@World_record_egg Cracks Open
You may remember the @world_record_egg, whose first post became the most-liked Instagram post ever, racking up 10M followers and over 52M likes. The egg has been posting pictures featuring cracks on its shell since its initial post. Three days ago, @world_record_egg scrambled up a post with the caption, “The wait is over 😅 All will be revealed this Sunday following the Super Bowl 👀Watch it first, only on @hulu.” Today, the egg finally cracked, releasing a mental health message: “The pressure of social media is getting to me. If you’re struggling, too, talk to someone.” Hulu is apparently the first marketer to yolk a sponsorship deal with World Record Egg, showcasing a “short spot that promotes mental health awareness, particularly around the context of using social media.” The egg’s own caption lists a link to talkingegg.info where you can find links to mental health sites. Egg-tastic.
(Source: CNET)
Electric Scooter Injuries on the Rise
Ever since Lime and Bird began dumping tens of thousands of scooters across populated cities last summer, safety has been an ongoing concern. In a new study by the JAMA Network Open’s medical journal, 10.8% of LA hospital patients over a one-year period were under 18 years old, and only 4.4% were documented wearing a helmet during their scooter incidents. Translation: electric scooter injuries are fairly common and most riders don’t adhere to safety laws. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are conducting a study of their own in Austin, TX, and “will propose a safe-riding ordinance in late February”, just in time for SXSW. Some health professionals are calling this wave of injuries a “public health crisis,” whereas others are saying it’s not as bad as you think. “… the report… fails to take into account the sheer number of e-scooter trips taken — the number of injuries reported would amount to a fraction of 1% of the total number of e-scooter rides,” said Paul Steely White, Bird’s director of safety policy and advocacy. “Moreover, the report fails to put e-scooter injuries into context as they relate to the high number and severity of injuries and deaths caused by motorcycles and automobiles.”
(Source: The Washington Post, JAMA Network)
Facebook’s 15th Birthday
On February 4, 2004, Facebook was born by a 19-year-old Harvard student, Mark Zuckerberg. Originally called, “TheFacebook,” it was meant to serve as an online directory for Zuckerberg’s colleagues. Fifteen years later, the site has grown to 2.32B, almost one-third of the world’s population.
Important Facebook Moments:
- February 4, 2004: Facebook first launches.
- November 2007: Facebook Ads (originally called Social Ads) launches.
- July 2008: Facebook App releases, granting the capability to add images straight from phones and use location services.
- February 2009: The birth of the “Like” button.
- May 2012: Facebook goes public, marking one of the largest IPOs in U.S. history.
- April 2012: Facebook buys Instagram for $1M.
- February 2014: Facebook buys WhatsApp for $19M.
- March 2014: Facebook ventures into the virtual reality market with its buyout of Oculus.
- July 2014: Facebook’s mood-manipulation experiment affected thousands of users, one of its first issues with privacy.
- August 2015: Facebook reaches 1B users.
- October 2016: Marketplace launches, allowing users to buy and sell products.
- March 2018: Cambridge Analytica Scandal story breaks. The biggest controversy to hit Facebook.
- September 2018: Facebook revealed that nearly 50M accounts were compromised by a security breach.
- February 4, 2019: Facebook turns 15. Happy Birthday!
(Source: Think Marketing, Independent)
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