Editorial
TAKING A LOOK AT THE SOCIAL TRENDS OF THE LAST 12 MONTHS THROUGH THE EYE OF TECHNOLOGY.
THIS TIME LAST year we lamented that Facebook was wielding the sort of power that only befits governments. Not much has changed there. Facebook continues its incredible march towards social media domination, though its power as publisher and curator, rather than a simple community board, has come to the forefront. Multiple news outlets have raised the point that Facebook dictates what its audience sees based on its own interests. Mark Zuckerberg’s site recently announced that it will alter its algorithms and shift away from promoting public content (news links and posts from businesses) and skew more towards posts from friends and family. This is in a bid, in Zuck’s words, to bring people closer together — all two billion of us who use the site — and the statement echoes the early purpose of Facebook. However, it leaves brands and news organisations — the ones that its audience has willingly liked and followed on Facebook, and who have contributed to Facebook’s growth — high and dry. That is, unless they’re willing to pay money to make their post or news story into an advertisement. So what does that mean for you? Less ‘clickbait’, hopefully, and more of your nearest and dearest with the best news and un-sponsored public posts rising to the top. Our social media expert, Tim Bothwell, has written a guide showing what to do to get started on Facebook, and tips on how to better use the world’s largest social media platform on page 28.
What has changed? The rise of the smart home speaker. Long term readers will be familiar with these, as we’ve featured Amazon Echo and Google Home in the past with guides on how to import them. My Google Home Mini sits in a dry corner of the bathroom, as I seem to have epiphanies during my morning routine. It does a reasonable job of understanding my shouts between putting paste on the toothbrush and rushing out the door. With Amazon now down under, Aussies can choose between three varieties of the Echo smart speaker. All feature local ‘skills’ that will give you the power to tackle mundane tasks such as sorting your calendar and checking your bank balance, through to more exciting and enticing prospects as playing music, automating your lights, and controlling other devices. Jenneth Orantia has written reviews of the two latest devices to hit the shelves, the Amazon Echo Plus (p14) and the Apple HomePod (p8), giving her definitive review on how these two items work. For now, though, I’ll say, “OK Google, remind me to see what Facebook’s doing this time next year...”
MY HOME’S SMART SPEAKER SITS IN A DRY CORNER OF THE BATHROOM, AS I SEEM TO HAVE EPIPHANIES DURING MY MORNING ROUTINE. IT DOES A REASONABLE JOB OF UNDERSTANDING MY SHOUTS BETWEEN PUTTING PASTE ON THE TOOTHBRUSH AND RUSHING OUT THE DOOR.