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Friday, December 28, 2018

Why your startup shouldn’t rush to $1 million in revenue



Why your startup shouldn't rush to $1 million in revenue

There is a prevailing belief that the magicformula for early-stage tech startups hinges on how quickly they achieve $1 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR). Investors in SaaS companies, in particular, are very guilty of pushing this or its equally loaded corollary, "When will you sign your first six-figure deal?"

But in the rush toward these numbers, too many startups lose sight of their primary intent: These metrics are supposed to be an indicator of product/market fit. We've seen companies reach $1 million in ARR in less than a year, yet not have enough market momentum to get their next million easily. We've seen early-stage companies so concerned about getting those first sales, they don't validate the market and if they're building the right product. We've also watched a focus on new logos make companies forget about keeping existing customers happy, introducing unexpectedly high churn — something startups can't afford...

https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/27/why-your-startup-shouldnt-rush-to-1-million-in-revenue/

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by Idham Azhari


Virus-free. www.avg.com

Silaturahimer Marketing KOMPASS Nusantara

SILATURAHIMER MARKETING

2 suku kata atau Keyphrase "Silaturahimer Marketing" saya luncurkan pertama kali pada 13 April 2007. Ide ini berasal dari SILATURAHIM nya Bpk Aqua Dwipayana (Tokoh SILATURAHIM Indonesia).

Silaturahimer Marketing ala KOMPASS Nusantara

KOMPASS Nusantara sangat kondang dengan SILATURAHIM nya. Silaturahim berasal dari kata "silatu" dan "rahim". Silatu berarti merekatkan sementara rahim adalah "rahim Ibu".

Kita berasal dari satu rahim, bukan dari "Teori Darwin". Anda pastinya memahami Teori Darwin, yang sampai saat masih diperdebatkan.

SINERGITAS & SILATURAHIM menjadi andalan KOMPASS Nusantara. Pribadi-pribadi Kompassers Nusantara adalah Pribadi yang sudah selesai dengan diri sendirinya.

Rajin berbagi tanpa mengharapkan imbalan. BERKAH akan datang dengan sendiri nya dari arah yang tidak disangka-sangka.

Lupa berbagi kembali, bukanlah Pribadi Kompassers

Banyak sekali Kompassers yang berbagi melalui platform KOMPASS Nusantara. Ada yang mendapatkan Rezeki berupa material dan ada pula Rezeki berupa proyek baru.

Bahkan ada pula yang mendapatkan pekerjaan baru, berkat SINERGITAS dan SILATURAHIM melalui KOMPASS NUSANTARA.

Silaturahimer Marketing adalah komplemen dari Influencer Marketing. Anda tidak perlu mengeluarkan biaya untuk menghasilkan sesuatu.

Influencer Marketing membutuhkan biaya. Tetapi tidak dengan Silaturahimer Marketing.

Anda berbagi dengan Ikhlas dan suka cita, berarti Anda menjalankan Silaturahimer Marketing.

Salam SILATURAHIM!

by Idham Azhari

Friday, December 21, 2018

Facebook reportedly building cryptocurrency for WhatsApp money transfers


Facebook reportedly building cryptocurrency for WhatsApp money transfers

Facebook is building a cryptocurrency designed to make it easier to transfer money on WhatsApp, according to Bloomberg. The currency will reportedly be focused on India and allowing Indian workers abroad to send money back home, something that other Bitcoin startups have already been working to solve given the difficult and expensive process for international transfers.

Facebook has been looking to develop its own cryptocurrency at least as far back as May, when Cheddar first broke the news. Around that time, Facebook Messenger leader David Marcus was reassigned to lead a new blockchain division, focused on exploring "how to best leverage Blockchain across Facebook, starting from scratch."

Bloomberg's report offers the first concrete details on the goals that Facebook is trying to achieve and how it might work. Facebook is reportedly looking to develop what's known as a "stablecoin," which will have a value based on US currency to minimize the volatility seen by more high-tech alternatives like Bitcoin. Facebook is apparently far from actually releasing the coin, so don't necessarily expect to see a real-world implementation anytime soon...

https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/21/18151469/facebook-cryptocurrency-whatsapp-transfers-cash-money-stablecoin

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by Idham Azhari


Virus-free. www.avg.com

Saturday, December 15, 2018

Waktu yang berputar

Waktu berjalan terus, Anda dapat pantau melalui suara Adzan.

Adzan Shubuh menandakan harus bangun lebih pagi, segera ke Mesjid.

Zuhur waktunya Anda berhenti sejenak dari Aktivitas. Ashar berhenti untuk kedua kalinya. Adzan Maghrib menandakan Anda harus menyelesaikan serangkain aktifitas satu hari.

Waktu Sholat terakhir dalam sehari adalah Isya. Dan selanjutnya dapat diteruskan dengan Sholat Malam (Tahajud, Qiyamul Lail).

Anda tidak dapat membalikkan waktu. Raihlah kesempatan saat ini dengan sebaik-baiknya.

Lakukan dari hal yang terkecil, project kecil dan berlanjut dengan hal yang besar seiring dengan proses belajar.

Sudahkah Anda menghargai waktu di Dunia yang sebentar ini?

by Idham Azhari

Friday, December 7, 2018

Choose Your Own Adventure: Which AI Business Model Is Right For You?


Choose Your Own Adventure: Which AI Business Model Is Right For You?

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing every aspect of work and life, as nonstop news headlines make clear. Yet one aspect of the AI disruption remains relatively unexamined: the right business model for AI companies.

It's a commonly held belief that successful AI startups, like cloud / SaaS companies before them, share a common business model. Like AI, cloud software's business model initially puzzled customers and investors. Cloud pioneer Salesforce, for instance, eschewed the big, upfront license payments common with traditional software vendors, and also shunned recurring maintenance fees and costly on-site installations. Now, the Salesforce model is the norm for cloud/SaaS companies—and investors can recite common SaaS company metrics like magic number, CAC and LTV in their sleep.

But it's difficult to graft this cloud business model onto nascent AI startups. This is mainly because cloud and AI technologies differ in fundamental ways: AI is fueled by data, vast amounts of raw computing power and mind-bending algorithms. It's inherently more complex for customers to digest than cloud startups, so the technology has to be sold in different ways, too...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/valleyvoices/2018/12/06/which-ai-business-model-is-right-for-you/#3c0f17f36af7

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by Idham Azhari


Virus-free. www.avg.com

Thursday, December 6, 2018

5 Tips For New Start-Ups To Have A Successful E-Commerce Business


5 Tips For New Start-Ups To Have A Successful E-Commerce Business

Over the past few years, we have observed that a large number of start-ups emerged across different industries. Of these, a majority of the start-ups closed down while some continued the struggle to maintain their space in the e-arena and only limited ones could see the sunrise into the future.

While most of the start-ups that shut down had access to the required seed funding, a set business model as well as an experienced team leading them on, it is interesting to learn why the majority of those start-ups could not survive. Following such outcomes, anyone aiming to step into the e-commerce domain too would feel compelled to ask the most common yet the most basic question to oneself i.e. what is it that an e-commerce start-up really needs to turn their idea(s) into a successful business venture...

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/324419

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by Idham Azhari

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

90% APAC Workers Believe This Is the Key to Getting Ahead In Life


90% APAC Workers Believe This Is the Key to Getting Ahead In Life

Despite a growing number of reports predicting the rise of robots and loss of jobs, workers in the Asia-Pacific region are confident in achieving career advancement. There's a strong desire among them to build their own business, acquire new skills and stay relevant, says LinkedIn's inaugural Opportunity Index, which was released late last month.

The index, which was based on a survey of over 11,000 respondents in nine markets, aimed to understand the aspirations of people across the region, with emphasis on what opportunities are important to them, and the hurdles that may stand in their way. Nine in 10 workers across the region believe that "diligence is the key to getting ahead in life, followed by having the right connections or knowing the right people, and having equal access to opportunities", says the report...

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/324284

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by Idham Azhari

Monday, December 3, 2018

Three Steps To Start With Blockchain Technology


Three Steps To Start With Blockchain Technology

The interest level of enterprises in the blockchain technology is at an all-time high -- partly driven out of FOMO (fear of missing out). Competitor's marketing teams are busy inserting blockchain into the press releases, meetings are concluding with "are we doing anything on blockchain?" and no conference is complete without blockchain on the agenda.

Customers are demanding blockchain solutions and suppliers are caught in a catch-22 situation. Blockchain necessitates new levels of understanding - from engineers to the executives, radically reimagining the established ways of working and jostling with an "unproven" technology.

How do enterprises overcome the fear of the unknown and safely embark on their blockchain journey?..

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/324187

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by Idham Azhari

Friday, November 30, 2018

Digital Education - The Future of Learning


Digital Education - The Future of Learning

The relationship between students and teachers has undergone a complete transformation ever since the advent of technology. This is because today's student has access to a variety of sources for information, as opposed to simply learning what is being taught at school. The methodology of teaching for such curious minds, therefore, is evolving as well, and becoming more and more interactive and engaging, thanks to digital means.

Digital education is a revolutionary method of imparting knowledge, especially since it levels the playing field for all students. India is home to the largest population of children in the world, with an estimated 430 million children in the age group of 0-18 years in the country. The state of education in the country, especially in rural areas has been deplorable, with challenges such as archaic teaching methods, shortage of teachers, highly disproportionate student-teacher ratio, and inadequate teaching materials plaguing the sector. Digitization of education helps in mitigating all of these concerns by providing multimedia teaching tools to teachers and engaging students through learning methods that utilise digital tools, such as smart-boards, LCD screens, videos, etc. It also makes it possible for one teacher to deliver information remotely across several locations, through interactive digital media addressing the shortage of teachers in the country.

According to a report by the UK-India Business Council, India's e-learning sector is expected to grow at a compounded annual rate of 17.4 per cent between 2013 and 2018, twice as fast as the global average. This, along with the government's efforts towards building a digital ...

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/324081

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by Idham Azhari

Thursday, November 29, 2018

The Latest Tech, From AI to Blockchain, Is Changing Health Care: Are You Ready?


The Latest Tech, From AI to Blockchain, Is Changing Health Care: Are You Ready?

The healthcare industry is amazing but isn't without its drawbacks. While doctors and researchers work tirelessly to find cures and solutions to both common and uncommon maladies, some inefficiencies end up costing patients hundreds and even thousands of dollars.

Related: 9 Huge Opportunities in Healthcare for Tech-Focused Entrepreneurs

According to CNBC, Americans spend a combined total of about $3.4 trillion on medical care every year -- that's nearly $10,500 per person per year. And, in 2016, a U.S. Census Bureau report revealed, 91.2 percent of the U.S. population had health insurance, though the cost was still too high for some.

But not all of the issues in healthcare are related to costs. Other problems, such as a lack of communication among healthcare providers, plus outdated systems, the inability to access affordable healthcare and other factors prevent the industry from providing the requisite services to the patients who need them. Luckily, though, as technology has developed, some of these issues have improved.

An article, " Your Doctor will Skype you now," explained how healthcare professionals have been using technology to make healthcare more efficient for consumers. For example, instead of having to take time to see their doctors at the office, many of the latter now make Skype calls and offer diagnoses and prescriptions by phone when appropriate.

Advances in technology have also created new hope for those diseases as serious as cancer. According to DocWireNews, researchers are working to make it possible to trick cancer cells into killing each other, which could result in a better alternative to the cancer treatments currently available.

Technology is continually advancing, and as it does, it's reshaping the healthcare landscape at a faster rate and in positive ways. Some of the latest technologies, including artificial intelligence, Blockchain, wearables, 3D printers and facial recognition, have already been catalyzing significant changes in the healthcare industry so many of us Americans use.

Here is how some specific categories of tech influencing health care.

Related: Alexa, I Feel Sick … Can Big Tech Solve the Growing Crisis in Healthcare?

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is already beginning to play a part in everyday life, from gathering and analyzing information from the ads you click on, to giving you directions to the concert you just purchased tickets to. Overall, AI has hundreds of useful applications -- and it's being incorporated in the healthcare segment, as well.

AI can play a vital role in everything from marketing healthcare professionals to aiding in medical diagnoses. Diagnostics are a critical part of patient care, but due to human error, not all diagnoses are accurate. With the help of AI tools, diagnoses can be made more accurately for quicker and more effective treatment.

Wearables

Seemingly everybody has some type of wearable device, from a smartwatch to a fitness tracker. While some of the wearables on the market are already affecting healthcare by encouraging people to take charge of their own health, wearables also have the potential to to even more good.

For example, wearables that can track a patient's health could be used by doctors of high-risk patients to monitor their activity, environmental factors and other risks. That monitoring could not only promote better health in general, according to TechRadar it could also prevent serious illness and even save lives.

Blockchain

The blockchain is a relatively new technology that many are just beginning to discover. Although young, its applications in various industries are already being explored. A blockchain is a log that records transactions and stores them on an encrypted ledger which is both decentralized and secure. So, how could it help in healthcare?

There are several potential blockchain applications there. Tech advisor Bernard Marr suggests that data management is an important one: Intead of doctors making notes in individual systems, patient data could be shared across providers, promoting efficiency and helping them co-manage diagnoses and treatments. Another potential application could be supply chain management: There are far too many counterfeit drugs out there, but with better recordkeeping and more secure transactions, management of the supply chain would dramatically improve.

3D Printers

3D printers have everyone captivated by their potential, and the healthcare industry is no exception. From printing medical tools to models of the human body and its parts, 3D printers have the potential to not only save money and promote learning but also improve patient care by giving providers the chance to consider multiple procedures and practice before working on patients. According to the Harvard Business Review, 3D printing has already begun changing the healthcare industry.

From the classroom to the operating room, the potential uses for 3D printers in healthcare are far-reaching.

Facial Recognition

Facial recognition technology is fascinating. Although people have concerns about some of its potential uses and impact on society (such as privacy and ethical use), it does have the potential to do good.  And it has a healthcare application already being explored; researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) are exploring its usefulness in diagnosing rare genetic diseases.

Paul Kruszka, M.D., M.P.H., has explained that malformations will manifest uniquely in various parts of the world. That can make it hard to detect and treat rare diseases early, making it more difficult to keep the disease manageable. Facial recognition technology has the potential to spot different indicators and can identify them even before a doctor would be able to.

Related: How Health-Tech Wearables Come Along With Data Privacy Concern

Final thoughts

Technology is changing our world, whether it be the way we interact and communicate with each other or the way we provide and receive healthcare. As tech continues to develop, its potential uses and applications in the healthcare industry will only grow, which means you can expect to see some amazing changes in the future.

What other changes do you expect to see in healthcare technology? ...

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/323650

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by Idham Azhari

Monday, November 26, 2018

3 Ways To Protect Your Company's Website From Cyber Threats


3 Ways To Protect Your Company's Website From Cyber Threats

Reports of cybercrime have surged in the past few years, not only in Singapore and other parts of Southeast Asia but all over the world. A study by AT Kearney suggests that top 1000 companies operating in Southeast Asia alone could potentially end up losing around the USD 750 billion in market capitalization due to cyber attacks. While attacks like the one recently against government infrastructure in Singapore grab headlines, small businesses and even individuals are cyber-attacked on a daily basis.

Governments can and are exploring different methods to address cybersecurity on a macro level. The question is that what can we do to safeguard ourselves and, more specifically, our businesses on a micro level? Before we take steps to prevent our victimization, we must first ask the question of "what should we be looking out for?"...

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/323763

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by Idham Azhari

Thursday, November 22, 2018

A Marketing Disaster Is a Terrible Thing to Waste: 3 Lessons From Recent Big Brand Fails


A Marketing Disaster Is a Terrible Thing to Waste: 3 Lessons From Recent Big Brand Fails

It's never been easier to build a brand. Right now with a little effort you can build a following on Instagram or Shopify, start selling stuff and create a nice small business for yourself. But, if you want to move things to the next level and become a real enterprise, you need to learn to market like the big guys.

Ironically, one of the best ways to do that is to watch what happens when they screw up. Branding failures aren't just entertaining. By illustrating just how terrible the fallout can be if you get things wrong, they illustrate the importance of having the right principles and systems in place. Through watching the stumbles of national brands, smaller businesses can learn what to do -- and not do -- to move up to the next level.

Helpfully, some of America's biggest companies have obliged with some pretty spectacular brand fails lately.

1. Amazon selling sugary cereals at Whole Foods

Like lots of other people, I was excited when Amazon bought Whole Foods. The whole premise of the deal was that the scale of Amazon would enable more people to access the quality, healthy food on offer at pricey Whole Foods. But, then recently I spoke to a few friends who reported seeing things like Honey Nut Cheerios on the shelves of their local Whole Foods.

Let me be clear: You're not supposed to be able to buy Honey Nut Cheerios at Whole Foods. The brand experience is all about health and quality, not processed, sugar-laden junk. Opening up a premium brand to more consumers can be a great move, but that's not what Jeff Bezos and Amazon appear to actually be doing with Whole Foods so far. Instead, they're violating the basic promise of the Whole Foods brand, and risking diluting it beyond all recognition.

This isn't just a temptation for behemoths like Amazon. Smaller brands face similar questions all the time as they start to grow and add new revenue streams. Is that new sponsorship or partnership actually in line with your values? Are you broadening the appeal of your brand or are you selling out? Adding new customers is great. Losing your own core identity isn't.

Lesson: Never forget your core mission. Filter all new revenue streams and partnerships through the lens of your values.

2. IHOP's half-baked IHOB stunt

I'm all for clever, disruptive marketing. Stunts can get people talking about your brand. But, not if you do them in the half-baked way IHOP recently did when it briefly changed its name to IHOB (for International House of Burgers) to highlight its new menu options.

I understand what IHOP was going for -- these days lots of carb-conscious customers aren't excited about sitting down to a giant stack of starchy pancakes and IHOP wanted to get the word out that they offer alternatives. But, its execution of the idea was just really weak. If you're going to go and disrupt the market in a radical way, you need to go all in.

Wendy's is a good example of a brand that succeeds. Its logo might be a sweet looking little girl, but on Twitter that little girl deals out some serious shade. It's outrageous, hilarious and consistent...

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/323368

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by Idham Azhari

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

What's Fueling Internet Growth In Southeast Asia?


What's Fueling Internet Growth In Southeast Asia?

The Internet economy is growing faster than ever thanks to smartphone usage and falling mobile data prices. Taking the cue from this, from food to e-commerce, many companies are establishing their business online to expand their reach.  The fast digital adoption clearly means a big thing for countries looking for economic growth and development.

According to a joint study released by Google and Temasek Holdings, predicts Southeast Asia's digital economy to exceed $240 billion by 2025, $40 billion higher than previously estimated. The study first published in 2016, estimates that the Southeast Asian Internet economy has reached $72 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2018 across Online Travel, e-Commerce, Online Media, and Ride Hailing...

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/323521

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by Idham Azhari

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Why Chatbots are Good and No, They Won't Take Away Your Job


Why Chatbots are Good and No, They Won't Take Away Your Job

We all go online to find products and services, even outside of business hours and on public holidays, sometimes struggling to get the customer service we need.

"Your call is important to us! Current wait time is 20 minutes."

"You've called outside of our business hours! Our office hours are 9-5 Monday to Friday."

"Thanks for your email!  Someone from our team will respond within 5 business days."

We've all experienced the above at some point, possibly leading you to forget about making your purchase altogether.

You go through several hurdles before deciding to hand money over to a business, like navigating through a website to find the right information and having a conversation with customer service when needed...

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/323320

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by Idham Azhari

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

To Stay Ahead in the Online Fashion Space, This CFO Looks Beyond Trends



To Stay Ahead in the Online Fashion Space, This CFO Looks Beyond Trends

In this video with Entrepreneur Network partner Business Rockstars, Jesse Timmermans, the CFO at Revolve, talks about tailoring its business to millennial customers and buyers constantly spending their time online. 

As the CFO describes, a big component of Timmermans's job is balancing risk and opportunity. Timmermans talks about extracting the most important information from a data set and keeping a look-out for those indicators that can mean the most...

https://www.entrepreneur.com/video/322999

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by Idham Azhari

Monday, November 12, 2018

The Future of Things


The Future of Things

Dear Past,

Thank you for your lessons. But it is time we move on.

Dear Future,

I look forward to you and for the best things that are yet to come.

I am ready!

"Everything remains as it never was"

Change and transformation are the only constants, always driving us into the future, right from the time fire was discovered, the wheel was invented. Industries have been undergoing massive transformation right from the industrial revolution. It is the pace of change that is now much faster. Collaboration and automation are happening across industries, using technological trends like artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, mobile technology; improving decision making, performance and efficient use of limited resources...

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/323067

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by Idham Azhari


Virus-free. www.avg.com

Friday, November 9, 2018

5 Lessons to Follow as You Take Your Product to Market


5 Lessons to Follow as You Take Your Product to Market

The following excerpt is from Scott Duffy's book Breakthrough. Buy it now from Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | IndieBound

When launching a new business, product, or service, the most common mistake entrepreneurs make is trying to do too many things at once in the belief that going to market with "more" is better.

It isn't. During your initial launch period, or when relaunching new products or services, "more" means additional risk. More also means unnecessary complexity, as well as additional time to market, so more capital will be required.

Below are some important things to remember as you prepare to take your product to market:

1. Don't try to build Rome in a day

I have a good friend who raised $2 million in a very tough market to start a consumer internet business. Finding that much money to start a new business was amazing, and I congratulated him on a big win. He was ecstatic and told me he couldn't wait to get to work on the site.

One year later, I ran into him again and asked how it was going. He sang the blues. He said he was doing terribly. In fact, he was on his way to his attorney's office to shut the company down. They had launched a few months before but had already run out of money. I asked how that was possible, and he talked about his big vision, how his company aimed to provide everything their target customer could possibly want to buy in the category. Their goal was to be a one-stop shop. He and his team invested all their time and money building something big and comprehensive, confident their target customer wouldn't want to go anywhere else once their website was up and running.

When the company got started, they were solving one problem for one target customer. It was a simple concept. But when the money came in, everyone started working on other "great ideas" and "shiny objects." They kept building and building and building. They went from solving one problem for one very specific target customer to building a one-stop shop that did a lot of things for a lot of different people. Then they started running low on cash, so they decided to push the product out.

After the launch, they learned, much to their surprise, that about 95 percent of their users used just 5 percent of the site! And that 5 percent was the original product to solve the original problem...

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/319617

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Idham Azhari

Thursday, November 8, 2018

The Growing Menace of Cyber Attacks in the Asia-Pacific region


The Growing Menace of Cyber Attacks in the Asia-Pacific region

Over the past few years, cyber attacks have emerged as one of the biggest global threats to businesses and governments. In September, the largest social networking platform, Facebook announced that data of at least 50 million accounts have been exposed to hackers through a breach. "Our investigation is still in its early stages. But it's clear that attackers exploited vulnerability in Facebook's code that impacted 'View As' feature that lets people see what their own profile looks like to someone else. This allowed them to steal Facebook access tokens, which they could then use to take over people's accounts," read a statement on the company's blogpost.

Clearly, cyber attacks of such scale can cause major damage to any business. It comes as no surprise then that many a user are now wary of what they share on social media platforms. A Frost & Sullivan study commissioned by Microsoft revealed that a large-sized organization in the Asia Pacific region can possibly incur an economic loss of $30 million, more than 300 times the average economic loss for a mid-sized organization. This is more than seven percent of the region's total GDP of $24.3 trillion...

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/322796

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by Idham Azhari

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Artificial Intelligence Will Be the Greatest Jobs Engine the World Has Ever Seen


Artificial Intelligence Will Be the Greatest Jobs Engine the World Has Ever Seen

In the past few years, artificial intelligence has advanced so quickly that it now seems that hardly a month goes by without a newsworthy AI breakthrough. In areas as wide-ranging as speech translation, medical diagnosis and game play, we have seen computers outperform humans in startling ways. This has sparked a discussion about what impact AI will have on employment.

Some fear that as AI improves, it will supplant workers in the job force, creating an ever-growing pool of unemployable humans who cannot economically compete with machines in any meaningful way. This concern, while understandable, is unfounded.

AI will be the greatest job engine the world has ever seen.

Technology has progressed nonstop for 250 years, and in the U.S. unemployment has stayed within a narrow band of 5 to 10 percent for almost all that time, even when radical new technologies such as steam power and electricity came on the scene.

AI is the most empowering of all technologies because it effectively makes anyone who uses it smarter. It increases the productivity of anyone who can apply it to their job. Once again, you hear the same refrain: "It will destroy jobs." And sure, you can look around and find jobs that it might well eliminate, such as order taker at a fast-food restaurant. But, that is not in any way the entire story.

No, the whole story involves the other part of the equation. What will this technologyenable? ..

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/322141

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by Idham Azhari


Virus-free. www.avg.com

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

3 Applications of Cryptocurrency Beyond Peer-to-Peer Payments


3 Applications of Cryptocurrency Beyond Peer-to-Peer Payments

To be sure, digital currency markets have had their ups and downs. A recent study by Gallup shows that only 2 percent of investors are currently purchasing Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, but one in four is intrigued. With major banks betting on the space, however, that math may be about to change.

Whether or not your company accepts cryptocurrency as a payment method, it would do well to pay attention to the surprising ways the business world is already using digital currency:

1. Investing in customer loyalty.

Loyalty programs have long struggled to find the right incentive structure. According to the 2017 Colloquy Loyalty Census, more than half of loyalty memberships in the U.S. are inactive. The report says approximately 30 percent of surveyed U.S. and Canadian consumers have left loyalty programs without ever redeeming a point or a mile.

Could cryptocurrencies reignite customer loyalty? Cryptocurrency gives customers want they want -- cash -- without the security and logistics challenges of doling out cash.

In Zurich, for example, Caffe Lattesso encourages purchasers to redeem codes found on its bottles for loyalty rewards in the form of digital coins, which can be exchanged within a few months for other digital tokens or traditional currency. EZ Rent-A-Car is following suit with a program that allows customers to exchange their loyalty points for digital coins.

Related: Here's How to Earn and Keep the Loyalty of Your Customers

2. Banking on accessory technologies.

Rather than re-invigorate their existing customer base, other entrepreneurs could look at building a new one around the cryptocurrency market. Investors may start focusing less on initial coin offerings and more on building the technological ecosystem around cryptocurrencies.

Demand is growing quickly for digital currency point-of-sale systems, for example. Although most of the demand is currently in South Korea, at least one company plans to distribute some 100,000 point-of-sale machines by 2021. Vendors that accept cryptocurrencies will also need accounting and reporting software to support the payment method.

Related: 4 Ways to Leverage the Fast Growth of Cryptocurrencies for Success

3. Making change with ease.

But cryptocurrencies are good for more than spending money; they're also great for giving back. Eric Tippetts, co-founder of NASGO pointed out at the United Nations' Media for Social Change Summit, cryptocurrency's digital nature makes set-it-and-forget-it philanthropy possible.

"Instead of voicing a commitment to philanthropy, the blockchain makes it possible to program giving into the operation itself," Tippetts explained in a Cheddar interview. NASGO's financial systems, he noted, direct every seventeenth revenue cycle into an account for humanitarian contributions...

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/321771

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by Idham Azhari

Monday, November 5, 2018

Technology for Gamification of Customer Engagement in Offline World


Technology for Gamification of Customer Engagement in Offline World

Many companies are seeing very positive results after using gamification for customer engagement. In simple words, gamification is the introduction of the fun element by utilization of game type elements in non-game environments. With the help of gamification, the brands can increase the customer engagement span and also collect valuable customer behaviour data. This data can help the companies make critical business decisions. Gamification also helps in customer retention, and as per a study Harvard Business Review, increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%. So gamification can fetch better results for the businesses.

For example, a famous coffee brand started giving bonus points to its repeat customers on each of their purchases. The customers can see and redeem the points through the app. This feature was very successful, and the sales were set on a continuous acceleration.

Gamification In The Offline market

Gamification is not limited to the online market and can be successfully used in the offline world as well. Gamification can be used in all types of businesses. Many non-tech businesses resist technology as they don't have the expertise in developing and deploying digital technology solutions. And they don't want any distraction in their current business. But lagging behind the new technological revolutions can cause even a successful business to lose to new competitors. So the businesses must utilize the third party solutions use the digital solutions for gamification to increase their customers' engagement.

Loyalty Programs

Loyalty programs are very helpful in customer retention. Brands can provide scannable codes on their products, and on scanning the code, the customer can avail a certain number of loyalty points. The loyalty points get accumulated on each purchase. When accumulated points reach a certain level, the customer becomes entitled to get a reward from the brand. The reward should be chosen very wisely and should be interesting enough to make the brand the preferred one for the customer. Because of the wide range adoption of smartphones loyalty programs have become much more effective nowadays. A lot of big brands are utilizing this and are seeing very positive results

Sales Automation With Exciting Offers

The technology can be extended for reaching out to the consumer again for the new product lines or in case of consumable products reach out to the consumer towards the end of the lifecycle of the current product with discounts or offers. Based on the customers' buying patterns brands can select the desired products and can reach out to the customers with special discounts on them.

Scratch and Win

Everyone loves surprises. Brands should use this to make their customers happy. Brands can provide scratch and win offers to their customers with the help of digital technology. The possibilities are endless, and gamification of consumer engagement with digital innovation is the future. Businesses must adopt these technologies and connect with their offline consumers to stay in the competition...

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/322764

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by Idham Azhari