Google Docs Faces Tough Competition With The Arrival of AI-Powered Zoom Docs

It appears like Google might be getting a little uneasy after hearing about the launch of Zoom’s AI-powered docs initiative.

As experts claim, the famous end-meeting feature could just be the start of some great things for users of the platform, as early as next year.

The company revealed the breakthrough news at its yearly Zoomtopia conference that took place recently. And that’s where the firm seemed to be busy highlighting a long range of updates as well as new launches which are designed to streamline both collaboration as well as a range of hybrid work.

And as you can imagine, the most anticipated reveal had to do with Zoom Docs. The latter is certainly exciting and outlined to be completely powered used AI technology. Similarly, it makes use of cloud documentation that’s integrated into Zoom’s powerful platform with ease.

Thanks to a release sent out to the press, the company’s CEO stressed a new promise to alter the platform with the help of AI capabilities. Moreover, these new types of innovations highlight the firm’s goals to alter the app in a manner that provides seamless human connectivity while solving some serious business-related issues.

At the core of the app, this new initiative called Zoom Docs promises to provide a new platform for collaborative efforts that supports working as a team. Similarly, it would give rise to creating documents as well as making edits of a whole new kind. But we do feel its extreme closeness to the Zoom app separates this venture from all others.

So what exactly can users do on Zoom Docs is a question on plenty of people’s minds. Well, for starters, you can say hello to creating documents of all kinds, adding tables, making edits, and whatnot. And that includes taking part in the activities via usual meetings on Zoom, desktop apps, Zoom Web, and even through a Team Chat. And as one can imagine, it offers huge competition to newcomer Notion.

Such blocks enable users to produce layouts hinted at particular workflows via options such as drag and drop and that does give out direct competition for software and WordPress as well as newsletter champ Mailchimp.

The most innovative option out of them all happens to be Zoom Docs and its use of AI. The AI domain is one that has been trending for some time now and seeing this new venture of the app populate documents using insights to speeden up the creation process is worth a mention. Similarly, it’s going to be hailed for producing accurate summaries of long documents that add ease to users’ lives including accessing information seen through documents.

We first learned at the start of last month how the latest addition to Zoom’s already growing influence was attaining new enhancements. At this point in time, we saw the assistant put out a debut of the latest Zoom Whiteboard. And that’s where it could produce ideas through visual means and also give rise to the organization of a different kind.

The latest AI companion was seen getting meetings and summaries for chats to be used for higher study purposes as well as to assist clients arising from the healthcare sector. And this is what assists in streamlining tasks. Common examples of the latter include generating summaries for long threads and generating automated replies for emails.

This came alongside greater options for scheduling meetings and customized links while working in a collaborative manner through the help of location maps.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Here Are the Most Popular Content Categories in America

The choices that Americans make when it comes to the content that they decide to consume can help determine a wide range of economic scenarios, including where ad dollars end up. Statista Consumer Insights recently conducted a survey because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up revealing what types of content American consumers tend to prefer. This shed some light on the categories that end up receiving the lion’s share of viewers.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that comedy turned out to be the most popular content category of all. 42% of the people that responded to this survey said that they prefer to consume comedy, although music came in at a close second with 38%. Following this, 31% of survey respondents indicated that they consume content that is created by influencers and creators in the food category, making it the third most popular content category of all.

Unsurprisingly, adult content ranked fairly highly on this list with all things having been considered and taken into account. 30% of survey respondents admitted to viewing it and following creators in the space. However, the number could potentially be even higher due to the stigma surrounding this content category which might make people less likely to admit to it than might have been the case otherwise.

Coming in fourth was film and TV, which just goes to show that the traditional mediums of entertainment have seen a bit of a fall from grace in recent years. 29% of survey respondents said that they consume content and follow creators operating within this niche, which is likely a far lower number than would have been seen just a few years prior.

Advice and self help along with animal and nature content received 28% of the votes apiece, and health and fitness rounded off the list with 26%. These categories represent where viewer attention goes, and brands must be cognizant of this so that they can market as effectively as possible and reach the maximum number of viewers.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

New Survey Reveals Over Half of Internet Users Are Paying More Than They Signed Up For

As inflation continues to hit consumers in the wallet, it appears that every single aspect of their monthly expenses has started to shoot through the roof. It has long been suspected that broadband rates have been on the rise as well, but in spite of the fact that this is the case, there hasn’t been much data to prove it either way.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that a new survey conducted by US News and World Report revealed a definite uptick in broadband rates. Furthermore, it turns out that these increases are not being spread evenly across US based residents, with some areas seeing steeper increases than others.

One of the most glaring revelations from this survey was that over half of respondents that initially got their subscription for $60 a month are now paying anywhere from $41 to $80 for the same service. In addition to this, 39% of consumers have had to cut back on expenses because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up helping them pay their internet bill each month.

According to 61% of consumers, inflation is the main culprit with all things having been considered and taken into account. 8% of respondents went so far as to say that they are getting lower speeds than might have been the case otherwise, although the vast majority, or 84% to be precise, stated that they are still getting more than 25 megabits per second. Notably, this is in line with the FCC’s official definition of what broadband is supposed to provide.

31% of consumers said that they are receiving speeds of 101 to 300 megabits per second, with 28% receiving 25-100 MBps making it the second most common broadband speed of all. 25% received the highest speeds of all, namely 301-1000 MBps, which indicates that there are still high speed consumers out there and that they are willing to pay a premium rate in order to gain access to the very best internet.

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

How Many Photos an Average American Captures Daily

Ever since smartphones and digital cameras became an intrinsic part of our lives, taking photos has never been easier. Capturing memories in a flash, something people of earlier generations did not have the privilege to do, is a remarkable testament to the technological advancements that have shaped the 21st century. In fact, such a facility had been unimaginable just a few decades ago. These pocket-sized devices have revolutionized the art of photography, allowing people from all diverse backgrounds to become visual storytellers, making the ability to preserve moments from their everyday lives effortlessly.

The Americans have genuinely benefitted from the privilege, as statistics reveal that they pull out their smartphones at least six times a day to capture photos. To better understand their photography habits, 2,000 adults from the United States participated in a survey that provided valuable insights. From the surveyed adults, 69% reported that group pictures with their families dominate their camera rolls, while 66% said they had photos of themselves with their friends. Besides, 63% claimed they had pictures of just their friends on their phones, and 58% said they had pictures of their family members, excluding themselves.

But other than pictures of family and friends, 58% of the adults revealed they had selfies on their phones, 53% stated they had pictures of their pets, and 43% of them had scenic shots snapped in their galleries. This indicates that Americans, on average, use this technology not only to take pictures of their friends and families but also to capture moments precious to them, such as photos of their dear pets and the magnificence of the natural world surrounding them, allowing them to relive and appreciate these memories later.

Regarding important events that mark a milestone, the respondents revealed that 44% of the adults took pictures of weddings, 45% reported that they had pictures of themselves at graduation, 40% had photos from various vacations, and 37% saved photographs taken at sporting events. In such special events, the adults had taken an average of 23 photos on every occasion. And to reminisce on those moments, those surveyed revealed that they would go through those photos 13 times a year or more than once a month.

However, the respondents acknowledged spending nearly half of their time taking pictures using their phones and around 40% of their time at events. Part of the reason they had done this was they believed that they needed to do this to remember every minute detail of memorable events.

In a research that OnePoll conducted on behalf of a photo book company, Mixbook, the findings revealed that a typical individual has over 3,000 photos (2,795) in their smartphone gallery and wants to print over one-third of these images (34%). Even though a whopping 70% of the respondents agreed about their inclination to print their photos, only 19% do so regularly, whereas 22% seldom find the time to do it.

More individuals took photos for themselves (61%), while 53% of them uploaded them to social media platforms, and 55% of them took photos to look back and cherish those special moments later. However, the results were more nuanced than the generalized findings. The adults revealed that their favourite pictures taken were not ones that were worthy of being uploaded to their social media accounts but were more personal than that. One respondent mentioned that they treasured a picture of themselves with their three great-grandchildren. Another talked about a picture of their cat that had passed away at 23. One adored a picture of their mother, and another delighted in looking back at a photo of their dog and cat playing with each other.

Andrew Laffoon, CEO of Mixbook, talked about the wondrous nature of photography and how photos can still time in special moments, one we wish would never tick away. He further spoke about how each picture unravelled a part of our lives and how dear photos can bring us closer to friends and families while deepening the magical connection in between. Laffoon recognized the significance of each story behind those memorable moments and how his company is working to transform them into something tangible that future generations could look back and cherish.

To understand whether the number of photos that the respondents took had changed in the past five years, 26% revealed that they took fewer pictures than they did. Whereas 31% stated that they have started to capture more photos. 68% indicated that they would like to go through them later, 56% said they wanted to remember each moment, and 62% said they wanted to remember what they looked like at the moment of the photo captured. 29% of them said they took photos of things they found cute.

However, there were respondents who complained about less storage space in their phones (59%), 57% expressed that they were unsure about what to do with their pictures, and 53% stated that they didn’t have much to take pictures of. Of those surveyed, 54% of them found going through their camera roll overwhelming. Laffoon admitted that our digital galleries have become a black hole of sorts, where the number of pictures we take tends to lose stories. His company aims to curate those memories, the ones that matter the most.

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by Ahmed Naeem via Digital Information World

Social Media Benchmarks: What Are the Average Engagement Rates for Your Industry?

Ever since the Industrial Revolution, the growth and evolvement of a country have been tied to the success of its industrial sector. With a crippling industry, economic growth is stagnant, thus resembling the country's incapability of progression.

One significant factor that symbolizes an industry's excelling is its engagement rates. The higher the engagement rates, the more performance it will have, making the particular industry more economically prosperous.

The data for the engagement rates was obtained through anonymous data from different social accounts that are all connected by Hootsuite. Moreover, each engagement rate benchmark consists of more than 100 accounts.

For the agency industry, the most engagement was on Instagram, with an average of 2.06%, then on LinkedIn (1.18%), and finally on Twitter (1.02%). On TikTok and Facebook, the engagement was 0.71% and 0.82%.

For the education industry, the highest engagement levels were shown on the platform Instagram (3.16%), then on LinkedIn (1.81%), and at last on Facebook (1.63%). There was noticeable engagement on Twitter (1.03%) and TikTok (0.52%).

The entertainment and media industry engagement levels were recorded the most on TikTok, almost eight times higher than the second-placed platform. TikTok had 9.77% engagement for the entertainment and media industry, while Instagram had 1.66%, Twitter had 1.4%, LinkedIn had 1.32%, and Facebook bagged engagement levels of 1.09%.

For financial services, the most engagement levels were on Instagram (1.87%), then on LinkedIn (1.74%), and then on Twitter (0.99%). While Tiktok had an engagement level of (0.64%) and Facebook had (0.97%).

For the food and beverage industry, Instagram had the most engagement levels (1.49%); in second place was LinkedIn (1.11%), and in third came Twitter (0.79%). Tiktok had an engagement of 0.64%, and Facebook had (0.71%).

For the healthcare and wellness industry, the most engagement was seen on Instagram (2.28%), then on LinkedIn (1.61%) and finally on Facebook (1.31%). On TikTok, the engagement level was 0.75%, and on Twitter, it was 0.92%.

For the tech industry, the highest engagement level was on LinkedIn (1.72%). Second place came Instagram (1.47%), and third came to Twitter (1.34%). Facebook had an engagement of 1%, and Tiktok had 0.55%.

For the travel, leisure, and hospitality industry, the highest engagement levels were on TikTok (6.01%%), then on LinkedIn (1.47%), second last on Instagram (1.7%), and lastly on Twitter (1.32%).

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by Ahmed Naeem via Digital Information World

LinkedIn Expands Display For Customized CTA Buttons To Drive Greater Engagement

Social media giant LinkedIn is rolling out an enhanced display featuring CTA buttons so profiles can benefit. The goal of this feature is to facilitate greater creator engagement.

The new lineup of buttons will be seen across search results as well as on posts published in-stream.

We first heard about this endeavor in April of this year where premium users were given the chance to benefit from this rollout first. This helped subscribers add the buttons to their respective profiles with the help of a single preset message that came as a collection of six different variants.

The idea is to drive greater engagement as more profile visitors would be directed to a particular URL via the app’s presence.

H/T: Lindsey Gamble

Images were displayed by the company as visual examples that showed how one specific CTA called for Visiting My Store on a profile in the picture. But now, this will also be popping up across feed posts of users as well, one social media expert shared today.

In action…. pic.twitter.com/1ZZepeHhXh

— Lindsey Gamble (@LindseyGamble_) October 1, 2023

While we agree it’s not very noticeable across the top of user profiles, the app appears to be falling short of room to include such headings. Moreover, search labels are designed to be prominent and give rise to a new way through which creators can produce direct traffic via the app. And that in itself may help to serve as a new incentive to better the user’s presence on the platform.

The company has long been working toward giving the creator the right type of tools to build a presence and ensure their followers keep increasing. The goal seems to be linked to bettering the activity of posts and ensuring people stay glued to the app for a longer period of time.

Similar to how other social media apps function, the company is also making the effort to lean into the realms of the broader Creator Economy. And that’s even if the latter is not doing too great right now or serving too many benefits because a lot of individuals aren’t working for the app in a direct manner.

It’s true that a lot of influencers are making some huge sums of money through posts across social media and we also know how many people do end up converting that into an actual means of making a living, including the position of a content creator. However, this concept appears to be linked more toward enticing users that they can make huge sums of money through social media posting. And for the majority, that’s never the case.

But again, the greater the opportunities that come into place, the greater the chances for success. So yes, while it might not exactly be a creator economy, we can better think of it as a fantasy. Therefore, many of us can dive into it by taking the leap and who knows, it could pay off.

But that again is on the side. The main point worth noticing here is how the company is including greater chances for creators to get success and better their reach as well as a presence on the platform. Innovation and drive to make a change is there and that must be appreciated.

Let’s not forget how the app is already witnessing some record-breaking engagement when it comes to usage. This is being done via original content sharing on the platform which continued to flourish in an upward direction last year. Figures quoted were nearly a whopping 41% rise from previous stages.

So as you can imagine, the opportunity is there and such tools really do go the extra mile in terms of giving users the chance to grow further.

Read next: Smaller Influencers Generate Nearly 5 Times More Engagement Than Big Celebrities
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

FCC Makes History By Launching Its First Fine That’s Designed To Combat Space Debris Concerns

The FCC has just made history by rolling out a new fine that’s designed to prevent satellite space debris from reentering the Earth's atmosphere.

The regulatory agency is not making top firm Dish Network happy by forcing them to pay a staggering $150k. This comes after it was accused of a failing attempt of its satellites to deorbit one of the outlined broadcasts in 2022.

The company was actually supposed to allow the retired satellite called EchoStar-7 to enter a disposal orbit. In reality, it was seen flying so low that was below the designated elevation laid out on the license. In the end, it led to huge concerns related to orbit debris accumulation.

In February of last year, the company revealed how it wanted this satellite to follow the requirements set out but it just could not because there was not a lot of propellant left for it to carry out the task efficiently. Hence, it had to abort plans that were in place for mitigating space debris found in the license it obtained.

Dish ended up retiring this satellite at a shocking 122km disposal orbit figure that’s further from the geostationary requirements outlined. Similarly, it was short by nearly 300 km which was the original part of the plan.

To get a better perspective of this, the satellite did manage to travel at the geostationary orbit, and that put it nearly 36k away from Earth. As you can imagine, it’s much higher than the usual Starlink satellite that continues to orbit low.

Therefore, this EchoStar-7 needed to get nearer to several orbits in operation of nearby geostationary satellites which the FCC would have preferred. But clearly, that did not happen.

To make things clear, this fine was not only hinted in the direction of Dish Network. We know about more American regulators that are issuing signals on the matter and how they’re ready to crack down against such behavior regarding satellite constellations not following rules that are necessary.

And in today’s day and age where satellites continue to be more commonly used with the space economy doing so well, experts at the FCC feel it’s necessary for operators to comply with such rules.

This is guaranteed to bring forward a long list of scrutiny for others including Elon Musk’s Starlink which is a constellation that beams at intense internet speed for those people working on the ground. Moreover, the system is outlined to span a whopping 4800 functional satellites that have already raised plenty of concerns about how they are making radio interferences, producing hazardous debris, and also causing an uproar in terms of astronomical sightings.

But with that comes a very interesting point linked to how SpaceX created its Starlink satellites in a manner that could be moved with ease. This would ward off any kind of collision that could potentially take place with other satellites and even space junk.

Moreover, such satellites are even created to blow up our planet’s atmosphere after they retire. That leads us to another investigation being done by authorities linked to whether the satellites from Starlink can withstand the impact of atmospheric reentry. Hence, if that’s the case, the threat is great to the general public and obviously hazardous to human life.

Each year, the figure for hazardous fragments re-entering the planet’s atmosphere continues to peak and that again is of mega concern to regulating agencies. Right now, the figure outlined through stats is that such dangerous fragments can kill or cause harm to 0.6 individuals every year.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World