California’s landmark law to protect user data, the California Consumer Privacy Act, will take effect on Jan. 1. The legislation is meant to protect people’s information as they spend more time online, giving them more knowledge about what data is being collected about them, and where it is being sold and disclosed to.
This is just the tipping point for the largely unregulated social media and online world. As people become more aware of how their online activity is being used, whether it is to target advertising or political messages, they will put more pressure on government officials to protect their personal information. At the same time companies that rely on data for advertising, especially giants like Facebook and Google, will have to work with legislators to comply while growing their businesses.
Teens will become more conscious about the emotional effect of social media
With younger generations relying on mobile phones as their communication conduits, they are more online than any previous generation. About 95 percent of teens have access to a smartphone — and a little under half of them are online on a “near-constant basis” according to a Pew study.
Interesting enough, a quarter of teens told Pew they felt social media had negative effects on their lives. Facebook use itself has been linked to unhappiness, while a University of Pennsylvania study showed that limiting social media use to 30 minutes a day could lead to a decrease in feeling lonely or depressed.
Armed with the knowledge about the positives and negatives of social media, since there is more research than ever before, today’s teens will be more aware of the effects having an Instagram-perfect life could have on their well-being.
TikTok Won’t Stop
Teens still watch about 20 hours of television a week, but they’re also more likely to find their entertainment through other avenues like YouTube. A lot of this content relies on user-generated material, leading to the rise of creator-made shows, and clips and memes becoming the viral watercooler topics of today.
Enter TikTok: An entertainment platform perfect for people with short attention spans but a lot of creative energy. Instead of simple passive comments about the world or mundane facts about your day, TikTok allows people to share performances to help inspire, entertain, or get people talking. For the creators themselves, it’s one way to stand out in a crowded world and know you made a difference thanks to view counts. It’s why the platform is poised to take over in the next decade.
Welcome the era of social commerce
Online retailers have always struggled with getting people to buy things right after they see it online. Shoppers usually see an ad, put it in a digital cart and maybe come back to purchase it later on, if at all.
Thanks to Instagram however, companies are having more success with people purchasing things directly from an ad. As the behavior to click-through advertisements to purchase an item immediately becomes more comment, more ad dollars will flow from traditional brick-and-mortar store marketing to digital advertising inside social feeds. And, as messaging apps become more prominent, a greater number of people will get used to chatting with chatbots to get that customer experience rather than talk to a salesperson in-store.
Kyle Jaeger, senior editor for Marijuana Moment, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why a stigma still exists for the cannabis industry in advertising and social media after NBC rejected Weedmaps' ad for the big game even though more states across the country are legalizing cannabis.
A bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) aims to tackle the spread of misinformation on social media platforms, as well as the addictive nature of the sites and negative mental health impacts they have on users. The 'Nudge Act' would require studies to find and compile potential interventions that platforms could use to encourage people to think before they share a post, or log off after spending too much time on an app. The FTC would create rules based on these findings, and hold the platforms accountable. But will it work? Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, joins Closing Bell to discuss the bill, whether real results and regulations could come from it, and more.
We know that the Los Angeles Rams emerged as Super Bowl champions, but the crypto industry also came out a winner on Sunday with several notable companies getting airtime in primetime. However, Richard Smith, author of the Risk Rituals Newsletter, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the campaigns were a 'disappointment' and adds that crypto companies would be wiser spending their resources on creating value.
A.I.-based entertainment company, Deedub, recently raised
$20 million in a Series A round, led by Insight Partners. Deepdub uses A.I. technology to automate the dubbing process for foreign-language movies or TV shows, while using actors' original voices. The company says it can take just two to three minutes of data from an actor's voice and transform the voice into a different language. The funding comes as foreign-language films and shows like Netflix's 'Squid Game' have recently become more popular with audiences in the U.S. and around the world. Oz Krakowski, Chief Revenue Officer at Deepdub, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Energy Vault, the company developing sustainable, grid-scale energy storage solutions, is now trading on the New York Stock Exchange following the completion of its business combination with Novus Capital Corporation II. Energy Vault develops sustainable, grid-scale energy storage solutions designed to advance the transition to a carbon free, resilient power grid. Robert Piconi, co-founder and CEO of Energy Vault, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to disucss.
A new mobile app has launched just in time for Valentine's Day. Our.Love bills itself as an A.I.-powered, gamified, relationship wellness app for couples. The app is set in what the company calls the Coupleverse, a virtual world where each couple can build a virtual relationship home as they also build their real-world relationship. Founder and CEO Tal Zlotnitsky joined Cheddar to discuss how the app works. "The concept behind Our.Love is to give people the opportunity to understand where they stand in their relationship through very simple metrics that we provide within the app that will help them in real-time, see where they stand, see where their partner is, and be able to get closer together," he said.
Alyson Wilson, VP of Brand Innovation at Alo Yoga, joins Cheddar News to discuss the yoga apparel company entering the metaverse and teaming up with Spring Studios for New York Fashion Week.
The 21st Annual Food Network and Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF), is returning to Miami on February 24 with proceeds to benefit the future leaders of the hospitality industry. Lee Schrager, the founder and director of the festival, and Food Network star Jeff Mauro joined Cheddar News to discuss what ticket holders can expect, how the festival benefits students, and how Mauro will be paying tribute to fellow food celebrity, Guy Fieri, by hosting a charity auction dinner. "I mean there's nobody bigger, nobody more magnetic right now in the food space than Guy," Maura said. "I mean the guy had a Super Bowl commercial on last night. That's a dream of mine, so I'm one step closer there just by doing a tight 20 minutes at his tribute dinner."
