Tag Archive for: COVID
Twitch Radio
The streaming powerhouse Twitch, mainly used to stream esports, is going old school, in a new school kinda way. They are partnering with Radio.com, parent Entercom for interactive livestreams of sports radio stations. All around Major cities in the US!
This was first reported by Variety and will see Radio.com sports stations stream on Twitch in the following locations:
- Boston (WEEI in Boston)
- New York (WFAN 101.9 FM/660 AM)
- Dallas (105.3 The Fan),
- Chicago (670 The Score),
- Atlanta (92.9 The Game), and
- Detroit (97.1 The Ticket)
They’ll each have their own dedicated branded channels on Twitch too. VP David Rosenbloom said that the partnership would introduce sports broadcasting to a ‘new generation of fans’
Twitch is more than just games
Twitch isn’t just a gaming platform anymore, with the streaming giant expanding it’s content offerings on the platform. So it now includes other entertainment as well. Director of New Verticals at Twitch Jane Weedon said in a statement that Twitch has seen a growing community of sports fans on the platform.
“Twitch is the place where people come to connect and engage over their shared interests, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a group of people more passionate than sports fans,”
“With the addition of sports radio, on-air talent and fans will be able to interact and discuss their favourite athletes, teams and leagues with one another in real time.” Jane Weedon
Weedon added that the users will be able to join in the conversation with Twitch’s Chat feature, much like the long cherished call in format of talk radio stations.
This deal arrives at a time in an uncertain time for sports as COVID pummels sports industries all over the world. With sports stadiums remaining a no-go area for the time being. Radio still has plenty of opportunities to keep fans connected to the teams they love including analysis and interviews.
(Engadget)
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Social Distancing Dancing: The Social Dis-Dancing
Social Distancing Dancing – Which dance routines are the most difficult to learn?
Much of the UK is still in lockdown, with indoor gyms and leisure centres are remaining closed for now. So, many people have found new ways to get and stay active. One of these ways is with dancing. Iconic dance routines have been unearthed and replicated over and over on social media. Viral challenges have sprung up on Tik Tok. So, whether it’s to keep fit, to get likes or to get views. Dancing has become one of the most popular internet crazes of 2020. Leading to many of us heading to the various apps on mobiles available to us to check out the latest challenges and dance routines. Social Distancing Dancing!
Routines
USwitch have crunched the numbers on the top 10 most popular routines at the minute. Allowing you to get involved and work your way through the various difficulties of the difference dances. Ranging from beginner to expert. Allowing you to get fit and active whilst doing it.
USwitch have taken the top 5 most iconic dance routines and the most popular TikTok dance challenges. With the help of expert dancers, Jane White, Dance Course Leader and Senior Lecturer at Arts University Bournemouth and dance teacher to the stars, Andrea Rose, USwitch rated them on a difficulty scale of 1-10, with one being the easiest to learn.
Furthermore two experts rated each dance independently with average ratings taken from both. Which focus on length of routine, the amount of moves and difficulty of transitions. Calories burned was also worked in each routine, with the experts predicting how long the routine would take to master, using a calorie counting formula to work out a figure. The full research can be found below:
Social Distancing Health Benefits
So, in just 5 minutes, TikTokers can be raking in the likes after mastering the ‘Out West’ challenge. Though those that want to go the whole hog and make use of the time that we have on lockdown. MC Hammer’s ‘U Can’t Touch This’ routine could be the antidote to life without a gym. Why? As you can burn a huge 35,269 kcal in the process of learning the routine. Which is the equivalent of the average person running for more than 54 hours on the treadmill or cycling for 137 hours!
More than just likes, dancing has a lot of other wider benefits. Personal Trainer, Nutritionist, and Author Stuart Robert explains:
“Dancing is one of those rare forms of exercise that ticks all the boxes. As well as improving cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, joint mobility, coordination and balance it’s also something you can do at any time of your life.
“Most types of dancing are low impact which minimises the risk of injury. And by putting less pressure on the joints it’s great for older people. It’s also a great form of exercise for improving motor fitness. This is your body’s ability to transmit impulses from your nervous tissue (nerve cells called motor neurons) to your muscular tissue. Improving the efficiency of these nerve cells can help to:
Increase agility
Improve balance
Enhance coordination
Increase muscular power
Improve speed of movement
Enhance reaction time
“As well as the many physical benefits, dancing has a host benefits for mental health. Learning a new dance routine and then perfecting it provides a great challenge and focuses our attention. Concentrating on learning the steps enables us to switch off from our day to day concerns and forget about the news headlines for a while. Our brains have the ability to learn and grow, even as we age, making new neural connections. This ‘neural/brain plasticity’ can help to maintain and build cognitive skills such as memory and spatial recognition.
“Dancing can also make us feel happier by boosting our mood and has been shown to reduce depression and anxiety. The physical exercise releases mood enhancing endorphins and the feel-good hormone serotonin, whilst reducing stress hormones such as cortisol. Another great benefit is that dancing provides us with a challenge.”
Rehan Ali, mobiles expert at Uswitch.com commented on the research:
“If you are looking to take on one of these viral challenges and then share it with the world, you are going to need the right equipment. Ensure you have lots of space to practice. You might want this to be somewhere private for the outtakes! You’re going to need a handset that can record quality video, with a big display in order to analyse the dances you are trying to replicate. If you already have the phone, you might need to ensure you have the ability to stream these videos over and over again while you learn the moves, so ensure that you have a data package that can handle the demand! Good luck!”
(USwitch)
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CLCKR Smartphone Stand
We’ve been testing the CLCKR phone stand and it is really really good! It has made using our phone even easier, why? Well for us we’re people who love to consume content on the go, as well as at home. The CLCKR grip helps with this. As it provides a firmer and safer use of our smartphone. Not only that it looks really good too and doesn’t add any unnecessary bulk to the device.
It can be used on any device thanks to the 3M adhesive. While if you decide for whatever reason (we don’t know why you would!) want to take it off, it won’t leave any residue behind!
With CLCKR you can use it to;
- Position your phone in portrait or landscape mode to video call with friends or family
- Hold your phone comfortably and take brilliant selfies
- Utilise the secure grip to make calls or use your phone on-the-go
- Stand your phone up and use it as a second screen while working
- Binge-watch your favourite films or TV shows hands-free
NHS Rainbow CLCKR
Now, there’s a Rainbow version!
The Rainbow version of the Universal CLCKR has been designed to show care and gratitude to our care workers and NHS workers. The rainbow is now a recognised symbol of support for those fulfilling care and key roles during the COVID-19 crisis. Furthermore the rainbow symbol also has traditional associations with hope and peace. The Rainbow version is limited edition and is the perfect way to show support.
“Like everyone else, we’ve been moved by the important work carried out by frontline workers during this time to keep us safe. The show of support for them at our doorsteps, on our balconies and out of windows has been a highlight of our weeks in lockdown. At CLCKR, we wanted to do our bit to help and we look forward to contributing all UK profits from online sales of the Rainbow CLCKR to the COVID-19 fundraising appeal by NHS Charities Together.” Phil Mulholland, Chief Marketing Officer & Managing Director, CLCKR
The Rainbow CLCKR stand and grip is available to pre-order now, priced at £12.99, with all UK profits going to the NHS Charities Together COVID-19 Urgent Appeal.
Case Version
Want to use the CLCKR without attaching it to your phone? Don’t Fret as there’s a case version of the CLCKR! Simply attach the case to your phone and you’re away! No need to stick or attach anything to the back of your phone!
Purchase the CLCKR case by clicking here!
Purchase the original CLCKR by clicking here!
To purchase the Rainbow Version of CLCKR please click here!
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Amazon making HOW MUCH?!
Many ad companies and traditional media owners are braced for tough times due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many companies marketing spends have been brought to a halt. However , Amazon’s ad business has emerged as a somewhat of a bright spot. For the tech giants financia update for Q1. This is despite belt tightening in from brands in other areas.
Amazon Ad Revenues
Amazon disclosed on the 30th April that it’s companies revenues from it’s advertising arm had seen a gain of over 44% over the past 3 months to reach $3.9BN! However Amazon doesn’t break out it’s ad revenue figures , chief fiancial officer Brian Olsavsky told investors that the Q1 ad growth rate was in line with previous results of Q4 2019. It grew at a 40% clip.
This trajectory outstripped the growth of its more established offerings such as online sales 24%, subscription services 28% and Amazon Web Services 33%.
Overall, Amazon’s total earnings for the first 3 months of 2020 showed that the pandemic has actually helped Amazon make money. It pulled in a total of $33M an hour. Between January and March revenues were $75.4BN
Amazon’s Q1 profit was $2.5bn down from $3.6bn onthe same period last year. Jeff Bezos cautioned that this would dip further in light of the Covid-19 related spend.
Amazon Calming down….
Bezos has cautioned that despite the company earning a lot of money. Shareholders should ‘take a seat’ as they planned to spend $4bn or more in the next 3 months on coronavirus related expenses. Such as keeping employees safe and getting products to customers.
“This includes investments in personal protective equipment (PPE), enhanced cleaning of our facilities, less efficient process paths that better allow for effective social distancing, higher wages for hourly teams, and hundreds of millions to develop our own Covid-19 testing capabilities,” Jeff Bezos
Profit
The $4bn spend will equal to Amazon’s entire profit for Q2 which caused Amazon’s shares to plummet immediately after. Amazon’s director of investor relations, Dave Files said that it had seen some impact from advertisers belt tightening.
“In March, [we saw] some pullback from advertisers and some downward pressure on price, but how but advertising continues to advertise at a high cliff,” he said.
“It wasn’t as noticeable maybe as with what some others are seeing, and it’s probably offset a bit by the continued strong traffic we have to the site. So it’s a bit of a mixed bag. We have again, as I said, downward pressure a bit on pricing.
Files also noted that a “large portion” of the firm’s advertising related to Amazon sales, “not [to] things like travel and auto”. Those sectors however, have been impacted by coronavirus pandemic.
“Our advertising will prove to be very efficient as well,” he assured investors. “And it can be directly measured. So even as people are cutting back perhaps on advertising, or are their costs, I think this will be one area that will prove its value. It has in the past.”
Amazon’s positive outcome from the pandemic comes as platform and media owners look for ways to help limit the impact that coronavirus has on their business and ad revenues.
(The Drum)
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Coronavirus: Are you helping to flatten the curve?
Drastic measures have been put into place to stop the spread of Coronavirus. Every country affected by the Coronavirus have put in varying levels of lockdown to help dampen and flatten the curve until many of us can go back outside again. But what would happen if we do go out?
Coronavirus Explainer: What if you go out?
- You go out and visit friends and family
- However, you don’t display any symptoms of COVID-19 and think that you are safe.
- Turns out you have COVID 19 but don’t show any symptoms whatsoever
- When visiting friends and family you pass it on to 2 of your friends and a grandparent
- Each of those go on to visit their own friends and members of their family
- According to scientific modelling, those affected, on average, without social distancing in place, will pass on the virus to 3 other people.
Spreading Coronavirus
- As a result out of one infection, cases will soon start to spread quickly and far outside your own network
- Most of those infected, however, would experience either mild symptoms or have a nasty flu like experience, making a full recovery. Some would require hospital treatment.
- According to scientific modelling by Imperial College London, about 4.5% of those infected would need to be admitted to hospital
- The same model predicts that out of 100 people, 30 would need a critical care bed.
- However the NHS face problems as out of those 30 people only 1 person can receive a bed once the pandemic hits peak
- Therefore NHS doctors face dilemma’s as to who does and who doesn’t receive the bed
- Should Patient A, a 78 year old retired teacher and grandmother of 7 get the bed. Or Patient B, a 68 year old retired fire fighter who is the sole carer of his wife who has Alzeihmers disease?
Overcoming the disease
- The Imperial team have assessed various different ways of reducing the number of people needing the NHS’s critical-care beds.
- The team discovered that if people experienced symptoms and those who lived with them. Stayed home for 2 weeks. Whilst those over 70 reduced social contact and kept it to a minimum. The impact on the NHS would be reduced.
- However, even with this measure it still leaves 8 patients needing 1 bed.
- Therefore the team discovered that if social distancing measures applied to everyone. Schools and Universities closed. The two week quarantine period applied to households who had people living in them that showed symptoms. Then the NHS can cope.
- This would then lead to the NHS being able to cope with the number of patients in their wards at the peak of the pandemic
- However, despite all these measures. Those in places where demand happened to be above average, NHS services would still be be strained.
- The research undertaken by Imperial College has been very influencial. The approach explained here is similar to what UK government ministers have implemented. The NHS, so far, has not been overwhelmed largely because of social distancing and lockdown measures.
2nd Wave
- Though, we have to be careful.
- As, as soon as the measures are lifted, the research predicts that another outbreak could occur. Which would be just as bad if we had done nothing this time round.
- There are only 2 ways out of lockdown. A development of a vaccine. Or a more effective way of testing people, tracing all those who had come into contact with those who were tested positive.
- Since the research was released, so far there has been a huge effort to increase the number of critical care beds available, up from 5,000 that the NHS had at the time
- To keep the curve flat, we must stay at home and work from home where possible. It is vitaly important.
(BBC)
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