Global Media News

Trump Take Down: Via Smartphone

How has Trump's immigration ban impacted apps?

Throughout the presidential campaign, social media users took to platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to demonstrate their beliefs for and against Donald Trump. Eventually, the Anti-Trump movement was born. Social media as well as other smart phone apps have changed American politics indefinitely.

In light of the recent detainment of travelers at John F. Kennedy airport, officials are screening social media accounts in search of suspected terrorist affiliation. According to Independent, border agents are checking social media accounts of travelers whom are entering the country. What are they looking for? Political views of travelers. What does this mean for us? Individuals who post anything political on social media, are a potential target by the Trump Administration. Protesting Trump via hashtags may or may not be the safest idea, but wait, there's no need to grab a picket sign just yet. Here is a look at some alternative movements against the president. 

Following the protest at JFK airport, Uber is under fire. Taxi companies under the NY Taxi Workers Alliance exhibited protest by suspending their work in opposition of Trumps ban. On the other hand, Uber tweeted, " Surge pricing has been turned off at #JFK Airport. This may result in longer wait times. Please be patient." Uber account holders were outraged by the companies decision to profit off of the Muslim ban. In result, at least 200,000 people have deleted their Uber accounts.

On the bright side, App stores on both Apple and Android devices have released an app to boycott Trump. According to the apps description, the BoycottTrump app helps users search for businesses in order to determine if they have any affiliation with Donald Trump. This allows individuals to single-handedly boycott the President by refraining to do business with him directly, or any of his supporters.

 

Podcasts for Breakfast

Say bye-bye to your morning radio shows and hello to morning podcasts. More and more people are tuning out Radio airwaves and tuning into to their favorite Podcasts. In 2016, 155 million Americans claimed they had listened to online radio shows or podcasts. Over the years, the growth of Podcasts has been exponential. Since early 2012, Podcast listeners, ages 12-99 had grew almost 32%.This growth is a result of new funding. Many media networks such as Fox and WNYC have been investing millions of dollars into creating their own Podcast division.

But what makes a podcast different from a radio show? 

Podcasts have no limit. There isn't a need to "clean up" or condense a show. Radio has limitations on what can be said and how long the show can run in order to make room for other shows to be broadcasted. However, a podcast can be as long or how short the host makes it. The number of podcasts keep growing and growing. It's influence can possibly grow to be bigger than the radio one day.

Who Should Fear With DirecTV Now Here?

According to celebrity net worth, DirectTV Now, AT&T’s streaming service is a $200 billion business. 

According to Meg James at the LA Times, AT&T released a streaming service, DirecTV Now, late November of 2016. This streaming service offers customer an experience similar to Hulu, Netflix and Dish Network’s Sling TV and was an instant success. 

Roger Cheng from Cnet said, "DirecTV Now represents AT&T's push to transform itself into more than just a phone company, taking control of the content you watch and of how you watch it...". Facing steep competition in the wireless communication world due to companies such as Sprint and T-mobile, AT&T needed to find a new way to bring in money and customers, and they believe DirecTV Now is their golden ticket. Since the addition of this streaming service brought in 200,000 new customer, AT&T is going to continue down this path by offering Time Warner a deal.

The Creation of DirecTV Now came at a crucial time, AT&T lost a massive amount of subscribers from October-December due to issues with their U-Verse service. With a loss of 27,000 customers, AT&T needed an invention that would draw customers back in, and with the popularity of streaming sites such as Netflix and Hulu, the solution was clear. This new streaming service became available to the public November 30th at an introductory cost of $35 per month and was an instant success, but the price quickly rose.

The introductory deal quickly became obsolete when DirecTV Now came out with a variety of bundle options. According to Todd Spangler at Variety, the first one “Live a Little”, offers 64 channels and cost $35 a month, “Just Right” comes with 80-plus channels and cost $50 a month, “Go Big” offers 100-plus channels for $60 a month, and the mother of all bundles, “Gotta Have It”, comes with 130 channels and runs for $70 a month. Meaning those who were one of the first to invest in AT&T's new service, were granted the "Go Big" bundle for almost half the cost. 

But, like with many new inventions, this service had a few glitches. AT&T Chief Financial Officer John J. Stephen addressed the annoyed customers and explained to them that this system is still in it’s early stages and the company is still working to repair said issues. Regardless of the malfunctions, AT&T’s DirecTV Now was able gain 200,000 new customers, exceeding Wall Street’s expectations.

Focusing on the future, Chief Executive Randall Stephenson said the following in the LA Times, “We launched DirecTV Now. Our 5G evolution plans and improved spectrum position are paving the way for the next generation of super-fast mobile and fixed networks”.

 

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