The Evolution Of The Arts

Many things have changed in our surrounding. Even us have changed too. Our lifestyle is no longer what it used to be and we behave differently as well. These changes happened gradually and mainly because of our continued exposure to technology. Wherever you look today, there are various tech contrivances designed to make our lives supposedly easier. However, it incurred additional expenses and headaches once things start to malfunction. This preoccupation with technology also has a major impact on various industries and mainstays in the society like the arts, for instance.

Nothing remains constant in this world. With major advancements in technology, it is bound to influence how people live their lives. And we all know that the arts are an expression of people’s feelings and views of the world. It reflects what the times are like when that work of art was made. These artistic expressions have greatly changed over the years because the world has changed as well but some can be quite mind-boggling too and involved the use of, yes you guessed it right, more technology.

Google introduces you to artists like Chris Ofili, known for working with elephant dung and creating works around black culture, Louise Bourgeois and her iconic giant spider sculptures and Douglas Coupland, the Canadian artist who coined the term "McJob" and calls failure "a pure state of being."

The collection also explains the difference between modern and contemporary art, taps experts and artists to answer the "big questions," ie, the most-searched ones on Google, like "what is the meaning of contemporary art." It also lets you explore artworks and exhibitions, galleries, mediums and methods and issues like racism, poverty and global warming that shape art. There's even a section called "Explaining Contemporary Art with Emojis," and, near and dear to Engadget's heart, "The Future of Art."

(Via: https://www.engadget.com/2017/10/06/google-arts-culture-contemporary-art/)

The future of the arts has arrived and artists are making use of technology or whatever they can get their hands on in expressing themselves and their artistry. If you look at their artworks, it can vary from almost everything there is under the sun. The best thing about modern life is we can now see for ourselves what these artworks are simply with a click of the button. Some are even immersive and interactive that attracts people to give the arts the time of day and no longer just be passive about it.

The capacity for creative expression is one of the defining qualities of being human. Our innovative imagination and ability to express it in so many different ways is unparalleled by any other living being.

However, art doesn’t just have to be for the sake of self-expression or aesthetics. The most powerful masterpieces have a mission infused into them. In fact, many modern-day artists are using their artistic capabilities as a tool to predict, explore, and even shape our future. They do so not just through visual arts, but also through music, movements, sculptures, and even multimedia.

For instance, I can tell you about the implications of technology on society, or I can take you on an immersive experience where I show you those effects or paint a potential future world for you. This is where art is a powerful tool.

(Via: https://singularityhub.com/2017/10/03/how-artists-are-using-tech-to-shape-the-future/)

Nothing remains constant. Artists show everyone their perception of the world and allow us to enjoy the fruits of their labor in a new light. The performance arts are especially benefiting from technology even if many think otherwise due to the threat of plagiarism and piracy. They now have a new platform where they can show off their talents without all the hassles that traditional artists had to deal with in the past and enjoy a bigger audience that have a wide variety of taste to support their craft.

There may be changes to our appreciation for the arts but let’s not forget either that artistic expressions also changes with time, and they make use of tools that are readily available to everyone. It all depends on how they utilize them for their artistic expressions and share to the world their inborn talents through no other than the web itself.

The Evolution Of The Arts Read more on: BrandInfiltration.com Blog

source https://www.brandinfiltration.com/the-evolution-of-the-arts/

Polar Reactions To Global Warming

We used to hear about global warming in the past but here we are right now living in the very moment we have long feared about. Well, we can mainly blame ourselves for this misfortune as it was our human activities that hastened its arrival more than anything else. The planet is getting hotter and hotter very quickly and there seems to be no stopping it yet we only notice its effects that matter to us like the unimaginable heat, natural calamities becoming worse than before, and many animals and plant life are disappearing as they don’t usually have the modern contrivances that help us beat the heat unlike them that are left to fend for themselves in the wild. Greenhouse gases increases and more heat is trapped in the atmosphere – a deadly and vicious cycle we don’t know yet how to solve.

Now, what about rising sea levels and melting glaciers? Do we really grasp just how severe the problem has become when you are in a desolate place like the Antarctic, for instance? Yes, it is also a different story in the cold Antarctic waters where they can immediately feel the effect of the constant rise in the temperature by 1 degree each passing year. Biodiversity has significantly gone down and it allowed certain species to thrive deeper in the now warmer water like Moss and bottom-dwelling marine worm.

Marine life on the Antarctic seabed is likely to be far more affected by global warming than previously thought, say scientists who have conducted the most sophisticated study to date of heating impacts in the species-rich environment.

Growth rates of some fauna doubled – including colonising moss animals and undersea worms – following a 1C increase in temperature, making them more dominant, pushing out other species and reducing overall levels of biodiversity, according to the study published on Thursday in Current Biology.

The researchers who conducted the nine-month experiment in the Bellingshuan Sea say this could have alarming implications for marine life across the globe as temperatures rise over the coming decades as a result of manmade greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

(Via: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/aug/31/global-warming-doubles-growth-rates-of-antarctic-seabeds-marine-fauna-study)

The disappearance of the ice and the constant melting of the glaciers are most dramatic in this part of the world because of the increasing temperature with the highest in record so far at 17.5°C, highly unusual in this icy region. If this goes on, there is the danger of 90% of the world’s fresh water to be melted from its current icy cage and spilled into the ocean, thereby creating a new danger of higher sea level that may eventually submerge island nations like the Maldives when worst comes to worst.

It’s abundantly clear that climate change will shift ecosystems around the world, though. Similar experiments run in coral reefs, alpine forests, intertidal zones, and the tundra have all returned similar results. When the environment changes, diversity takes a nosedive as the few species that can survive take over. A 2006 study found that less diverse ocean environments were more prone to resource collapse and had poorer recovery potential, stability and water quality. Diverse environments are more stable and disease-resistant, those with only a few species have little genetic variation to deal with future disasters.

So, the Antarctic likely won’t become a barren wasteland because of climate change; there will still be plants and animals there. Without the complex, diverse environment that has been built up over the course of millions of years, however, it will have lost something crucial to any ecosystem: resilience.

(Via: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2017/08/31/global-warming-antarctica-oceans/#.WayPV8gjHIU)

We might as well accept the fact that global warming will forever change the various ecosystems deep in the water. While some species thrive in the warmer ocean environment, others that aren’t less resilient and couldn’t adapt to the warmer water may eventually perish and be gone for good. While some scientific studies have shown us a glimpse as to what the ocean will look like if global warming progresses, nobody can tell for sure what it really will be like when the time comes. It’s the reason why we should seriously get to the bottom of climate change and force changes that can slow down its progression if not ultimately stop it from progressing at all.

Polar Reactions To Global Warming is courtesy of The Brand Infiltration Blog

source https://www.brandinfiltration.com/polar-reactions-to-global-warming/

Why You Should Give Blogging The Time Of Day

There are a lot of things going on on the web today an ordinary person will feel overwhelmed by all the new things they come across when surfing the Internet. Even in social media, there are different platforms you can visit and have different features not everyone can always relate to. But if there is one thing this excessive use of technology has blessed us with, it’s that most of us became comfortable in using technology and in expressing ourselves through the use of social media, for example. A knack for writing is no longer just a pastime for some but can be a means of income too if you are especially good.

Ever heard of blogging? Yes, blogging has evolved to become a powerful tool used by individuals and businesses in connecting with people and communicating what their businesses stand for. While it may sound easy, it actually is not. Having to write engaging and powerful contents is not easy especially if you are expected to do it on a regular basis. There are different obstacles to blogging but it is undeniably a great way to stay in touch with your consumers or the public in general without spending a great deal of money unlike other means of online marketing that requires a bigger capital.

Oh boy, there are so many reasons why you should be blogging. Just type in ‘blogging reasons’ in a search machine and you will find thousands of articles telling you why you should be blogging. Rather than being original this week, I want to create an ultimate list for you, so you do not have to read all those articles. If you are an entrepreneur and you have not started blogging for your business yet, this ultimate list should persuade you, even if you are a bit afraid of starting.
1. Blogging is challenging, and challenges are good

Anyone who thinks that blogging is not challenging has not really done it. It is a challenge to sit down and write and to do that consistently. It is a challenge to put your ideas out there, but you should not be scared of it. You should embrace it because it makes you grow. By growing, you become more complex as an individual. Blogging is a challenge that you can handle and simply put, handling challenges can make you happy.

2. You do not have to write War and Peace

One of the hardest barriers to overcome is thinking you should have a Big Idea that no living human had ever shared before.

(Via: http://www.business2community.com/blogging/ultimate-list-reasons-blogging-01931429#m5s3AFUsd1uxhBx3.97)

For starters with a limited budget, free platforms like Wordpress or Blogger is an ideal tool to help get you started. After all, what matters most is your content and how your target audience responds to whatever is written there. You do not just post whatever you feel like posting because you want your blogging efforts to pay off over time. You even learn a lot of new things as you go since you definitely have to do some research on the contents you post, so it is a win-win situation for you. You learn and earn as you go.

Marketing a small business online can be a challenge, especially with the amount of noise on social media nowadays. But creating a digital brand that stands out and captures the attention of an audience doesn’t have to be a challenge – you can grow your business and make an impact by publishing high-quality content that answers questions and engages.

Below, we’ve rounded up some of the biggest benefits of content marketing for small business owners. Read on to see how just a blog a week could transform your business.

It helps to improve your SEO

In order to rank highly for competitive keywords and terms in your industry, you need to create high-quality content. Of course, you’ll spend time crafting the perfect content for your homepage and services pages, but once your website has been completed, you’ll soon run out of “space” – and that’s where blogging can play a useful role.

(Via: http://irishtechnews.ie/why-content-is-so-important-for-growing-your-business/)

It is even more imperative for you to start up your own blog now if you own a business for a lot of reasons. The use of keywords helps a lot as it streamlines your content and helps you reach your target market faster and also ups your ranking on search engines. We all know how influential Google is to the public since most people use it on a daily basis in as much as they use social media. And aside from just posting your content on your site, you can also share them on social media so that more people can see it and you’d see faster results. There are many ways you can optimize your brand through your content and blogging is the perfect way to make things happen without having to do all the work yourself.

Why You Should Give Blogging The Time Of Day is available on BrandInfiltration.com Blog

source https://www.brandinfiltration.com/why-you-should-give-blogging-the-time-of-day/

Teaching Kids How To Code

Coding is the language of the future especially today that technology is the most widely used platform of everyone. The use of computers isn’t just optional anymore but a must in order to cope up with a quickly progressing society. Even kids are savvy in using smart gadgets and navigating the web, a technology unheard of or still a novel concept when most adults today were still young children. So, it is no longer surprising that kids are now being educated on coding to help them better understand the language of the future.

If you think about it, children getting an education on coding is practical considering that they will definitely be dealing with computers or a similar gadget whatever their line of work is in the near future. These kids will definitely have to dabble with some sort of computer coding, so better teach them about it while they are still young and easily trainable than when they reach adulthood and have difficulty embracing such a difficult concept. In essence, coding skills is one of the foundations of 21st-century education and make it easier for the young ones to adjust to our increasingly digital world.

In Britain, coding classes are now compulsory for every student from age 5 to 14. British Columbia plans to offer coding to any student who wants it, from kindergarten on up. Nova Scotia has jumped on the bandwagon. Ontario is spending $150-million over three years to boost computer education. Meanwhile, coding camps are booming as anxious middle-class parents ensure no child of theirs is left behind. Melissa Sariffodeen, co-founder of an outfit called Ladies Learning Code, says we will need to teach 10 million Canadians to code by 2027. "Canada's ability to retain its position as a significant contributor to the global economy is contingent on our collective willingness to invest in improving digital literacy," she warns.

Coding for kids is wildly popular with educators, politicians, parents, the tech industry, and people who run coding camps. But not everyone is sold. "Coding is a valuable skill – for maybe 2 per cent of the labour force," writes Alex Usher, who runs Higher Education Strategy Associates, a consulting firm. "What the rest of us need is digital literacy and proficiency. Being able to write software is not the issue: Rather, it is the ability to apply and use software productively that is the issue."

(Via: https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/coding-for-kids-another-silly-fad/article35982667/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com&)

We could all learn from the UK that now offers mandatory coding classes to kids as young as five until fourteen years old. Canada is right up its alley and has allocated budget for coding classes to kids as young as kindergarteners for they understand what a valuable lifelong skill coding is today given the direction the world is heading.

"It starts with keyboarding basics, then there's a segment on preparing them to code, and then once we get past learning patterns, and directives we go into another website which is really block coding," she said.

Block coding is where the students can really dive in.

"The children see little rectangles, but when they want to see what they actually created we can flip it and toggle it to HTML and see the java script on the other side," said Stein.

Stein said having these skills is necessary.

"They need to know it because they're going to be doing everything on the computers when they're older. It obviously is evident now on computers and in the classrooms they have tablets," said Stein.

(Via: http://www.wrdw.com/content/news/Elementary-students-learn-the-basics-of-cyber-in-a-weekly-computer-coding-class-438919463.html)

Coding can also help with cyber security issues. Cyber criminals are becoming more brazen than ever and the public should be able to protect themselves from these people. If they learn to code, they’d be able to set up appropriate precautions that many adults aren’t even aware of these days since they didn’t undergo coding classes in the past. Learning coding may be perplexing for adults but for kids that grew up in an environment full of digital playthings, they’ll find it enjoyable learning about it and may even think of it as just a game they need to win or overcome. While some aren’t thrilled about teaching kids how to code, it may be the reality for children these days as we live in a society that may soon be dominated by robots and artificial technology.

Teaching Kids How To Code is courtesy of Brand Infiltration Blog

source https://www.brandinfiltration.com/teaching-kids-how-to-code/

The Slow Death Of The Cable Industry

Most of you probably have fond memories growing up watching cable television. You no longer had to rent VHS on Blockbuster because you can watch all the coolest films on TV in the comfort of your own homes. You can even record your favorite shows or movies, so you can watch it over and over again whenever you like. And for several decades now, the cable industry had us in a firm grip. Our over fascination with sensational news, the entertainment industry, and reality TV got us seriously hooked to cable TV.

With the advent of the Internet, other legal online streaming options became increasingly accessible to us. You no longer have to pay for expensive cable TV when you can simply stream online for free. On the other hand, you also have the option of subscribing to both Netflix and Hulu Plus for only $18 a month and get to watch the same shows shown on cable at more than half the price. As if piracy isn’t enough of a threat, cable TV is struggling to basically exist in this day and age.

The cable TV business is in trouble—in fact, it is "failing" as a business due to rising programming costs and consumers switching from traditional TV subscriptions to online video streaming, according to a cable lobbyist group.

"As a business, it is failing," said Matthew Polka, CEO of the American Cable Association (ACA). "It is very, very difficult for a cable operator in many cases to even break even on the cable side of the business, which is why broadband is so important, giving consumers more of a choice that we can't give them on cable [TV]."

Polka made his comments in an episode of C-SPAN Communicators that is airing this week, though it was recorded in April. Video is available here.

The ACA represents about 750 small and mid-sized cable operators who serve about seven million customers throughout the US. The ACA has also been one of the primary groups fighting broadband regulations, such as net neutrality and online privacy rules, and a now-dead set-top box proposal that would have helped cable TV subscribers watch the channels they subscribe to without a rented set-top box.

(Via: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/06/cable-tv-failing-as-a-business-cable-industry-lobbyist-says/)

Now that consumers are becoming more aware that they have a choice, paying for an average of $50/month on lousy cable TV subscription seems too much when they can simply stream online and not pay anything more on top of their Internet subscription. Over the past few decades, cable subscription has risen dramatically even faster than inflation itself. Fortunately, you no longer have to settle for what shows are currently aired on TV but can choose whatever film or TV show you want to watch anytime of the day.

SOMEDAY, WE’LL SEE cable boxes as relics, reminders of a bygone age when funneling movies and shows from one place to another was so much more complicated—and expensive—than it had to be. But while the cable box is dying, it’s not dead yet. Until it is, there’s no reason not to try to make it better.

This week, Comcast gave us a taste of the cable-box-free future. It announced that its Xfinity app, which lets its customers access cable TV, on-demand programs, and a cloud-based DVR, will be available on Roku devices and Samsung smart TVs, as well as on the hardware of other partners to be named later. No more box, no more separate input; just your Comcast line-up alongside Netflix, Amazon Prime, and your other streaming media suppliers of choice.

Sounds nice! And likely will be, for those tech-savvy enough to embrace it. For Comcast, though, it represents more than just a nod at tomorrow’s streaming utopia. It’s an example of why the FCC should slink away from its plans to fix today’s broken cable box system. They’re wrong.

(Via: https://www.wired.com/2016/04/cable-box-dying-still-needs-fixed/)

If the cable industry doesn’t innovate and learn to adapt to the times, they’d likely disappear from the face of the planet without any struggle at all. You can only milk this type of industry for quite some time. But now that technologies like online video streaming are becoming more mainstream and affordable, many consumers don’t see the point of paying for pricey cable TV services when they can see the content they want when they surf the web. Best of all, you can do away with annoying and time-consuming advertisements you aren’t always interested in watching. Let’s all wait and see how cable companies evolve if they ever will. Because one thing is for sure if they don’t, they get archived and forgotten just like the empty Blockbuster stores of a long-lost era in the past.

The blog post The Slow Death Of The Cable Industry was originally published to The BI Blog

source https://www.brandinfiltration.com/the-slow-death-of-the-cable-industry/

Find Out How You Can Beat Snoring

If there is one thing that will last our lifetime aside from our own life, it is definitely our health. And ironically, the state of your health determines how long you get to live in this world. Money is irrelevant once you are on your deathbed. And our health deteriorates pretty fast if we don’t get to sleep adequately at night aside from eating healthy and nutritious food. Sleep is an excellent recuperation activity as it gives the human body a chance to rest and recharge for what lies ahead the next day. Unfortunately, people don’t always get to enjoy a good night’s sleep because of snoring.

Snoring is the sound a person makes from the turbulent airflow that triggers the vibration of the nose and throat tissues. It is often an anatomical problem where there is a narrowing of either in the nose, mouth, or throat. It usually is the first sign of sleep apnea especially the obstructed type although not all snorers do suffer from the said medical condition. It just so happen that almost all patients diagnosed with sleep apnea makes snoring sounds in their sleep and is not only a major health risk for them but a nuisance to anyone who is sleeping nearby. Now, is there something you can do to beat it before it beats the hell out of you?

Change your sleep position

Lying on your back makes the base of your tongue and soft palate collapse to the back of the wall of your throat, causing a vibration sound during sleep. A full body pillow provides a miraculous fix.

Lose weight

Weight loss helps some people but not everyone. “Thin people snore, too,” Slaughter says.

If you’ve gained weight and started snoring and did not snore before you gained weight, weight loss may help. If you gain weight around your neck, it squeezes the internal diameter of the throat, making it more likely to collapse during sleep, triggering snoring.

Avoid alcohol

Alcohol and sedatives reduce the resting tone of the muscles in the back of your throat, making it more likely you’ll snore. Drinking alcohol four to five hours before sleeping makes snoring worse. People who don’t normally snore will snore after drinking alcohol.

(Via: http://southcoastsun.co.za/103661/tips-stop-snoring/)

While sleep apnea that is related to snoring often has to do with problems in a person’s anatomy, many times it can also be the result of bad habits. There are even various anti-snoring gadgets you can try that can alleviate the symptom of snoring, so you can sleep soundly at night from now on. Of course, visit your doctor first before trying anything to ensure you’ll be using what is best for you and not endanger your health in the process.

Also, cutting down or avoiding other sedatives at bedtime may work as well. These can slow your breathing and relax your tissues, which can contribute to snoring.

In addition, try to avoid sleeping flat on your back. There are a number of ways you can do that, and it involves the prevention of rolling over, which you sometimes do in your sleep and can't really control. Some suggest attaching a tennis ball to your back in some fashion (such as in a custom-sewed pocket on the back of your pajama top), because nobody wants to sleep on a hard, round ball.

Another idea is to raise the head of your bed by four to six inches. Put bricks or other solid objects under the legs of the bed, which can keep your tongue from falling backward and restricting your airway.

(Via: http://www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/articles/1135399/why-do-we-snore)

Don’t suffer from more sleepless nights because of snoring since sleep is so precious to us and to our health. After all, you can never regain lost sleep, which many people often misunderstand and take for granted especially in their youth. So, despite snoring being mostly harmless to some people, one shouldn’t just ignore it if it’s already a chronic issue and you are suffering from other deadly conditions like heart disease and many others that can be exacerbated by poor sleep. The best tip to let you know when you need to see the doctor as soon as you can is when most common remedies no longer work but the snoring still persists and negatively impacts your life.

Find Out How You Can Beat Snoring See more on: BrandInfiltration.com

source https://www.brandinfiltration.com/find-out-how-you-can-beat-snoring/