Daily Archives: May 17, 2022

STEALTH is building 1000 companies that are going to change the world forever.

STEALTH is aiming to reinvent the way we learn, work, and play and redesigning the constructs of a new society with a portfolio of companies in AI, VR, Media, Fashion, Wellness, CleanTech, EdTech, and a slew of complementary businesses for the new Metaverse.

Our companies have been voted Best, Top or Most Innovative and Featured in over 50 lists. Heres an introduction to a few of them.

HARD SHIVER is a publishing house that has released 6 books and 10 Albums.

Book Soundtracks are created using C3POE Audio. C3POE Immersive Audiobook Technology can turn any book into an audiobook. Not just any ordinary audiobook claims CEO Ali Sina, this is Immersive PoetryTheater of the Mind for a new age!

C3POE is not only disruptive, its lightning fast. Theyve completed 10 albums in 10 weeks with hopes to get the conversion time down to a few hours an album.

Protagonist Art is an NFT Art gallery with 3 exhibits and over 200 originally minted NFTs.

Olly Olly Oxen Free is a new era production company, creating content for the competing streaming platforms. With a pipeline of 100 projects in a multitude of different genres, Olly Olly functions as a content factory essential for any brand in a digital age.

Olly Olly has created 9 commercials and their first official release, RAGE is streaming on Youtube.

Protagonist Art and Olly Olly are collaborating to make the first ever NFT movie.

STARTUP X is a popular online Startup School. Short online courses teach everyday people how to launch their ideas and turn them into profitable enterprises. Startup X is gamified to keep you engaged with teaching techniques customized to help you better absorb the material. And its fast; made for the modern world.

This is the first school of a series of academies that the STEALTH team envision will supplant a crumbling, out-of-date and improbably expensive college education system. 5000 Students and counting.

Neon White is a modern design studio that captures, influences and fuses the culture of today with the products of tomorrow. Weve designed everything from album covers and movie posters to brand new tech and consumer products.

Forkaia is a one of a kind Work Experience platform that has helped thousands of college students gain work experience, get into grad school and land the jobs they want. The workplace is rapidly changing; remote work has emerged as the new norm. Forkaia has always believed that the Future of Education is Experiential and the Future of Work is Remote so they created a virtual, interactive learning platform that provides college students with a multi-faceted online working experience.

With limitless access to industry mentors, innovation labs, incubators, think tanks and technology to help students unlock their full potential; theres truly nothing that exists like Forkaia. They have collected over 1000 testimonials.

Rise Capital is a Bitcoin & Crypto Asset Investment Fund. Managed by Amadeus One, a built-in crypto Robo-Advisor, RC holds a cryptocurrency portfolio of various digital coins, NFTs and investments in a multitude of blockchain companies.

Round Z is a Robinhood for Startup Investing so you can make money before companies go public. With one dollar, you can invest in 100 startups.

Launchpad is a Talent Agency and Career Accelerator platform that helps college students launch their careers. Launchpad believes college students deserve better tools to assist them in their career journey. So they built a vast ecosystem of talent, tools and resources to help them prosper. Over 500 fellows have successfully landed jobs at Google, Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, LinkedIn, etc.

FASCIA is an AI research and Deployment company with a goal to advance digital intelligence to improve human existence and move humanity forward. Their mission is to crack the ASI code. They want to build an AI that can outperform humans at our most economically valuable work so people can free up their time to focus on new ways of finally moving the human race forward. FASCIA aims to solve planetary-scale problems in areas where humanity is failing and there is no obvious solution today. The FASCIA Teams research focus is on basic income, the future of work and education, building new cities, anthropogenic climate change, gene therapy, life extension, braincomputer interfaces and mind uploading. FASCIA believes what theyre working on will result in products and services that are hard to imagine today.

INSOLAR is making the world greener everyday with an innovative online solar adoption platform that makes buying solar simple and affordable. Their cost plus model is a hit; solar shoppers are seeing up to 50% savings. With cheaper and more accessible solar panels, more people can switch to sustainable energy alternatives. INSOLARs SaaS platform is also helping solar companies close more deals, faster and cheaper. Weve transacted well over 1000 successful residential and commercial solar installations and have 3000 reps on our platform.

mooVRoom (Cinema 4D) is the theater of the future with an aim to give moviegoers the ultimate cinematic experience. So you can enter a movie instead of just watching it.

Side Hustle is a Smartphone App for side money gigs. But the gigs are customized, and they come to you. No more browsing. There are currently 1500 freelancers on our platform.

STEALTH has also built a career accelerator that nurtures, trains, and manages a new type of talent the Business Athlete. BAM (Business Athlete Mode) is a health and wellness brand that doubles as a new kind of Athleisure Apparel company: Business Athletics.

We believe AI will transform everything so we are preparing people for these changes with BAM Talent, where the worlds greatest resources in a soon-to-be AI-driven world (young, talented human brains) will be trained, drafted, managed, compensated and placed (traded) where they may maximize the application of their skills for the betterment of humanity as a whole.

And PANDA is a Plug N Play Startup Platform that makes it easy for anyone to bring their ideas to market. So far weve helped 15 founders launch their businesses.

STEALTHs companies span across multiple sectors including TMT, EdTech, Clean Energy, NFTs, Crypto, health and fitness, BCI, VR, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. Digital ecosystems, Future of work and education, new work paradigms, immersive learning; the teams at STEALTH like new ideas and pushing boundaries. They claim to have some of the most talented humans on the planet working on the most interesting, challenging and groundbreaking projects by breaking the limits of whats conventionally thought impossible.

So whos funding all of this? How much has Stealth raised from investors?

Zero, says STEALTH Founder and CEO Ali Sina, Ive invested my own savings. When asked about future fundraising plans Sina says, I dont think well need it. Our companies are doing well, if we need more money well just sell more products. Im a firm believer in bootstrapping because it forces companies to develop organically instead of synthetically juicing them up with cash so Im not a big fan of the current VC landscape. Were the only VC not only steroids. So were never in a rush.

STEALTH says theyre going to keep building companies whenever inspiration strikes.

STEALTH Founder and CEO Ali Sina says Artificial Intelligence will change the world more than electricity and the internet have, combined. He continues, Deep learning will learn to do everything humans can, thus transforming the workplace by automating a sweeping array of human activity. At STEALTH, were building companies that will reshape work and education to meet the nature, speed, and dynamics of these changes and rethinking the role and purpose of human workers in an age of informational abundance, process automation, and machine autonomy.

STEALTHs mission is to destroy the conventions, rules, and orders of the past that are no longer sustainable and make space for something new. We like using AI to improve life on this planet and make it more interesting. While Billionaires are racing to leave the planet Mr. Sina says, were building the future, here on Earth.

Media ContactCompany Name: STEALTHContact Person: Ali Sina (Founder and CEO of STEALTH)Email: Send EmailPhone: (310) 994-1511Country: United StatesWebsite: http://www.stealth1000.com

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STEALTH is reinventing the way humans Learn, Work and Play. - Digital Journal

Are you exhausted even on your free days? Is your mind perpetually tired? Do you prioritize your mental health enough? By asking about prioritizing mental health, I mean, does your day-to-day behavior project that you care about your mental health?

Sometimes it is not the world, but we are the ones who drain our own mental health. Perhaps, because of the amount of toxicity we absorb on an everyday basis, or maybe because we are trapped in the loop of our unhealthy habits.

If you're wondering how is this possible, here is the list of 12 unhealthy habits that drain your mental health. Stating the obvious but if you are doing this to yourself, please stop now for your own good.

How many times have you and your smartphone been in different rooms? The truth is that we hardly ever keep our smartphones away from us. We carry our cellphones everywhere. Some of us even carry them to the loo. Some even have the habit of unlocking and locking the phone every few minutes. Our dependency on our mobile phones is scary.

And if I speak of social media, there is so much toxicity out there that pollutes our minds every day. Somebody is uploading questionable content, somebody is spreading hate while somebody else is getting trolled. Social media is filled with meaningless posts and videos that grip you in this mad frenzy of scrolling online. You must know if you are that somebody who overuses their smartphone. And if you do, then it would be better to cut yourself some slack and take frequent breaks.

A fractured sleep cycle is another alarming sign that you are not taking your mental or physical health seriously. An exhausted body and a drained mind won't do you any good. Your to-do list will keep on piling up with unfinished tasks which are never going to be completed with efficiency. If you know how your body functions with dearth of sleep, then try giving your body what it wants for once. If you are wondering how to sleep, try keeping your phone away and closing your eyes. Even that would work. Just get the rest you deserve.

If you are an active couch potato relentlessly binging on Netflix without getting any air, you're risking your mental equilibrium. Being a couch potato is detrimental to both mental as well as physical health. You need to get some air, meet some people, and travel the world to rejuvenate your body and mind. Sitting in one place for hours will suffocate your thoughts and push you into a laid-back lifestyle. We honestly don't need it in our lives.

We know that we should not judge the book by its covers. Life on the outside and life on the inside is almost always opposite. Another point to note is that all of us function at our unique pace. So, somebody can be a millionaire at the age of 20. But, it does not mean we are any less. We need to stop comparing our lives with the life of others who come from different backgrounds and operate in different contexts.

Nothing in this world is perfect. Nobody is flawless. When we know this, then we need to stop obsessing over perfectionism. We need to stop holding ourselves accountable for every minor thing. We are all beautifully flawed. Also, it is only through mistakes that we learn. Why fret over something that is completely normal?

Our brains need a breather. Work-o-holism is not as cool in real life. It is unhealthy. A person needs family time, friends time, and me-time to navigate life. You cannot possibly be forcing yourself to sit behind the screens every day and expect yourself to have good mental health. When your working hours are over, just close the laptop and go out for a walk. You are paid for a certain amount of time. Stick to it and do not exhaust your minds every single day.

This one is a bummer. Get out of a toxic relationship. No amount of feelings or intimacy is worth a person who is perpetually toxic and radiating the same upon you. We have enough things to deal in our life than a partner who adds to our burdens.

All of us think about our past and why not. Our past is why we are here now. However, if your mind is constantly grappling with thoughts of could-haves and what-ifs of people and situations from the past and you forget to live in the present, you are draining yourself. Past is dead, it doesn't exist anymore. We cannot afford to live our life in hindsight. We need to let go.

Yes, we need to be there for our loved ones. But not at the cost of our own mental sanity. If you are surrounded by friends who are forever pessimists, and they project the same negativity upon you, get out. Friendships should not be parasitic. If we constantly overwhelm ourselves with the negativity of others, our own thoughts become self-deprecatory and self-destructive.

Our thoughts and emotions need an outlet for expression. Piling up emotions and then exploding one random day is not healthy for us. Feelings should be expressed and conveyed, if need be, to lighten up the head. Freewriting thoughts and emotions on a piece of paper has also proven to be very therapeutic. The idea is that burying feelings and suppressing emotions would induce stress and should not be done.

Sometimes, it's not them, it's us. We cannot blame others for our own plight always. At some point in time, we will have to become accountable to ourselves and bring change within to evolve for good. We must stop the blame game.

Nobody has seen the future. It is yet to come. The uncertainty of what is coming is indeed overwhelming, but we cannot afford to be preoccupied with the thoughts of something that may or may not happen. We need to understand that thoughts about the past and future will always try to tear us apart, but we cannot let the present dissolve.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or anxious, please reach out to your family or seek professional help.

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12 Unhealthy Habits That Drain Your Mental Health & You Must Stop Now - ScoopWhoop

Videography is the best partner for every adventure. Travel photography blogs and vlogs are great sources of inspiration. Both for travelling around the world and the photography that comes with it. They can provide useful tips and destination ideas as well. and here some tips for travel and photography lovers provided by the travel blogger Sam Freij.

Travel videography and photography are considered as basic element of travel blog. Travel bloggers from all over the world use to share some photos and videos which they capture during their travel. And thats how they relate to their blog! How it comes if those photos and videos are high quality ones, really worked on and taken by the best lenses ever!

Choosing equipment for shooting is another difficult task. If you ask the opinion of experts, which is thebest camera for video, you will get many options. After years in the market, and after trying out different tools and ways to take photos and videos while traveling, I prepared these tips to ease the work for you travel and photography lovers. Sam Freij.

Best current video and photo mobile phone

Its the iPhone 13 Pro due to its size and the three large cameras setup. The Pro camera system gets its biggest upgrade ever. With next-level hardware that captures so much more detail. Super intelligent software for new photo and filmmaking techniques. And a mind-blowingly fast chip that makes it all possible. Itll change the way you shoot.

It makes you utilize the sunlight to your advantage always test with several shots to understand how sunlight impacts your final content

Keep your camera lens clean, carry a mini microfiber lens wipe with at all times

When uploading connect to Instagram take your time to edit exposure, warmth, vibrancy and definition prior to upload

Go Instagram settings and allow or enable high quality uploads in order to capture higher post engagement

Explore DJI Gimbal a stabilizer for image that you can mount your iPhone on for major image enhancement connects to your iPhone via Bluetooth IOS app

DJI Gimbal is an amazing technology that was and still used in Hollywood film making.

Sam said once, Keep in mind, you do not have to invest into a super high dollar camera like Canon or Olympus in order to generate awesome content for social media.

Media ContactCompany Name: KOSAWADA AGENCYContact Person: Jinan FahesEmail: Send EmailPhone: 0097470715766Country: United StatesWebsite: http://www.kosawadapanel.com

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Tips for travel and photography lovers with Sam Freij - Digital Journal

POV: youre at breakfast, order an omelette and fruit and when the bill comes, you see its $150. Thats what happened to travel influencer Tania Loves on her recent trip to Tulum.

Tania took toTik Tok with a video of the meal, explaining that although her budget was $50, but she ended up spending $150 on a breakfast she thought was 150 pesos.

Ive been here for quite some time since 2020, and my experience has been whether Im entering a boutique or a local restaurant, all the prices are always in pesos, explained Tania.

She went on to say, But when we got inside this place, the menu wasnt uploading and they didnt have a physical copy. They pretty much described the breakfast to us, and were like oh itll be fruit and an omelette.

Drinks were not included in the breakfast, so Tania had to pay for those separately. She thought that since breakfast was only 150 pesos, coffee would most likely be another 55 pesos. That is, until her friend asked, Its pesos right, not US?

After going back and forth with the chef, the chef went to the owners and managers about people complaining. Tania said, So I guess we werent the only ones to experience this. So for me, it was the lack of transparency, I feel like if you know what the price will be, just announce it, and then let people make informed decisions.

She did share that the service was amazing, despite the price point. I dont mind paying but the value Im getting has to be worth itnot eggs and fruit.

So next time youre traveling, be sure to verify the price because those eggs and fruit just may be more costly than you think.

Related: Worlds Most Expensive Cities For Expats In 2020 Revealed

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Travel Influencer Takes To TikTok After Being Charged $150 For Eggs And Fruit In Tulum Restaurant - Travel Noire

American rock band Bon Jovi recently closed their 2022 tour and founder, frontman andsinger Jon Bon Jovis voice has sparked concern amongst fans as many notice some sort of change.

Videos shared from a recent concert appear to show the rock legend struggling to perform some of his biggest hits and numerous supporters worry that the star may have lost his voice, while others seem to think his vocals have stayed the same.

English musician and YouTube personalityJustin Hawkins voiced his opinion and issued a warning in a recent video posted online, suggesting that he should stop performing immediately.

Find out what exactly Hawkins had to say and explore various responses from social media users.

60-year-old Jon Bon Jovi has a legendary, classic rock voice but it seems as though his vocals have recently been receiving intense criticism and concern, especially following the bands recent US tour dates.

Bon Jovi has been touring across the American South throughout April and many fans have been uploading videos that show the lead singer seemingly struggling with his vocals.

A Justin Hawkins Rides Again YouTube video titled Whats Wrong With His Voice?! was uploaded on 3rd May 2022, in which the English singer gave his expert opinion on what is going on with Jon Bon Jovis voice.

Hawkins suggests that the singer is experiencing a temporary problem with his vocals, adding that it sounds like hes super tired and proposing the idea of therapy:

It sounds like something hes gonna need some therapy with actually talk to somebody and try and coax the performances back out.

The content creator clarifies that, in his opinion, the artists voice may not develop permanent damage:

It doesnt sound to me like theres damage in there. Im not a doctor but Ive experienced voice problems before. And to hold a note with it being off-key suggests some pitching issues that might be to do with hearing as well.

Hawkins described Jon Bon Jovi as a great singer, explaining that this sounds like something is eating away at him from the inside.

The YouTuber finalised his opinion-based video with the statement:

I feel like the people around him need to tell him to stop.

A fan named @Jennife39481653 recently replied to a tweet from Bon Jovi by expressing their concerns for the lead singer:

Hope Jon gets his voice and pitch back. Hope its nothing serious.

Another user named @Alaskan_Gypsy suggested that Jon Bon Jovis voice problems could be caused by his previous battle with covid-19:

With all the speculation regarding Jon @BonJovis voice, why has no one suggested that his long battle with covid-19 likely caused this. His tonal quality has completely changed. No doubt in my mind its the result of COVID-19.

On the other hand, a Twitter user named @Christo59932098 counteracted the concerns in their comment which advised the artist not to take any notice of the media about his voice:

They have to realise weve had a pandemic and you have not been able to tour. To me, your voice great as ever.

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In other news, Azealia Banks takes a jab at Lady Gaga in recent tweets

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People ask what happened to Jon Bon Jovis voice as Justin Hawkins issues warning - HITC - Football, Gaming, Movies, TV, Music

National Health Authorty (NHA) approved DRiefcase has integrated with WhatsApp to enhance user experience in storing personal healthcare records (PHR). DRiefcase is Indias first Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) integrated health locker.

Being Indias first NHA approved PHR app, it helps users directly store personal medical records into their accounts by directly uploading them over WhatsApp.

ABDM is a digital framework that will connect patients, doctors and other healthcare stakeholders nationwide to facilitate safe and secure movement of health information.

Talking about this development, Sohit Kapoor, Founder at DRiefcase, We have always believed that any software platform cannot expect patients or doctors to adapt to their user journey. The user journey of the platform has to work the way they do and minimize disruptions for them. Keeping this conviction in mind, we have now enabled using WhatsApp as a method of uploading medical records onto our health locker

This integration will be instrumental in bridging the information gap that exists between patients and caregivers to facilitate safe and efficient flow of information. This will also facilitate flow of information to other stakeholders in the ecosystem, such as pharma companies, insurance companies and governments, all through an everyday app like WhatsApp.

DRiefcase can be a very resourceful platform for its users through the use of WhatsApp as Indians are comfortable using it to communicate with familiar medical professionals.

Being a a patient-centric platform, DRiefcase helps users manage their digital medical records for more than 5 years in a secured manner, gives access to PHR, empowers users to maintain and manage their family medical records online. It also ensures ease of upload and fast retrieval of records in a timely manner. DRiefcase helps scan all medical records including radiology reports such as X-rays and MRIs with the help of a pan-India team at the comfort of ones home.

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DRiefcase integrates with WhatsApp to enhance user experience in storing personal healthcare records - The Financial Express

The potential for GIFT IFSC in inbound investment into India, Outbound for the world and also what we called Missed Call investments a.k.a jurisdiction purely for servicing the fund.In conversation with CA Aditya Sesh, MD, Dr. Sujata Sesh, Director and CA Shabarish, VP, Basiz Fund Serviceswho speaks about their leadership in fund administration and the role of digital currency in emerging market in India.

Basiz is the market leader in fund administration; tell us more about how the sector has changed since Basiz's inception.CA.AdityaSesh:At the time we started operations in India , the concept of outsourcing fund administration and fund accounting work was still to catch on. I vividly remember that in the initial days when I went around to talk about our services and what good we could do for them, the response would generally be that all this work could be done by them in house and this would be easy for them to administer. Some of them also had concerns about data security despite the fact that we had advanced security systems to ensure data security right from the start. It took many years of explaining to clients that the gamut fund administration, fund accounting, investor services and the allied requirements like support with taxation in various geographies etc are far too complex and diverse for an AIF and the Fund Manager to focus on. Our plank then and now is that the Fund Manager must be left free to focus on evaluating the investment, adding value to the investment and exiting it with the single minded focus on ensuring a decent return to the investors. It may be beneficial to outsource activities which do not fall under the purview of core investment activity.What are your expectations for your newest branch in GIFT City in terms of business operations?CA Shabarish:We were one of the earliest off the block to actually have a presence in GIFT City, Gujarat. We have been evangelising the benefits of GIFT City to all our clients in various parts of the world and we see a fair bit of interest in the minds of the people to understand the benefits of GIFT City. The potential for GIFT IFSC in inbound investment into India, Outbound for the world and also what we called Missed Call investments a.k.a jurisdiction purely for servicing the fund. One of the most important benefits that GIFT City offers to potential funds and investors is that it is a clean jurisdiction, does not carry any FATF baggage and has a very pro-active team managing it. Our personal experience in dealing with the officers there has been very positive. Having said this, it is only a question of time before the jurisdiction becomes popular with fund managers and lawyers around the world.How do you see your industry being impacted by digital money as it gains traction throughout the world?Dr. Sujata: It is important to define what we mean by digital money. There is an entire ecosystem which transacts using digital money. The great benefits of digital money are that it is seamless, quick, enables fast transfers, is traceable (from a security standpoint) when routed through an appropriate secure system, and should ideally reduce transaction costs over a period of time. The biggest threats are cybersecurity and the risk of counterfeiting. The Reserve Bank of India is exploring whether we should go in for a CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency). This may not be very far away as blockchain technology has made great strides in the last few years. This may also help cross border transactions. In terms of the AIF Industry, it will be another mode of attracting investment and remittances which will be helpful. There are thoughts that the US, China and Japan are all in planning mode on rolling out a digital currency. It will achieve the desired traction once the guidelines are in place and people understand the security aspects. The recent directives by the Central Government to tax the capital gains on cryptocurrency shows that the Government is keeping an eagle eye on the usage of cryptos in India.

Where do you see digital currency going in the Indian market, and what policy steps do you anticipate the regulator taking?Dr. Sujata: Digital currency is in its nascent stage in India. It will get popular over a period of time and the Central Government is also aware of the positives and negatives of digital currency. In its simplest form, digital currency with reasonable level of controls will be useful to power the digital business push as also reduce transaction costs apart from reducing the need to store and transact with physical currency. As far as India is concerned, let us understand that when digital payments were introduced, we had many sceptics, including some who did not buy into this idea and were vocal about their opposition to this concept. I was reading a report recently which said that digital payments in India had grown by 33% in 2021-22 over 2020-21. In terms of volume of transactions, India effected 7422 crore digital payments in 2021-22 as compared to 5554 digital payments in the previous year. NPCI (UPI) alone recorded till February 2022 transactions of a value of Rs. 8.27 lakh crore. As businesses come back to normal post CoVid 19, it would be safe to expect that the only way digital will go is up. The regulator will continue and should continue to monitor this space carefully and will take all steps necessary to protect the interest of the user.How has the fund administration industry's operations changed as a result of digitalization?CA Shabarish: The AIF Industry has also needed to revamp its operations keeping in mind the increased level of digitalization going on. Hitherto, a substantial part of these activities consisted of physical transmission of documents, checking and uploading. We at Basiz have put all these items on to a digital onboarding process wherein a substantial part of these processes are completed through the online mode, including digital signatures. As we go ahead, I believe that digital will be the way forward as AIF Industry service providers try to strike an effective balance between the speed required by the industry with efficient checks and balances. Software development is driving this engine and as days go on, we will reach a level where with blockchain support, the entire ecosystem could be driven at one go.

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Management of Basiz Fund Services, speaks about their Fund administration Edge and the impact of digitalization - Deccan Herald

To build long-term relationships with the consumers, content marketing is the most natural tool for marketers, said Ranjeet Kumar, Head of Brand and Content, Scaler, in a free-wheeling chat with BuzzInContent.com.

He said, For any brand to build top of mind recall, it has to involve the consumer at its core. Content is the intervention that the consumer wants to watch. Brands that are able to engage with the consumers naturally through content are able to build long-term relationships with them.

Scaler Academy is an ed-tech start-up that helps college students and tech professionals upgrade their skills. Launched in 2019 by Anshuman Singh and Abhimanyu Saxena, its parent company, InterviewBit has grown multi-fold during the pandemic, with revenue galloping 200% over the pre-Covid level.

Explaining the importance of content marketing for ed-tech platforms like Scaler, he said, Upskilling doesnt happen naturally once a person finishes higher education and gets a job. Upskilling is very needs-based and transactional once a person is settled in a job. Ed-tech has a high involvement but low intent and interest. Therefore, tough to convert into action. Any education-driven company would want to reduce the customer acquisition cost in the longer run. It cant happen by buying spots on big-ticket IPs, but by doing meaningful conversations through content.

Out of Rs 100 crore set aside for marketing in 2022, the brand has allocated Rs 60-70 crore to content and Rs 30 crore for advertising.

Scaler has also amped up its in-house content setup and one can gauge that with the crores of investment gone behind creating its in-house 1200 square feet content studio. The brand and content team consists of 35 people at Scaler.

The core focus of the brand is to leverage digital media's power by creating IPs, curating branded content, and choosing the right voices to partner with for influencer campaigns to accurately convey the brand's value proposition to its niche audience.

Scaler has divided its content strategy into two parts, one is consumer content, where they collaborate with platforms, like TVF, of the content world and build brand awareness and eventually bring the consumers to its platforms. The second one is the learning content, which is further divided into bouquets: Masterclasses, recorded tech bytes, Live events and other similar content that helps consumers learn.

Kumar said that while learning content has been there since the platforms inception, the brand started its journey on the discovery side of content only a year ago. For Scaler, the Southern market is the core market and hence its big-ticket content IPs are also centred around the Southern market. Going forward, it will launch more Hindi and English big-ticket IPs as well.

Two months ago, Scaler along with its digital agency Isobar collaborated with the content platform Girl Formula for the web series 30 weds 21 Season 2. The 7-episodes web series is on its way to crossing 100 million organic views by end of June, said Kumar.

The web series:

The last branded web series to cross over 100 million organic views was TVFs Aspirants created for Unacademy.

Most recently, Scaler has collaborated with Bhartiya Digital Party, a regional digital entertainment company to launch the web series B.E Rojgaar, which will release on May 20.

The trailer:

These web series were specifically written for Scaler. Its not that we just associated with an already planned web series, commented Kumar.

Sharing the thought behind launching a property as expensive as a web series than just going the snackable content route, which is comparatively cheaper, Kumar said, To create a long-term relationship, one needs a full-stack approach. One needs to invite the customers in a disarming way where they get to consume entertaining content. Post that, one needs to build snackable content that the brand can keep uploading on YouTube to keep the engagement going. We are focussing a lot on big-ticket content IPs. End of the day, we want to drive content to commerce and through such big-scale content IPs, the uptick has been significant for us.

The brand has garnered over one lakh YouTube subscribers in three years. It uploads more than four videos on YouTube every day and is able to convert over 200 subscribers daily. While 70% of subscribers on YouTube are organic, 30% of the subscribers have come to the platform inorganically, added Kumar.

While Scaler has been heavily focussed on video content until now, going forward, it aims to focus more on audio content, which is podcasts.

In audio, while the sample size is less, the consumer in the hot state is more than in the video. We have done a couple of experiments. We are sure that with the success we had on running audio content, we will see some good uptick, added Kumar.

Branded content is fairly new in India. Getting the skilled and the right talent for this stream is not childs play. On being asked how Scaler goes about hiring people for the branded content and content team, Kumar said that over and above basic skills one needs for content, they also look at the entrepreneurial mindset in a person while hiring. We look at people who dont shy away from rolling their sleeves to solve business problems. Secondly, we look at core competencies. We have people from journalism, television and advertising.

While devising the brands content strategy, Scaler has a two-point checklist it follows:

Kumar said that it sees its consumers consuming more gaming, entertainment and infotainment content.

He further said, When it comes to choosing the content partners, our bias is more content-driven than platform-driven. We take into consideration our business objective, the demographics we are targeting and consumer preferences. This helps us narrow down our search for the right content partner.

Kumar further said that the brand ensures to keep its content plan to be documented. If I have to do content in January next year, I should be ready with the roadmap maximum by the end of May, said Kumar.

Many a times when a Content Head moves out from a company, and is replaced by a new one, they tend to change the whole content plan and strategy. As a result, the already running content IPs are left hanging in the air, while new ones are created.

Kumar said that content shouldnt be treated like just another marketing channel but be embedded in the DNA of the company. He said, The content mindset of the company shouldnt be dependent on its people. Dont make content people-centric but culture-centric. If a person leaves, the company must again hire people with similar mindsets.

Scaler is very selective when it comes to influencer marketing. While the brand works with Category A and B influencers, it is highly optimistic about nano and micro-influencers. Scaler does 15-20 activities with micro and nano influencers every month and 4-5 activities with Category A and B creators.

Kumar believes that measurement of content marketing success will remain a pain point for a foreseeable future. Explaining the same, he said, When you put out content, there is a direct correlation on impact and there is also an indirect correlation. For example, a person consumes content, but might not immediately buy the product and returns to buy the product two months later via performance marketing. That success will be attributed to performance marketing, while the consumer decided to buy the product because of the content he consumed two months ago.

He added, The attribution of the lead will go to performance marketing, whereas content marketing attribution wont happen. Now with moving into a cookie-less world, attribution of content marketing success will become even more blur.

Kumar also said that differentiating between real and vanity metrics has become another big problem. Reach has become a vanity metric. For example, if we take the case of a content creator and celebrity. While the celebrity might have a higher reach than a content creator, it will have lesser engagement in comparison to the creator who might have 1/10th reach of a celebrity but a higher engagement rate.

Scaler has produced all its content for digital and is not much of a believer in partnering with TV, radio and print for their content needs. Unfortunately, the TV ecosystem doesnt support the organic placement of content. Also, off-late, we havent come across good ambitious projects on TV, print and radio. We are absolutely okay to collaborate with print, TV and radio players if it matches our goals.

Concluding the conversation, Kumar said that going forward, Scaler will ensure to produce quality content along with focussing on the frequency of the content. Its not about doing many things, but doing fewer things and right. Well be carefully choosing our content partners and associating with credible people.

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Content marketing is the most natural tool for marketers to build long-term relationships with consumers, says Scaler's Ranjeet Kumar - BuzzInContent

Do you still need third-party antivirus software on modern systems? There are tradeoffs, so make sure you know what youre getting into before clicking that download button.

When you have to decide if youre going to install extra security to protect yourself from viruses and malware, its essential to know what risks youre facing. If you get infected by one of the various kinds of malware, you could be in serious trouble.

The main risks are losing your data, having your data stolen, having your identity stolen, and perhaps worst of all, having money stolen from your accounts.

Viruses and other malware have plenty of tricks to get your data or money. At present, ransomware is probably the most dangerous and destructive. This malware encrypts your data in the background and then demands a ransom to release it.

Adware bombards you with advertising pop-ups in an attempt to make money. Spyware watches you, looking for personal information or passwords for identity theft. Trojans attach themselves to otherwise innocent-looking programs. PUPs or Potentially Unwanted Programs are bundled into other software installers. This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are numerous vulnerabilities that malware can exploit, but that doesnt mean you need security software to protect yourself from it!

The simple fact is that if you use your computer responsibly, its doubtful that youll ever encounter a virus or another type of malware. Stick to using software from reputable sources, examine email attachments and email senders for authenticity, and refrain from using flash drives or hard drives that have been plugged into computers you dont know.

You can also manually check attachments and other files for the presence of malware by using a site like VirusTotal, which gives you the benefit of showing the results from multiple antivirus engines.

You can also use a virtual machine program such as VirtualBox to test out software and ensure its safe before using it on your computers entire operating system.

Also, be sure to have cloud backups of your most essential data so that if a virus does destroy your data, you still have a copy in a location it cant be touched. Cloud storage services usually have a rolling window where you can restore any corrupted files that have been uploaded from your computer back to their original state.

If youre using Microsoft Windows, then Microsoft Defender is already up and running from when you first boot up Windows. Theres a sense among users that using the store brand antivirus that comes with your operating system means you arent that well protected. The truth is that Windows Defender consistently ranks among the top commercial antivirus packages to detect and destroy malware. Its no stretch to call it a good antivirus program, and dismissing it is perhaps a little misguided.

Defender uses the best practices of modern antivirus software. It receives virus definition updates as soon as they are available, offers real-time protection, and uses heuristic virus detection. Heuristic detection allows an antivirus package to guess whether something is a virus by its behavior, which means it can stop viruses even without a virus definition.

Like any software, Defender isnt perfect. For example, it has a disproportionate dependence on being online. So if you spend significant amounts of time offline and engage in risky behavior while doing so, another software package might be better for you. However, in terms of actual performance, its right up there with paid packages while costing the user nothing. Its not the best antivirus software, but when you factor in its price, Defender is hard to beat!

An essential part of computer security is controlling what information flows from your computer to the internet and back. You can be infected by certain malware (such as worms) through your internet or network connection without any help from you, the user.

If youre already infected with malware, you also dont want it calling back home and uploading the information its stolen from you. Paid antivirus software might advertise that they include a firewall, but you should know that Windows already has a software firewall built-in along with an antivirus. Not only that, but theres a good chance that your network router has a firewall of its own. So dont be swayed by the offer of a firewall as a feature.

Windows Firewall is quite basic, even if it does get the job done. The firewalls you get with paid software might offer valuable features to you. If you only need the core features of a firewall, youre already covered.

Antivirus software developers include internet security features to get more users to switch to their products. This may consist of a password manager, and it might seem like a good idea to get a free password manager with your security suite since that seems like a better deal than paying a monthly fee for a service like LastPass.

There are rather excellent password managers built into popular internet browsers like Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Theyll generate and store strong passwords for you completely free of charge. Youll even get a warning when one of your passwords is featured in a hacker breach.

Historically, Apple Mac computers like MacBooks and iMacs havent needed antivirus software thanks to security through obscurity. Thats just a fancy way of saying that such a small percentage of computers out in the world are Macs that virus creators dont think its worth the effort to create anything for them.

Mac users who only download trusted Mac software or software from the official Mac App store probably have nothing to worry about, but Mac viruses and other Mac malware are out there. MacWorld maintains a Mac malware list if youre curious about the exact threats youre facing.

Apples recent shift to their CPUs, starting with the Apple M1, has significantly increased the platforms security. Still, theres already at least one malware package that attacks M1 systems in the form of Silver Sparrow. Ultimately, most users dont need antivirus on Mac, but that strongly depends on your usage patterns. If you want some peace of mind, check out The Best Antivirus Options for Mac.

Microsoft Defender has the advantage of being designed as an integrated part of Windows 10 and 11. Unfortunately, thats not true for other antivirus options. Anyone who has used the major antivirus brands has experienced performance problems at some point.

These programs not only consume CPU and RAM resources, but their scanning can also interfere with the operation of legitimate applications, slowing them down or causing crashes.

This varies from application to application and from antivirus to antivirus. Its worth reading up on the performance impact of any paid antivirus software youre considering to see what users say about its effect on performance. Professional reviewers may also run benchmarks to determine how much performance impact a particular antivirus has on a computer.

If you rely on specific programs or are a gamer, you should check whether a given antivirus is known for conflicting or interfering with your favorite games or mission-critical applications.

Its becoming rare for antivirus software to be sold as a once-off application. Instead, youre likely to pay a monthly fee. Even if you pay once for the software, you may have to pay an annual fee or keep receiving virus definition updates.

Depending on your risk profile, whether you have access to built-in antivirus like Defender, and how much you need the extra features some paid options provide, the running costs may be unreasonable.

Speaking of costs, there are many free antivirus programs out there. They dont cost you any currency, but obviously, they need to make money somehow. If youre not paying directly, that means selling your information, bundling unwanted programs into their installer, or showing you advertisements.

If a free version also has an upgraded paid version, then the free version may have too many features removed to offer good virus protection.

Installing antivirus suites can add a ton of bloat to your computer. There may be many different components to the suite, each vying for your attention. There may also be automatically installed plugins that add themselves to your browser or to office software to fight macro viruses. A good antivirus protection suite will let you choose which components to install and which to defer, but even that can be a confusing chore!

One feature that most antivirus programs dont offer is a VPN or Virtual Private Network. VPNs create private tunnels over the internet, hiding your internet activity from anyone on the same network. That includes other users on your LAN (Local Area Network) and your ISP (Internet Service Provider).

VPNs are crucial if you ever use your computer on a public Wi-Fi network. Whether thats at work, at a coffee shop, or in a hotel, other users can steal all sorts of information from your network data, and thats something an antivirus program wont protect you from.

If you decide that you want to install third-party antivirus protection on your computer, then its a good idea to stick with mainstream brands and have a known history. Especially since there are so many fake antivirus programs, you may see these phony antivirus programs advertised on dodgy websites or social media. Theyll tell you that your computer system is infected, charge you money to fix it, and if youre lucky, youll only lose a bit of money. Mainstream cybersecurity software brands and software include:

Suppose you want to evaluate the relative merits of the different antivirus options or confirm that an antivirus program is legit. In that case, a great resource is AV-Test, which specializes in reviewing and testing this software. You can also check out our Best Virus & Malware Scanner for some great suggestions.

You probably use your smartphone or tablet more than your desktop computer these days, so youve likely wondered if you need antivirus for that. If youre an Android smartphone user and use software from sources other than the Google Play store, you may want to look into a reputable Android Antivirus app.

Check out How to Remove Malware From an Android Phone and Best Android Antivirus and Security Apps. For iOS users, antivirus programs arent an option, but if you havent jailbroken your iPhone or iPad, its a non-issue.

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Do You Really Need Antivirus Software on Your Windows or Mac Computer? - Online Tech Tips

I want to be authentic: so in the future, with generations gone, people can listen to my music and think, Yeah, this speaks to the time. I feel like I can relate to what was happening, says Koffee, her dulcet tones melting from my laptop speakers on a Zoom call a couple of weeks prior to the London launch of her debut album. She's on the other side of the world in Kingston, Jamaica, and her screen's blacked out, but she assures me she's sun-drenched and blissed out. The message for my debut album, Gifted, comes from my own personal influences. The things that I've experienced, the climate of the world, the pandemic and the feelings that came with that situation. I wanted to uplift people, she continues. I think it's important to inject positive energy into the world and just try to stay on a path that can keep people feeling light. I tend to write from my heart. Things that are true to me, and hopefully music that years down the road I will still enjoy performing and still have a message for the youth.

Koffee's time on the road thus far has been fast and furious. In less than half a decade, she went from uploading a song for Olympic medallist Usain Bolt on YouTube to her music career skyrocketing. By 18-years-old, she'd inked a deal with a major label. Then in 2019, aged 19, released her five-track dancehall EP Rapture, which saw her make history as the youngest recipient and first-ever female reggae artist to win a GRAMMY. Since then, she's hit No. 1 on the reggae charts, dropped her first full-length and worked with everyone from Protoje, to Jay-Z, to Kendrick Lamar. As she riffs about leaving a legacy behind in her lyrics, it's mad to conceive how short her musical journey has been given what she's achieved and even more mind-blowing that 15 years ago, music wasn't even a thing she thought to pursue.

Growing up in Spanish Town, Jamaica, Koffee never expected to become an artist. At 14, she even briefly studied to become a pharmacist. There's even a clip of me saying I want to become an astronaut on live TV, she laughs, recalling early childhood ambitions. But Koffee was naturally musically gifted from the outset. She cut her vocal chops in the church choir every Saturday and was raised on a diet of gospel, reggae and lovers rock by her mother, an actress and a Seventh Day Adventist.

I sang in the church choir at an infant age. I was pretty much born in the church. But no, I never thought I'd make a career out of it. I realised I was enjoying music around age 16, and I explained to my friends that I would probably be a ghostwriter for other artists. They kept encouraging me to do my own thing... and here we are," Koffee laughs.

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Positive energy: Koffee's uplifting reggae is bringing light to the world - Mixmag