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Australians are spending less time on Facebook and much more on TikTok

Last week’s announcement that Facebook’s global number of daily active users has fallen for the first time in its 18-year history saw billions wiped off the value of its parent company, Meta. Key points: The average time per month Australian users spent on Facebook fell 3 percent last year TikTok saw a 40 per cent jump Facebook remains the most popular platform, but TikTok is catching up At the time, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg partly blamed TikTok, saying, “People have a lot of choices for how they want to spend their time, and apps like TikTok are growing very quickly”. So what about in Australia? Are users Down Under leaving the old and embracing the new? Right on cue, the Digital 2022 Australia report has been published, with a trove of fresh insights into where Australians are going online. And the answer to the above question appears to be “yes”. The average time per month that Australian users spent on Facebook fell 3 percent last year, according to the report, which was prepared by social media marketing firm Hootsuite and the creative agency We Are Social. Instagram (also owned by Meta) and YouTube (owned by Google) were up 2 and 5 percent respectively. But the big story was TikTok, which saw a 40 percent jump. Australia following global trends Tama Leaver, a professor of internet studies at Curtin University, described the latest figures as a “turning point”. “It’s not so much the size of the decrease, so much as it appears to be the beginning of a trend,” he said. Facebook still has a much larger audience, but TikTok is catching up fast. It was the third most-downloaded app in Australia in 2021, behind the Victorian and NSW QR code-check in apps, and has the ability to reach a bit over 7 million people. That’s still only about half as much as Facebook, but in the December quarter alone this figure increased by more than 500,000. “That’s why Meta’s share price dropped so dramatically,” Professor Leaver said. “Australia is not that dissimilar to bigger English-language markets.” Does this mean fewer Australians are using Facebook? Not quite. To know if fewer Australians are using Facebook, we’d need to know the number of daily active users or DAUs. Unfortunately, this is a figure that Facebook doesn’t share, unless it has to, such as when it releases its quarterly performance report to investors. That’s what happened last week: Facebook’s quarterly report showed a 0.025 percent drop in daily active users. But that’s only the global daily active user figure. The Australian one is kept under wraps. “That’s part of Facebook’s strategy at the moment — not doing local figures and not disaggregating its own figures,” Professor Leaver said. So that leaves us with external reports, like Digital 2022 Australia, which uses data gathered from Meta’s marketing tools to work out monthly advertising reach. That figure dropped for Facebook over the December quarter, from 16 million to 15 million accounts reached, which could mean that fewer Australians are using Facebook. But it could also be due to Meta making significant changes in the way it reports ad reach figures, said Simon Kemp, the author of the Digital 2022 Australia report. “As a result, there’s no way of knowing whether the changes in the data between our October 2021 and January 2022 reports represent an actual change in user activity, or simply a change in Meta’s methodology,” said Mr. Kemp, who is also a chief executive officer of Kepios, a social analytics advisory. “I believe that the majority of the change in numbers between our two most recent reports will have come from the change in Meta’s reporting methodology, and not from a significant change in actual user numbers or activity.” So it’s possible fewer Australians are using Facebook, but it’s not as large a drop as the data would otherwise suggest. Facebook is still king: more than three-quarters of Australians who are on social media use the platform. By comparison, only about a third use TikTok. How’d Instagram do? The Meta platform that most resembles TikTok isn’t Facebook, but Instagram. And it did pretty well last year, the report shows. The video-and-image-sharing app’s monthly ad reach jumped 16 percent, to 13 million accounts reached. The average time spent each month on Instagram was up 2 percent. Then again, you would expect the figure to rise: the report found Australians have been spending more time online overall. By the end of 2021, about 83 percent of Australians were active on social media, an annual growth of nearly 1 million users. The average time spent on social media is almost two hours per day, which is up 11 minutes. So the pie of user attention is larger than ever before. And TikTok is chomping its way through that pie significantly faster than any of its competitors. “We know Instagram has been struggling,” Professor Leaver said. “It’s tried to bring in Reels as the TikTok answer — it’s the only reason it would be doing that. “You can see the sea change, with TikTok the one that’s growing faster.” So is this the beginning of the end for Facebook? Probably not. Last week’s announcement saw many bold claims that Facebook was toast, but they may be premature. For one, Facebook still has a position of enormous market dominance. “It’s still the most-used platform in the world, and it’s also the third-most-popular platform in the world,” Mr. Kemp said. “Our analysis suggests that the ‘typical’ social media user around the world now makes active use of 7.5 different social platforms each month. That is, Facebook is still an essential service for many Australians (remember the chaos last year when it abruptly blocked our access to news and emergency services pages.) So people will probably keep using Facebook, but, as this data shows, just not as much as before. For Facebook, that’s a disaster. It means the platform has a lower marketing reach, which means it makes less money from advertising, which has been the company’s river of gold. Its long-term plan, for the moment, is also pretty vague. In October last year, Facebook announced >>Read more
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Which dry-herb vaporizer should you buy?

In recent years, vaping has become a fad that many people are following. It is being used by people of various ages for both therapeutic and recreational purposes. With rising demand, the vaping sector has been developing continuously. While there are many different types of vaporizers on the market right now, cannabis consumers increasingly choose dry herb vaporizers. It might be challenging to pick the best dry-herb vaporizer among the many options available, especially if you’re a beginner. Are you considering purchasing a dry-herb vaporizer but are unsure of where to start? Then enter now to discover the entire manual for picking your first cannabis vaporizer. A dry herb vaporizer is what? You may heat dried cannabis flowers in a portable device called a dry-herb vaporizer to extract vapor from the plant material. It is also known as a herbal vaporizer, and it often uses conduction to directly heat the cannabis plant. Some vaporizers have a convection heating system as well. They feature sophisticated temperature settings that boil the cannabinoids and terpenes into vapor rather than burning the herb. Dry-herb vaporizers come in two varieties: desktop and portable. A desktop vaporizer is perfect for a leisurely vaping session, while a portable vaporizer is unobtrusive and allows you to vape while on the go. How to choose a dry herb vaporizer? When purchasing a dry herb vaporizer for the first time, it is rather simple to become confused by the many functions and settings. Even while it may appear to be quite difficult, it isn’t if you know what to look for. The following are all the factors you need to take into account before making your first dry-herb vaporizer purchase: Portability You should first think about where and how you want to utilize the vaporizer. Choose a desktop vaporizer or a bigger vaporizer if you simply want to smoke at home. But a portable dry herb vaporizer might be the best option for someone who is constantly on the go and enjoys smoking sessions at any time and location. They may simply fit inside a pocket because they are tiny and compact. They also are easy to transport and won’t add extra weight to you. Additionally, utilizing a portable device might provide the discretion, particularly in a public setting. Regulating temperature While some dry cannabis vaporizers offer heat settings, some employ completely programmable temps that give you total control. Both options are OK as long as you know how to utilize them. The temperature control allows you to savor the fragrances of various terpenes while preventing combustion. Terpenes are the substances found in cannabis that are responsible for the plant’s distinctive scent. You may enjoy different terpenes by adjusting the temperature settings because each terpene has a unique heating point. Make sure the temperature when heating the cannabis flower doesn’t exceed 420 degrees Fahrenheit as a general guideline. Powered Nothing is worse than getting your pals together for a much-needed vape session and realizing your vaporizer is battery-less. Choose a dry-herb vaporizer with lengthy battery life if you don’t want to find yourself in this predicament. The Li-ion battery may be recharged using the USB connector that is included with the portable devices. Choose a vaporizer with longer battery life if you use it frequently. The most recent vaporizers also include an LED panel that shows the battery level so the owner may determine how long they can use it. You should not be concerned about the battery with a desktop vaporizer because they normally plug into a wall adapter. Superior An investment is a vaporizer. Finding a high-quality item with an extended shelf life is crucial. Start by looking for a well-known brand that has good customer feedback. Use only approved, safety-checked, and compliant items. False vaporizers and vaporizing liquids should never be used since they can seriously harm your health. Even if you’re looking for a portable gadget, be sure it’s strong and resilient enough to endure years of usage or even little damage from a mishap. Style Although it may not be crucial, the aesthetics of your device may undoubtedly improve the vaping experience. You may vape in elegance with the aid of a sleek little gadget. Other features on some devices include buttons for setting adjustments, an LED screen for battery life, several modes, and other accessories for vaping cannabis. Some high-end versions, like those provided by Gofire, even provide dose advice and record your usage history using vape pods with AI capabilities. Price Finally, take into account your spending plan. Today, there are all different kinds of vaporizers accessible, including a budget, midrange, and luxury models. A higher-quality item will often cost more, but it will typically last longer and provide a better vaping experience. Get a cheap device to enjoy the experience without spending too much if you’re just experimenting with vaping cannabis herb. Final reflections Cannabis is being vaporized by an increasing number of people who are interested in its therapeutic and medical properties. Don’t be intimidated if you wish to join the dry-herb vaping fad. Simply look for a legitimate distributor that can assist you in your hunt.
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NFTs or non-fungible tokens: The new kind of digital art that could prove a bonanza for creators

Paul “Lamborghini” Kell made the news in 2018 when he paid $US38,000 for a digital artwork that anyone could already view or download. This week, he sold the same artwork — a depiction of Homer Simpson combined with internet meme Pepe the Frog — for $US320,000. It’s an example of the surging demand for digital artworks called NFTs, which are selling for thousands, even millions of dollars. But why would anyone pay for online artwork they can already get for free? The answer goes to the heart of this emerging digital economy and opens up new avenues for artists to (finally) make more money for their work. But first: what even are NFTs? NFT stands for non-fungible token. Fungible means are exchangeable. A movie ticket is fungible — you can give it to anyone else to use. A typical plane ticket, on the other hand, is non-fungible. You can’t give it to a random person waiting at the airport after you’ve decided not to jump on your plane. So NFTs are unique collectible tokens that are permanently tied to, for instance, digital artworks and music. They cannot be separated; the token is the art. Though NFTs have been around for years, recently the market exploded. An animated flying cat with a pop-tart body sold for almost $US600,000 in February. This was soon topped by a 10-second animated video of what appears to be Donald Trump collapsed on the ground in an urban park. It sold for $US6 million. Again, these are videos you can watch for free. Right now. Here’s the Trump one: So why pay good money for NFTs? Mr Kell, who made his money as a cryptocurrency investor and lives in Denver, Colorado, where he drives a white Lamborghini, said the value of owning Homer Pepe is the “token under the picture that represents Homer Pepe”. “You can take a picture of the picture, but you don’t have what’s under the picture.” The total value of NFT transactions increased 300 percent to $US250 million last year, according to a recent report. OpenSea, a marketplace for NFTs, reported selling $US86.3 million worth in February, up from $US8 million in January. And January had been a good month. Monthly sales were at $US1.5 million a year ago. For some, the “stupid money” being paid for NFTs is just the latest example of a speculative bubble that will soon pop. For others, it means artists get paid. They point to a central fact of the internet: in a digital medium where objects can endlessly be cut-and-pasted, copied and reproduced, nobody bothers to pay for the original. For instance, music ripped from CDs and put online to download as mp3s is why musicians have been paid less for each song they release. But with NFTs, a JPEG can be as unique as an oil painting. Buyers pay to own the original artwork instead of having a copy. That means that artists will get paid more for the music they create or the images they draw. ‘Paying money for JPEGs kind of blows my mind’ Serwah Attafuah, a Western Sydney artist, was one of the first Australians to sell an NFT. Foundation, a website for buying and selling digital goods and run by a company based in New York, contacted her last year about selling one of her works as an NFT at their launch. Through the website, her piece Voidwalker sold for $2,000. This isn’t a bad price, but what makes the process really interesting to Ms. Attafuah is that she retains 10 percent equity in the artwork. Every time it changes hands, she gets 10 percent of the sale price. At the time of the sale, no one in her circle of artists knew about NFTs. Last month, a GIF sold on the same website for $US580,000. Australian artists have since been rushing to get on the website. “When I dropped my NFT, none of my artist friends understood it, but now all my artist friends are saying ‘how do I get onto it?’ “It feels very futuristic.” Flume, and others, are exploring benefits The music business is quickly taking notice of this, particularly as the lack of revenue from live music has forced a recalibration in the industry. People involved with two separate Australian independent records labels described the NFT situation at the moment as the “wild west”. Australian producer Flume released an NFT collaboration yesterday with Sydney visual artist Jonathan Zawada. “It’s such early days. I’m just wanting to experiment more,” Harley Streten, aka Flume, told the ABC. “Jonathan and I have essentially been making NFTs for years. We just didn’t have a name for them. “We’re excited to push the boundaries of it — experimenting with the space, going beyond just audio and visuals. This feels like phase one.” Nathan McLay, Flume’s manager and the founder of his label, Future Classic, said from initial conversations with NFT marketplaces, it seemed artists will get a cut of the subsequent sale of the works, rather than just the initial one. That is unusual in the creative world and could be a useful additional revenue stream. But what’s also exciting is the flexibility of the technology, Mr. McLay said. “The first drop from Flume and Jonathan Zawada has a 1- to 2-minute audio piece that goes along with a visual, so it’s a new ‘piece’. The Australian company Blockchain Music has created Rarez, a consultancy that seeks to help artists take advantage of the new technology. It has so far facilitated about $150,000 in sales of digital art created for the DJ and producer deadmau5. “The space has just accelerated so much that almost every artist out there is considering how they should be using NFTs and what they should do,” Sean Gardner, co-founder, and CEO told. A collaboration between deadmau5 and the LA-based Australian designer Sutu — a 30-second animation of a golden mouse head backed by music — sold in December for 78 Ethereum, or, at the time, >>Read more
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The breathtaking majesty of volcanoes via jaw-dropping photographs

There are few sights on Earth’s landscapes as awe-inspiring as a volcano – active or dormant. And a new book underscores this, offering ‘a visual celebration of the most impressive, infamous and active volcanoes from all corners of the globe’. The book “Volcano” by Robert J Ford, takes the reader on an eye-opening photographic tour from Hawaii to Chile and from Portugal to New Zealand, taking in phenomena that, as Ford says in his introduction, are reminders of Earth’s raw power. He writes: ‘We humans have felt for centuries that we have mastery over our world – transforming it to suit our needs and ways of life. Yet our planet now and again sends reminders that we are but residents upon its back. ‘Volcanoes are the most powerful of these, which humans snuggled up against over time as we expand our built environment into every corner of the natural world.’ So, let’s see this pick of the pictures in the mesmerising tome. Puyehue-Cordon Caulle, Ranco Province, Chile A stunning photograph of one of this century’s most colossal eruptions. Puyehue-Cordon Caulle in the Southern Volcanic Zone is a complex of two volcanoes: Puyehue and the fissure system of Cordon Caulle. After 51 years of inactivity, in 2011–12, it exploded in what became the biggest eruption of the 21st century so far. An estimated 100million tons of ash, sand and pumice were ejected, some of which circled the globe, reaching other parts of South America, South Africa, Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. Lagoa De Santiago, Sete Citades, Sao Miguel Island, Azores, Portugal The Lagoa de Santiago fills one of the cones that arose in the caldera of the Sete Citades Massif, an ancient stratovolcanic complex at the western end of Sao Miguel Island. The caldera is dominated by the twin lake of Lagoa das Sete Citades (seen in the background), which is said to have been created by the tears of two young lovers forbidden to see each other by the king Mount St Helens, Washington, Usa The landslide that preceded and triggered the blast of pyroclastic material in the 1980 eruption was caused by the collapse of the entire north face of the mountain after an earthquake and carried with it debris that covered an area of 62 square km with many metres of rubble. It was the largest landslide in recorded history and left a clear view into the volcano’s crater for the first time. Ol Doinyo Lengai, Tanzania Ol Doinyo Lengai varies between eruptions of liquid lava that form lava lakes and fountains (known as effusive eruptions) and explosive eruptions that create large cinder and ash cones. An episode of the latter type in 2007 spewed ash thousands of metres into the air, which also fell on the surrounding countryside, forcing local residents to flee with their livestock. Explosive eruptions continued into 2008, building a cone over 100m (330ft) high that encircled a steep-sided crater. Mount Vesuvius, Campania, Italy This volcano poses a deadly threat to millions. Mount Vesuvius, part of the Campanian Volcanic Arc, dominates the Bay of Naples and the population centres lying within its reach. It is these nearby settlements that make Vesuvius one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, with three million people in Naples near enough to be threatened by an eruption and the mountain being the only mainland European volcano to have erupted in the past 100 years (1944 being the last incident). Devils Tower, Wyoming, Usa It’s a volcanic tower that’s out of this world, having made an appearance in Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Ford reveals that this 264m (867ft) geological feature is considered sacred by Northern Plains Indians and is thought to have been formed ‘by an intrusion of magma into surrounding sedimentary rock’ and ‘would only have become a visible landmark when all the sedimentary material eroded away’. Ford adds: ‘Some believe, however, that Devils Tower is all that remains of what was once a huge explosive volcano’ Bardarbunga Volcanic System, Vatnajokull National Park, Iceland ‘Baroarbunga is a stratovolcano located under the Vatnajokull ice cap (known as a subglacial volcano), Iceland’s biggest,’ explains Ford. ‘During the 2014–15 eruption, the emptying of Baroarbunga’s magma chamber saw a subsidence of its caldera by around 65m (213ft), which also caused a sinking of the surface of the glacier under which the volcano sits’ Cotopaxi, Cotopaxi Province, Ecuador ‘Cotopaxi’s biggest known eruptions were in 1742, 1744, 1768 and 1877,’ reveals Ford. ‘The latter three events destroyed Latacunga town on each occasion. During the 1877 eruption, pyroclastic flows on all sides of the mountain melted the entire ice cap to cause lahars [mudflows] that travelled more than 100km (62 miles) to the Pacific Ocean. Modern eruptions threaten flash-melts of the new glacier and lahars that pose a great risk to the land and population nearby’ Teide, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain The summit of Teide is the highest point in Spain and the islands of the Atlantic at 3,718m (12,198ft). It rises out of the caldera of another giant volcano that helped birth Tenerife, reveals Ford. He continues: ‘The island was created through the accretions of three large shield volcanoes that formed their own small landmasses. Between these another volcano, Las Canadas, formed, joining all four together in a small island, which then grew over the millennia. Las Canadas later collapsed to create the caldera, out of which Teide grew over the course of the last 160,000 years’ Zendan-E Soleyman, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran ‘The hollow cone of Zendan-e Soleyman is a 107m- (351ft) tall ancient extinct volcano formed of mostly calcium sediments,’ writes Ford, ‘with the remains of various temple buildings surrounding the peak. Its crater, 65m (213ft) wide and 85m (279ft) deep, was filled with water centuries ago but has long since dried up. The mountain takes its name – “the Prison of Solomon” – from the biblical king Solomon, after a local legend that tells how the Hebrew king imprisoned monsters within the mountain’s >>Read more
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12 steps for locating a lost life insurance policy

Locating life insurance documents for a deceased relative can be a daunting task. However, with a little sleuthing, you can successfully navigate the paper trail. Here are some strategies to help simplify your search. Look for insurance related documents Search through files, bank safe deposit boxes and other storage places to see if there are any insurance related documents. Also, check address books for the names of any insurance professionals or companies—an agent or company who sold the deceased their auto or home insurance may know about the existence of a life insurance policy. Contact financial advisors Present or prior attorneys, accountants, investment advisors, bankers, business insurance agents/brokers and other financial professionals might have information about the deceased’s life insurance policies. Review life insurance applications The application for each policy is attached to that policy. So if you can find any of the deceased’s life insurance policies, look at the application—will have a list of any other life insurance policies owned at the time of the application. Contact previous employers Former employers maintain records of past group policies. Check bank statements See if any checks or automated payments have been made out to life insurance companies over the years. Check the mail For the year following the death of the policyholder, look for premium notices or dividend notices. If a policy has been paid up, there will no notice of premium payments due; however, the company may still send an annual notice regarding the status of the policy or notice of a dividend. Review income tax returns Look over the deceased’s tax returns for the past two years to see if there is interest income from and interest expenses paid to life insurance companies. Life insurance companies pay interest on accumulations on permanent policies and charge interest on policy loans. Contact state insurance departments State insurance departments offer free search services to residents looking for lost policies. Check with the state’s Unclaimed Property Office If a life insurance company knows that an insured client has died but can’t find the beneficiary, it must turn the death benefit over to the state in which the policy was purchased as “unclaimed property.” If you know (or can guess) where the policy was bought, you can contact the state comptroller’s department to see if it has any unclaimed money from life insurance policies belonging to the deceased. Contact a private search service Several private companies will, for a fee, assist you with the search for a lost life insurance policy. They will contact insurance companies on your behalf to find out if the deceased was insured. This service is often provided through a websites.
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