Zone’s Ross Basham handpicks and shares the five best new stories on digital trends, experiences and technologies…
1. How might Elon Musk change Twitter?
So, what will Elon Musk’s Twitter look like? If his $44bn deal goes through, the world’s richest man has given some clues as to his intentions. Musk has long been vocal in his criticism of the platform’s content policies and he could look to loosen Twitter’s content moderation rules, including allowed suspended accounts to return.
Musk has also said that he would like to get rid of adverts (which currently account for 90% of its income) and revamp Twitter’s subscription service, Twitter Blue. He has spoken of “defeating the spam bots” to ensure users are real, and also of bringing in a feature that would be popular with many users — an edit button.
2. More than 5 billion people are now online
DataReportal’s Digital 2022 April Global Statshot report has revealed that more than 5 billion people around the world now use the internet — 63% of the global population. The report also says 5.32 billion people use a mobile phone, with smartphones accounting for roughly four out of five handsets.
There are 4.65 billion social media users, with three-quarters of ‘eligible’ audiences (ie aged 13+) on social media. The world’s internet users now spend an average of 6 hours and 53 minutes online each day — more than 40% of their waking life. However, there are still 2.9 billion people who do not use the internet at all.
3. Vampire devices cost households £147 a year
UK households could save an average of £147 a year by switching off so-called vampire devices. These are electronics that drain a surprising amount of power even when on standby. British Gas research indicates households in the UK are spending £3.16bn annually just for the privilege of leaving vampire devices on standby.
As long as devices are plugged in at the wall, they are slowly drawing power. Leaving your TV on standby costs £24.61 a year, while a set-top box is £23.10 and even a microwave costs £16.37. British Gas recommends adding devices to an extension lead that can be switched off at night — or using smart plugs.
4. Instagram test lets you pin posts to profile
Instagram is testing a new feature that would let you pin particular posts above the grid on your profile page. Testing is currently limited to a select group of users on the platform. To see if you’re one of them, go to one of your posts, tap the three dots at the top right, and look for the message “pin to your profile” in the list of options.
While the existing Instagram Stories feature lets you select content to highlight via your profile page, doing so takes a little longer to set up compared to simply pinning a photo to your profile page. Also, whereas Stories content disappears after 24 hours, a pinned photo would remain in place until you choose to remove it.
5. Meta opens store to demystify metaverse
Meta is opening its first ever physical retail space, which aims to demystify the metaverse for consumers. The Meta Store will be located on the Meta Burlingame campus in California, home of its Reality Labs division. It will feature demos for its Quest 2 VR headset and video calling device Portal, plus its Ray-Ban smart glasses.
“The Meta Store is going to help people make that connection to how our products can be the gateway to the metaverse in the future,” said head of Meta store, Martin Gilliard. “We’re not selling the metaverse in our store, but hopefully people will walk out knowing a little bit more about how our products will help connect them to it.”
