Are Digital Sales Hurting Musicians Equally? Using Analytics to Answer Big Questions

To be sure, ours is an era marked by big data. Never before have everyday citizens, governments, companies, and journalists had access to such massive quantities of varied information. Against this backdrop, plenty of people are answering important and, in some cases, not-so-important questions.

For instance, should Las Vegas have received a new NHL franchise? No doubt that plenty of possibly inebriated people debated the topic across North America. What if, however, we could look at that query through the lens of big data and analytics? It turns out that, at least according to the 538 Data Lab, Vegas is a terrible place for a hockey team.

More than ever, data and analytics are collectively augmenting our understanding of trends and events. Another case in point: music. Ever since the birth of Napster, sales of physical music units have plummeted. In the last decade, thanks to legal digital music alternatives such as iTunes and Spotify–and no shortage of pirate sites–sales have continued their precipitous decline:

Still, it’s clear that certain artists have weathered the storm better than others. Exhibit A: Adele, the English singer and songwriter not yet 30 years old.

Consider the work performed by the folks at Analytics@American, an online Master’s in Business Analytics. They did some digging and discovered that her enormous fan base didn’t mind shelling out hard-earned money for physical copies of her albums. The charts below display her impressive album sales in this era of streaming music. Are album sales declining? Sure, but Adele has managed to routinely top the charts.

Click on the image above to view the Adelytics site. As the best contemporary data visualizations do, this one provides interactivity. It allows users to ask questions of the data within the page or app.

The benefits of increased interactivity run the gamut. As I write in The Visual Organization, media companies can keep readers engaged with their content for greater periods of time. Governments can provide greater transparency into their activities. Companies can minimize the irksome back-and-forth among employees and IT departments.

Simon Says

Make no mistake: Static bar charts and treemaps can certainly provide users, employees, and customers with visual insights.

If an interactive data visualization and analytics can answer questions about Adele’s music sales, then it’s fair to ask: What can’t they (at least in part) answer?

 

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Leak points to refreshed Roku devices sporting new names, HDR support

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Fitbit Charge 2 Fitness Smartband

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So the rumors have been confirmed, the new Fitbit Charge 2 and Flex 2 are here and they look quite like the leaked photos published by Technobuffalo two weeks ago!

Fitbit is the number one wearable vendor according to IDC and I could get my hands on the new Fitbit Charge 2 for the past few days. I have not yet tried it during a workout session and it will not happen any time soon since I am heading to IFA today.

The Fitbit Charge 2 is the successor of the Fitbit Charge HR, both devices provide continuous heart rate tracking – branded PurePulse Heart Rate. Basically, it looks like the San Francisco-based company merged the Surge and the Charge HR, added a new software and some new features.

The OLED display is four time larger than the previous Charge HR and the bands are interchangeable, so you can buy additional bands in leather or other colors. Despite the larger display, Fitbit managed to maintain a pretty long battery life of 5 days. For instance, I have worn the Fitbit Charge 2 since Thursday 4 pm and it is still on after 4 days and a half, at the time of writing this.
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Fitbit made the experience more personalized and enhanced the heart rate tracking for more accuracy. I tested it against a medical grade heart rate tracker placed on my finger, and the Charge 2 provided almost the same number, off by only 1 to 2 points.

Just like its predecessor, the Charge 2 is able to automatically recognize the type of exercise you engaged in, such as walking, running, outdoor biking, elliptical and more. The device tracks sleep automatically and provide your resting heart rate every day.

With the new software, you can select a workout among the following: run, weight, treadmill, workout, elliptical, bike, interval workout. And, when you select one option, by long pressing the button, you can access contextual data during the session, such as heart rate, calorie burnt, pace or distance. Fitbit made the whole experience more personalized.

Thanks to the connected GPS feature, that is available on the Surge and not on the Charge HR, you can connect the Charge 2 to the GPS on your phone, to see real-time stats such as pace and distance, and record a map of your route in the companion application.

The interval workout mode is a brand new feature, that will guide you in high-intensity exercise and rest periods – you enter a time for your active minutes and a time for your rest period, and the device will vibrate to indicate when you need to switch.

Another interesting new addition is the Cardio Fitness Level, an algorithm that aims to provide a Cardio Fitness Score, from the various data collected over time by the Charge 2 and the application.  For more detail on this, go to the product page.

Mindfulness is a hot trend nowadays, and Fitbit included a Relax feature that allows users to perform guided breathing sessions based on their heart rate. Sessions are offered in 2 minute or 5-minutee formats. According to Fitbit, breathing sessions can help reduce stress and anxiety and reduces blood pressure, and may even lower cardiovascular diseases risk.

Reminder  is a new addition that gently reminds to get up with a nudge when you have been sitting for too long.

Fitbit Charge 2 will be available in September and you can preorder today for $149.95 in black, plum, blue or teal. Two special editions, black/gun metal and lavender / rose gold, will be offered for $179.95. The Fitbit app is available for free both for iOS and Android.

Fitbit Charge 2 Fitness Smartband , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

3 Signs Your Thyroid Isn't Working Properly

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Your thyroid, the butterfly-shaped gland in your neck, has a mighty job: producing hormones that regulate nearly every system in the body, including metabolism, energy and brain function. But it’s also prone to go on the fritz. More than 12 percent of Americans will develop a thyroid disorder in their lifetime, but up to 60 percent of them won’t know it because the conditions are difficult to diagnose. The classic symptoms— sluggishness, weight loss, weight gain—can mimic those of chronic stress or other conditions and, as a result, can be overlooked by sufferers and their doctors. Don’t let that happen to you.

Thyroid Cancer

The chance of receiving a thyroid cancer diagnosis has tripled in the last 30 years, making this the most rapidly increasing cancer in America—and women are three times more likely than men to develop the disease. While doctors estimate that part of this increase is due to overdiagnosis (one type of thyroid tumor has recently been downgraded from cancer), some invasive cases are also on the rise.

How to spot it: Women diagnosed with thyroid cancer are usually in their 40s or 50s. It doesn’t always have noticeable warning signs, but you should see a doctor if you feel swelling or lumps in your neck or have trouble swallowing—and make sure your neck is examined at your annual physical.

To lower your risk: Lose weight. A recent study found that overweight people had a 25 percent higher risk of thyroid cancer; for those who are obese, the risk rose to 55 percent. The link is still unclear, but one possible explanation is that excess fat releases proteins that may contribute to tumor formation.

Common treatment: Removing the thyroid (some or all of it), followed by radioiodine therapy, a medication given in capsule or liquid form to destroy any remaining thyroid tissue and treat or prevent the spread of the cancer. For cases that don’t respond to radioiodine therapy (5 to 15 percent of patients), a new drug called lenvatinib has been shown to shrink tumors in nearly 65 percent of progressive cases, according to one clinical trial.

Hypothyroidism

This is the most common thyroid disorder, occurring when the gland doesn’t produce enough hormones and, as a result, metabolism slows.

How to spot it: Symptoms range widely, from frequent constipation, low energy levels and shortness of breath to weight gain, depression and hair loss. Your doctor can check your levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) using a simple blood test. (If TSH is high, thyroid levels are low.)

To lower your risk: Since some forms of hypothyroidism may be genetic, the best thing you can do is check your family’s medical history in case you need to be on the lookout for red flags.

Common treatment: Levothyroxine, a synthetic version of the thyroid hormone T4, regulates metabolism and steadies hormonal imbalances.

Hyperthyroidism

This condition occurs when your thyroid is hyperactive and speeds up metabolism.

How to spot it: Telltale signs include sudden weight loss, a fast and irregular heartbeat, excessive sweating, difficulty sleeping and more frequent bowel movements.

To lower your risk: Don’t smoke; lighting up is associated with a greater risk of Graves’ disease, the most common cause of hyperthyroidism in the U.S.

Common treatment: Radioiodine, which is given orally to shrink the thyroid and help get it back on track, is the first course of action. Make sure your doctor keeps tabs on your blood work—the substance will often cause you to underproduce T4, leaving you with hypothyroidism, which has fewer long-term complications.

Try this! Fill up on vitamin D. Deficiency of this vitamin has been linked to both hyper- and hypothyroidism. Fatty fish are the best food sources of D: One serving of salmon provides more than the recommended dietary intake for a whole day.

Mehmet Oz, MD, is the host of The Dr. Oz Show (weekdays; check local listings).

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.