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Want Way More Likes On Instagram? These Pop-Up Museums Might Do The Trick

The Museum of Ice Cream. The Egg Shop. Museum of Pizza. These titles may sound like oddly-themed museums or extremely generically-named food establishments, but they are not–they’re the setting for your next Instagram post.

For the past several years, the brightly-colored phenomenon known as a pop-up shop has been steadily increasing in prominence and popularity. From the East coast to the West, consumers have been spending their hard earned dollars on tickets to these locations, where visitors fork over twenty or forty (or sixty) bucks for the privilege of taking pictures in the midst of playful, dreamlike scenes.

Hey, don’t roll your eyes.

Last spring New Yorkers could be seen at the Egg Shop, posing among a truck-sized carton of eggs, among other white-and-yellow oddities.

Eggs? You wonder, Why eggs?

Well CNBC report provided that information:

“The theme centers around Ellis the Egg, a newcomer to the city, ‘experiencing difficulties.’ Founder Xu said Ellis’s plight is relatable to everyone and since eggs ‘are so versatile, they can be cute or sexy’ in photos.”

Okay, go ahead and roll your eyes.

Beyond that, some people are saying that the experience itself is not nearly as entertaining as the social media-worthy posts that result from attending these spaces. Susannah Smreker, who recently attended The Happy Place pop-up in Chicago, lamented that

“You see all the photos and you think it would be fun to go. But now that I’ve been to one, I’m not interested in doing another, no matter how cool it looks on Instagram.”

The Happy Place may have lost Susannah’s business, but plenty of other like-hungry fiends are more than eager to patronize these locales–so much so that the founders of the Egg Shop didn’t even have to invest in advertising, because the shop’s 15,000 Instagram followers gave it all the free publicity it needed.

In today’s social media-crazed society, things are all about appearances. It’s easy to talk sh*t, complain that no one sits back to enjoy an experience anymore without taking a picture of it, say that Tinder swipes and Instagram likes have destroyed the foundations of our democracy–but honestly I just really wanna get myself inside that pizza museum. I don’t care what you think.

  The post Want Way More Likes On Instagram? These Pop-Up Museums Might Do The Trick appeared first on Resource.

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Recent Controversies Aside, Brands Across The Globe Are Predicted To Increase Spending On Influencers This Year

Influencers–the catchy buzzword used to describe social media-famous (or at least highly popular) personalities–have been coming under some degree of heat recently. Certain luxury locations have overtly shunned them, high-profile companies have called for stricter regulation regarding their promotional content, and some accounts have even been levied with accusations of buying followers. However despite this, content creators, vloggers, Instagram darlings and other forms of influencers have been doing better than ever. According to a new survey conducted by the World Federation of Advertisers,

“Multinational brands are planning to increase their spending on influencer marketing in the next 12 months, with 65% aiming to spend more.”

The sample included 34 different companies from around the globe, and spanned 15 different industries. All together, the businesses surveyed account for $59 billion dollars in global media and marketing spending. The researchers performed a qualitative analysis as well, hoping to understand the mechanisms driving franchises to invest. They found that

“companies use influencers to boost brand awareness, to reach new and targeted audiences and to improve brand advocacy.”

However, businesses are not blind to the potentially unsavory sides of working with influencers, and in fact are

“acutely aware of potential pitfalls in the sector and say that they will invest only where standards on transparency are met. Credibility, reputation and quality of followers are at the top of their selection list when they decide who to work with.”

An Instagram account with 100,000 followers is worth very little if half of its devoted fans are bots. This is part of the reason sites such as Twitter have begun to battle fake accounts in earnest recently, with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey eliminating millions of them–including some of his own followers.

Stephan Lorke, CEO of the WFA remarked that

“Influencer marketing is becoming a key channel for many marketers but it will only be effective if consumers can trust the influencers by declaring paid relationships and marketers can trust that they are reaching real people not bots,”

The WFA’s survey shows that these potential risks are not enough to scare market-wise businesses away, and for the time being, influencers will continue to influence.

  The post Recent Controversies Aside, Brands Across The Globe Are Predicted To Increase Spending On Influencers This Year appeared first on Resource.

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Just in Time for Pride, This Photographer Has Come Out With A Series That Showcases The Diversity of Queer Women

Since the turn of the century, American society as a whole has made leaps and bounds in terms of achieving LGBTQ+ acceptance. However, needless to say, discrimination is still rampant in many pockets of our culture—and not least of all within queer communities themselves. One manifestation of underlying prejudices is shown by the way in which queer women are viewed as more or less legitimate based upon their outer appearance and gender expression. It is often believed, consciously or not, that in order to be “truly” queer, lesbian, or bisexual, women must project a certain image of masculinity, sometimes referred to as “butch”. A new photo series released during Pride month seeks to discount that outdated and narrow definition of how queer women must dress, behave, and act in order to be fully accepted within the community.

The photographer, Rachael Zimmerman, hails from Denver and created the series, entitled Inside the Black Triangle, in an effort to

“share the struggles, joy, heartbreak, confusion and diverse experiences of  queer women living in a heteronormative world.”

Zimmerman’s website explains the sentiment further, noting:

Personal observations have led Rachael to the conclusion that queer women are mimicking the gender hierarchy. Butch and androgynous women are thought to be more prestigious, while feminine women are less than. Not only do feminine women find themselves defending their sexuality to heterosexuals, but they are often forced to prove themselves to their own community.

So Zimmerman shot portraits of queer women covering a vast array of aesthetics—some more masculine, some more feminine. While unique in nearly all other aspects, what binds these women together is their queerness.

Zimmerman also amassed quotes from the women, giving them a chance to voice some of the personal pains and frustrations they’ve undergone as a result of living in an oppressively heteronormative society. Claudia, pictured above, was quoted as saying,

“Being a lesbian is not easy, especially when society wants you to be a hell of a girl, very feminine, and to act like one. I am a girly girl and I also like girls a lot. But what if I want to be a little masculine from time to time? Or what if I just want to act the way I feel comfortable? It shouldn’t be an issue.”

And here’s a quote from Alex, pictured below:

“I’ve been continuously harassed and deemed ‘too pretty to be gay’, along with being questioned and drilled on my sex life. I want more than anything to break the stigmas. Society will probably never change, but the way people perceive themselves should never have to be compromised and that is what can be changed.”

Here are a few more of the images from the series:

To learn more about the project and view the rest of the photographs, click here.

The post Just in Time for Pride, This Photographer Has Come Out With A Series That Showcases The Diversity of Queer Women appeared first on Resource.

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iPhone’s Portrait Mode Will Be Greatly Improved With iOS 12 Updates

Apple had some exciting news to share at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference, held this past June—iOS 12, the twelfth rendition of the company’s mobile operating system, will be dropping sometime in the fall. There are a slew of upgrades and added features that will be available in the new system, however one in particular has caught the attention of amateur and pro photographers alike.

While the iPhone is not always the first choice for those wishing to take a stellar, professional image, the device’s camera is pretty remarkable, and has only been increasing in quality since the first iPhone’s debut in 2007. iOS 12 promises more improvements, specifically in relation to the gadget’s Portrait mode.

According to webopedia.com, portrait mode is

“a function of the digital camera that is used when you are taking photos of a single subject. When taking photos in portrait mode, the digital camera will automatically use a large aperture to help keep the background out of focus by using a narrow depth of field so the subject being photographed is the only thing in focus.”

Portrait mode was first introduced to the iPhone’s repertoire with the release of the iPhone 7, and while it can be a very handy feature, many had complaints about the quality of images it produced.. Users reported having difficulty capturing precision in photos taken using portrait mode, with details appearing softer and less defined than was ideal.

Thankfully, the new updates promise to do away with this problem. Developer Ben Sandofsky posted a juxtaposition highlighting the differences in quality between portrait mode images taken in iOS 11 and iOS 12 respectively, and the disparities were obvious. The image taken with the newer software displayed a far greater level of precision, with individual hairs on the subject’s head being discernible.

Photo by Ben Sandofsky

In terms of other updates, the new operating system will include customizable emojis, Group Facetime, and a smarter Siri.

The post iPhone’s Portrait Mode Will Be Greatly Improved With iOS 12 Updates appeared first on Resource.

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In Honor Of National Breastfeeding Awareness Month, A Photo Series That Celebrates Breastfeeding

A New Jersey borough employee recently made headlines when she called the police on a young mother breastfeeding her baby at a town lake—despite the fact that, similar to many other states, public breastfeeding is completely legal in New Jersey. Incidents such as this one happen all the time, and women are often shamed into breastfeeding only in private. However, a recent photo series by Boston-based photographer Gina Brocker seeks to de-stigmatize the natural act of feeding infants.

  Brocker was inspired by her own personal experience breastfeeding. In an interview with POPSUGAR she revealed that

“After giving birth to my son and experiencing breastfeeding firsthand, I became fascinated and passionate about the process. I’m amazed that our bodies can create, birth, and nourish these amazing little humans — but it isn’t without challenges and it doesn’t always come easy. After navigating the typical uncomfortable and challenging situations, the need to share the realities of breastfeeding led me to begin this project.”

The images depict women breastfeeding in a variety of mundane situations, in both public and private spaces. The large variety of settings represented allows for a normalization of the act—women are shown feeding their children in the bathtub, at a café, even at the grocery store—and the world still hasn’t ended. Gina, who published the series just in time for August, or Breastfeeding Awareness Month as it is known to some, points out some of the hypocrisies inherent in those who seek to shame and obscure the act. She was quoted as saying,

“Meeting the needs of babies and children should be the priority. Not just of parents, but our society. Breastfeeding is the best possible way to ensure they get the nutrition and comfort they need, and there shouldn’t be any additional barriers to that.”

Amen!

To view the rest of the images in the series, click here.

  The post In Honor Of National Breastfeeding Awareness Month, A Photo Series That Celebrates Breastfeeding appeared first on Resource.

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“Warrior Queen” Is An 8-Year Old Girl Whose Photo Shoot Has Become A Viral Sensation

La’Mareea Wadell, an adorable 8-year old child hailing from Lancaster, Ohio—who sometimes goes as Maree—has become the most recent viral darling to gain the Internet’s collective adoration. Maree achieved unexpected viral fame after taking part in a free photoshoot with local photographer Leslie Dye, whom her mother had reached out to in a message. The resulting photos are regal and striking, gaining their haunting power and charm not only from the elaborate costumes and beautiful backgrounds, but primarily from the modeling prowess and unwaveringly fierce expressions delivered by the young girl.

Dye describes her experience photographing the young star, saying

“I didn’t know anything about her before. Her mom sent me [a message] that she was spunky, she likes being in front of a camera. During one of the shots she goes ‘I’m going to give you my duck face because it’s working for me,’ and then she just gave me that face and it just worked for her”

The photos are so captivating in and of themselves that you may not even notice that there is something that separates Maree from most other children her age—she was born without legs.

Far from seeing this as a setback, however, Maree takes pride in being different, and displays wisdom as well as confidence beyond her years. In an interview with NBC, the girl said

“Just some people when I meet them they are like how is that girl made like that and why is she made like that and they are just curious. I say God made me this way. He made me it for a reason and I tell them that you can do what I can do, I can do what you can do, and I can do it more.”

While Maree may well have a future in modeling, her sights are currently set on even bigger goals—helping others with the same condition as her. Since going viral, Maree and her mother have become connected with a community of others dealing with similar disabilities, a network of friends that they didn’t have before.

In terms of her next big projects, Maree—or “Warrior Queen”, as the Internet as appropriately dubbed her–has plans to meet with a para-olympic swimmer to learn how to swim…not a bad idea, as the hottest August in history is right around the corner.

Photos from kiiitv

The post “Warrior Queen” Is An 8-Year Old Girl Whose Photo Shoot Has Become A Viral Sensation appeared first on Resource.

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This Seemingly Innocent Snapshot of A Rain-Drenched Kiss Has Gotten The Photographer Into A Whole Lot of Trouble

The photograph seems innocent enough—two college students, seated side by side in the midst of a heavy rainstorm, share a quiet kiss. The couple, both adorned in blue cloth that matches the cool-toned atmosphere surrounding them, appear to be oblivious not only to others seated around them, but also to the rain itself. To many viewers, the snapshot is the picture of romance and a sweet ode to young love. And many audiences within Bangladesh, where the picture was taken, did react positively to the picture.

Protests and unrest have been unraveling on the University of Dhaka’s campus for months, and the snapshot of the young couple appeared to be a much needed moment of peace and affection. However, some more conservative viewers took great issue with the subject matter. One blogger used the image as an excuse to comment on what he perceives to be the denigration of Bangladeshi society, writing,

“Lovers are getting more audacious by the day. Earlier these things were done in secret. Now they are doing it in broad daylight. The day is not far when they will be making love in public.”

Others agreed with his staunchly negative position—including other photographers and potentially the artist’s own boss. Photojournalist Jibon Ahmed, who says the subjects consented readily to having their image taken, was responsible for the controversial photograph. Ahmed reports that fellow photographers “roughed him up” in the days following his photograph’s posting on social media, and that his superiors asked him to turn in his ID and laptop without explanation.

However Ahmed, and many others, will not succumb to the naysayers for the time being. The photographer says,

“No, you cannot portray this photo negatively, because I found it a symbol of pure love. The couple had a spontaneous lip kiss; I found nothing wrong in them or no obscenity. Of course I am disheartened. Some people in our country became educated only in papers, but they are not educated in a real sense. They failed to realize the underlying meaning of my photograph. I am also a bit worried about myself.”

While many took issue with the picture, it garnered heavy praise in other corners—as evidenced by the fact that the post accumulated an impressive 5,000 shares within the first hour of it being posted to Ahmed’s Facebook.

  The post This Seemingly Innocent Snapshot of A Rain-Drenched Kiss Has Gotten The Photographer Into A Whole Lot of Trouble appeared first on Resource.

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UK Buckles Down on Social Media, Questions Validity of Brexit Vote

The United States isn’t the only global superpower that has had to confront growing problems involving the largely unregulated realm of social media in recent years. Although the U.S. may have been hit the worst regarding 2016’s controversial presidential election and subsequent reports involving Cambridge Analytica’s mining of user data, Mother England has also had her fair share of problems.

The Brits formed a parliamentary committee in part as a reaction to the woes of the US, as government officials grew suspicious that similar meddling may have taken place in regards to the infamous Brexit vote, which resulted in the United Kingdom withdrawing itself from the European Union. Studies have shown that Kremlin-owned media outlets released an impressive 261 articles supporting Brexit in the weeks and months leading up to the June 2016 referendum. Somewhat astoundingly, these articles reached more voters than did the two major pro-Brexit campaigns based in England.

Damien Collins, who acts as the chairman for the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, has a relatively dire diagnosis for the state of affairs, saying

“We are facing nothing less than a crisis in our democracy…[namely] the systematic manipulation of data to support the relentless targeting of citizens, without their consent, by campaigns of disinformation and messages of hate.”

Many suspect that these are the exact same issues that plagued the United States, and Britain is not eager to follow in our footsteps. The committee charged with tackling these elusive issues (a committee which lacks legal power yet still holds a degree of influence) has recently released a list of reccommendations as to how to go about resolving complex matters involving Internet regulation and the responsibilities of tech giants to combat fake news. Among these proposals are the following:

“Tech companies should be forced to pay a levy to help fund the UK data regulator. The government should make sure personal data of UK citizens cannot be processed in the US by social media companies. Tech companies should do more to reveal those who abuse people online while hiding behind anonymous accounts.”

Unsurprisingly, Mark Zuckerberg is again at the center of these debates. The committee has called for him to testify before them, but so far they are out of luck.

The post UK Buckles Down on Social Media, Questions Validity of Brexit Vote appeared first on Resource.

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This New Photo Series, Shot in A Cold War-Era Las Vegas Bunker, Is As Unsettlingly Beautiful As You Might Expect

The 28-year old artist June Calypso is from East London, but her most recent photographic undertaking has brought her stateside—and 26 feet underground. For the eerily captivating shoot, Calypso traveled to an underground Cold War-era bunker in Las Vegas, which, rather unsurprisingly, has a very interesting history. The bunker has an aesthetic that lies at the intersections of girly, futuristic, retro, dystopian, and dreamlike, and it was first constructed by the ex-CEO of Avon cosmetics, possibly accounting for its plush and feminine design.

However don’t let the pretty pink carpets, sheer curtains and ornate lighting fixtures fool you—the bunker, as well as June’s images, certainly has a dark side. Calypso explains,

“This wasn’t an ordinary bunker though, they lived down there full time. So it has a swimming pool, guest house, dance-floor, barbecue, plus an artificial garden surrounding the house with lights that can switch from dawn to daylight to dusk.

The original owners both passed away from natural causes, but the house has been kept intact in its original form ever since. It’s now owned by a mystery group with an interest in cryonics and immortality.”

I’m not sure which aspect of that quote is the creepiest—the ominous “mystery group”, or the fact that Calypso felt the need to clarify that the original owners died from natural causes…instead of being murdered by a doll, maybe?

In any case, when viewing the images it is not hard to understand why they have gained notoriety. They are undeniably striking, and not easily categorized. Is the photographer trying to scare us? Seduce us? Or simply cause us to stare?

For her part, June says she is interested in the female form, and has actually invented a character of sorts for herself, which fans have come to refer to as “Joyce”. Calypso says

“I like travelling to strange locations with unusual interiors to take pictures and make films of myself as this funny character – it’s like a private performance for the camera, which becomes very public when I put it online or in a gallery.”

Calypso cites David Lynch and Wes Anderson as being among her artistic influences, and while the inspiration is clear, Calypso adds a mystique that is all her own, a uniquely feminine horror story.

To check out the rest of the haunting images, click here.

Juno Calypso’s Instagram

  The post This New Photo Series, Shot in A Cold War-Era Las Vegas Bunker, Is As Unsettlingly Beautiful As You Might Expect appeared first on Resource.

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Tourist Board Accuses Facebook of “Cultural Censorship” After It Labels Famous Painting Indecent

Facebook’s draconian regulations regarding the banning of all forms of nudity on images posted to the platform have long been the subject of criticism. It wasn’t until recently that the site stopped its policy of banning images of women breastfeeding–apparently an activity crucial to the continuation of the human race is offensive to some viewers.

Cries to #FreeTheNipple have been heard across the Internet for years, and while Facebook has responded gradually, the rules still remain relatively unchanged. The website’s official “Community Standards” page explains that

“Our nudity policies have become more nuanced over time…while we restrict some images of female breasts that include the nipple, we allow other images, including those depicting acts of protest, women actively engaged in breast-feeding, and photos of post-mastectomy scarring. We also allow photographs of paintings, sculptures, and other art that depicts nude figures.”

However, recently an incident occurred that would suggest that last line may not hold true in all cases. A Belgian tourist board penned an open letter directed to Facebook in which the authors claimed that images the group posted were unfairly censored. The deleted posts were photographs of paintings done by the famed Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens, and Facebook flagged them due to the fact that they featured female nudity.

The letter reads,

“The bare breasts and buttocks painted by our artist are considered by (Facebook) to be inappropriate. Even though we secretly have to laugh about it, your cultural censorship is making life difficult for us… If Peter Paul Rubens had created a Facebook account in his lifetime, he would have had an extraordinary number of people following his fan page.”

The group went to additional lengths and actually filmed and posted a satirical video poking more fun at Facebook. The short film depicted museum-goers being accosted by staff who tell them that if they have an account on the social media then they must leave, as Facebookers must be sheltered from

“nudity even if artistic in nature, including paintings that feature individual body parts such as abs, buttocks or cleavage”.

Facebook has not issued an official response as of yet, but has agreed to meet with the group.

The post Tourist Board Accuses Facebook of “Cultural Censorship” After It Labels Famous Painting Indecent appeared first on Resource.

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This Penguin Might Be Creepy, But He’s Fighting The Good Fight

The non-profit environmental group, Greenpeace, is notorious for its radical antics. Activists involved with the organization have been known to hang from cranes, blockade ships, and otherwise risk life and limb in their crusade against climate change. While a newly-released photo series sponsored by Greenpeace isn’t quite as high stakes as the aforementioned hi-jinx, it does send an important message, and the images produced are at least as creepy as they are beautiful.

The 18-image series features a man (to use the term loosely) walking around different locations in Beijing wearing a suit and a penguin mask (that part is important), and basically just…looking at things. The photos are intended to emphasize our alienation from nature, and the inequity of humans and animals.

The penguin-man is seen in a variety of scenes. In one picture he stands in a penthouse apartment, staring out the window at the city; in another he squeezes inside a taxi with a “typical Beijinger”; one image shows him sitting alone at a table filled with food.

The photos were shot by one of the most highly renowned magazine photographers of China, Trunk Xu, and were created as part of a fierce global campaign seeking to establish an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary, with the ultimate goal of banning fishing there. The purposes of the campaign are detailed front and center on Greenpeace’s website, in a statement that reads

“This year we have the opportunity to create the largest protected area on Earth: an Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary. It would ensure a safe home for future generations of animals, and protect the waters from industrial fishing vessels, currently sucking up the tiny shrimp-like krill, on which all Antarctic life relies.

The Antarctic ocean supports an abundance of incredible life: penguins, whales, fish, seals, and colossal squid. But a warming climate and expanding industrial fishing are threatening this vital ocean and its iconic creatures.”

Here are several of the shots from the haunting series:

  All photos by Trunk Xu.

  The post This Penguin Might Be Creepy, But He’s Fighting The Good Fight appeared first on Resource.

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Luc Kordas’ New Photo Series Is A Melancholy Ode To New York City

The award-winning street photographer Luc Kordas has come out with a new photo series that seeks to evoke the essence of its title–“Loneliness”. The images, fittingly printed in black and white, are all shot in New York City.

They depict various passerby in states of solitude. The pictures are strikingly intimate while at the same time remaining anonymous; the subject is always slightly removed, never making eye contact with the viewer, often pictured from afar or with face obscured. Kordas himself has lived in New York for many years, and has personal experience with the sort of anomie that an urban metropolis of that size can inspire. Of the inspiration for the shoot, he says

“I think the idea of making a series on loneliness resonated with me so much because I had been hearing about it and witnessing it as a New Yorker ever since I moved here. It seems to be this huge city’s leitmotif.”

Kordas also seeks to emphasize that loneliness is a subjective feeling, not always synonymous with physically being alone. Even in a city of 8 million people, individuals can feel extremely lonely–and express it in a myriad of different ways. Kordas says,

“Loneliness can have different shapes and colors; it doesn’t mean you’re spending most of your time alone in your room. You could be out partying or living a very busy lifestyle studying or working and still feel lonely. It goes deeper than physical solitude.”

The shots are iconically New York, yet the emotions they convey are universal. One woman is pictured from behind, standing before the subway track at the 23rd street stop. Another man walks past Madison Square Garden on what appears to be an uncomfortably cold day, hands in his jacket pockets and steam from the street rising up all around him. There’s a shot of someone playing basketball alone, in the rain. All of the subjects happen to be alone, but Kordas felt that their expressions and body language also conveyed a feeling of loneliness. He comments,

“I am well aware that solitude and loneliness are two different things. Those people don’t necessarily actually have to be lonely in real life, but they could be.”

To see the rest of the images in the series, click here.

The post Luc Kordas’ New Photo Series Is A Melancholy Ode To New York City appeared first on Resource.

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The Bezel-Free Vivo Nex Phone Will Soon Be Available In 5 More Countries (Just Not The US)

Tired of all those nasty little buttons and notches cluttering up the otherwise sleek-as-hell interface of your fancy new smartphone? Look no further than Vivo’s futuristic Vivo Nex, a futuristic phone/tablet hybrid straight out of China. The producers of the gadget have gone out of their way to cover all their bases in ensuring that the device is virtually all screen, and they’ve come pretty damn close to achieving their goal: the phone reportedly has a 91.2% screen-to-body ratio. This is thanks to a few clever adjustments, such as doing away with all front-facing buttons on the gadget, and turning the screen itself into a speaker using a technology known as “screen soundcasting”.

However, one of the most groundbreaking innovations being utilized in the Vivo Nex is the lack of a front camera—instead, the 8-megapixel camera pops up mechanically, leaving more room on the front of the phone for endless inches of glossy, satisfying, 21st century screen.

The Vivo Nex is the latest in a line of smartphones being produced by the Chinese technology company Vivo and, similar to previous iterations, the Vivo Nex employs artificial intelligence in order to assist amateur photographers in taking good pictures. It does this through automatically adjusting settings based on light and surroundings.

Vivo has also not forgotten to trap a handy little digital assistant inside of the phone, to help you out when you’re too lazy to thumb-type. Don’t mistake him for Apple’s Siri though, this guy’s name is Jovi.

There is a slight catch, unfortunately. While Vivo will soon be expanding its sales of the new device across Russia, India, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, there is no word on when or if the gadget will be available for purchase in the United States, or even North America. If you just can’t wait for its state-side release, you can try to import the phone or buy one used on the internet, but sadly there is no guarantee of support from U.S. carriers and/or network capability, so do so at your own risk!

The post The Bezel-Free Vivo Nex Phone Will Soon Be Available In 5 More Countries (Just Not The US) appeared first on Resource.

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Your Well-Intentioned Instagram Posts May Be Killing Mother Earth

The phrase “loving something to death” probably conjures up a few images in your mind—a childhood teddy bear, an old favorite shirt, your ex boyfriend. But it turns out that nature can also be loved to death, and all too often the culprit is trigger-happy Instagrammers. Instagram is undoubtedly a very popular platform for posting beautiful images of Mother Nature, whether it be an influencer basking awkwardly in shallow ocean waves, or simply a macro-image of a flower. However, it has become increasingly apparent that some of this attention can be undesirable, and even harmful to the locations being flaunted on social media.

Just ask Jaron Cramer, the development and communications director of the Superior Hiking Trail Association. Referring to the Bean and Bear Lakes Loop, one of Minnesota’s most popular hiking routes, Cramer has this to say:

“I think as the trail has become more popular, and because of that photo opportunity that people are seeking, it’s kind of at risk of being loved to death.”

This phenomenon is also evidenced by the prominence of hashtags such as #beanandbearlake and the equally creative #beanandbear, which are highly popular on Instagram.

57-year old Doug Eischens has been enjoying these natural beauties since long before the advent of social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, and he has some insight into the mechanism driving this over-popularity:

“The more you see places, the more you wanna go places, right? I don’t think that loving the outdoors to death is anything brand new. We’ve been doing that for years. But I think that now it seems a lot more accessible than ever before, those backcountry areas.”

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the outdoors—that’s what it’s there for. However, next time you want to go somewhere with the intent of taking an Instagram-worthy snapshot, why not trek out on your own and find a place not already ravaged by social media? Of course, there’s no guarantee the like-hungry hordes won’t retrace your steps afterwards, but at least you did it first, right?

  The post Your Well-Intentioned Instagram Posts May Be Killing Mother Earth appeared first on Resource.

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Ad Agency Calls For Transparency in Influencer Marketing

From cookie dough to toilet paper, to Xanax, nearly everything we consume is regulated. However there is one sector of society that is noticeably lacking in rules and regulation—the realm of social media Influencers. There are virtually no laws dictating what Influencers can and can’t do, and the standards for transparency in advertising tend to be very low. Some say that this needs to change. Pulse is one of the largest social media advertising companies around, and its CEO Christoph Kastenholz has much to say on the issue.

Regulation issues come into play in the world of influencing when the line between personal, unaffiliated content, and advertisements becomes blurred. In the spirit of Truth in Advertising (which is codified under FCC guidelines), people selling things must be up front and honest. These standards are in place to protect consumers. However Kastenholz points out that many magazines and media companies do not always abide by these expectations, saying

“The first two pages of a magazine are the most expensive in terms of advertising. If a fashion or beauty brand advertises here, you will probably find them featured later on in the magazine too, in an editorial where it’s not labelled paid partnership.”

However, although other sectors of society don’t always follow the rules, Kastenholz insists this is no excuse to lay caution to the wind in terms of consumer protection. Some ways to increase transparency on social media include the use of labels that say “Paid partnership.” The CEO has personal experience with the issue, as

“We [at Pulse] were actually the first to introduce the pilot of the ‘paid partnership’-label together with Instagram. Instagram worked on the feature, and we piloted it with the sports brand Puma.”

Regardless of the manner in which it happens, Kastenholz firmly believes that

“Regulation needs to happen. We want to drive that as much as possible because, at the end of the day, it only helps us, and it makes it easier for brands to be active in the space.”

Now the only problem is how the enormous task of regulating the fluid and ever-changing world of social media would even be possible, given its global and democratic nature. For now, its pretty safe to assume that any product placement is, well, a product placement. Whether or not you buy what’s being advertised is ostensibly up to you.

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Zambia Is Latest Country To Crack Down On Social Media

In the age of protest hashtags and internet activism, social media sites are the next natural targets for heavy-handed governments looking to control dissenting citizens. This seems to be the current situation unfolding in the African nation of Zambia, where the government has recently announced its plans to clamp down more harshly on usage of various social networks.

While the laws themselves have yet to be drafted, their stated intention, according to the words of Zambian Communication Minister Brian Mushimba, is to combat

“Incidents of impersonations, people being insulted, abused, falsely accused or defrauded on social media platforms.”

Other reports add that the government of the conservative state hopes to stymy the consumption of pornographic material online as well.

Zambia is only the latest country to come out with somewhat concerning restrictions on the use of social media, which has become an extremely important platform for democratic discussion and civil debate in the modern age. Uganda, for example, recently imposed a tax on social media use and Tanzania charged bloggers an astounding $900 a year for the privilege of posting.

Zambians can rest assured—maybe—that the country will not in fact impose any monetary penalties, but will instead, according to Quartz,

“focus on sensitizing Zambians about responsible use of social media, [and] would not hesitate to prosecute perceived misuse.”

Mushimba frames his department’s actions as stemming form a concern for the declining morality and culture of Zambian people, saying

“It is evident that social media in Zambia has become a catalyst for the detachment of members of the Zambian society from our cultural norms. Prior to the proliferation of social media, people in Zambia behaved and communicated within acceptable and expected cultural boundaries.”

Citizens concerned with the 1984-like implications of such proposals have been protesting (on social media, of course) using the hashtag #OpenSpaceZM.

Click here to read the account of the story published on the Lusaka Time’s, the newspaper based in Zambia’s capital.

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