If you find yourself not answering your phone most of the time, this new Verizon spam blocker might be just what you need.

 

Gizmodo has once again been my salvation when it comes to techie issues:

• If you’re on Verizon, the company’s Call Filter recently became free for all Verizon customers. It’s designed to detect spam, filter out robocalls, and report offending numbers to Verizon. There’s also a paid version that has additional features but who wants to pay when you can check out the free plan first.
• And if you’re wondering about that low 1.9 rating the app gets, all those negative reviews were for the $2.99 version before it became free.
• I installed the app last week and immediately stopped getting unknown calls until this past Monday. That’s when another unidentified call came in and left no message. Will see how this goes over the next few weeks but so far so good. I was getting at least one or two spam calls a day and now down to 1 for an entire week. Not bad.

Another new techie thing everyone should be aware of is TikTok. It’s not new but it’s recently started spreading like wildfire. As opposed to Snapchat which I loved and took the time to learn how to use, I am not planning to study up on how to create videos for TikTok.

Many of the videos are super fun and engaging. It represents a major culture shift in how we view entertainment. As my friend Erika Brockhouse Machamer said: “It’s like Snapchat on steroids.”  It’s also been called the Wild West of internet content. Having spent a few days on the site now, I would have to agree!!

Scroll down for more.

 

Tik Tok

TikTok was formerly (as in 3 years ago), known as Musical.ly. That’s when it first got on my radar because a few tweens I know LOVED it.

TikTok has now been downloaded over 1 billion times, including 96 million in the United States. It’s owned by the Chinese company Bytedance, considered one of the most valuable startups in the world. The app itself revolves around sharing 15-second videoclips, which are set to music often licensed from artists and record labels.

This Wired article provides all the details you need on how to post content and use the site. Although, most of the functions they cite e.g. arrow to share TikToks are showing up as “currently not available” on my phone.

 

 

Another great article to get you started on TikTok comes from Rolling Stone where a writer spent a week playing around on the site.

Here’s what Brittany Spanos, writing for Rolling Stone, reports:

• You can record up to 15 seconds on the app (but users have the options of making videos of up to 60 seconds long by cutting clips together or uploading footage filmed elsewhere).It incorporates the music focus popularized by Dubsmash and later Musical.ly; there’s a catalog of “sounds” users can choose from, including songs, dialogue and a variety of noises.
• The videos are a mix of comedy and music: people can monologue about what’s on their mind, dance to a budding hit song or play pranks.
• The “For You” page is an easy way to check out what’s happening on Tik Tok. You scroll up and you’re served up the latest, hottest videos TikTok has to offer.

Note: Based on my very limited usage, I would say that although billions of people are using the site, only a handful are actually creating content. My “for you” page seemed to be populated by  the same few people all the time.

Nevertheless, the app is worth downloading just to see what “the kids” are up to. Although I must say that what I found a week ago when I first downloaded it seemed way more interesting than what I saw this week.

Most of the featured accounts have over 200K views, some have 1MM or more.

 

 

Here’s my take on TikTok and who it’s for and by and what you can expect to see:

• Teenagers (primarily white) who are physically very agile and REALLY into pranks.
• Girls with vibrantly colored hair
• Cool tech magic that leave you wondering how on earth they did that  e.g. creating a clone or two of yourself
• Midwesterners or Southerners – people who live in places where you can have a horse (surprising number of TikToks feature horses)
• Puppies and kittens, along with some llamas, porcupines and even owls.

 

I keep looking for this young Chinese girl who does a tutorial on basic Chinese language (e.g. days of the week, greetings etc) who was on my For You page last week. She was all over TikTok on my first foray onto TikTok but now she’s disappeared.

As I mentioned previously, the site is pretty buggy e.g. the search function hasn’t worked all week.

 

Bottom Line.

Crazy how quickly I tired of TikTok. A week ago I thought it was the cat’s meow and now I’m already over it.

Don’t know if that says more about me or if it means those TikTokers need to get more creative.

What I have not tired of is Verizon’s Call Filter – that I stand by. Definitely download that app if spam calls irk you as much as they do me.