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FaceApp… good or bad?

Let’s be honest – when a new craze hit’s the streets, we are want to be part of it!

Recently – you would have noticed the FaceApp that makes you look older than what you are. It’s all a bit of fun – you share a photo/camera roll with the app, then choose a photo and hey presto – it’s uploaded to their servers and their ‘AI’ (Artificial Intelligence) works it’s magic and you have a photo that’s increased your age and make you look old!

All the stars and celebs are doing it.

I’m sure your friends are doing it.

The kids for sure are doing it.

And because of FOMO – Fear of Missing Out – you’ve probably downloaded it and going to play around with it.

If you haven’t or are going to – there’s concerns about the Russian based company who’s responsible for the app, and what the data might be used for.

Breaking it down – they take your photo’s and place it on their server. This means, they have access and use your photos.

How do you feel sharing your photos with them? – maybe you’re ok with that… but the concerns are, what they can do with them. They can also – find you on all social media accounts, find out all sorts of information about you – and then, well… it all depends, they could do all sorts. You’ve probably heard about ‘deepfakes’. If not – I’ll share more in another blog post but it’s when they can take an image or video, place it on something else and make a video look so realistic that you wouldn’t believe it’s not true.

So the company has come out and said they delete the images from their server – and do not keep them. Which is nice to know.

The concerns raised were that the company is in Russia and may have links with the Russian Government. However, they’ve come out saying there are no such links. And all photo’s are deleted (as mentioned).

FaceApp is run by a company called Wireless Lab OOO.

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Super Hot!

Weekend gone- we saw temperatures soar!!! High… and break records!

That’s right – In Paris, it was hitting record temperatures never seen before – and in England, we have 30 degrees Celsius!!

Now – how can you keep cool? There’s a few advances that can help you..

  1. Ice Cooling Vest – That’s right! You can get a vest, that takes ice packs and will keep you cool!! That’s right – replaceable, cooling and awesome!

2. Secondly – if you haven’t got air conditioning in your house, why not have a portable simple air con unit?

That’s right – your very own personal air con unit to keep you cool! – there’s plenty available on amazon and other shopping sites, just search for the size you’d like and keep your cool….

3. Now, if you’re like me – and drive a lot, you need to ensure you have the right drinks, snacks etc… in your car at a good temperature. The best way to do this is to have an in-car cooler!

That’s right! – plugs straight into your cigarette lighter and keeps your drinks and snacks cold! Exactly what’s needed if you’re going on a long journey or if your car doesn’t have already an in-built fridge!

Summary –

These are tech items I thought would be useful – obviously, take care in the heat, follow your local government/council recommendations (usually they say stay indoors) and most importantly – stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water.

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Who needs air anyway?

Recently, I’ve noticed – there’s been a lot of innovation around vehicles.

There’s the self-driving cars which I’ve spoken about before, there’s also the flying cars which are coming soon… and yes, we have the fully electric cars which are getting better and better.

But there’s so much to a vehicle which can be improved – and why is it we think in traditional manners?

Take the tyre for example.

Take Michelin for example. Started in 1889. Has much changed with their tyres? – same old rubber and air. Yes, there’s been new and improved designs.. but anything radical?

Now – don’t get me wrong, Michelin are a great company with some great history and delivering some great products.

But you know… everything is being disrupted.

And why not better – for Michelin, to team up with a car manufacturer, to work on something that would be ‘ground-breaking’.

How brilliant is this?! – Safety first.

No air. Simply design. Less rubber. Potential reduction in CO2.

So… who needs air, anyway?

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Bal’s Friday Thought…

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Media… Social Media!

Another blog post about Social Media, Bal? – I’m using the tools, I post… I share… and I wait for likes.

Whilst that is great – you should be doing more on Social Media. Just having the tool is one thing – using it effectively is another.

Yes – I know, there’s a lot of tools out there. I know that it can be time consuming and that there’s so much information being generated and shared – however, you have to a) keep consistent and b) have a goal!

There’ll be a reason for you to use social media – to make some noise and let people know about who you are and what you do. You’re probably trying to sell something – and Instagram being soooooooo huge, is the perfect platform for you.

What tools you use – is up to you. Facebook is the biggest in the world. Followed by some of the other popular one such as YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Whatsapp, etc…

Just posting an update or sharing an image isn’t enough these days. Because everyone is doing that.

It comes down to collaboration.

How many posts and photo’s do you comment – engage – build a conversation on? How many times have you shared some of your knowledge on someone else’s media platform?

It works both ways. The more you actively share and collaborate – the more others will with you! And that’s where the value is.

Your reach will increase – and you’ll gather more followers and customers.

The other point was having a goal. What do you want your audience to know or do? When they land on your page – is it clear what you are about and what the ask is. Is there an ask?!

Having these clear simple steps will take your social media game up a notch and for you to really leverage the power of social media and build on what you’ve started….

Side note – apologies for the lateness of my podcast! – All will be explained when Kat and I get a chance to record the next one… which I’m hoping won’t be too long.

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iPhone 11…

Seriously Bal? – another new iPhone? – seems like only yesterday the X, XS and XL was released.

Indeed. Not that long ago – but in this rapidly evolving world we live in, and the trillions that is in the bank of Apple, you didn’t think they’d just sit there and not do anything?

That’s right folks – there’ll be a new iPhone coming out later this year!

So what do we know – and how do we know it?

Well… the folks who make the protective cases for Apple leaked some images – and these have then been rendered!

So what do we know? – Firstly… it has 3 cameras!!!

That’s right – 3 cameras. We seen what some of the Chinese phone manufacturers are doing with their phones and their cameras – and let’s be honest, the picture quality is fabulous! – Even Samsung have serioulsy upped their game. So only time for Apple to do the same…

Admittedly- I’m taking more photos on my phone than my DSLR!

In addition to the 3 cameras – there’ll be a faster processor… more memory and a better battery! There’ll also be phone to phone (and other device like AirPods, etc…) charging.

We’ll no doubt receive more leaks (information and photos) over the next month or two – and as always, will happily keep you updated!

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Everyone starts with zero

Saw a great quote from Gary Vaynerchuk the other day –

Now, if you don’t know Gary – I suggest you go and google him, watch some of his videos, check him out on social media. He’s a great guy – and he’s sharing some brilliant and very simple advice!

In fact, this is one of my favourite videos… (taken from his fan page!)

https://youtu.be/LxcH0YaUePM

Now… there’s various folk whom I talk to, and they’ve either started their journey (this could be anything) or have always thought about it but never got going.

In this blog post- I’m going to focus on social media for a moment.

We all know the dividends that social media pays. It’s HUGE!!!!

If you, your business, your organisation – is not on social media, you’re missing out BIG TIME!

On top of that – you might be on it, but not using it effectively. Post now and again…. and then wonder, why you are not getting followers, why you are not getting engagement, why you are not growing!

It’s not all about you.

It’s all about others. The more you engage with others, the more others will engage with you!

Have a clear focus also. What is it you are using social media for?

Is it to gain more followers?

Is it to gain a following which you can interact with and therefore translate into profits?

Is it to increase awareness of your brand?

Like any good strategy, work out your Goals and Objectives and work accordingly.

I’ve been helping a number of folk out recently – and most recently, I took over the twitter account for a local charity.

We went from zero to 65 followers in a few weeks. The objective is to increase awareness and have more volunteers. This all links with the overall marketing strategy of the charity. More volunteers means more help which means more hands which results in more getting done in the same time (time is a variable that can’t be changed!)

And lastly… if you do want to learn more – I’ll be interviewing The Coopers, who’ll share a few secrets about their Instagram page!

They went from a couple of hundred followers to over 4,700 followers in a short space of time! All genuine followers – so what’s the secret?! – well… you can find out soon…. (by the way, if you can’t wait for my blog post with The Coopers, go follow them on Instagram – search for Coopers New Build)

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Just look here – thank you.

How many passwords do you have? I’m guessing, quite a few… you’ve probably got a few different ones as well – one for twitter, one for facebook, another one for your emails, and maybe a few more for all the other apps you got on your tablet or phone.

I’m guessing you probably struggle to remember them all as well?

Well – good news. You may not need to remember them all.

How’s that Bal?

Well.. if you’ve got a fairly modern phone, chances are you probably use your finger or face to unlock it.

It’s all called ‘biometrics’.

It’s going to be the way we ‘unlock’ things in the future.

In fact – it’s happening now!

But what is Biometrics? – Biometrics is the technical term for body measurements and calculations. It refers to metrics related to human characteristics. Biometrics authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control.

Is that the official statement, Bal?

Yes it is! – what is basically means is – when the camera looks at your finger or face, it takes a number of measurements and then saves these and destroys the original image.

These measurements and calculations are used every time you unlock something… Basically, the information (measurements) which are stored, can be accessed later for comparison with “live” information!

So by having these biometric data – you won’t need to remember passwords!

It’s happening more and more – where you can use your finger or face – to be recognized – and to make payments… may be we could use biometric data one day to vote!

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Clearing those emails…

Well, first and foremost – I hope you all had a great Easter break.

Now, I appreciate, I have many readers from around the World, and not everyone celebrates Easter – but I’m living in England and we do.

Whilst on the whole, it was thoroughly enjoyable with the hot weather… there was one small problem I found… .that I’d have a million emails when I log back in when I’m back at work.

Now… being honest, we’re never away from work – are we? – we’re always connected. Mobile phone in hand… we will receive notifications of when we get an email (Yes – I do turn my notifications off whilst I’m on ‘holiday’)


However – you do see the number next to the icon (if you’re on iOS) just increasing all the time.

But can we move away from Email… the answer is Yes!

How’s that Bal?

Well… some people are saying, that email is dead. Technically, and if you ask me – it’s not dead… but is dying.

Because we have so many other ways to communicate.

WhatsApp for example.

It’s quicker. It’s easier. You can have groups. You can send attachments….

There’s so much going for WhatsApp – that it makes a variable alternative.

But there’s not only WhatsApp – there’s other tools as well…. for example Slack.

I do like Slack. You can create channels – have people invited to collaborate on certain topics… share files (attachments), and do so much more.

Then there’s other tools based around projects, based around events, etc…

So that’s why, I think email is dying…. we haven’t got the attention span – well, I say we, it’s these young folk! – Millenials have an attention span of 12 seconds!

It’s even disappointing with the Gen Z…. 8 seconds.

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5 Stars – Headphones were great!

You may have heard in the news recently, that Which? Review found Amazon to be flooded with fake ‘five star reviews’.

Let’s be honest – are we really surprised?

You may recall – TripAdvisor, and the ‘fake top restaurant’. It’s happening around us – and it’s all too common.

Sellers want to be the best. And there’s easy ways to become one of the top – one of the best – one of the trusted. By reviews.

And anyone – can go online, and share a review. Which? Report found thousands of unverified reviews. Many where sent in a short space of time (meaning they most probably are computer generated).

They said – we should take reviews with a ‘pinch of salt’.

I appreciate it’s going to be harder to realize – what’s fake and what’s real.

They also said – ‘Look to independent and trustworthy sources when researching a product’.

Bal, what do you suggest?

Well…. couple of things;

  1. Use the old traditional method of talking to friends and family – or your social network (and listen to those whom you trust).
  2. When researching, look at a variety of reviews – not just a few. Look for reviews from other sites, other places – and see if they’re exactly the same – or there is variation.
  3. Take your time – often we think, it’s a good deal… don’t want to miss out. Obviously depends on how much money you’re spending but take your time – investigate properly on what you’re buying and then make a well educated decision.

There’s more and more fake reviews, videos, etc… appearing and they don’t help us when we’re buying or looking at something.

Yes, some platforms are tackling this – but it’ll take time.

So when you come to buy something on Amazon and are reading the reviews – make sure you read all the reviews, look at known or reputable brands, and finally- read the returns policy!