Had a great conversation with a young person today… we spoke about Growth.
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Bal’s Friday Thought…
Author: Bal Bansal
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Tech Tuesday
Recently, on social media – you may have seen some old photo’s being bought to life. All looks a bit creepy, right? – If you’ve not seen it and thinking, Bal… what’s all this about?! – Then, let me share with you… a company called MyHeritage who provides automatic AI-powered photo enhancements is now offering a new service that can animate people in old photos creating a short video!
The conversion process is completely automated. Users simply need to upload a photograph through the website where it’s first sharpened and enhanced to not only improve the quality of the final animation but to also make it easier for the deep learning algorithm to do its thing.
The results are eerily lifelike, and manage to preserve the aesthetics of the original shot to help sell the effect of this video being recorded when the actual photo was captured.
So the question is – who would you like to see, moving their face again?
As mentioned – it is eerily lifelike – and this technology will only advance, maybe there could be certain body movements – or more than facial expression – wouldn’t it be amazing if there were more movements and maybe voice! (Appreciate that’s going to be difficult, but if many voices were recorded of descendants then I’m sure AI could work some magic).
So head over to the Heritage Website, and let’s see the videos!
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Week 8… 2021!
Is Spring finally here? Weather has been wonderful this weekend… and with more and more people being vaccinated, the warmer weather slowly arriving… are things looking up?
Here’s my top two stories from the week gone!
- Fresh and hot of the press – There’ll be a £5bn fund to help the High Street recover form Covid. That’s right – £18,000 per firm, to help shops and pubs reopen. Whilst I think this is good for pubs… and the hospitality sector in general, I was hoping that most shops would have adapted for the ‘digital age’ – and have an online presence. With their ‘shops’, use them as ‘experience centres’, information and knowledge is power – use their High Street presence to educate. Let’s be honest, how many of us go to Curry’s, look around – then order online! I believe there is a space for both – the High Street and Internet Shopping.
2. If you’re on Twitter… I hope you’re following me (@balbansal) – but the story here is about paid content and becoming a ‘Super Follower’! We have various subscriptions, we pay for more things monthly than we ever have before. So why not pay on Twitter for exclusive content and information from particular folk we follow! There’s other platforms that do something similar (though the intentions were ‘decent’ the other platform has somewhat ventured into 18+ type of content). The method is similar. You get some ‘free’ stuff. But want more… subscribe/pay and you get exclusives.
So here’s a question – a) would you pay to have exclusive content from me? (I won’t be offended if you said no – would like to know why)… and b) If you are a small business, with a high street presence, think how you can increase the customer experience… don’t look for the sale (that’ll come)… look at the experience.
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Week 7… 2021!
And so the year continues to go at some pace – it’s week 7, so much has happened so far, and I can only see more happening over the coming weeks and months! Sharing my top 2 from the week gone…
- Perseverance – That’s right… NASA’s Perseverance landed on Mars!!! So what’s so significant about this, well firstly… Perseverance has a large amount of data in its memory banks which it is gradually offloading to Earth and… the pictures it’s been sharing initially have been brilliant!!
Its initial mission will last one Martian year (roughly two Earth years), although it’s hard to see the agency not extending this if all the hardware remains healthy.
As well as searching for signs of life (Imagine… it finds clear signs of life… how awesome would that be!!), Perseverance’s other key objective is to select and package rock samples that can be brought back to Earth laboratories by later missions.
2. The New Service Stations! – Usually, when on a journey, and you need to fill up… you’d stop at your nearest service stations and fill up. However, times are changing.. on the outskirts of Braintree in Essex (UK), there’s a service station that is the first of it’s kind in the UK… that has space for 36 cars to charge at once!!
The super-fast electric forecourt will deliver 350kW of charging power – enough to add 200 miles of driving range in 20 minutes – to up to 36 cars at a time. And… it will use clean energy sourced from one of the UK’s first subsidy-free solar farms at Clayhill in Bedfordshire, overhead solar canopies, and a battery capable of storing enough energy to drive 24,000 miles.
It is the first of more than 100 electric forecourts that Gridserve, a clean energy company, plans to roll out across the country over the next five years as part of a billion-pound “sun-to-wheel” infrastructure.
So… looks like infrastructure is finally catching up! Yes, there’s a long way to go, but great to see this happening…
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Bal’s Friday Thought…
My Friday Thought… is about why make things so complicated?
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Tech Tuesday!
We are all aware of the main social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram…. the younger ones amongst us… Tik Tok, Snapchat, etc… Let’s be honest, there’s a fair few. But there’s one that’s taking the world by storm!
Clubhouse.
So imagine, in the real world, you’re at a conference. It’s a conference that has several rooms, several speakers. You look at the agenda, and highlight what interests you. You then go to the room, sit in the room and listen to the speaker(s). When you want to leave, you leave quietly, and you can join another room – where they may be talking about another interest of yours – and you sit there and listen to the speakers.
Now… Clubhouse, has all this… on an app. You can connect and follow people who you think are interesting, and when they start a room – you’ll be notified. And off course, people can follow you!
You can even create your own room! Have people join. Talk about what you want! You can make it private or keep it open for others to join.
I’ve been using it for a while. And I have to admit. I love it. I think it’s great. I’ve had my own room (where a few of us talked about football – in particular Nottingham Forest). I’ve joined lots of rooms, and listened – and like most things, some were good, some… not so.
On iOS only for the moment – but i’m sure they’ll be bringing it out on Android soon. Oh.. and you need to be invited. That’s right – it’s invite only… But when you sign up and wait – if people on the platform know you, then they can ‘let you in’. In addition, you get two invites to invite your friends!
Why is clubhouse so important?
- It’s all audio! – so you can carry on with your normal tasks, plug in your headphones – and off you go. The rise of podcasts has shown that more and more people are wanting to listen.
- Clubhouse says they do not record and store. So the room you create, the room you talk in… none of that conversation is stored so you can listen to it later. It’s all ‘real-time’. Like a real conference, where you’d listen to a person live… it’s exactly like that.
There are some watch outs though… whilst Clubhouse say they don’t record anything, some security folk found that they they will capture some of your personal data and information. So like all social media platforms, enjoy… (but be conscious of who’s watching.. or in this case, listening!)
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Week 6… 2021!
There’s no stopping to 2021!…. It continues to move at some speed and keep giving!! – So what’s it given this week, well… here’s my Top 2 Stories!!!
1. Coca-Cola to start selling drinks in a paper bottle!!!
That’s right – the iconic drinks company, is going to sell (as part of a test) drinks in paper bottles! The company’s Brussels-based research and development team is working with Danish startup The Paper Bottle Company on this project, with an ultimate goal for bottles that ‘can be recycled as paper.’ – Let’s be honest, isn’t this awesome! – It’s no secret that the planet is filled with plastic waste, including consumer products like plastic bottles — ones quickly used, then discarded, often making their way into landfills, lakes, and the ocean… so this, paper bottle, is only a good thing!
The plastic alternative features a ‘bio-based material’ as the external carton-like barrier, one made using sustainably-sourced wood. The bottle includes a recyclable plastic lining that holds the beverage.
2. What did you have for breakfast this morning? What do you normally have? – Had Weetabix in a while?…
This week, Twitter went mental! – When Weetabix tweeted this…
And…. Everyone, when I mean everyone… Everyone! Got involved… all the big twitter folk/brands/organisations started tweeting…
… What a great marketing exercise! – It even made the news! – Good Morning Britain talking about it (and trying it)… to the House of Commons! That’s right… MP’s spoke about it!!!
So with that… there’s a couple of things we’ve learnt this week, firstly – we need to do more for our planet. So many companies are working towards sustainable solutions… but we must do our bit.
And secondly, Weetabix took Social Media Engagement to another level this week. I’m hearing, sales of Weetabix and beans have gone through the roof!
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Bal’s Friday Thought…
Earlier this week, a video was shared to me… and it’s my Friday Thought today.
The video had a guy who has inspired me. When I was about 13, I started going to the gym – mainly to get stronger due to some bullying issues as I was the only Sikh kid in the school…. and it was then, my friend gave me a book. It was about a young kid, who had moved from Austria… worked out like mad… had this vision… and became Mr Olympia, Mr Universe… not once, but several times! (I’ve still got that book!)
What got me in the book… and it’s in the video also… is how he didn’t give up. He didn’t listen to all the people that said, it can’t happen.
Below is the video…. Enjoy.
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Tech Tuesday!
So recently, on my Instagram – I shared how I was annoyed about a post that AutoTrader had put up from their Twitter Acount.
AutoTrader – the UK’s largest automotive marketplace. I bought my recent car via AutoTrader! It used to sell it in paper form.. then with the introduction of the internet, it moved online… (app is available via App Store etc…), and promotes itself via social media.
62,000 followers on Twitter (Joined January 2009).
57,000 followers on Instagram (with over 2,211 posts).
359,000 followers on Facebook.
On the social media channels – they review cars, provide advice, etc..
So Bal, what’s your problem with them?
Well… they posted the below on Twitter…
Whilst I love the idea of a poll and seeing which car is better…. my annoyance was around the way to respond.
Firstly… I see the heart. So if I’m an Audi fan, then fine – I click the heart. BUT… if I’m a BMW fan… where’s the thumbs up? – do this mean I have to go into the comments and do a thumbs up? So… all of a sudden, I need to interact with the post, I need to comment, I need to make my vote count… IF I’m a BMW fan.
Facebook is the social media platform that has a ‘thumb’ for liking an image.
Now… this was shared by AutoTrader… but via a platform called Socialbakers. Basically, you can schedule posts and articles – and then platforms such as Socialbakers will publish them out at times when activity is at it’s peak…. allowing more people to view and engage.
It comes down to user experience.
In this day and age – when I can, click twice in amazon and have an item sent to my house, the experience for engagement should be quick, easy and simple!
So, whatever you do… wherever you do it… just think of who’s going to interact with it. Who’s going to do something with it! It’s the value someone will get out of it. There’s so much competition for eyes to be on your post – let’s be honest, firstly, there’s so many social media platforms. Then there’s so many posts… information, etc… how can you cut above everyone and have eyes on your post? – I won’t go into making good content… but key thing is ensuring it’s simple to read, simple to engage with… and simple to react to!
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Week 5… 2021!
Another busy week! – So much going on… everything from the Farmers Protest in India to how food prices are being increased in the UK! – it could be because of Brexit! (I think it is… especially hearing about how products and stock are being held at ports!!
So my 2 stories from the week…
- Nike Trainers – This is a new design of trainers that have been shared by Nike. You may be thinking, really… new trainers?… yes! – they are very easy to put on and take off. They have a hinge, so the shoe/trainer – effectively… splits in the middle, allowing easy access for your foot to come out… and go in! They are called the Nike GO FlyEase Trainer….
2. Tesla… no, I won’t be talking about Elon Musk taking a break from Twitter.. or the crypto currency he’s been endorsing… but more so, that the new steering wheel they’ll be having is legal in the UK!… AND…. be honest, how many of us, will think we are knight rider?! – Honestly, little things like these make me want to buy a Tesla… however, I did notice BMW have a ‘funky’ steering wheel in their new iX… all about the user experience!
