Canada’s newspapers are asking the federal government to follow France and Australia in forcing companies such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook, Inc. to pay to display their news content.
“Both France and Australia have set deadlines to have mandatory solutions in place by July. That means paying for copyrighted content and sharing the advertising dollars and data that flow from it,” said a letter signed by newspaper executives including Andrew MacLeod of Postmedia and The Globe and Mail’s Phillip Crawley. “The situation is urgent, with media companies suffering huge advertising declines because of the coronavirus pandemic.”
Demi Lovato is already feeling “cool for the summer.”
The 27-year-old pop star took to Instagram to show off her radiant skin and fiery strapless bathing suit. Posing for the camera in her pool, the “Sorry Not Sorry” songstress served bawdy and face.
“Swipe to see how I discovered the self-timer feature for taking pics,” Demi quipped on her Instagram caption, alongside two sultry pics.
Moments later, her boyfriend Max Ehrich replied to her sexy snapshots with the heart-eyes emoji.
It was a simple and short reaction from The Young and the Restless actor, but it oh-so-sweet!
Max wasn’t the only one to respond to Demi’s Instagram post.
Ashley Graham also had a few words for her gal pal. “my girl is straight fire,” the supermodel commented with a few fire emojis.
JoJo added, “a beauty.”
Moreover, the “Anyone” singer teased her go-to photographer, Angelo Kritikos, in her caption. Since her timer was so bomb, she joked, “you in trouble boo boo.”
It didn’t take long for him to respond with a cheeky comment. “BRING IT ON BOO,” the photographer quipped and added heart-eyes and fire emojis.
As of late, Demi has been enjoying her pool and fresh-faced selfies.
“When I’m bored I buy stuff online. Like these rave goggles that I have no purpose for much less wearing by the pool,” she captioned her Instagram on Friday, alongside a snap of her getting some much-needed fresh air in her swimming pool.
Speaking of Instagram moments, the 27-year-old pop star accidentally and adorably crashed her boyfriend’s Live session two months ago.
The 28-year-old actor was playing the piano on his feed, when Demi walked behind him wrapped him with a blanket.
“I’m on live,” he mouthed to her, which made her leave in a frenzy.
Back in March, a source told E! News the duo was dating.
The insider said at the time, “Demi and Max have been seeing each other for a few weeks now. They have been quarantining together at Demi’s house and it’s going really well.”
“Max is very into music and health, and he doesn’t like to party,” the source added. “He is a good influence on Demi and they have a lot in common. They have a few mutual friends in common, but Demi has been introducing Max to her closest friends via Facetime since being quarantined.”
It’s only a matter of time before Max joins Demi in the pool and crashes her Instagram feed!
Friday, May 1, would have been Gianna Bryant’s 14th birthday. Gianna, the second oldest daughter of the four daughters Kobe and Vanessa Bryant had together, had dreams of playing for the University of Connecticut’s illustrious basketball program and, shortly after, the WNBA.
Unfortunately, Gianna, Kobe and seven other people — including two of her basketball teammates — were tragically killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas on Jan. 26. Gianni is survived by her mother, Vanessa, and her three sisters, Natalia, Bianka and Capri.
In honor of what would have been Gianna’s 14th birthday, Vanessa started an Instagram challenge on Friday.
“Gianna loved to wear a red bow in all of her school pictures. Red means love and life. To commemorate Gigi’s birthday today, please consider wearing red, caption an act of kindness or show how you will play Gigi’s way since she always gave everything she did her all and led with kindness. Please use the hashtag #PlayGigisWay,” Vanessa said in her Instagram post.
Vanessa also announced that the bracelets will be sold to benefit the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation. A few of them Bryant family’s famous friends, , including Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Kelly Clarkson, and Ciara, got their hands (or wrists) on the bracelets earlier than everyone else to help spread the word on Friday.
Kobe’s former teammate, Pau Gasol, and Gasol’s wife, Cat, showed their support for the Bryant family by sending them a cake for Gigi’s 14th birthday. Pau and Cat also sent Vanessa flowers for Kobe and Vanessa’s wedding anniversary, because he’s the best.
It’s hard to fathom what the Bryant family is going through today, so kind gestures from friends and strangers alike are appreciated. If you would like to participate in Vanessa’ Instagram challenge, all you have to do is:
Post a picture of you wearing red
Write an act of kindness you’ve done in the caption
It’s simple enough, and it would mean a lot to the Bryant family.
The latest TikTok challenge encourages users to pee in their pants — and its creator said he started it as ‘a parody’ to show that social media trends are ‘pointless’
TikTok users are peeing in their pants for the aptly named “pee your pants challenge.”
A new TikTok trend involves one thing and one thing: Peeing in your pants.
The “pee your pants challenge” started with an April 21 video from Liam Weyer. Videos of the challenge purport to demonstrate people actually urinating on themselves.
The hashtag used for the challenge has 1.9 million views as of Friday morning.
“I am definitely surprised that the challenge actually became a trend. I created the challenge as a parody of the other challenges that have gone viral on the internet in an attempt to show how pointless they are,” Weyer told Insider.
One recent trend, the “pee your pants challenge,” is certainly low on effort — though it may take some extra post-production cleanup.
Videos of the challenge do demonstrate people actually urinating on themselves.
Step one: Film yourself in front of the mirror saying “pee your pants challenge.” Step two: Pee your pants.
The challenge began with an April 21 post by Liam Weyer. The hashtag he started has 1.9 million views as of Friday morning, and dozens of other videos recreating the challenge (and reacting to it).
TikTok users also used the hashtag to mock or parody the trend itself, either pretending they were unable to pee or just appearing horrified at the challenge altogether.
Weyer, the creator of the challenge, is a 19-year-old filmmaker and comedian from Kansas who hopes to write for TV one day. While others were quick to both copy and poke fun at his challenge, he said he created it as a parody to begin with.
“I am definitely surprised that the challenge actually became a trend. I created the challenge as a parody of the other challenges that have gone viral on the internet in an attempt to show how pointless they are,” Weyer, who also creates sketch comedy videos, told Insider in an email. “I am surprised to see that people on the internet will pee themselves if you call it a challenge and add a hashtag.”
While the challenge may be disturbing to some, it’s at least not outright dangerous like the nutmeg challenge, which encourages creators to consume highly toxic levels of the spice.
The letter said Amazon, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube had amplified “Icke’s racism and misinformation about Covid-19 to millions of people”.
It was co-signed by MP Damian Collins, as well as celebrity medics Dr Christian Jessen, Dr Dawn Harper and Dr Pixie McKenna.
The CCDH said videos of Mr Icke making “untrue and conspiracist claims about Covid-19” had been watched more than 30 million times online.
As examples, it cited:
a YouTube interview in which Mr Icke falsely claimed that a Jewish group was behind coronavirus
an Instagram post in which he falsely claimed 5G mobile networks left people unable to absorb oxygen
a YouTube video in which he falsely claimed it was not possible to catch a virus from shaking hands
a Twitter post in which he falsely claimed Germany was moving to “legalise rape” for Muslim men
The letter was published after Facebook had removed Mr Icke’s page.
In April, YouTube removed an interview with Mr Icke in which he said there “is a link between 5G and this health crisis”.
When asked for his reaction to reports of 5G masts being set on fire in England and Northern Ireland, he responded: “If 5G continues and reaches where they want to take it, human life as we know it is over… so people have to make a decision.”
Facebook later removed the same video saying it broke its rules on misinformation.
By Marianna Spring, Specialist disinformation and social media reporter
David Icke has promoted several conspiracy theories on social media throughout the pandemic – and has consequently found himself in hot water with social media sites and broadcasting regulators.
The health misinformation that he’s been spreading, including linking 5G to coronavirus, has played a role in platforms like YouTube tightening their policies about conspiracy theories.
This is a difficult area for social media sites to tackle.
Medical myths and speculation that could cause harm are easier to act on, while conspiracy theories occupy a grey area where companies risk accusations of censorship if they take action.
But the setting alight of mobile phone towers and abuse of telecommunications workers linked to this 5G coronavirus conspiracy has pushed sites like Twitter and TikTok to tighten their rules.
Facebook has also recognised that the conspiracy theories repeatedly promoted by Icke fall into their bracket of harmful misinformation. This isn’t the first time it has removed content from him – but the platform has gone one step further in taking down his page.
Governments and social media sites alike grapple with the fine balance between stemming harmful narratives and allowing freedom of expression. But experts point out that they can do both with effective moderation and collaboration.
Elon Musk is having a moment, perhaps because his girlfriend Grimes is about to have their baby — or perhaps because he can’t stand the coronavirus lockdown.
The SpaceX and Tesla founder’s critics say he has become increasingly unhinged on Twitter over the last week, while railing against the stay-at-home order that has snarled much of his work in the state of California.
Musk has been bidding “bon voyage” to his more than 33 million followers, casting doubt on the threat of COVID-19 and tweeting “FREE AMERICA NOW” in a bizarre string of posts over the last few days.
He took things even further on Friday, when he seemingly woke up and launched into full-fledged meltdown mode. Musk rattled off several tweets quoting from The Star Spangled Banner, claimed that Tesla stock was “too high” in his opinion, then vowed to sell “almost all” of his physical possessions, declaring that he “will own no house.”“Don’t need the cash,” he said in response to one user. “Devoting myself to Mars and Earth. Possession[s] just weigh you down.”
Musk added that his girlfriend, the Canadian singer known as Grimes, is “mad” at him in a follow-up tweet about the house. He then responded to questions about the upcoming birth of their first child together.
“This is the best news I’ve heard so far. This means you’re still together, despite speculation to the contrary,” one user wrote in response to Musk’s tweet about Grimes.
“Baby due on Monday,” Musk replied.
Musk added one condition to selling his house, which apparently once belonged to actor Gene Wilder.“It cannot be torn down or lose any [of] its soul,” he wrote.
Although Twitter appears to be Musk’s favourite way to vent his frustrations right now, he also let loose during a Tesla earnings call on Wednesday.
“Forcibly imprisoning people in their homes is against all their constitutional rights,” he said on the call. “People should be outraged.”
Tesla was forced to close its plant on March 23 under a sweeping lockdown order in the San Francisco Bay area. It’s unclear when the order will end and Tesla will be allowed to re-open.
Tesla shares plunged by 10 per cent after Musk commented on their value Friday. The company lost about $14 billion in value and Musk’s stake dropped by $3 billion, BBC reports.
Some of Musk’s fans rallied to his defence on Twitter while observers cracked jokes about his apparent bout of self-sabotage.
THIS week, the actor Chris Hemsworth was photographed with his agreeable-looking child, in the sunshine, outside their beachfront home in the exclusive Australian surfing resort of Byron Bay.
And I guess everyone thought when they saw the picture: “Well, lockdown’s working pretty well for him.”
Chris Hemsworth takes a break from self isolation and heads to the beach with one of his twin sonsCredit: Splash News
Yeah, and it can’t be too bad either for Mrs Hemsworth. Living by the sea, in paradise, with a triangular- torsoed Hollywood hunk.
But then if you take a glance at your social media, you’ll notice that absolutely everyone else is living the Hemsworth dream.
It’s an endless parade of people’s perfect sourdough baking and of jolly board games with the kids.
This morning, my Instagram feed featured a young family doing a fancy dress dinner, a girl on an enormous horse, a woman sprawled on the bonnet of a Mercedes SL, a man with a cute dog, doing exercises, and a shot of some cows taken through a wisteria bush.
On Instagram, no one is ever bored, it never rains and everyone’s breasts are perfect. Especially Chris Hemsworth’s.
FAT WIFE SLOBBING OUT
This is having an effect on the nation’s teenagers. They have been told there will be no exams this year and that all their school work was for nothing. They’ve been told they have to stay indoors and that they can’t see their friends.
And it’s driving them mad because they do not read newspapers. They do not listen to the BBC news. And they replaced Radio 1 with Spotify five years ago.
This means they never hear any actual news. So they don’t know what’s going on.
Instead they look at their phones (constantly) and all they can see are pretty girls with swimsuits up their a*** cheeks, and Chris Hemsworth, and parents who have turned the cellar into a nightclub and lots of cute ducklings.
And they’re thinking, as they watch the rain trickle down the windows at their house: “Why can’t I have some of that?”
Chris Hemsworth’s wife Elsa Pataky shows off her incredible figure in a sun-kissed shoot
In the olden days we’d have smacked their bottoms and told them to stop being spoiled, but that’s not allowed any more. So I’ve come up with another idea . . .
If you are an old person stuck in a tower block, waiting for Covid-19 to stick its warty little head through the letterbox, post a picture of your surroundings on Instagram. Don’t hold back. Show us the overflowing cat litter and the photograph of your husband, alone in his hospital bed.
Show us also pictures of your sister who is in a care home and hasn’t had a visitor for five weeks.
And your food cupboard which has nothing in it any more. And your empty bottle of Senokot.
REALITY OF LOCKDOWN
In fact, we should all get in on the act. Don’t wait for a joyous moment to photograph and share. Send us instead pictures of stuff you didn’t enjoy.
The particularly gruesome bit of wax you’ve just pulled out of your left ear. The turd your dog just did on the mat. Your fat other half slobbing out in front of the TV.
Your kids throwing Monopoly pieces at one another after a row over Fenchurch Street station.
Instead of sharing your perfect loaf, send pictures of the charred wreck that went wrong, the scarf full of dropped stitches, the wonky self-assembly garden furniture that broke the first time you sat on it.
Hit us with the reality of lockdown. Admit that it’s one part happiness and nine parts ditch water.
And then maybe teenagers will start to understand that life is bookended by the lucky and the not so lucky. At one end you’ve got the Hemsworths. At the other you’ve got a frightened old man in a tenement block in Bermondsey.
Maybe then they will understand they are somewhere in the middle, and stop bloody complaining.
Cocoa-vid-19
There is much debate about what increases your chances of dying from Covid-19. But there’s one thing everyone agrees on. It likes to kill fatties most of all. And how have we responded to this?
Cadbury’s Fruit & Nut chocolate is getting Brits through lockdown
Well, I don’t know about you but I’ve addressed the issue by sitting on a sofa for six hours a day, eating slabs of Cadbury’s Fruit & Nut chocolate and getting up only to go to the fridge for another bottle of wine.
I guess I’m working on the principle that soon I’ll be so fat, there won’t be room in the house for me and the virus as well.
But there is one problem.
There are now so many empty bottles sitting by the bins at the bottom of the drive I just know my neighbours will assume I’ve been throwing illegal parties, and call the police.
Tube boob
A nurse made headlines this week after moaning about the cramped conditions on a London Tube train at 5.45am.
She said she was risking her life at work and pointed out that she shouldn’t have to risk it even more while commuting. Fair point, you might think. But hang on.
Commuting on a cramped Tube is dangerous during this pandemicCredit: Alamy
In the olden days – before March – people may well have been on a Tube train at that time because they were coming home from a club.
But these days, nobody on a Tube train at quarter to six in the morning is there for fun. They’re ALL going to work.
There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s what most of us have been told to do all along. But I do agree that commuting on a cramped Tube is bloody dangerous.
So I ask once again for parking restrictions to be lifted immediately, as this would allow people to go to work in the blissful self-isolation of their own cars.
Portsmouth from above
An aerial photograph of Portsmouth taken this week showed that the colour of the sea has turned from the usual mud brown to a shimmering, aquamarine blue.
It’s the sort of colour you usually associate with the Caribbean, and it is genuinely amazing.
Incredible photographs captured by drone in Portsmouth, Hants, show the sea now looking almost tropicalCredit: Solent News
Naturally, green people are saying it happened because the lockdown means less traffic. And they may be right.
Or, let me just lob this one in . . . it happened because the photographer was experimenting with some of the filters on his new phone.
My phone’s got so many that if you gave me long enough, I could take a selfie and make me look like Chris Hemsworth. Or his wife.
Shell shock
For the past couple of years, farmers have not been allowed to spray their bright yellow oil seed rape with insecticides called neonicotinoids.
As a result, a lot of my crop is dead.
Enjoy nature while in lockdown and look out for tortoiseshell butterflies in the gardenCredit: Iain H Leach
But on the upside, I’m now seeing more bumble bees than I have in years. And yesterday I saw a tortoiseshell butterfly, the first I’ve found since about 1972.
But that said, my eyesight is so bad these days, it could have been an actual tortoise.
Sexy Instagram star who earns $100K A MONTH reveals how a devastating break-up pushed her to quit her $12-an-hour job at the mall and pursue her lucrative dream of modeling
Jessica Sunok, 22, from Raleigh, North Carolina, boasts more than 577,000 followers on Instagram, and earns hundreds of thousands from paid-for posts
She also works as a professional model, and predicts that she will have earned upwards of $1 million this year
Before her break-up, Jessica was working as a sales manager at a local mall
After ending her relationship with her boyfriend of seven years, she decided to try her hand at modeling full-time
She began working as a model at a local car show, and also ramped up the amount and quality of content she was posting on Instagram
An influencer who earns more than $100,000 a month has revealed how a bad break-up motivated her to quit her 9-5 job and become an Instagram model – a lucrative career change that has seen her amass a legion of followers.
Jessica Sunok, 22, from Raleigh, North Carolina, boasts over 577,000 followers on her Instagram page @jessicasunok where she posts sizzling pictures of her curvaceous body in skin-tight lingerie and racy bikinis.
Before turning her attention to Instagram, Jessica was scraping by to make ends meet while working as a sales manager for kiosks at a shopping mall, making just $12-an-hour – however, one thing changed it all.
Jessica was heartbroken after breaking up with her ‘on and off’ boyfriend in 2016. But rather than dwell on her heartache, she chose to channel all of her energy into modeling, in an attempt to distract herself.
The online model started her Instagram page in 2012 and always had a passion for modeling but until her break-up, she had never thought about making a career out of it.
But when she finally decided to give modeling a go full-time, she threw herself into it wholeheartedly, starting out at a local car show near her home. There, she met the owner, and soon began working as a show girl and took part in several bikini contests, and her photoshoots were soon published in magazines.
Over the next few years, Jessica’s Instagram following skyrocketed and she finally had the courage to leave her sales job to work as a full-time Instagram model.
She now makes over $100,000-a-month and expects to earn over $1 million this year from brand sponsorships and modeling work.
Jessica said: ‘I was a hairdresser specializing in hair extensions. I also worked in the mall as a sales manager for multiple kiosks. I made roughly $12-$15 an hour.
‘I loved my job for the passion of seeing how happy and beautiful I could make women feel! I didn’t like how rude sometimes pedestrians in the mall can be to sales reps.
‘I started modeling when I broke up with my boyfriend of seven years, it was my way of distracting myself and put all my energy into myself. It took a lot of time and investing to get to where I am, I wouldn’t change a thing. ‘
Jessica now receives over 50 marriage proposals a week from her adoring fans – and one even sent the model $600 into her bank account just to get her attention.
She said: ‘My favorite comments are when I get complimented on my personality and I’m asked to speak more! I love how my fans can see the real me through just an image! It makes my heart swell.
‘I probably get an average of 50 marriage proposals a week I believe.’
‘I once had a follower send me $600 to get his attention, I definitely saw that transaction!’
The 22-year-old calls herself a devout Christian but said her pictures do not define her relationship with God.
She said: ‘I had struggled my entire life with my faith in God, I went through some pretty traumatic experiences as a child and adult that made me question a loving “God”.
‘I believe tests are not made to be easy and we wouldn’t be put through anything we weren’t made to handle.
‘There is good energy and bad energy, you have to train your mind to see all your blessing. Then your life will become gold! Angels speak to us every day.
‘I recently was baptized for the first time, it was a huge moment for god and me.
‘I wanted to share it with everyone regardless of their own opinions.
‘My relationship with God is between us. I wanted to share that life-changing moment with my fans, hoping it might reach someone who needs hope and love as well.
‘The Bible teaches forgiveness, we all need this.’
3 ways digital marketing agencies will change due to COVID-19
Author John Lincoln
If you own an agency, or are with an agency, you are probably wondering how things will change due to COVID-19. I’ve spent a good amount of time thinking about this and here is what I predict will happen.
1. Strategy with change
Everything a digital marketing agency does starts with their strategy, so I think it is important we address this first.
How it will change
There have been clear changes to supply and demand online. The product market fit has also been modified for almost every category on some level due to the ripple effect of COVID-19. Because of this, agencies are going to have to look at themselves and their clients through the following lenses:
How has the need of their customer base changed?
How have their budgets changed?
Are they still a good customer target?
Should they target a different customer profile?
Do they still have the right services to help those customers?
Agencies need to look at their own product market fit and that of their customers. This will be a major exercise through the rest of 2020.
How to win
You need to take a closer look at your customer and refine your strategy around their new pain points.
For example, we have seen searches drop dramatically for “near me” terms and spike for “delivery” terms. We have seen YouTube grow 15% in traffic, while at the same time ad revenue has gone down.
Agencies will need to modify the way they take their clients to market, their services and their pricing for doing so.
Bonus: Immediate tips for how digital agencies should update client strategy
A page on their website directly addressing COVID-19 and how they are helping customers. This should be visible on every page of the site. It should also give an update on any changes to the business.
They need to bring their new messaging strategy to their advertising creatives, their content marketing and email marketing teams, and TV and radio.
They need to run a campaign that clearly states how they are helping their customer — and they need to track the results. If the results are good, they can tout how they helped customers in a follow-up marketing campaign later in 2020.
2. Organization
There is no doubt that the way organizations operate will change in the short-term due to this. Agencies are no exception.
How they will change
With everyone working remote, you can expect employees and employers to get used to this. Rent is not cheap, and in general, agency profitability is low. In most cases, agencies have net profits between 5% and 30% and rent is a big part of that cost as the agency often likes to have a nice office to attract staff and wow customers. If customers don’t want to meet in their office and the staff want to work from home, this means big savings for the company. The best part is that this money can be used to invest more in client success and employee success.
But not having an office brings other large challenges: lack of team/company culture, lack of community, collaboration and so much more. I personally love having an office and seeing our team every day. Without one, agency owners may have management challenges and will need processes and accountability, such as:
Time tracking on clients
Daily check-ins with team
Weekly accountability
How to win
This is up to each agency owner to decide, and time will tell how important the office is long term. But for now, a few things that will help are video calls including:
Non-work related items, such as happy hours or chatting for team building
And then, of course, multiple department check-ins each week
3. Communication
For agencies, client communication is going to change.
How it will change
Clients generally love in-person meetings at their office or our office. They also enjoy lunch, coffee or happy hour. That all has gone out the window now. This places a necessity for everyone still to show up to those meetings just as they would in-person, but via video call.
How to win
You need to show up to the video call dressed fairly nice, with some decent lighting and a background that is presentable. I believe a nice set-up here will go a very long way with clients. The video call is an experience, so this becomes an entirely new skill set. I expect to see a spike in custom video backgrounds for company employees.
Imagine you’re doing a video call with a staff member at our company. One call has someone in a sweatshirt, hair all messed up, poor lighting, and in the background you see their laundry all over the floor.
Now imagine that same call with someone who has taken the time to put on a nice shirt, brush their hair, has clear lighting on their face and the background is a whiteboard with the company logo on it so they can write things down and brainstorm. During the meeting, you see your digital marketing strategy written down each week and delivered back to you. This is an entirely different experience — one that you’ve grown to expect in a professional environment.
Conclusion
COVID-19 almost seems unreal due to the magnitude of impact it has had on the world, but we will get through it and come out stronger. As we progress, it is important to adapt — and agencies are no exception. For agencies, think about your new customer needs, employee needs and communication strategy. For those who use agencies, we agency owners appreciate you.
