Who’s your biggest fan?
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Bal’s Friday Thought…
Author: Bal Bansal
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Week 13… 2021!
First and foremost – Happy Easter! Hope you’re enjoying Easter and have not consumed tooooo many Easter Eggs! With so much going on in the World, it’s becoming more and more difficult to pick only two stories – and for those asking will I include more, unfortunately not at the moment. But will try to do more blog posts…
Ok, let’s get to it this Easter Weekend!
- First up – Whatsapp Scam! – So this first appeared on Twitter. Basically, there’s a very clever scam that’s going around which concerns all Whatsapp users. The attack revolves around the six-digit verification code that WhatsApp gives out when you want to regain access to your account.
The message reads ‘Hello, sorry I sent you a six-digit code by SMS by mistake, Can you transfer it to me please? It’s urgent.’
What has actually happened is your friend’s account has been hacked.
Scammers are now trying to hack all their contacts. You are one of them.
They are trying to set up WhatsApp on a new device with your number.
WhatsApp acknowledges this and sends a six-digit authorisation code to your mobile phone by SMS.
“The scammers now try and get you to forward it to them by pretending to be a friend of yours,” he said.
“If you send them the code, your WhatsApp will be hacked.”
Which? and Mr Alexis urged users to turn on two-step verification as protection. They also suggested confirming whether the verification message is real by contacting the friend who sent the message without using WhatsApp.
2. And this week gone…. we had April’s Fool Day! – Now we had some really good ones this year, and some… not so good ones!
You are probably wondering which ones were my favourite… well, personally for me, I think VW did very well, they came in early, made it very believable and did all the ground work required. Innocent also teamed up with Heinz which was clever…. especially after the whole beans on Weetabix situation!
Which was your favourite?
So there we have it… whatsapp scams and April Fool Jokes which had us all believing…
I’m often asked, how do I find the time to do all the charity work, the football coaching, and all the other activities and ventures I’m involved in… well, I do ‘overtime’.
Taken from the legendary, Gary Vaynerchuck.
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Week 12… 2021!
Nearly Easter… Nearly April! – Where is the time going?! Well… still a lot happening, everything from ‘apparently’ the shortage of toilet roll because of Evergreen’s vessel that is stuck in the Suez Canal! With something like 327 vessels held up (on both sides) we sure can expect some delays on some supplies.
Saying the above – please, do not… go out and stock up on toilet roll. I’m sure we have enough supply.
Ok, my top 2 stories of the week (and there were plenty to chose from!)
- As many of you know, I’m on Twitter (@balbansal). Whilst I tweet about all sorts – it’s mainly about Nottingham Forest, Technology, Lean Thinking and Innovation, etc… Oh, and you can expect to see photo’s of lunch at my mums. But did you know, Jack (the founder of Twitter) sold his first every tweet for a cool $2.9m!
Crazy right! 2.9 million dollars! It went to a Malaysia-based businessman. If you’re wondering what it was, it was ‘just setting up my twttr’. If you’re interested in buying any of my tweets – please do reach out to me.
2. Now last week, I shared a story about the new Apple Car. Well, this week, our friend Elon Musk said… that you can buy a Tesla using Bitcoin!
In the US, orders for new Tesla cars can now be secured with the equivalent of a $100 deposit in Bitcoin.
The facility would be rolled out to other countries in the coming months, Mr Musk said.
But Bitcoin’s value rapidly moves up and down – meaning the cryptocurrency price of the car could change day to day.
Tesla has invested heavily in the digital currency, buying $1.5bn (£1.1bn) worth of Bitcoin.
So there you go… my top two stories of the week, and for those wondering… Bal – can I buy your tweets using Bitcoin?…. my answer is, not just yet… I’m definitely forward thinking, just not as much as Elon Musk… or shall I say, I’ve personally not invested so much in Bitcoin. Yet.
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Tech Tuesday
Yesterday, on the BBC News website, they had an interesting story. It was all about the lack of ‘Digital Skills’.
Here’s a link to the full story – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56479304
Now, I’ve been talking about this for a while. The type of skills that are required for the future need to be started and worked on now!
In September 2019, the Manufacturer shared the below…
Cyber Security – 33%!
Digital Business Transformation – 25%!
Unfortunately, we’ve not really moved the needle on many of these!
So what do we need to do? – Well… as the above illustration shows… Firstly… Training! Train folk in these topics! – then let them learn, experience and grow that skill.
Back in 2018 (early), I started to learn alot about GDPR. I learnt alot about data, privacy, etc… Today, I’m pulled up and asked questions on these topics! – Literally! – Only yesterday someone was asking me about an application and the impact of the data being stored outside of the EU!
Digital Business Transformation – is a skill that many should be learning. Businesses should be able to transform – and this skill is essential! Like the saying goes… ‘it’s not the strongest that survive, but those adaptable to change’.
We’ve seen the devastating impact Covid has had on a number of businesses.
We’ve also seen the growth opportunity Covid has provided a number of businesses.
Which are you? Devastating Impact or Growth Opportunity?
To Grow – you need skills. The right skills. Digital Skills.
We are moving from Physical to Digital. Where are you on the journey?
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Week 11… 2021!
Ok, mid-way through March – and I’ll be honest, you thought 2020 went a little crazy, 2021 is mad! – In a nice way, that there’s a lot happening!! – And every week there’s something important, of interest or I should be reading/listening to.
So below are my Top 2 Stories of the week…
- Apple Car. That’s right, not Apple Care… but Apple are making a car. Now, you may have heard about this a while ago, and yes – they (Apple) have been talking to numerous other car manufacturers to get some inside knowledge on how to make a car…. but it looks like, we’re finally getting somewhere!
Carwow shared the above photo – which is looking like what the final model may look like.
So, Apple began working on “Project Titan,” with upwards of 1,000 car experts and engineers eveloping an electric vehicle at a secret location near the company’s Cupertino headquarters. This was back in 2014.
Over the course of the last several years, internal strife, leadership issues, and other problems impacted the car project and 2016 rumors even suggested Apple parked the plans for a car, but the most recent information indicates Apple has overcome development problems and still plans to develop a consumer-facing autonomous vehicle.
Excited? – I am!
2. How’s your phone? Are you an iPhone person? – Got the latest and greatest iPhone 12? – well… be prepared… new iPhone 13 details are being released!
It’s minimising the notch!
Apple are to take the long-standing Face ID notch and finally shrink it, giving us an upgrade we’ve long been waiting for.Â
Kuo’s (from MacRumours) claim doesn’t specify how the iPhone 13’s notch will be smaller. From other rumors, the most likely change is a narrower notch, enabled by combining Face ID’s currently separate infrared projector and infrared receptor into one unified sensor.
Now… this week’s stories are mainly Apple related. I can confirm that this post IS NOT sponsored by Apple. It’s just 2 stories that grabbed my attention and thought I’d share. There were some others, like a chain-less bike, Tesla and China, and a few others – I’ll see how they develop and share more in the next few weeks!
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Bal’s Friday Thought…
Today’s Friday Thought, is from a friend of mine. She’s shared this with me, and I think it’s great to think about what it really means… especially on a cloudy day.
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Week 10… 2021!
And we carry straight on.. straight through March with lots still happening!! With lockdown rules easing, Covid cases coming down.. it’s important to ensure we stay safe – but also, for our mental health, we get some fresh air, and go on nice walks (where possible!).
Ok… my top 2 from this week!!
- Cost of Electric Car Charing! Now whilst we’re all being told, electric is the future (even though I think Hydrogen will play a big part)… the cost of ‘charging our cars’ can be expensive!
So… when we’re all driving electric cars, we won’t need petrol stations, we’ll need charge stations. And like petrol stations, they all charge differently.
There’s some cheaper ones and you guessed it, there’s some expensive ones. Below is a table showing the cost of charging a new iX3 at various charge stations. One thing to point out, it’s cheapest to charge at home…. but you will need, to charge at a charge station if you’re out and about!
2. Delivery Robots – they’ve have gained major traction over the last year with more and more people looking for contactless deliveries due to Covid-19. Postmates X is the robotics spinoff of the popular delivery startup acquired by Uber in 2020 and recently became its own company known as Serve Robotics. With nearly 50% of restaurant deliveries in the U.S. being located within walking distance, their technology negates the need for a car, making deliveries more accessible.
It will be interesting to see how many restaurants and local retailers turn to robots to deliver their products. So many have pivoted because of the pandemic. Many restaurants have complained about delivery services, so maybe robots could be a solution…
So there you go… my top 2 stories from this week. I will continue to share more new tech (though the robot delivery has been happening for a while… and is now taking off!), but ones that impact you, and could be coming to you soon.
If you need more information, or are a business that needs some innovative solutions – reach out to me! Happy to talk, understand and collaborate.
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Bal’s Friday Thought…
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Week 9… 2021!
What a rocketing start into March! – It’ll be good to reflect on these stories at the end of the year and think – wow… what a year!
And so it continues, a lot happening in the news, especially about the Royals and not the Royals (as they are now)… but for me, I’m going to focus on the Top 2 stories in my opinion that matter.
- SpaceX Lands! – Now, if you’re not up to speed, Elon Mush (yes, the Tesla guy) is working on a number of other projects. One is SpaceX. This is where, him and his team are building rockets that can go into space (the Moon…Mars, etc..) and then come back and land safely! A bit like an aeroplane does – but Elon wants this same principle for Space Travel.
Now, as you can imagine, it’s not an easy task. To design, build and launch a rocket that can go into space… then come back and land safely! However, Serial Number 10 (SN10) touched down in Boca Chica, Texas – in contrast to its predecessors SN8 and SN9, which crashed into the ground. Unfortunately, it then blew up.
I know. Sad. However – the good thing is a) it landed!!! (unlike SN8 and SN9) and b) it’s progress!!! – Which means, SpaceX can learn, and go again and you know… it’s only a matter of time they get it right… (and we’ll be on the moon before you know it).
2. Amazon Fresh finally landed in the UK… in Ealing!
That’s right – Amazon now have a physical store in the UK!! And yes, people were queuing up to use it. You’re probably wondering how it works? – well… all you do is… walk up to the barrier, flash your phone so the store knows its you and you’re coming in… then you go in… get what you want, and then simply walk out and you get billed for what you took! – they know what you took because they have hundred’s of camera’s everywhere!!!
Now… Amazon say they don’t record any faces or personal info as such… (so no face recognition). They’ll track you and your phone as you walk around, tracking what you’re picking up and also what you’re putting down, so you get billed for the bits you walk out with.
Will this be the new norm?
Who knows… some folk like the interaction with shopkeepers etc… some just want to walk in, get what they want and walk out. Let’s be honest – we’re all busy these days.
So there you go… my top two from the week. Personally, I don’t think it’ll be long before we pop into an Amazon store, pick up a few last minute essentials before we go to the Moon for a short break.