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WE ARE A TEAM OF TECHIES. WE KEEP AN EYE ON THE INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS THAT HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO CHANGE HUMANITY.
RECENT INDUSTRY STATS
Teens and Social Media
95% of teens have access to a smartphone, and 45% say they are online almost constantly.
Internet Users
The number of Internet users has exceeded four billion in 2018, up 7 percent from the previous year.
YouTube Stats
More video content is uploaded to YouTube in a day than what the top three U.S. television networks create in a year.
RECENT INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS
TECHNOLOGIES THAT MAY CHANGE THE WORLD FOR THE BETTER (OR WORSE)
Researchers Use Wi-Fi to Count Crowds Through Walls
Professor Yasamin Mostofi from University of California, Santa Barbara has recently demonstrated crowd counting through walls using standard Wi-Fi signals. The proposed approach makes it possible to count the number of people inside a room by installing a regular Wi-Fi transmitter and a receiver outside the area of interest.
According to Data Alliance, the crowd counting method, which utilizes the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) is normally used to determine the quality of the signal that is broadcasted by a router. This innovative development builds on the previous work of Mostofi's Lab, and can have a broad array of practical applications.
Is Technology Threatening Our Jobs?
Looking back at the Industrial Revolution, we can see how technology changed the world – mostly for the better. It is true that many people have lost their jobs back then, but this wasn't a decision taken by industrial robots, but by managers. Fortunately, people have managed to adapt to the new situation, learning new skills, and then getting new jobs.
So, we can confidently say that the nature of work will only change because managers, corporations (and sometimes even governments) take decisions that can have a significant impact on the workforce. The good news is that today's digital revolution, which is often regarded as the second Industrial Revolution, has opened the doors to a thriving gig economy for millions of Americans.
Technology Robs American Songwriters of Their Income
Back in the day, if you were a talented songwriter who was willing to work hard, you had the chance to earn enough money to support yourself, and maybe even an entire family. Still, the rise of the Internet and (most of all) the huge number of file sharing services whose owners are willing to share any file, regardless of its provenience, as long as it has the potential to make them money, have discouraged many talented songwriters.
Internet music piracy has significantly diminished the royalties of most American composers, but hopefully the Music Modernization Act will ensure that the old 1909 royalty rate standard will be replaced with market-based rates that will (hopefully) get songwriters higher royalties.
