Minecraft’s ‘Build the Vote’ readies young voters for US election
Minecraft is weighing in on the upcoming US elections, and its blocky recreation of the Capitol Building may inspire young gamers to vote for the first time. Getting young people to turn up to voting booths has been a notoriously difficult task in recent years. Fewer than half of Americans...
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First ever AI satellite quickens disaster response times
A satellite the size of a cereal box is using AI to remove clouds from orbit imagery and pinpointing disasters faster than ever before. On September 2nd, a satellite that looks a little like a desktop PC was shot into orbit, it’s original task being to monitor the state of...
The rise of ‘dark social’ is changing brand marketing
Gen Z is one of the biggest drivers of dark social traffic, often blurring the line between private and public social media activity - it’s only set to increase. Dark social is commonly used to describe any online interaction or click that can’t be traced by third parties or...
Quibi shuts down following lockdown marketing misstep
Launching in lockdown has proved a fatal miscalculation for mobile centric streaming service Quibi. Six months ago, at the height of the first COVID-19 lockdown, veteran execs Jaffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman boldly opted to launch a mobile-centric streaming service called Quibi. Spurred by a clear consumer demand for short-bite TikTok-esque...
New in-game video series for NBA 2K urges Gen Z to vote
Teaming up with the ‘More Than A Vote’ campaign, basketball video game franchise NBA 2K is releasing a two-part electoral video message to encourage Gen Z to head to the polls. It seems like most tech companies and social media platforms are trying their hand at encouraging young people...
Is gaming’s industry shift making loot boxes even more controversial?
The controversy surrounding microtransactions in gaming is back, and – you guessed it – EA is at the forefront. There are a few constants in life: the sun will rise and fall, seasons will come and go, and EA will continue to cause a raucous in the gaming community...
Digital trends company MSCHF pays TikTok users to ‘kill brands’
MSCHF has released nine TikTok sound bites that you can use to talk smack about big companies and you’ll be paid depending on your view count. It’s the definition of an anti-ad. Obscure digital content company MSCHF has launched a new campaign encouraging TikTok users to create videos attacking big companies that have been accused of abuse, negligence, and exploitative practices. It’s part of a recent company movement to criticise...
Apple won’t ship chargers with iPhone 12 to ‘help’ out the planet
You’ll no longer be able to pick up a standard charger or earphones with iPhone 12. Is it a genuine bid to reduce carbon emissions or a cheeky way to make more money? Apple unveiled the new iPhone 12 this week via an online announcement video. It boasts all the qualities you’d expect from a fresh tech release - flashy specs, 5G capabilities, and a new miniature model at a...
NASA is building a 4G network on the moon before 2022
The space agency is looking to launch a 4G mobile network on the moon before 2022, and Nokia has been identified as a surprise partner to build it. Just as 5G arrives to planet Earth, it appears its predecessor is headed to the moon. Not even astronauts will get away with leaving people on ‘read’ soon. NASA raised eyebrows today with the news that it’s teaming up with Nokia as part...
The man opening the world’s eyes to the plight of refugees through gaming
Having spent 22 of his 24 years in a refugee camp, the inspiring Luyal Mayen is now educating the world on the plight of his people through his game Salaam. Luyal Mayen endured a brutal start to life. One of 680,000 displaced by a relentless civil war spanning decades in South Sedan, Mayen was born en route to a refugee camp in Northern Uganda and grew up within its borders. With...
