Didn't Like That New Album? Another One Is Coming Before You Know It

We live in a period of time where making a decision when it comes to choosing an artist or album we are genuinely picky.  "The overabundance of music has made all of us superficial listeners" says artist James Jackson Toth.  The bar for artists making a fine pop song has also been raised making it difficult for artists to compose a song that will receive praise.  The music released today has become six times more than what was released in the 1960s.  Today's generation literally has every single song in the world at their fingertips.

Given the demand for more music and high quality at that, Artists have adopted new strategies when it comes to releasing new music.  With the sites Band Camp or TuneCore music is being released more frequently.  The rapper Future released two number one albums within weeks.  It has also become easy for any person to release unlimited music with soundcloud.  The way records have been listened to in previous decades has changed drastically.  Music and the way an artist makes it and

distributes it has evolved throughout the years.  It's a mystery to see how it will continue to do so.

Millennials to Fashion Brands; Sex Doesn't Sell

What if I told you the abs on the bags that held your Abercrombie and Hollister purchases in middle and high school didn't belong to the arms or faces on that exact same bag? What I mean by this, is that these companies would crop their favorite parts of each model and paste it all together onto one, perfect body. The same goes for a lot of other brands, and then come the touch ups and so on. 

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, and the awesomely aggressive push for gender equality, the term "sex sells" is starting to become a little outdated among the target market of most fashion brands who, until now, have relied on painting the perfect, unattainable picture of beauty for women and men. 

And some of the big power players in the industry have had to learn their lesson the hard way. For example, Jimmy Choo put out a promotional video of supermodel Cara Delevingne in a little red dress strutting around NYC, eating a hot dog, catching the attention of solely men which was commented on as "sexist and tone-deaf". This might seem a little extreme at first, but the model herself is known for openly supporting sexual fluidity and veganism, so not only does the video seem hyper sexualized, but its also pretty hypocritical. Same thing happened with Victoria's Secret, famously known for their sex kitten vibe. In the midst of the Harvey Weinstein scandals, they are now viewed as, "more hopelessly out of date than ever." Banana Republic got some fire too for calling their pants "slimming" and Victoria Beckham's line caught some negative attention for featuring a model that looked super, let's say, underfed. The list goes on...

So in response to this, Alexander Wang, took the women out of his newest campaign and tried to just embody their spirit. That's right, just the clothes are pictured in the campaign. CVS also jumped on the bandwagon announcing that starting January they are banning excessive retouching and other altering of beauty images to "promote female empowerment and combat the unhealthy pursuit of physical perfection." ""Nobody wants to look at a giant zit on a woman’s face in an ad, but when the image is overly retouched to the point of human unachievability, that’s when it becomes a problem." In 2016 Ms. Badger said her agency wouldn’t create ads that use women as props or objectify them.""

From a marketing standpoint, its interesting because none of the brands I mentioned above that got in trouble commented or took action to remove their campaigns. Of course they didn't continue to push them out to the public, but they just let the attention quietly dissipate and I'm assuming are beginning to re-strategize. As for the people speaking out on this open platform of social justice, they are getting a lot more attention from the people they are trying to impress which are millennials and Generation Z. Besides the just morality behind this movement, utilizing social movements for branding is genius. CVS who's known for its convenience in staple items, can now be seen as far more progressive than direct competitor Walgreens - a very attractive quality. Or Alexander Wang, who had the potential of being viewed as a direct culprit in the fashion industry, is now seen as conscientious by promoting individualization - talk about a pioneer in re-branding. 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-fashion-and-beauty-ads-less-skin-and-more-empowerment-1520258949

My Electronic Devices Are 

Laughing at Me

BY: DALILA PEREZ 

Amazon’s Alexa was behaving oddly. But there’s ridicule from every corner of the house

               https://lovemyecho.com           

                                                          

          Recently, Amazon has created a new "digital assistant" - similar to the google assistant -  named Alexa. However recently, many users have been complaining that Alexa would randomly burst into laughter at them. According to Amazon, the simple explanation to this is a misunderstanding. Alexa was simply confused. Alexa would hear a phrase and mistakingly understand it as someone telling her to laugh. So, in order to fix this issue the company simply changed the command from " Alexa laugh" to "Alexa, can you laugh". However, according to Joe Queenan, the author of the article, this does not totally rule out the possibility that maybe our technology is actually laughing at us and think that the human race is a joke. As Siri, Cortana, and the Google Assistant have become popular, an increasing number of coincidences of these household appliances "going haywire". 

http://haydenhub.org/?p=10009

          As a millennial, this article sparks my interest because technology revolves around now more than ever and if one day machines were to supplant humans - as much as they mock people today - one would think that the day they "take over" is near. Although technology may be getting out of control, I believe that these occurrences of technology going haywire is actually helping to promote these products. Some people may hear these stories and want to see for themselves if what everyone is talking about is actually true, therefore, boosting sales. 

http://www.androidguys.com

        One way that Alexa applies to other businesses is by helping businesses in general. Alexa lets people use their voice to interact with technology so they can ask questions and can help people take care of tasks just by asking. She can also help people stay organized and focused, whether they are working in their office or at home. Simplifying conference rooms, allowing meeting attendees to start meetings and control the equipment in the room by simply using their voice are other helpful attributes of Alexa. She can also do things around the workplace, like providing directions to a conference room, notifying IT about a broken printer, or placing orders for office supplies. Alexa is very useful to all businesses in general no matter if it is an office, conference room or any other workplace. 

        All in all, Alexa is very useful and a great invention and something someone will not regret investing in even if she occasionally wakes you up in the night laughing.

  

https://www.wsj.com/articles/my-electronic-devices-are-laughing-at-me-1521734921

Old Smartphone Models Sell More

Your Love of Your Old Smartphone Is A Problem For Apple and Samsung

The newer phone models both Samsung and Apple release aren’t getting as much attention as they used to.  One reason being that they are over prized and another that there really isn’t anything worth purchasing other than the new sleek design, better screen resolution, and the newest facial recognition.  People prefer refurbishing and buying older models which has become a major problem for both Apple and Samsung.  People admit that they don’t feel like they’re missing out on the newer models.  Mr. Earl, a digital marketer from Phoenix, bought himself an older iphone model even though his wife and two children were due for upgrades.  He admitted that he only needed his phone to text, call, check social media and to listen to music. “I don’t need any more phone than what I got.” States Mr. Earl.

Another main reason people are just skipping the newest models is mainly because of the price and this has made people go for older models making the refurbished industry grow.  The newest iphone even costs just as much as a laptop.  Now it appears that the phone industry closely resembles the car industry with people keeping their old phones just a couple of years before they purchase the newer model just like keeping the older Mercedes Benz before purchasing the latest model. 

As more people hold on to their older phones the new and improved smartphone shipments will plunge and will continue to do so.

Uber Bikes for City Commuters

Uber Bikes for City Commuters

This new dockless bike-sharing is like Uber. Only it's for bikes. So the way it works is that if you download the Uber app, for example, there would be a "Uber Bikes" section. You can view and locate electric bikes, built and maintained by Jump Bikes, on the app. You can then select the bike that may be nearest to you, walk to it, scan the barcode on the bike, and you're ready to ride the bike to wherever you please.  The bikes cost about $2 for half an hour and 7 cents per minute after that. This app will revolutionize the way city dwellers can commute, saving time, and freeing up traffic.

There's an option to also reserve a bike ahead of time and there is a "U-Lock" equipped on the bike to allow riders to lock the bikes to a rack or pole after a rider is done with it. If there is a bike left on the middle of the street, a rider can move it but Uber will allow that rider to ride it for free (a bonus bike). This encourages users to be helpful people reinforcing community. This feature is slowly getting implemented and maybe soon we'll see these bikes all around the city.

Are E-Bikes worth it??

WSJ Link

Is an E-Bike Worth it??

     Bikes have always been around and while they are still popular today, they have received some major upgrades. With upgrades to an item, the price also receives an upgrade. Electric bikes can range from $2,000-3,000. There are many pros and cons of owning an E-Bike. Some benefits that come from an E-Bike are it makes distances seem shorter and makes your commute shorter. the biggest con of this product is the price tag. a regular commuter bike can ranger from $200-400 if bought second hand; however, the price nowhere compares to the E-Bike. The E-Bike price is about the same price as an electric scooter-- which is understandable because of its function. Another con about the electric bike is that the batter needs to be replaced every 3-4 years-- meaning another $400 spent on the same bike. 

     The Electric bike has its pros and cons; however, people are still buying it. the future is here and no one wants to be left behind. Despite the possibility of having the battery die in the middle of the ride, many would rather have the E-bike than a regular bike-- if price permits. Studies showed that people with e-bikes used it to commute 3.5 days out of the week while people on regular bikes showed that they use the bike to commute 2 times a week. the E-Bike mainly comes down to the willingness to spend. if one cannot afford to spend $3000 on a bike, then it is not a big deal to them.

     Although I am not an avid bicycle rider, this article still intrigued me. I compare this E-Bike to another type of motorized transportation called the BOOSTED board. The Boosted Board is an electric skateboard which was made very popular by famous Youtuber Casey Neistat.  Neistat often does tech reviews of items like the E-Bike and delivers his honest opinion over the product. He has reviewed an electric bike compared to this one. it can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlkKUym2h_o&t=350s .

    As for the four Cs of this product:
- Consumer Wants and needs: The Consumers who are bicycle users may look for a similar product with a smaller price tag. Although I am not sure how many people would want to buy an electric bike because riding a bike is a form exercise but for those who only use it as a mode of transportation who do not need the extra work out, this could be a great solution for them.
- Costs to satisfy: This bike costs around $3000. this is a steep price to pay for an electric bike. I figure not many people would be willing to buy such an expensive bike only to have it die on them in the middle of a ride. Also, because it is electric, if the bike dies it makes it heavier to peddle if the battery is dead.
- Convenience: The Convenience of buying this product is not too big. One must go to a specialized bike shop or order it online to buy it. They do not carry these at sports shops like Academy or Dick's sporting goods. Someone looking for a bike could easily go to Academy and purchase one in less than an hour; however, with the E-Bike, one must go out of their way to find it or order it and wait a long period of time for it to arrive.
- Communication: I think this company listened to their customers when they asked for a more advanced bicycle. and although they got what they asked for, the price tag and the battery life are huge drawbacks which could cause others to deter from purchasing this product.

Submission 3/5

Forget the FBI spying on you...It's Facebook!

WSJ LINK

Facebook really is spying on you

     Ever wondered how the ads displayed on your Facebook feed get there? or why all of the sudden after searching in google for a crock pot you have ads showing where to buy crockpots? all this happens because Facebook is monitoring your online activity. not only this, but it also gathers information by listening to your conversations-- even when you're not actively on Facebook, or Instagram. Facebook and its parent company Instagram also tracks your location without your knowledge. A little creepy if you ask me.

    While this function is turned on during installation, there are ways to deactivate these functions and limit the amount that the applications listen to you. On iPhone, go to Settings > Privacy > Microphone > Facebook. On Android, go to Settings > Apps > Facebook > Permissions > Disable microphone. Although there is a solution towards facebook spying on you, this makes the usage of the app a little more difficult. Turning off the microphone means that you will not be able to "post a Facebook story" or "post a live video" etc. without having to manually turn the microphone function back on in the settings. Depending on how important it is that they are listening in, one might refrain from turning off the microphone just for ease of access to the app. 

    Although Facebook has lost its audience with the new generations, the older generations and most of my generation still use facebook. This article intrigued me because it is weird to think that a company you choose to support by using their website/app would be listening in on you and disrupting your privacy.  This can cause many people, especially those concerned about their privacy, to stop using facebook all together. 

     Before news broke about this, Facebook had kept very quiet about it. they did not advertise that the ads were geared towards your likings because they were listening to you! By avoiding letting their customer's know about this feature, they may have lost many of their clients. Especially with the new news surrounding Facebook, many people have decided to cancel facebook all together to not have to worry about their privacy anymore. 


Submission 2/5

I JUST WANT MY ICECREAM, TALENTI!

After an especially long week,  where each lecture you attend feels like a small victory just for attending, the homework deadlines are slapping you in the face, and your boss is in your face like a Vince McMahon promo, that ice cream aisle at Target is all you can think about as you drive home on a Friday afternoon. So you stop and pick up some Talenti Mediterranean Mint because it looks so much more prettier and more delicious in that fancy package then any of the other brands you normally get. It has been a crappy week so you justify the splurge. Then you come home and you try to open it and the dumb container doesn't budge. You try oven mitts, running it under hot water, banging it on the counter, praying to Jesus and ultimately you fall in a puddle of self- pity with the Talenti looking at you in a teasing "you can't have me" way. So you cry because: can the universe hate you even more?

Apparently you are not the only one. Talenti has a reputation of having overly expensive ice cream with exotic flavors that are normally sold in higher end grocery stores. For most people, a pint of Talenti is a splurge so the fact that you can't even open the container when you want it is extremely frustrating to its consumers and a major concern for the company and their profits.

People have had to resort to some creative ways in order to enjoy their ice cream. Some have used pliers or busting a hole with a hammer through the side of the container. Although those tactics work, it is super dangerous and probably a nice way for Talenti to get sued. All of this sounds like a big joke on Reddit but people have legitimately complained to Talenti. A spokesperson for the company issued a statement over the issue, “We had an over-zealous lid-tightening machine, which has now been fully fixed. As new pints hit store shelves, there will be fewer and fewer pints with tight lids out there." 

It seems that the issue went on long enough that people created a hashtag #lidgate to share their stories of Talenti woes on Twitter. There are hundreds of pictures online of creative ways people are opening their lids but ultimately the jokes will fade into real frustration that could hurt the sales of the company. Talenti has resolved its container lid issue but it could take weeks to a couple of months for all of the previous containers to be consumed. Hopefully, it doesn't  cause them too many angry customers who want to protest the ice cream company. 

-Roxanne Cepeda 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-talenti-gelato-challenge-open-the-lid-without-a-hacksaw-1518103927

Nordstrom's Biggest Bet Ever

While clothing trends can be as fickle as a Kardashian's love life, clothes are something we will always need... for socially contractual purposes. But just like a Kardashian, not even clothes can escape the internet. While it really is just easier to know what the clothes will look like on you when you try them on in person, we're all guilty of doing things like filling up our online shopping carts with potential clothes we'd love to own and then ghosting them, clicking on ad-bait, or just googling a fresh pair of sneakers we saw the kid in class next to us wearing. We cannot avoid the obvious fact that e-commerce is taking over, but that is exactly what Nordstrom is trying to do with this new take on the seemingly outdated department store concept. 

After extensive market analysis, Nordstrom has put together a vision for a marquee in their top selling city of New York that looks less like a desperate way to escape the tide of the convenience of online shopping and more like riding the wave and making it more of a social experience. They're incorporating things like a "millennial-bait tech bar", an actual liquor bar, and even a "reserve and try in store" service where you can reserve the clothes you want to try on in advance that will be waiting for you in a fitting room when you arrive. 

Their general merchandise manager says they are looking at this project more like an art exhibition than a store by making it more of a visual experience. When they asked themselves how to get more people to buy clothes from them, they decided on doing brand combinations on the mannequins. Think hoodie, paired with a designer skirt, paired with a pair of new Nikes. Their calling it a "high-low mix" known to be a sales driver. Think about it, we might not all wear designer skirts, but we wear nikes and hoodies so why not try for the skirt, or pants. They're even implementing a retailing service that allows you to drop your clothes off to get altered while you shop and you don't even have to have bought the clothes from Nordstrom. As long as they bring the people in, with all these enticing services, we are bound to browse. 

In their willingness to let go of old rules, and experiment with new ideas Nordstrom might actually be able to get ahead of the e-commerce curve and leave all of its outdated department store competition behind. At least in Manhattan. This totally highlights rebranding, market analysis, and having to let go of preconceived notions for the sake of the success of your company. They analyzed their target market, and despite their average shoppers age of 43, they are looking to bring in the people who would rather splurge on experience than materials so in combing the two they are catering to the group driving the future of their fate. 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/nordstroms-biggest-bet-ever-1519916233 

Why 'Fortnite' Gamers on Xbox Can't Join Their Friends on Playstation

Why 'Fortnite' Gamers on Xbox Can't Join Their Friends on PlayStation

On a Thursday in September, Epic Games Inc. had accidentally allowed players of the popular combat game, "Fortnite" to play together on competing consoles. This allowed players of the game who used a Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox to play alongside Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 4. Epic Games discovered the error and immediately turned off the "cross-play". In order for "Fortnite" to be playable across the two systems, both Sony and Microsoft would need to allow it, but Sony has been reluctant to do so.

Although prohibiting cross-play can be advantageous for the console maker because it allows shoppers to be more inclined in choosing a system that their friends own, it can also be a disadvantage by limiting the potential to expand their audiences. Allowing players to play Fortnite on multiple consoles would allow the players to be able to play with their friends, despite the type of console they own. Players would be less likely to play another game if they are able to play the same games that their friends are playing. In addition, consoles that allow for crossplay for multiple devices would gain more buyers, due to the convenience of being able to play on any device. Although this would mainly be more profitable for the gaming company, consoles will also benefit from it as it would increase their market for potential customers.

Written by Priscilla Phuong

WSJ Link