Can a Decentralized Sharing Economy Resolve Itself?

cryptoninjas.net

For nearly two decades, technology’s rise proceeded unfettered, and it led to tremendous growth for the economy and the tangible ways we live our lives. This phenomenon gave rise to things like chord cutting, social media, automation, and the sharing economy. In many ways, the growth of technology changed our lives for the better by making things cheaper, more convenient, and more progressive.

However, a series of missteps are causing many to question this presumption. For example, Facebook is mired in a seemingly endless string of scandals involving user privacy, data manipulation, and propaganda. This week, Arizona suspended Uber’s testing of its driverless car initiative after a pedestrian was struck and killed by an autonomous vehicle.

At least week’s SXSW festival, London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, spoke about the sharing economy and its responsibility to develop more than just market share. Addressing the crowd, Khan said, “Without prudent oversight this new way of working risks being used as a cover to break up decades of hard-won rights.”

Khan is expressing the growing concern that new technology and new services are emerging so rapidly that we barely have time to adjust before the next one rises to prominence. It’s growth without care, and that’s concerning.

He later added, “We can’t confuse matters by thinking that because a business is smart, disruptive, popular even – and has a really neat app – it somehow has a right to have a different regulatory status.”

For the sharing economy, this is especially important. It’s possible that favorite companies like Uber, Airbnb, or Lyft could merely become technologically fascinating versions of existing platforms. It’s not hard to imagine Uber as a taxi company that has an enthralling app and worse working conditions for its drivers.

For many, the answer to these concerns is government regulation. While this will undoubtedly play an essential role in shaping the sharing economy, it’s not the only option. Competitive markets and informed consumers will also make a significant impact on this as well.

Regulation or Decentralization?

In its current form, the sharing economy exists as dozens or even hundreds of disparate platforms that are similar in their underlying ethos that values mobile technology and individual autonomy. There is no central marketplace for these apps or services. Instead, they are all served a la carte, so it’s difficult to compare services and make informed decisions.

Cryptocurrencies and the blockchain can help with this. Digital currencies, as their name suggests, are particularly adept at facilitating digital payments in a mobile environment. What’s more, platforms can build upon the blockchain to create better services for promoting the sharing economy.

For example, ShareRing is a blockchain-based marketplace for the sharing economy that brings together the many different services that comprise this market and makes them all accessible from a single app. Users can pay for services using a native digital currency that is transferable to other services or can be converted into fiat money.

In addition to making the sharing economy more user-friendly, platforms like ShareRing represent an opportunity for self-regulation. Much like Amazon provides a single marketplace for a plethora of tangible goods, ShareRing present sharing services in a single marketplace. Amazon compares products by several different quantifiers including price, customer reviews, and availability. similarly, a sharing economy marketplace can compare services so that customers can make the most informed decisions and so that everyone can more fully understand the different functions, their strengths, and limitations.

Unifying the sharing economy into a single marketplace can effectively regulate the market by adding transparency and opportunity. In this way, a decentralized economy has the chance to self-regulate, which would allow the best ideas the thrive in an open environment while also encouraging the best products and plans to come to market quickly. The blockchain is built on the premise of transparency, auditability, and security, and these features can define the sharing economy as well. By bringing them together, companies like ShareRing may bring the self-regulation that the industry needs to succeed

How to Ride the Mobile AR Wave in 2018

forbes.com

We’re now well into 2018, and a trend that started last year is now in full swing: the next platform war is being fought over mobile augmented reality or AR.  Pokemon Go showed us how mobile phone based AR could transform the real world into a game space, and launched millions of scavenger hunts for cartoon monsters. Then Snapchat, with its lenses and filters, let us turn ourselves into cartoons. Last year at F8, Facebook introduced its Camera Effects platform, an AR app development tool. Not to be outdone, Apple followed up soon with its own version, called ARKit. Just last month, Google announced the wide release of their AR toolkit, ARCore.

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Mobile Augmented Reality

The reason for the excitement in this space is simple. Unlike VR (or Magic Leap), mobile AR has a massive installed hardware base. Apple estimates that 200 million existing phones (iPhone 6 and up/iOS 11) can run ARKit apps, and Google says at least 100 million can run ARCore today.  While Facebook is looking to leverage the camera-based sharing of AR content among its billion plus users, Apple is once again banking on leveraging its best in class hardware/software integration to give ARKit developers an advantage in building premium apps.

It’s still early days: no one has reproduced the massive success of Pokemon Go.  But in addition to games, mobile AR has the potential to transform utility apps as well as to usher in new forms of mobile advertising. It can give traditional brands new ways to engage customers and can bridge the gap between digital shopping and real-world retail. Looking down the road, AR could even potentially supplant chat as a primary interface for an entire ecosystem of contextual, real-time service based applications. There are so many potential use cases we have yet to imagine, but let’s think about some of the most promising ones.

Furniture giant IKEA built IKEA Place, an ARKit app where customers can place virtual furniture in their own home through the window of their phone or tablet.  They can choose a couch or table, see how it will look in a given room, and then order it on the spot. Pretty cool! Now imagine you could do the same thing with clothes. With the ability to create a high fidelity 3D personal avatar, you could pick out a dress, try it on, and get a 360 degree view of what it looks like. We’ve already seen the success of 2D “magic mirror” cosmetic try-on apps; an AR version for clothes could be a killer app for mobile apparel shopping.

Does this mean AR will be the death of brick and mortar retail? Interestingly, it could be the opposite. Imagine how AR could transform in-store experiences.  Walking down an aisle of a grocery store, your phone could show you overlays with product information such as calorie count or grams of protein. Maybe you could see only the items that are allowed on a specific diet, like Keto or LCHF.  Or special loyalty promotions can be delivered as virtual coupons to users of the AR app. Past shopping behavior can be accessed to provide personalized assistance in real time.

What about mobile advertising?  Here AR can potentially elevate a still-emergent mobile ad genre: playable or interactive ads. Playable or interactive ads are primarily used by game developers as way to get users to “try before they buy.”  Playable ads for games have proven to have higher download rates over static ads as well as increased long-term retention rates. AR can take this interactive/immersive ad format beyond games to branded experiences.

Snapchat partnered with BMW to use its 3D World Lens to create an AR version of their new X2 model, enabling 360 degree views and color customization. Not to be outdone, Porsche has developed a similar AR app using Google’s ARCore.  Seeing a Porsche sitting in your own driveway an imagining hopping in the driver’s seat – that’s an experience that could get your heart racing. These examples are still pretty basic. For most brands, getting the most out of AR will require a more creative “AR First” approach to ad conception and design.

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AR Goggles

Perhaps one of the most interesting ways mobile AR could evolve is as an app portal or primary interface. Similar to how “super apps” like WeChat use a chat app as an interface to a universe of service applications, combining location and contextual awareness of mobile with AR can drive app interactions.  For example, imagine that based on tracked movement and location, your phone learns the average time of day you usually take your lunch (actually you don’t have to imagine it, as we at Appnext are already doing it). Some 15 minutes beforehand, an AR app will show you a menu of virtual dishes from nearby restaurants sitting on your desk in front of you. You can then trigger a delivery and payment for that item with one click. Or imagine a real world version of Tinder, where singles in social situations can scan the room and choose which people they fancy.  They can then indicate on the app with whom they’d like to interact, triggering a real-time ice breaker. The same type of application could be used to overlay professional information and act as a filter as well as connection trigger for people at business networking events. An AR networking app like this could increase the amount of valuable connections made at a given event.

Such concepts point the way for intrepid developers on how to think organically about AR apps. Particularly for AR as an immersive/interactive ad format, the richest rewards will come to those who can find ways to drive engagement with brands with uses cases less obvious than “try it before you buy it” product interaction.  Gamification is one way to think about how to do it, and personalization via avatars is another. At the same time, using AR as a platform for personal utility/services is another area with great promise. Now that the basic development tools are in place and the installed device base is in the hundreds of millions, the time is ripe for app developers to jump into mobile AR with both feet.

Blockchain’s Fight Against Fake News

coincentral.com

The Rise of Fake News

With the growing ease of communication, fake news and false stories are now spreading quicker than ever. The sheer amount of content shared each day makes it a chore to weed out the authentic from the B.S. And, most people don’t have the time to do so. According to an MIT study on fake news in Twitter, users are 70% more likely to retweet falsehoods than true facts. Simply put, fake news spreads quicker and reaches a wider audience than the truth.   

As an immutable store of data, blockchain technology has the potential to eradicate fake news for good. Utilizing digital identities and a verifiable reputation system, blockchain-based social media works to promote accurate information while burying falsehoods.

He Said, She Said

In the fight against fake news, blockchain relies on a phenomenon dubbed “the wisdom of the crowd.” The idea behind this phenomenon is that the collective opinion of a group of people is usually more accurate than that of a single expert. With numerous readers verifying the validity of news articles, false information will come to light with more accuracy than if a single source or panel of judges was doing the same job. This decentralized form of verification fits right in line with blockchain systems.

Some blockchain projects are already utilizing the wisdom of the crowd for various purposes. Augur has built a robust prediction market that taps into crowd wisdom to forecast future events. And, Cindicator uses a similar strategy to perform complex financial analysis.

Reputation

You may be wondering, “In a system like this, what’s stopping me from simply verifying fake news to help spread misinformation?” This is where digital identities and reputation come into play. Each content platform can set this up and verify identities in different ways, but the underlying principle is the same. As a news consumer, you have a digital identity on the blockchain. You also have a reputation score associated with this identity. When you promote accurate information, your reputation increases. When sharing some inaccurate, the opposite is true.

You have a few options when an article comes across your feed:

• Share + Verify Article. If the majority of other people also verify the article that you promote through these actions, your reputation score increases. On the flip side, promoting an article that the crowd deems fake news lowers your score.
• Report Article. You can also report articles that you consider to contain falsehoods. If the majority of other readers agree with you, your reputation once again grows. Reporting verified articles hurts your reputation.
• Do Nothing. This won’t affect your reputation either way.

The higher your reputation, the more people your posts and shares reach. As your reputation increases so does your influence. Because reputation determines influence, malicious users will quickly ruin their reputation score, losing any influence they may have had.

As users verify or report an article, the reputation score of the article also changes. Articles with a good reputation gain exposure. Additionally, platforms can use your reputation score to give more (or less) weight to the verifications and shares that you give articles as well.

Because articles and their reputation are stored on the public, immutable ledger, you can directly see where an article that you’re interested in ranks on the truth scale. Over time, factual articles shared by legitimate users will rise to the top while articles driven by fake news won’t see the light of the day.

Incentives

In addition to giving a greater reach, platforms can reward high-reputation users with other incentives. Whether it be monetarily, through a leaderboard, or with other types of perks, there are plenty of opportunities to encourage good behavior when creating and sharing content.

An internal rewards system can even be tokenized, automated, and ran using smart contracts alongside the digital identities and reputations already being used on the blockchain.

Blockchain to the Rescue

Although not yet available, there are a couple teams building out solutions to combat fake news.

Userfeeds is a protocol to provide relevant information to readers so they can allocate their attention more effectively. As a social media platform, you can integrate the Userfeeds protocol to ensure that your users don’t succumb to fake news. The protocol includes “Proof-of-Evaluation” message types to measure the importance of different messages on the protocol. Additionally, it uses reputation currencies to create a reputation system similar to the one mentioned earlier.

PUBLIQ is a nonprofit foundation also fighting the good fight through blockchain technology. The PUBLIQ platform is censorship-free but rewards authors based on their PUBLIQ score. This score is formed by the reputation that an author receives from readers’ views, shares, likes, and reports. Additionally, PUBLIQ rewards channels that share articles that have garnered quality traffic. Focusing on quality views prevents bots and other fake accounts from gaming the system to promote inaccurate stories.

No project has taken the forefront yet, and the one that does may not exist. With the recent mishaps of Facebook and Twitter, though, it’s clear that a solution needs to surface soon.

Goodbye Fake News, Hello Informed Readership

Even with blockchain technology working to bury fake news, it’s inevitable that some stories will slip through the cracks. It’s our responsibility as readers to be skeptical of what we come across and only share the articles we know to be factually true. With a little effort and skepticism in our reading, we can eradicate the manipulation of fake news once and for all.

“This article was originally published at CoinCentral.com”: https://coincentral.com/blockchains-fight-against-fake-news/

Online advertising to account for 44.6% of global ad spend

marketing-interactive.com

Advertisers will spend approximately 40.2% of their budgets on online advertising in 2018, compared to 37.6% in last year. By 2020, online advertising is expected to account for 44.6% of global ad spend.

This comes amidst growing industry speculation about digital advertising budget cuts, and is part of the wider process of digital transformation, according to Zenith’s latest Advertising Expenditure Forecasts report. It combined six independent studies on brand growth into a single index, and analysed how the new ranking correlated with financial performance, media activity, digital activity, and the performance of owned and earned content.

According to the report, countries in the Fast-track Asia category, including Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and China, are expected to see an average ad spend growth of 7.4% annually until 2020. In 2017, ad spend grew by 6.8% for the region, despite the fact that it saw an ad spend of about 10.1% in 2016. Fast-track Asia is characterised by economies that are growing extremely rapidly as they adopt Western technology and practices and innovate new ones, while benefiting from the rapid inflow of funds from investors hoping to tap into this growth.

On the other hand, the countries in the Advanced Asia category – Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea – are estimated to witness a 3.8% average annual growth to 2020, ahead of the 3.1% average growth rate since 2012. Ad spend in the region grew 5.3% in 2015, but slipped back to approximately 1.8% this year.

Over the next three years, the US will be the leading contributor of new ad dollars to the global market, followed by China, which combines large scale and rapid growth. Between 2017 and 2020 the report forecasts global advertising expenditure to increase by US$77 billion in total. The US will contribute 26% of this extra ad expenditure and China will contribute 22%, followed by Indonesia, India, the UK and Japan, which will contribute 4% each.

Seven of the 10 largest contributors will be the Rising Markets – China, Indonesia, India, Philippines, Brazil, Russia and South Korea. Between them, they will contribute 40% of new ad spend over the next three years. Overall, the report predicts Rising Markets to contribute 57% of additional ad expenditure between 2017 and 2020, and to increase their share of the global market from 37% to 39%.

The report predicts an average growth of 10% a year for internet ad spend between 2017 and 2020, stating that internet advertising overtook advertising on traditional television in 2017 to become the world’s biggest advertising medium.

As for internet ad spend by device, including display, classified, search and in-app ads, the report forecast an average annual growth rate of 19% a year between 2017 and 2020. This is driven by the rapid spread of devices and improvements in user experiences. On the other hand, desktop internet advertising is predicted to shrink at an average rate of 1% a year as advertisers follow consumers to mobile.

Mobile advertising to grow 

Mobile advertising is predicted to grow to US$180 billion by 2020, nearly doubling desktop advertising’s US$94 billion total. According to the report, mobile will also account for 65.6% of internet expenditure and 29.3% of all expenditure in 2020, more than all the traditional media except television put together.

It is also expected to contribute US$73 billion in extra ad spend between 2017 and 2020, which will be counterbalanced by a US$2 billion decline in desktop advertising, as advertisers switch budgets to mobile.

This is also combined with a US$12 billion decline from print. TV and outdoor advertising will be the second and third-largest contributors, growing respectively by US$7 billion and US$3 billion, while cinema and radio grow by about US$2 billion and US$1 billion respectively.

Zenith stated that confidence in the global ad market is “improving rapidly”, predicting global ad spend to rise by 4.6% in 2018 due to improved economic growth in China and Argentina. Zenith also forecasted a 4.4% and 4.3% growth in global ad spend for 2019 and 2020 respectively.

Jonathan Barnard, Zenith’s head of forecasting and director of global Intelligence said the agency expects the global ad market, which grew by 4.0% last year, is expected to grow “substantially faster” in 2018. This is boosted by the Winter Olympics, football World Cup and US mid-term elections.

Meanwhile, internet advertising overtook advertising on traditional television to become the world’s biggest advertising medium, accounting for 37.6% of total ad expenditure. Zenith’s report predicts an average growth of 10% a year for internet ad spend between 2017 and 2020, with the segment accounting for 44.6% of global ad spend.

Display, an internet sub-category including banners, online video and social media, is predicted to grow 13% annually until 2020. According to the report, online video and social media are the current driving forces of internet ad spend growth, forecasting a 17% year on average growth between 2017 and 2020.

Online video is benefiting from the increasing availability of high-quality content, and improvements to the mobile viewing experience, such as better displays and faster connections. As such, online video ads are now an important component of social media platforms’ revenues. Meanwhile, paid search (8%) and classified (7%) are both lagging substantially behind display annually.

Newspaper and magazine ad spend to shrink

Zenith’s report also predicts newspapers and magazines to shrink at an average rate of 5% and 6% a year respectively, ending with respective 7% and 4% market shares in 2020. While TV used to be the dominant advertising medium between 1996 and 2016, it is predicted to have a 31.2% global ad market share in 2020, its lowest since 1981.

Paid search’s rapid growth is cited as one of the reasons for TV’s loss of share. The report classified paid search as a direct response channel, while TV is the pre-eminent brand awareness channel. If companies were to disregard internet classified and search, TV will still remain the principal display medium “for many years to come”, Zenith’s report stated. It estimated TV to account for 39.8% of display ad spend in 2020.

Meanwhile, audio visual advertising, including TV and online video, which was predicted to account for 48.4% of display advertising last year, is expected to rise in share to 48.8% in 2020.

The six independent studies analysed by Zenith were from Millward Brown Brandz, Seigel & Gale Brand Simplicity Index, Interbrand Top 100, NetBase Brand Love study, Brand Finance Top 500 and the European Brand Institute’s Top 100.

How to Thrive in the Gig Economy

nextavenue.org

Tips from Olga Mizrahi, author of 'The Gig Is Up'

You’ve no doubt heard about “the gig economy” (project-based and on-demand services) and maybe you’re thinking of joining it. Or maybe you fear that becoming a gigger will be the only way you’ll find work in the future, given how hard it can be to get hired as a full-time employee in your 50s or 60s.
Either way, you’ll want to hear what Olga Mizrahi has to say. She’s the author of the new book, The Gig Is Up, and a leading authority on the gig economy. Mizrahi’s also an instructor in the Digital Marketing Program for the University of California, Irvine, an Airbnb Open speaker, a blogger for entrepreneurs and freelancers at ChunkofChange.com and a small business columnist for The Long Beach Post.
I recently spoke with Mizrahi to learn why she’s so bullish on the gig economy (her book’s subtitle: Thrive in the Gig Economy, Where Old Jobs Are Obsolete and Freelancing is the Future) and to hear her advice for people over 50 who’d like to get giggy with it. Highlights:
Next Avenue: Why did you want to write ‘The Gig Is Up?’
Olga Mizrahi: Ten years ago, there was a shame in being a contract worker or a freelancer or a temp worker, and I think that’s gone. That creates an opportunity if you are someone who has grown up in the workforce, especially in corporations. The second thing is technology: Gig workers can do their work from anywhere.
When was the tipping point for the gig economy?
About five or six years ago, with smartphones and with the price of data plans coming down.
How do you define the gig economy?
I’m so glad you asked that question; it’s the place we have to start. We’re hearing about the sharing economy, the knowledge economy, the information economy, the apps economy. All these are the same thing. The gig economy is incredibly diverse, made up of freelancers, entrepreneurs and solopreneurs.
When you look at industries hiring freelancers, we think of computers immediately — programmers and web designers. And that’s true, but also, project managers. And the health industries — hospitalists are contract workers. Look at me: I’m an instructor at the University of California, Irvine every six months, but I don’t qualify for any of their benefits and they make sure to let me know.
What do you think about the gig economy for people in their 50s and 60s?
It can seem super scary and I understand this. But know that there is tremendous opportunity.
It’s a time to get educated about apps out there [that let you earn money in the gig economy]. Try some of them; and I’m not just talking about an Uber; there are dozens, if not hundreds of apps and web platforms if you need more income or want to keep active.
Upwork [a global freelancing platform formerly known as Elance-oDesk] may be a good place to start. You may be able to pull off a project there much better than someone who is younger.
Do you think we’re going to see more people in their 50s and 60s join the gig economy?
Absolutely. It’s almost like: Can you get ahead of it before it’s forced on you?

Olga Mizrahi, author

What do you think are the upsides to gig economy work?
The No. 1 thing people love about being part of the gig economy is flexibility. If you’re a parent or a grandparent, you can pick the kids or grandkids up from school and have relationships with your family. That’s huge.
Also, you can try on different hats. I know a gentleman in San Diego who started a loan document signing company where you can earn $100 an hour to help people with their loan documents. The company started eight or nine months ago and offers a course to learn how to do this; 1,000 people have gone through it.
But only 4 percent of working adults in the U.S. are taking advantage of these apps and platforms and getting income from them.
And what do you think are the downsides to gig economy work?
The No. 1 negative is it’s kind of lonely if you’re used to working on a team and having water cooler talk. LinkedIn has groups and Facebook has groups [for gig economy workers], but you have to work at it.
The second downside is a lack of benefits. How are you going to deal with that?
Can someone make a decent living in the gig economy?
Yes. The good thing is that experience is on your side. When you look at consultants, the amount of money they make is directly related to their experience.
But you also say in your book that “unless you’re hoping to run a hotel someday, learning how to be the best Airbnb host probably isn’t going to help you achieve your dreams.” Why?
Unless you get incredibly lucky, what else can you parlay it into? You need to  understand the limits of certain platforms and apps.
Also, a gig economy app is not going to market you or do publicity for you.
You say one big mistake people make in the gig economy is taking on any project that will pay.
People say: ‘I need income and I need it now.’ So they take whatever jobs are available. Sometimes, that’s a necessity. But it can be depressing.
You also say that setting boundaries is something most first-time freelancers don’t properly prepare for. What do you mean?
With almost any app or platform, you’ll be tied to your cellphone and texting people to get customers. So we’re starting to see a degradation of boundaries. Set them for yourself: I don’t have my phone on my nightstand; that’s a boundary. Or maybe your phone stays downstairs on weekends and you only check it a couple of times.

What is BitClave: Tackling the Digital Advertising Industry

coincentral.com

BitClave: The New Digital Media Token on the Block

BitClave is offering a decentralized search engine that eliminates any third party advertising intermediaries with the goal of establishing a strong, more efficient relationship between businesses and consumers.

BitClave champions the cause of “taking the Internet back” from the current tech oligarchy and bringing it to the people all in one cohesive platform.

This decentralized search engine will help users protect their data and better find what they’re looking for, while businesses will be able to advertise at a more cost-efficient and effective rate.

What is BitClave?

BitClave aims to create an open search marketplace to keep advertising prices transparent and fair. The system BitClave proposes would cut out third-party intermediaries such as Google AdWords that keep consumers and marketers separated.

In a BitClave search world, businesses would be able to reach their target audience with an extremely high degree of specificity. This hyper-focused targeting would allow businesses to get more bang for their advertising buck, as well as start showing consumers highly relevant ads. For example, if you’re a yoga studio, you’d essentially be able to find anyone who does yoga and send them your advertisements.

While this functionality can be somewhat carried out using traditional PPC (pay-per-click) methods, it still leads to a lot of waste. Businesses end up shooting a blunderbuss load of ads at a general audience and hope for the best. The BitClave system would be much more accurate.

The BitClave system would use a form of incentivized search, where people would only see ads if they have a stated interest in seeing them. This way, not only are a business’s target audiences easier to reach, they’re also warmed up and that much closer to making a purchase.

For example, let’s say you’re searching for a new house. You’d begin your search on the BitClave platform, and then start seeing advertisements from realtors who match your criteria. Not only would you have curated and specific advertisements, you would also earn CAT, the BitClave token, when you engage with those ads.

See video: https://lvena26b6e621o8sl2qkx1ql-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/bitclave-site.mp4?_=2

Since the cost of essentially making a sale is much lower under the BitClave system, businesses would be able to bring more value in the form of trial offers, samples, and discounts. These incentives would also receive a higher response rate, further powering the relationship between business and consumer.

All of this would occur without a third party intermediary reaping in huge profits in percentages of ad spend or user data. The BitClave ecosystem will help consumers keep control over their data, and give them the option to reveal personal information to businesses.

Competition

BitClave joins a handful of other digital media-based tokens in attempting to tackle the digital world.

The advertising industry alone is worth about $550 billion, with Facebook and Google taking the lion’s share. It might seem extremely ambitious to attempt to tackle companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Baidu, but that is a common note in the crypto-revolution.

When you zoom out of focusing solely on BitClave for a moment and make yourself aware of other projects in the space, you might start seeing sparks.

Steemit:  This platform is looking to disrupt the content creation space, where users are incentivized via compensation to write and engage with content on Steemit.com.

BAT: The Basic Attention Token is also looking to tackle the advertising world and is offering a platform where users are paid for their attention when watching ads, and publishers receive the majority of ad revenue directly.

AdEx: This blockchain-based ad exchange aims to disrupt the online advertising landscape to combat advertising fraud, privacy, and consent to receiving specific sponsored messages.

While the above projects could technically be considered competition, they’re all on a mission to uproot the current advertising landscape. With Facebook and Google receiving 73% of all online ad dollars, the targets are clear.

The Bitclave Team

BitClave was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California. To make matters even more interesting, it operates out of Google’s main campus. This gives BitClave the opportunity to recruit high-level talent from the surrounding areas.

The CEO is  Alex Bessonov. Bessonov has experience working with startup accelerators as well working as a software engineer with Microsoft, eBay, and Informatica.

BitClave’s CTO is Patrick Tague. Tague has experience in mobile, embedded, and wireless security.

BitClave (CAT) Trading History

The writing of this article finds BitClave at a pretty interesting spot. The project recently raised $25,547,000 USD in a successful ICO that lasted from November to December. It’s currently listed on a few small exchanges and has seen some substantial growth.

The exchange rate at the time of the ICO was around $.07/token and has jumped significantly in its first few days on market.

Although BitClave hasn’t yet hit some of the larger exchanges, it still seems like it has plenty of room to grow.

Final Thoughts

BitClave is currently entering its post-ICO stage, and if its ICO is any indication, it seems like it will continue to snowball attention in the cryptocurrency community.

Check out their whitepaper to learn more about the project and its place in the overall digital media world.

BitClave’s success in the near term is going to be tethered to its ability to grow its user base and demonstrate further utility for its token.

“This article was originally published at CoinCentral.com”: https://coincentral.com/what-is-bitclave/

39 Tips to Get Amazing Results with Your Social Media Strategy

imaginarylava.org

Nowadays it’s not about which social media networks are the most popular but about which social media networks are the best for YOUR business and niche.

Social media has infiltrated our lives. It has become the ’brand building’ prodigy tool so don’t waste your time wondering if it’s just a buzzword or a passing marketing phase. As statistics show, it’s the most influential tool you have to increase your visibility in this chaotic virtual life of opportunities.

But, as a general rule, a simple know-how isn’t enough. You need to showcase that certain ’je ne sais quoi’ that makes you stand out.

Here are 39 amazing tips on how to choose a social media strategy that is relevant to your needs and will ultimately benefit your business.

1. Choosing the right social media platform

The giants in the social media world like Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr can contain the entire population of China on Facebook alone, while the other two have a platform of users as large as the entire USA. YouTube is popular among a very wide variety of people and is one of the top social media sites, with video as a key component, and the second largest search engine behind Google. Different platforms serve different needs and different demographic groups.

2. Facebook

Facebook is a great tool to reach a large number of people very quickly. The fact that it offers different channels of communication (messages, comments, and even emoji reactions) makes it very attractive for different business models and various age groups.

3. Twitter

Twitter marketing is unique because of all the ways it can be adjusted to its users (marketers or audience). Twitter users have more control over the posts they want to see, so you are more likely to increase customer loyalty on this social network. There is also a number of marketing tools (like Twitter Advanced Search or Tweet Reach) that can help you shape your tweets in the best way possible.

4. Tumblr

Tumblr is a social platform that can be of the utmost importance for your business marketing if you want to show off your creative side. First of all, you are more likely to get a great response if you have a fun, catchy name. The Tumblr audience is mostly made of young people, so you have to focus on hip, humorous content.

5. Google+

One of the most underestimated social networks was certainly Google Plus. But, nowadays it is mostly dead. Stay away.

6. Snapchat

Although this platform is still somewhat new to the business world, there is a staggering amount of evidence it could become huge. The companies who have tried it have claimed it can be a very powerful tool for sharing promo codes (because of the high percentage of engagement), sharing short low-cost videos, and engaging influencers.

7. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is generally considered to be the most professional of all the social media platforms. It can be quite useful with the combination of a professional, active community, and the ability to precisely target messages which attracts a very high response rate. However, it has a lot of shortcomings unless you are a premium member.

8. YouTube

YouTube is another great tool for online marketing mostly thanks to its massive traffic and viewers (around 1,325,000,000 people are using it and over 300 hours of video is uploaded daily). With this kind of reach and almost limitless opportunities for presenting your content, it is a must.

9. Pinterest

Although Pinterest is still relatively new to the business world, it offers a lot of potential. Namely, Pinterest pins are 100 times more spreadable than a tweet and, compared to Facebook, the life of a pin is 160,00 times longer than a Facebook post.

10. Using more than one social media platform

As we have already mentioned it is recommended to use more than one social media platform in order to get in touch with a wider audience and different demographics. Your choice of social media determines your visibility.

11. A social media marketing plan

You should have a social media marketing strategy for every channel you use. If you have a good strategy, you will be able to control your resources and time. Yes, being in the right place at the right time is as important as it is in real life. When creating a plan don’t forget the character limit for each social media platform, outline how often you want to post, and the type of content you want to publish.

12. Tell me what your niche is and I’ ll tell you which platform to use

LinkedIn and Twitter reach a more professional audience. LinkedIn can be your top choice if your business requires network connectivity in corporate business, whereas Facebook has a mix of casual and professional audiences. Instagram is perfect for social influencers that focus on creative, visual content.

13. So, who are you?

It’s 2018. So the best social brand you can invent is based on who you really are, your unique way of seeing life and the people around you. Tell people how or why you do what you do. We all like a story behind the brand. After all, we are just a bunch of dreamers.

14. Showcase your uniqueness

If you’re starting your own personal brand, start with a blog. Deliver value, be consistent. Create a variety of formats including videos, podcasts, infographics, and more. It makes you more accessible to customers. Find a way to convey what you stand for through social media .

15. Being loyal

Becoming friends with your potential customer is a special relationship based on trust. And every new post, image, video, comment represents a chance for them to visit your site, and every visit is a potential conversion. The more followers you have the more trust you gain.

16. Humans have feelings

In social media, brand channels need to be humanized. People prefer doing business with other people rather than companies.

17. Appreciate the feedback

Be heard, but let your customers and followers reach out as well. Whether they are congratulating or criticizing, take their feedback into account and listen carefully. You will certainly learn a lot and be able to filter your posts more efficiently.

18. Be active

Another important thing on social media is the relationship between you and your target audience. Be as responsive to their messages and comments as possible. People rely on social media to obtain information and they will appreciate your effort.

19. It’s all about interaction

Interacting with customers is a sign of good faith for other customers. When people complain or praise you, they turn to social media. So when they post your name, they will want to follow you for updates. The more people talk about you on social media, the more you will be appealing to new users. If you interact with major influencers, you will definitely be adored. Without social media you are limited to people you already know.

20. Spare no expense

When it comes to investing in marketing, do not ever be shortsighted! It may sound like an extravagant expense now, but it will definitely be worthwhile in the future. Paying for a sponsored ad or a premium membership can offer you a lot of features others don’t have and can put you ahead immediately!

21. Use social media management tools

There are some social media management tools that can make the process much easier and save you precious time, such as Hootsuite, Buffer, and Hubspot. Leverage these tools to save you time and expand your reach.

22. Scheduling tools

With the help of social media scheduling tools, marketers can use different platforms more efficiently. There are a lot of scheduling applications and most of them have a free trial period, so you can try a couple of them and opt for the one you like the most.

23. Analytics tools

Like scheduling tools, analytics tools can make marketers’ lives a lot easier. By gathering details about the most efficient practices or target demographics for example, you can improve your marketing strategy.

24. Writing tools

Writing tools can not only improve the quality of your content, but can also make your content more appropriate for the specific social media platforms and your target audience. Here’s a great list of writing tools.

25. Make it mobile-friendly

When it comes to the content you post, it is very important for it to be accessible from mobile devices. People are using their phones everywhere, all the time, so it is more likely they will view your posts on the go. Do not give them a reason to skip your content.

26. SEO

The top positions on Google search are not easily achieved without a key SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategy in place.

27. Keywords

Choose keywords that you want people to associate with your brand, use them as often as possible – in your mission statement, in your content, in your elevator pitch – so that people can find you when they search for those words.

28. Hire a professional

The modern labor market offers a professional for virtually any field of practice. Social media managers are also numerous and affordable. They will definitely save you a lot of time, make your social media campaigns more efficient, and save you money in the long run.

29. Follow in others’ footsteps

Research and shape your social media strategy after other well-established brands. You can see what kind of content they post on different platforms, what their target audience is for which products, etc. Keep an eye on them, always!

30. Team up!

Sometimes, it can be really useful to join forces with another company. Co-promotion is an amazing way to increase your visibility on many social media platforms and reach a larger number of potential customers. It will also show that you respect your rivals.

31. Build your tribe

Social media platforms are the perfect place to stay tuned with those who you really see as a part of your tribe. Make a choice – you cannot appeal to everybody and vice versa.

32. Who are my followers?

Get an insight into what your customers do, how they live, what they want more than anything else, what angers them, what makes them happy, what are the experiences they will remember.

33. Use images and graphics

Attach images and graphics to your text content. There are many sites that offer free photos. GIFs (Graphics Interchange Format) are animated posts and are great for capturing attention and making your content more share-worthy. GIPHY is a great resource of GIFs or you can even create your own. Twitter has a built-in button you can attach to your tweets.

34. People love videos

What can be more involving than watching your friends or your fans in real life? Or seeing your story come to life as a captivating animation? It’s all about motion!

35. Live videos – in real time

The only thing more captivating than watching video is watching live streaming. Twitter and Facebook offer easy live-streaming platforms that can quickly grab attention and followers

36. Hashtags

The # converts the word into a link that makes it easy to find and follow a conversation about that topic.

37. Captions, mentions, filters

The majority of posts on networks like Instagram and Snapchat start with an image or video, which users can decide to add content to like captions, mentions (@username), filters and more. It’s a great place to use your creativity. Think out of the box.

38. Don’t think too much

Just as in real life, people also like spontaneity on social media. Do not be afraid to be silly. Your audience will appreciate your fun side and become even more loyal. But then again, don’t overdo it, you are still a professional!

39. Have fun

Show your followers that you are not just a hardworking creature who only cares about business. Show them how you know how to enjoy yourself, how to love life, therefore inviting them to be a part of your living adventure in all aspects. And they’ll return the favor.

Once you have your social media strategy all figured out, you will certainly see results. But, of course, you will not become the most popular brand overnight.

Be patient, listen to your customers, appreciate the advice from established companies, and follow your instinct. And last, but not least, enjoy yourself and let that come through in everything you share!

Original Post: http://www.imaginarylava.org/39-social-media-tips/