With the election right around the corner, Facebook is cracking down on fake news. This is a big step for them in the right direction, but they aren’t exactly at the forefront of this movement. Twitter is doing a much better job currently. One of my biggest pet peeves in general is when people share things to social media and think they are all of a sudden “breaking the news.” What makes this worse is when the “news” is actually not only out dated, but false. What’s wrong with people? If you’re going to take the time to read the article (looks like you may not have) at least read the date it was published.
Now whenever a user considers doing this and the article itself is at least three months old, Facebook will notify you with a pop-up. It’s subtle, but helpful and could actually prevent you from receiving any backlash so maybe we should take the hint. This feature is already being used now.
Due to COVID-19, the rise in video calls has soared more than ever before. I remember even earlier this year before all of this happened, a coworker of mine told me that she regularly does FaceTime with her group of girlfriends every Saturday morning to figure out their plans for the day. I couldn’t even remember the last time I had used FaceTime and video calls that weren’t for work were rare. These days, it’s a constant. There is no shortage of channels that people can use to connect with others and that number is growing. After Facebook announced that they’d let their Messenger users video chat with 50 people, Instagram has now decided to hop on board.
For the time being, the feature is only enabled in the United States, but is expected to become more widely available. Your only prerequisite is to have Facebook Messenger already downloaded since it will be an integration of the two platforms.
I’m not sure when I was made first aware of this, but I’ve always been a routine person. I love the idea of having a schedule that I can follow and getting competitive with my own to-do-list. In these times of uncertainty, creating a new routine for myself was made a priority. Honestly, last week was a wash. I was coming off of travel fatigue and adjusting to shelter-in-place while trying not to panic shop at the grocery store. Now halfway into my second week of working from home, I still don’t quite have it down.
The second day into my work from home last week, one of my favorite artists Ben Gibbard announced that he’d do a Facebook live every day at 4PM and perform songs for an hour. This didn’t exclude weekends! There were no shortcuts. Sometimes he includes The Postal Service! He has stayed true to his word of showing up at 4PM every day and actually, so have I.
In fact, I’m so committed that I have a standing event on my calendar from 4-5PM that I hold myself accountable for and don’t book over. In a working from home situation, it’s so easy to get carried away with things you have to do. Of course, we all know this; there’s always something to do. This 4-5PM time is time for myself. I can choose to work if I want, but I’ll have the stream going on my second laptop so that I can still watch. Or if I decide not to work, I’ll spend just this hour watching in solitude. In an hour, Ben performs about 6-8 songs, does a Q&A with fans, and shares an organization that he wants us all to give back to that day.
I haven’t seen Death Cab for Cutie perform since I was living in Seattle. I’ve got the same excuses as all of you. Sometimes there isn’t the time or the money. For this, we have no excuse. It truly is like watching the real thing, but in a way even better.
If you’re up for joining me tomorrow, feel free to visit this [link] at 4PM. I’ll be here regardless. And if you’re not ready to commit yet, here’s a video from his first stream published on YouTube afterwards.
When Veronica and I grabbed lunch together the other day, we started to think about how much a difference four years can make. We graduated in 2012 and in 2016, so much in our lives have changed. I’m now living in California while she is in Seattle and hello! Married! However, in the larger scheme of things not only has our world changed – but the country’s and how we do things in our day to day lives. We were talking about the different tech companies in the Bay Area and all of a sudden we are both like, “How did we function without Uber in our lives?!” “What did we do while we were in college?” For one thing, I was still using a Blackberry! Those things are practically extinct now. It’s fitting that this report was published above about the top apps being used on smartphones. Google and Facebook continue to dominate as always.
Step 1: Think of a friend that you have known for 7-8+ years.
Step 2: Go to their Facebook page – – > go directly to “See Friendship”
Step 3: Scroll down the wall that you share until you get very far back. Back then there wasn’t Messenger so all of your messages were actually written on their wall when I’m sure they were more text appropriate and not meant for the public…like they are now.
I was trying to find some old photos of Gelesia and I ahead of her wedding and instead stumbled across some of the best exchanges we’ve ever had! Oh to go back to the days of some public shade-throwing and girl talk.