National Preparedness Month Tools
The east cost has experienced some strange weather throughout the past month. Between the earthquake and Hurricane Irene, it seems that September and National Preparedness Month could not have come at a better time.
The New York Times reported that U.S. wireless networks proved fairly resilient during Hurricane Irene, largely in part to text messaging, e-mail and social media. Even customers who lost cell service could still send out messages using the internet and data plans.
According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, about 42 million people were forced to flee their homes because of natural disasters in 2010, which is more than double the number during the previous year.
In the event of another emergency, the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) recommends keeping your contacts up-to-date, keeping extra cell phone batteries in your emergency kit, and understanding all of the tools, such as text messaging, that your phone offers.
Also, consider downloading Buddy Guard, an app for iPhone, Android and Blackberry phones. Once activated, the app takes photos every ten seconds and records sounds and your GPS location every three seconds. Every 30 seconds, the data is sent to the cloud, and is automatically delivered to a list of emergency contacts. Apps such as this will prove to be very useful in the event of an emergency, and show the tremendous improvements technology is making in our daily lives.
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Netflix and Starz Break Up
Netflix is having a rough couple of months. Not only did the movie streaming service invoke its controversial price hike today, but also Starz announced that its content will stop appearing on Netflix’s streaming platform as of February 28, 2012.
Netflix is experiencing some serious competition lately. Many customers ended their subscriptions when the price increase was announced, and switched to vendors such as Hulu and Redbox. In order to keep up with the competition, Netflix will need to make arrangements with other studios to ensure new, timely and relevant content is offered to their customers.
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Oprah Interview on Facebook Live
Our favorite talk-show host is back, and this time her fans are asking the questions. On September 8, Oprah Winfrey will have a one-hour Facebook Live streaming video interview. Fans are invited to share their questions now, with the promise that “you might hear Oprah answer your question during the live show.”
Oprah is no stranger to social media. Her official Oprah Winfrey page is liked by more than 6.2 million fans and her Twitter account has 7.2 million followers. Fans are already posting questions to the Facebook page. My favorite one so far was, “Mrs. Winfrey, if you had one week to live what would you do with your week?” Be sure to tune in next week and see if your questions are answered.
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Silicon Valley Embraces Standing Desks
Do you ever get tired of sitting all day? Sounds like an oxymoron but it could be beneficial to your health.
Recent studies show that sitting for long periods, as we often do during the workday, can have adverse effects on our health.
The American Cancer Society released study results that found women who sit for more than six hours a day were about 37% more likely to die during the course of the study than those who sat fewer than three hours per day. Men were 18% more likely to die.
Even more alarming, a daily run before work, or a swim after you leave the office is apparently not enough to offset the effects of eight hours of sitting.
To offset these health risks, there is a sharp rise in popularity for the ‘standing desk’ specifically in Silicon Valley offices.
According to Facebook, about 10 percent of the workforce there uses standing desks. As our society and communication methods becomes more digital, it important that we maintain our health.
40% of US Phones Are Smartphones
Do you know anyone that does not have a smartphone? You may know more people than you think.
Nielsen, a leading digital research company, released data showing that smartphones comprise only a minority of the U.S. mobile market — about 40%.
The other 60% of U.S. mobile handsets in use are “feature phones” — which tend to be much less expensive to buy and own. Often, feature phones do not require a two-year wireless service contract.
Among smartphone users, Android phones are the most popular and maintain 40% of the market share, followed by iOs at 27% and Blackberry at 19%.
While the majority of Americans do not currently have smartphones, 40% is still an impressive hold on a relatively new industry. We expect that within one year, smartphones will have the market majority and the popularity of feature phones will decrease.
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