Author: jadapagee

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Assignment 5: Event Participation (10%)

”How To Start and Grow a ”Travel-Lifestyle” Online Advertising Business.”

https://www.dannytranofficial.com/webinar-training

This was an online seminar that was sent to me by a close friend, at first I was really skeptical however with this course and my other experiences, I felt as if this might benefit my study or lifestyle in some way, or could just be a good educational video to kill time since I was free anyways. All I was pretty much thinking was “Why not?”. This seminar was based on how to make a living from the comfort of your laptop, and in hopes that one day you can travel wherever you please and still be able to make money. At first, I thought there was no way, then I search the reviews, and there were reviews on reviews, plenty of referrals and even people showing their results on YouTube.  

Although there were 100 others in the seminar, not one person wrote in the discussion. As well as I did have the e-mail that showed my confirmation for my signup however, it seems to be lost in my e-mail, but I was able to recover a few slides I screenshotted while I attended the 1 hour long live video session.

  • Who did you meet or interact with at the event? What did you learn from that interaction and what did you contribute to the interaction?

Danny Tran is the man behind the screen, he is an independent entrepreneur who uses digital marketing to the best of his abilities in order to grow businesses. Using advanced social media strategies, he is able to provide small and large businesses with resources and mentorship skills in order to keep consistent growth within the company. He illustrates the opportunity for thousands of people and shows them what can be achieved by reaching out to companies and giving them the chance to create profitability.  Danny has successfully built multiple 6-figure companies, and his success continues as he travels worldwide creating his own personal brand as well as creating other companies as well.

I have learned that if you really put the time and effort, you will get where you want. Every company you reach out to is a chance for success, and it never tries to hurt. As I continued to watch I realized, this is something that you will either do great in, or you will fail miserably, it all depends how hard you work, and how smart you work. Companies trust you with their money and expect profitability in the end, if you put the effort, the companies will get their traction, and you will get you cash. If the ads are made well, and you are smart about your analytics, keeping track of your audience, and understand the market, it is a perfect opportunity for self-made entrepreneurs.

Even if I do not continue this as a profession, I felt as if I learned a lot, a lot of similar things I learned in this course about how important it is to follow trends, to pay attention to your target audience, and MAKE CONNECTIONS!!

Not so much a quote, but a screenshot of a slide I found really important.

Businesses are like walking on ice, you never know when it will break. Having someone break down and list out ways businesses fail it a great way to use as a base in order to prevent any of these situations or having to be in a similar situation.

Here is a referral from a past student of Danny:

“3 client appointments in less than a week! To be able to work from anywhere in this world is definitely a luxury.” – Chichi Zhang

Tran, D. (2019)

I could definitely see myself attending something similar, if not himself again as he was very engaging and exciting to watch.  I feel as if regardless if you believe this is a career or not, business can provide you with a lot of tools and resources no only career, or education wise, but as well lifestyle wise. It is always good to learn, and the information that was provided are things that could be used in other jobs, or fields.  

References:

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Blog Post #3 – Professional Networking Now and in the Future (5%)

Over many years of educating myself, learning new techniques, and playing around with my own content, I accumulated so many pieces, it was time to think of the future and what could further my opportunities. I started my second portfolio, rather than using the one produced for my university application, I decided to remake it with more recent pieces. This is where Instagram became so significant to my life. Social media now was not only a great place to find social interaction, but also a place to show off local work and make connections with people who have the same interests.

Portfolio piece by myself

For example, Instagram is a perfect place to promote your pieces to other brands and companies. By turning my profile into a business profile, this allows companies to directly e-mail me from my account Instagram account, or direct message for easier use to work on collaborations and inquires. The community is not only great for making connections, but it is supper supporting, and this is another community that I am able to share my content with my GCM friends that I’ve become close with. This allows us all to post our content, while still being able to split our personal life from our work life.

Toronto’s culture is centered around business, advertising, marketing, and making money. There is an unruly amount of success driven individuals you get to meet on the way to help motivate and inspire you. The entertainment industry is what I believe started me on advertisements and actually making pieces for a cause rather than just making personal pieces for myself. I had the opportunity to work with some of the most popular clubs in Toronto and learn the process behind creating their mailers, flyers, advertisements, signs and more. It introduced me to a work place where I got to experiment with my interests in design and I instantly got hooked knowing advertising and graphic design was exactly what I wanted for my future.

Flyer made for a restaurant located in Yorkville

Most people in today’s date have platforms such as: Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and the list goes on. I would not know which platform my audience uses as I would need time to monitor all my platforms for a longer period of time, however I believe Instagram would be the strongest platform to use in order to increase engagement, and brand growth, and could help provide other potential opportunities.  

Instagram is another great platform I can easily share projects and posts effortlessly through my phone. It will let me engage with my audience easily, while providing me with all the tools I need such as; being able to contact my audience directly through direct message, can take polls to understand what my audience wants, answer questions people are curious about, make longer videos, and live videos to give my audience the full experience in real time, etc. Instagram has turned into the leading platform this year for 2019, and I think most brands should focus on the potential Instagram and other social media platforms provides.

The best and only way to measure your success is measuring your audience and engagements. If you keep up with your audience, keep track of them, notice what gets people talking and excited, this will help you increase your engagements and provide you with better results. Using keywords and hashtags also helps you measure peoples interests so you know you are posting relevant items. The only way to measure your success is monitoring your customers and their needs.

Graphics have become an enormous part of my life, teaching me to grow as a person, and help me determine what I want for my future and what is the brand I represent. Figuring out your branding is a great way to figure out the next step in life, or the goals you are envisioning for the future.

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Blog #6: My Own Brand

Who am I? What do I do?

Throughout life I grew up exploring art from all mediums, whether it be music, drawing, painting and the list goes on. After many years of learning about myself, and my interests, I finally have gotten to the point where I have found a medium that still provides me with an outlet both for my artwork and dream career. Combining today’s date of high-tech technology, and my own creations, I was introduced into the career of Graphic Design.

In 2016, I began my adult life and moved to Toronto to study as a graphic design student in a specialty program called Graphic Communication Management or also known as GCM at Ryerson University. I persisted three years before realizing the expenses of Toronto, as well as not loving my program as much as I had thought. Do not get me wrong, graphics is still my passion, however the curriculum was not to my liking, and did not provide me with the knowledge, or experiences I was expecting.

GCM has brought me together with a community of individuals like myself who have the same desire to create their own content. I had the opportunity to meet and connect with people who I now consider some of my best friends, and still to this day help me out and give criticism on my content and help ensure I’m creating the best content I can.

The entertainment industry is what I believe started me on advertisements and actually making pieces for a cause rather than just making personal pieces for myself. I had the opportunity to work with some of the most popular clubs in Toronto and learn the process behind creating their mailers, flyers, advertisements, signs and more. It introduced me to a work place where I got to experiment with my interests in design and I instantly got hooked knowing advertising and graphic design was exactly what I wanted for my future.

Graphics have become an enormous part of my life, teaching me to grow as a person, and help me determine what I want for my future and what is the brand I represent. As Tom Peter’s states in his article The Brand Not You, “Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding”. Figuring out your branding is a great way to figure out the next step in life, or the goals you are envisioning for the future.

Reference:

 

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COM0015: Blog Post #2 – Strong vs Weak Organizations

Strong

Fashion Nova being an American based clothing brand founded in 2006 by its CEO Richard Saghian; specializes in media targeted promotions and advertisements for retail. It has become one of the most known and striving online brands, Instagram users are bound to come across Fashion Nova models, influencers or advertisements. Fashion Nova creates reasonably priced dupes of higher end clothing; focusing on women’s fashion and now expanding to men’s clothing as well.

One of their main sources of advertisement is Instagram, using the platform as a tool to promote their products and services to certain demographics based on searches, followings and age. This tool not only gives them the volumes they need but has branded their company as one of the most known Instagram brands to be seen online. Many artists will even go to measures of mentioning the company in songs, at no cost. Instagram has become the leading platform used in 2019 by many retailers including Fashion Nova, using influencers such as Cardi B, Kylie Jenner, and hundreds of others to promote their product. Fashion Nova provides free merchandise to these influencers in exchange for promo.

Fashion Nova tends to use their Instagram to create giveaways for their consumers feature their favourite influencers, as well and gifting clothing and many other prizes. As well they are able to directly communicate with their customers through their direct messages, ask questions on their story, and create polls to know what the people want!

The only complaint I notice from many clients is that all the Fashion Nova models or extra curvy, and it can be difficult for many of us who do not have those curves to fill in the clothing. I have noticed this issue with myself, and they do sell plus size clothing, so the only thing I believe they need to fix, and I recommend is it add in a petite collection for us smaller women.

Other than the small fixes, Fashion Nova keeps up to date with the cutest trends and provides them to you quickly and inexpensively. They keep their posts upbeat and exciting, as they always keep you up to date on all their new styles and deals, they have supreme customer service and are available on their website, on Facebook, or through direct message 24/7!

Weak

Found in 1984 by the husband-and-wife duo Jin Sook and Do Won “Don” Chang. The couple opened their very first store together and called it Forever 21, and within the first year the couple pulled in $700,000 worth of sales. Most of heard of this fast-fashion brand, known for providing the latest trends to teens at reasonable pricing. The couple succeeded through the early 2000s, and in 2015 according to Forbes, the couple had reached a net worth of $5.9 billion.

However, over the recent years, Forever 21’s sales have significantly decreased, and Forbes reports that today, the couple are no longer billionaires. Only a few weeks ago, Forever 21 announced that they had to file for bankruptcy within United States and Canada. Rachel D’Amore, a writer for the Global News discusses the current “wind-down” within Canada, and how the company plans to reorganize the business. The company currently employs around 2,000 people at its 44 locations throughout Canada.

The chief financial officer for Forever 21 in Canada, Bradley Sell states “We had hoped for a different outcome,”

“But after years of poor performance and challenges set forth by the headwinds facing the retail industry today, our Canadian operations are simply no longer economically viable.”

The retailer plans to also close most stores within Europe and Asia, but will keep majority open in Mexico, as well as Latin America.

Forever 21 also came out with a statement to their customers and wrote: “Once we complete a reorganization, Forever 21 will be a stronger, more viable company that is better positioned to prosper for years to come. We look forward to continuing to provide you with the great service and curated assortment of merchandise that you expect from us.”

“Forever 21 has made the difficult decision to discontinue further financial and operational support for Forever 21 Canada as we reposition the brand and global business to adapt to the current retail environment,” said in a statement to Global News by representatives of the company.

The company is planned to have all Canadian locations closed by the end of this year and have 178 locations closed across the United States.

Forever 21 began as a thriving brand, and created the traction they needed in the previous years, they have been known to be one of the top brands for e-commerce, however it shows how easy it is to lose track of your branding, and crash.

Though they are not fully closing the company, it is a massive setback as a whole for the brand, and it will be interesting to see how they plan to turnaround the damage.

REFERENCES:

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Blog #5-Brand New Me

For some people, art is everything; it can be a career, a passion, an appreciation, or maybe you cannot relate to art at all. Everyone experiences life in their own personal ways, and not one-person experience’s events the same way as another individual. These experiences, passions, and appreciations are what construct your brand, they create who you are.

After many years of learning about myself, and my interests, I finally have gotten to the point where I have found a medium that still provides me with an outlet both for my artwork and dream career. Combining today’s date of high-tech technology, and my own creations, I was introduced into the career of Graphic Design.

Now, let’s rewind a few years back to the beginning where it all started…

I went to Ryerson in 2016 to begin my life and studies as a graphic design student in a specialty program called Graphic Communication Management or also known as GCM. I persisted three years before realizing the expenses of Toronto, as well as not loving my program as much as I had thought. Graphics is still my passion; however, the curriculum was not to my liking, and did not provide me with the knowledge, or experiences I was expecting.

Although I did not like my program, I still had to opportunity to meet an unruly amount of success driven individuals, allowing me to stay motivated and inspired. The entertainment industry is what I believe started me on advertisements and actually making pieces for a cause rather than just making personal pieces for myself. I had the opportunity to work with some of the most popular clubs in Toronto and learn the process behind creating their mailers, flyers, advertisements, signs and more. It introduced me to a work place where I got to experiment with my interests in design and I instantly got hooked knowing advertising and graphic design was exactly what I wanted for my future.

This is where Instagram became so significant to my life. Social media now was not only a great place to find social interaction, but also a place to show off my work and make connections with people who have the same interests. By turning my profile into a business profile, this allows companies to directly email me from my account Instagram account, or direct message for easier use to work on collaborations and inquires.

What makes you stand out?

I am a perfectionist; if it is not right, I will make sure it is right. I believe that my previous experiences and skill will make me stand out in the future and if a client is not 100% happy with the results, I will make sure to put all efforts to ensure my clients are pleased.

Goals of Branding

Graphics have become an enormous part of my life, teaching me to grow as a person, and help me determine what I want for my future and what is the brand I represent. As Tom Peter’s states in his article The Brand Not You, “Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding”. Figuring out your branding is a great way to figure out the next step in life, or the goals you are envisioning for the future.

 

Reference:

 

 

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Blog 4: Fast Fashion, Fast Outcome

Fashion Nova being an American based clothing brand, specializes in media targeted promotions and advertisements. Active Instagram users are bound to come across Fashion Nova models, influencers or advertisements and because of this ongoing method they are easily one of the highest successful clothing brands to date. Fashion Nova creates reasonably priced dupes of higher end clothes; focusing on women’s fashion and now expanding to men’s clothing as well.

With 15.9 million followers, one of their main sources of advertisement is Instagram, using the platform as a tool to promote their products and services to certain demographics based on searches, followings and age. This tool not only gives them the volumes they need but has branded their company as one of the most known Instagram brands to be seen online. Many artists will even go to measures of mentioning the company in songs, at no cost.

It’s clear that Fashion Nova’s goal is to be a known brand, and they used one of the top social media platforms to an advantage to get their company out there. Fashion Nova posts around a post every single hour of everyday, they run 24 hour 7 days a week, with no breaks on ALL platforms. They publicized their clothing to a younger audience in the hopes that this specific demographic would push market growth. Not only did they easily build brand awareness but the increase in sales represent the positive growth that the company has gained in the past few years.

I took some time to calculate the volume and numbers for Fashion Nova by using my RRS feed, and Google adwords, and was able to track the most popular google searches for certain categories in relation to fashion and clothing. Evidence that I found was that Fashion Nova is in one of top 3 hashtags for fashion and overall just the company has a volume of over 4 million different searches. The fact that Fashion Nova was only founded in 2006 and already in such high demand, Google’s top searched fashion brand and in collaborations with celebrities such as Khloe Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, and Cardi B, they are keeping track of their target audience just right. Fashion Nova takes control of the dominant role they play in online shopping and fashion.

Image result for cardi b fashion nova instagram

(Kylie Jenner advertising for Fashion Nova jeans, https://bit.ly/33i3kvB)

They keep all their posts upbeat and exciting, as they always keep you up to date on all their new styles and deals, they have supreme customer service and are available on their website, on Facebook, or through direct message 24/7!

REFERENCES:

 

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Blog #3- People Just Like You

A target audience is a group of individuals who are categorized by certain demographic information. Discovering a target audience means finding out what people like, what they are interested in, and if there is a probability of them buying your engaging with your product.

Companies usually use information such a gender, age, location, income, education and the list go on, in order to organize everyone in categories.  

In order for customers to feel compelled to a product, or service, they need to relate to the brand or company. The most efficient way to not waste time or money, is knowing who and what goals you are targeting, because there is a larger probability that this consumer will interact further.

According to Steve Harvey an author for Fabrik, “users on WordPress are producing about 82.6 million new posts a month.” That is an excessive amount, and it is understandable why it is so easy for brand’s advertisements to go missing or lost. If these advertisements are being wasted on people who do not relate to the topic, it prevents the people who would be interested in the advertisement from seeing it.

I believe that a brand’s target audience is most usually consumers who are similar to the people running the brands. When looking at my blog, or other social media accounts such as Twitter, Instagram etc. Majority of my following revolves around young individuals as myself, who have the same interests and are mostly all from America (Canada, or the USA). Which is great, because it is so much easier to connect with people who have the same or similar interests.

Target audience allows you to focus your message on a demographic that would most likely willing to buy or interact with you, people you can relate with, as well as a group you can create interest with.

References:

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COM0014 – Blog #1: A Different Type of Vacation

Elle Mills. Does that name ring a bell? When I say that name, most people my age think of the successful Canadian YouTube sensation but when I hear it, I think of my childhood best friend. Back in middle school, I met Elle and we instantly hit it off. We hung out all the time, sleeping over at each other’s homes and I helped her make little videos for her YouTube channel. Now nearly a decade later, we’re still really good friends – only now she has over a million people watching her channel. This past July, Elle turned 21 and for her 21st birthday Elle wanted to celebrate big so she invited all of her hometown friends to Los Angeles for it. Imagine going on a trip with all your old high school classmates. It oddly felt like going on a huge school field trip, but only this time we could drink. I stayed in a nice little home in the Beverly Woods area with my closest pals. The neighbourhood was really calm, unlike most places in LA, and was really nice to wake up to in the morning. For most of the week, we did the same routine everyday. We’d have a nice breakfast together, do some shopping, then some sightseeing and go out in the evening to experience LA nightlife. If I had to narrow down my favourite moments from the trip, it’s definitely a tie between the bottomless mimosas at Sonoma Wine Garden or scootering along Santa Monica pier. Of course though, I can’t forget about Elle’s big 21st bash. My friend Elle likes to go big so she rented out this massive arcade in downtown LA and it was truly the craziest party I’ve ever been to. There was virtual reality, a buffet, open bar, unlimited amount of arcade games and midway games, and even escape rooms. To help you visualize how crazy extra the decorations were, Elle had her face put on the staircases. Yes, that’s right. Her face on the staircases. I wish I could go into detail about the night, but like I said, it was open bar. What I do know is that it was so nice to be with everyone I love, and people I went to high school with, and YouTubers I watch at home all the time in one room to celebrate a person who means a lot to me. To think that Elle and I went from celebrating her 13th birthday at McDonald’s in Ottawa to celebrating her 21st in a huge arcade in Los Angeles is something I still can’t wrap my head around. It’s a trip that reminded me of how grateful I am for the friends in my life, and helping me grow stronger connections with old friends I have not seen since high school.

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Growing a Business for Free

Can you grow your brand through only Instagram?

It is crazy how much a click of a button can accomplish, allowing you to interact with your audience without being present. Companies are able to make a single post, and increase their growth, and make profits in just minutes.

Ashley Carman, a journalist for The Verge, writes her article Instagram now has 1 billion users worldwide. She discusses the rapid growth Instagram has accumulated in 2018 after their in-office announcement of hitting 1billon active users.

This allows large or smaller companies to take full advantage of these growths for their own improvement and development. Companies can increase attraction to their pages and bring awareness with simple interactive media posts.

There are many different ways Instagram allows you to interact and connect with your followers:

Tags

There are many ways you can use tags, from tagging other people, trending hashtags, or getting people to tag their friends in different contests. Instagram gives you man options for using tags, depending how you use it to your advantage. Hashtag’s have always been a key component for bringing awareness to a central topic, but recently brands have come up with new tactics that have proven to bring in more traffic.

Source: TAYLOR MEADE

Contests have been trending through people’s timelines, getting people to tag friends, like their photo, follow their page, like their page, or even repost them for a chance to win a prize. Normally people are not willing to take their time unless it is for a cause, so this helps push people to promote your brand for you while you sit back and all you had to do is make a single post.

Swipe Up!

This tactic is great if you are wanting to share something with your followers that you are not able to on Instagram; whether it be selling merchandise, a link to your newest video, or a link to your blog, you are able to link anything you would like that would interest you followers. It allows you to post a summary or idea on your story and your followers can decide whether they are willing to take the time to swipe up or skip by.

Source: ICON FINDER

Recently I noticed personal bloggers re-posting their pictures to their story and have a swipe up link to the photo posted on their Instagram, using this strategy to gain more traction and likes to build their brand!

Make a Poll

Source: GADGET HACKS

Making polls is not so much for increasing traction but it does help you understand your followers and consumers. This option allows brands to take the time to see what their followers and consumers are looking for, for example: A company cannot decide if they want to launch their new product in blue or green… well with only a few clicks, the company is able to create a poll to allow their consumers to decide for them. Based off the results they can successfully create items they know their customers would enjoy.

Ask for Feedback

Source: SOCIALLY SORTED

Feedback is a huge factor for all companies, involving Instagram of not, your feedback from your clients is the most important thing of any company because that shapes your reputation as a brand. Instagram now allows people to post a question or a statement and people are able to reply and voice their opinion to the person, brand or company and it can be completely anonymous.

Collab with Influencers

Now this is the BIGGEST tactic most larger brands use, this would not be considered free either. Companies pay influences hundreds to thousands of dollars to promote their brands through your favourite influencers. It is the most effective way to get influencers that people look up to and have them sell your brand to all their following. If your favourite model, actress, or singer tells you to buy it, chances are high… you will probably end up buying it. Especially when many of these influencers are given discount codes and you THINK you are saving money.

Source: BUSINESS OF APPS

Social media gives us such a diverse and proactive platform that can be taken full advantage of. Brand’s now do not have to pay thousands to advertise or start up their brand’s on TV or on the radio because Instagram offers so many features to allow you to spark your growth and become a reputable brand with multiple free features, and low prices to sponsor or promote your posts if you decide to do so.

Facebook:

Want to know how to grow a business for free? Take a look at my blog! https://bit.ly/2FP2rjS

Twitter:

Want to know how to grow a business for free? #insta #socialmedia #instgram #branding #company https://bit.ly/2FP2rjS

References:

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Is Google Listening?

Over the recent years, more and more people are brought to attention about their privacy regarding their cellular devices. People are realizing that there could be a possibility that companies may be listening to us more than we are aware of.

Have you ever noticed while you’re having a conversation with someone, and for example, you both are discussing your interests over shoes? You mention you want a pair of white Converse, and then suddenly… 5 minutes later, those EXACT white pair of Converse you were mentioning appears on your timeline.

Source: Apple

In an article from February last year by CBS News, Sam Nguyen claims she gets the idea her phone is listening to her, and she is certain she gets ads from Facebook and Google for things she only mentions aloud.

“I didn’t write that in my email. I didn’t check it out online yet. It’s just popping up. That’s kinda weird,” Nguyen said.

(CBS News, 2018)

Well some say it might be considered a coincidence, whereas others believe it’s no coincidence at all.

It’s becoming more common for people to have ads pop up on their social media timelines such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for items they have not once searched for.  Some experts agree with the possibility, but others say that companies already know too much about you… so are they really listening?

I am not sure what is creepier, the idea that someone is always listening, or the idea that that Google and Facebook probably know me better than I know myself, and I do not know which one I would prefer. Companies are able to track data relating you based off your GPS, your searches, the pictures you upload, the items you deleted, the videos you have watched, and more.

Did you know?

Google takes your information that you provide such as: your location, sex, age, interests, occupation, relationship status, if seeking weight loss, and income and they generate an advertisement profile that personalizes all the ads you see online and on social media.

Click on these links to view your data!

Google knows where you’ve been

Google knows everything you’ve ever searched – and deleted

Google has an advertisement profile of you

Google knows all the apps you use

Google has all of your YouTube history

If you’d like more information on all the information Google has on you, this article by Dylan Curran from last year is super useful:

So, are companies really listening? Or do they just know you better than yourself. The internet can be a pretty scary and crazy place and in today’s day in age it is extremely difficult to not be tracked or have any privacy anymore. That is why it is so important to maintain your privacy and be extra careful, what you click, and what you give permission to online, the items you share and the things you say.

To conclude here is a video experiment produced by one of the Buzzfeed producers, Chris:

“Ever wonder if someone is listening through the microphone in your phone? Chris conducted an experiment to see if his iPhone would listen to him, and target an advertisement at him.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xltl6_0hyU

Source: Buzzfeed

In reality, there would not be enough time or money in order to have people listen and go through every conversation being made while a phone is present.

Facebook:

Is Google Listening? Take a look at my blog! https://bit.ly/2YAmBqs

Twitter:

Is Google Listening? #google #socialmedia #phones #IsGoogleListening https://bit.ly/2TQQofV

References: