AR Archives

Hanging On by a Thread

Morgan Moresco on August 9, 2023

Written by: Frankie Ciccotto

Few online events were as inevitable as Meta’s release of its highly awaited application Threads, a text-based conversation space where communities of like-minded people can come together to discuss trending topics, share current photos, or just casually scroll through who they follow to keep up to date. Whether you’re a digital creator or a casual poster, Threads aims to be the next Twitter alternative, amassing 30 million user signups within 24 hours of release. Now, two weeks later, that online platform has grown to over 100 million members worldwide, securing the title of the fastest-growing online application of all time.

Securing Your Handle

As Threads is directly linked to Instagram, setting up a new account could not be made any easier. For users with an active Instagram profile, it’s as easy as downloading the application from your iOS store, logging in with your Instagram credentials, and boom — you’re ready to start posting your first thread. Your Instagram handle, profile picture, and bio have the option to automatically transfer over to your Threads account. In contrast to Twitter, its main competitor, Threads has a 500-character limit, whereas Twitter has a cap at 280. In each Thread post, users can additionally include links, photos, and videos up to five minutes long, further giving Twitter a run for its money. So far, the app is proving to be extremely user friendly.

What Can I Use This For?

Threads aims to target a multitude of markets, including content creators, casual posters, and everyone in between. Their current business model rejects the implementation of monetization, meaning traditional forms of advertising are prohibited — for now. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, stated that his main goal is to make the product work well, and he expects the user base to grow far beyond that of Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. While Meta clearly states that traditional forms of advertising and branding are not in the cards for Threads, this creates the option for traditional marketers to do branding and promotion on their own, without a built-in ad-monetization strategy. For the moment, it appears that Meta is attempting to acknowledge the need for built-in marketing materials without subjecting users to an overflux of traditional ads.

This seems to be Meta’s way of keeping basic users happy so that they are not turned off by an overabundance of adverts before Threads can actually become a staple in our day-to-day social media usage.

With millions of people already flocking to Threads, scrutiny has arisen. One of Threads’ founding principles includes the ability to limit news as well as political and social debates — creating a “friendly shelter” to limit the amount of information spread on the app. It seems the app is more focused on bringing niche communities together, whether they are focused on sports, music, fashion or entertainment.

The app is booming, users are excited, new content is brewing, and communities are alive and thriving. What more could a new app’s entrance into the social media world hope for? The threat of the unknown is what most users are perplexed about. How far is Threads willing to go to appeal to all consumers? With only three weeks up and running, Threads is off to a great start, but it is clear that work still needs to be done if it truly wants to become a front runner in the social media limelight. With its already ever-present commitment to positivity and moderation, Threads has the opportunity to become the default conversation-based app, winning over users seeking a refreshing change. On the other side of the coin, it has the opportunity to raise fear in those who believe the app’s main purpose is to limit and supervise what we say online. The question is: Will Threads be the ultimate gateway app that changes how conversations in the social media world are made, or will it backfire, and leave this revolutionary app hanging on by a thread?

Augmented reality will change how people experience the world around them, and it will expand the social reach of advertisers who will be able to directly engage with the consumer.

The Future of Augmented Reality and Digital Advertising

Morgan Moresco on June 27, 2023

Written by: Danielle Gazda

With the announcement of the Apple Vision Pro headset at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference, augmented reality (AR) as a part of daily life is becoming increasingly more real. The headset’s $3,500 price tag is out of reach to a significant portion of the population, but, as the technology improves and becomes more commonplace, it could quickly become more accessible.

What AR Is Available?

The discussion of AR as a part of everyday life isn’t new, but the technology is still in its infancy. Google Glass was announced in 2013 and hit the market in 2014. They are now ceasing production and sales later this year. Snapchat, the popular limited-time photo-sharing app, released its own version of the tech with Spectacles in 2016. These are still around, and their primary purpose is to capture photos and videos from the user’s perspective.

Nreal, a Chinese start-up company, has seen great success in its home country and is expanding to Britain this year. Nreal Air is designed to look like sunglasses and allows users to interact by “Air Casting” or “MR Space.” Air Casting allows users to see their full phone screen in front of them in a virtual display, while MR Space combines a digital overlay with the real world surrounding the user.

AR Uses

The concept of the MR Space is where digital advertising can play a key role. AR can be used to show pop-ups or interactable digital items as people wearing these headsets/glasses interact with the world around them. Brands can share virtual coupon codes or prompt a user to visit their website. There’s also the potential to show an advertisement that will make the user want to purchase the product.

This type of advertising will be the bridge between social media/digital marketing and out-of-home marketing. It will be more interactable and accessible than QR codes on billboards, and quicker and more convenient than having to click through a number of links after seeing a digital ad.

Augmented reality will change how people experience the world around them, and it will expand the social reach of advertisers who will be able to directly engage with the consumer.

Is AI Art the Future of Digital Marketing?

Morgan Moresco on November 28, 2022

By: Danielle Gazda

With the metaverse, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and artificial intelligence (AI) becoming more commonplace, the digital universe is expanding and becoming more accessible. Digital marketers have questioned if moving into these areas is worthwhile or even viable. For most of these platforms, the utility and practicality don’t quite seem to be there yet. AI-generated art, however, is on the rise and is something that marketing teams can use to further their creative abilities.

Two of the most popular and well-known tools for generating AI art are DALL-E 2 and NightCafe. There are many other apps and websites that are just beginning their development with open betas. Others are more established like Midjourney and the two listed previously. Either way, this is an ever-growing field of interest with endless possibilities for advertising.

The basic form of any AI-generated art is derived from a prompt entered by the individual using the generator. This can be as specific or nonspecific as desired. You can specify descriptions with the style of art and aesthetic the user wants along with the exact elements, colors, etc., the image should contain. The system’s algorithm then takes that prompt and scours the internet to find images — a process called “scraping” — that will help it to develop options similar to your request.

Sourced images are scraped from all over the internet, including blogs, stock imagery sites, and news sites. It can be an invaluable tool when you’re looking for a precise image but can’t seem to find it anywhere among the copyright-free asset websites you subscribe to.

Something to note is that copyright issues may arise with AI-generated art in the future. It’s often unclear if what is being “scraped” is free for commercial use or is actually owned by someone. Some websites and apps use software that is trained to only search for copyright-free content. However, the technology is still imperfect and not implemented by all AI art systems. Currently, scraping is legal and protected under the “fair use” doctrine. Also, DALL-E 2’s terms of use and content policy say that “you may use Generations for any legal purpose, including for commercial use.”

AI-generated art will certainly be more common in the future, growing alongside the development of NFTs. These new segments of the digital art space breed myriad opportunities for artists and graphic designers alike. While nothing may be perfect yet, both are worth looking into for your business or marketing agency.

Are you interested in the future of AI-generated art? The 270M Design Team is always expanding its skills and knowledge of digital design. Reach out to us at info@thisis270m.com to learn more about what the 270M team can do for you.