Techfastly-December by Techfastly

December | 2020 December | 2020

James Barrat In conversation with the acclaimed author James Barrat on the threats of Artificial Intelligence and the rise of AGI.

Proof of Stake vs. Proof of Work | Ashwin Kumar P. 28 | How to collect data using Google Analytics | Claudio G. Giancaterino Pg. 25 |

The changing landscape of branding in the age of Covid-19

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Arpita Khadria

Elon Musk’s Neuralink and its Functionalities Venkatesh | Pg.4

Interview with James Barrat Techfastly Team | Pg.12

Currency Transfers Across International Borders Techfastly Team | Pg.21 2 | Techfastly | December 2020

A note from the editor Dear readers It’s been a pleasure to bring quality content to you on a monthly basis in our monthly magazine. We’re proud to announce that we have launched a new, upgraded, and beautiful version of our website. You can visit the website here: techfastly.com. We have designed the website so that it’s easy for you to navigate the website easily and find your articles in minimum time. We also kept in mind the fact that your reading experience is optimized. This December edition of the magazine is different in a lot of ways. For example our interview with the acclaimed writer and documentary maker James Barrat is of immense importance regarding the threats and dangers of Artificial Intelligence. Elon Musk has called James Barrat’s book Our Final Invention one of the most important books to read on Artificial Intelligence. We discuss with him great detail the potential threats of Artificial Intelligence and how an international regulatory body needs to be assigned to monitor the progress of AI to ensure some level of responsibility and control. We also interview Arpita Khadria, a serial entrepreneur and TEDx speaker on how this Pandemic has shifted focus for brands to be more relevant and empathetic. She speaks to us in great detail on new emerging opportunities and how brands need to 3 | Techfastly | December 2020

apply new strategies to stay relevant. We have a great article on Elon Musk’s Neuralinks and its functionalities. We’re committed to bringing you great content consistently. We will conduct more interviews with eminent personalities to discuss technologies and the future. I hope that you enjoy reading the December edition of our magazine. I also hope you’re all safe with your families. Sincerely, Srikant Rawat Chief Operating Officer Techfastly

Elon Musk’s Neuralink and its Functionalities Venkatesh

euralink is Elon Musk’s neuroscience startup, which has developed a coin-sized computer chip that can be implanted in the human brain to cure neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s, dementia, and spinal cord injuries and ultimately fuse humankind with artificial intelligence. The Neuralink is a wireless implant, unlike any other neural implants. Before understanding Neuralink further, let’s understand the nervous system, neurons,

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neurotransmitters, and functionality of neurons to further understand the functionality of neural implants and Neuralink. Our nervous system is divided into three main parts. They are central nervous system (CNS), peripheral nervous system (PNS), and autonomic nervous system (ANS). The CNS consists of the brain and spinal cord. The PNS consists of nerves and ganglia that connect to the CNS. The ANS consists of the nerves which connect

the involuntary organs like the heart, stomach and lungs. The CNS is responsible for the integration of sensory information and responding to it. The primary function of the PNS is to connect CNS to every part of the body. The main function of the ANS is to regulate the function of internal organs.

What are neurons and how do they

work?

The nervous system is made up of nerve cells called neurons. They communicate with each other by nerve endings called synapses. They use neurotransmitters to pass on the electric signal from one neuron to another neuron or one neuron to an effector cell. A myelin sheath protects the neurons.

What are neural implants?

A neural implant is an electrode placed inside the brain and is connected to a

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neurostimulator implanted on the chest or abdomen. This neurostimulator generates electric impulses that are transmitted to the electrodes placed deep in the brain to activate the targeted area of brain cells.

What are the uses of neural implants? Neural implants are used to treat essential tremors of hands, legs, trunk, voice and head; multiple sclerosis, intractable pain, dystonia, and other psychiatric conditions

like obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety, and depression that does not respond to medicines. Elon Musk’s Neuralink is also a neural implant, but it is advanced and computerized. It does not need external stimulators. It is a coin-sized computer chip. Elon Musk’s Neuralink was implanted in a pig’s brain named Gertrude for two months. Neuralink proved to be efficient in curing human disease with conventional implants. Neuralink helps to cure

neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, spinal cord injuries and fuse humans with artificial intelligence. The first prototype in a person may take some time, as getting federal approval is difficult. But it is being tested on a monkey and the monkey was able to control a computer with his brain.

Neuralink and Computer Control Threads that are finer and measuring in microns are inserted into areas of the brain that control movement. There are many electrodes in each thread that connect them to the Neuralink. These implantable devices process, stimulate, and transmit neural signals. The Neuralink App The Neuralink app will help you control your iOS device, keyboard, and mouse directly with your brain’s activity, just by thinking about it. The Neuralink app would guide you through exercises that teach you to control your device. FDA does not yet 6 | Techfastly | December 2020

approve these. So, they are not available in the market. You will be able to control devices with Bluetooth connectivity, such as any mouse or keyboard, and experience unmediated reality and high fidelity.

What is Neuralink Developing? Neuralink builds a fully integrated brain machine interface (BMI) system. It is also called a brain computer interface (BCI). BMI technology enables a computer or other digital device to communicate directly with the brain. This helps a person with paralysis control a computer mouse or keyboard from the information read out from the brain. It also helps to write information into the brain. This helps to restore brain functions such as a sense of touch. The goal is to develop a system with at least two orders of magnitude and more communication channels (electrodes) than current clinically-approved devices. The safety measurements have to be improved. It must have full wireless communication through the skin. It should be ready for the patients

to take home and use it on their own. Such features are in development stage. It will take time to implement all these features. What are the Challenges Involved in Making a Scalable BMI? The technology used in Neuralink is built on decades of BMI research, including several ongoing studies with human participants. The BMI systems used in these studies have only a few hundred electrodes with connectors that pass through the skin. Their use requires laboratory equipment and personnel. The challenge is to scale up the number of electrodes and build a safe and effective clinical system to take home and operate by themselves. Recent developments in engineering in this field and new technologies developed by Neuralink pave the way for progress.

What are the Key Technical Hurdles? These are the key technical hurdles: Electrodes To optimize the

compatibility of electrodes in Neuralink, they are being microfabricated out of thin film metals and polymers to match the neighboring neurons’ size and as flexible as possible. But the challenge is that threads should resist corrosion from fluid in the tissue and should have sufficient surface area to allow stimulation. The new microfabrication processes and advances made in materials science will help to combat these challenges. It also includes the process of integrating corrosionresistant adhesion layers to the threads and rough electrode materials that increase their effective surface area without increasing their size.

Chips Developing chips to meet real-time neural information requirements is a challenge as Neuralink needs to convert the small electrical signals recorded by each electrode into realtime neural information. As the neural signals in the brain are in microvolts, Neuralink must have high-performance signal amplifiers and digitizers. As the number of 7 | Techfastly | December 2020

electrodes increases, the raw digital signals become too much information to upload with low power devices. To improve Neuralink, we require on-chip, realtime identification and characterization of neural spikes.

design, imaging systems, and software to build a robot that can precisely and efficiently insert many threads through a single 8-mm skull opening while avoiding blood vessels on the surface of the brain.

Hermetic Packaging

The neural spikes have a lot of information. This information has to be decoded to control a computer. We have designed computer algorithms to control a virtual computer mouse from the activity of hundreds of neurons. Our devices will be able to connect to more neurons to provide more precise and naturalistic control. This will help to include additional virtual devices such as a keyboard and game controller. This can be accomplished with advances in statistics and algorithm design. The challenge is to design and develop adaptive algorithms that maintain reliable and robust performance while improving over time to include addition of new capabilities.

The Neuralink has to be protected from the fluid and salts that bathe the surrounding tissue. Developing a water-proof enclosure can be challenging. It is even harder to build an enclosure from biocompatible materials, replace the skull structurally, and allow over 1,000 electrical channels to pass through it. Developing innovative techniques to build and seal each major component of the package helps to meet this challenge.

Neurosurgery

The threads used in Neuralink are too fine to be handled by hand. To safely place it inside the brain, we have to develop a new kind of surgical robot. We are innovating on robot

Neural Decoding

The Use of Python in AI and ML Andrew Zola

he open-source programming language Python has been around for a long time, but it continues to be a dominant force. Its popularity in the digital age is attributed to the fact that you can build many cool things with Python (like basic QA Systems). In recent years, Python’s dominance has also extended as a result of its ability to manage complex coding scenarios, especially in the domain of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Deep Learning (DL). According to O’Reilly Media, Python’s popularity was fueled by ML

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this is achieved through programming in Python.

As oceans of data are generated every second of the day, AI and ML are used extensively for its development. In fact, processing and analysis Python was the most capabilities (a feat that popular coding language on the platform, accounting can’t be achieved by the human brain because for 10% of all usage. of the volume of data it O’Reilly further states that can absorb at any given Python’s popularity on its platform was driven by data moment). scientists, AI engineers, and ML engineers. What Are the Key For example, AI is leveraged to build prediction models to engage in data analytics, create robust strategies, boost productivity, enhance efficiency, and more. All

Benefits of Using Python in AI and ML? When it comes to AI and ML, Python is like a super

stack demanded by AI and ML-based experiments. The key benefits of leveraging Python for your next AI and ML project are as follows: • • • • • • •

Low barrier to entry Extensive libraries Enhanced flexibility Consistency Stability Readability Platform agnostic

For this post, let’s take a closer look at some of these benefits.

Low Barrier to Entry When working with lots of data, you have to find innovative ways to process it conveniently and effectively. As Python is easy to learn, most 9 | Techfastly | December 2020

data scientists pick it up quickly and engage in AI development without external support. This is because Python resembles simple English with a simple syntax that allows the seamless management of complex systems. The extensive documentation available within the Python community also helps accelerate this process.

Extensive Libraries It also helps that Python is supported by extensive libraries, structures, and thriving online communities. Python libraries are also one of the main reasons why the code has come into prominence within AI.

These libraries are collections of modules distributed across a variety of sources like PyPi. The latter is equipped with a pre-composed bit of code that enables clients to perform analytical activities. Code like this can form the foundation of AIbased projects, saving time and money. For ML projects, Python libraries enable continuous information prepping and data processing. In this scenario, Python libraries allow you to access, manage, and transform the data seamlessly. So when AI engineers and ML code with Python, they are sure about the product that’s built (and can move forward with confidence).

Some popular libraries used in AI and ML projects are as follows: • Caffe (for DL that enables seamless switching between CPU and the GPU, while processing over 60 million images a day using a single NVIDIA K40 GPU). • Keras (for DL, enabling rapid calculations and prototyping) • Matplotlib (for 2D plots, charts, histograms, and more) • NLTK (for processing, computational linguistics, and natural language recognition) • Pandas (for high-level data structures and analysis) • PyBrain (for neural networks, reinforcement, and unsupervised learning) • PyTorch (developed by Facebook to support Computer Vision, NLP, and many other ML programs) • Scikit-image (for image processing) • Scikit-learn (for managing basic ML algorithms like classification, clustering, linear and logistic regressions, regression, and more) • Spark MLlib (developed 10 | Techfastly | December 2020

by Apache, enables easy scaling of your computations quickly and provides seamless integration with other tools) • StatsModels (for data exploration and statistical algorithms) • TensorFlow (for working with DL by setting up, training, and utilizing artificial neural networks with enormous datasets)

Some libraries also make excellent visualization tools. This makes it easy to represent data in a human-readable format. As mentioned above, Matplotlib, for example, allows the creation of charts, histograms, and plots to enable simple comprehension. These libraries and visualization tools also make it much easier to create reports that are easily understood by a non-technical audience.

Enhanced Flexibility Python is highly adaptable. For example, you can use scripting or OOPs when coding. AI engineers can implement changes quickly without ever recompiling the source code. You can

also combine it with other programming languages as needed (especially C and C++ code modules). This creates a robust environment where developers choose coding styles they are comfortable with and can solve different problems in the best possible way. For example, the commands made in the imperative style describe how a task is performed. As the program state changes, you can define the computations sequence that needs to happen with each change.Or if ML engineers choose a functional or declarative style, the operations that need to be performed are “declared.” In this scenario, declared statements take the form of mathematical equations and don’t consider the program state. One benefit that’s not mentioned often is Python’s ability to simplify the code and make it readable. This programming language focuses on cutting down the number of lines of code to execute a function. So when AI and ML projects are coded in Python, programmers won’t have to write a lot of code.

If you’re just starting your Python journey, you’ll soon realize that it’s a fantastic tool that is more than a general-purpose programming language. Its extensive libraries, community support, flexibility, and low barrier to entry makes it the go-to language for anyone thinking about a career in AI or data science. Going forward, Python’s popularity also takes pressure off startups and recruiters. Whenever engineers and team members need to be replaced, it’ll be much easier to put warm bodies on seats. It also easier for anyone in the company to quickly learn and engage in an AI or MLbased project. What’s more, the lack of a learning curve also makes Python a highly cost-effective solution.

Technology For Business www.techfastly.com

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3 Interview with

James Barrat James Rodman Barrat is an American documentary filmmaker, speaker, and author of the nonfiction

included the National Geographic Channel, PBS NOVA, the BBC, the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, Animal Planet, the Travel Channel, and The Learning Channel. Barrat has created dozens of documentaries and worked in over 70 countries. In 2014, Time magazine identified Barrat

Introduction book Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era. He now writes, directs, and produces documentary film.[2] Broadcasters have 12 | Techfastly | December 2020

as one of the “5 Very Smart People Who Think Artificial Intelligence Could Bring the Apocalypse”. Barrat’s book was named one of eight “Definitive Tech Books of 2013” by The Huffington Post. We interview Barrat on the future of AI, the threats and dangers AI can post in the nearby future. Below is our interview with him.

Question: Thanks a lot for interviewing with us. My first question is how making a documentary like Rise of the Black Pharaohs and writing a book Our Final Invention are two different experiences. What are the challenges one encounters the two different works? James: Well, I think first of all both pursuits, filmmaking and writing, reward curiosity. If you’re a curious person they’re both good fields to get into. I have been making documentaries longer than I have been writing books but what you do with documentaries is you take a complicated subject and then you talk to all the experts. Then you translate that subject for your viewers. So, you’re compelled to write simply and clearly and you really have to do your homework. My book Our Final Invention, which is about Artificial Intelligence, was written in a simple style. I didn’t use a lot of technical 13 | Techfastly | December 2020

and computer terms. I wanted to get the message across that technologies are not value neutral. All of them have values that the makers put into them. And Artificial Intelligence could have very destructive values over time. That message of existential

risk was something, I strongly felt, should get out to the public. Nobody had written a book about it when I began Our Final Invention. Although plenty of people had thought about it, including Eliezer

Yudkowsky and Nick Bostrom. They’ve been writing papers about AI risk since at least 2000. Question: How do you select your projects? Your work is in so many different subjects, all important subjects, that I was curious to know what are the factors that motivate you to select them. James: Well, some of them like Artificial Intelligence, I chose myself. I am fascinated by it. And my fascination turned into alarm the deeper I looked into it. Sometimes people come to me, such as National Geographic. I’ve been fortunate to work frequently with National Geographic television. When Israeli archeologist Ehud Netzer found king Herod’s tomb, National Geographic invited me to make a film about it. When a Swiss organization began restoring the newly discovered The Gospel of Judas, they asked me to do a film about that, too. I’ve been very lucky with projects that have come to me. I’m about to begin making a film about suicide. Suicide is a real crisis in

America right now and probably in India as well. The suicide rate in the US has been increasing for 30 years. It felt like it was time for a film and time for a book about it. How do you recognize the signs of impending suicide in someone in your family? Or at work? What are the treatment options? How can one avoid suicidal thoughts to begin with? I pitched the project and my collaborators were able to raise funds to get it started.

been a gigantic push with artificial neural nets and deep learning. The whole world has started investing heavily in AI. Since 2009 the amount of money invested has doubled every year – it’s now at about $30

we are only one or two big insights away. By insight, take neural nets for example. In 2009 a group of computer scientists figured out how to efficiently apply neural nets to big data - if you

So, I would say two thirds of the projects come to me when people ask me to do them and a third I dream up myself and pitch. By pitching I mean I present the idea to broadcasters. Question: You had written Our Final Invention in 2013, it’s been seven years. Where are we with respect to AI, have these seven years gone in the direction of making AI dangerous as you had so comprehensively written about or the seven years been giving hope. James: That’s a great question. I have to say I’m just as worried as I was then. I see advances in AI accelerating probably faster than I thought they were going to. There has 14 | Techfastly | December 2020

billion. By 2030, PriceWaterhouseCoopers says, AI will have added 16 trillion dollars to the global GDP. That same year, says Gartner and Company, it will take half of all jobs. What is happening right now is that AI is advancing rapidly and the job displacement is happening. And we’re a lot closer to general intelligence. I think

take a big database, feed it to the neural net, you get terrific prognostication and pattern-matching capabilities. And you can do incredible things like translate, navigate, do affinity analysis, and generally find patterns in data we couldn’t see before. It has added a lot of intelligence to things like translation and voice recognition and object

recognition. What is really missing here is ‘common sense’ and ‘understanding.’ I think someone very soon will have an insight about common sense and we will get very very close to ‘general’ intelligence. Inventor and AI guru Ray Kurzweil predicted that

by 2029 you could buy a laptop as intelligent as a human for $1,000. And I mean intelligent in a rational, mathematical sense, not in an emotional sense or any other kind of intelligence. I think 2029 is a good guess on when we would hit Artificial General Intelligence. It 15 | Techfastly | December 2020

may also be sooner. One we achieve AGI, that’s a very short step to Superintelligence. To learn more about that you should read Our Final Invention or Nick Bostrom’s book Superintelligence. I think that the big problem of AI has shifted a bit. The

big problem is that we create the technology and not know how to control it because it will rapidly become much smarter than we are. The accompanying problem is the companies that will create that technology are not fit, morally, to use it. If you look at Facebook, Google,

Apple, Baidu, Tencent, IBM you see that there is a long history of malfeasance, of violations of privacy, of using child labor, and so on. Facebook, for one example, took the data of 80 million Americans and gave it to Cambridge Analytica, a British firm, which used it to try and influence our 2016 elections. Google employs 400 lawyers because, among other reasons, it has been sued in 20 countries for privacy violations. So, these are the people who are in charge of the technology that’s going to give us the intelligence explosion - the time when a machine can improve its own intelligence and become superintelligent. These companies are simply not fit to manage the intelligence explosion and they frequently prove it. Right now machines are better than us at book keeping, financial modeling, radiology, navigating, many kinds of navigation, and many other jobs. In the near future we will create machines that are better than us at artificial intelligence research and development. That’s the intelligence explosion. After that the machines will rapidly become thousands or

millions of times more intelligent than we are. And we won’t know how to survive that. We currently have no way of programming friendliness in those machines.

what is going to happen beyond 2030 because we will be surrounded by superintelligent machines and we won’t be able to understand or predict how they will behave

And as I said, the heavily valued companies in charge of doing that, their moral compasses are broken. They are not fit being to be in charge of building these machines. I’m not the first person to say that. Demis Hassabis, one of the cofounders of DeepMind, a very good company, said when the intelligence explosion comes he would not trust that the tech giants to responsibly manage it. Their attention won’t be on safety of all of us, it will be on the money.

As I said before we are a lot closer to advanced AI than when I wrote Our Final Invention. Computer scientists once thought that a game like Go would be difficult for AI to beat but here we are. It’s happened. I think with respect to AI, we’re a little bit ahead of the schedule.

Question: Is the singularity, not Ray Kurzweil’s, but Vernor Vinge’s, near? Or is it already upon us. James: I’m glad you brought that up. Vinge’s vision of the singularity is the point at which light doesn’t escape a black hole, you’re too close to the black hole and you can’t see beyond that point, called the event horizon. In some ways, I think, it’s already upon us. Vinge was right that we won’t know 16 | Techfastly | December 2020

I don’t like Ray Kurzweil’s version of singularity. He thinks it’s all going to be good news when we achieve superintelligence, when we create machines as smart and then smarter than humans. Question: Yes. Verner Vinge’s cautionary use of the term singularity was turned upside down by Ray Kurzweil as a utopian term. James: Yes. Exactly, exactly. It really needs to be more of a warning. Question: Since it is such a big threat should there be some form of international regulatory body for AGI developers? James: You know there is

an ethicist at Yale, Wendell Wallach, who thinks that automation is going to have to cause some kind of big accident before we take automation and by extrapolation AI seriously. There have been some people talking about regulation. For example, Elon Musk says that regulation is unavoidable. I agree. For AI developers we need something like the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency. Because, as I said, in Nuclear Fission we had a gun pointed at our own heads for 50 years with the nuclear arms race because there was no regulatory body. Now there is one. We need that for AI and we need that before it’s too late or before we have some huge accident, which is what Wendell Wallach warns us about. There absolutely should be a regulatory body. I don’t think there is a will to create one yet. What’s been encouraging signs in the creation of organizations like MIRI, Machine Intelligence Research Institute, the Future of Life Institute, the Future of Humanity Institute, all of which are trying to develop rules to govern the development of AGI. The trouble is they don’t

have much money. Their rules will not be enforced. They are good ideas, they tend to be very high-level ideas. The problem is they really need to be in the trenches looking at modern problems like, with AI already, data bias.

recognition for their social credit program, where you get privileges for being

There are a lot of databases that are used in a lot of the decisions made for employment, for getting into college, for prison sentencing. The databases are often old and they often exclude women and minorities. So when they’re used to make decisions today the decisions are biased. We need rules governing privacy. Our data is bought and sold all the time just by our participation on social media. There is a big AI impact in that because we are targeted for advertising. There is a data profile of you and me and it’s worth money. So, for example, who owns your face? Palantir, an American company, has worked hard with China to imprison a million Uighurs in concentration camps in Western China. They use facial recognition to keep tabs of those people. They use facial recognition to find them in other places. And they use facial 17 | Techfastly | December 2020

a good citizen and you get demoted for being a bad citizen and all of that is based on recognizing you in public. Palantir is working with US customs to round up immigrants on the southern border of the US. And it’s complicit in the abuse of those immigrants. Their motto should be Palantir: let us help you abuse your minorities. So AI is being used abusively now and it’s not too soon to create an international regulatory body. s Question: Elon Musk, who has recommended Our Final Invention as one of the go to books on AI, has called AI as an existential

threat before. Can you throw some light on the threats with respect to the present state of technology? James: Yeah. Okay, besides the immediate threats I talked about biggest existential threat is the intelligence explosion. I spoke about it a moment ago. It sounds like science fiction but it’s really not. It comes down to this- we have created machines that are as good or better than us at many tasks. Within the next few years we will create machines that are better than us with Artificial Intelligence, Research and Development and from that point on the machines will set the pace for intelligence expansion, and we will share the planet with creatures or machines that are thousands or millions of times more intelligent than we are. There really is no top for intelligence, there really is no ceiling that we know about. There is quite a range of intelligence

among humans, and there is probably a ceiling for human intelligence. But no ceiling for artificial intelligence. So it’s perfectly conceivable to create machines that are not just smarter than humans but a million times smarter than humans in a mathematical and rational sense. Now the problem is we don’t know how a machine like that will treat us. We have some attempts by some organizations to solve that problem, the compatibility problem. The other word for it is the control problem. How does something with the intelligence of a dog control humans is a good analogy. Well, it doesn’t. I interviewed Arthur C. Clarke many years ago and he said, something that’s been thrown around the media ever since: We humans steer the future not because we are the fastest or strongest creatures but because we’re the most intelligent. When we share the planet something more intelligent we’re then they will steer the future. And that’s always stuck with me, that’s axiomatic. When we share the future with something that’s much smarter than us we will no longer be in control. So the problem 18 | Techfastly | December 2020

is whether its values are compatible with our survival. As I said before, something we really need to think about is technology is never value neutral. So, you know, everyone then says how long to AGI and then I say you really can’t predict the future but things are progressing pretty darn fast. And a lot of money, one key indicator, as I said before PricewaterhouseCooper says by 2030 AI investment will add 16 trillion dollars to the global GDP. That’s a huge part of the economy. So whether it takes 10 years or 20, it’s inevitable that we will create machines that are a lot smarter than us. Question: Dr. Alexander Wissner Gross says in your book that AGI might emerge in the financial markets through an aggregate phenomenon. Isn’t that a dangerous consequence if it happens? James: So, you know, with technology there are always unintended consequences. Some people are trying to make AGI directly, they are trying to reverse engineer human brains really or put together different component parts with neural nets, with reinforcement learning

and other techniques in order to create AGI. But some people think that AGI could emerge from really complicated cognitive architecture. When I interviewed Dr. Wissner Gross, he reminded me of financial markets. What the quants on Wall Street and India (quants is a word that means programmers in the financial markets) do is they try to create realistic virtual markets through intelligent agents. They create millions of intelligent agents which behave in a virtual world like consumers, who buy and sell things. Some of these agents model the behavior of whole buying and selling institutions. Some of them are into mutual funds. Some of them are giant financial institutions that buy and sell. Then they take that virtual world and they throw different disruptions at it and see what happens. And they try to anticipate the future and they take the financial markets and say let’s look at what happens, you know, four months from now when, let’s say, Joseph Biden is the president. How will all these different stocks respond based on the buying and selling patterns of all our intelligent agents,

which are based on the data that comes from you and me. So they create these incredibly complex algorithms predict market behavior. So it’s conceivable that that when the cognitive architecture becomes so intelligent in a general sense in its quest to mirror human markets that it becomes extremely intelligent. And intelligent in dimensions we don’t really understand. That’s the trouble with a lot of really complicated technologies. That’s what the late Stephen Hawking said about super intelligent machines. He said that they will be able to outsmart our smartest politicians, which is kind of a low bar. He also said that they will be able to create weapons that we don’t even understand. So, when I’m interacting with my dog, he understands, maybe, 5% of what I say and probably 50% of what I do. But he doesn’t really know that much about it. I think there could come a time with different cognitive architectures where we cease to understand how they’re operating. Look at attempts to investigate flash crashes on Wall Street, which are caused by the interaction of buying 19 | Techfastly | December 2020

and selling algorithms. No one understands precisely what happened, just boom, the market went crazy. Another place where cognitive architectures could get out of control is at DARPA and the NSA, in the US. They create virtual worlds where intelligent agents representing soldiers, companies, battalions, and countries act out battle scenarios. Over this they have what they call kind of a God View where you can change the conditions and see how the different battles work out. That’s another place where really advanced cognitive architecture could erupt, from which independent intelligence might emerge. There is a really good book by Charles Perrow called Normal Accidents that I frequently quote; it discusses how with very complex engineering systems we can’t anticipate everything that can happen. He talks about the Chernobyl reactor meltdown in which a nuclear accident resulted from an unanticipated interaction of multiple failures in a complex system. He talks about airliner crashes. They happened because a series of events occurred that

no one could anticipate. Perrow argues that accidents are a normal part of complex systems. The trouble is with artificial intelligence some normal accidents, like the sudden creation of superintelligent machines, are very probably not survivable. Question: Will some of the effort that’s going on in AI go to the prevention of human species because of this pandemic? Has our frailty brought to light due to this pandemic focus on survival as much as advancement? James: Okay, so there are a lot of organizations, as I mentioned before, like The Future of Life institute, The Future of Humanity Institute, and Machine Intelligence Research Institute that are creating codes of ethics. And those codes of ethics are about trying to preserve humanity. It’s a good goal. My problem with them is the rules are so high level, they are very very general. That’s why you need organizations like the IAEA. You need people looking into silos, looking into cognitive architectures. People looking into the progress being made, how fast that progress is being made.

Let me give you a real world example of what can happen. There is a PBS documentary called Spillover Zika, Ebola & Beyond, you could have a look at it. It’s about diseases like Zika, like COVID, that came from the animal world. I made the film a few years ago, and in it we talk about how confident America is that we could control a virus outbreak. I interviewed experts at the CDC and elsewhere about an outbreak in the US and they all said no way it could happen here. Well, in the United States we had a plan for handling a pandemic. But because of our arrogance we have not been able to handle it effectively. We had a president who distrusts science and who steered national policy toward the COVID-19 pandemic in a completely disastrous direction. The lesson is a normal accident lesson.

You can be ready for an emergency, you can invest in trying to save lives. But all it takes is a muddling fool in the drivers seat to absolutely drive the situation to its worst possible outcome. We have 270,000 dead here. By the new year, we will have 400,000 dead. Many many of those deaths could have been prevented by measures that were already in place. Every time we feel arrogant and proud about our achievements, nature tends to slap us down. And I think that Artificial Intelligence is going to act a lot more like nature than it is going to act like a simple engineering problem.

evolution there are three players at the table: human beings, nature, and machines. I am firmly on the side of nature. But nature, I suspect, is on the side of the machines. Interviewer: It’s been an honor to speak with you. Thanks a lot for speaking with Techfastly. James: You’re welcome, the pleasure was mine.

Interviewer: If Artificial Intelligence acts like nature and just slaps us down, I’m quite happy with it. James: (laughs) The American science historian George Dyson said this: In the game of life and

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4 Currency Transfers Across International Borders Techfastly Team

ransferring currency has never been so simple as it is today. There is no need to call or visit a firm for it, just download an app, and some clicks are enough. However, there is more to this story than just some apps. The new technologies don’t just yield profits but also create new opportunities for the investor and industries. The following post will tell you more about this section, right from its evolution to the opportunities it has introduced. Evolution Of Currency Transfers

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The process of currency transfer is way older than you think. It started in the four-century AD, with special people appointed to transport currency in turn of a small commission. The currency transfer has come a long way since this time. However, it has faced its biggest revolution during the last ten years. These years presented the users with methods that were never present in the market. Now, you have access to your money and the authority to transfer it with just your mobile phone or laptops. The greatest milestone

in these years was the introduction of cryptocurrency in 2009. This currency used a peerto-peer transfer system that enabled the users to send funds without any intermediate. The currency acquires a market of over 237 billion USD and is being used by individuals, industries, and even investors. Cryptocurrency also brought forward the blockchain technology that helped to develop a system with real-time functionalities. It also introduced the concept of paperless currency, which later became the base

of many other apps and technologies. Another revolutionizing progress in these years was the development of applications like PayPal. These applications came with multiple currency support and could transfer them internationally. It even exchanged the currency to meet your requirements. Over 305 million people are now using this service to manage their funds. Today, you have multiple applications and online currency transfer options that you can use with a few clicks. You even have the cryptocurrency wallets that are totally paperless and do not need any physical space for storage. These technologies have made the transfer faster and made them much secure and low price.

How Do They Benefit Investors? The evolution of currency transfer methods in the last ten years has benefited not just the users but also the investors. The new technologies have opened up multiple sectors that you can invest in to get 22 | Techfastly | December 2020

profitable returns. For instance, new methods need an application for functioning. It means that you can earn high profits by investing in a currency transfer. The popular apps like PayPal, Paytm, and Google Pay are some of the apps that are doing it.

Better Exchange The modern currency transfer methods are free from regions and currency types. They will auto convert the currency you send/receive according to the requirement. It will save you both the time and money you previously wasted in exchanging it. Quick Transfer

However, this increasing app investment profit is just one of the few benefits of the new and faster currency transfer methods servers. Here’s a small list of other benefits that the investors can expect from them.

The previous methods needed some time for the fund to be sent or received, which was a great hindrance. For instance, let’s say that you find an opportunity in the stock market that can yield high profits. However, for buying these stocks in bulk, you need funds to be transferred to your account. Now previously, it took some time for transfer, and it’s possible that by the time you get the money, the opportunity might be gone. This issue is completely eliminated in the modern currency transfer system.

Now, you can get funds from the other side of the earth within a few seconds. Secure Payments About a decade ago, online payment was a concept that only a few knew, and even they were reluctant to use it. The simplest reason was the difficulty in the process and security issues. However, the new payment apps reduced this hassle forever. They are quick to use and very secure. These features benefit in two different ways. Firstly, the investors can now make payments directly from their accounts without paying a high cost for the online payment. Secondly, the payment methods raised the trend of eCommerce and turned it into a profitable business. Low Fees The banks and transfer firms had a complex money transfer system requiring employees and office buildings to handle the funds. Hence, they charged a considerable charge for transferring your currency. The 23 | Techfastly | December 2020

currency transfer methods need no such thing. They run on your smartphone, computer, or any other device. Therefore, the fees you paid were reduced to a level that won’t hurt your wallet.

How Could AI Improve Currency Transfers? AI has influenced almost every section of society, including schools, industries, and more. The currency transfer applications are no exception. The simplest reason or this collaboration is that this technology can predict the upcoming trend and issues.

It helps the investors to find the opportunities and create strategies for the upcoming event. The popular Japanese company Nikkei is the perfect example of companies using AI for investment. The AI technology is also rising in the currency transfer due to its security features. It can help you to predict anomalies in your system and detect any issues or breach before it happens. Its features like machine learning properties can also come in handy to gain insights and adjust your company for the market volatility. AI technology is also a great additive for currency

transfer apps. It can help them to achieve higher speed and reduce security issues.

Currency Transfer Apps

There are hundreds of applications that you can choose for currency transfer. Here’s a small list of the top 3 apps that the users prefer. OFX OFX is the top-rated currency transfer app in the market, especially for businesses. The app offers a wide range of currency, and a long list of countries allow this application. It also offers a live exchange rate calculator that allows you to get maximum profit from your funds. The best part is it doesn’t even have a limit on the transfers. You can use it to make as many payments as you want without any issues. Its low fees of 2% per transfer is a further benefit. However, the application is developed for businesses or investors who have to transfer a high amount and not for regular users. It cannot transfer an amount of less than $1000 per transfer. PayPal PayPal is not a new name in the currency world. The app has been around for nearly a decade and is preferred by most of the users worldwide. The app is known for its Top-notch security and simple to use interface. It is also preferred due to its conversion features that automatically convert the currency. It also allows onetouch deposit or withdrawal using a registered bank account. Another good thing about the app is its 24 | Techfastly | December 2020

compatibility with eCommerce. Almost every large-scale e-commerce company supports PayPal payment. However, you might want to check its transfer charges in your area. Its charges change from country to country. Transfer Wise The TransferWise app is much similar to the OFX app but a little less efficient. Its list of supported countries is smaller and needs a bit longer for transferring your funds. However, it does have its perks, making it a solid competitor. For instance, the app takes a change of only 0.7% (as of now) per transfer. Moreover, it allows you to transfer funds without any minimum or maximum limit.

Wrapping Up The currency transfer methods have come a long way in the last decade and are still in constant flux. Technologies like the blockchain, internet, and others have made it much easier than ever before. The new methods make it perfect for investors as well as the users who need hassle-free and quick transfers. The few apps and benefits that you just read are just the beginning of this new technology. There is still a lot more that you can learn to earn profits from the currency transfer sector.

How to collect data using Google Analytics Claudio G. Giancaterino

eb analytics evaluates both website and web marketing actions performances. It affords to understand how many users visit a website when they visit it and for how long they browse the website, which are the sources that carry the most traffic and more. There are several web analytics tools, and Google Analytics is always the first choice. Not only because it’s free, but it provides lots of features that help to test, track, and measure customer behavior on a website. Let’s give a short checklist on how to choose a useful analytics tool:

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• List the goals that need to be achieved from the information available on the tool. Check whether the tool can achieve the goals. • Check if the features match your web analytics needs. Check if it is easy to understand and use. • Check if it fits your budget, and it is in line with your expected ROI. • Check if it has a free-trial period.

What is Google Analytics? “ Google Analytics is

a free web analytics tool offered by Google that allows you to aggregate, filter, and visualize data to analyze how users interact with a website .” It’s a tracking software of people browsing a website retrieving data with valuable insights into user behavior, interests, and more to take action to improve a product or a service.

Why Digital Analytics?

A web analytics tool’s task is to make easily accessing

data without having to read through online sales records, count how many times a page has been

online world, there is the opportunity to measure several steps of the purchase using digital

browser for that website and easily track the trail on a single website URL domain by default. With each user interaction on the website, the analytics tracking code sends a URL string, called “hit,” with useful information about users. The URL string contains some useful data like:

shared, or count comments on each post. People usually purchase goods in stages. There are different stages that describe customer interactions. A basic purchase includes the following steps: • Acquisition when users build awareness and interest. • Behaviour when users engage with the business. • Conversion when a user becomes a customer. In the offline world, this process can be hard to measure. But in the 26 | Techfastly | December 2020

analytics, tracking what online behavior led to purchases and exploiting that data to make decisions about how to reach new and existing customers.

How does Google Analytics collect data? The website data collection begins with a snippet of JavaScript tracking code that’s included on every webpage where information is collected. The tracking code trails each user’s interaction on the website. This code uses the domain of the website to track and put it in the analytics reports. In this way, Google Analytics will drop a cookie in the user’s

• the language of the user’s browser • the name of the page visited • the screen resolution of the user’s device • the Analytics ID that associates that hit to the right analytics account

The hit will also include other parameters like a randomly-generated user identifier. This will allow Google Analytics to understand new and returning users. The three most common types of hits are: • “pageview” hits • “event” hits • “transaction” hits A “pageview” hit is triggered every time a user opens a webpage with the

tracking code. This is the most common type of hit sent to Google Analytics. An “event” hit is triggered every time a user interacts with a particular element on the website. Event hits send four parameters of data in the URL: event action, category, label, and value. It can be used to categorize interactions in reports that are specific to the website.

things like: - a user’s location - specifics about user’s browser - user’s age and gender - source/medium that referred users to a website Once the hit is sent to Google Analytics and combined with additional data, they are ready for processing by the Analytics servers.

How to set up

A “transaction” hit can pass data to Google Analytics Google Analytics? about ecommerce purchases. Let’s look at how Google Analytics accounts are Setting up the Enhanced organized. Ecommerce function, you can also pass additional All company accounts ecommerce data like can be grouped under product category, whether an “Organization,” which items have been added or is optional. This allows removed from a shopping us to manage multiple cart, and how many times Google Analytics accounts users viewed a product on under one grouping. Large a website. businesses could have Additional hits such as multiple accounts, while “social hits” can pass likes, small-sized companies shares, or tweet data; and generally use one account. “page timing hits” that When an account is allow you to report on page generated, it automatically timings. generates a property and a view for that account. But Google Analytics widens each Analytics account can those data using other have multiple properties sources such as IP address, and each property can server-log files, and other have multiple views. This ad-serving data. And in organizes data collection in this way, it can understand the best way for a business. 27 | Techfastly | December 2020

The Google Analytics account determines how data is collected from websites and manages who can access that data. Generally, the best choice is to create separate accounts for distinct businesses or business units. Each account has at least one “property,” and each property can collect data independently of each other using a unique tracking ID that appears in the tracking code. Just as each account can have multiple “properties,” each property can have multiple “views.” The Running Filters feature determines what data to include in the reports for each view. The view level also affords you set Google Analytics “Goals.” Goals are a way to track business objectives from the website. For instance, a task could be how many users signed up for an email newsletter or how many users purchased a product. Pay attention when setting up your accounts, properties, and views because you can’t change data once it’s been collected and processed. Start your Google Analytics trial.

Proof of Stake vs. Proof of Work

Ashwin Kumar R

ne of the most talked about events in the crypto-world is the release of Ethereum 2.0. It is making the move from a Proof-of-work mechanism to a Proof-of-Stake mechanism. These are called Consensus mechanisms and are used to validate a transaction in a blockchain without the need for a third party. Before looking at what these mechanisms are, let me explain what a Consensus mechanism is.

Consensus Mechanism The Consensus mechanism is used in a blockchain to confirm the transactions that occur in it. It does not need a third party and is designed to establish trust between the network participants. It is the final piece of the cryptographic puzzle that must be solved 28 | Techfastly | December 2020

to validate the transactions and add the block to the network to make the cryptocurrency work. There is no pre-defined mathematical solution to this problem. It instead uses cryptography and an incentive system to maintain a healthy and secure network. This mechanism exists to avoid the double-spend attacks where a participant in the network spends the same coin multiple times and tries to update it in the network. This can be avoided by identifying the longest chain of blocks in the network. All the other shorter and invalid chains are discarded. A consensus mechanism backs almost every crypto-asset. Several consensus

mechanisms are developed and used, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. The mechanisms differ in how the verification of transactions is rewarded. The ones mentioned here are not the only two consensus mechanisms, and there are other ones like Proof of Authority, Federated Byzantine Agreement, etc.

Proof of work Proof of work is a mechanism that was conceptualized way before the creation of crypto-assets. The concept was first introduced in 1993 by Cynthia Dwork and Moni Naor. It was only in the year 1999

that Markus Jakobsson coined the term “Proof-ofwork”. Proof of Work is the first, and simplest consensus mechanism proposed, but this mechanism is nowhere near perfect even after so many years. This did not stop it from being the most dominant consensus mechanism that most of the cryptocurrencies in circulation use to date. It was first introduced in Bitcoin by Satoshi Nakamoto in the 2008 Bitcoin Whitepaper. (The algorithm was previously used in Adam Back’s HashCash) The process of this mechanism is quite simple. A miner verifies a set of transactions and adds it to the blockchain to get some cryptocurrency in return. A more detailed explanation: The cryptographic puzzles mentioned above do not rely on a fixed solution. There is no mathematical skill required to solve these. Brute force does the work, which requires large amounts of computational power. These days people set up mining farms, making it almost impossible for individuals to mine and earn cryptocurrency. More on this later.

The mechanism is secure, but it is still vulnerable to a 51% attack. In layman’s terms, 51% of the nodes in 29 | Techfastly | December 2020

the network decide to be on the evil team to steal money by taking the blockchain network hostage. They control more than 51% of the computer power that is used for mining in the network. This is unlikely to happen in large-scale cryptocurrencies but smaller alt-coins like Bitcoin Gold have been subject to this attack in the past.

Proof of Stake was created to address the mining process’s energy consumption problem in a Proof of Work system. Sunny King and Scott Nadal introduced it in 2012.

is no need for high computational power, making it a greener alternative to Proof of Work. The creators replaced the mining process with something called “staking.” Instead of mining a block, the responsibility of creating a block is given to a user in a deterministic way, depending upon their stake (the amount of coins the individual owns). The individual with a higher stake has better chances of being chosen as the validator and will receive more staking rewards. This does seem pretty unfair as it allows for a centralization-like situation.

This mechanism does not involve miners, and there

This brings us to another problem, similar to the

Proof of Stake

51% attack. Rather than contributing to 51% of the network’s computational resources, you now have to own at least 51% of the

coins in a network. This seems dangerous, but it is highly unlikely for anyone to trust a coin so much. Unlike in Proof of Work, no new coins are minted. The validators are only paid through transaction fees where the rewards are from coins that were already created. There are a few other issues with Proof of Stake like initial distribution of coins, monopolization, and the nothing at stake problem. All these issues were addressed in 2013 by the creation of Peercoin. Proof of Work turned heads majorly when Ethereum 2.0 announced that they are moving to a Proof of Stake system.

Energy Consumption

As already mentioned, Proof of Stake tackled the power consumption problem and adopted a greener mechanism. Due to mining farms setup around the world to mine cryptocurrencies, this practice’s energy consumption shot up like crazy. Study reveals Bitcoin’s electricity consumption is underestimated and finds the network “represents close to half of the current global data centre electricity use”

This is alarming and is definitely not the way to 30 | Techfastly | December 2020

go. It is good to see that the future of cryptocurrency is moving towards PoS which requires only a small fraction of the energy.

Decentralization

Even though PoS is the future, it does have its flaws. In comparison, PoW is more decentralized since the validator being chosen does not depend upon the number of coins owned. Not everyone will want the overhead of becoming a miner. In the case of PoS, the validators neither have to spend on mining equipment nor have to pay electricity bills. All they need to have is some cryptocurrency, which they keep staking. This leads to centralization as the coins are with the same person instead of a miner who will have to cash in some cryptocurrency to pay the electricity bills.

The PoW mechanism results in better distribution of coins and maintains the decentralized state of the network more fairly.

Security

Proof of Work is a tried and tested mechanism. It has shown its strength with Bitcoin, and the world is witness. Since Proof of Stake is relatively new, it just can’t be used without a lot of testing. The problem with PoS is when a blockchain is forked due

to some reason. Validators can validate transactions of both the chains without any consequences. This can be exploited to created multiple forks of the same blockchain. It introduces the problem of double spending where the coin spent in the original chain might not be added to the forked chain. Even though solutions have been proposed to solve this problem, it is not yet convincing from a user’s perspective. PoW is comparatively safer since miners will have to decide to split their mining power to the original and forked chain but are unlikely to do so as the low mining power resulting from the split will not be enough for mining.

Conclusion Proof of Stake is better as a whole when compared to Proof of Work, but it just cannot be given the crown yet. PoS is a significant step-up when power consumption is taken into consideration, and it is a very important factor to consider given the amount of energy consumption by PoW. Neither of them is perfect, but with proper testing and fixes, Proof of Stake will reign supreme and will be the norm in the years to come. It is indeed an interesting time we live in.

In Conversation with

ArpitaKhadria Founder & CEO : Barefoot

n our ‘In Conversation With’ series, we speak to Arpita Khadria, a serial entrepreneur and a brand expert. She founded “Barefoot Consultancy”; A boutique brand building company which started in 2012 and has successfully helped over 100+ brands get bigger and better; Arpita is also the inventor of a patented word puzzle-Signtist, which is copyrighted in 150 countries and was featured by Apple in 12 countries under best new games; Her most recent business venture - “Wastexpert” is a food waste handling brand of products that addresses the garbage issues of India. Arpita is currently writing a book on confirmation bias and behavioral economics. Srikant speaks with her on how building brands in today’s times has significantly changed.

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Srikant: Can you just tell me something about what you do? Arpita: I’ve been running my own company called Barefoot Consultancy for the last 8 years. This is a boutique consulting firm which caters to small, midsize, and large brands. Our entire focus and model has been value-based and not volume-based. That is where we are filling the gap in the market. I also run a second business, which is into food waste handling equipment, called Wastexpert. It is something I’m very passionate about. There we are supplying new age equipment for handling food waste in commercial kitchens.

that’s because there is such a high level of involvement for each project. We are well respected for our timeliness, creativity and trustworthiness. Srikant: I understand because I used to run a digital marketing firm myself. One of the things was that you had many clients, but you knew very little about them. Arpita: I think our model is unique in many ways. I

Srikant: Is that doing well now? Arpita: Yeah, that is the need of the hour as food waste handling is a huge issue. However, Barefoot has also grown by 75% YOY. It is a business that is very close to my heart as well. It is a team that has made a big difference to a lot of brands because we have a high involvement approach. So, I know my clients very well, and we all have a very deep friendship. I would say 32 | Techfastly | December 2020

don’t know if you know my background, but I started my career in advertising as a copywriter at McCann Erickson. I also went on to the brand side, where I was a brand manager in Fastrack, and I worked with Titan Retail as well. So I’ve seen both sides of the industry. I saw a clear gap in 2011-2012 when the startup culture boomed,

especially in Bengaluru and worldwide. There was a gap between what ad agencies did and what prominent consultants were doing for brands. We noticed a clear gap. There was a need for a company to become the outsourced marketing team for start-ups. They didn’t have a full-fledged in-house marketing team, so we could become that person for them. We were using both sides of our brain, not just the creative or analytical side. Many ad agencies are mostly creative-driven, not business-driven. Similarly, most consulting firms are business-driven, not creative. Somewhere there had to be a marriage, and that is where we stepped in, and that is where our growth has been 75% each year since we started. Srikant: There is a lot of focus on monetization and less on engagement? Arpita: That is right. Every entrepreneur, including myself, reaches a crossroads where you have to choose if you wish to go the volume way or the value way in terms of growth. For me personally, the way I am and the way I wanted to structure our

value proposition was clearly going to be the value way rather than volume. The role of a brand consultant is so much like a family doctor. The client has to trust us with such a high level of confidential information and such a high level of involvement on our part. Unless we become their eyes and ears, and we give the client the confidence that we are acting in their interest, the relationship is not effective. It can all fall apart very easily, and that’s what the volume game actually does for agencies. It puts a lot of pressure on billings and P&L’s and not on long term relationships. The tussle

between involvement and billings is always on. Srikant: This is an amazing business model, and very few agencies do 33 | Techfastly | December 2020

the businesses”.

this. What I want to ask is, in the pre-covid world and ongoing-covid world, has For this, we have anything changed in your developed something business? called “Barefoot’s brand resilience model”, where Arpita: Yeah, a couple of we are actually telling our things have dramatically clients to ask themselves changed. I don’t know if it’s three questions. good or bad, but change is always something that 1- Are you still relevant? takes time to adjust to. 2. Are you still relatable? And eventually, you figure 3. Are you still reachable? out if it’s good or bad. The first thing, purely So the three R’s as we call from an approach point them. This is the approach of view, all our meetings we are taking post-covid are now virtual. We are to help brands prioritize in the creative space, so and focus. For example, it is a little challenging to if you are relevant, and have that kind of impact by relevant, I mean on the client. We all know your business, product, how difficult it is to make service, or people are creative presentations still relevant to the covid even face to face. So when scenario. And you are it becomes virtual, of relatable; what I mean by course, the task becomes relatable is whether your that much harder. That is communication, tone or something that all creative positioning still connects players in the market with the audience. But your would feel pressurized issue is that of reachability, about. then you can focus on your distribution channels. One example of being relevant and relatable but not reachable could be restaurants, where food is still relevant and relatable but people cannot visit the premises. So, they have to deliver or find different ways of reaching people. The second situation is you are relevant, and

“The second big change from pre-covid to post-covid would be about the priorities of

you have the reach, but you are not relatable. This is a re-positioning issue and needs a new communication strategy. Brands are having to focus on different emotions post covid. There are so many emotions that brands could cater to pre-covid, like envy, greed, gluttony, jealousy. Those were huge selling points and triggers in communication. But that is something that needs relooking now. The third scenario could be that I am relatable, I have the reach, but I am no longer relevant. And there are some clients that are facing this as well. Their product or service is no longer required. Eg: event companies. In that case, they have to pivot. We call it the “brand resilience model”because that is what resilient companies do. We have seen it for decades where innovation has rendered brands redundant. It doesn’t just take a pandemic to stay resilient. You look at typewriters or cordless phones; they’ve been rendered redundant not because of Covid but innovation. So something to think about there!

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Srikant: This makes a lot of sense. There is also a process of business development. You would seek out new clients. Pre-covid, you would go to potential leads to catch up, negotiate, send proposals. The physicality is gone. How are you tackling that? Arpita: Honestly, we have been fortunate to have a very different strategy from the very beginning. We have, in our eight years plus existence, not spent a single rupee on business development.

“We have used content marketing and content creation as a mode of communicating and building trust. 80% of our business is through references”. What I can do is share some tips on how we went about it. So, the number one thing we did is if you look at our website, it’s very content heavy. We have blogs that give people food for thought, and we are talking about things

beyond our deliverables, and it’s pretty engaging. I personally create a lot of content on LinkedIn, and I do guest lectures in colleges, conduct corporate workshops on brand building etc. So, all of this creates organic traction for us. And then, of course, our clients have been extremely kind to us, and they see the honesty with which we function and it has been a great journey so far with regards to references. Which is why that is not a big challenge at the moment. Srikant: I would really like you to throw some light on companies that are SME’s. How should they go about engaging their employees who are working remotely?

Arpita: I can only speak for my industry, which is the brand consultancy and creative industry. What is important at this moment, for everybody, is to adapt to the new normal. Believe me, the teams are facing a lot of pressure, because so much of the creative process and ideation is about brainstorming and face to face interactions. With that gone, the employees are totally out of their comfort zones. So, we need to adapt to the virtual environment and push on.

understand what all is changing both from the clients’ perspective and consumers’ perspective, you will be able to handle it better. For example, number one, brands need

Srikant: So in the branding industry, as it needs so much brainstorming and creative output, does the output get affected when doing that remotely? Arpita: That’s right. And that is a huge challenge we are facing: to keep the motivation of the designers, the writers, strategists, presenters, alive and upbeat. Also, communication with clients has become a challenge too. So, even client servicing is really feeling the heat. But I think there are a few things one should do in order to stay sane and still be on the ball. To understand what is changing? If you 35 | Techfastly | December 2020

and sensitized to that fact, I think that is essential. The second thing is that we need to be cognizant of the fact that there is new media emerging for meetings, a new need for certain product categories that are coming up, and also new lifestyles and hobbies among consumers. When you have a new medium of communication, automatically, the skill set required also changes. The way you write emails, the way you communicate on Zoom calls is very different from face to face meetings. That upskilling is very important in order for them not to feel irrelevant or anxious. They shouldn’t feel overwhelmed by the change. That’s how we’re keeping them motivated, and the other point is sensitizing them to these changes from the clientside and the consumer size.

to start humanizing. That is the first thing that the teams need to understand. That, it is no longer going to be just cut-throat sales and Srikant: Right, they have promotions and offers. to be more aware at all costs. Arpita: Yeah, more about Brands are going to external and internal look at behavioral factors. Their own skill sets and how they can adapt in sciences in a big way. order to be effective. They are going to start

looking at humanizing their messaging in a big way.

If our teams can be trained

Srikant: So when you say brands need to humanize, can you just throw a little more light on what exactly

that means? Arpita: Yeah, I’ll give you an example. I don’t know if you remember, but recently the brand Kent launched a dough maker. And it was a very relevant product for covid times because, during the lockdown, we were all going crazy trying to make the dough. Especially if you have a family of 4 or more, making dough is a real challenge. So, the brand had a winner of a product on their hands. But when they released the product, and the ad came out, the ad said “your maid might be infected with Corona, so stay safe and healthy and choose a Kent Dough Maker”. That really got a lot of flak online, and the brand actually took the ad down. So, it brings me back to

“Barefoot’s brand resilience model” that I spoke about before. You might have a relevant product, and you might even have the reach, but if you’re not relatable and if you’re not humanizing your communication based on emotions people are feeling right now, it’s going to backfire. So, when I say humanize, what I mean is 36 | Techfastly | December 2020

that we must remember this entire pandemic is first a human crisis and then an economic crisis. Many people compare it to a recession. I don’t

agree there. It is not like a recession year; it will lead to one, possibly, but it is first a human crisis and then an economic crisis. And that is what I mean when I say brands need to humanize.

“The second thing is brands need to start prioritizing behavioral sciences and economics”. They need to start understanding human behavior in order to have

effective campaigns. I can again substantiate that with an example. There is a Danish company, a departmental store chain, that used an amazing pricing strategy during the lockdown based on consumer behavior. They found that a lot of people were hoarding sanitizers, buying them in bulk, which left many consumers high and dry. So, taking into account that behavior, they put a pricing strategy, which went like this: You buy one bottle of sanitizer, it’s $5; if you buy 2 bottles, it’s $100. I think it was pure genius! It’s a great example of looking at behavioral sciences. Normally what we are used to? We’re used to -Buy one get one free, buy two, you get 30% off. They just turned that on its head. This is first a humanitarian crisis and then an economic crisis. So that is a great example of, again, of how brands need to humanize. Srikant: That’s an excellent example. Brands saying let’s first address the humanitarian crisis, and then focus on economic growth. I had used the phrase postcovid earlier, sadly though it’s still while-covid. What new opportunities do

you think this pandemic might have brought on? Arpita: Absolutely. There is not a doubt in my mind. Like I said, innovation actually renders a lot of businesses redundant. It doesn’t just take a pandemic. So we don’t mourn the death of those companies when it’s related to innovation. Do we? What it means is that brands have to be resilient, and there are opportunities on all fronts. For example, there will be an emergence of new categories of products. We are already seeing it. We are already seeing innovation in products, in processes, and in media. As brand experts, we always have to be cognizant of the new lifestyle that people have started leading. The emergence of new hobbies. As humans, suddenly, during this time, we have discovered a new side to ourselves. And that is a great opportunity. Somebody who was maybe only interested in watching TV is also cooking now. Somebody who was only immersed in his business is also playing the guitar. So, how is that not an opportunity? Srikant: So you’re 37 | Techfastly | December 2020

basically saying that there is a huge shift in behavior, and that shift will create Various new opportunities, and brands have to support that? Arpita: Yes, absolutely. And somewhere I would also like to say is that, we all needed the brakes on consumerism. We all possibly needed a check on the wastefulness that surrounded us. And only the fittest and truthful will survive this. And maybe that’s how it should be. Srikant: More truthful than the fittest, I guess. Arpita: Yes. The ones who are in it for the right reasons, the ones who are resilient and see the larger picture. Srikant: One last question. How should a brand position itself in these changing times? But I think you have clearly answered that in this conversation. Your resilient model addresses that quite comprehensively. Arpita: Yeah, I will reiterate that. All brands must ask themselves if they are still relevant if they are still relatable? And if they are, are they still reachable?

This is not post-pandemic advice, this is advice for staying relevant and alive. Srikant: I would say the advice is essential more so now than before. Arpita: Yes, because frankly, it is. You have to really give a lot of importance to relatability and positioning now. And that’s where we come in. Over the years, we have really given clients the kind of positioning that has made them successful. At the end of the day, what you say and how you say it are both important. Srikant: Thank you so much, Arpita. It was a pleasure to speak with you. I’m quite excited to offer our conversation to our readers. Arpita: Thank you, Srikant.

38 | Techfastly | December 2020

etwork security has been a hot topic for quite some time now. Whether small or large, every business invests a huge sum of both time and money on it. Almost every company now has a specialized team to deal with this aspect. But what exactly is network security, and why is it so important. Let’s find out.

What Is Network Security? The word network security is an umbrella term covering several processes, devices, and technologies that help ensure user privacy over a network. In other words, it is the 39 | Techfastly | December 2020

Network Security for your Home and Office Techfastly Team defined set of rules that are meant to prevent internet users from unintentional online activities. It is one of the most important parts of the online world and a must to follow for every organization, regardless of its size. It is also necessary to prevent the issues of activities like Phishing, clickjacking, and brute force attacks that can compromise privacy. Usually, companies will

have specialized software/ hardware components to ensure their network security. Many of them are also deploying specialists to test its security and strengthen it. They may also use multiple firewall networks and an innovative authentication system for this part. Utilizing a multilayer build for the website, and security is also a preferred method. With this method, the company will know about cybercrime activities much before the

hacker gets access to the system data.

Why Do We Need Network Security? The most straightforward reason for this rising need for network security is the increasing dependency on the internet. Almost every activity from banking to a simple bill payment has now moved to digital modes, creating more hotspots to acquire user data to harm them. According to Forbes, these breached exposed over 4.1 billion within the first six months of the year 2019. They are using this dependence as an opportunity and are developing improved tricks that are unbeatable by the standard practices. The hack can also compromise the IT sector of your company, releasing all your confidential data. It can be a threat to both your employees and your companies’ reputation. In many cases, the hacker can also use your private data to threaten you or blackmail you. Not to mention the risk of using your system to spread a virus or trigger illegal activities. 40 | Techfastly | December 2020

The risk is even greater for companies that use a cloud-based system. They can lose both their business and their client due to these hacks. A lot of companies in recent years have had to face lawsuits after the hackers use their system to get user data and

and acquire secure data from it. The hacker can use conventional methods like Phishing, click-jacking, or go on to brutal methods like manually malware installation. They can even do it through a system connected to your network. Using a secure network

misuse it. So, if you don’t want to end up with your data on a public platform or in the hands of a cybercriminal, you have to focus on network security.

and software like VPN can be a great way to shut them out, but they cannot always protect you. These applications can mask your system, but there are still many ways to find and get inside it. The worst part is that each of these risks even applies to your smartphone and clusters. Even these modern

Network Security Types There are multiple ways to get access to a server

systems need an external application, and advanced protocol to protect them. Therefore, you have to deploy multiple security measures to ensure full security. The following are the four main types of network security sections that you have to consider. Network Access Control Often the network owners don’t set a protocol for the access level of their network. They offer full access to anyone connected to their network, which in turn makes them an easy target. Anyone in their network can easily upload a virus or hack into the system without much effort. Therefore, control the network access level your user has while using your

Let’s suppose that you are an agency owner with a team of say 40-50 people working on your website. Now, 10 of these people are freshers and don’t have to upload anything online. The next 35 are your trusted employees who mainly add data to your agency site. Then there are the four managers who check the website and make changes to its UI as required. Finally, the last user is the site owner (you) who takes care of payments and other functions.

considerably more writes while you will need all the rights. Therefore, when you create the network, you have to define terms and create categories according to this network access requirement. It will ensure that even if the lower level gets infected or hacked, the upper level will be safe. Therefore, even if a hacker gets through one of your employees, he/she will not get the administrator rights. They may be able to add data or make changes, but you will still be in Now, in this network, power and have a chance to the freshers don’t need shut them. network access. Everything Installing a firewall to they do will go to the separate trusted devices experienced employees and non-trusted devices is for a check. The next 35 also an important measure. employees need to add data It will ensure that even the so they will need network non-compliant devices access but to a minimal can access your network without any safety issue. Other than the measures, you can also block malicious sites and tools on your network.

App Security

network. Let’s understand this with an example. 41 | Techfastly | December 2020

scale. On the other hand, the managers will need

The application that you create for your organization is also a part of your network. It means that if a hacker can use it to get inside your network and compromise our data. The hacking process will

become even easier if the application doesn’t have an integrated security protocol or has a lot of bugs. Hence, you must take every possible precaution while developing and deploying your application. You also need to ensure that the app stays up to date and gets regular bug fixing.

Email Security Emails are a significant security risk for any network. They are the base of hacking tricks like Phishing, malware infections, scams, and many more. The hackers can also design the email to look authentic so that the user himself provides the credential without suspecting anything. Therefore, you should never access an email without taking preventive measures. For instance, you can train your network member to differentiate between authentic and malicious emails. It is also ideal to employ a malware software check before opening the email.

Antivirus programs 42 | Techfastly | December 2020

Emails are not the only source of infection. It can also happen through an online link, website, or a physical drive. Once infected, the system will not just harm itself but infect all the other systems in the network, and before you know about it, the whole network will lose its security. Malicious codes can also cause

harm, like data deletion, system overload, and slow processing. The simplest remedy for this part is to install antivirus software on your devices. This program will check every device and website as soon as it connects and detects malicious software before your system gets infected.

Network Security Key The network security key

refers to a digital signature or a password that secures your Wi-Fi network. Anyone who wants to access the wireless network will have to enter this key before they can connect with your network. It helps you to ensure that your connection is safe and controlled. The following are the three types of network keys

that you can use for your network.

WEB WEB keys are passcode types of network keys that you can create using 0-9 numeric values and A-F alphabets. It generally has a length of 10,26 or 56 characters and lets you encrypt the sent and received data. However, they are not that secure and last preferable for any

secure network. WAP/WAP 2 WAP is the next generation network security key that uses a word or passphrase for securing your network. These keys don’t have the restriction like the previous and can work with any type of input. They are also better because the user can set and reset it anytime. Some of the routers have gone even further than the WPA and use a newer version called WPA2. This network key uses an AES algorithm and offers unmatched security. It is highly recommended for heightened security.

Network Security During COVID-19 The recent outbreak of COVID-19 has affected almost all aspects of life, and network security is no different. With this pandemic at its height, more and more people are moving towards digital mode for shopping, jobs, banking, investment, and a lot more. The users are relying on the internet more than they did before. In such a scenario, even a minor glitch in your network security can compromise millions of users in an instance. It’s a huge risk that no company is willing to take. Hence, almost all of them 43 | Techfastly | December 2020

are moving toward better security solutions like AI. This technology offers a self-developing nature, which helps it learn from past cases and detect error possibilities even before they occur. It can also automate the whole threat detection system and even detect the already present threats in your system. The technology can also help speed up the recovery in case of an outbreak to minimize your downtime. The General Data Protection Regulation, which is the core of Europe’s digital privacy, has also made some amendments to secure users during this critical time. Here’s a list of changes it has introduced. •

The information that the organization collects from the user for monitoring COVID-19 status will fall under personal data.

•

If an organization wants to collect data from an individual, they have to be clear with their purpose and collect data only for that specific part and nothing else. For instance, if they need data for classifying people into safety zones, asking about their travel history and questions about their health will be enough.

•

The organization that wants to collect personal data

related to COVID-19 will need a legal basis for it. •

Any organization that has added data collection categories in their online form will have to update their privacy policies.

•

In case the organization has to disclose an individual’s data, they have to ensure that minimal information is released.

Wrapping Up The safety of internet users is the priority of every network owner. They have to ensure that no one can access their network using a back door or a weak point and extract critical data. Companies like Norton, Cisco, and Symantec have spent years preparing and perfecting applications to prevent breaches. They have tons of spyware, malware, antivirus, and firewall systems that you can deploy to protect your network. These companies are also taking steps to integrate AI and ML in the application to predict unauthorized activities. Their application and the knowledge from this post will come in handy for dealing and preventing data breaches. Use them wisely.

Complete Guide: 8 mistakes you must avoid in your content marketing campaign in 2020 Dhruv Maheshwari Complete Guide: 8 mistakes you must avoid in your content marketing campaign in 2020 Content being the king of all marketing activities worldwide, content marketing has gained popularity over time as one of the best investments a brand can make. It’s great to generate leads and build thought leadership in the industry- both of which make for a great brand. Seth Godin calls content marketing as ‘the only marketing left,’ given its authenticity and adaptability with new age media and the online generation. But, as more and more people are realizing the importance of content 44 | Techfastly | December 2020

marketing, the competition

is rising, and the market is being saturated. As a result, user attention is dwindling. So, at this rate, your marketing efforts should be extraordinarily calculated and in line with your business goals and vision. This also means that you can’t afford mistakes.

But, given the race for content marketing and the excessive amount of money companies keep aside for it, these mistakes are bound to happen. But if you’re in it to win it, then there’s a way to avoid those mistakes, and that’s by learning from them. learn from past experiences. Let’s explore some common content marketing mistakes brands are making today and how you can work your way around it for maximized results.

Content table 1. Not having a strong content strategy in place 2. Not understanding your audience 3. Not creating goaloriented content 4. Not experimenting with content formats 5. Not promoting content effectively 6. Not keeping up with trends 7. Not paying attention to CTAs Call-to-Actions (CTAs) 8. Not tracking performance

align the audience’s needs and brand needs, and then establish a plan of action keeping in mind the analytics that needs to be

It’s like shooting arrows blindly. a shot in the dark.

tracked.

Consider following these steps to draft a content marketing strategy for your brand backed by an effective action plan:

Are you willing to take that risk? Probably not.

Not having a strong content strategy in place According to the Content Marketing Institute, 63% of businesses don’t have a documented content marketing strategy. This means that 63 out of every 100 businesses use content marketing with the ‘hope’ of making it work because, without a strategy, success is a game of luck. Content marketing is more than content creation and distribution. It uses a much strategic approach to understand the audience, 45 | Techfastly | December 2020

If you don’t have a documented strategy in place, your team will always be confused, and you would be investing a lot of time, effort, and money on things that may or may not yield the desired result. This is because you don’t know what you’re doing, how you will track it, and if it’s necessary to do it.

• Define your goals and objectives. • Understand your audience and their buying habits. • Do competitor research, understand where you stand in the market.

• Based on research, decide on the channels you want to create content on and where your audience is present the most. • Decide what type of content you’re going to create. • Divide the work among your team. Content marketing is a team effort, and transparency always wins. • Start creating content after establishing an editorial calendar for efficiency. • Promote content. • Analyze your efforts by tracking metrics. And there you have it, an elaborate content marketing strategy that defines your plan of action every step of the way. Documenting this process will help prevent gaps, give a better idea to the team, ensure efficiency in execution, and provide results. You can use team collaboration tools, which immensely help immensely in this area by coordinating everything in one place and avoiding any kind of confusion. You can use above infographic by BlueHost as 46 | Techfastly | December 2020

a checklist while creating your strategy and tweak it as per your brand goals and objectives. You should focus on preparing a strategy because it lays out clear fundamentals useful in the long run to track progress and introduce changes for better results. Moreover, following a strategy can lead to the larger goal achievementachievement of the larger goal, as because small wins lead to the big ones, and makemakes the process easier. Pro tip: If you’re an individual or agency providing content marketing services to a client, you may want to use a proposal template to display an outline of your strategy for better conversions.

2. Not understanding your audience While content is the glue that holds a content marketing strategy together, you cannot just brainstorm content ideas or create content on the first 5 things you see online. Even though it may reside with your industry and niche, it may not cater to the audience- and that’s the biggest mistake you can make. If you want to generate leads, build a relationship with your customers, and nurture them, you need to understand them first. The more you know your audience, the better your content marketing results will be. But how can you

understand your audience? Consider starting by doing these things:

Ask yourself some questions

Before you understand them, understand who you want to serve first. Try defining their demographics, buying capacities, habits, daily activities, and things that would be ideal for ‘your’ customer.

Carry a market research Once you’ve understood who you want to target, try to see where you can find these people. What platforms are they present on, how do they

communicate with each 47 | Techfastly | December 2020

other, what language they use, what type of content they consume, how much they are willing to spend every month, etc. This will help give you a clearer idea about your audience and set a course for realistic expectations.

Look over to your competitors Your competitors, the ones who have a similar target audience as yours, are probably ahead of the game. They’ve been doing all of this and assessing their moves. You can see how their strategies have worked out and how the

audience is responding to them. This will help you

identify gaps that you can fill through your plan.

Carry a survey Once you’ve defined your audience, assessed your competitors, and gathered a fair amount of information about your audience, it’s good to factcheck. There’s nothing better than directly surveying your audience through a questionnaire, asking them essential questions that will help you create and execute your content marketing strategy better. Keep the survey crisp, and to the point; if, if it’s never-ending, no one is

going to fill it.

If you’ve missed out on these points, then you’ve been making this mistake. But it’s never too late to reform it. Because the last thing you want is wasting your resources or watching your efforts yield minimum to no results. After you’ve done your target audience research, it’s ideal forto creatingcreate a buyer persona- a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer., which This will help guide all your marketing strategies, especially your content such that it’s targeted directly at helping your audience.

around it ensures that you’re walking in the right direction, and your content will yield the desired results. There are numerous stages of a buyer’s journey, and creating content, especially around it, is so important because it caters to a specific goal. Here are the different stages of a buyer’s journey and the type of content you

educate the customers; only, only then will they be able to understand properly. The content for the awareness stage of the buyer’s journey can be: Blog posts Social media posts White papers eBooks Webinars How-to videos

Better be safe than sorry!

3. Not creating goaloriented content Every piece of content you create as a part of your content marketing strategy has a goal. This can be for SEO, for lead generation, to get contact details, to nurture your customers, and so on. But if you don’t know why you’re creating a particular piece of content, then you’re just wasting your resources. Being specific on your goals and creating content 48 | Techfastly | December 2020

can create at each stage:

Consideration

Awareness stage

At this stage, they’ve gathered a brief idea about the problem they’re facing and contemplate if you’re the right solution for their problem. Here, they need to be targeted with content that portrays you as the best solution for their problem and a perfect fit for their requirements. This content needs to be

Your prospect is aware of the problem they are facing at this stage, but don’t know if it is important enough to seek a solution. Here, they need to be targeted with content that can help them troubleshoot the problem and understand it better. The main goal here is to

backed by data and social proof that displays your expertise. This stage is crucial because it’s only here that they decide if they should go forward with you or move on and choose someone else. It determines whether they will turn from a prospect to a paying customer, so the approach needs to be convincing. The content for the consideration stage of the buyer’s journey can be: • • • •

Comparison videos Case studies Free Samples Buying guides

Decision stage They have decided that they want to be your customer at this stage, so they think what it takes to be your customer. Here, you need to present content that tells them they have made the right decision and can fully invest their faith in you and leave their problems at your disposal. This stage is important because they’re on the edge of being converted, and the 49 | Techfastly | December 2020

way you respond now also sets the course for future collaborations., and if they will continue purchasing from you. The content for the decision and beyond stages of the buyer’s journey can be: • • • •

to just blogs and social media posts. There are ample content formats that should be included in your

Free trials Testimonials Coupon and discount Upgrades

Creating tailor-made content as per the stage at which your buyer stands is crucial because it’s meant for a specific goal. Without this, you could be showing educational content to a buyer in the decision stage when they’re fully aware of the problem but need to be convinced that you’re the end and ultimate solution to their problem. This will also make your content marketing strategy much more specific and achievable, ensuring that your customers are targeted at the right content at the right time.

Not experimenting with content formats Content marketing is not defined by nor is restricted

content marketing strategy. Why? Because it prevents your content on multiple channels from being monotonous. Have you ever thought of using letterhead

eBooks

and graphics in your email instead of just a text newsletter? You can always experiment and combine different content formats to make your content more appealing and engaging for the audience. Content formats and including multimedia in the content areis an essential part of user experience which cannot be missed out on. Let’s explore some content formats you can include in your content marketing strategy:

Blogs Your good old-fashioned blogs are an important part of your content strategy because they account for a significant part of SEO and help establish thought leadership by catering to the target audience’s pain points and major struggles. With blogs, remember to optimize it for SEO while writing for humans by including white spaces, using short sentences, and using storytelling to evoke emotion. For content topics, you can use Quora and Answer the public to find important yet less50 | Techfastly | December 2020

answered questions.

Infographics Infographics help relay important information in a detailed format through visual aid. It attractively communicates the message to help the audience understand the topic much better. You can find plenty of templates on Venngage and Canva, and tweak them to create your infographics. If you’re answering an important question, it can also be used as a lead magnet to get email signups.

eBooks have recently taken momentum as one of the most popular lead magnets and free resources, with brands using eBooks to educate their audience in a more profound sense by providing extensive value. These can be a mix of text and multimedia, addressing an important topic in your industry, which would help many people solve their problems. Since an eBook can be downloaded and read later, people are slowly prioritizing them over other forms of content to educate themselves on relevant topics.

Videos With the rise in video marketing, more and more companies are now including videos in their content marketing strategy because they help establish a one-on-one connection with the audience. These can be bite-sized videos on

social media or long videos embedded in blogs and uploaded on YouTube. You can also repurpose your blogs and social media posts into videos

the game.

Not promoting content effectively Many people think that the

you can take to ensure that a published piece of content doesn’t die soon. With so much content creation and consumption online, it’s easy for your content to get lost, so it would be best if you promote your post the right way within 24 hours of it getting published. Here are some content promotion strategies you can follow:

to provide better reach to your content. You can incorporate many other formats in your content marketing strategy like podcasts, checklists, cheat sheets, and email newsletters, giving a significant edge to your strategy. It’s inevitable for your audience to be everywhere and like all your content. To give your content greater reach and provide added value to your audience, adapting and using these formats is a great way to get ahead in 51 | Techfastly | December 2020

execution part of a content marketing strategy ends after you hit the ‘publish’ button, but that’s where the real work starts. If the content is king, then engagement is queen - and for people to engage with your content, you need to promote it excessively and through different strategies to refresh your content and introduce it to newer audiences. It’s ideal to have a content promotion strategy in place to know the first few steps

1. Share your posts on social media in different formats. A tweet on Twitter, a carousel post on Instagram, and a video on Facebook are some ways you can begin promoting your content. 2. Send out an email blast to your email list as soon as you hit ‘publish.’ 3. Include the link to your latest post(s) in your email signature. Since we send many emails every day, there’s a high chance, someone or the other would be curious enough to click on the link in the signature. 4. Leverage your community and share your content on social media groups. Since these groups comprise like-minded people,

they will definitely share it with their network if your content is good. 5. Connect with influencers and talk to them about promoting your content or endorsing your product. 6. Leverage guest posting. It allows you to publish content on nichespecific websites that help your content reach their audience, thus expanding the reach. There are numerous other ways to promote your content, but these top the list. You can always get innovative with your approach and brainstorm how you can ensure your content’sa wider reach for your content. This is an important part and impossible to miss out on because creating awesome content won’t make a difference if it’s not in front of the audience. For your efforts to yield results, your content needs to be visible, and so content promotion needs to be prioritized as much as content creation.

target audience solve their problems is ideal, keeping up with trends is also essential to stay relevant. The audience participates in trends, and keeping up with them means that you’re listening to them and adopting new strategies. You cannot use the same strategy repeatedly, because content marketing is always evolving. It requires you to assess gaps, make peace with new technologies, and keep up with trends to stay relevant along with being resultdriven. Not keeping up with these trends would give your competitors an edge over you. Every customer you come across will want to associate themselves with brands working on themselves in new and improved ways. You can help customers all you want, but you won’t stick for long unless you listen to them and form your brand on those values.

It’s no surprise that the most prominent brands are now allocating their budget to videos, both shot, and stock. This is because of one very simple reasonvideos keep the audience hooked and engaged for a more extended period than any other form of content. You can publish your content on various platforms like social media, YouTube, your website, and Vimeo. Moreover, you don’t always have to shoot videos. You can interview an expert on a live stream, host webinars, and workshops, and do Q&A to interact with the audience. When you show your face on a screen, the audience gets to know about the person behind the brand. So, to engage with your audience more and humanize your brand, videos are a must!

Not keeping up with trends

Let’s look at some emerging Rand Fishkin, the founder content marketing trends of Moz, is doing a great job that you can include in at videos. your strategy:

While creating evergreen content that helps your

Videos are taking the front seat

52 | Techfastly | December 2020

User-generated content is becoming a hit

User-Generated Content or UGC is the content created by your customers and fans about your brand without paying them. According to research, over 83% of people trust other customers’ content than the brand itself. When you share their content, they feel special, and it starts a loop for word of mouth, as a result of which more people start creating this content. Moreover, it invites new customers because it acts as social proof, and what’s better than customers showing their satisfaction on social media. The most significant part about it is that it creates a community, and turns followers into customers.

Conversational marketing is evolving What’s better to understand your audience and customers than talking to them directly? We live in an age where chatbots are ruling but with robotic answers that do not give customers a personalized experience even though it helps them. Today, when there’s a lot of competition around, 53 | Techfastly | December 2020

the need to understand your audience’s concerns about your brand, product, or service is greater than ever. You can practice conversational marketing by using human scripts or real-time conversations in chatbots to assist customers.

Influencer marketing is making strides on social media In 2020, there’s been a massive increase in the number of influencers online. There has also been a corresponding rise in their fan following, given the unique content creation these influencers from diverse fields are bringing to the table. Moreover, 73% of marketers have a budget allocated for influencer marketing, which tells us how much potential it holds. Influencers have the power to show people certain products and brands by endorsing them so that their massive audience is convinced to buy or at least give the product a chance. This acts as social proof, and everyone wants to use the brand that a social media influencer is using,

right? It’s a win-win situation. Various other trends are gearing to take the front seat in content marketing like voice search, interactive content, automated content, etc. Adapting to these trends means being updated, and there’s always brownie points for that!

7. Not paying attention to CTAs One of the most common content marketing mistakes is not paying attention to your lead generation auto-machine, your Call-to-Action buttons. You can create the most awesome content in your industry, but if you don’t tell the audience what to do after reading the content, you’re making a blunder, but don’t worry, we can fix that! Wherever you are creating content, be it on social media, emails, your website, or podcasts- you need to tell your audience what they should do very clearly. Do you want them to share

your content? Do you want them to subscribe to your newsletter or sign up for your course? Do you want them to book a call with you? Whatever is your end goal, it needs to be communicated very clearly and explicitly. Here are some things to keep in mind when it comes to CTAs: • Use contrasting colors for CTA on your website to make them very evident. • Highlight CTAs multiple times across the course of your website and content. • Don’t turn around words. Make it straight cut. • Use an innovative approach for CTA copy like ‘Sign up for awesomeness’ instead of ‘Sign up now.’ • Repeat your offer in different ways across channels. • Strategically place your CTA along the reader’s natural reading path. • Make the buttons optimized for both mobile and laptop. • Practice A/B testing because, with CTA, a 54 | Techfastly | December 2020

slight change can bring a higher click-through rate if only you pay attention to it and keep experimenting. CTAs can never be perfect, but paying attention to them and tweaking them in between courses can generate a lot of difference. ReferralCandy Blog has a great list of CTA examples you can look up to for inspiration.

8. Not tracking performance Every strategy requires analysis, and content marketing is no different. Imagine spending months executing a plan and not analyzing what results it brought you or if the strategy was right for your brand. Analyzing your performance tells you about the gaps or challenges you faced in execution or strategy to determine how you can fill them up next time. Data plays an important role here, and if you hate numbers, you may want to fall in love with them for this part because this data determines your brand

position in the market. Say, you find that Instagram is performing well in terms of carousel content while videos are performing well on LinkedIn. YouLinkedIn, you can tweak your strategy to focus on these platforms more and create more of this content. If you don’t analyze it, you could be focusing on Facebook when it hasn’t been working all this while. Therefore, your team must review,it’s imperative that your team reviews your marketing performance in intervals to ensure you’re going in the right direction. Here’s what you should analyze:

Website traffic

The amount of traffic you’re driving to your website says a lot about how your content performs. You can use Google Analytics to track the source of your website traffic. This will help you understand which platform generates the most traffic and what type of content or optimization supports the increase in traffic. This is important because the more people visit your

website, the higher your chances are at converting them.

Social shares Social media accounts for a significant part of your content marketing strategy. Analyzing the number of shares your audience is making tells you if they like your content and if it’s relatable enough for them to share it with their network. This will also give you an idea about what type of content is performing better on which platform so you can create more or less of that after tweaking your strategy. You can use Hootsuite to analyze social shares.

Conversions and sales You can analyze conversions by looking at the number of people who respond to your CTA and buy your product/ service, book your call or sign up to your email list. This measure is important to track as it says a lot about how you’ve been performing collectively as a brand, irrespective of your digital presence or 55 | Techfastly | December 2020

marketing efforts. You can use Google Analytics, and as per the analysis, you can reform certain things to increase the conversion rate. If you start analyzing everything in your strategy execution, it will take a lot of time. It’sSo, it’s best to define your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) beforehand to know what you need to focus on to achievefor achieving your goals. Failing to measure results will not bring you growth, because then you’ll be following a stagnant content strategy. Results come when you analyze results, acknowledge success and failure, and reform gaps to make the plan better and your campaigns more effective. At the end of the day, everyone wants to focus on how many conversions did you generate and from where did those conversions camecome. from. This makes it one of the most important reasons to analyze your efforts.

Wrapping it up

If you’re investing your resources in a timeless marketing strategy like content marketing, you cannot afford to make mistakes. The key is planning! Plan for your worstcase scenarios and maintain agility to include spontaneous campaigns and content buckets if need be for trend jacking and moment marketing. When you’ve carefully planned your strategy, there’s no chance of messing it up. Keep these 8 mistakes in mind while formulating your strategy and take notes from content marketing resources to be up to date with trends. With content marketing, consistency and patience are important because it’s a long-term game, and you cannot expect overnight results. Rushing in implementing your strategy or being a part of the rat race makes a brand prone to these mistakes. Don’t run; content marketing is here to stay. All the best!

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