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5 Ways to Stop Teddy Maynard

Called "The Ad LIbrary," Google is tracking political ads across its platforms to increase transparency. This is bad news for Teddy Maynard.

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5 Ways to Stop Teddy Maynard

On August 15th, 2018, Google finally published an archive of all the political ads across its platforms. Included in this report are results from Search and YouTube. Dubbed “The Ad Library,” Google is reacting to lawmaker’s insinuation that stricter laws could be passed if they don’t make a move towards greater transparency.

Good news for voters.

Bad news for Teddy Maynard.

The Brethren

Back in 2012, John Grisham published “The Brethren.”

Aaron Lake, a significant character, is a representative to Congress from Arizona.

He’s affable, good-looking, and well-connected in Washington DC. Everybody likes him, and he doesn’t make a fuss. However, he doesn’t seem to want to move up in the party at all.

That is until he meets Teddy Maynard.

In the world of “The Brethren” Teddy Maynard is the Director of the CIA. Although he suffers from ailments that plague him continually, Maynard is just as cunning and shrewd as ever.

Maynard is also worried about a specific political figure in a foreign land. Given he’s in charge of the Central Intelligence Agency, Maynard is aware of a great many things. The United States general population, however, is kept in the dark.

At the beginning of the book, there’s a presidential campaign that’s already underway. The front-runner is not someone Maynard is fond of. It has very little to do with the man’s personality and more to do with his politics.

This guy’s soft on foreign defense.

Maynard wants someone in the Oval Office who is tough...which is why he’s keen on Aaron Lake.

Lake is likeable, and with the right amount of money behind him, Lake could be the sleeper hit for the upcoming Presidential Election. All they need to do is find contributors and staff. With Maynard’s connections and a long list of favors, it’s possible. Difficult, but possible.

So Maynard sets off to disrupt the election.

I should mention “The Brethren” was published in 2012 before President Trump was elected. Before the accusations of Russian collusion. Maybe Grisham knew something?

Whether he did or not, Teddy Maynard presents an interesting scenario; The Director of the CIA who is messing with a federal election and no one being the wiser.

It’s 2018 now. Google’s launched their political ad archive. Should Teddy Maynard have tried to pull off his little covert plot, it would have been a lot more difficult.

Thanks to Google’s archive of political advertising and a recent report, here’s why.

The Ad Library tracks the money

Google’s Ad Library is logging ads that appear on its platforms, and this includes Search and YouTube. It’ll list who paid for the ads, a rough estimate of the cost to deploy the ads, and how many impressions each ad received.

For Teddy Maynard to start running ads now, someone is going to be watching him. Well, maybe not him.

Maynard’s plan was to get others to fund Lake’s campaign. He’s got the favors, and he’ll be cashing them in. In return, Lake gets a lot of money, really fast. These contributors can then run ads on behalf of Lake.

With the Ad Library and similar programs from other social media sites, all these contributors are listed. A swift uptick in spending on a candidate, like Aaron Lake, will catch someone’s attention.

Top Keywords

The concurrent report Google released with The Ad Library will list keywords. Specifically, keywords that advertisers are going after. These keywords are linked to demographics and critical audiences.

A watchdog agency or a very concerned public citizen could find that specific keywords are being targeted more than others. When this happens, Teddy’s going to get found out.

Spending by State and Congressional District

Beyond the keywords, there’s the spending by State and Congressional District.

For the battleground states or swing districts, Teddy will likely spend more money on advertising here. His goal is to garner more and more favor for Lake in these areas.

As the old saying goes “follow the money.”

This would be another way to catch on to Teddy Maynard and expose his evil scheme.

Only Federal Campaigns

As of this writing, The Ad Library is focusing on federal elections at this time.

Good news for Teddy, if he were trying to rig a state senate election or the election of a city. Though bad news for someplace like San Antonio. Someone could seize control of a smaller area without the ad archive tracking them.

However, Maynard’s going for the big one.

Issue Ads Not Included

While there are plenty of ads for and against candidates, there are also issue advertisements.

These issue ads, though sometimes annoying, are meant to raise awareness. Should Maynard seek to sway the public to vote on issues, this could still work for him. However, elections are increasingly about the person running for office and less about the issues.

Case in point, Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton.

This most recent presidential election was between two people whom both had rabid supporters and vengeful critics. Moreover, there were those people stuck in the middle who liked neither candidate.

Instead of talking about issues, the media focused instead on something else. The main topic in 2016 became “who is the better person?”

Not “what’s their stance on X?”

While their positions were part of the discussion, inevitably, it came down to who was liked more. If someone disliked both candidates equally, the question became who was less of a horrible person?

Both had their flaws, and some of those flaws got broadcast louder than others. Both had their skills and strengths. Ultimately, it was about which person was a better person.

When evidence surfaced that maybe someone, from outside the US, had been working to disrupt the election, things got worse.

Hence, the push for transparency in political ads.

Does Teddy Succeed?

While Teddy Maynard’s dubious plot to get Aaron Lake elected is a significant part of “The Brethren”, they are not the main characters.

The eponymous “Brethren” are three federal judges who’ve come to find themselves in federal prison. Each one has committed some crime, and as a result, they’re now serving time.

To pass the hours, and to earn money, they’ve taken to running a scam. This scam gets embroiled in Teddy Maynard’s scam. Only John Grisham could write something like this and make it entertaining.

I won’t ruin the ending, but rest assured, bad things happen and mostly to bad people.

Go pick up a copy of “The Brethren”.

You won’t be disappointed.

Greater Transparency

As mid-terms approach, politicians running for office, or running to keep it, are wary of someone messing with the election for the sake of disruption. While they work to manipulate voters and constituents, someone may be managing them. That's not a fun way to think of the next election.

The good news is that Google, along with other social media platforms, is pushing for more transparency. They’re digging into their advertisers to find where the money comes from and how many people are affected by it. With this knowledge, we’ll have a better idea of who’s getting involved.

While these moves may not erase disruption and manipulation, they will make it more difficult.

In the meantime, do your research into your favorite candidate. Also, pick up a copy of “The Brethren”. Who knows, you may find a real-life Teddy Maynard!

Moreover, check out the best Spectrum internet deals in your area while you’re at it. You’ll get to research the issues, the candidates, and save some money in the process.

For more news on Google updates, and book reviews, keep your browser open to On The Download.

4 Things to Know about Podcasts

The internet is full of information that’s fighting for your attention. The simplest ways to put your own content out there is to create your own podcast.

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4 Things to Know about Podcasts
The internet, although an amazing place, is full of information that’s fighting for your attention. One of the simplest ways to put your own content out there is to create your own podcast. And since there is an abundance of technology available, you can get a podcast up and running easily and quickly. To start one, however, it helps to have some guidance. Of all the podcasters out there and podcast experts, I spoke with James Carbary of Sweet Fish Media. James and I connected through LinkedIn some time ago and when it came time to research podcasting, his name naturally came to mind. I’ve also listened to a few podcasts of his and I must say, they are top-notch. Sweet Fish Media creates podcasts for business-to-business companies, saving them time, frustration, and money. While their focus is B2B podcasting, James did have insight and valuable information on how you can start your own podcast.

Business Vs. Individual Podcasting

Sweet Fish Media produces the B2B Growth Podcast, focusing on how B2B executives can achieve explosive growth. But James’s experience extends beyond just business podcasts. Twice a week he produces a show where it’s just him talking about topics he’s interested in. These podcasts allow him to be more vulnerable and open about what he cares the most about. James does enjoy getting to talk with guests and learn about their businesses. It’s these individual episodes, however, that he gets the most enjoyment out of. It can be the same for you and your podcast. When it comes to business, you’ll have the advantage of reaching out to your ideal clients and asking them to be guests on your show. It’s a solid way to build relationships with the people you want to do business with. They get free exposure and you get to learn more about them and their business. This will give you better insight into solving their problems. For those who want to create a podcast without guests, it’s still a great way to get your voice out there. You get a chance to discuss what you’re passionate about. If you have a small business, or it’s just you, podcasts are a cheap way to market your service or product. Podcasts, however, require a lot of work.

What are You Going to Talk About?

Before you get to publish your first episode, you’ll need to determine the goal and direction of the podcast. For a business, James said, this is straightforward; brand your show around your ideal client. Say your business is promoting better patient care practices in the healthcare industry. Your ideal client would likely be hospital administrators, head nurses, patient-care specialists. A good brand would be “providing best practices for the patient care professional.” From there you can reach out to your ideal client and ask them to be a guest on your show to ask their expertise on the podcast. The brand would provide the topic to cover. The podcast itself would be a great starting point to discuss what kinds of practices would be a better fit for their hospital. When it comes to the individual podcaster, this will be easy so long as you keep the goal and topic broad. Too specific and you could run out of things to say before your podcast gets traction. Another word of caution from James; If you’re looking to garner a large audience, strap in. It’s going to take a long time to build up the following you want.

How Often?

Getting to talk about the cool stuff you want to talk about is an appealing endeavor. Like I’ve mentioned before, it’s going to take time to get some traction for the podcast. For business podcasts, traction translates to return-on-investment. When you’ve targeted your ideal client, James says, you should see ROI soon. There’s no set number of episodes to gauge this. But if you’re focused and have done your guest outreach well, then ROI will come on its own. For the individual, it’s a little tougher to gauge traction. You may only be looking for a certain number of downloads a week. You may want to see a certain amount of traffic back to your website. A podcast is helpful for upping these metrics, but the biggest factor here is frequency. With so many podcasts out there, James says, if you’re not putting out a new episode at least once a week, then you’ll get lost in the crowd.

What Goes Into an Episode?

Creating a podcast doesn’t need to be complicated. Some podcasters record their voice and upload it. Others, like the podcasts produced by Sweet Fish Media, have teams create the intros and outros, the ads, the background music, and edit and mix the audio. The bare minimum would be to have an intro and an outro around your individual recording. This can all be done from your phone. Download a few apps and you’ll be ready to go. To have quality, however, you’ll need to write scripts, prepare an ad, figure out your guest list, confirm your guests, interview, edit, mix, and finalize. And that’s just a short list. As you can see, it takes some time. Even if you’re planning on just doing the bare minimum, you still need to have a set up in place for each episode. This takes time to create too. James has a checklist of 26 items for launching a podcast. You can find this list on his website. The general rule is the more time you put into it, the more professional it will sound. Be prepared to put in the time for this endeavor to work.

Anything Else?

The internet is full of information on how a podcast “should” be made. It’s up to you to decide what’s going to be best for you and your podcast. Instead of searching the internet for the “best” podcasting source, just pick one that speaks to you. Pick one thought-leader and stick with them. James Carbary is a great source of information for when it comes to creating a podcast. Given he’s been successful in launching multiple podcasts, I would say his experience speaks for him. As I’ve mentioned before, he has a 26-point checklist available on the Sweet Fish Media website to walk you through the process. There’s just too much information to cover here, like finding the right audio, picking the right mics, and on and on. That’s why I went to an expert!

Coming to a Podcast Near You!

For every successful podcast, there’s about a hundred—possibly a thousand–podcasts that don’t make it. By taking the time to read up on what’s required, not to mention getting prepared, will give you an advantage over the bulk of the competition. It also helps to have an honest conversation as to whether a podcast is a project you can take on right now. They are a lot of work. To get one up and running, and to sustain it, will take a lot of time too. When it’s done right, your podcast will be a valuable tool in expanding your outreach and creating content. And that’s why podcasts are awesome, not just for the content they create, but the relationships that they can build. So go out there and find a podcast that speaks to you, if you haven’t already. Stream and download with the best internet packages so you don’t miss an episode. And then one day it’ll be you creating a podcast that’s driving traffic and building relationships!

3 Superheroes Missing from the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Who hasn’t seen the latest Avenger’s Film? After ten years, Marvel’s Cinematic Universe is getting a shakeup. But Marvel is missing a few superheroes still.

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3 Superheroes Missing from the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Who hasn’t seen the latest Avenger’s Film? Not only does it mark ten years of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, it’s meant to shake it up. There is nothing wrong with the MCU that it needs a shake-up. To keep fans interested, however, things do need to change. This is a wise choice for Marvel, as things could get stagnant if they keep doing things the way they’ve always done them. It’s also a signifier of something else; getting too big. Marvel originally made comic books. The X-Men, Captain America, Spider-Man, Deadpool, and on and on. These series started out simple enough. As the stories progressed, it became more and more difficult for new readers to jump on and understand the depth of the story. Marvel’s Cinematic Universe is having the same problem. Iron Man, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, and Thor. These were the first four movies. If someone wanted to catch up on the entire MCU, it was only four movies. Then five movies. Another show here, another show there. But events in this show predate events in that movie. Who’s that person again? Now Marvel’s Cinematic Universe is big and unwieldy. Just like the comic books they were based on. Ironic, isn’t it? Yet, in this massive and expanding universe, there are a few things missing.

Alpha Flight

Our great neighbor to the north is also home to a mutant superhero team- Alpha Flight. This government-sanctioned group of costumed adventurers fought the biggest and baddest threats to Canada. Be they foreign, domestic, or other-worldly, Alpha Flight was there on the front lines to defend the good citizens of Canada. Since they were mutants, a lot of the Alpha Flight stories were tied to The X-Men. Given Wolverine was a Canadian, he was a prominent guest star. They also expanded beyond just him, which was nice to see. But characters like him, like Wild Child and Wyre, shared a common origin with him. There were also other “creations” of the Weapon X program were either allies or villains Alpha Flight had to face. Alpha Flight enjoyed a long run from 1982 to 1994. This was their best series as it had the most time to develop characters and arcs. Due to dropping subscriptions, Alpha Flight was canceled and didn’t see another ongoing series until 1997, 2004, and 2011. These series, though well written and beautifully illustrated, only last a short time. The third series made it two years while the latter series only lasted less than a year each. Given their involvement in dealing with the evil Weapon X program, it’s odd that they were not leveraged as much as they were for the films. And since Fox enjoyed using Wolverine so much for their horrible renditions of The X-Men, it’s a wonder they didn’t dig deeper and find someone from Alpha Flight to inject popularity into. All I’m saying is Canada is a popular filming location already. Why not give Alpha Flight its own movie?

The Incredible Hulk

He’s big, he’s green, he’s always angry. But when he’s not big, green, or angry, Hulk turns back into Bruce Banner. While Universal couldn’t keep Edward Norton as Bruce, I find it odd that they’d only do one standalone movie about him. Mark Ruffalo is a great actor too. To be relegated to some side character is a waste of his talent. There is also the waste of a good character. It’s easy to assume that all Hulk is good for is smashing things. That was not the heart of the character though. Stan Lee’s inspiration for the Incredible Hulk was mixing the stories of Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Frankenstein’s monster, though hideous and grotesque, was still a human being. Stan Lee argued that the only reason he was painted as bad was due to those ignorant villagers would get scared of him. When they’d get scared, they’d grab pitchforks and torches and chase him. Frankenstein’s monster was only defending himself. Then there was Dr. Jekyll. This brilliant scientist wanted to see if human nature could be divided. This might make it easier to be “good.” Of course, as these things go, the experiment backfired and we got two people in the same body. There was the mild-mannered and even-tempered Dr. Jekyll. Also fighting for control was the vengeful and manipulative Mr. Hyde. By combining these elements, we get the Incredible Hulk; a brilliant scientist who wanted to increase his own potential, instead creates a monster out of his anger that he must now find a way to control. The Incredible Hulk had so much potential to show a common ailment all people face- the anger within us that we want to give into. But when we do, all we cause is more destruction. This theme was explored in the comic books, but oddly enough, never touched on in the movies. And he’s still just “that big green guy” who pops in and out of other Avenger’s movies. What a waste.

Cyclops

Speaking of wasted characters, there’s the original team-leader of The X-Men, Cyclops. Many a novice would assume that it was Wolverine who was in charge, and they’d be wrong. Cyclops was the first team leader. And he was always the best. An original X-Men, Cyclops was there when Marvel started. In the movies, he was first portrayed by the amazingly gifted James Marsden. And even his skills were wasted too as they turned Cyclops into this stodgy character. It gets worse too. While he’s relegated to third string behind much weaker characters, he’s also turned into a simple caricature. Cyclops was so much more than that. He was a leader who felt the burden of ensuring the safety of everyone. Balancing that against the mission, and Cyclops was always having to make tough choices on the fly. Not to mention he was more powerful than most mutants. All he had to do was open his eyes to level an entire mountain. With this insane power, Cyclops had to learn restraint. As a result, he was forever worried about hurting people. You add that to leading a team into dangerous circumstances and it’s no surprise that he was always conflicted. To cope with this, Cyclops became a master tactician. He knew that better he was in the field, the better his team would be. The better the team, the better the odds everyone got to go home. This brief, and abridged, description of Cyclops is overflowing with story potential. And yet, I keep seeing movies about Wolverine. Or movies that have Cyclops in the background. Again, more waste.

Could There Be Hope?

Recently, Disney bought out most of Fox Entertainment's Assets. Will they right these wrongs? We may finally get to see Alpha Flight get their big screen debut. The Avengers model could be repurposed here. Each team member develops in their own arc. And every four years have a crossover movie with everyone showing up. Cyclops may get his chance in the limelight too. With other, lesser, superheroes getting their own movies, it should be Cyclops turn. Some of them good, some of them bad. The good ones have proven there is a right way to do it. Until that happens, I’ll make do by watching other films. Other heroes that I’m not so emotionally attached to. I get to do this by checking the best internet deals so I can stream them right to my living room. What superhero films are you waiting to see? Which superheroes aren’t getting their chance to shine?

4 Things to Know About Data Science

Data science is a growing field with rich opportunity. But what is it? And how can it be applied to nearly eveyr industry?

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4 Things to Know About Data Science
Back in 2011, Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill starred in the superb and underappreciated film, Moneyball. Based on Michael Lewis’ book of the same name, Moneyball explained how the poorest team in Major League Baseball, the Oakland Athletics, used data science to create a team. And not just any team, a team that went on a win streak of 20 games. The method to their madness, dubbed Sabermetrics, was a unique approach to analyzing data. Sabermetrics, at its heart, was taking large data sets and deciphering meaning from them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpBcwGOvO80 This is data science. For the longest time, Sabermetrics was looked down upon by the baseball elite. After the 2005 Boston Red Sox and the 2018 Houston Astros incorporated it into their strategies, it’s now considered a legitimate method for constructing a team. It’s not localized to the MLB though. Industries, far and wide, are opting to delve into data analysis. Through the thoughtful interpretation of these large numbers, data scientists are helping companies run more efficiently and solve problems. There’s more to data science than just looking at numbers.

It’s an Effective Means of Creating Positive Impact

In 2008 the housing bubble burst. This crisis expanded out beyond those in real estate. Marketing companies to restaurants felt the pinch here. The US economy, as a whole, went into a downturn. The Austin Technology Council, a peer group representative of technology companies in and around Austin, TX, was struggling. In 2009 there came a moment. The board was on the fence over whether to continue their mission or to dissolve the council itself. It was decided to put the vote on hold while the council performed an Economic Impact Study. The goal of the study was to find out if technology companies in the area were having any real effect at all. If the effect minimal, then the choice was clear. Through surveys, research, and of course, analysis, data was collected and handed over to data scientists. The data scientists were tasked with digging through the numbers and determining which pieces were relevant and which were not. They were crunching numbers in order to answer a question; can you measure the impact of a specific industry, like technology, in a given area. The answer was yes. To the tune of roughly $19,000,000,000. That’s $19 billion. Billion with a B. Thanks to the hard work of these data scientists, the ATC decided to remain in business and to focus its efforts on growing the tech community in Austin. This Economic Impact Study was part of the reason Austin has become known as the burgeoning center for technology. If other areas, say San Antonio, was to perform similar economic impact studies, it could set off a rebranding in that area as well. To do this, however, there is a need for data scientists who are qualified to figure out the data.

Data Science is a Reliable Field

Data science has been around for a long time. The reason it’s growing now is that of all the ways companies can capture data. With this uptick in data acquisition, there’s more data to analyze than there are people to analyze it. Companies will never stop gathering data. The practices and procedures may change, but there will always be data. And where there’s data, there is a need for a data scientist.

It’s a Growing Field

Every month LinkedIn reports on the state of the US workforce. It’s a monthly report that explains trends in hiring and retention, as well as providing the numbers to back it up. For August 2018, the Workforce Report stated a skills gap when it came to data scientists. In 2015, there were more data scientists available than there were jobs for them to fill. Now there’s a deficit in the United States of qualified data scientists. A deficit of 151,717, according to LinkedIn. Other sources state the field of data science will grow by as much as 20% by 2020. Good news for those who are interested in collecting data.

More Industries are Getting into Data Analytics

With companies growing and striving to compete in a more digital world, data is the main tool they focus on. This is where data scientists come in. It doesn’t matter if the company sells shoes, baseball bats or software, there will be data to analyze. Thus, a data scientist could enter almost any industry and find a place to apply their skills. Companies need to be able to look at all the numbers they’ve collected and make meaning out of it. Thus, the hard skills of knowing how to think critically, code, and math are a key advantage when it comes to finding a job. Just as important as the hard skills are the soft skills. Being able to communicate is always a deciding factor. Communicating the data in a meaningful way for those who may understand it is difficult. Those who can do it without alienating others will find their jobs secure and a certain degree of prestige. One could argue that knowing how to analyze data is enough. But think of it this way; Steve Jobs was brilliant. He was also exceptionally hard to work with. We don’t need another Steve Jobs. We do need brilliant people though.

The Benefits of Data Science

Applying data science is another difficult aspect of the job. Just being able to analyze the numbers and break down what they mean is not enough. A good data scientist applies that knowledge to solving the problem. They may even be able to spot a problem before it becomes too big of an issue. Most of the time, however, data science is the steady application of analyzing data. Then adjusting to changes in the industry. When its done right, and consistently maintained, amazing things can happen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK1jtVhimPA

More than Just Baseball

While it’s easy to point to Sabermetrics, and Moneyball, data science has applications far beyond baseball. And not just to the business world either. Data scientists do the hard job of culling useful stuff from dense information. Even here, at Bundle Your Internet, we’re analyzing data to find the best internet deals. There is someone always checking spreadsheets to make sure we’re not missing something. It’s not easy. If it were, then this writer would have probably gone into data science. Given my father did heavy research, which involved statistics, it wouldn’t be hard to see me going into some data-rich field. I didn’t do well with math though. There was always something to trip me up and I would get increasingly frustrated when it came to anything involving numbers. The issues only got worse when I got to high school. There, in the first semester of my freshman year, I flunked Algebra I. I had to work overtime to pull out a B for the second semester and average out the year to a C. Now I have a healthy respect for math. Better than that, I understand something about myself- I ain’t good at the maths. When I made it to college and majored in Art, I assumed I would be free of my own nemesis. Come to find out, however, that I still had to pass one college-level math course to complete my degree. Knowing that math was not a friend of mine, I went to the tutoring center every day to make sure I understood what I was supposed to do. And when finals came around, I studied for two days before my college algebra final. And I passed with a B! Now I can’t recall a single equation I learned. I just passed it. That’s all I care about. So I’ll stick to my words and leave the hard math to those who are interested in such endeavors. If math is something you enjoy, and not words, then look at data science. It’s sure to be a rewarding career. But you do have to ask yourself, what’s better; working with words or working with numbers?

4 Pros and Cons of Google Coach

Google is already working on a grammar checker for their Google Docs, and displaying data in all their searches. Now Google is rolling out Google Coach.

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4 Pros and Cons of Google Coach
Google is already working on a grammar checker for their Google Docs, and displaying data in all their searches. Now there’s news that Google is improving upon their fitness tracking app. Called Google Coach, this app is supposed to be a vast improvement over their Google Fit. Given Google Fit didn’t do so well, there’s a lot of room above that bar. It’s also another sign that Google is continuing to compete against Apple. The Apple Watch, Apples wearable timepiece/mini-iPhone/digital assistant, has already launched. As with most Apple products, it’s gaining in popularity. There’s even a special Nike+ edition. I’m not sure what makes it so special as you still need to download the Nike+ app to enjoy the benefit. But Google’s keeping pace. They’re set to roll out this new app to go with their wearable watch. It’ll integrate into their Wear OS and be able to provide a bevy of perks.

What You’ll Get

The Google Coach app is the typical fitness app. You’ll get to plug in your vital stats and it’ll track your heart rate and calories throughout the day. Google will also draw on other data from your footprint in Google to round out the data. While I’m sure this will be helpful, I’m sure it won’t be that easy. There will still be that initial set up where you punch in a bunch of information and answer questions. It will also come with notifications. To keep from being annoying, developers have mentioned the notifications will be “conversational.” Meaning they’ll be batched together and delivered only a few times during the day. There’ll also be suggestions. Suggestions on workouts, what to do in case you miss a workout, and meals. The suggestions will also be rolled into the batched notifications. While this sounds all well and good, Google could learn from the mistakes of others. These improvements, though helpful, are not without their drawbacks. Here’s four of them.

Wearable Technology

Wearable technology is a growing field these days. Since smartphones are loaded with ample storage and apps to “enhance” everything, technology companies are looking for the next gadget to pioneer. Enter the smartwatch. While cellphones did need a boost in intelligence, watches were already pretty smart. In fact, analog watches require more deductive reasoning to tell the time. This may sound like too much work, but studies have shown analog dials increase cognitive ability. Given technology is getting smaller and smaller, and faster and faster, it made sense to start packing technology onto your wrist.

Pros

You always have a helpful friend with you. Though small, these smartwatches can help track your health. Instead of leaving it to chance, you’re able to see your daily activity and adjust accordingly.

Cons

There’s something always watching you. These watches will track you all the time. On days when you’re sick, or just don’t feel that active, they’ll track that. Then they’ll remind you about it later. I’m all for healthy living. Part of that means taking a day to rest. And sometimes you need a mental break as well. For me, that means vegging out in front of the TV.

Notifications

These little dings, bleeps, and warbles are there to remind us when something comes in. It’s no different from a co-worker who walks up to let you know the meetings about to start. Or your kids reminding you they’re hungry.

Pros

The little dings keep us from forgetting important things. Maybe not every sound. But I count on my smartphone—and by extension, my smartwatch—to keep me up to date. I’m constantly setting reminders for myself. I’ve learned through plenty of errors that my own memory is not the most reliable.

Cons

You get harassed. A fitness app may mean well, but when it goes off at the end of a long day, it’s not helpful. That is the worst time to remind me “to reach your exercise goals.” Do we need another app to do that?

Suggestions

There are notifications, which remind you to do something. Then there’s suggestions, helpful hints to accomplish a goal. These aren’t ironclad directions. But they could help.

Pros

Figuring it all out on your own is hard. Every time I’ve decided to start a work out regimen, there’s always the question “what am I going to do?” Then follows “how often?” And “what time?” Suggestions help to figure out the right steps to take. I don’t have to research as much then. Which saves me time.

Cons

They can be condescending. Yesterday I ran four miles. I was proud of myself. I reached my exercise goal and then some. This morning I get a “suggestion” that I should work out because I was doing so well yesterday. That was yesterday. Today I’m tired from the workout and need a break. I don’t need a condescending “suggestion” to go work out.

Integration

Google Coach will undoubtedly work with other apps and features of a smartwatch. Google’s apps do a decent to good job of that across multiple platforms.

Pros

When it comes to a workout, all that technology can make it more difficult. I’ve noticed that cutting down on all the stuff I carry makes my workouts more enjoyable. I’m carrying less weight and it’s an excuse to get away from technology for a while. I keep my iPod mini and my smartwatch and that’s it. It’s nice…when it works.

Cons

When it doesn’t work it is beyond frustrating. Most of the time the apps work the way they’re supposed to. But when they don’t work, they do so at the worst time. The other day I was just about to start running. I opened the appropriate app and pushed start. Nothing happened. I pushed again. It still ignored me. I’m all dressed up for a workout and I’m wearing the stupid watch too. If I’m going to take it with me, it’s going to do its job. Or else I’m just carrying dead weight. Thanks to my frustration I ran a little harder that day and put up my best time in recent months. But running angry isn’t a good way to train for a half-marathon. If the app is supposed to streamline functionality, then it should streamline functionality. Any glitches or bugs need to be resolved quickly or else the smartwatch, along with the app, is useless for what it’s meant to do.

Getting in Shape

Ever since getting a smartwatch, I have noticed I’m more inclined to go for a run. While running I’m constantly checking my progress. This may not be the best use of it, but it distracts me. If run without it, I’m more likely to let the monotony of running get to me. This isn’t a theory, I’ve experienced it. Hence, why I’m okay with a smartwatch on my wrist and why I’m okay constantly checking it. The running is to clear my head for work. The watch is to distract me from the monotony of running. And my burning legs. When I get home, I ice my knees. During that time I pull out my phone and check my progress on my app. If it’s been working then it’ll be a pleasant experience. If not, I’ll grumble through trying to fix it. With a high-speed connection, I’m able to get through this process quickly. Make sure you have a good high-speed connection as well. Check out the best internet deals, and take one more worry off your plate. As for Google Coach, you’ll have to wait for the fall for it to roll out. But if they’ve learned from Apple, then it’ll be a better product to use. Only time will tell. Until then, are you training for something? What’s the best app to use for your workouts?