Wordeo, hibernating space probes, and why it’s all downhill for Facebook

Wednesday, 24 Jan, 2014 0

It’s well-known that teenagers and young adults alike are partial to social media, however a new report suggests that 58% of those aged 16-24 do not want technology taking over their holidays. The study also found that 34% check-in on social media at least once a day while travelling, and an additional 13% log in at least once a day. While social media poses a great opportunity for travel and hospitality brands to add value to holidays, the risk of being intrusive should be noted.

With the rise in mobile technology and fast (free) Wi-Fi in public spaces, new social media applications are popping up every week. The latest of these is WORDEO. The video messaging application turns words into short films in a matter of seconds. You just have to type the words and then choose from a variety of stock video footage to bring your unique film to life. Users also have the option to upload their own films to create a personalised piece of content to share via other social networks. Clever stuff.

The hibernating space probe Rosetta that will rendezvous with a comet more than 500 million miles from Earth woke up on Monday and tweeted "Hello World!" after more than two years in sleep mode to preserve power. The ESA space probe is now just a hop, skip and a jump away from its destination comet (5.6 million miles) and closing in by the second. Thanks to the power of social media it’s grabbed the world’s attention, watch this space…

While most of us hope to be well into our 70s and 80s before our demise is predicted, at the tender age of 13 Facebook has already reached the height of its popularity, with a predicted loss of up to 80% of its users by 2017. Some blame parents joining the site for the decline in the social network’s popularity, while others blame the increase in use of mobile phone technology – what is clear is that Facebook is no longer where the cool kids hangout!

Bev

Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.

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