DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS

THE FUSE

Smart cars, smart homes, smart devices… embedded intelligence has changed the way we live and redefined industry methodologies around the world. Connecting and empowering these devices puts skyrocketing stress on the IT teams that manage data centers.According to Wikipedia, ‘The Internet of things (IoT) is the inter-networking of physical devices, vehicles (also referred to as connected devices and smart devices), buildings, and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity which enable these objects to collect and exchange data.’Things, in the IoT sense, can refer to a wide variety of devices such as heart monitoring implants, biochip transponders on farm animals, electric clams in coastal waters, automobiles with built-in sensors, DNA analysis devices for environmental/food/pathogen monitoring, or field operation devices that assist firefighters in search and rescue operations.The Internet originated to connect people and has gone through numerous changes to keep up with the growth of the user base as well as today’s smart devices and apps that enable flexible, anywhere accessibility. People want 24x7 connections with all of their devices and data. While the Internet continues to connect more people every day, the profound growth of traffic hitting data centers stems from operator-less smart devices deployed in industrial environments.  Smart homes – Wouldn’t you love if you could switch on the air conditioning before reaching home or switch off lights even after you have left home? Or unlock the doors to friends for temporary access even when you are not at home. Don’t be surprised with IoT taking shape companies are building products to make your life simpler and convenient. The cost of owning a house is the biggest expense in a homeowner’s life. Smart Home products are promised to save time, energy and money.Wearables - Wearable devices are installed with sensors and software which collect data and information about the users. This data is later pre-processed to extract essential insights about a user. These devices broadly cover fitness, health and entertainment requirements.Connected cars - A connected car is a vehicle which is able to optimize its own operation, maintenance as well as the comfort of passengers using onboard sensors and internet connectivity. Most large auto makers, as well as some brave startups, are working on connected car solutions. Major brands like Tesla, BMW, Apple, Google are working on bringing the next revolution in automobiles.Smart cities - Smart city is another powerful application of IoT generating curiosity among world’s population. Smart surveillance, automated transportation, smarter energy management systems, water distribution, urban security and environmental monitoring all are examples of the internet of things applications for smart cities. IoT will solve major problems faced by the people living in cities like pollution, traffic congestion and a shortage of energy supplies etc.Agriculture - With the continuous increase in world’s population, demand for food supply is extremely raised. Governments are helping farmers to use advanced techniques and research to increase food production. Smart farming is one of the fastest growing fields in IoT. Farmers are using meaningful insights from the data to yield a better return on investment. Sensing for soil moisture and nutrients, controlling water usage for plant growth and determining custom fertilizer are some simple uses of IoT.IoT will increase data center storage demand by less than 3 percent. The Internet of Things (IoT) has enormous potential for data generation across the roughly 21 billion endpoints expected to be in use in 2020. This indicates that IoT can scale and deliver important data-driven business value and insight while remaining manageable from a storage infrastructure standpoint.







THE BIG SHOTS

'We are neither the customers nor even the product of companies like Google, but we turn our lives into the knowledge that they sell.'

The last decade has witnessed a fundamental shift in the digital industry and its role in shaping organizations for the future. Several large organizations have been trampled. Tech giants or startups, unrestrained by legacy infrastructures, are redefining the rules of competition.

Google, Facebook, and Amazon – who all in various ways use the data harvested from their users to make billions of dollars, from advertising or from direct selling, or from some combination of both. Their knowledge of our intimate lives doesn’t wait two centuries or more until we’re dead. They get it live, in real time. Sometimes they know our minds before we know them ourselves. It’s a situation quite unprecedented in history.

The product they’re selling is data, and we, the users, convert our lives to data for the benefit of the digital giants. Just as some ants farm aphids for the honeydew that oozes from them when they feed, so Google farms us for the data that our digital lives exude. Ants keep predatory insects away from where their aphids feed; Gmail keeps the spammers out of our inboxes. It doesn’t feel like a human or democratic relationship, even if both sides benefit.

The power and ambition of these companies is astonishing – Amazon has just announced the purchase of the upmarket grocery chain Whole Foods for $13.5bn.

‘’Lots of companies don’t succeed over time. What do they fundamentally do wrong? They usually miss the future. I try to focus on that: What is the future really going to be? And how do we create it? And how do we power our organization to really focus on that and really drive it at a high rate?" – Larry Page from Google.

Two years ago Facebook paid even more than that to acquire the WhatsApp messaging service, which doesn’t have any physical product at all. What WhatsApp offered Facebook was an intricate and finely detailed tracery of its users’ friendships and social lives. Facebook promised the European commission then that it would not link phone numbers to Facebook identities, but it broke the promise almost as soon as the deal went through. Even without knowing what was in the messages, the knowledge of who sent them and to whom was enormously revealing and still could be. What political journalist, what party whip, would not want to know the makeup of the WhatsApp groups in which Theresa May’s enemies are currently plotting?

"I literally coded Facebook in my dorm room and launched it from my dorm room. I rented a server for $85 a month, and I funded it by putting an ad on the site, and we've funded ever since by putting ads on the site." – Mark Zuckerberg in Charlie Rose interview.

However, the downside of digital giants like Facebook and Google includes the increase in fake news, political polarization, the dumbing down of debate and the long-term decline in print journalism as newspapers lose readers and advertising to these platforms. But a combination of problems with digital advertising – fraud, mismeasurement, and programmatic ad placement on undesirable sites – means that advertisers and traditional media are starting to push back.

By 2021, 20 percent of all activities an individual engages in will involve at least one of the top-seven digital giants. The current top-seven digital giants by revenue and market capitalization are Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent. This convergence means that any activity could include one of the digital giants. Mobile apps, payment, smart agents and digital ecosystems.

Most industry leaders find themselves at a crossroads, asking, ‘What will it take to win?

Road to AR

“People never learn anything by being told, they have to experience for themselves.” - Paulo CoelhoFirst coined in 1990 by Tom Caudell, a researcher at aircraft manufacturer Boeing, ‘augmented reality’ used to refer to a head-mounted digital display worn by aircraft technician to guide them in the assembly of electrical wires in aircraft.However, today augmented reality is defined as 'a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user's view of the real world, thus providing a composite view.’ Which means a view of the physical world in which elements are enhanced by a computer-generated input.Augmented reality has come a long way from a science-fiction concept to a science-based reality. AR is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. Instead of having a completely new landscape, the process gives ‘real life’ an added twist in the form of overlays projected onto the device. Different from Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality is based on ‘layering’ virtual objects onto the real world. Beyond Pokémon Go and Ingress, Augmented Reality has the potential to significantly contribute to our global economy in different industries as well as help advance fields that would prove beneficial for not just our security or health but as well as our human advancement as a whole. In a new interview with The Independent, Apple CEO Tim Cook offers a ringing endorsement of augmented reality—technology that layers digital information onto a user’s view of the real world. Cook states that augmented reality is preferable to virtual reality for many applications, because “most people don’t want to lock themselves out from the world...With AR you can, not be engrossed in something, but have it be a part of your world, of your conversation. That has resonance.” We’ve moved from digital products and infrastructure to digital distribution and Web strategy to now into more holistic transformations that clearly are based on mobile, social media, digitization and the power of analytics and we think it’s really a new era requiring new strategies.” - Saul Berman, IBMAR or augmented reality has gone from pipe dream to reality in just over a century.AR applications can become the backbone of the education industry. Apps are being developed which embed text, images, and videos, as well as real–world curriculums. With help of AR, travelers can access real-time information about historical places just by pointing their camera viewfinder to subjects. Location based AR apps are major forms of AR apps. Users can access information about nearest places relative to current location. They can get information about places and choose based on user reviews. Printing and advertising industries are developing apps to display digital content on top of real world magazines. AR is helpful in the development of translation apps that can interpret the text in other languages for you. With the help of Unity 3d Engine, AR is being used to develop real-time 3D Games. When this technology becomes more commonplace, even a novice might be able to do basic car repair – like checking fluid levels and replacing a filter. A pan may actually simulate the weight of the food as well interaction with it (flipping a steak over, for example) Burnt food may be a thing of the past, with everyone being able to do dry runs of a new meal before taking on the challenge.While none of these examples are ready for prime time just yet, one thing is clear; augmented reality is here to stay. The only thing that’s left to question is how long it will take technology to catch up to the concepts people have already imagined.Augmented reality still has some challenges to overcome. For example, GPS is only accurate to within 30 feet (9 meters) and doesn't work as well indoors, although improved image recognition technology may be able to help. Rendering digital data into meaningful graphics and scaling it to fit the perspective of the visual field. In mobile phones, augmented reality must work with limited processing power, a small amount of memory, and little storage. As for the 2D matrix cards, it depends on a webcam and computer, and it has become more of an illusion seen on the computer.Despite augmented reality’s hype, it is limited in its technology and has far to go to become an everyday tool. The challenges augmented reality faces include social acceptance, addressing privacy and becoming profitable for businesses to use it. The future will belong to AR when it improves task efficiency or the quality of the output of an experience for the user.There is an unlimited potential for AR, the big question is - how will it be unlocked?We should no longer be talking about ‘digital marketing’ but marketing in a digital world.

CONNECT AND CONVINCE 

Forged in a world of constant innovation, evolving platforms, and cutting-edge strategies, digital marketing has the unique luxury of endurance in the job market.

What is new in Digital Marketing? Everything.

Digital marketing is an umbrella term for all of your online marketing efforts. Businesses leverage digital channels such as Google search, social media, email, and their websites to connect with their current and prospective customers.

The reality is, people spend twice as much time online as they used to 12 years ago. And while we say it a lot, the way people shop and buy really has changed, meaning offline marketing isn’t as effective as it used to be.

Marketing has always been about connecting with your audience in the right place and at the right time. Today, that means that you need to meet them where they are already spending time: on the internet.

To accompany the four P’s of classical marketing, marketers would do well to install the digital four C’s around collaboration, conversion, culture and compensation.

Word-of-mouth marketing has always been important. Today it's more important than ever because of the power of the Internet. – Joe and Newt.

As consumers spend more time using the internet and less time with other channels – advertisers are also forced to follow this trend. The ads have to be there where the eyeballs are. Unfortunately, digital marketing is not as simple and straight forward as traditional marketing. Digital marketing is best done in-house and cannot be outsourced to a digital marketing agency for various practical reasons. This is the reason that digital marketing experts are sought after all over the world right now and the demand for such candidates will only go up in the future.

There are 6indispensable digital marketing skills-

·         Content Marketing:

Content as a digital marketing strategy is a deep well of career development. Not only are skills needed to create and distribute engaging content across a variety of platforms, but that content must be designed to attract a specific target audience and drive them to take a measurable action (like buying a tractor, for example).

·        Social Media Marketing:

Social media marketing is all about listening, networking, influencing, and yes – selling. It’s about taking a company’s content assets and making sure that the message is accessible, engaging, and translates across different channels.

·        Video Marketing:

Video marketing is one of the most powerful digital marketing strategies out there, and technical, analytical and creative know-how is in demand. Knowing how to leverage visual storytelling to strengthen emotional connections, engagement levels, and how it all fits in a content marketing funnel is a valuable skill set with some serious staying power.

·         Media Buying/Traffic Acquisition:

Media buying is the bread and butter of making money online, so companies invest a lot in this area of their business. A successful paid advertising strategy is key to making the wheels of ecommerce turn.

·        Testing & Optimization:

Testing and optimization specialists make sure that web pages convert and the call-to-action is taken. Businesses love it when conversions happen in high numbers!

·       Email Marketing:

Email marketing isn’t anything new, which speaks to its staying power.

This is another skill set that gets you very close to how a business is profitable, which means the more skilled the marketer, the more future-proof the career.

Digital marketing is the only fashion that never fades

Some brands heavily invest in technology based marketing innovations and then don't invest a single penny in promoting it. Then they call it a ‘Blunder’.

Unlike most offline marketing efforts, digital marketing allows marketers to see accurate results in real time. If you’ve ever put an advert in a newspaper, you’ll know how difficult it is to estimate how many people actually flipped to that page and paid attention to your ad. There’s no surefire way to know if that ad was responsible for any sales at all. On the other hand, with digital  marketing, you can measure the ROI of pretty much any aspect of your marketing efforts.

3 > 2

‘We see a huge value and a huge benefit in 3D Printing ‘ -Curtis Carson Airbus.

        ‘Imagine you're steaming across the Pacific Ocean on a container ship on a great circle course to the San
 Francisco sea buoy. The sea is confused and you've been running the ship's slow speed diesel
 engine hard to meet your ETA. The vibration reverberating through the hull gently trembling you to sleep when, without warning,
 the sound stops. Minutes later, the Chief Engineer calls to inform you that the PLS Dosage Pump supply valve has failed and your ship is now dead in the water, a seriously overpriced pontoon, until you can get the part to fix it. As Captain, you don't know what a PLS pump is but, from the grumpy tone of the chief's voice, you are sure he doesn't have a spare or any way of
making the complicated part in the ship's machine shop. Your shipment will be delayed, money and resources will be lost and the office will be calling soon on the satellite phone asking for answers.

But what if  you could make that replacement part yourself ?  Welcome to the 3D printing industry!’  - Will 3D printing change the world?

    What is 3D printing?

       3D printing or additive manufacturing is the process of making a three dimensional object from a 3D model or other electronic data source. Through additive processes, successive layers or material (paper or sheet, powder, liquid) are applied under computer control using a 3D printer (a type of industrial robot). 3D printable models can be created with a computer-aided design package or a 3D scanner.

   How does 3D printing work?

            One starts by designing a 3D project on a PC, connecting it to a 3D printer.Imagine baking each individual slice of bread and then gluing them together into a whole loaf. That's basically what a 3D printer does. It turns a whole object into thousands of tiny little slices, then makes it from the bottom-up, slice by slice. Those tiny layers,stick together to form a solid object. 3D printers can create moving parts like hinges and wheels,etc.

     3D printing is extensively used in aerospace and automobile,education, medical and commercial industries.

     In 2014, surgeons in Swansea used 3D printed parts to rebuild the face of a motorcyclist who had been severely injured. In the same year, a 5 year old girl, born without fully formed fingers on her left hand became the first child in the UK to have a prosthetic hand made with 3D printer. A chihuahua broom without front legs was fitted with a harness and wheels created with a 3D printer. In the previous year, Chinese scientists began printing ears, livers and kidneys with living tissues. Recently in May 2015, Airbus announced that its new Airbus A350 XWB included over 1000 components manufactured by 3D printing.

      Urbee is the name of the first supercar in the world mounted using the 3D printing technology. Nokia has released the 3D designs for its case so that owners can customise their own case and have it 3D printer. In 2016, are port said that BeeHex was building a 3D food printer for maned mission to Mars  Additive manufacturing of food is being developed by squeezing out food, later by layer, into three dimensional objects. A large variety of foods are appropriate candidates, such as chocolate and candy, and flat foods such as pasta. High fashion courtiers such as designing for Chanel, Iris Van, etc have employed and featured 3D printing in their collection. 3D printing is also used to make laptops and computers, jewellery and personalised models of art.

      In recent years, 3D printing industry has gone from cutting-edge novelty to a growing and popular industry for start ups like SOLS, Banneya, Makies, Food Ink, XJet, etc.

    

      Is it the next big thing?

          Yes. For a product designer or engineer, and architect, people from the automobile industry, etc. Like all new technologies, the industry hype is a dew years ahead of the consumer reality. It's an emerging technology which means, like home computers or smartphones, most people will be sceptical about needing one until everyone has got one and then we'll all wonder how we managed without it.

Scott Summit says,“3D Printing was initially a solution looking for a problem. With any world changing technology, it only matters once it actually does change the world”.

TYPES OF GAMERS

-A MEME AND POST COLLECTION-

!(BONUS LIST)!

THE CASUAL GAMER

Yes, we’ve retained this term, but its meaning is changed slightly. A casual gamer is not specifically somebody who plays “casual games”, if such things can be said to exist. Rather, a casual gamer has a casual attitude to gaming. It is something of a light hobby, used primarily to unwind and relax.

This person won’t really know very much about gaming, as they will not actively attempt to research anything.   Most of what they know is what they might pick up on by word of mouth (including what a friend might have said on Facebook). They are the equivalent of someone going to the cinema and watching whichever film "they heard was good".

THE SOCIAL GAMER

A social gamer is one who is motivated by connecting with other people through the medium of gaming.  Their gaming habits are determined by their social circle more than by what is generally popular in society.  These are, by and large, the kinds of people you will find almost exclusively playing multiplayer games ranging from first person shooters like Call of Duty, MMOs like World of Warcraft, MOBAs like League of Legends, and cooperative worldbuilders like Minecraft.  Any game with a strong online community is very attractive to them.

The distinguishing element between the casual and social gamer is not in the games they play, but rather in the motivations for playing them.  To use the movie example again, it is the person who watches a movie primarily because it is something their friends have seen or want to see.  Part of this is to not feel "out of the loop", but this can also be because they often share similar tastes with their friends and so they trust their judgement.

This kind of gamer is the primary player of a Call of Duty (or similar style) game but can also be the person playing a free to play game on Facebook or really any game where the focus is playing with other people rather than focusing on a single player experience.

 

THE SPECIALIST

We now move away from gaming as purely a hobby and more into a passion. The specialist gamer knows what they like.

What they like may be shooters, RPGs, MOBAs, strategy, platformers, or really any genre. It could be a specific developer or even a specific franchise.  It could even be just one single game.  What sets a specialist apart is the focus on getting the most out of their gaming experience.  They will trade variety over quality.  They are not looking to play every game, they are looking to truly and fully play every part of specific games.  

Nintendo has traditionally courted this kind of gamer with its long-running and caringly-developed franchises.  The person who played Super Metroid so much they can finish the game in less than two hours with everything.  The person who has logged hundreds of hours in every Animal Crossing game.  The person who spent the better part of a month breeding their Pokemon team to have the specific natures so they can be the very best.

THE EXPERT GAMER

The expert gamer is not specifically someone who is highly skilled at games.  Instead they are characterised by a wide range of tastes and a desire to enjoy new gaming experiences. They probably enjoy reading about games, researching games, and following the video game industry. Gaming is quite likely a topic of conversation in their group of friends.  Unlike the social gamer, however, their gaming habits expand beyond just what their friends play.  They try a little bit of everything and have their own tastes, rather than going along with the group.  They likely have strong opinions but also educated ones with facts and research to back them up.

The expert gamer enjoys reading gaming-related websites, posting on gaming forums, watching trailers and "Let's Plays".  They will likely spend more time researching a game before it is released than they will end up playing it once it is.  They devour game conferences (by watching them live or attending them in person) to be able to know about as many games as possible.

Compiled by

- Rtr Pratik Shah