January 15, 2016
It was a week of highs – like the highest jackpot in Powerball history – and lows, like beloved celebrities passing away unexpectedly. Here are just a few of the stories I found interesting this week:
- Keeping an Eye on Periscope – Livestreaming apps like Periscope have generated a large meditation community – bringing an old practice into the modern era. In other Periscope news, starting this week, livestreaming videos automatically play in newsfeeds in Twitter’s iPhone app – the first major tie-in between the platforms since the livestreaming app launched last year. Periscope also announced that it has amassed 100 million live broadcasts since March 2015.
- Gone Too Soon – With the unexpected deaths of high-profile celebrities David Bowie and Alan Rickman, both social and traditional media have been abuzz all week with tributes – some funny, some poignant and all wonderful.
- Unlucky Numbers – With the Powerball craze sweeping the nation thanks to the largest jackpot ever, a related meme began circulating on social media channels claiming that poverty would become nonexistent if the winnings were split evenly among all Americans. The problem? The math was way off. (Three winning tickets were drawn on Wednesday night, rendering poverty nonexistent to the lucky winners – for now at least!)
- News about News – The media world saw the shuttering of Al Jazeera America and an announcement that the century-old The New Republic is for sale.
- State of the Politics – We’re closing in on the Iowa Caucuses, and the election continues to dominate the news cycle. This week also saw President Obama give his last State of the Union address (with a large focus on Michelle’s dress) – and today he’ll be interviewed by three YouTube stars. The interviews also will be streamed on the White House’s YouTube Channel and on the White House website.