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Spotifys new ad campaign pokes fun at listeners' 2016 music choices
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The new campaign called Thanks 2016, Its Been Weird will be Spotifys largest advertising campaign across the world, heading into 14 different markets. - photo by Herb Scribner
Spotify is saying goodbye to 2016 by acknowledging how weird the year has been.

The new campaign called "Thanks 2016, Its Been Weird" will be Spotifys largest advertising campaign across the world, heading into 14 different markets, according to Ad Age Creativity.

Billboards with snarky, localized comments make up the bulk of the campaign. Already people in the United States and overseas have seen these billboards pop up, and the results have been hilarious.

For example, one billboard reads, "Dear person who played Sorry 42 times on Valentines Day, what did you do?

Another says, Dear person in LA who listened to the Forever Alone playlist for 4 hours on Valentines Day, you OK?

The billboards are also localized. In the U.K., Spotify released this gem: Dear 3,749 people who streamed 'It's The End Of The World As We Know It' the day of the Brexit vote, hang in there."

Meanwhile, in New York: "Dear person in the Theater District who listened to the Hamilton soundtrack 5376 times this year, can you get us tickets?"

Spotify CMO Seth Farbman told Creativity that the campaign grew out of last years Year in Music campaign, which showed users what songs they had listened to during 2015.

Farbman said he wanted this years campaign to reflect culture.

"There has been some debate about whether big data is muting creativity in marketing, but we have turned that on its head," he said. "For us, data inspires and gives an insight into the emotion that people are expressing."

Of course, not everyone has found it so funny. Kirsty Mayor of The Independent called the streaming services campaign creepy, voyeuristic and a little bit mean. She also had some choice words for Spotify. We decided not to link to the article because of the mature language.

But overall, people on social media seemed to find the campaign hilarious.
Its toxic: New study says blue light from tech devices can speed up blindness
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A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers. - photo by Herb Scribner
It turns out checking Twitter or Facebook before bed is bad for your health.

A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers.

That process can lead to age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the researchs extract.

Blue light is a common issue for many modern Americans. Blue light is emitted from screens, most notably at night, causing sleep loss, eye strain and a number of other issues.

Dr. Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said our constant exposure to blue light cant be blocked by the lens or cornea.

"It's no secret that blue light harms our vision by damaging the eye's retina. Our experiments explain how this happens, and we hope this leads to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new kind of eye drop, he said.

Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that often affects those in their 50s or 60s. It occurs after the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Those cells need retinal to sense light and help signal the brain.

The research team found blue light exposure created poisonous chemical molecules that killed photoreceptor cells

"It's toxic. If you shine blue light on retinal, the retinal kills photoreceptor cells as the signaling molecule on the membrane dissolves," said Kasun Ratnayake, a Ph.D. student researcher working in Karunarathne's cellular photo chemistry group. "Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye. When they're dead, they're dead for good."

However, the researchers found a molecule called alpha-tocopherol, which comes from Vitamin E, can help prevent cell death, according to Futurism.

The researchers plan to review how light from TVs, cellphones and tablet screens affect the eyes as well.

"If you look at the amount of light coming out of your cellphone, it's not great but it seems tolerable," said Dr. John Payton, visiting assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Some cellphone companies are adding blue-light filters to the screens, and I think that is a good idea."

Indeed, Apple released a Night Shift mode two years ago to help quell blue lights strain on the eyes, according to The Verge. The screen will dim into a warmer, orange light that will cause less stress on the eyes.