YouTube Offers Users A More Optimized Experience With An ‘Explore’ Page For Its Podcasts

YouTube is on a mission of giving its subscribers and content creators a more optimized experience. And it’s kickstarting the initiative by launching podcasts as a simple ‘Explore’ page.

For those who may not be aware, the platform organically turned into the ideal location for podcasts. Be it listening, watching, or simply distributing content related to it, many viewers loved it. Therefore, it makes sense why Google has decided to hop on the optimized experience bandwagon in this regard.

Just a few months back in March, we saw the company come forward with its leaked presentation. This spoke about some major plans for a destination page on the platform with the following credentials: youtube.com/podcasts.

Now, it’s live and running, getting attached via links to a new Explore Page. Right by its side, you’ll also find health, beauty, lifestyle, music, movies, shows, live gaming, fashion, and more. While the company says it first went live last month, it’s slowly but surely expanding to others.

We did check today and that’s when we found that not everyone has access to it but soon, it should be there.

The feature is present on both mobile and desktop versions of the app. And at this point in time, we can safely say it’s quite rudimentary.

You can see carousels that are expanded to feature a ‘show all’ option in case you wish to see all the popular episodes. There’s a tab for recommendations and even one for popular creators in the world of podcasts.

Throughout the page, you’ll find plenty of other links to popular subjects like sports, television, comedy, crime, music, and movies. And while browsing, you’ll find that you’re not really going through any optimized content.

But once you tap, it opens up a regular player for Android and the user won’t be forced into entering default by accessing the Listening Controls tab that is up for grabs for premium users.

You’ll also be able to take advantage of bigger buttons and handy shortcuts such as save, like, and adjustments for playback speed too.

With time, the app hopes to make the whole experience a lot more optimized with time. Many of us are definitely looking forward to seeing what YouTube Music will have to offer in this regard.

We see YouTube Podcasts being amalgamated into this, instead of being available for users as a separate entity. And we might be a little sad about that because we loved how convenient and efficient that used to be.

H/T: 9to5G

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Google Flags Parents’ Accounts For Abuse When They Uploaded Images Of Their Sick Kids Without Clothing

In what is being termed a controversial matter, critics are raising their concern over Google’s AI after one incident opened many people's eyes.

The case was related to a father who uploaded images of his child suffering from a medical condition. He had an infection in the groin region so to assist doctors in diagnosing his medical illness, the dad followed the nurse's instructions for an online consultation.

But a shock came when Google went about flagging his account on the basis of potential child abuse. The whole scenario got out of control and we saw the case being reported to higher authorities and the police as well.

This led to an entire investigation as reported by the New York Times recently as the dad’s account was shut down, followed by a report being filed. But was that really necessary? Well, we’re not sure about that but one thing that has really opened many people’s eyes is how Google lacks the criteria to differentiate the good from the bad.

Labeling innocent pictures with the tag ‘child abuse’ and then adding it into its digital library too, be it personal phones or cloud storage, has really left so many questions in people’s minds.

Just last year, we saw similar concerns come about when it was announced that blurring lines of what should be kept private could actually have deleterious consequences. The move came when tech giant Apple went public with its Child Safety plan.

Through this move, Apple was seen scanning pictures locally across Apple devices, right before they were added to its iCloud. The pictures were then matched with the database CSAM. Whenever a sufficient number of matches were outlined, the content would get reviewed with the aid of a human moderator.

After reviewing the content, the account holder would be suspended if there was proof of it belonging to CSAM. See, the accounts would be removed if it was proven to be illegal.

But as you can expect, the move came with plenty of controversies. The EFF which works on a non-profit basis blasted Apple as they felt it had the capability of opening a new door into users’ private lives. It also meant that all images on iCloud would be less protected instead of actually serving as an improvement.

Therefore, Apple was left with no choice but to put the move on hold, we’re talking in terms of the scanning part. But after the launch of iOS 15.2, we saw another optional feature come about related to child accounts. There was even an option restricted to family sharing plans too.

When a parent provides their consent on the child’s account, the app would analyze any image attachments and see if the photos had any form of nudity. Still, the messages would be secure via end-end encryption.

Any controversial image would be blurred out, with respective warnings being provided. In addition to that, a list of resources would be included to provide online safety too.

This particular incident that began this whole issue started off during the Pandemic when a dad named Mark clicked images of his sick son’s infected groin region. He needed the assistance and was requested by a nurse to follow these steps, right before a proper doctor’s consultation. In the end, the doctor diagnosed the case and provided respective antibiotics, and that’s it.

But to Mark’s surprise, Google issued him with warning statements after just two days that his account was locked as they don’t allow harmful content. They also stated that it was a major violation of policies too.

The father ended up losing all his Google images, accounts, and phone number too.

While providing protection to young kids against abuse is pivotal, critics are now debating whether scanning all images of a user for unreasonable reasons can’t be allowed.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

45% of Consumers Downsized Their Lifestyles Due to Inflation

Retailers are feeling the heat of inflation, and many such as Walmart are offering hefty discounts because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up keeping sales up and the revenue coming in albeit lower than what it usually would be. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that retailers are not alone in feeling the adverse impacts of inflationary pressures on the prices of goods in the economy.

Consumers are also being affected by inflation, and a study conducted by NCSolutions 45% of American citizens are no longer able to afford their lifestyle and have therefore had to do some downsizing with all things having been considered and taken into account. 85% of the individuals who participated in this survey stated that inflation was a big concern for them, and 58% expect prices to get even higher as the year continues to progress.

46% of these consumers also stated that they are cutting down on non-essential purchases, and 60% are being more careful about what groceries they buy often by opting for cheaper off-brand alternatives. 43% of consumers now look for discounts so that they can buy products from their favorite brands which suggests that they are not able to afford the same products quite as easily.

60% of Americans have noticed shrinkflation, namely through the decreasing size of CPG product packaging, and that the product prices are still the same. 69% are also noticing a lower than usual number of products on store shelves, and 36% feel like they don’t have as many brands to choose from.

All of this data might lead some retailers to reduce their marketing, but in spite of the fact that this is the case NCS recommends that they should do the opposite. Informing consumers about products can help keep the wheel turning and spur continued consumption on their part. Much of inflation related decreased spending is related to stress, and seeing retailers actively promoting products can do a lot to ease the tension felt by American buyers.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Streaming Takes Over Cable And Broadcasts To Hold Highest Share For Total Daily Viewing

The month of July saw a few records being broken and it’s needless to say that users really adored streaming last month.

Streaming surpassed statistics for both cable as well as broadcasts. In this way, it held the biggest share as far as total daily viewing is concerned.

The share reached a grand total of 34.8%, which is a record in itself as this is the first time it went so high. Also, it’s the first time we’re seeing such records come into play, after Nielson’s launch for Total TV and Streaming that was unveiled last year.

Cable took the second position as far as the combined daily viewing of people above the age of two was concerned. The share was about 34.4%, while in third place, we had broadcasts arrive with a share of just 21.6%.

When looking at the statistics from 2021 and comparing the two, it’s clear to see how streaming is in the lead, being almost 23% higher this year. Meanwhile, the cable went down by 9% during the same time frame. Broadcasts also lost out 10% with their share dropping from 24%.

Nielsen was seen speaking in detail about how months like July do tend to witness such dips as it’s the holiday or summer season. Hence, television platforms aren’t usually performing in the same manner.

Then when we compared data trends from June of this year to that of July, we saw broadcasts fall short by 3.7% and cable losing out by nearly 2%. To be more specific, broadcasts related to playoffs in the sports world like NBA and NHL even dropped by a staggering 40% in the month of July. In the previous month, it happened to be up by 3%.

We must take this time out to note how things were definitely going in favor of Netflix in July as compared to previous months. And a huge chunk of the credit goes to the ever-so-popular Stranger Things Series. This certainly added to its success.

There were 18 billion more minutes of viewing for this new season. As of now, Netflix stands at an 8% share, as compared to the previous month. YouTube came second and that was closely followed by Hulu in third place.

Amazon Prime, Disney+, and HBO Max seemingly followed in that order.

Both broadcasts and cable showed declines of 10% and 9% while streaming went up by a whopping 23% from 2021.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Excessive Cloud Spending is Proving to be a Problem for Half of Businesses

Data storage methods have advanced to the point where cloud technology is rapidly turning into the global standard, but in spite of the fact that this is the case it appears that many businesses are struggling with the expenses that cloud migration can incur. Rising volatility in the economy is making things worse because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up making cloud data storage requirements hard to predict with any degree of certainty.

According to this report that was just put out by Anodot, just under half of businesses, or 49% to be precise, are having a hard time managing their cloud spending. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that cloud waste is cited as a major factor in excessive spending by 54% of businesses that participated in this survey. Additionally, 44% of top level executives opined that their companies waste about a third of their cloud budgets for the year.

53% of survey participants highlighted that obtaining a clear overview of cloud storage requirements was a huge challenge on this front. Cloud pricing is also a bit too complex for them at this stage, and that can make them spend more than they need to which they would only realize when it is too late. 49% also stated that multi-cloud environments can be hard to keep track of, and this can result in cloud waste which is already a serious issue as has been mentioned above.

Cloud architecture that uses a multitude of tools to manage the environment are also causing wastage according to 59% of respondents. Furthermore, 73% stated that their organizations are increasing cloud capacity which can make decisions harder in the long run.

Cloud computing can be revolutionary, but low levels of clarity are impeding this tech’s ability to improve data storage for organizations. Ad hoc implementation is a huge source of concern, and more work needs to be done to streamline the industry and create a consensus regarding the best practices.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Twitter Is Testing A Tweet View Counter And Tags For Accounts Verified Via Phone Numbers

Twitter is busy experimenting with some new features and they already sound exciting to us.

For starters, the popular social networking app will showcase view counts on Tweets, as spotted by Jane Manchun Wong. But as of now, we’re still not sure if it's going to be visible to all or just solely to the tweet’s owner.

But many are a little baffled at the decision because quite a few users can already see the stats related to Twitter views by clicking on the analytics section.

Therefore, the feedback on the news was mixed as some did appreciate the move while others felt it was no different from tweet impressions.

Then there were some who spoke about the mystery surrounding fake likes and if fake views would also be displayed. Now, we’re not quite sure about that but what do know is that it’s being tested for now so we’ll just need to keep an eye out for the feature.

On the other hand, we’ve got news about Twitter testing another feature in the form of a special label. This will be used to highlight those accounts that have been verified using phone numbers.

After all the Elon Musk drama related to bot and spam accounts, there have been growing fears about how many accounts were actually real on the platform. And that’s why people were calling the app out to figure out ways that would help distinguish real ones from those that are fake via verifications.

Thanks to an avid tech engineer named Jane Manchun Wong, we’ve got some more news on how Twitter is experimenting with labels that literally mark accounts that are more likely to be trusted than others.

In case you didn’t know, this is one technique where users get to know which accounts are more legit than others. After all, the user went through so much more effort than the simple or basic requirements.

Also, the technique helps in filtering out the most prominent tweets or those that pass different quality levels. But did you know that the app even gives users the chance to link up to 10 different accounts using one single phone number too?

There’s another feature that allows developers to attach labels for those accounts that are automated. This way, users realize or are aware of accounts where there isn’t any human controlling its posts.

As it is, those accounts with blue checks are already verified and that means they’re already forced into having their numbers of email ids added as a prerequisite.

This is from the time when former CEO Jack Dorsey was in charge. He felt such distinguishing features really made a difference and he hoped the app would enable this technique for all of its accounts.

Motivating users to attach phone numbers to accounts and making them visible like a particular status can have some consequences like security and keeping that data restricted from others with malicious intent.

As it is, the app did shed light on a case where one hacker easily managed to find millions of Twitter accounts with their respective phone numbers attached and email ids too.

This was a flaw that the firm introduced itself to last year through an update. But it was not until this year in January that the news got reported to the platform.

The company had zero clue of what was going on until recently, allowing millions of sensitive data to be stolen. Thanks to reports on social media, the issue was highlighted and that’s when the firm started to take action.

This just goes to show how data like this can end up being so leaky.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

40% of Business Executives Are Worried About Getting Hacked, But Will They Do Anything About It?

Cybercrime has increased to the point where it has become a major threat for corporations in America. Ransomware attacks, phishing attempts and numerous other attacks conducted by malicious actors are risky because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up compromising the security of these corporations with all things having been considered and taken into account. It turns out that a lot of major corporate executives are aware of this according to PriceWaterhouseCooper (PWC).

This auditing firm conducted a survey, and with all of that having been said and now out of the way it is important to note that 40% of the corporate executives that participated in this survey cited potential hacking as their primary cause for concern. According to a top level executive at PwC, this is the first time ever that cybercrime has been the biggest source of concern for corporations up until this point.

84% of corporations are keeping a close eye on cybersecurity updates, as well as new information surrounding data protection and privacy. 79% were reassessing their current risk management strategies, and 49% also stated that they plan to increase their budgets for cybersecurity this year or the next.

The cybersecurity leader at PwC who commented on the report, Sean Joyce, highlighted the need for increased transparency among corporations when it comes to cybersecurity and potential hacking attempts. In spite of the fact that this is the case, most corporations are hesitant to do so because they might not want competitors getting such a close look at their affairs.

It is high time that corporations put the needs of the many before the needs of the few. Being more transparent about what is going on might be the only way to fight against malicious actors, especially when so many unethical hackers are organizing into groups themselves. Corporations won’t be able to develop effective hacking mitigation techniques if they keep their cards close to the vest, and it will be interesting to see if any of them are willing to change their ways so that progress can be made.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World