022

The Identity Theft Resource Center just released its annual report, and the findings in this report do not bode well for the future of personal data security in the US. According to this report, 422 million people ended up being the victim of data theft, and this led to many further issues including identity theft with all things having been considered and taken into account.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that this represents a 41.5% increase from the numbers that were seen last year. That’s despite a downward trend being noted for most of the year, but in December it was revealed that the personal data of 220 million Twitter users was available on the Dark Web which made the numbers much higher than might have been the case otherwise.

Twitter ended up representing the single biggest data leak of 2022, but in spite of the fact that this is the case there were many other companies that were responsible for something similar. Neopets, AT&T, Cash App as well as Beetle Eye all contributed to this trend, with these five companies representing the least secure platforms as far as user data is concerned.

This data includes things like social security numbers, full names and many other types of information that can lead to identity theft and fraud. Companies need to be more transparent about data leaks because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up helping the people who have had their data stolen to take the necessary steps to protect themselves.

34% of data breach reports contained precise details about what was leaked during the theft. That means that 2 out of every 3 data breaches have taken information that has not yet been made clear to the public. Transparency is key here, and until major tech corporations are able to take responsibility for all that they are doing, it’s fairly like that these incidents will keep occurring. Threat actors will be able to operate in secret which can make their actions all the more harmful.

Read next: What’s the Best Threat Protection Against Ransomware?
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Breaking Points: The Top 12 Ways We Damage Our Phones According To A New Survey

According to a recent study by AT&T, there are 12 most common ways that people break their smartphones. These range from accidents, such as drops and spills, to intentional damage, such as throwing the phone in anger. The study found that nearly half of all smartphone owners have broken their devices at least once.

Drops: The most common way that people break their smartphones is by dropping them, 25%.

Slips: Slips were the second-most common cause of smartphone breaks, accounting for 20% of all breaks.

Forgetting on Laps: It is the third major reason for smartphone breakage with 16% of all breaks.

Tumbled On Phone: Dropping things on the phone causes 10% breakage.

Throws: Throwing the phone in anger or frustration was the ninth most common cause of smartphone breaks, accounting for 6% of all breaks.

Stomps: Stomping on the phone was the tenth most common cause of smartphone breaks, accounting for 5% of all breaks.

Dropping In Bathtub: Dropping phones in the bathtub accounts for 5% of total breaks.

Picture Drops: Throwing phones while capturing was the fifth most common cause of smartphone breaks, accounting for 4% of all breaks.

Chews: Chewing on the phone by pets was the eleventh most common cause of smartphone breaks, accounting for 3% of all breaks.

Children Smashing Phones: Children breaking phones were the seventh most common cause of smartphone breaks, accounting for 2% of all breaks.

Forgetting Phones in Pools: Taking phones in pools was the eighth most common cause of smartphone breaks, accounting for 1% of all breaks.

While some of these causes of phone breaks might seem trivial or comical, the fact is that a broken phone can be a significant inconvenience, and in some cases, a financial burden. It's important to take proper care of our phones and be mindful of the ways we use them to avoid any damage.

It is also important to note that these are the most common ways of breaking a phone, but it is not an exhaustive list, accidents do happen and there's always a chance that your phone will break unexpectedly. It is always a good idea to have a protection plan in place, such as a warranty or insurance, to help cover the cost of repairs or replacement in case of an accident. It is also important to regularly back up important data on your phone so that it can be easily retrieved in case of a break.

In conclusion, the study by AT&T highlights the most common ways that people break their smartphones, and serves as a reminder to be mindful of how we use and handle our devices. By taking proper care of our phones and having protection in place, we can help prevent or minimize the inconvenience and financial burden of a broken phone.

Read next: What’s the Most Toxic Platform on the Internet?
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Business Openings Surpass Pre-Pandemic Highs, Here’s What That Means for Search Ads

The pandemic wreaked a lot of havoc for businesses, and it took a really long time for things to start to get back to normal. In spite of the fact that this is the case, it seems that the impact of the pandemic is finally starting to give way, with a massive uptick in the number of new businesses that are opening their doors for the first time.

This is based on data from Yelp which indicates that there has been a 12% increase in the openings of new businesses as compared to 2019. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that local services businesses are likely driving much of this growth, since night life, restaurant and other similar businesses have yet to pick up steam in the aftermath of the pandemic.

It should also be mentioned that this growth rate was seen across the entirety of the US, with practically every state seeing more businesses open than ever before. The South is experiencing an especially promising rate of growth, with businesses in that region growing faster than might have been the case otherwise.

However, things aren’t looking quite as rosy in a number of major US cities. For example, the growth rate for new businesses in San Francisco has yet return to pre-pandemic levels, let alone surpass them. That seems to suggest that the growth rate is not being distributed all that evenly with all things having been considered and taken into account.

Since there are so many new companies and businesses, they will very likely invest in search ads and digital ads because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up driving foot traffic.

These businesses are still in a very early stage of their life cycle, which means that they will need all the help that they can get in order to get things going. That might lead to a boost in the digital ad industry which is sorely needed considering how much turmoil it’s been immersed in.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Cybersecurity Jobs Are Still Rising Despite Widespread Tech Layoffs

The tech industry is going through a pretty tumultuous time, with tens of thousands of workers now having been laid off. In spite of the fact that this is the case, there is a specific category of tech worker that is seeing a consistently high level of demand, specifically that of cybersecurity experts. The interesting thing about these jobs that are still available is that rather than a college degree they require a fair amount of experience as well as training that can be obtained online.

It really isn’t all that surprising that cybersecurity is reaching such new highs because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up keeping tech companies safe from a wide range of attacks. Research from CyberSeek revealed well over 700,000 job postings that focused on cybersecurity, or 755,734 to be precise.

That is actually a small decrease from the just under 770,000 job postings that were seen last year, but it still shows that the cybersecurity sector is going quite strongly with all things having been considered and taken into account. Cyber talent has been in short supply for a good long while now, and laid off tech workers can get their hands on six figure income jobs if they were to transition to this niche.

• Also read: 37% of Consumers Are Willing to Pay for Generative AI

In order to get a cybersecurity job, it might help to start with the right major in college. While there aren’t really any cybersecurity focused college majors being offered right now, certain majors can make it easier for you to get the job than might have been the case otherwise. Such majors include software engineering, computer science as well as IT.

Furthermore, hopeful candidates can try to get accreditations and qualifications online that can help them in the job search. These certificates are pretty easy to complete, and they can be instrumental in getting the ball rolling.

Tech workers will be looking for new sources of income, and this presents them with an opportunity to hit the ground running. Cybersecurity jobs will likely see an even higher level of demand in 2023 if current trends persist.

Read next: What’s the Best Threat Protection Against Ransomware?
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

The World Economic Forum’s insight on the largest global risks

The climate is changing dramatically all around the world, and the consequences of such changes have already begun to show themselves. It is expected that over the next 10 years, this drastic change and the outcomes that follow will become the biggest global risk.

According to the World Economic Forum, over 1,000 leaders from different areas, including academics, politicians, and businesspeople, were requested to analyze 32 global risk factors on the basis of how they’ll progress over the next two to ten years.

The data collected from the leaders was included in the survey on global risk perception. According to the responses, the ongoing inflation crisis will remain an important problem over the next two years, but in terms of a ten-year period, the issue won’t be much of a risk. Mainly because climate change will be responsible for the top 4 major risks.

The eighteenth edition of the Risk Report released by the World Economic Forum focused on groups of individual risks having significant impacts. Russia’s start of war against Ukraine is causing a shortage of food as well as other basic necessities. If the situation continues, then it can lead to more political and social unrest.

According to Saadia Zahidi, the MD of the World Economic Forum, surviving the ongoing crises is currently the focal point for everyone. She further added that the ongoing events are diverting attention from factors that pose a much larger risk in the next ten years. Deteriorating climate and ecosystems, health risks, and economic crises are events that need recognition and resources.

Global warming, followed by natural disasters and extreme weather causing large-scale damage and natural resources falling short, these are the events that are much more dangerous. Not only the climatic factors need more time, but geo-economic confrontation and increasing cybercrimes are also among the events that require more surveillance.

The aim behind the survey conducted by Forum was to bring everyone’s attention to risks that are either being neglected or need more awareness in order to take timely measures to prevent such calamities or to lower their impact when they arrive.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

This Data From Fiverr Suggests a Massive Increase in Freelancers in 2023

Freelancing is becoming an increasingly popular option for people looking to earn money because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up putting them in the driver’s seat. With layoffs becoming so commonplace and jobs being hard to come by, it’s no surprise that so many individuals are looking to leverage their skillsets so that they can earn more money than might have been the case otherwise.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that around 66% of US based workers are planning to join a freelancing platform in 2023. This data comes from a survey of around 2,000 Americans which was conducted by Fiverr, and it suggests that market competition is about to reach an all time high.

53% of the people who responded to this survey stated that they feel less secure about their financial health, and 33% of them are worried that finding a new job after getting laid off would take far too long. That might be why 73% of them are thinking of starting freelancing in 2023, with 29% also thinking of asking for a raise in order to weather the tough financial period.

56% of surveyed individuals mentioned that they want to try to save more money this year. That’s higher than the 53% that said the same last year, and what’s more is that 41% of them said that they want to invest their savings as compared to 38% last year.

38% of them also said that they wanted to save up for a big purchase which is yet another increase from the 35% that said the same in 2021. People are clearly being more responsible with their money, and freelancing can be a great way for them to get things up off the ground. The lack of sustainability in the job market is proving to be an enormous factor here, as is an increased desire for remote work options as well as flexible hours that traditional jobs usually don’t provide.

Read next: Inflation Might Be Making People Lie in Job Interviews According to Recent Survey
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

LexisNexis shared the list of companies with the most AI patents

Artificial intelligence is considered to be the future, as it has already started to take over jobs in several tech companies, including Google and Microsoft. Several companies are racing to get AI patents for their products.

China is sweeping the floor as Tencent and Baidu, two renowned Chinese companies, hold the most AI patents, leaving U.S.-based IBM behind. Other companies, including tech giants Samsung and Microsoft, are also on the list of the most prolific AI patent holders.

The American data analysis company LexisNexis has recently shared data showing how much such companies have grown when it comes to AI-based products.

According to the data revealed by the analytical company, Tencent’s AI patents went from 711 in 2017 to over 9000 in 2021, making it the largest AI patent-holder platform. Tencent was shortly followed by Baidu, a search engine that took the numbers from 1134 in 2017 to 9504 in 2021, making it the second-largest patent holder.

As compared to the Chinese companies, the U.S.-based IBM and South Korean-based Samsung were far behind. IBM added 4422 more AI patents in 5 years, while Samuel was able to add only 3572 patent products.

The most significant performance came from Ping An, an insurance company that only had 46 patents in 2017 but, by the end of 2021, had 6410 AI patent products under its name. On the other hand, Microsoft, which ruled the list in 2017 with 4373 products, was able to add only 1448 more products. However, the company had a breakthrough when one of its mega-AI investments finally paid off as the company introduced ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence-based bot created by OpenAI. Furthermore, Microsoft is planning to fund the project with another ten billion dollars.

And lastly, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, also made its way onto the list of the most prolific AI patent holders. The company was able to go from 2033 patents in 2017 to 4068 patents in 2021.

The data shared by LexisNexis is based on the information collected until 2021; it can be expected that the figures might have gone up in 2022.

Read next: Chat GPT Achieved One Million Users in Record Time - Revolutionizing Time-Saving in Various Fields
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Here Are the Biggest Macro Threats to the Tech Industry in 2023

The macro conditions all around the world are not all that conducive to industry growth, and the tech niche has proven especially susceptible to that with all things having been considered and taken into account. Analysts working at Counterpoint Research recently highlighted which macro risks will prove to be the biggest threats to the tech world.

The ongoing economic recession topped the list, getting 71.41 points out of a maximum 100. The pandemic may have sparked inflation, but the rise in costs of living has not abated even as the pandemic has receded somewhat.

Following that we saw the rivalry between the US and China which may make trade negotiations harder than might have been the case otherwise. This rivalry got a score of 63.41 due to the US placing sanctions upon China, and coming in at number three is the energy crisis which received 58.43 points.

Emerging markets might also be a sore spot for the industry, with the turmoil going on in these markets resulting in it receiving 58.27 points. It was followed by a retreat in tech earnings which can already be seen with massive layoffs among all major tech corporations.

One thing to mention here is that the recession is a core component of most of the other macro risks that are being faced by the tech industry. The energy crisis, emerging market pains as well as many other things have been made worse than might have been the case otherwise by the recession, and it’s shaping up to a long hard year by all metrics.

China is going to be a big player that will determine whether the recession ends sooner or later. The sudden move away from Covid-Zero took many by surprise because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up indicating a lack of foresight among Chinese officials.

Also, China’s long term economic outlook is not quite as rosy as it used to be. That will definitely change the shape of the tech industry in ways that can be hard to accurately predict.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

These Personality Traits Could Make People More Susceptible to Fake News

Fake news is one of the most significant problems that the world is facing right now, but a new study in the journal “Personality and Individual Differences” revealed that people who have certain personality traits might be more susceptible to fake news than might have been the case otherwise. According to the findings, there are three types of personality traits that could make someone prone to believe fake news, namely schizotypal, paranoid and histrionic.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that these personality traits can make critical thinking more of a challenge. That can lead to bearers of these personality traits forming connections that aren’t actually objective or factually correct.

One thing to not here is that such personality traits are not exactly a modern invention. In spite of the fact that this is the case, access to the internet is exacerbating the tendency of individuals with these traits to obtain access to conspiracy theories that they would then immediately use to fill in the gaps with faulty logic.

The study in question involved 1,483 people, who were tested with a wide range of personality tests. They were then given a test that was meant to gauge their ability to spot misinformation pertaining to Covid-19, with 18 pieces of news being given 6 of which were factual, 6 incorrect and 6 didn’t have enough context to prove anything either way.

Participants in this study were quite prone to the Barnum effect, wherein a generalized piece of information seems like it pertains to only them rather than being a vague statement that actually applies to a number of people. This effect can be used maliciously because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up making people believe things that just aren’t true.

The findings of this study are quite interesting, since they shed some light on misinformation and how it tends to spread. Access to this much information can be overwhelming, and more work needs to be done to find a solution.

Photo: Freepik
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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

What’s the Most Toxic Platform on the Internet?

Gen Z is the first generation to have grown up with the internet, and that means that their lived experience could end up being markedly different from that of generations prior. ExpressVPN conducted a study that revealed what some of the most toxic platforms for children might end up being, and they surveyed 2,000 children from the US as well as the UK to better understand what was going on.

The first thing that this survey revealed was what the most common toxic online experiences for children might end up looking like. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that 34% of kids who responded to this survey said that they experienced someone being rude to them. 31% said that they had seen a video that scared them and 26% said the same about scary images.

Parents seem to have a very different idea about what type of negative experiences children are having online. 59% of parents felt that online bullying was a common toxic interaction, but in spite of the fact that this is the case it came in fourth for children with only 22% reporting having gone through it.

Now, as for as the most toxic platforms online, YouTube was selected by 43% of children. YouTube tied with Roblox for first place in the UK, with both being chosen by 34% of children who participated in this survey.

With children over the age of 13 regularly using the internet for at least 45 minutes a day, exposure to this type of behavior can become more frequent than might have been the case otherwise. That might not be a lot of time, but regardless it is clearly enough to expose children to a wide range of behavior that can end up having a rather negative impact on them with all things having been considered and taken into account.

Parents must reconcile their assumptions with what their children are actually experiencing. Bullying is not as big of an issue as parents think, and there are other things that might be far more commonplace.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

What’s the Best Threat Protection Against Ransomware?

Suffering from a ransomware attack can be quite disastrous for a business because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up bringing its operations to a grinding halt. Using a threat detection and prevention system can be great for companies who are looking to fend off ransomware attacks, but which software ends up performing the best in that regard?

AV-TEST attempted to get to the bottom of that by pitting some of the most well known threat preventers against 10 separate scenarios in which ransomware could come into play. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that three software variants ended up scoring the maximum 30 points.

These were Kaspersky’s Internet Security, Microsoft Defender and PC Matic’s Application Whitelisting software. Internet Security by Bitdefender didn’t do too poorly either, as did Norton360 by NortonLifeLock both of which got 29 points apiece.

VIPRE Security was an especially poor performer with all things having been considered and taken into account. Not only was it close to the bottom of the rankings with just 27 points, it also failed to detect one of the ten attacks.

That is a real red flag, since it suggests that up to 10% of the attacks could slip through the cracks which would make this threat protection program less reliable than might have been the case otherwise. It still wasn’t at the bottom of the list though, with V3 Internet Security by AhnLab getting that dubious honor with just 24.5 points.

Each software was given a score out of 3 for how well it defended against each attack. This means that Kaspersky, Microsoft and PC Matic did perfectly in all ten scenarios, while the rest had a few gaps here of there.

VIPRE Security could have gotten a full 30 points too, but the missed attack ended up losing it 3 points. AhnLab did really poorly since even though it detected all of the attacks it failed to respond to them in an appropriate enough manner which makes it a risky choice for businesses.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

37% of Consumers Are Willing to Pay for Generative AI

Generative AI is one of the latest iterations of the cutting edge tech, and it has seen an enormous adoption rate among everyday users. A market research firm by the name of Suzy conducted a survey to see what consumers are thinking about generative AI, and this revealed that 35% of consumers are aware of most of the variants that are out there right now.

If we were to zero in on AI users, 37% of them said that they would be willing to pay for access to Chat GPT or whatever other generative AI they prefer. That’s not surprising given that 78% of people that use AI on a regular basis said that they would be upset if they lost access to their chosen tool since it’d make it harder for them to get work done than might have been the case otherwise.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that generative AI is already being used in a wide array of professional contexts. That seems to suggest that people are going to start using AI to earn money because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up streamlining their various processes.

Hence, it makes a lot of sense that so many AI users are willing to pay for the service. In spite of the fact that this is the case, only about half of all AI users who responded to this survey said that they’d be willing to pay for it, so the companies behind these generative AI models might have to choose between increasing their revenues and alienating their user base or going for a wider approach whilst looking for other sources of profit.

Half is still pretty good though, and Chat GPT developer Open AI has recently said that they might put the AI chatbot behind a paywall. It will be interesting to see what would happen when that occurs, since it could determine the future trajectory that the tech would go down in the long run.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

13% Quarterly Increase Reported for US Digital Ad Spend Driven by Social

The economic turmoil that has immersed the world has put a lot of industries in jeopardy, but in spite of the fact that this is the case digital marketing has managed to weather the storm for the most part. It turns out that digital ad spending in the US increased by as much as 13% in the fourth quarter of 2022, and a big chunk of that growth came from increased investment in social media.

This represents a $3 billion increase quarter over quarter, and it should be mentioned that ad impressions are also on the rise. They were sitting at around the 2.5 trillion mark in the third quarter of 2022, but by the fourth quarter of 2022 they had risen by 8.6% to reach 2.7 trillion with all things having been considered and taken into account.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that 63% of this ad spending is going towards social media. 22% goes towards display and video, with the final 15% being taken up by OTT channels and platforms.

TikTok is having an especially good time of it based on the findings in this report. Ad spending on the platform grew by as much as 62%, which meant that it got the highest growth rate out of every single media channel that gets used by digital advertisers these days.

By comparison, ad spending on Facebook grew by 14% and TikTok’s main competitor Instagram only saw spending increase by approximately 15%. Snapchat did far better, although its 29% increase still fell way short of what TikTok saw, and it suggests that the growing short form video platform has a lot more to offer in the long run.

Twitter did not have a very good quarter, with ad spending on the platform only growing by 9%. Some might call Elon Musk’s leadership into question because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up making it harder for him to keep the momentum going as CEO than might have been the case otherwise.

We also received some data pertaining to the top advertisers in the US, and it turns out that Amazon was far and away the highest spender by a very large margin. The ecommerce juggernaut spent close to half a billion dollars on advertising in the US in the fourth quarter of 2022 alone. This is despite Amazon slashing its digital ad spending by 6.3%, which just goes to show how big of a player Amazon is in this arena.

Following Amazon we saw P&G with a healthy $280 million, followed by Walmart with an even $200 million. The fact that Amazon is nearly the combined total of the next two advertisers on the list reveals the enormous level of influence the ecommerce giant has, and it also suggests that Amazon is quite critical to the advertising industry as a whole.

Amazon was the biggest advertisers on all major social media platforms save for Snapchat. Meta ended up being the advertiser that was putting the largest amount of spending into digital marketing on the Gen Z centered app.

H/T: Sensor Tower Blog

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

The List For Downloaded Apps December 2022 And the List of Apps With the Most Revenue in December 2022 is Here

Ranking the most downloaded apps in December 2022, TikTok has once again come to the first spot. TikTok was downloaded on almost 600 million new devices in 2022 alone which says a lot about how people love consuimg short-form content. However, as the app is banned in India, Instagram got the second spot overall. Instagram was the most downloaded app in Google Play in December 2022 with 36 million downloads. TikTok only ranked as the most downloaded app on Google Play Store in June 2022 and now it has gotten the third spot after Facebook. CapCut, a video editing app, was the third most downloaded app in December 2022, where it took the second spot on IOS App Store and fourth spot on Google Play Store's most downloaded apps list.

Overall, Facebook and WhatsApp took fourth and fifth spots as the most downloaded apps in December 2022. The top ten most downloaded apps in the world in December 2022 had 319 million downloads in total, which is much lower than in November 2022. Maybe it's because December was the holiday season and everyone was too busy with their families and stuff.

If we talk about the highest-earning apps on Play Store and App Store, TikTok still got the first spot with $55 million in revenue. It got $52 million just from IOS App Store while $3 million from the Play Store. Lite and regional versions of the app were also included in its revenue. Youtube came in the second spot with $50 million in revenue in December 2022, just from the App Store alone. Youtube didn't make the top 10 list on Google Play Store. Lensa took the seventh spot with $26 million in revenue on the list of the apps with the most revenue in December 2022 on IOS App Store. It wasn't seen on Google Play and hence, we can see that the trend of Lens is almost finished and that it couldn't make it to the list of top 10 apps with the most revenue in December 2022.

Life360, Fitbit, and Disney+ were the apps with the most revenue on Google Play with $4 million revenue.

LensaAI can be barely seen in this revenue list so it is almost impossible that it will make it to the top 10 list in January. So we can see that the craze for LensaAI was only till December and now people are almost bored with this app. Let's see what the list of apps with the most revenue in January 2023 will bring.

H/T: App Figures.

Read next: Almost Half of Brits Don’t Trust Meta Anymore
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Almost Half of Brits Don’t Trust Meta Anymore

Privacy scandals have rocked the world of tech one after another these past few years, and it is resulting in the industry suffering from a crisis of trust among consumers. Forbes Advisor recently conducted a survey of 2,000 British people, and this revealed the extent to which public trust of social media platforms has ended up eroding so far.

Meta ended up being the least trusted app developer of all, with 48% of the people who responded to this survey saying that they really don’t trust anything that Meta might have to offer. That’s not surprising considering the shocking revelations that have come out about Meta’s algorithm and how it manages the data of its users, but in spite of the fact that this is the case other social media platforms aren’t all that widely trusted either.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Twitter and TikTok have miserably low trust scores as well, with 41% of people not trusting the former and 42% not trusting the latter. That seems to suggest that social media in general is not seen as trustworthy by a decent chunk of the British populace.

As for what app developers Brits trust the most, that honor belonged to PayPal. Amazon and Microsoft were also included in the list of most trusted. It bears mentioning that nine of the ten app developers that got the highest level of trust were established prior to the year 2000, so this crisis of confidence seems to be impacting recent brands more than older ones.

With 90% of British people scared of being hacked, it’s quite understandable that social media is where they are aiming their mistrust. Personal and private data has to be managed effectively, and most social media platforms have failed at that.

Youngsters seem to trust TikTok and Instagram more. That bodes well for the future, since it suggests that these apps will have fewer trust issues and will get their hands on more data once their target demographic becomes the majority in the world.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

How to Keep Kids Safe from the Harmful Effects of Screen Time

One of the primary concerns for parents happens to involve attempting to reduce the screen time that their children end up using, but in spite of the fact that this is the case it can be challenging to reduce screen time since the use of smartphones is so indispensable. Research from Japan has confirmed that too much screen time can have a definite negative impact on the cognitive development of children.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that there are a few things that parent can do to keep these harmful effects at bay. For one thing, playing outdoors was noticed to be a strong way to prevent the damage and make it less severe than might have been the case otherwise.

More specifically, encouraging children to play outdoors could improve their daily living skills by up to 20%, and it could help repair much of the damage within the span of 16 months with all things having been considered and taken into account.

This is an especially important thing to consider given the detrimental impact that the pandemic had on children. They were forced to stay indoors, and that left screen time as the only real way to keep them engaged.

Incorporating techniques that can rectify this damage is essential because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up getting children back on track. Research such as this is pivotal to discovering the right strategies to deploy, so it’s fair to say that there might still be some hope on the horizon.

Communication skills can also be improved in this manner. The key here is to avoid restricting screen time unnecessarily, and instead try to supplement children’s routines through outdoor play and socialization.

In a world where screens are increasingly becoming the only concrete way to receive information, many are trying to look for methods to keep things on an even keel. This research will likely be the first of many to come in the long run.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Yahoo Impersonated in 20% of Phishing Attacks

Phishing attacks have been a thorn in the side of the average internet user for quite a long time. In spite of the fact that this is the case, they continue to rise unabated, and the malicious actors behind these attacks seem to come up with new and better ways implementing them on a regular basis.

Check Point Software Technologies just published a new report that highlighted trends in phishing attacks for the fourth quarter of 2022. One of the things that this report revealed was which brands end up getting impersonated the most often in phishing attacks, and it turns out that Yahoo is a prime candidate for malicious actors who want to make their phishing attacks more successful than might have been the case otherwise.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Yahoo was impersonated in around 20% of the phishing attacks that were noted in the Q4 2022. Most of the phishing emails that are impersonating Yahoo appear to claim that the recipient of the email has won some kind of prize, even though no such program is being offered by Yahoo as of right now.

Yahoo is not the only major corporation that sees itself getting impersonated time and time again in phishing emails. DHL has also been a popular choice, with 16% of Q4 2022 phishing attacks impersonating the freight and delivery service.

Following that we had Microsoft which has impersonated in 11% of such attacks, and these three companies collectively account for just under half of all phishing attacks. By comparison, Google is only impersonated in about 5.8% of phishing attacks, at least as far as Q4 2022 is concerned.

Users should receive some kind of training or education that might enable them to better recognize phishing or other forms of malicious emails and avoid interacting with them entirely. If an email is offering something that seems too good to be true, it’s fairly likely that you are about to get phished and it would be better to delete the email and ideally report it for spam.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Hybrid Work Might Not Be Suitable for Introverts According to This Report

Hybrid work is an exciting new prospect because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up helping people take advantage of working from home as well as from the office. In spite of the fact that this is the case, hybrid work might not be ideal for everyone with all things having been considered and taken into account.

A survey that was conducted by Canon USA revealed that 46% of hybrid workers prefer to start their work week from the office, whereas just 20% liked to do so from home. That might be because starting the work week at the office can help them to get their productivity on track, and they can then spend a few days finishing things up in a home environment.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that hybrid work might be more suitable for extroverts than introverts. 82% of extroverts said that hybrid work was helping them to improve their communication skills, whereas only 62% said the same.

More specifically, 80% of introverts said that the hybrid work model was liable to make them more stressed out and overwhelmed than might have been the case otherwise. By comparison, 64% of extroverts said the same.

It bears mentioning that the difference is not that high, but it is still significant enough that extroverts might be able to settle into a hybrid work routine more easily than their introverted counterparts. 32% of introverts said that communication gaps are a major source of concern for them in a hybrid work setup, since they desire more communication than such a system can provide.

All in all, there will be some growing pains as hybrid work starts to become commonplace. We may even find lots of individuals choosing to work entirely from the office or from home. The fact that there are so many options now is a heartening sign, and it will very likely do a great deal to boost worker productivity down the line.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Here Are the Most Visited Websites in the World

Most analysts agree that there are at least two billion unique websites up and running with all things having been considered and taken into account. However, it bears mentioning that a huge chunk of these sites receive barely any traffic. Data from SimilarWeb and VisualCapitalist can help us to understand which sites end up getting the highest number of visitors.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Google’s search engine ended up being at the top of the list. This should not come as a surprise, since Google has been the starting point for people’s internet access for quite a long while. Google receives over 85 billion hits per month, which gives it a comfortable lead over pretty much every other site.

Another thing to note here is that the second most visited site is also owned by Google, namely YouTube, which has received approximately 33 billion hits every month. Following that we finally break out of the Google ecosystem with Facebook coming in second place with 17.8 billion hits per month.

Twitter and Instagram follow up in fourth and fifth place respectively, and they have similar site traffic levels to with the former receiving 6.8 billion and the latter 6.1 billion site visits on a monthly basis. This shows that social media companies are still major players, although Instagram’s focus on its smartphone app may make these rather low numbers less concerning than might have been the case otherwise.

Moving on, once we exit the top five we finally start to see a website that does not belong to an American company. The Chinese search engine Baidu comes in sixth with 5 billion hits, although Wikipedia is close on its heels with 4.8 billion.

The Russian search engine Yandex ranked eighth on this list with 3.4 billion hits, followed closely by Yahoo with 3.3 billion hits. Rounding off the top ten is WhatsApp Web with just under 3 billion site visits or 2.9 billion to be precise.

Overall, the US has 30 sites in the top 50, Russia has 5, China has 4, Japan and South Korea have 3 and 2 respectively, and then Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, France and India have 1 site in the top 50 apiece. This indicates the high level of dominance that American sites tend to see, and it reveals the enormous influence that these sites tend to have on the world wide web.

Interestingly, Walmart as well as PayPal found themselves knocked out of the top 50 for the first time. Samsung and the New York Times ended up replacing them, which also means that South Korea got its second entry into the top 50.

The control that American tech companies have on the internet does not look like it is going to abate anytime soon. Chances are that we will only see their influence continue to grow, since other countries are not really able to make sites that can compete with American ones. The Chinese social media platform TikTok is giving most social media sites a run for their money, but TikTok is primarily used via the app so its website does not receive that many hits.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World