Send me a WhatsApp ... on IG

We love IG.  Arguably, Instagram is Jamaica’s most popular social media app.  Its got a plethora of ever-expanding features to deliver up multiple dopamine hits with every use.  In short, Instagram is addictive.

What do you do when you have a hit product everyone loves?  Well, you mess it up of course.  Remember Classic Coke?

We should have seen this coming when Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg led the multibillion-dollar acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.

In a move that Instagram users are likely going to hate, IG owners Facebook are reportedly considering merging the backend with the equally popular WhatsApp and waning in popularity Facebook making the three apps interoperable.

The result: three stand-alone platforms across which you can send messages to any user.  Users of any and all apps would be able to send a message to users on another platform, without leaving the app.  Sounds cool?  I don’t think so.

WhatsApp supports End-to-End (E2E) encryption for messages.  Currently, Facebook offers limited E2E encryption for messages, and Instagram does not offer the feature.  E2E encryption keeps messages secure from the government, law enforcement, hackers and advertisers; the last of which is key to Facebook’s business model.

“We want to build the best messaging experiences we can; and people want messaging to be fast, simple, reliable and private,” explained Facebook in a statement to the UK based Guardian.  "We’re working on making more of our messaging products end-to-end encrypted and considering ways to make it easier to reach friends and family across networks. As you would expect, there is a lot of discussion and debate as we begin the long process of figuring out all the details of how this will work,” they added.

Beyond message privacy, there is user data privacy.  Facebook’s challenges with this topic are well documented.

Privacy aside, the proposed interoperability among three of the worlds most popular apps used, often daily or at least by me, by billions of people and businesses around the globe raises anti-trust questions.

Of note, the founders of both WhatsApp and Instagram have resigned from Facebook within the last year.

What can we do?  Perhaps it's time for us to redirect our digital addictions to a different platform.

6 Easy Steps to Slash Your Smartphone Bill

Smartphones are great!!

They keep us connected in a myriad of ways.  They provide us with hours of entertainment.  In some cases, they control our homes and keep us fit.  It seems like there is very little a smartphone can’t do, including saving you money!

The price of convenience can be very high.   Call charges.  Data overages.  Feature-rich contracts.  They all come at a cost.  But that cost is manageable by taking a few simple steps to tame your smartphone bill.

Step 1:  Chose the Right Plan

Bundled minutes and data.  Free weekends and nights.  CUGs (Closed User Groups) and other options are only good if they apply to you.  Scrutinise your bill regularly and update your plan periodically as your usage habits change.

There is no point in paying for features that you don’t use or underutilise.  Compare your plan to other plans offered by your telecom or to plans offered by other telecoms.  After all, thanks to number portability no one is trapped by a service provider.

Step 2: Consider Alternatives

Is it a smartphone, right?  So, it’s connected.  Some of us have already moved away from traditional cellular calls (you can go ahead and laugh if you remember life before cellular), while others are still waiting to hop on the VOIP (voice over internet protocol) bandwagon.

But VOIP, video conferencing and messaging are all great alternatives to phone calls.  There is a plethora of apps that offer some, or all, of these options in one neat package.  Most notably is WhatsApp.  This nearly ubiquitous app offers text messaging, file sharing, voice calling and video calling on an encrypted platform for free.  Only data charges apply if no Wi-Fi.

Concerns about call quality are diminishing fast as the technology evolves.

Step 3: Tame Data Use

So, sure.  I just said VOIP is a great option, but care is still needed in data management.

Generally, VOIP options don’t consume that much data, but every bit and byte can add up.  Especially if you’re not managing your data use correctly.

You should disable background refresh on most (if not all) apps, delete unnecessary apps and close apps that you’re not using.  Apps can really drain your data and rack up expenses quickly and overages cost real money.

The trade off to save money by cutting data use in favour of Wi-Fi is not absolute, especially when dealing with sensitive data.  Don’t jump onto any old hotspot just because it's free.  Make sure it's safe before your browse; especially when visiting banking and email sites.

Step 4: Plan You Roam

If you thought your smartphone bill was high, try taking it on a trip overseas!

Roaming charges can put you in the poorhouse.  Make sure that you have the right roaming plan.  That’s a plan customised to the region you are visiting and your call, text and data needs.

Are you planning a long trip or a short trip?  Going on vacay or on business?  Is there reliable Wi-Fi in the hotel and other destinations on your itinerary? Do you need access to your VPN?  Your answers to these questions will help determine if you can find a cost-effective plan or if you need to get a local SIM.

Step 5: Don’t Roam Overboard

In principle, data is cheaper than calling.  That principle does not necessarily apply.

Before you head out to the airport, turn off data roaming for all non-essential apps to reduce the temptation to “just check” (this tip helps with my Amazon addiction) and consider if you must post to Instagram (or similar social media apps) in real time or if posting from the free hotel lobby Wi-Fi in the evening is just as good.

Save even more money: download maps for the destination and enjoy free access to GPS navigation for your trip.

Step 6: Ditch Voicemail

Seriously?  You still have voicemail?  That’s so 90’s.  Get rid of it.  There is no need to pay for calls you are not even receiving; especially when roaming.

Vigilance is the key to enjoying both the convenience and the cost of owning a smartphone.

How to Spot Fake News

Sadly, fake news is not new; it’s just topical.

The internet has morphed what we once knew as propaganda into what we now call fake news by reducing the cost, time and possible litigation related to creating and disseminating intentionally deceptive, biased or blurred truth stories.  Wow; that was a lot to say.  Fake news is, after all, a complicated affair.

For this discussion, I am not including deliberate and obvious satire like The Onion, but rather the divisive, intentionally misleading and potentially destructive lies masquerading as genuine news.  

The growing problem of fake news proliferation is exacerbated by “the filter bubble”.  Popular (social) media sites often employ algorithms to retain visitor interest by prominently posting content we like and burying posts we don’t.  We are therefore responsible for our own “truth filter”.

We must employ our own “truth filter” and halt the spread of fake news.  Excuses like, “I’m just passing it on as I get it” and "I'm not sure its true but sharing anyway," are just plain irresponsible.

The potential consequences are just too high.  The well-cited story of the 2016 shooting up of the Comet Ping Ping pizzeria by a 28-year-old North Carolina man who was “self-investigating” a bogus news story about Hillary Clinton running a child sex abuse ring out of the location, is an excellent example of the real dangers of fake news.

More recently and closer to home, images of a woman’s body being cut open allegedly as part of a local organ theft ring were circulated widely via WhatsApp leading to wild conspiracy theories and fear.  As it turns out, the video was taken from a 2014 autopsy video causing much distress to the young lady’s family.  

Let us not be a party to these kinds of atrocities.  Let’s spot and stop fake news!

Read Past the Headline

Headlines, by their very nature, are designed to draw us in.  So too, the first paragraph is written to entice us to read further.  If we stop there, we may not have the information necessary to effectively analyse the article.  Often the body has little or nothing to do with the headline, has a disclaimer, has poor grammar indicating the information is not credible or has obvious clues the story is false.

Confirm Source, Date and Time

Some fake news sites try to fool us into believing the site is legitimate with official-sounding titles, copy cat URLs and look-alike pages.  Check the source of the material very carefully.  Take a moment to read the “About Us”.  If the language is over the top, absent or poorly written, then the source is possibly not credible.

Take a good look at the dateline of the story and other date references.  Some fake news stories and old stories or old content which have been regurgitated to appear “new”.

Questions Links, Sources, Quotes and Photos

Real journalists include citations, attribution and relevant images to enhance their stories.  Fake news writers avoid citations; they don’t have credible sources, and they steal and reuse unrelated pictures to make their points.  Be on the watch for these indicators.

Links to reference material litter real news stories.  Follow the links used to support a story and make an evaluation if they are relevant.  Look closely at the sources quoted, if any, in a story.  Do a quick internet search of their name and title to determine if they have the requisite authority to make the statement or if their quote (or a similar quote) appears on trustworthy news sites.  Finally, be sure that the image is related to the story and not just a picture transplanted from another place and time on the web page.  Google offers a reverse image search to inform if the picture has been used elsewhere on the internet.

Determine Bias

Lots of websites have declared biases; some do not.  But we need to know what we are dealing with.  Peruse the site a news story appears on to see if there is an agenda they seem to be promoting and then, take the information presented with a tablespoon of salt.

Seek Corroboration

Before you take the first link as gospel, take a moment to find out if other news organisations are reporting the same news.  Get the facts before you spread what's false!

If ever in doubt, visit the RJR News Centre for consistently credible news.

Sources

• The Telegraph UK
• Wikipedia
• Huffington Post
• Pizzagate
• Jamaica Gleaner
• How Stuff Works
• Sunday Morning Herald

#MyBestAdvice for #GettingResults? #Focus.

PSOJ Social Media Business Conference
‘Not just marketing’ How to get actual business results

#MyBestAdvice for #GettingResults? #Focus.

Social media is, as they say, ‘huge’.  There are almost too many variables and parameters to consider.  So don’t.  Don’t spread yourself so thin that your massive efforts yield minimal results.  Instead, #Focus.

Social media is a powerful, cost effective marketing tool.  A well developed and executed social media plan can secure remarkable results.  The first annual PSOJ Social Media Business Conference has laid out comprehensive case on the potential benefits of this still evolving promotional option.  Participants will leave the Conference feeling empowered; ready to harness the power of ‘social’ to build brands and promote sales.

The best results come from a detailed plan, but you can hit the ground running if you stay focused on a trio of key factors: the message, the platform and the team.

Message
It seems obvious, yet lots of brands don’t focus on the message.  Building a brand identify and leveraging that identity for reward is a comprehensive task.  Advertising, corporate communications,  branding, POS and yes, even social media MUST reflect the same core message.

Staying on message across various media formats requires both commitment and flexibility.  In the case of commitment, a disjointed message can confuse and deter target audiences.  Similarly for flexibility, the message must suit the medium; it must fit in the space.

Finding the balance between seemingly opposing requirements is an art.


Platform
Resources are always finite, so limit them to where they will be most impactful.

The Conference has offered up a plethora for social media platforms where targets lurk.  The standard bearer Facebook and its baby, Instagram both have a significant portion of the limited attention of potential customers and consumers.  Google+ has integrated their social media efforts into their flagship products.  Twitter remains popular and SnapChat continues to gain ground.  Then, let's not forget online services like YouTube and communications tools like WhatsApp that, technically, are not social media.  But technicalities have little bearing on popularity.

Yet, there are many more platforms; some growing, some dying.

Unless your an international conglomerate, don't try to rule them all.  Talk to customers, clients and colleagues; figure out which three are most prominent in your target network and then deploy your resources to those three.

Making a point beside fellow PSOJ Social Media Business Conference Panelist,  Stacy Hines.

Team
The pre-Conference survey revealed that, "45% of respondents say that digital is their primary marketing channel; yet 53% of respondents said that it was less than 10% of their marketing budget." This is a shocking revelation.

You wouldn’t trust the execution of a multimillion dollar marketing campaign to interns, neither should you trust your multimillion dollar brand value to the inexperienced.  Even new media requires some tried and true principles to be successful.

The social media strategist is an essential member of an organization.  The social media department is a critical success competent.  Hire the best to get the best results.

Embrace Retired Technology

Perhaps you’re retired and have lots of time your hands.  Maybe, you’ve been working your whole life and never took the time to take on tech.  Whatever the circumstances, whatever your age, technology need not be daunting.  In fact, it can be fun!

Jamaica National Pensioners Association AGM Presentation

The World Bank reports that the average Jamaican life expectancy is about 74 years of age.  I’d hate to discredit the World Bank, but my own observations put the average about 10 years later than that.  If I’m right (and I often am), you could live for 20 years between retirement and well, you get the point.

If you want to truly enjoy those 20+ years, focus on the things that can maintain, or better yet, improve your quality of life.  Look out for the tools and experiences that help you stay in contact with family and loved ones, that help you stay healthy, stay in the know, stay financially fit and of course, stay independent.

Technology can help you stay.

Stay In Contact

The grandkids may be far away, but apps like Skype, FaceTime and WhatsApp make video conference as simple as pushing a button and talking face to face.  No more lonely nights or weekends, no more boring conversations with fellow seniors.  Retirees can feel like they are right there in the room.

Video gaming can be a natural extension of video conferencing.  Take talk to the next level and learn how to really engage the rug rats on their level by mopping the floor with them (virtually speaking) in a online RPG (Role Player Game).

If the fam proves too busy to connect, consider connecting with a new job.  Lots of seniors rejoin the workforce on a “limited” basis thanks to teleworking.  Book editors, accountants and a host of service related professionals earn real money on their own time.

Stay Healthy

Sitting behind a desk, even for a short time, doesn’t contribute to your physical health.  So, rather than sit, get up and go, with a fitness tracker and heart rate monitor, both paired with an app that automatically reviews data from the wearables and sets fitness goals based on your unique digital profile.  It sounds like a lot, but it can work seamlessly once configured.

Machines in moderation - Skype in your personal physician to review the fitness data and goals, without ever having to leave the comfort of your home (or cruise or wherever).

Listen up, you can even upgrade your outdated hearing aids to custom moulded in ear monitors with on board Bluetooth.  When my Dad had a private call on ‘speaker', thanks to his audio boosting, wireless ear pieces, I realized that he was hipper than me!

Being schooled by a tech savvy Jamaica National Pensioner

Stay in the Know

Speaking of hip, nothing is hipper than being able to participate in the water cooler (or now I guess it all happens on Facebook) conversation.  Ditch the papers thrown at your front door and get online for a wider range of news.  Take it a step further, get online for a course or degree.  Like teleworking, online educations afford flexibility and low cost learning.

Stay Financially Fit

Costs become even more important on a fixed income.  Save time, and most importantly money, by skipping the senior line in the bank in favour of banking and online bill payments.  Monitor your statements for suspicious activities (and trends), send (or receive) money for the young ones and rack up savings with those loyalty cards and virtual coupons.

Just because you’ve got some time on your hands doesn’t mean you got money to waste.

Stay Independent

After all, you are smart and independent.  Building on those traits, we can look out for consumer grade GPS trackers, heart rate/blood pressure monitors, self driving cars and smart homes reducing the need for personalized in home care while maximizing self-sufficiency.

Look forward to being older, its the time when you get to tech it easy and stay in life.

Tech4Life airs every Wednesday morning at 8:15 am on @RJR94FM 

T4L: WhatsApp Introduces Encryption

Yup, arguably the most popular messaging platform in the word just launched end to end encryption.  So, whether you’re chatting about your plans to attack a killer sandwich or to blow up an exam, your instant messages are protected, as of, well, now.

End to end data encryption is certainly not new.  Less popular but more secure apps like Telegram have been offering the feature for a long time.  But, the Facebook-owned Whatsapp has about a billion, with a ‘b’,  users around the globe making this announcement significant.  Note too; the feature is not optional.  I repeat, it is not optional.

Encryption is turned on by default, for everyone who uses the app.  Whatsapp has no access to the data in conversations and cannot be compelled by any government body or agency to turn over your conversation data.

Unlike email encryption systems, Whatsapp provides a separate, new, unique encryption key for every new conversation.  The key itself is verifiable between users, adding to the level of security offered.

Of course, the feature is useless as a privacy tool if you leave your phone lying around unlocked, but short of that, you can rest assured neither the government or your neighbour can access your Whatsapp messages.  Happy texting!

Tech4Life airs every Wednesday morning at 8:15 on @RJR94FM