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Internet

How To Delete Yourself From The Internet

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

With the calendar about to turn over into the burning dumpster fire that is an election year in the United States, you may be staring at Twitter with a deep hatred for your online existence. The internet is literally an addiction and our online existence only expands the longer we perpetuate its use. But there is a way to end it all — sign up for DeleteMe and remove yourself from the hellscape that is the internet.

While DeleteMe won’t remove your social media profiles, that’s not too difficult to do and something we already know how to do and are acutely aware of. But what about all the other places your information exists? Your home address, phone numbers (available to scammers who buy them in bulk) and other personal information?

DeleteMe

DeleteMe will delete your personal data from data broker websites, freeing you up to exist without scammers finding you.

Spam calls grew this year by 18%. Where do you think those scammers and sham artists got your number? It was likely jacked from a valid source then sold to one of dozens of data broker sites like FreePhoneTracer.com, Peoplefinders.com, USSearch.com and so on. These are the sites that DeleteMe will delete you from. These are the sources of the constant intrusion of scammers into your life.

Naturally, a service like DeleteMe is not free, but it’s cheaper than your Netflix subscription. Deleting someone from the internet is not a one-time action. That information will be stolen and sold again and again.

DeleteMe, pending subscription, continuously removes your information from the internet as quickly as data brokers post it. While it’s still on you to either manage or delete your social media profiles, considering Facebook is going to be ground zero for disinformation next year, at least DeleteMe is one way you can put an end to the inevitable crap storm of automated and scam calls set to descend on you like a tornado on Helen Hunt.

After subscribing, DeleteMe will send you detailed reports as to its progress in removing you from online databases. Then it’s only a hop skip and a jump to the cabin in the woods, away from all this nonsense. The internet was great once, but maybe we should clear the slate and hold out for internet 2.0.

[“source=forbes”]

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Education

How TCS iON is leveraging technology to reimagine and redefine the education sector

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Technological advances and changes have changed the way students, working professionals, and businesses view learning. Instead of set courses spread over a few years, people have woken up to the importance of lifelong learning to navigate the many curveballs jobs and careers can throw at you.

TCS iON, the strategic business unit of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest IT services company, has developed various programmes for the education sector, targeting school-going students and going up all the way to working professionals.

With three million learners on their platform and 200 million assessments done till, Venguswamy Ramaswamy, Global Head, TCS iON tells YourStory more about the services the organisation offers, likely trends, and how are they reimagining the way learning is done.

Venguswamy Ramaswamy: We are a platform and product-centric organisation. We focus on education, recruitment boards and SMBs. In education, we focus on government, K12, higher education, skills, and corporates on a platform and product dimension.

We focus on three large areas: assessment on a large scale for academic institutions and recruitment; the learning space; and business operations. We engage in concepts like digitising campuses, areas of manufacturing, and end-to-end business processes.

YS: What services does TCS iON provide in the education space?

VR: We go to students, teachers, and administrators as stakeholders; we have a set of services, products, and platforms for each stakeholder. Externally, we work closely with content publishers, whose services we aggregate.

How do we help? We help students to do tasks better, and aggregate content to make learning effective. There is demonstrable evidence of learning and it is outcome based. A vast majority of work we do with students is in terms of assessments and learning content etc.

We believe technology is going to play a critical role. Our current focus is to leverage cutting-edge technology like cloud or blockchain to redefine the education segment. There are multiple sets of reimagination we are doing for this sector.

TCSiON Swamy
TCS iON Global Head Venguswamy Ramaswamy

YS: Tell us about the learning services you provide.

VR: We have launched a set of lifelong learning products. For any student, the learning perspective changes from kindergarten to higher education. It evolves when the individual becomes a job seeker and changes completely as a working professional.

We have a set of products based on the learning evolution that a candidate goes through in their life. The learning aspect is very different at each stage. For example, in Class 8, the teacher is a very important figure; in higher education, the teacher is more of a facilitator.

We believe learning will be truly multi-modal as we go along. The common mode has been going to the classroom, but this will definitely fade. So, other modes of learning, like seminars, videos, and debates, will become important. Secondly, we provide a large spectrum of learning modes where students can choose what is relevant to them.

The third aspect is to have a marketplace where we have a large amount of content from multiple publishers so that they can come on to the TCS iON platform for a much bigger scale. We address a range of students – from Class 8 and to working professionals – on a wide variety of subjects.

YS: How do you provide these services?

VR: We offer our services in three models. We directly go to institutes to help them adopt some educational technology, which helps them in speed or personalisation.

In the second model, we work with a number of distributors or intermediaries. Lastly, we also deliver our services in the B2C model where one can actually go to our learning portal, pay money, and consume content directly.

We provide our services across the country and overseas in countries such as Japan, Indonesia, South Africa, the UK, Ireland, and Mexico.

YS: What trends do you see in the education space?

VR: In TCS, we see six significant changes in the near future. We believe that students will spend lesser time on campuses and more on the internet. Campuses will exist, but their role will change as enabler or facilitator as the boundaries will fade.

Education will never fully be physical or fully digital; we coined a new term phygital that blends the physical and digital worlds. Tomorrow’s education will be in this mode.

We also see a trend where the role of a teacher will dramatically change. Teachers of tomorrow will be actual industry professionals. Another important trend we see is that learning will happen without actual learning; it will be done through gamification.

We also believe that the assessment of tomorrow will not be a test of knowledge, but more of a case about how a student can demonstrate what they can do rather than write and submit. This will reveal the depth of the answers.

Lastly, the evaluation will be location independent. For example, the test of English-speaking skills of a Japanese student can be evaluated by a teacher based in Hyderabad using the TCS iON platform.

YS: What is the USP of TCS iON? How do you stand out amid the proliferation of online education startups?

VR: We consider ourselves as an edtech segment within a large company. Our larger focus is to disrupt the current way of learning, assessment, marking, campuses, etc and operate on a much wider scale.

There are three million learners on our platform and we have completed 200 million candidate assessments.

We are currently working on a process under which the entire marking of an examination can be done overnight and results declared the next day. We are leveraging technology to reimagine and redefine the education sector. This also includes how we plan to make learning much more personalised.

YS: What are the challenges in online learning?

VR: As a data point, sub five percent of learners in the digital mode are actually completing a course. This indicates that motivation to learn by yourself is very low.

That is the biggest challenge. Also, today much of online learning is not outcome or reward-based.

The linkages are not evident for the students. Higher education institutes do not take ownership of giving a job to the student. Even in terms of skilling outcome, these are not accepted by the industry.

YS: How is TCS iON leveraging deep tech to deliver these education-related services?

VR: Many of the above-mentioned challenges have to be kept in mind when leveraging these technologies. We are deeply focused on AR and VR technologies.

For example, in schools that lack laboratory facilities, these technologies can be used to provide a similar experience. We are also using advanced analytics to personalise education for students.

YS: Does our education sector need to inculcate skills like critical thinking and problem solving?

VR: We should not look at it in one single dimension as there are multiple aspects to it. For example, at TCS, we have completely changed our approach to fresher hiring. Earlier, the intake was based on an assessment test to a set number of colleges, but now we have opened it to the entire country.

This year, we had 3.3 lakh students participating in our tests and those selected were called for interview. Here, 50 percent of them did not get selected. It shows that they were lacking in soft skills like how to present themselves, respond to situations, understand the question, and more.

So, we have to address these multiple dimensions and create interventions for all.

[“source=yourstory”]

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Internet

How the internet is changing rural and developing countries

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Payal Arora’s work The Next Billion Users: Digital Life Beyond The West details these biases as the world gets ready to connect three billion users —population that lives under a day-to the internet

Payal Arora’s work The Next Billion Users: Digital Life Beyond The West details these biases as the world gets ready to connect three billion users —population that lives under a day-to the internet

Technology is often considered a great equaliser. You would always find someone detailing the benefits that would accrue to the poor when technology will be introduced. “The world would change; technology would aid the poor and lift them out of poverty,” they will foretell. Same was the case for internet. Internet was supposed to be a great saviour of the masses. The developed world assumed that internet would aid people in developing areas to eke their way out of a life of drudgery and join civil society. Instead, what internet has done is exposed the biases of developed and the rich as regards to technology. Much to their disdain, technology is being used by the poor in a similar fashion as the rich. Not that technology has not aided in lifting people out of poverty or plugging leakages in a corrupt system. But internet is as much a tool for development, as entertainment.

Payal Arora’s work The Next Billion Users: Digital Life Beyond The West details these biases as the world gets ready to connect three billion users —population that lives under $2 a day-to the internet. A digital anthropologist, Arora does not limit herself to ideas of poverty alleviation, but discusses the state of internet in countries such as India, China and Saudi Arabia to explain how internet perception is not too different or radical from the western world. Although there are some distinctions, citizens in each of these countries have found their freedoms within the confines of technology. These people are exploring entertainment, leisure, love and privacy all within this digital habitat. The author does not limit herself to the idea of internet from people’s perspective but also provides a picture from the corporate side on how monetisation of ideas and data is taking place given the widespread use of internet. In the eight chapters that follow, the author discusses examples of internet in each of the countries and under different scenarios and settings. She does so by detailing her interviews and research, drawing from anecdotes and instances from the past.

Although the author does try to cover most biases, her approach towards digital is one on generalising the poor as a homogenous group. The poor do wish to play, but it is not that they do not wish to do anything besides playing. More important, in the context of the internet they want to do much more. Internet does represent hopes and dreams for millions. And, stories of slumdogs do inspire millions. It is not by happenstance that a lot of companies have cropped up from rural India, or use of agri-tech apps have increased amidst farmers.

Yes, Facebook and YouTube are mediums of entertainment for millions, but they are also platforms for many innovations and circumventions. Take #MeToo for instance. Those dismissing it as a western phenomenon would be surprised to find that the move found as much resonance in India as it did with the western world. Technology has fascinated billions and would continue to do so, but that is not to say that it is not to be used for fun. After all, breads and circuses can only take you so far. Even if there are more phones in Nigeria than toilets, these phones may lead to a revolution that goes beyond toilets. YouTube by showing a million stupid cat videos, also shows videos where you can point and say why don’t we have that in our country. Arab Spring is a classic example.

[“source=financialexpress”]

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Internet

How Climate Change Will Kill Your Internet

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Image result for How Climate Change Will Kill Your InternetThe only kind of real connection humans seem interested in making nowadays is with the internet. And considering over four billion of us spend most of our time online, whether we’re binge-watching that irresistible new Netflix show or asking Google what to do when we no longer have clean underwear, we’re more dependent on the World Wide Web to get shit done than we ought to be. Out here, we’ve even moaned climate change coming for our coffee and our wine, but where will we whine once it comes for the internet too? It turns out that the potential upcoming apocalypse means that nothing and no one, not even the internet, is safe. In fact, the internet might be one of the first things that will crash and burn. Here are some reasons why:

Underwater cables affected by rising sea levels

Since our forefathers had a little more faith in us than they should’ve, 99 percent of the internet cables are submerged underwater. These cables are kinda weak and need constant maintenance stations and repeaters, that repair and regenerate the system. But because ice caps are rapidly melting, it’s causing a significant rise in sea-levels, making these cables much harder to actually get to.

A study published by researchers at the University of Oregon and the University of Wisconsin-Madison looked at fiber optic cables in low-lying regions, and how they’d hold up as sea levels start to rise. Based on the prediction that ocean levels would rise by a foot in the next 15 years, they said at least 6,400 km of fiber optic cable in just the US would be permanently submerged, affecting network connections from New York to New Mexico. Which means your precious Instagram scrolling hours could very well have a deadline.

Keeping data centres cool

If the internet were a person, its servers and data centres would be its brain and backbone, in charge of all operations to make it function effectively. These are, at their core, millions of processing units put together, and just like a hothead sometimes need to chill out, they need cool temperatures and a set-up created solely for such purposes. However, because of the effects of global warming, it takes that much extra energy to keep things cool down at data centers, which means more electricity has to be used, making it all the more expensive. Given that most of the world still relies heavily on coal to generate the electricity that powers the spread of information and hasn’t quite made that switch to renewable energy, using the internet is basically costing you and the earth far more than you can imagine, and contributing to a vicious cycle of degradation. Eventually, it may come down to choosing between your internet connection and your city’s power supply, and how much is social media worth if you can’t even turn on the lights to take selfies.

Being ignorant about our internet use

According to a report published by The Shift Project, a French thinktank that encourages a post-carbon economy, digital technology generates 4 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), while consuming over 9 percent energy at the same time. This doesn’t mean that you have to give up those convenient delivery apps. But it’s important to remember that while the entire world contributes to creating the emissions, it’s only going to get worse as our technology takes on more advanced forms like AI and 5G Network, and people increasingly engage in energy-draining activities like mining cryptocurrencies.

Other long-lasting effects

Clearly, we’re seeing some of the damaging effects of climate change already. Hurricanes, floods and wildfires threaten to destroy not just the internet infrastructure in place but also our very survival. It all weaves a scary web of a future where progress itself becomes our biggest downfall.

[“source=vice”]

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Blogging

How to Use Guest Blogging for Natural Link Building

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

How to Use Guest Blogging for Natural Link Building

Guest blogging and link building are powerful tactics that belong in every SEO specialist’s toolkit.

Some experts are skeptical of guest blogging because of the vast number of unsuccessful examples you can find online.

However, when used correctly, guest blogging has the power to boost your brand’s online image.

What Is Guest Blogging?

Guest blogging (or guest posting) is publishing your content on other companies’ websites, preferably related to your niche.

As a rule, guest bloggers incorporate links to their own sites into their guest posts, driving traffic to their own platforms. However, this is becoming more difficult because many websites add nofollow or even strip out links completely

Guest blogging has been actively used in the SEO world for many years and is not going away anytime soon.

Collaboration within the niche is useful for both the host site and the guest writer.

Large companies often invite partner authors to post on their blogs and in turn post articles on other websites.

How to Use Guest Blogging for Natural Link Building

Benefits of Guest Blogging

There are several key benefits to contributing as a guest blogger:

  • Increased brand awareness. To increase their exposure in the real world, many companies participate in conferences and other important professional events, organize meetings with potential contractors and clients, interact with customers, and make every effort to stay visible. The same principles apply in the digital space. The more sites you visit and leave your imprint on, the more web users know about you, and the stronger your authority.
  • More transitions to your site. Placing a link to your landing page in your bio, or inviting readers to sign up for your newsletter, are a couple of good ways to increase leads and traffic.
  • Useful contacts. You can build partnerships with influential companies, enter a privileged community of contributors within your niche, learn from other’s experiences, and exchange knowledge and resources.
  • Shorter sales cycle. Don’t wait for potential clients to find and visit your website and read about your goods and services. Your guest posts published on popular online platforms provide the perfect forum to promote your brand. Interested readers will follow your links to get more information.

6-Step Strategy for Using Guest Blogging as a Link Building Tool

1. Find Relevant Opportunities

Search for Guest Blogging-Friendly Websites

To achieve impressive and lasting results, devise a strategy for your guest blogging.

Take advantage of Google search to find relevant websites that welcome guest posts.

Use queries that include the name of your niche (design, medicine, art, etc.) and phrases like “guest post,” “write for us,” “guest blog,” or “contributor.”

Analyze Competitors’ Links

Find out which guest bloggers are posting links on your selected websites.

Analyze their strengths and weaknesses.

This is more easily done with small and medium-sized platforms. For larger ones, you can use special tools like Netpeak Spider and Moz Link Explorer.

Search by Influencers

It is always easier to bypass pitfalls when you learn from the experience of others. Successful guest bloggers have already overcome the challenges you are about to face.

Assess the online behaviors of the main influencers in your niche.

Compile a list of websites they contribute to and avoid wasting time and energy on irrelevant or unpopular online platforms.

2. Refine Your List of Websites

Conduct a donor analysis. It is the study of a website’s traffic and the keywords that generate it.

With this data, the placement cost can be compared with the donor’s value.

Check the following criteria before contacting blog administrators:

  • The domain authority of 50 and above. Websites with DA lower than 40 will most likely be a waste of time (but not always).
  • Quality of content. Assess blog posts from the viewpoint of a reader. Are they valuable? Are you interested? Would you like to comment and share them with your friends? Are new materials posted regularly? If the answers are positive, visitors to the website are likely to read your articles and follow your links.
  • Organic traffic. The more traffic a site has, the more keywords are at the top of the search rankings. When keywords are similar to the project being developed, the link equity promoted by the donor is maximized.
  • Author bio. Will you be permitted to include information about yourself and your company in your posts? Will they be published in a prominent place?

Other useful tips:

  • Discard donors with small numbers of keywords and low traffic. They will not benefit you, and they can sometimes be harmful.
  • The best donors are sites with a narrow theme relevant to your own, and sites with a general format (for example, news sites). If the site has a general theme, select an anchor according to your promotion plan. If it is narrowly specialized, try to use an anchor based on the donor’s top keywords.

3. Brainstorm Content Ideas

Now that you know where to post your content, the next question is what to post.

Above all, your articles should correspond to the thematic of the host website and be useful to its readers.

Analyze current trends, controversies, and the hottest news in the target industry to find inspiration and get an idea of popular topics.

Constantly tracking important events and innovative ideas can be time-consuming, but you can automate this process by taking advantage of helpful tools like BuzzSumo, or use CoSchedule to help you generate great titles.

Target your posts to both beginners and pros, to diversify your readership and provide relevant solutions to specialists in your field.

4. Begin Your Outreach

Now it is time to make useful contacts with administrators of the selected blogs.

Use data in the “Contact Us” section, a contact form on the website, or search for email addresses using tools like Interseller or Anymail finder.

Be prepared to wait for a response. Large website owners are not always receptive to outreach emails because they receive dozens of similar offers every day and have a well-established publishing schedule.

It may take much time to build good relationships with influencers or get them to notice you. Reach out to administrators of reputable websites in social networks, and comment on their photos, posts, and other content.

Adhere to the following rules when sending a personal message:

  • Since you are sending a cold email, use a neutral address to avoid spam filters.
  • Write the original text.
  • Greet the email recipient warmly and introduce yourself.
  • Refer to materials on their website or personal page, and mention that you like their content.
  • Be straightforward about why you are writing, and indicate where you think would be the best placement for your article.
  • Offer a few interesting guest post ideas.
  • Provide examples of your articles.
  • Offer to advertise the host website on your social media platforms.

5. Create Your Posts

Once you get approval from a website owner, start writing posts for their platform. Here are some important nuances to be kept in mind:

  • Become acquainted with the host’s guest blogging guidelines and adhere to them, to avoid conflicts with administrators and deleting of your content. If there are no specific instructions, read other contributors’ articles to identify patterns.
  • To optimize your content, take SEO principles into account.
  • Provide a link to your website or other relevant resources, but make sure it fits organically into your text. Blatant promotion of your platform will do more harm than good.
  • Do not use anchors like “follow this link” or “here”. You can refer to your blog, but first, prepare the articles you are going to link to. You can redirect link juice from there to your “selling” pages.
  • Before submitting, take a break and look at your post with fresh eyes. Make sure it is reader-friendly, rephrase awkward sentences, and eliminate grammar and spelling errors.

6. Track & Measure

Do not expect fast results. It takes time to become a good guest blogger.

You should have a well-organized tracking system to determine the efficiency of each post and host website, distinguish positive trends and patterns, and improve the position of your brand in the future.

This may be done using a spreadsheet with data on views and referring traffic. Also, you can take advantage of Google Analytics to measure the influence of guest blogging on your SEO indicators.

Pro Rank Tracker can help you understand changes in your search ranking position over time.

How to Use Guest Blogging for Link Building

Summary

Guest blogging key concepts:

  • Guest bloggers publish original content on partner websites.
  • Guest blogging helps boost brand awareness, draw referring traffic, shorten the sales cycle, and build strong relationships with influencers in your niche.
  • To use guest blogging efficiently, you must find relevant websites, generate interesting content ideas, reach out to website owners, write impressive posts, organically incorporate links, track and measure the efficiency of your strategy, evaluate donors, and attract only those with a large number of keywords and high traffic.
  • Additional ways to get backlinks include scholarships, discounts, forums, and interviews with experts.

Timeframe: Ongoing starting Month 3

Results detected: 4-12 months after implementation

Average links sent per month: 4

Tools needed:

  • Netpeak Spider
  • Moz Link Explorer
  • BuzzSumo
  • CoSchedule
  • Interseller
  • Anymail finder
  • Google Analytics
  • Pro Rank Tracker

Benefits of guest blogging:

  • Increased brand awareness. The more sites you visit and leave your imprint on, the stronger your SEO authority.
  • More transitions to your site. Placing a link to your landing page in your bio, or inviting readers to sign up for your newsletter are good ways to increase leads and traffic.
  • Useful contacts. You can build partnerships with influential companies and enter a privileged community of contributors within your niche.
  • Shorter sales cycle. There is no need to wait for potential clients to find and visit your website. Your guest posts would promote your brand and invite readers to get more information.

Hopefully these tips will contribute to your success.

Take advantage of the many opportunities provided by guest blogging, and enjoy a robust influx of new visitors to your website!

[“source=searchenginejournal”]

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Internet

Free Wi-Fi is dicey: how to safely access the Internet when traveling

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Free Wi-Fi is irresistible for many travelers but it carries risks.

The Portland, Oregon office of the FBI earlier this month put out an advisory on travel scams, with free Wi-Fi at the top of their list of concerns, citing an FTC advisory.

The key takeaway is that never assume that free Wi-Fi at airports, coffee shops, restaurants, hotels, and other public places is safe.

The inconvenient truth is that the internet was created as a medium for easy information exchange, so privacy and security are often vulnerable.  And hackers love public wireless hotspots because it’s a relatively easy way to intercept and steal your personal information.

If you must use public Wi-Fi, avoid accessing bank accounts, doing online shopping that requires credit card purchases, and generally sending sensitive personal information.

Be smart about using public Wi-Fi while traveling.

Be smart about using public Wi-Fi while traveling. (iStock)

Also, don’t stay signed into a website or account. Log out when you’re done. And don’t use the same password across different websites. If a hacker gets into one account, that could give them access to multiple accounts that use the same password, according to the FTC’s advisory.

Even better, shun public Wi-Fi altogether and connect to the Internet via your carrier’s 4G/LTE connection (and in the coming years 5G).

Though 4G “can be compromised…it is much more difficult to hack than public Wi-Fi, which attackers mainly have their sights set on,” according to a Symantec advisory entitled, “How safe is surfing on 4G vs. WiFi?”

Overall, the most secure way to connect is a virtual private network (VPN), which essentially creates a private connection, where your traffic is routed through an encrypted “tunnel.” That means no one can see your web traffic. “A virtual private network…should be a must for anyone concerned about their online security and privacy,” according toSymantec.

There are many VPN services to choose from but be careful because some are not very reputable.

Apple unveils new privacy features, a brand new laptop and says goodbye to iTunes

Most people don’t know what a safe connection is

A sizeable 60 percent feel their personal information is safe when using public Wi-Fi, yet 53 percent can’t tell the difference between a secure or unsecure public W-Fi network, according to the Norton Wi-Fi Risk Report done in 2017.

And 87 percent of consumers “have potentially put their information at risk while using public Wi-Fi,” according to Symantec.

A whopping 75 percent of consumers don’t use a Virtual Private Network to secure their Wi-Fi connections, Symantec said.

[“source=foxnews”]

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Education

How Startups Can Make An Impact On Higher Education

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

uncaptionedIt’s clear that we are in the early stages of an unprecedented shift in our education system. Everything from the opportunism of the internet to the shifting skill sets of the digital age are upending our centuries-old educational establishment.

It’s inevitable that even some established institutions will fall as new educational methodologies overtake old models. In many ways, these changes are already taking place. Millions of students take classes through online platforms like Udemy and Coursera. Boot-camp-style education workshops like General Assembly are also becoming more popular.

Today’s universities are more open and eager to adopting new models and fostering stronger affiliations to increase their value and effectiveness. The right partnerships can bolster a university’s ability to meet their students’ needs in a dynamic way, thus returning the value to their institution and ensuring that they remain relevant even as the proverbial winds are shifting.

Why is partnering with educational organizations important?

Educational organizations are a lot more open to partnerships now and have expanded their relationships with different types of companies to further education, knowledge and access to resources for students. As a company, it is important to take advantage of the opportunity to partner with such educational institutions.

Investing in higher education is investing in the future. This goes beyond the traditional route of supporting the education system through monetary donations. There are many ways to practically invest in education, such as through mentorship. Big business or small business, all businesses have the opportunity to raise up the future through education. For example, if you own a pizza shop, you can share your knowledge of opening a local business, signing a lease, dealing with waste management, staffing, etc. As a business owner, you have a mass amount of knowledge to share.

The return of investment here is the value of elevating society as a whole. By investing in students and providing them with the knowledge and resources to set them up for success is investing in the future. Moreover, the benefit to your company and business is that this can be a great source for hiring talent or an avenue for investing in new ideas. Educational institutions are hungry for such partnerships, and these partnerships are beneficial to all parties.

What do these partnerships accomplish?

Partnerships can be an incredible asset, especially when both organizations share similar core values and priorities. For example, my company is partnering with a university to enrich the academic experience for their students. The students are gaining valuable exposure to small business experience and the university is adding value to their academic programs. Together, our core values and priorities revolve around providing students with the best resources and experience to set them up for success.

These programs are easily executed because of the like-minded vision of being change-makers. Ultimately, students are the beneficiaries, which drives all educational innovation and improvement.

How can I initiate an educational partnership?

Start with the schools you went to. You already have a warm relationship with that institution. Think about the value you can provide students. Educational institutions are unlikely to turn down something that is valuable for their students. By starting with your alma mater, you can tell them you’d like to give back to the university and present the opportunity for partnership in a structured way that provides value.

If you didn’t go to college, the best way to initiate these partnerships is to do research on what these higher education institutions are doing. Schools are dedicated to their initiatives and bettering the education of their students. The more successful their students are post-graduation, the better for their institution. If you can help with that, then you have a great start. Contact each institution directly and share your idea with them. Start with the school’s career councils or development officer. Many institutions now have development officers who are thinking outside the box, creating incubation programs and looking for mentors.

Current trends like incubator programs, internal innovation teams and strategic, hands-on learning experiences will be the new norm for thriving colleges and universities. So, it’s imperative that you work with the educational institution to make sure you are providing value for them. The students are the future. Setting them up for success is a no-brainer.

These are uniquely disruptive times for our workforce and academic institutions. As such, it is also the perfect time to begin these partnerships.

[“source=forbes”]

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Online Marketing

How Digital Marketing Is Becoming A Game Changer In Lead Generation

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

How Digital Marketing Is Becoming A Game Changer In Lead Generation

An underlying fact every businessman is aware of is continuous lead generation translate into higher sales. A fresh lead calls for action in terms of pitching the services or products to someone who is in need of the same and is all set to pay if their requirement is met.

In most industries, 10% of new leads make a purchase. Clearly, greater the lead generation, the greater will its revenue be. In the current times, businesses are looking to surge the lead counter by using digital marketing.

Digital marketing proves to be an effective way of lead generation for a variety of reasons some of which are described below.

Digital Marketing Is Affordable

A traditional marketing campaign executed on print, TV, and radio is frightfully expensive. The expense of such campaigns exceeds lakhs and in some cases over 1 crore may need to be spent. Despite such high costs, a traditional marketing campaign doesn’t guarantee to deliver the expected results.

This is because such campaigns reach a wide audience, an overwhelming majority of who have little reason to purchase the product or service advertised. Therefore the large expense of traditional marketing campaigns is unjustified because they are grossly inefficient at lead generation from the quality aspect.

Digital marketing can easily be crafted to reach segments of consumers likely to buy what’s marketed. The first step to reach a niche audience is identifying the traits of those likely to buy a product or service. Young single men who’re shown adverts of stuffed toys and premium chocolates before Valentine’s Day are likely to buy them for their girlfriends.

Because digital marketing reaches a narrow audience it is affordable and produces results superior to those of traditional marketing campaigns. Before digital marketing, it was difficult for new brands to attract loyal customers.

The only way to reach a nationwide audience was through TV, newspaper, magazine, and radio. Hence the number of brands in the consciousness of consumers was small. Since the introduction of digital marketing, many new brandshave found tremendous success and there has been an increase in the number of brands stored in the psyche of consumers.

Everyone Is Always Online

It’s no secret that smartphone addiction is commonplace. An average person checks his or her smartphone approximately 70 times a day. Among younger people, spending time online has usurped time spent with friends and family. Many free apps have been downloaded by millions and earn revenue only through digital advertisements. Across urban and rural India people of all ages spend at least an hour using their smartphone. This makes online platforms an ideal way to reach consumers.

Nearly 30 crore Indians own a smartphone and data is abundant and cheap. Smartphones are always connected to the internet and always within the reach of their owners. This makes digital marketing very effective in lead generation because consumers likely to be interested in a brand can be reached daily.

Measuring the Effectiveness of Digital Campaigns is Simple

Money spent on traditional marketing can seem akin to dumping money into a black hole. A company may spend many lakhs of rupees on a traditional marketing campaign, yet the campaign may not only be unsuccessful but also present inaccurate or vague data that doesn’t reveal consumer sentiment about the product or service advertised.

Over the years many companies spent astronomical sums on traditional marketing yet they failed. What’s worse they never understood what they did wrong.

The beauty of digital campaigns lies in their precise metrics that reveal their effectiveness. Real-time tracking of the campaign is a stellar feature of digital marketing. This allows companies to tweak unsuccessful campaigns so they have a better chance of success or repeat successful campaigns.

The ROI of such campaigns can be measured to the last rupee and because digital campaigns are so affordable, multiple campaigns can be run at a fraction of the cost of traditional campaigns.

Digital Campaigns Offer Variety Suited to Needs

The subtle and obvious differences between companies and their requirements mean some marketing strategies are likely to be more successful than others. For instance, some businesses may not need to pay for a robust digital marketing campaign.

This is possible when they use organic strategies that highlight their brand but don’t require them to spend. A well-executed organic strategy will allow a brands message to be shared with audiences seamlessly.

Some companies may find paid campaigns more suitable. A paid campaign will highlight brands advert when users request products or services sold by the brand. The ecosystem of paid digital marketing campaigns is vast and companies may choose those that suit them best.

Experts Understand Conceptualising and Executing Campaigns

A digital marketing campaign doesn’t need a large team to implement or execute it. Because of this, the cost of a digital marketing campaign is low. However, despite the fact that a digital marketing campaign can be executed at low cost using a small team, expertise in conceptualising and managing a digital marketing campaign is required for it to be a success.

Such expertise is provided by a number of competent digital marketing experts who know how to create successful campaigns. Using their services a company can be confident its digital campaign reaches as many as possible and generates ample leads.

Both small and large companies benefit from digital marketing campaigns. Most large companies already use digital marketing extensively not only to create awareness about their products but also to gauge consumer sentiment. Swift feedback from digital advertising makes possible the latter.

Small companies using digital marketing are making inroads into new markets and challenging incumbents. It’s not uncommon for small companies to find success simply as a result of thoughtfully planned and executed digital marketing campaigns.

[“source=inc42”]

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Blogging

How Blogging Has Changed For The Better In The Past Decade

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

How Blogging Has Changed For The Better In The Past Decade

Blogging has definitely come a long way since its proliferation a few decades ago.

Before Snapchat, Facebook and other online communication networks, there were blogs. Let’s take a journey to a timeless content platform that’s still as relevant as it was when it first appeared on the world wide web.

The First Blog

In 1994, an individual named Justin Hall created the very first blog.

The site was called Links.net, and it centered around links and personal dispatches. Soon, everyone wanted to have a “weblog” of their own so they could share their interests, thoughts and lives to their online friends.

From Weblog to Blog

Programmer Peter Merolz then shortened it to “blog”, and the name stuck. Then in 2002, the medium shifted from mere words to videos. The same year saw an astounding rise of the medium and the launching of Google Adsense, a monetization platform that served relevant ads within the blogger’s website.

The rise of communities centered around parenting continued, and spilled onto the YouTube platform in 2005. Media companies started moving their content to the internet in the form of opinion posts, expert advice and articles that gathered aggregate articles. People started going online just to read, watch and comment on these posts.

Microblogs

Microblogging soon followed after the rise of social media sites Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Curating feeds, tweets and posting videos soon became the norm. Blogging didn’t die out, but rather served a different, more specialized need.

Professional Success

Successful bloggers like Sourajit Saha filled in a niche that centered around the needs of their audience. Readers benefit from informative content such as comparison guides, ultimate buyer’s list, product reviews, recipe collection, tech and gadgets.

Businesses saw the potential and started hiring digital marketers and SEO companies to do their bidding. Bloggers soon experienced fulfilling careers going their own path or being hired by multinational companies.

Following the trend, we can safely say that blogging has indeed a bright future!

[“source=ilounge”]

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Education

How technology is helping teachers redefine education

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Vineeta Garg, an educator at the SRDAV Public School in Delhi, uses virtual reality (VR) to make teaching more impactful for her students.

“VR helps me to take my students anywhere in the world – from Mount Everest to the Statue of Liberty,” she said. “My students could easily learn history by visiting stunning ancient ruins in Greece or significant war sites in Vietnam without leaving the classroom.”

Garg was one of the educators selected to attend the Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) in Paris in recognition of her use of technology in education.

VR field trips

Similarly, Mohammed Fazil uses virtual reality to take his students in Bengaluru on virtual field trips. The students explore the Taj Mahal and national parks, go on underwater expeditions and then write about their experience. He also uses a Microsoft Kinect controller to get the students to play motion-sensing math games such as Jumpido.

Technology in education is also making an impact in rural areas. In a zila parishad school in the Warud village of Maharashtra, a 31-year-old schoolteacher, Amol Bhayur, has not only deployed Amazon’s Alexa, but also installed the device inside a self-designed robot to pique the curiosity of the students.

“Armed with a power bank, a mannequin, an Echo smart speaker, and a mobile hotspot in the absence of wireless internet infrastructure, Amol was now ready to debut Alexa into the classroom,” said the company’s blog. He has realised that Alexa could be a game changer for education, the blog said.

“The emergence of technology has had a profound impact on the educational landscape, especially in rural India,” said Lloyd Mathias, senior technology executive and former Asia Marketing Head of HP. “It has helped in learning. It helps students have an active engagement with the learning material. By using the internet, students can research real issues, keeping their learning contemporary and relevant. The internet or software tools can help them create virtual communities that connect them in real-time with other students and teachers,” he said.

Tech solutions for the world

India is one of the first few countries to receive grants from Google.org’s $50-million global commitment to support non-profits that are building tech-based solutions to tackle challenges in education in developing countries. “We are committed to enabling and democratising access to high quality, world-class education to everyone. Our objective is to ensure that India’s large developer and student community can equip itself with all the latest technology, and inspire them to not only build products to solve the needs of users in India, but also for the world,” said the company.

The Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Expert programme, created to recognise global visionaries in the field of education who use technology to pave the way for their peers in the effective use of technology for better learning and student outcomes, has a community of 660 educators from India.

“By leveraging the power of technology, these passionate teachers are adopting new approaches to teaching and learning, and are reinforcing critical skills in today’s youth in India,” said Manish Prakash, Country Manager – Public Sector, Healthcare and Education,Microsoft India.

[“source=thehindubusinessline”]

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