Archive for the ‘Social Networking’ Category

Social Studies: Social distancing by political party, social skills in the Internet age, and the power of food stamps – The Boston Globe

Political distancing

Analysis of anonymized smartphone tracking data reveals that fewer residents of Republican-leaning, compared to Democrat-leaning, counties appeared to be staying home after their state issued a stay-at-home order a difference that did not appear to be explained by other county, date, or policy factors. Residents of Democrat-leaning counties in states with Republican governors were an exception showing similar patterns of defiance.

Painter, M. & Qiu, T., Political Beliefs Affect Compliance with COVID-19 Social Distancing Orders, Saint Louis University (April 2020).

Play time

Sociologists compared nationally representative surveys of young childrens social skills from the 1990s through the 2000s as computer and Internet access became widespread. Neither parents nor teachers assessments of kids skills changed much. If anything, they offered slightly more favorable reviews over time. Controlling for changes in parenting and socio-economic characteristics did not change these findings. In the later generation, there was a modest negative association for extensive gaming and social networking, but it was positive for moderate use.

Downey, D. & Gibbs, B., Kids These Days: Are Face-to-Face Social Skills among American Children Declining? American Journal of Sociology (January 2020).

The more you know

In an experiment, people were asked their opinions on climate change, nuclear power, genetically modified food, and water fluoridation. Before giving their opinions, some participants read about a politician railing against corruption; some of those participants were also told where most experts stood on the aforementioned issues; and all participants were asked how much they trusted experts. While those who trusted experts unsurprisingly became more aligned with the expert positions after being told about them, the opposite happened for those who didnt trust experts, particularly among those who had been exposed to the populist political rhetoric.

Merkley, E., Anti-Intellectualism, Populism, and Motivated Resistance to Expert Consensus, Public Opinion Quarterly (forthcoming).

Fail forward

Its not surprising that people dont like to talk about their own failures. But new research suggests that this isnt just about ego. People generally assume that failures are less informative, regardless of whether thats the case. In various experiments, people were less willing to share negative outcome information, even though sharing that information was objectively more helpful to a recipient. Likewise, in a real-world example with teachers who were asked to write about both a professional failure and a professional success, most chose to share the success story with other teachers, despite having anonymity.

Eskreis-Winkler, L. & Fishbach, A., Hidden Failures, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes (March 2020).

Feed the children

Economists used anonymized data from the United States Census and the Social Security Administration going back decades to determine the long-term outcomes of children who were born in counties that offered food stamps compared to those born in counties that did not. Living in an area with access in utero through age five but not at older ages was associated with better education, work, housing, and longevity outcomes, and less incarceration, into adulthood. The economists estimate that the lifetime value to recipients was approximately 56 times the cost to the government.

Bailey, M. et al., Is the Social Safety Net a Long-Term Investment? Large-Scale Evidence from the Food Stamps Program, National Bureau of Economic Research (April 2020).

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Social Studies: Social distancing by political party, social skills in the Internet age, and the power of food stamps - The Boston Globe

The sad reason why Johnny Depp opened Instagram, its first social network – Play Crazy Game

The actor gave a powerful message.

If you are one of those who during this quarantine has fallen into the temptation and be a part of the ranks of the users of Tik Tok, maybe you can understand Johnny Depp, who shocked all her fans when you open your account on Instagram, your first social network.

Related ArticlesentertainmentAmber Heard with one foot in prison for lying about Johnny Depp

In the midst of the legal fight with his ex, Amber Heard, the actor made his debut in the social networks and did to give an important message to all who are going through the pandemic that has the whole world in check.

Great hosting was Depp, who in just a couple of hours amounted to 2 million followers, who await with curiosity the type of content that will be going up the actor.

The first post of Depp was a photo that announced his arrival on the social network, in addition to advised them that I was recording.

The second publication was a video of eight minutes in which he spoke of the situation of the coronavirus: Hello everyone. This is my first experience in the world of social networking. Ive never done anything like this before. I dont think they felt any particular reason to do so up to an hour. Now is the time to open a dialog, when the threat of this invisible enemy has already caused immeasurable tragedy and an enormous damage in the lives of people.

The interpreter of Jack Sparrow lamented the global situation in which we are living:Many cant provide for their families Some have lost their jobs business Some, many even now are living in the streets without protection, without refuge, without any option to escape.

Finally, the musician thanked the support of his fans:Thank you for your kindness, your unwavering support and strength throughout these years. I am moved beyond words.

Amber Heard with one foot in prison for lying about Johnny Depp

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The sad reason why Johnny Depp opened Instagram, its first social network - Play Crazy Game

WeWork sells off social network Meetup to AlleyCorp and other investors – TechCrunch

Meetup, the social networking platform designed to connect people in person, is being spun out from shared office space provider WeWork, the company confirmed on Monday. The site is being sold to AlleyCorp and other private investors for an undisclosed sum, but one thats reportedly far less than the $156 million acquisition price WeWork paid for the social network back in 2017.

Fortune (paywalled) was first to break the news of Meetups sale. The company has also now put out a press release with further details.

Meetup, which has operated for two-and-a-half years as a WeWork subsidiary, will divest itself from its parent company and continue to operate, it says. The site today serves 49 million registered members and more than 230,000 organizers who create an average of 15,000 in-person events per day.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Meetup had been struggling. The company in November announced a round of layoffs amid other cost-cutting measures. And these had followed earlier cuts of 10% of staff during acquisition negotiations.

With the COVID-19 pandemic now in full force, fewer people than ever are willing and able to meet in-person, leading to Meetup to position itself today as a place for groups to meet online during times of crisis, its release said. That remains to be seen.

The investor groups in Meetups latest acquisition are led by Kevin Ryans AlleyCorp and also include other mission-driven private funds and accomplished technology executives, the company claims.

The deal will see Ryan joining Meetup as chairman of the Board. David Siegel will remain Meetup CEO and board member, and will continue to lead the company.

Meetup groups will continue to operate, as will Meetups enterprise business solution, Meetup Pro, which has been used by over 1,500 clients to date, including Adobe, Google, Microsoft Azure, IBM, Twitter and Looker, among others.

This acquisition provides the long-term capital to ensure that Meetup focuses on what is most important: the organizers who make Meetup successful, our passionate members, and our dedicated employees, said David Siegel, CEO of Meetup, in a statement. We are excited to continue on our mission of empowering personal growth through real human connections, and Im happy to have brought in a team of smart investors who share and support the same values, he said.

WeWorks intention to sell off Meetup was previously known. Unfortunately for the longtime social network, it was one of several casualties arising from WeWorks larger troubles.

Its unclear, however, what the future holds for Meetup. Though the government lockdown policies may eventually end, consumers appetite for getting together in real-life groups with people they first met online may not be as strong as it was before. Meetup may have to shift more of its focus to supporting online-only groups a market thats today dominated by Facebook Groups, or niche apps catering to specific categories, like Peanut for moms or Nextdoor for neighbors, for instance.

We are confident in the enormous potential of the business and Meetups mission of bringing people together in substantive ways, said AlleyCorps Ryan, in a statement. We are very excited to collectively serve and grow Meetups extensive and incredibly engaged user base.

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WeWork sells off social network Meetup to AlleyCorp and other investors - TechCrunch

Social Media Is Evolving And This ETF Is at the Forefront – ETF Trends

Social media may feel like a mature industry, but the fact is its still in its nascent stages and can offer investors runways to significant growth, levers that the Global X Social Media ETF (NasdaqGM: SOCL) can pull.

SOCL seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Solactive Social Media Total Return Index. The index tracks the equity performance of the largest and most liquid companies involved in the social media industry, including companies that provide social networking, file sharing, and other web-based media applications.

In its early years, the social media industry was all about user growth. These days, Wall Street and investors want more, meaning more revenue, more monetization of users and more profits.

Rather than looking for new users, social media platforms now focus on maximizing the revenue generated from each user, writes Pedro Palandrani of Global X in a recent note. One way to do that is by selling more ads, for more dollars. Social media captures about 40% of total internet spending through selling targets ads to its user base, but is looking to win even more of the growing pie.

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Snap, and Twitter, each of which are among SOCLs top 10 holdings, dont charge their users to user their platforms, making monetization essential to their business models.

With user bases totaling hundreds of millions, if not billions, monetization is the new focus for the largest social media companies. User growth for major networks was 11% in 2019, whereas revenue grew 17%, notes Palandrani. he vast majority of this revenue comes from advertisers who are set to spend more on online platforms, and social media in particular, than traditional media, such as TV, radio, magazines, etc.

Integral the long-term social media thesis are factors including mobile penetration and large companies embracing social networking as an avenue for attracting new customers. Those factors and others are expected to lift average revenue per user (ARPU).

ARPU is a function of the number of ads served, the price advertisers are willing to pay for each ad unit, and overall user engagement. Firms with higher ARPUs typically have active user bases that are engaging with substantial amounts of content on a regular basis. In addition, a high ARPU firm can deliver hyper-targeted advertisements across a range of formats, according to Global X.

For more on thematic ETFs, please visit our Thematic Investing Channel.

The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.

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Social Media Is Evolving And This ETF Is at the Forefront - ETF Trends

How to be positive in social networks during the quarantine, expert advice – The Saxon

Social networking has become a way of interaction. Photo: unsplash.com

Now social networks have become a vital source of interaction and information exchange, and a kind of black hole. In the coming weeks they will be more important than ever and need to learn to use them positively. About how exactly, British Metro asked the expert.

As said the publication of a clinical psychologist, Dr. Robert Babb, the amount of information about coronavirus in the Internet and social networks is great, inevitably, and most of it is connected an alarming prospect.

According to experts, the impact of the online environment, which is now unfavorable, could have a significant impact on mental health, in particular, to stir feelings of anxiety, guilt and anger, frustration, depression.

The psychologist gave a few simple tips that can make online experience in this difficult time less stressful.

The change of subject. Positive participation in social networks may include initiating an interesting debate, not associated with the pandemic, or participation in such. So. for example, the interest in what people think about the book, the movie or any activity, is the beginning of a constructive discussion.

The celebration of achievements. Positive participation in social networks involves exchange of information about what youre good at, or what is different for you this time of change. It can be tips, how do you manage to stay busy in the period of self-isolation, how to disassemble the cabinets and collect things, which you can then give to charity or sell on the Internet and the like.

The creation of online communities. You can use social media to find new, creative ways of sharing activities on the Internet. It can be learned sewing, while watching a film followed by discussion (Netflix party), tips on gardening, language practice, meditation or simply a joint morning coffee you are only limited by your imagination.

The promotion of adequate problems. His additional time in social networks can be used for research and promotion of the decent, raise awareness about important issues that people might have previously neglected due to the rapid pace of life. It can help you to find your voice, boost your confidence.

Time limit. Limit the time you spend in social networks and observe restrictions. If its too hard, set the application to lock.

Limit the number of news. If you are worried about what is happening, and feel depressed because of what is happening, you can limit the number of visited news sites or messages that you read about a specific issue, such as the increase in the number of cases of infection.

Restriction of use of gadgets. For example, leave them in another room if you are going to cook. Create boundaries and remove your device when doing other tasks or talking to other people.

Do something outside of the Internet. Try to develop a hobby or interest outside of social networks. Turn off notifications, and accept that you will not know all about the pandemic, and that you dont need to know everything. Decide where you need to get information and use this source.

Establish the order of the day. Make sure that you have a constructive daily routine and sleep mode, regardless of how easy it is. Try to limit your time in social networks before you go to bed and when you Wake up.

Take a vacation. Create a post, from which people learn that you took a break, you need time, but you will be back.

LeMonade previously reported that Sharon stone during the quarantine took up painting.

We also wrote about top 5 life hacks from Olga Cybulski, how not to kill your husband in quarantine.

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How to be positive in social networks during the quarantine, expert advice - The Saxon