Tag: Technology

Tech Weekly Wrap: 5 new phones launched, Teams and Instagram go down, and Samsung’s next event date revealed

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Five new smartphones were finally made available for sale in India or were launched over the past week. Outages were reported in two popular apps with a high volume of users suffering. Here is your weekly catch-up to the world of tech.

Instagram goes down

Thousands of users were left unable to access Instagram, the second-largest social media platform in the world. Nearly 5,000 users complained about being unable to access the site in the early hours of July 15, reported outage-tracking website Downdetector. Read more

Redmi K50i 5G launched 

Xiaomi’s Redmi K50i 5G was launched, with the phone going on sale on July 23. This is the first K-series phone from the brand in three years. Powered by MediaTek Dimensity 8100 SoC, the device is expected to go up against Nothing Phone (1), OnePlus Nord 2T 5G, iQOO Neo 6, and the Poco F4 5G. Read more

Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked 

Samsung’s next event, Galaxy Unpacked, is scheduled for August 10 at 6.30 pm IST. The event will likely see the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold and the latest Galaxy Watch 5 series. Read more

Vivo T1x

Vivo launched the Vivo T1x, the latest in the T1 lineup, in India on Wednesday. The phone will go on sale from July 27 for Rs 11,999. The phone is powered by the Snapdragon 680 processor and runs on the Android 12-based Funtouch OS 12. Read more

Microsoft Teams outage

Microsoft Teams, one of the foremost business communication platforms, went down for thousands of users on July 21. The company stated that it was investigating the issue after 4,800 people reported the outage on Downdetector. Read more

Nothing phone (1) available for sale 

Nothing phone (1) went live for sale on Flipkart on July 21, the phone will be available in three variants priced between Rs 32,999 and Rs 38,999. Powered by the Snapdragon 778G+ chipset, the phone features an OLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate. Read more

Google Pixel 6a pre-order opens

Google’s Pixel 6a was made open to pre-order in India exclusively through Flipkart for Rs 39,999 (MRP 43,999). The phone is powered by the Google Tensor chip, the first semiconductor designed by the tech giant. Shipping will begin on July 28. Read more

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

50 Google Play Store apps infected with Joker malware; here is the list

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Recently, Zscaler, a cloud security company, released a report stating that its ThreatLabz team discovered several apps on the Google Play Store that were infected with Joker, Facestealer, and Coper malware families. The team immediately notified Google’s Android Security team and the apps were promptly removed from the platform.

ThreatLabz found over 50 apps that were infected with the Joker malware and have been downloaded over three lakh times combined. The applications fall into either one of the following categories:

• • Communication
  • Health
  • Personalization
  • Photography
  • Tools

Also Read: These malware-infested Android apps can steal your data

The Zscaler report describes the Joker malware as one of the most prominent malware families targeting Android devices, that regularly modifies the malware’s trace signatures including updates to the code, execution methods, and payload-retrieving techniques. This malware is designed to steal SMS messages, contact lists, and device information, and to sign the victim up for premium wireless application protocol (WAP) services.

To stay safe from such malicious apps Zscaler strongly recommends not downloading any unnecessary, untrusted, and un-vetted apps on your Android device. Install the apps that have a known and reliable source, they usually have very high install numbers and positive reviews. Installing antivirus software on your phone is also very important as it keeps a track of such apps and alerts the user then and there.

Also Read: India drops three spots on global ranking for mobile download speeds

Here is the list of all the infected apps, uninstall them right away:

• • Simple Note Scanner – com.wuwan.pdfscan
  • Universal PDF Scanner – com.unpdf.scan.read.docscanuniver
  • Private Messenger – com.recollect.linkus
  • Premium SMS – com.premium.put.trustsms
  • Smart Messages – com.toukyoursms.timemessages
  • Text Emoji SMS – messenger.itext.emoji.mesenger
  • Blood Pressure Checker – com.bloodpressurechecker.tangjiang
  • Funny Keyboard – com.soundly.galaxykeyboard
  • Memory Silent Camera – com.silentmenory.timcamera
  • Custom Themed Keyboard – com.custom.keyboardthemes.galaxiy
  • Light Messages – com.lilysmspro.lighting
  • Themes Photo Keyboard – com.themes.bgphotokeyboard
  • Send SMS – exazth.message.send.text.sms
  • Themes Chat Messenger – com.relish.messengers
  • Instant Messenger – com.sbdlsms.crazymessager.mmsrec
  • Cool Keyboard – com.colate.gthemekeyboard
  • Fonts Emoji Keyboard – com.zemoji.fontskeyboard
  • Mini PDF Scanner – com.mnscan.minipdf
  • Smart SMS Messages – com.sms.mms.message.ffei.free
  • Creative Emoji Keyboard – com.whiteemojis.creativekeyboard.ledsloard
  • Fancy SMS – con.sms.fancy
  • Fonts Emoji Keyboard – com.symbol.fonts.emojikeyboards
  • Personal Message – com.crown.personalmessage
  • Funny Emoji Message – com.funie.messagremo
  • Magic Photo Editor – com.amagiczy.photo.editor
  • Professional Messages – com.adore.attached.message
  • All Photo Translator – myphotocom.allfasttranslate.transationtranslator
  • Chat SMS – com.maskteslary.messages
  • Smile Emoji – com.balapp.smilewall.emoji
  • Wow Translator – com.imgtop.camtranslator
  • All Language Translate – com.exclusivez.alltranslate
  • Cool Messages – com.learningz.app.cool.messages
  • Blood Pressure Diary – bloodhold.nypressure.mainheart.ratemy.mo.depulse.app.tracker.diary
  • Chat Text SMS – com.echatsms.messageos
  • Hi Text SMS – ismos.mmsyes.message.texthitext.bobpsms
  • Emoji Theme Keyboard – com.gobacktheme.lovelyemojikeyboard
  • iMessager – start.me.messager
  • Text SMS – com.ptx.textsms
  • Camera Translator – com.haixgoback.outsidetext.languagecameratransla
  • Come Messages – com.itextsms.messagecoming
  • Painting Photo Editor – com.painting.pointeditor.photo
  • Rich Theme Message – com.getmanytimes.richsmsthememessenge
  • Quick Talk Message – mesages.qtsms.messenger
  • Advanced SMS – com.fromamsms.atadvancedmmsopp
  • Professional Messenger – com.akl.smspro.messenger
  • Classic Game Messenger – com.classcolor.formessenger.sic
  • Style Message – com.istyle.messagesty
  • Private Game Messages – com.message.game.india
  • Timestamp Camera – allready.taken.photobeauty.camera.timestamp
  • Social Message – com.colorsocial.message

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

How brands are making the most out of the modern avatar of sports fans

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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For a long time collecting trading cards was a thing. Exchanging your Rahul Dravid card for a Sachin Tendulkar one or throwing in a Sourav Ganguly card for an Anil Kumble number was the ultimate high point of sports craze among fans. But that was the 80s, 90s and perhaps the first decade of the 2000s. 

New-age sports fans have found their fandom mojo in the metaverse and NFTs. While gamification of their preferred sports has increased their engagement in the space, digital collectables have made fan engagement more immersive. Brands are making the most out of this modern avatar of sports fandom.

 A recent report by Ormax Media says India’s sports viewing fan base is 136.3 million while 317.8 million Indians are active players of at least one outdoor sport. Add to that the access to technology and the possibilities are limitless for the stakeholders.

Technology is now a key driver in the sports space. From fantasy sports platforms to NFTs, brands are using these new found tools to engage fans and accelerate their reach across audience demographics.

 But what is leading to the growth of this technology-backed boom in this space? ‘Digital fans,’ say experts.

 “Stakeholders in the space have understood that the digital fan today plays as much of an importance as the tangible family comes to the stadium and because of that, they have started adopting a lot of these technologies,” says Chiraag Paul, Co-Founder, CEO, Proem Sports, a sports software-technology company.

 Paul explains how his company uses data as the primary tool to leverage fan engagements.

Also Read: Dentsu Creative India: In advertising, technology is just a tool, it is the idea that resonates with people

Case Study — FC Goa 

 FC Goa, for instance, one of Proem’s clients is an Indian professional football franchise based in Goa and competes in the Indian Super League, is committed to engaging its fan base to help them strengthen its relationship with the club.

 “With the help of our customer data platform, they wanted to leverage data to understand their fans better and engage different segments of their fan base with highly personalised campaigns leading to better outcomes.”

 “The company mapped out FC Goa’s Data landscape and with their pre-built connectors, started ingesting data from social, website and transactional systems into their CDP (customer data platform).”

 The result? FC Goa finally had an accurate understanding of their fan base and the opportunity to expand their marketable universe. With time they saw a 44X lift in email open rates and 34 percent increase in merchandise sales alongside growth in other fan engagement metrics.

ALSO READ | Storyboard18 – Stacks & Strategies | Influencer marketing meets ad tech

 Lifting game and fan spirit and building communities 

 Aayushman Sinha, co-founder and director at creative agency BlackCab explains the possibilities in the space. The three popular formats used by brands to leverage overall game spirit and engagement using technology according to him are – social which is used for hygiene, updates and campaigns; AR, VR and gamification which is used for engagement and NFT’s which are used for building communities.

 “A mix of three formats can provide strong fan affinity and engagement to teams, players, their sponsors and more. We’re seeing a lot of these being implemented across the board and as access to technology becomes more widespread – the TV screen will be replaced with more engaging experiences simply through a smartphone,” he says.

 Elaborating on how engagements can be created, Sinha says, “Imagine wearing a headset at an experience zone that takes you through the dressing room of your favourite team, your favourite player walks up and gives you a high five and you get to see them prepping for their big game or standing courtside reliving your favourite moments from an iconic game. This is what technology is doing these days.” 

ALSO READ | Stacks & Strategies | Metaverse — The inevitable reality

Leveraging tech to create experiences

 Shradha Agarwal, CEO & Co-founder of digital marketing agency Grapes talks about the benefits of using AI in fan engagement.

 ”AI allows fans to browse through players and team statistics, interact with the clubs or teams without disrupting the video stream, and enable tickets and merchandise purchased with the help of real-time, on-screen player recognition solutions. Edisn is one such SportsTech startup that enables contextual content delivery while facilitating merchandise monetization,” she said.

 Gamification is another example that can help brands personalise their content and offerings depending on data. It can even come up with play and earn events during the off-season to maintain the brand engagement with the fans.

 The Sachin Saga VR from JetSynthesys Gaming, is a virtual reality cricket game that lets users play cricket as Tendulkar. But this is just one example. There are a hundred other examples of simulated reality-backed games that are enhancing fan engagements and giving brands the opportunity to track and reach out to their TG.

ALSO READ | Stacks & Strategies | Expert views on how to ensure privacy compliant personalisation

 However, brands should be careful about choosing platforms and technologies to ensure a seamless experience and prevent fans from getting overwhelmed.

 Sunny Bhanot, co-founder and chief technology officer at digital collectables marketplace for cricket NFT says, “Technology enables fans to engage with the sport beyond the stadiums and big screens (TV) and extends it to the small screen (mobile phones) and even off-screen but For brands to deliver on the exciting possibilities of emerging technologies, it is critical not to expose the users to the rough edges and create a stable and secure experience.”

 For example, Rario makes officially licensed digital cricket collectables accessible to fans at affordable prices on a certified-secure platform, leveraging blockchain as proof of provenance.

Fans can not only own the collectibles of their favourite player or team, but also engage with the sport with their friends through Rario.

 This is an exciting time to be a sports fan and even more exciting for marketers looking to leverage sports to engage and build deeper relationships with fans.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

This week in tech: Nothing (1) happened, Google India launched Chromecast, 5 Facebook profiles soon

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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There is lot that has happened in the world of tech this week. Here’s a look at the biggest tech stories of the week for you to read.

Google launches Chromecast in India

Tech giant Google launched its popular streaming media adapter Chromecast in India priced at Rs 6,399. The gadget can convert a TV with connectivity into a smart TV. It is currently available on Flipkart and will be made available in retail outlets soon.

Twitter introduced the ‘unmention’ feature

Twitter has rolled out a new feature called ‘unmention,’ that lets users remove themselves from conversations of threads that they no longer wish to be part of. This feature was tested with select users in April and it has now been made available to all.

Syska launched its smartwatch SW300 Polar

Electronic goods giant Syska forayed into the smart wearables market by debuting the SW300 Polar smartwatch, priced at Rs 2,799 on Flipkart.

Features include — heart rate tracking, women’s health tracking, blood oxygen monitor, message notifications, sleep monitoring, weather report, stress monitoring, clock-based tools, and music player.

Nokia launched the C21 Plus budget smartphone

Nokia launched a new budget smartphone in India called the Nokia C21 Plus, which is the successor to the Nokia C20 Plus, launched last year. The Nokia C21 Plus is priced at Rs 10,299.

The phone comes in two variants and features include —  a 6.5-inch IPS LCD screen, 5,050 mAh battery with 3 days of claimed backup, 10W charging, two years of security updates, and 13MP dual AI camera.

Nothing phone (1) launched

The Nothing phone (1) was finally unveiled in black and white options. It is set to go on sale from July 21 starting at Rs 32,999. It comes in 8 GB RAM/128 GB storage, 8 GB RAM/256 GB storage and 12 GB RAM/256 GB storage options.

Features include — Snapdragon 778G Plus SoC, optical image stabilisation for 64MP rear dual-camera setup, the Glyph interface with 900 LEDs at the back, wireless charging and reverse charging.

Facebook to let users link up to 5 profiles

Meta has announced that Facebook will soon introduce a way for users to maintain up to five profiles, linked to their primary accounts that uses the ‘real name’ of the user.

Facebook will continue to require each user to have only one Facebook account with their real name, and then access up to five additional profiles they create after logging in to the main account. The five profiles will not require the user to have their real name.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

This week in Tech: Telegram’s premium service, Google to partner with Wikipedia, and more about Nothing Phone (1)

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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From Nothing (1)’s invite-only system to the launch of Telegram’s premium service, here are the headlines in tech that you need to read.

Telegram Premium

The popular instant messaging app Telegram celebrated reaching a user base of 700 million by launching its premium subscription service. Premium users will enjoy double the limit of most features that free users get along with no ads on the app, and getting access to premium app icons, badges, stickers and reactions. The subscription starts at USD 4.99 a month.

Xiaomi Poco F4 5G launched

The Poco F4 5G was the latest device in Poco’s F-series lineup to be launched. With a starting price tag of Rs 27,999, the phone comes with features such as a primary camera of 64MP with enhanced blur reduction, a fourth-generation Super AMOLED screen with 1300 nits peak brightness, 120Hz refresh rate and Dolby vision, and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 SoC, and 12GB of LPDDR 5 RAM.

Nothing (1) Invite-only system

Carl Pei’s Nothing will be making it harder for fans to get their hands on the brand’s first phone, the Nothing Phone (1). Prospective buyers will need to either register to receive an invite or be given an invite to purchase from someone who has already bought the phone. “This will keep the inventory in check and control sales,” said Pei in a video ahead of launch.

Flagship Snapdragon SoC in latest ASUS phone 

ROG Phone 6 by Asus will be unveiled on July 5 and speculations suggest that it will be powered by the latest Snapdragon flagship SoC. If true, ROG Phone 6 will be the first phone to be powered by Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC, measuring up at 3 GHz clock speed. The phone will also reportedly feature 18GB RAM, 256GB storage, and a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with a 165Hz refresh rate.

Google to pay Wikimedia for better access

Google will start paying Wikimedia Foundation, the parent company of Wikipedia, for more accurate information in its search results. The two will be partnering together to use Wikimedia Enterprise to provide more accurate information, which often shows up in Google search results’ knowledge panels.

The US bans Juul e-cigarretes and vapes 

The US Food and Drug Administration banned Juul Labs from selling any vapes and e-cigarettes over safety concerns. The products had become all the rage among teens and young adults, even as the company claimed that its products were meant to transition adults away from smoking other nicotine-based products.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Explained | The increasing rate of cybercrime in India

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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In a room full of cyber experts and other officials, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on June 20 emphasised the fact that cybersecurity is integral to national security and the central government is committed to making it robust.

Shah said in 2012, a total of 3,377 cases of cybercrime were reported; it has gone up to 50,000 in 2020. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data released last year, a total of 50,035 cases were registered in 2020 under cybercrime — a rise of 11.8 percent over 2019 (44,735 cases).

Why are cyber crimes on the rise?

Experts listed several reasons for this — increase in online traffic, lack of awareness, lack of technical knowledge among police and people, and difficulties in investigating cybercrime cases. All these factors have encouraged fraudsters to come up with new and innovative modus operandi to scam people.

ALSO READ | Twitter accounts of Uttar Pradesh Government and state information department gets hacked

Mukesh Choudhary, a cybercrime consultant to the Jaipur Police, said, “Fraudsters are changing their modus operandi very often so that the situation should look more realistic. It should not limit to asking for the OTP or card credentials.”

Increase in online traffic 

Prof Triveni Singh, SP, Cybercrime, Uttar Pradesh Police, said cyber criminals target all the facilities offered across the world. “They use social engineering tricks to scam people…They are on rise because we do everything on our mobile phones — from studying to buying essential items,” he said.

ALSO READ | Explained: What is protected system and the need for securing critical infrastructure

Meanwhile, Mukesh Choudhary mentioned that scamsters use people’s vulnerability and fear to scam them. He said these types of scams involve fear and threat that the account will be discontinued if the amount is not paid.

Also read | Massive data breach exposes over 700 million Linkedln profiles; company denies claims

Lack of awareness

At a time when fraudsters are coming up with new ways to trick people into loosening their purse strings, the only key to protecting oneself is to be aware.

Benild Joseph, an author and security researcher, said, “It’s like you are putting a lock on your home and I (a fraudster) am not breaking it actually. I’m tampering your mind and making you do it. How secure is the lock doesn’t matter…the only way to counter it is awareness.”

Rakshit Tandon, a cyber security expert and cyber security consultant to the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) said people need to be fully aware of the security features of the applications they use.

“Trusting any message and not understanding what is the direction of payment in UPIs – whether they are receiving payments or sending payments…(they don’t know) how a QR code works – needs to be addressed.” – Rakshit Tandon

ALSO READ | ‘Back from vacation’: Lapsus$ now claims to have data from an Apple partner

Mukesh Choudhary advised people to learn about technology and think twice before transferring money to someone. “People should understand and be tech-savvy…either you stop using the technology or you adapt and learn…,” he said.

It is our default setup to believe everything. People need to think in a different way in this digital world and be vigilant about what crimes are being committed –  Triveni Singh

Open sale of data base

From Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to CoWIN, hackers are selling everything on the dark web.

In 2021, cybersecurity expert, Rajshekhar Rajahria found at least three Indian companies – e-marketplace ClickIndia, fintech startup for small business owners ChqBook and wedding planning website WedMeGood – whose database had been compromised.

“Data privacy bill is not being implemented in India and data base is being sold on multiple platforms,” Mukesh Choudhary said.

Fewer FIRs lead to lesser conviction rate

Scammers don’t fear the system as India is registering a very limited number of cases. Home Minister Amit Shah also noted that the number of cybercrimes which were not reported could run in lakhs.

Not even 2 percent of the cases are being converted into FIRs – Mukesh Choudhary

“Scamsters are not afraid since there are very few FIRs being registered. Most of the crimes are also bailable offences. Thus fewer arrests are made,” Mukesh Choudhary said.

Why are cases not being registered?

Tandon said majority of police officers are not tech-savvy. “To investigate (cybercrime cases), there’s some technical skill required. There’s a difference between traditional investigation and cyber investigation. Police were never trained for cyber and technical investigations.

However, things are changing and trainings specific to cyber investigations have now started, Tandon added.

People don’t know whom to visit at the police station. One should look for a duty officer at the police station or meet the Station House Officer (SHO) of the police station. “One doesn’t need to have connections or contacts to meet the police officers. Also, there’s no need to pay the money (to get a case filed),” Choudhary said.

But Savdhaan Rahiye, Satark Rahiye (be cautioned and aware) seems to be the motto if you want to avoid being the next cyber crime victim.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Israeli company Stratasys plans rapid expansion of 3D printing segment in India

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Israel-based Stratasys is planning a rapid expansion of its 3D printing sector in India. Ashok Leyland, Hero MotoCorp, AIIMS, Symbiosis, and IITs are among the clientele of the company, which has 30 years of experience in design prototyping, manufacturing tools, and production parts.

3D printing segment in India important for israel firm

The company believes that one of the key solutions to the supply chain problems facing the manufacturing sector is 3D printing. Stratasys’ leadership was interviewed by CNBC-TV18’s Abhimanyu Sharma, who also discussed the potential applications of 3D printing.

3D printing is widely used to produce a wide range of products, from landform 3D prints used to develop defence strategies, to the production of automotive lights.

Also read: Tata Steel plans low CO2 steel-making technologies in UK and Netherlands

So how does 3D printing actually work?

This 3D printer, which functions like a regular inkjet printer but prints solid forms, uses an acrylic-based polymer material that is inserted into the cartridge. This is an entry level multi-material printer, where an in-built computer slices each layer of the inserted raw material to match the intended design.

What comes out in a few hours is not just a product, but also a solution that can reduce the industry’s dependence on supply chains.

According to Guy Yair, EVP, EMEA and Asia, Stratasys, “The manufacturing sector is constantly changing, which is posing a problem for the supply chain. A time-honored innovation to replace conventional supply chains is 3D printing.”

Automotive and consumer goods will benefit from the low cost of material and production for 3D printing, he added.

While an in-built AI software optimises printing to simplify processes, save time and raw material, over 5 lakh colours can be printed using a combination of materials. Stratasys says its 3D printers can produce any colour in the printed item, as long as the relevant code has been fed in.

Also read: Dr Reddy’s says India prime target for company’s inorganic growth

Yoav Zeif, CEO of Stratasys, told CNBCTV18 that the company has “worked with the US Navy’s air wing to provide them with 25 sizeable industrial 3D printers. Using distributed manufacturing, the US Navy fabricates components for their aircraft using our 3D printers”.

Aircraft parts are printed using 3D printers in Germany and Japan, with data being transferred over secure networks. Using this technology, items like the side lamp on a Mini Cooper can be customised, which will create countless design opportunities, he added.

Zeif added that 3D printing is used to create medical training models for doctors and automotive parts like the carbon fibre brake pedal, which can’t be easily broken.

The market for 3D printing is currently worth around $15 million. According to Stratasys, 3D printing has a significant growth potential and soon may enable 24-hour production.

Increasingly more industries are using 3D printing. Future developments in the automotive, healthcare, and defence sectors will see greater use of the technology.

Also read: Jio-BP in deal to power up EV charging pods at Blackstone-backed Nexus Malls across 13 cities

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Storyboard18 – Stacks & Strategies | Influencer marketing meets ad tech

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

A state of flux. That is what the business of Influencer marketing has been like since its inception in India. Expected to grow at a CAGR of about 25 percent in the next five years, it is certain that the only constant is a rapid and swift change. Neither brands nor agencies have the privilege of doing the ‘hygiene influencing’ campaign for broader awareness.

Today, many innovative startups are mushrooming each day, and they are observed to be investing heavily in social media marketing via influencers and content creators. Mostly driven by young minds, every marketing initiative means business to them. 

Like startups, today, many leading brands also target direct business and revenue results via marketing. And rightly so! Living in a highly competitive world, why would one not focus on growing financially. After all, every company and brand needs sales for survival. 

Therefore, be it Instagram Shops or YouTube’s shoppable ads, social media today has truly emerged as a ‘shopping experience’ for consumers and ‘point of sales’ for retail brands. From bait and click to influence and click; and cost per view to cost per click, the world of influencer marketing briskly changed over the last few years. 

Also read: Stacks & Strategies | Are Indian Marketers Prepared For A Cookieless World? 

When influencer marketing met adtech

The best things happen when the emotional intelligence of a human and tech-enabled experiences meet. While AR and VR are the leading testament of this in the broader world, shoppable ads and live-commerce are trending examples in the world of influencer marketing. While content creators bring in the emotional appeal, the social media platforms upscale their technology to provide the best experiences for the brands, consumers, and creators. 

Shoppable ads come with an opportunity for brands to add a shopping link and provide a complete 360 shopping experience: grab the attention, influence, click and buy. However, while the creator’s role is only to influence ‘clicks’ it is the brand’s UI and UX that ensures the purchase. 

Hence, to convert an audience to a lead, and a lead to a customer via influencer marketing requires a great story or narrative, a unique purchase link, and immersive UI and UX. 

Also read: Storyboard18 – Stacks & Strategies: Ai-Enabled Advertising Could Account For 90% Of Total Ads By 2032

Live shopping is one of the latest disruptions in the world of e-commerce. This concept was first widely practised and accepted in east Asian countries. 

It started with fashion and beauty creators conducting YouTube and Instagram live sessions to influence and sell a product. Such activity garnered immense response amongst audiences and pushed them for ‘instant buys’ during the live stream. Brands, influencers, and the platform have largely capitalized on the ‘FOMO culture’. 

Will influencer marketing meet programmatic ads? 

Programmatic ads emerged as the most preferred accelerator for brands to get quick and scalable results. Alongside, influencer marketing has thus far helped many brands to build their brand value and awareness.

What would happen when two legacy mediums meet? With many startups now creating AI-driven influencer marketing platforms, integration of ‘programmatic influencer marketing’ service will only help in bringing the much-needed disruption. Programmatic branded influencer marketing content will reduce manual labour, scale the brand’s reach and sales, and speed up the entire process. 

Also read: Use Of Artificial Intelligence And Digital Tech Is The Biggest Revolution In Marketing, Say Experts 

Challenges we must fight

With the introduction of tech in influencer marketing, creators will have constant pressure to ‘persuade to click’. Hence, the brands will have to be rational with their ask and a common ground of views and clicks will have to be made before each campaign. 

Brands must understand that influencers aren’t their sales associates and expecting direct conversion from them is unrealistic. Moreover, brands today lay very stringent content guidelines with limited room for creativity. Therefore, pushing creators to create direct selling and TVC-like content will help no one. As it is the content that will lead to clicks, getting a room for some creative content creation will be the biggest challenge.

In a nutshell

While social media platforms are constantly evolving to provide direct sales opportunities; influencers, marketing managers, and brands must understand and embrace the correlation between the content, clicks, and conversions. Irrespective of how advanced the adtech gets, the ultimate push factor will be the ‘persuasive content’.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow