Facebook is planning to introduce mass sponsored messages on its Messenger app. Messenger bots have proved to be popular among businesses and these bots are likely to drive conversations and conversions on the Messenger app. If customers will recieve it well is another story to speculate. #ai #marketing #social
Chrome will soon support WebVR, which means more people will be able to experience virtual reality right on their browsers. As Chrome has a marketshare of 72.5%, this will help to democratize virtual reality, which often requires fancy devices to be experienced. #AI #VR
It was the talk of the town when IBM launched its AI software Watson. Now, Watson can be used to create better semantic targeting for native advertising. All this is going to happen thanks to IBM integrating ADYOULIKE with Watson. Read more about this here. #marketing #ad #ai
There was a time when we thought exoskeletons would be the last of what we would hear, when it came to wearable technology. Now, there are underclothes to detect how you feel, and even a skin that you can wear. How far can we possibly go, and is it really the right thing we are doing? Wearable technology is a great way to solve many problems. Most importantly, it has the ability to enable the disabled, and monitor and treat the unwell. It also has the ability to help you stay healthy. With all these benefits, there is also a dark side to it. How far can we take technology and is it really wise to put up so much of information about ourselves, and our bodies up there in the cloud? The answer to this question, like for many others are, is it depends. We need to consider the strides made in wearable technology, partly due to artificial intelligence. A day may come when our bodies will no longer be just flesh and bones. It would consist of flesh, bones and chips. Chips and circuits that are flexible and bendable may become part of the first skin that can be worn. Another application is, apparently, to turning your skin into a touch screen. The more we read into wearable tech, the more mind-boggling and surreal it gets. Yet, it is not stopping anywhere and is only likely to grow. So no matter how we feel about this new reality, it is a reality that we must come to terms with. It is not easy to predict how far wearable technology will go, but there are a few things that we can consider, to keep ourselves safe. Choose only products you trust There are a lot of products out there, that make use of wearable technology. It is not possible to verify the credibility of each of these products. While security issues lurk, there is also the issue of allergies. Many people seem to develop allergies to materials from which wearable tech products are made. It is important to choose companies that take this matter very seriously. Apple Watch is one such example, which of course, is not allergic when you wear. A good idea is to choose products from companies that are well-known and reliable. Ask yourself if it is necessary Most of the times, we purchase products that we do not need. Like the aforementioned underclothes that read your emotions, there are many products which may not be very urgent to many people. Consider what your needs are and invest in wearable tech products that actually bring a positive change in your life. You need to understand that most wearable tech may not be needed for you at a given time. Speak with your healthcare providers if a product is necessary. Purchase only those. Otherwise, you might simply wear gadgets that collect information about your body, and may not really be useful to you in anyway. Practice safe storage There are times when people share their wearable gadgets with others. This isn’t a very good practice. Secondly, it is important to set the privacy controls for your gadget (if that is possible). Third, you need to know that all technology comes with a security risk, wearable tech including. For this reason alone, there needs to be extra caution while using these devices. You do not want everyone to know what your health issues are. Accept the changes in the world A lot of changes are taking place in the world. One of them includes wearable tech. We have come a long way from thinking future wearable tech would look only like exoskeletons. While exoskeletons continue to help the disabled, there are many other ways of using wearable technology. Some can be inserted into tissues, while others can be worn on the body, like clothes. These changes are inevitable and it will probably determine how we will live in the future. We need to accept the inevitable. After all, it is only when we become adaptable do we survive. If it requires us to use wearable tech, we just have to. Look forward to an exciting new future We need not look at wearable tech as something scary from George Orwell’s novel 1984. To most of us, wearable tech seems to be an exciting way to embrace all the goodness that technology has to offer. It only creates possibilities. While one can retain the option of not wearing them, if it helps in certain health conditions, there is no reason why you shouldn’t. Moreover, it might soon become your doctor’s prescription to wear technology. That day isn’t too far. As long as we embrace new technologies, we will be in an easier position to adapt to future situations. Summing up Certainly, wearable technology is one of the hotly-discussed topics of today. There does not seem to be any sign of the movement growing slower. With an ever increasing need for alternative treatments, and to push forward towards a more healthy body, wearable technology could be the next big thing. Combined with artificial intelligence, wearable tech is already revolutionizing the world. We can take a few steps to accept this new reality, whether we like it or not. First of all, we need to ask ourselves if we want to wear whatever wearable tech we are planning to wear. The second question we need to ask is, if we really want it. Next, we need to learn to protect data security. There are many ways to do this, when it comes to wearable tech. Next, we need to accept that the tectonic shift toward wearable tech has already taken place. The only thing we are yet to do is embrace it wholeheartedly. By embracing it, we will open ourselves to new opportunities, and that is certainly a good way to build our future. Have you considered using wearable tech? What are your opinions on this matter?
Qt Unveils Lightweight IoT Development Framework Software development is going to get a lot faster and lightweight, thanks to Qt Company, an open source tools provider. The company’s Qt Lite Project helps developers to streamline building IoT-enabled software for a variety of industry verticals. Developers can start with a minimal deployable configuration and add features as they develop their app. #IoT #developer Microsoft Claims Its Speech Transcription AI Is Better Than Humans Transcriptionists may soon be out of job, if Microsoft is to be believed for its new claim. The company today announced that its speech transcription AI is better than human professionals over phone calls. This is being touted as a huge milestone for speech recognition and may have significant commercial ramifications. #ai Russian Company Brings Facial Recognition Tools to Businesses Facial recognition tools are going to get bigger, thanks to NTechlab’s FindFace.Pro service. The service is being targeted at malls, casinos and concert venues, where lots of people gather and tracking people individually is difficult. Businesses in malls can provide customized service at malls, while security professionals will be able to manage crowds better. #ai Facebook Analytics for Apps Announces New Push Notifications Facebook Analytics for Apps is going to get better very soon. The social media giant announced that it would be bringing push campaigns to all businesses, which enable them to remind users that the app still exists, when it remains unused for a long time. The update also brings in-app notifications, which may help businesses to communicate with their users in a better way. #marketing Instagram Stories Finds a Larger Audience Instagram is bringing Stories to a larger audience, and this might be of interest to marketing departments. When users open up Explore, they will now find a ‘suggested stories’ section, which lets users to browse through random Instagram Stories tailored to their interests. If you are running a marketing campaign using Instagram Stories, expect to become more visible. #social
Skype’s Linux App Gets Video Calling If you are the kind of person who disavows proprietary operating systems and encourages open source OS, then Linux might probably be what you’re using. Skype’s all-new app also features video-calling in its recent update. This will come as a relief to Linux users. #app Vimeo Features Video Loops on User Profiles Vimeo is not only used by video content creators but also by digital marketing departments. Vimeo has now announced fresh updates to users’ profile pages, one of which is the ability to choose a cover video that loops silently on top on the profile page. This could be great for video content marketing campaigns. #digital Google’s Travel App Tells You When to Book Cheap Flights and Rooms Google’s travel app now allows you to check when the best time to book cheap hotel rooms and flight tickers is. This new feature is expected to help millions of people who are expected to travel this holiday season. The update also lets you check for alternative routes at cheaper prices. #app Google’s AI Platform Can Now Learn from Its Own Memory Differential Neural Computer (DNC), Alphabet’s hybrid system, uses existing data storage capacity to pair with smart AI. What this really means is, Google’s AI platform can now learn from its own memory, with no human input, just like humans learn. AI is becoming quite intimidating already, probably? #ai Publish Your Win32 App on Windows Store Now If you were wondering if you can ever publish your Win32 apps on the Windows Store, you can now heave a sigh of relief. Microsoft is now accepting submissions for ported apps to be published on the Windows Store. Evernote is one of the first Win32 apps to be ported. Would you be the next? #developer
Forget Allo, Use Signal Instead If Google’s Allo scared you away with its less-than-secure record keeping practices, you can use Signal on your desktop now. Praised by Edward Snowden and other whistleblowers and security experts, Signal has been available on iOS and Android as a highly encrypted service. Now, the app can be used on desktop too. #apps Dynamics CRM to Feature Smart Assistant If your company uses Dynamics CRM as the main customer relationship management software, you can now look forward to a mobile-friendly relationship assistant. Microsoft announced the feature soon after Salesforce announced it was bringing AI to its Sales Cloud. The AI-fueled assistant will notify Dynamics users if there is any action they should take. #crm #AI WeChat Announces Apps within an App WeChat, Tencent’s popular chat application will now feature web apps within the app. This will help users to avoid installing apps to perform various functions. Developers can now work with video, GPS, WeChat pay and other APIs within the app. Only time will tell if the ‘app within an app’ concept will work or not. #development Facebook Apologizes for Displaying Skewed Video Metrics Facebook admitted that a key metric of its video viewership was erroneously being displayed in an amplified manner. The metric for average user time on videos was displayed incorrectly, misleading users to believe the videos were viewed for much longer. This revelation may affect Facebook’s reputation in the area of video advertising. #digital #marketing Cisco and Salesforce Team Up on CRM, IoT and Cloud Cisco and Salesforce are coming together to develop new services in IoT and CRM. Both the companies want to complement each other with this new partnership and offer more integrated solutions to customers. This includes a number of cloud-based solutions too. #corporate #crm #IoT #cloud
Tumblr Adds Support to Live Photos Tumblr has added support for Apple’s animated image format ‘Live Photo’. This means, users can play around with GIF images using their iPhones. Tumblr is expected to bring this to Android devices soon. If you had been looking for a slick way to get your images on Tumblr, things got much easier now. #social 2. SalesForce Announces Its AI Initiative SalesForce has just announced its artificial intelligence initiative, rightly named SalesForce Einstein. It isn’t exactly a product but includes a number of components that SalesForce aims to bring to its CRM. This is one company that always gets things right. #crm #ai 3. Netflix to Keep 50% Programming Original Netflix seems to be changing its business model. Initially, it brought mostly licensed content to its platform. Now, it seeks to host 50% of original content and programming in the next few years. Could this mean we will no longer be able to watch our favorites shows and movies on Netflix, unless its produced by Netflix? That’s probably not the case. Read on. #content #corporate 4. Snowden Warns You Not to Use Allo While Allo has received accolades for bringing artificial intelligence to chatting, Google’s latest app has not impressed whistleblower Edward Snowden. He termed the app as dangerous and warned users not to use it even once, in a series of Tweets. This man sure has something to say every time there is a threat to security. Should we be worried about using Google’s Allo? #app #ai #security 5. Oracle Teams Up with Maharashtra Government in India Oracle is teaming up with the Government of Maharashtra to launch Smart City Centre of Excellence. The idea is to create a robust IT infrastructure that can be used for government projects and services for citizens. This is one smart move by Oracle to retain its position in India. #egovernance
iPhone 7 Has Just The Perfect Display iPhone 7’s LCD display has passed a display test with flying colors. Setting a performance record, iPhone 7 has the highest contrast ratio, brightness, contrast rating, and lowest screen reflectance among all smartphones. However, iPhone 7 has also received negative news for making a hissing noise, audio software issues, and getting scratched too easily. #mobile Intel & GE Make Trains Super Brainy GoLinc platform powered by GE and Intel is turning freight trains into powerful mobile data centers. These smart trains provide processing, wireless communication, data storage, and video capabilities to improve operations, fuel efficiency, and horsepower. If you thought trains were far removed from the digital revolution, think again. #corporate #data Yelp Embraces Developers With Fusion Yelp is giving developers way more access to its API content and data with its Fusion program. The program focuses on bringing local content to more apps and gives a resounding proof of its competitiveness against Foursquare, Google and others. Yelp has finally realized it needs more developers on its side now than ever before. #apps #social Microsoft Bids To Root Out Cancer Microsoft is employing machine learning techniques to analyze tumors and design new medication regimes for doctors. It is further working on projects like creating biological cells to fight cancer and using AI to analyze CT scans of tumors. It sounds impressive but Microsoft is certainly not the only one in this quest. #ai Landlords Look Toward Outsourcing to Assist Tenants Landlords are looking toward outsourcing to help improve living conditions of tenants in Australian cities, according to a study by CBRE. While outsourcing was once looked at as a money-saving technique in the past, landlords are increasingly using it to provide concierge services to their tenants. After all, tenants are customers too, and it is no longer just about signing the lease agreement. Childcare, health and well being, and other services are being outsourced to make tenants’ lives easier. #outsourcing
Oracle Is All Bombast after Launching IaaS Data Centers Oracle’s Larry Ellison claimed Amazon’s lead in the cloud business is over, because Oracle just released its second generation IaaS data centers. Fanciful as it might sound, dramatic claims such as these have a PR value, and declarations such as these get written about quickly. Larry sure knows how to grab some headlines. Will Oracle’s IaaS solutions outpace Amazon’s products? Only time shall tell. #corporate #cloud Google to Launch AI-powered Chat App Google is soon going to release Allo, an AI-powered chat application that lets you call people in your contact list. What sets this app apart is, it makes use of expression tools and helps you co-ordinate with your friends and family easily. Will people warm up to yet another chat application, even if it is AI-powered? #apps #AI Google Launches Trip Management App Google has released a new app to manage your trips and travels, and it is available on iOS and Android. Google Trips helps you book plane tickets, make hotel reservations and even guides you around the town you are visiting. You can download most of the content, allowing you to use it online and avoid international roaming charges. #apps DropBox Sneaking Into Mac Computers? DropBox is apparently using a dirty trick to gain access to Apple Mac OS X computers. SQL databases are being tampered by DropBox to access Mac OS X computers, according to Phil Stokes, a developer and blogger. DropBox defended the SQL trick by saying it is required to run its app on Apple computers efficiently. #security #storage Outsourcing Giant Mitie Warns of Reduced Profits With Britain’s exit from EU looming, outsourcing giant Mitie has warned that its profits will be ‘materially below’. Mitie may not be the only company to be affected by Brexit and other outsourcing giants are running into issues too. Could this bit of news affect other outsourcing companies in the UK too? #outsourcing
