Privacy Concerns and Data Harms in the Metaverse

January 25, 2022

By Marcus Carter and Ben Egliston

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has recently announced the company will change its name to Meta, saying the move reflects the fact the company is now much broader than just the social media platform (which will still be called Facebook). The rebrand follows several months of intensifying discourse by Zuckerberg and the company more broadly on the metaverse – the idea of integrating real and digital worlds ever more seamlessly, using technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

Zuckerberg sees VR as a pathway to a new kind of “social computing platform” using the enhanced feeling of “presence” that VR affords. For Facebook, the introduction of VR-based computing will be like the leap from text-based command line interfaces to the graphical user interfaces we use today. This may well be right. VR affords a strong feeling of embodied presence that offers new possibilities for entertainment, training, learning and connecting with others at a distance.

But if the metaverse that Facebook is building functions via the company’s existing social computing platform and business model of extracting data to deliver targeted advertisements, the entire future of the internet is at stake.

Facebook’s journey into the metaverse

The Meta rebrand is the culmination of seven years of corporate acquisitions, investments and research that kicked off with Facebook’s acquisition of VR headset company Oculus for US$2 billion in 2014. Oculus had risen to prominence with a lucrative Kickstarter campaign, and many of its backers were angry that their support for the “future of gaming” had been co-opted by Silicon Valley.

While gamers fretted that Facebook would give them VR versions of Farmville rather than the hardcore content they envisioned, cynics viewed the purchase as part of a spending spree after Facebook’s IPO, or simply Zuckerberg indulging a personal interest in gaming. Oculus has gone on to dominate the VR market with over 60% market share. That’s thanks to heavy cross-subsidisation from Facebook’s advertising business and a console-like approach with the mobile “Quest” VR headset.

Beyond Oculus, Facebook has invested heavily in VR and AR. Organised under the umbrella of Facebook Reality Labs, there are nearly 10,000 people working on these technologies – almost 20% of Facebook’s workforce. Facebook also recently announced plans to hire another 10,000 developers in the European Union to work on its metaverse computing platform.

While much of its work remains behind closed doors, Facebook Reality Labs’ publicised projects include Project Aria, which seeks to create live 3D maps of public spaces, and the recently released Ray-Ban Stories – Facebook-integrated sunglasses with 5-megapixel cameras and voice control.

All these investments and projects are steps towards the infrastructure for Zuckerbeg’s vision of the metaverse. As he said earlier in the year: “I think it really makes sense for us to invest deeply to help shape what I think is going to be the next major computing platform”

Exactly what this “next computing platform” is remains to be seen. The name ‘metaverse’ is a reference to the gaming-like virtual worlds from science fiction, where we live our lives in tightly controlled virtual environments. But the technologies and investments that Facebook are making out speaks to a technology much more tightly integrated with the real, physical world too.

Why does Facebook want to rule the metaverse?

The metaverse may eventually come to define how we work, learn and socialise. This means VR and AR would move beyond their current niche uses and become everyday technologies on which we will all depend, much like the smartphone.. We can guess at Facebook’s vision for the metaverse by looking to its existing approach to social media. It has moulded our online lives into a gigantic revenue stream based on power, control and surveillance, fuelled by our data.

VR and AR headsets collect enormous amounts of data about the user and their environment. This is one of the key ethical issues around these emerging technologies, and presumably one of the chief attractions for Facebook in owning and developing them.

As American VR researcher Jeremy Bailenson has written:

…commercial VR systems typically track body movements 90 times per second to display the scene appropriately, and high-end systems record 18 types of movements across the head and hands. Consequently, spending 20 minutes in a VR simulation leaves just under 2 million unique recordings of body language.

What makes this particularly concerning is that the way you move your body is so unique that VR data can be used to identify you, rather like a fingerprint. That means everything you do in VR could potentially be traced back to your individual identity. For Facebook – a digital advertising empire built on tracking our data – it’s a tantalising prospect.

Facebook’s Oculus Quest headsets also use outward-facing cameras to track and map their surroundings. In late 2019 Facebook said they “don’t collect and store images or 3D maps of your environment on our servers today”. Note the word today, which tech journalist Ben Lang notes makes clear the company is not ruling out anything in the future.

Responsible Innovation?

Alongside Project Aria, Facebook launched its Responsible Innovation Principles, and recently pledged US$50 million to “build the metaverse responsibly”. But, as Catherine D’Ignazio and Lauren Klein note in their book Data Feminism, responsible innovation is often focused on individualised concepts of harm, rather than addressing the structural power imbalances baked into technologies such as social media.

In our studies of Facebook’s Oculus Imaginary (Facebook’s vision for how it will use Oculus technology) and its changes over time to Oculus’ privacy and data policies, we suggest Facebook publicly frames privacy in VR as a question of individual privacy (over which users can have control) versus surveillance and data harvesting (over which we don’t). Framing questions about VR and AR surveillance in terms of individual privacy suits companies like Facebook very well. That’s because their previous failings are actually in the (un)ethical use of data (as in the case of Cambridge Analytica) and their asymmetric platform power.

Critics have derided Facebook’s announcements as “privacy theatre” and corporate spin. Digital rights advocacy group Access Now, which participated in a Facebook AR privacy “design jam” in 2020 and urged Facebook to prioritise alerting bystanders they were being recorded by Ray-Ban Stories, says its recommendation was ignored.

Ray-Ban Stories features a small light on the side of the frame, which is illuminated when recording. But it can easily be covered over, and while this would violate Facebook’s terms of service, it’s hard to see how Facebook would realistically stop anyone doing it. As Daniel Leufer at AccessNow writes, “There are many better ways they could have made it clear recording is underway than a tiny white light. Why not a red light, which is typically associated with recording? Why not add a loud beep before recording starts? Or give them a unique design to distinguish them from normal Ray-Bans?”

In releasing their smartglasses product in partnership with Ray-Bans, as a pair fo glasses that are – from more than a few metres away at least – indisgintuishable from a normal pair of Ray-Ban smart-glasses, Facebook are exploiting an existing technology (sunglasses) to normalise wearable surveillance technology, about which people currently have deep and understandable reservations. If video Ray-Bans become mainstream, who knows what other data-intensive gadgets are lurking just around the corner?

The Metaverse doesn’t have to be Dystopian

Appropriately enough, the metaverse under Facebook is likely to resemble the term’s literary origins, coined in Neal Stephenson’s 1992 novel Snow Crash to describe an exploitative, corporatised, hierarchical virtual space.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Tony Parisi, one of the early pioneers of VR, argues we already have a blueprint for a non-dystopian metaverse. He says we should look back to the original, pre-corporatised vision of the internet, which embodied “an open, collaborative and consensus-driven way to develop technologies and tools”.

Facebook’s rebrand, its dominance in the VR market, its seeming desire to hire every VR and AR developer in Europe, and its dozens of corporate acquisitions – all this sounds less like true collaboration and consensus, and more like an attempt to control the next frontier of computing. A 2018 internal document, recently revealed as part of the ‘Facebook Papers’, plainly lays out this ambition for control.

Many emerging technologies encounter what is known as the Collingridge problem: it is hard to predict the various impacts of a technology until it is extensively developed and widely used, but by then it is almost impossible to control or change.

We see this playing out right now, in efforts to regulate Google and Facebook’s power over news media. As David Watts argues, big tech designs its own rules of ethics to avoid scrutiny and accountability: Feelgood, high-level data ethics principles are not fit for the purpose of regulating big tech … The harms linked to big tech can only be addressed by proper regulation.

What might regulation of Facebook’s VR look like? Firstly, we immediately need stronger baseline protections for any data captured through devices like VR or AR headsets and glasses, recognising that this data can be behavioural biometric and re-identifiable. This will include much more improved measures for attaining user consent (in contrast to the currently vague license agreement that Oculus employs).

Secondly, and perhaps more radically, we also call for a moratorium on the processing of headset data beyond that which is required for the headset to operate. As we have seen with Facebook’s other technologies, and the numerous AI related cases of algorithmic discrimination and harm, reining in technologies once widespread can be an insurmountable challenge. Our research has already identified the potentially discriminatory usages of VR data analytics in workplaces, and there is a significant potential for harm in the use of VR data for targeted digital advertisements.

However, regulation isn’t necessarily a silver bullet. Facebook themselves, for instance, have recently been pre-emptively pushing for the regulation of the metaverse. As Andrew Bosworth, Facebook’s now-CTO and Nick Clegg, Facebook’s VP of global affairs and communications (and Cameron ministry politician) note, it will be necessary that there are sufficient regulatory mechanisms to ensure privacy and safety in the metaverse. Their attempts here are to get ahead of the wave of inevitable criticism if/when the metaverse materialises, set the agenda, and look good while doing it.

We let Facebook rule the world of social media. We shouldn’t let it rule the metaverse.

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About the Authors

Dr Marcus Carter is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Cultures at The University of Sydney and director of the Sydney Games and Play Lab. With a background in Game Studies and Human-Computer Interaction research, his research is concerned with the social experience and impacts of games and emerging mixed reality technologies.

Dr Ben Egliston is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Digital Media Research Centre, at Queensland University of Technology. He researches the practices and politics of digital technology, currently focusing on videogames and mixed reality.

How to Choose the Best Artificial Intelligence Stock Trading Software 2022

January 25, 2022

AI-powered stock trading software is making massive changes in the sector. Investors can enjoy multiple functionalities with the use of such, such as helping in crucial decision-making processes. AI automated trading increases efficiency and allows for better predictions.

Is the use of AI new in stock trading? The answer is no. Some companies have been early adopters of the technology. A good example is Goldman Sachs that has been using the technologies for quite some time.

A 2019 report shows that Goldman Sachs planned to increase investments in AI models across the equity trading division. They had put aside $72.5 million towards machine learning and artificial intelligence.

For investors and stock traders, there is some good news. There are tons of options available when looking for AI trading tools. Yet, that in itself poses a challenge. How do you decide which is the best solution for you?

We will share some tips on how to choose the right one.

1. Understand the Different Types of AI Trading Software

As we have stated, there are tons of AI trading solutions available. But, some may have unique features, not available in others. Start by undertaking some basic research to familiarize yourself with what is out there.

Some are suitable for long-term traders. Other software will be ideal for day traders. A cursory search of the best AI stock trading tools will give you an idea of the different types.

In fact, there is an AI-powered Robo-advisor tool called Trade Ideas that churns out overnight scenarios with the greatest potential. That makes it ideal for short-term or day traders who depend on technical analysis.

The platform uses algorithms, research, backtesting, and analysis as the basis for providing insights. The advanced simulated trading platform also makes Trade Ideas a good choice for trading beginners.

When choosing the right AI automated trading system, go for one that best suits your risk levels and trading styles. If you are new to trading, stick to AI software that is simple to use. The developers ensure an easy-to-use interface and helpful wizards.

There are also tons of resources available in online forums. Some even have tutors or mentors to guide beginners.

2. Be Realistic About the Functionalities You Get

We can all agree that AI technologies have been a game-changer for many industries. But, there is no 100% guarantee of profitability every single time.

Market volatility can have a large impact on the trade signals. Black swan events have shown the fallibility of some of the automation. The software is unable to handle significant standard deviations. The traders must switch off the automation and go back to traditional human trading.

With that said, we cannot underscore the important role of AI stock trading systems. Their ability to handle large amounts of data with great accuracy is a fantastic point in their favor. Humans do not have the capacity to handle such work.

3. Check the Range of Stock Trading Strategies

You want to check out the type of trading strategies that come with AI software. Some options include:

Algorithmic trading that reduces risk with small investment across a wide stock range
Arbitrage is excellent for identifying profitable high-volume trades. The AI tool bases the recommendation after observing transactions between other parties. You can, in a matter of seconds, make a killing.
Market-making algorithms keep a close eye on the marketplace. It will base buying or selling decisions depending on the prevailing price points.

4. Real-Time Information

The best AI stock trading software should provide real-time information. The advantage of this is that you never miss out on significant gains. You get a notification anytime the stocks break out. The AI tools keep a close watch on the market and can detect any pattern changes.

But that should not be all. The software should make it easy for you to make decisions. That means getting information on other factors like confidence intervals, correct prediction, and target price.

Some of the software can also provide further insights and opinions on the different stocks. Swing and day traders will, for instance, want to know whether stocks are bullish, moving sideways, or bearish.

Lack of real-time information can have profound impacts. You never want to miss out on trading opportunities.

5. Availability of Trend and Historical Data

The AI stock trading tool should provide technical indicators for purposes of making sound predictions. This typically depends on trends and historical data.

For instance, you need to know past trading patterns of a company before investing. Those that have performed consistently well over a specific period will be a good bet.

6. Look Out for Applicable Fees and Read User Reviews

Do take the time to understand the cost implications of the software you choose. There could be applicable fees such as withdrawal or transfer fees. Reputable companies will have no problem sharing such information upfront.

And, part of your responsibility should include a good amount of research. You will never run short of resources on the online platform. One of the stops you must make is user reviews.

Check what other users have to say about the software. You will be getting first-hand information from the users and not the developers. Take note of the pros and cons before making a choice. You could save yourself headaches and money with this simple due diligence.

Also, take note of whether the software has learning capabilities. The market conditions are never static. That means the technologies must adapt or run the risk of becoming obsolete. And, relying on the information they provide will place your investments at great risk.

Final Thoughts

AI stock trading has so many advantages. Automating the process provides higher reliability and efficiency. The platforms use data-driven algorithms to help with decision-making.

The first step you must take is to learn about the tools. That requires some research and a willingness to learn.

See what features you get and read plenty of reviews. And, do find out about applicable fees, if any.

AI automated software has a lot to offer, but it depends on which one you choose. Use our tips above when shopping for one.

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2022 Planning: How to Identify Trends & Future-Proof Your Business

January 25, 2022

It’s time to look ahead: 2022 is almost upon us. 2021 has been another brutal year with the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic, and, sadly, there’s no end in sight — but that surely means we must fight even harder to pursue our goals and thrive despite challenging conditions. That means doing what we can to hit the ground running when January arrives.

And if you’re running a business, your top priority should be plotting a 12-month path to success that will incrementally yield results as you advance towards 2023. To do this, you need to pay close attention to the trends that have emerged in recent months and years. Changes in the business world herald what’s coming, and identifying them will empower you to bolster your company with some degree of future-proofing.

In this post, we’re going to cover some tips for discerning notable trends and make some key suggestions for making your business ready for the coming years. Let’s get started.

Carry out in-depth competitor research

The best way to gauge industry commonalities is to look closely at what your competitors are doing (and have been doing). How are they marketing their wares? How are they tweaking their value propositions? How are they changing their corporate structures (by going green, perhaps)? By considering these things as you gauge success, you can see which tactics are working and which are falling flat.

You should research everything from their product prices to their business partnerships. If you find any moves that seem extremely strange, put additional effort into figuring them out: such moves often stem from early observations of significant trends. If you can pick through the actions to determine what prompted them, you can act accordingly.

Pay close attention to social media activity

Social media trends are often ephemeral, but that’s at the top level. Once you look below the surface, you start to see the underlying trends that give rise to the hashtags and memes — and those trends move slowly, gathering up momentum until they suddenly break out. Spending time on social media (provided you focus on observing rather than contributing) can be fruitful.

Take note of what influential figures in relevant industries are saying. Check for recurring themes in their posts. Are there certain pieces of advice they keep stressing? You can take a handful of comments with a pinch of salt, but if numerous experts known for doing work in your industry start making the same recommendations, you should listen to them.

Optimize your everyday processes

Efficiency is essential for long-term business success, so a big part of future-proofing involves trimming the fat (so to speak). You should look at everything you do on a daily/weekly basis and think about how you can make it better. What admin tasks do you need to cover? The more time you free up, the more capable you’ll be of keeping up with trends.

Software will likely be the key to making big improvements, whether you’re investing in recurring invoice tools to make receiving payments easier or allowing your employees to manage their experiences without needing you to get personally involved by deploying an HR portal. And if you spot any obvious roadblocks, clear them. Functional minimalism is the way to go.

Commit time and effort to experimentation

Lastly, it’s vital to remember that simply following trends will never allow you to future-proof your business. You also need to get ahead of trends, and to do that you need to take creative and operational risks. Try new things. Roll out unproven tools to see if they’re worthwhile. Zig where everyone is zagging. Do what you can to stand out.

When your tactics work, they’ll give you an edge over the competition. When they don’t, they’ll give you valuable learning experiences — and something isn’t a true mistake if you manage to learn from it. Do these things and you’ll have a great start to 2022.

We’ve given you four great ways to identify trends and future-proof your business. Now it’s over to you to put our advice into action.

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Should I Buy an Auto Extended Warranty?

January 25, 2022

There are a variety of reasons to purchase an auto extended warranty. If you’re buying a new car, a warranty may make sense. This type of protection can help cover unforeseen repairs, and the warranty can even save you money over time. However, when choosing a warranty, be sure to look for a plan that offers you a variety of benefits. While it may be tempting to buy an auto extension at the dealership, you should remember that it’s not always necessary.

The cost of an auto extended warranty varies from company to company. Premium plans can run you more than $3,000, so it’s important to compare quotes. A Consumer Reports study found that most people bought extended warranties only to discover that they never used them. That means they paid more for them than they actually got out of them. Still, many consumers report that their extended warranties are a good way to protect themselves against costly repairs.

When it comes to buying an auto extended warranty, it’s best to consider how important the coverage is. A warranty is an excellent way to ensure that you’ll have peace of mind in case you’re faced with an unexpected expense. In addition to protecting you from unexpected repairs, it can also save you money in the long run. The good news is that most warranties cover the cost of a major component failure, and that’s a major reason why extended warranties are so useful.

If you’re unsure about the coverage your extended warranty will provide, ask your provider for more information. While the basic plan covers many components, more expensive plans can cover a large range of components and have transferability. While an auto extended warranty may not make sense for every buyer, it can help protect your financial future and help you sell your car. If you’re unsure about which one to choose, contact the manufacturer to get more details about their policies.

It’s a good idea to get a vehicle service contract when you buy a new car. While these plans offer more protection, they are costly. You may not need an extended warranty if you already have a reliable vehicle. You can also use your existing warranty to protect your investment. If you are not sure about the coverage, you can always buy an auto extended warranty. When you have a new car, make sure it’s backed by a manufacturer.

When purchasing a new car, it’s likely you’ll hear about an auto extended warranty at the finance office. To buy toyota extended warranty here you can check all the info. If you plan to trade in your car before the warranty is up, you may not need it. Conversely, if you plan to keep it until the wheels fall off, you’ll want to get an extended warranty. If you intend to trade in your vehicle, you might not need to purchase an auto extension.

Auto warranties provide valuable protection for your vehicle, but they are not necessary for every situation. While they can help you to protect your car from damage, they can be a risky investment. Choosing the right one for you is crucial. Whether or not you need an extended warranty depends on your risk tolerance. The policy can help you avoid unplanned expenses, such as unexpected repairs. For example, if you plan to drive for a long time, you should purchase coverage before you have reached 80,000 miles on your car.

When you decide to buy an auto extended warranty, you should be aware of the various limitations. It can add thousands of dollars to your car purchase. Although the cost may be affordable, you must make sure it’s worth it. Some policies cover routine maintenance, but not everything. Some plans only cover major repairs. Others are only beneficial for long-term car ownership. And if you plan on trading, you should consider whether you’d like to transfer your plan if you sell your car in the future.

A good auto warranty can give you peace of mind and cover unexpected costs. Just be sure to do your research before making a decision. You don’t want to be stuck paying for unnecessary repairs you won’t need. A car warranty can help you avoid these costly repairs, as well as prevent your car from being stolen. If you have a lot of questions, call up the insurance company and ask for an inspection.

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Why Should You Hire an Investment Fraud Attorney?

January 25, 2022

Investments are usually risky, and there is always a chance you may lose your money or assets if things don’t go the way you hoped. Unfortunately, this is normal, and every seasoned investor, at some point, will have to take a loss.

But there are also certain situations where such losses are caused by investment fraud and not real market fundamentals. For example, many people recently lost millions of dollars due to the investment fraud that took place by GWG holdings and many are looking specifically for a GWG bonds lawyer now. This is where the idea of hiring an investment fraud attorney to check things out can help.

Of course, many investors will see this as an added expense that they probably don’t need. But there is so much these lawyers can do for you.

Here are some notable benefits:

1. Experience in Investing

Most investment fraud attorneys tend to have a lot of exposure in the investment space. They have handled hundreds of fraud cases before, and as such, they can easily tell if there is something fishy going on.

Besides, investment fraud laws across many states can be very complicated for the average person. You will need someone well-versed with existing jurisprudence to ensure everything is above board.

2. Will Help You Save Money

At first, hiring an investment fraud attorney will look like an added expense on your balance sheet. But when you think about it, these lawyers may save you a ton of money in the long run.

For example, if indeed you have been a victim of investment fraud, the lawyer will know what needs to be done to help you recover that money as quickly as possible. You can then use it for other ventures if you wish.

Also, these lawyers will help you assess every investment opportunity available to ensure there is no risk of fraud. This will ensure you avoid costly mistakes in your investment journey.

3. It’s Time Effective

As an investor, the best way to use your time would be to focus more on the assets or business that your money is in.

You don’t want to be following up on fraud cases or taking too much time reading through investment fraud laws in your state.

The attorney can take care of this for you. This will give you the free time you need to focus on what you are good at.

4. Increases the Possibility of Compensation

As noted above, investment fraud lawyers bring a lot of experience. So, if you have been a victim of fraud, they will know exactly what is needed to ensure that you get the compensation that you deserve.

These lawyers will know how to find and collect evidence, file cases in court, and so much more. That way, it is likely that you will recover most of your money.

Conclusion

Fraud in investment is something common these days. As an investor, it is important to have some form of redress if you fall victim to such fraud.

A good investment fraud lawyer may be an important instrument in protecting your money. You can visit Investor Lawyers for more information on this.

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4 Significant Factors That Impact Your Credit Score

January 25, 2022

In life, you may come to a place where you’ll need a loan to boost your financial strength. You may take a personal loan or a business loan. However, before many lenders advance you a loan, they’ll first assess your creditworthiness. No one would like to give out a loan to someone or a business entity that won’t have the capacity to repay. One of the things that financial lenders will focus on to determine your creditworthiness is your FICO score. It’s advisable to maintain a good credit score to stand a better chance of getting a loan whenever you need one.

If you’re planning to secure a loan for your business, you’ll have to present your audited business accounts to your lender and a credit score from bureaus that determine business credit scores. Whether you need a personal or business loan, a strong credit score boosts your chances of having your loan application approved.

For you to know how you can maintain your credit score at the appropriate scale, here are factors that affect your credit score to watch out for:

1. Payment History

Among the top considerations of lenders before giving out any loan is to establish whether the loanee can prove that they’re in a position to honor the payment. For instance, some landlords will ask for your rent payment history before they can rent you an apartment.

To ensure that your rent payment history doesn’t become a hindrance to getting a house in the future, you can partner with rent reporting services. Suppose your credit score isn’t good enough to help you secure an apartment due to unavoidable circumstances in the past. In that case, you can start improving it by registering to rent reporting services, whose work is to report rent to credit bureaus, which helps boost your credit score.

Payment history reflects the following aspects:

Do you practice timely payment of bills? Late payments negatively affect your score.
If you’ve done late payments, to what extent were you late? The later you’ll do your payments, the worse will be your score.
Are there incidents of charge-offs, bankruptcies, lawsuits, foreclosures, wage garnishments, or public judgments leveled against you? Having any of these in your history sends a red alert to your lender.
When was the last time you missed paying your premiums? Someone who’s missed paying a loan recently would be regarded as a bigger risk than someone who did several years ago.

Some of the loan history aspects that may interest lenders are home mortgage, bank lines of credit, car loans, store credit accounts, student loans, medical bills, and cell phone bills.

2. Amount Owed

Even though you might be paying your premiums well, your lender might want to know your ability to repay a new loan. As a result, your FICO score will be considered against your credit utilization ratio. It’s a comparison of your debt amount and credit limits.

The following will be considered in your credit utilization ratio:

Amount of credit you’ve used. Having a zero amount doesn’t mean you can score highly. This is because your lenders would like to see a situation where you borrowed money and demonstrated responsibility to pay it back.
Amounts owed to accounts, such as a mortgage, credit cards, auto loans, and installment accounts. You demonstrate a capacity to repay your loans by having several types of credit and managing them well.
The total amount of debt owed compared to the amount awarded—the less the loan remaining, the better.

3. Reporting Errors

Errors might occur in reporting and negatively affect your credit score. Occasionally, reporting agencies might surrender the wrong information concerning your credit history and, thus, lower your credit score. An error might arise from typing. Moreover, your account might be hacked where your identity is stolen. Even if your score was good, a hacker might act maliciously, lowering your credit score.

4. New Credit

The FICO score rating also considers the number of new accounts you have and the last time you opened a new account. If you’ve opened many new accounts within a short time, and whose percentage is bigger than the total number, this can be interpreted as a greater credit risk. It might indicate that you’re having cash flow troubles, which is the reason for taking new debts.

Final Thoughts

Getting a loan isn’t a problem, especially if you want to boost your business experiencing financial turbulence. The issue is to ensure that you manage the loan responsibly to get another loan in the future without a problem. As a result, make it your ambition to honor all your premiums in time to maintain your credit score at the correct level.

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Is Oil Discovery a Curse to the Niger Delta, Nigeria?

January 25, 2022

By Olusegun Akinfenwa

With a capacity of 2.5 million barrels of oil production per day, Nigeria is Africa’s largest producer of oil and the 13th largest oil-producing country on the globe. Oil account for about 65 percent of all government revenue.

Over its five decades of oil exploration, Nigeria has made tens of billions of dollars from crude oil sales. But despite the substantial revenue year in year out, the oil host communities in the country reek of poverty and many other humanitarian and economic issues, including frequent experiences of black soot, environmental degradation, high rate of unemployment/underemployment, oil spills, and gas flaring.

Most of these challenges are recurring problems they have suffered for years without a lasting solution. The health and economic ramifications of these plights have become a serious burden on residents in those communities, including the elderly and children.

The Menace of Black Soot

Black soot, which is fast becoming a persistent issue in many Niger Delta areas, has been linked to the upsurge in life-threatening respiratory, skin, and reproductive health cond. A 2019 report shows that black soot-related health conditions could be linked to about 25,000 deaths in the region.

In the past few months, the issue has escalated, and soot pictures obtained from those communities are devastatingly worrisome.

There has been rising concern in Bayelsa, one of the states in the Niger Delta region, over the noticeable soot across the skyline.

According to a group, Niger Delta Vigilante (NDV), the development is linked mainly to the increase in ‘Kpo-fire,’ an illegal but booming and popular oil bunkering activity in the area. Kpo-fire is a local crude oil production process of heating crude oil in a fabricated oven to extract petroleum products. In the process, the residual from the crude is indiscriminately released into the environment, with no regard for its aftereffects on the ecosystem.

Some other factors believed to be responsible include the burning of seized stolen crude oil by security operatives and the burning of crude oil sites by some oil contractors in the industry as a way of cleaning up.

A few months ago, towards the twilight of the rainy season, residents in the state expressed concern over what was described as black rain anytime there was a downpour. But they did not take their observation seriously until the soot started showing in November and turned the cloud to a hazy grey.

Some residents of Port-Harcourt, Rivers, another Niger Delta state who spoke with Immigration Advice Service (IAS), lamented the health and environmental impacts they daily face as a result of the soot.

“The black soot has been a serious problem to the environment. In my home, we don’t open our doors or windows because the place gets dirty almost immediately after we clean,” a health style coach Mildred Alerechi, complained. “My nails also get dirty for no reason; the black soot finds its way into my fingernails,” he added.

There has been a wide complaint on the negligence by the government to the residents’ plight.

Another resident who spoke with IAS said: “To the best of my knowledge, no concrete action has yet been taken; I’m sure they are aware of the underlying cause and can tackle the problem if they want to.”

Some days ago, the Rivers States government ordered the arrest and prosecution of artisanal refiners and any individual engaging in illegal bunkering in the state, noting that “the state is prepared to fight them more than ever before.”

Environmental degradation

The debilitating effects of oil exploration on the ecosystem have been another concern Niger Delta people for decades. According to a report on the Niger Delta ecosystem, the advent of oil activities in the communities has also negatively affected the region due to unprecedented oil spill, which has been occurring “for the past five decades, making the region one of the most polluted in the world.” The reckless corruption in the government-established authorities that ought to be responsible for the welfare of the region has further contributed to the unending ecocide.

An NNPC report back in 1983 showed that the slow poisoning of the waters and the destruction of agricultural land, vegetation, and good water source by oil spills usually happened during petroleum operations. But since the commencement of the oil industry in Nigeria, there has been no effective, lasting willpower by the government and oil operators to control the environmental impacts associated with the industry.

Even to date, oil firms still play the blame game on who should be held responsible for these environmental problems. A Dutch Appeal Court recently found the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) culpable for some farmland and fishpond pollutions in the area.

Despite the court order mandating SPDC to compensate the affected farmers, the oil company insisted that the damages were caused by sabotage and it should not be held responsible for the financial losses.

It took about a year before the company commenced a mediation process with the farmers to settle the case out of court. Until now, the case is still on, and it is left to be seen if both parties will reach a resolution anytime soon.

Unemployment and Other Economic Problems

Economically, most oil-producing communities are poverty-stricken and suffer a high unemployment rate. They also lack basic amenities such as good hospitals, stable electricity, potable water, motorable roads, and a conducive learning environment in their schools for their children.

As the communities experience all these, paradoxically, local and foreign oil companies and politicians reap handsomely from oil proceeds. Years of illegal bunkering, water degradation, air pollution, leaking pipelines, and other unwholesome activities have made many fishermen and farmers from the region jobless as their livelihood continues to be impacted by oil exploration.

“The crude by-products are usually released into the rivers and on farmlands. Take Ogoni as a case study, oil spills have stopped fishing activities in that area, and it is bad,” said Michael Ndukwu, a University of Port-Harcourt student.

While unemployment is a national issue in Nigeria, the challenge for Niger Delta people is peculiar due to certain apparent factors, which include environmental pollution resulting from oil exploration affecting farming, fishing, and other business activities in the region.

In a report that explored the underlying causes of unemployment and high poverty rate in the communities, Dr. E.D Simon, a researcher at the Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH), Calabar, stated that the “Oil and mineral extraction in the [Niger Delta] region promoted the looting tendency by various government in Nigeria and have been linked with unusually high poverty rates, poor health care and high rate of mortality. This means that sustainable development can hardly be achieved under this unfavorable and in a secured environment”.

The cost of living is also relatively high compared to most other locations in the country, which makes the incomes of most employed residents insufficient and automatically makes them underemployed.

While the huge cost of food importation and transportation usually increases feeding expenses among Nigerians, the challenge is more significant for Niger Delta residents. They could barely source any food items locally due to the damage on their farmlands and waters resulting from oil exploration. They, therefore, depend more on food items imported or transported from other parts of the country.

Gas flaring and Oil Spills

The consequences of gas flaring are also one of the enduring burdens long suffered in the region. According to International Photography Magazine, “Nigeria flares more natural gas associated with oil extraction than any other country. With an estimation of the 3.5 billion cubic feet (100,000,000 m³) of associated gas annually produced, 2.5 billion cubic feet (70,000,000 m³), or about 70%, is wasted by flaring.

The effects of this gas flaring not only impact the ecosystem but also pose adverse health effects on residents in those communities. The poisonous chemicals and carcinogenic substances released into the environment affect the respiratory system. They are also known to be one of the major causes of cancer and leukemia in the world.

The regular Oil spill is another related experience usually faced by the host communities. A United Nations Development Program (UNDP) report revealed that 6,817 oil spills were recorded in the country between 1976 and 2001. 69 percent of these oil spills reportedly occurred offshore, a quarter was in swamps, and 6 percent on land.

Some researchers from the University of Lagos (UNILAG) found that certain factors are mainly responsible for the recurring oil spill in Nigeria.: About 50 percent emanate from pipeline or truck accidents, 28 percent by sabotage, 21 percent happen during oil production operations, and 1 percent due to inadequate or nonfunctional production equipment.

The “sabotage” part is one of the factors that describe the situation in the Niger Delta. It is perpetrated by unemployed youths in the area who have embraced illegal oil bunkering as a source of livelihood. This worsens environmental pollution in the communities and reduces people’s life expectancy.

“The poverty rate in those places is high; hence the reason residents are involved in the illegal [oil bunkering] business. There are barely health facilities and educational facilities, says Alerechi.”

Outdated and faulty pumping equipment has been another factor responsible for oil spills. However, despite its associated disastrous impacts like the death of aqua life and the disappearance of mangrove forests, no serious efforts have been made to reconstruct those outdated production facilities.

While other oil-producing nations such as United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi use their generated revenues to develop their countries and improve their citizens’ living conditions, oil discovery and its related activities seem to curse the host communities in Niger Delta.

There is also great concern that if no urgent and concerted action is taken, oil exploration could cause an ecological disaster in the region, which could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe.

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About the Author

Olusegun Akinfenwa is a political correspondent for Immigration Advice Service, a UK based law firm that offers immigration services globally, including the US Citizenship and Immigration Process. Most of his work raises awareness about the harsh socio-political realities confronting African society, with a view to bringing lasting solutions to them.

Winning Strategies for Online Slot Games

January 25, 2022

Many punters claim to have certain winning strategies regarding slot machines, but these mostly apply to actual land-based slots where you can watch and observe players and the machines themselves – try Inspector Gadget slots.

Getting The Timing Right

You can witness first-hand which slots are paying well and which games are being particularly tight. With this knowledge, you can be ready to pounce on the slots that are having a hot streak whilst avoiding the ones that are likely to serve up a diet of non-stop dead spins, during your slot gaming session.

Online slots are a different ball game altogether because you cannot witness other player’s gaming sessions, therefore you can’t get the timing right when it comes to picking a red-hot slot to spin, because observing patterns in gameplay is impossible to do online.

Online Slots

The nearest you can get to discovering what slots are playing hot online is by spinning various slots in demo mode first and then ploughing cash into the ones that deliver the most bonuses and big winning spins during your demo play. The problem here is that games do not always play the same, as they do in practice mode when they are spun for real.

Slot Mechanics

Seasoned slot players will be aware of how slots work, and the most important mechanics of online slots are the RTP or Return to Player percentage score and the RNG, or Random Number Generator. Both are highly influential in the way games play and most importantly, they affect the results of slot spins as well. Nothing can be done about the Random Number Generator, but slot players can slightly increase their chances of making a small profit whilst playing slots if they exclusively play low-risk, high RTP-rated games. The RTP score of a slot should not be taken literally though as it doesn’t guarantee a win. It acts as a guide to the performance of a slot game instead.

The bottom line is that you are far more likely to hit bonuses, or experience consistent small wins that slowly build your casino bank balance when you choose high RTP-rated slot games. Low RTP slots can still serve up big winning spins, but these are rare and not very frequent.

Responsible Gambling and Casino Bankroll Management

Even if you pick the most generous slots out there to play, all of this would be in vain, if you are not sensible with your gambling habits. Wins on slots are rare and when they come around, any win, big or small, should be banked straight away. There is no point in winning on slots if you ultimately return all your winnings to the casino.

Responsible gambling tools allow a player to stay in control of their gameplay and their spending. Deposit limits are by far the best of the responsible gambling tools because if you set them right, you cannot overspend, and you cannot give back everything you won, in a small space of time.

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Is it Safe to Play Real Money Slots if based in New Zealand?

January 25, 2022

Playing real money slots while based in New Zealand is tricky, you need to make sure you are using a provider based internationally. This means that there is a bigger chance that hackers and thieves could attack you – visit and play King Casino.

Safety

Ensuring safety whilst using slots is incredibly important, this is because you are playing with real money. Although it may seem unlikely, any time you are playing with real money can be dangerous. This is because you may accidentally over bet or spend too much cash and end up causing yourself some financial harm. There is also the possibility of hackers and thieves stealing your personal information and taking money from your account. Essentially ensuring safety whilst using real money slots is very important for players.

What to Avoid

When playing real money slot games, whilst based in New Zealand, players need to remember a few things. There are certain signs that they can lookout for which will indicate that a site is not as trustworthy as it first appears.

Bad reviews – The biggest indication as to whether a site is going to be trustworthy or not is the feedback it receives from fellow players. This does not mean the feedback received from professional reviews but rather what players are saying in the online slot community, the chances are that if a site is bad, they will have said.
Asks for personal information – One of the biggest indicators that a site is not to be trusted is what personal information it requests off of a player. If you join a site and it asks uncomfortable questions about your personal life, beyond what is necessary, the chances are that the site is fraudulent and should be reported to the relevant authorities.
Not verified – A slot game which is not verified by the appropriate authorities, such as the gamblign commission, can be big trouble for players. This is because the slot game may not work for players, if it is riddled with glitches how can it payout appropriate amounts to players. Make sure that every slot game you use has been verified by the appropriate authorities and comes from a reputable developer.

Lookout for

When choosing a slot game, there are several things that players can lookout for which will indicate that the slot is trustworthy. The following are some of the major things to try to spot.

• Developers – A good way to find out if a slot is trustworthy is by looking at who developed it. The chances are that if you haven’t heard of the slot developer, the game will not be legitimate. Always google a developer before using a game to make sure that they are actually real.

• Quality features – If a slot game has good features, such as nice bonuses and great graphics, the chances are that they are trustworthy. This is because these are expensive to produce, they are something only legit developers would be able to do.

Final Thoughts

When choosing your slot game, make sure they were made by a reputable developer and are independently verified by the gambling commission.

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Accelerate Innovation with a Digital Integration Hub

January 25, 2022

At one time or another, businesses require massive digital transformation to help improve services. The business may decide to create entirely new or improve its existing digital processes. It is one of the best ways to transform business systems, workflow, processes, culture, and operations.

Unfortunately, there is a persistent challenge when it comes to devising compatibility and coordination. Some digital technologies fail to become compatible with others but the digital integration hub can help solve this challenge in different ways.

What is the importance of digital integration in digital transformation?

Digital integration means the ability to read any type of electronic device or to manipulate it on another through the standard format. It helps leverage the effectiveness of digital media and technology to provide customers with better value and relevance. The digital integration hub, on the other hand, helps with connecting multiple data stores on the cloud and on-premise. It consolidates business operational data providing low latency through a highly advanced apps infrastructure.

Businesses need to carry out their digital transformation journey in phases and priority order. The business must consider adopting newer technologies as a priority. Managers cannot perform a total digital transformation if they do not understand how their current digital infrastructure is built and the reasons why the business requires an overhaul in its digital platforms.

It would be of no use if the managers installed new digital devices that cannot be read by other electronic devices due to compatibility issues. This is why digital integration is important in digital transformation.

Solving data processing challenges

After the digital integration process is complete, the business solves one part of the problem but it still has to deal with another challenge. It is now able to collect data from multiple sources both internally and externally but the challenge is that the data cannot be processed because it is not readily available.

For a business to make use of such data, it must keep making different API calls for each data action required. This is becoming a difficult time for the business due to the complexities of data processing procedures that cannot be done in real-time. Processes such as digital payment solutions become extremely difficult for the business.

The best way to solve this challenge is to use a digital integration hub to create a common data type aggregated from multiple sources for real-time access by users. This is regardless of whether the users are internal or external. By syncing data from multiple sources, the digital integration hub eliminates the need to keep making several API calls every time it needs to process certain data.

How the digital integration hub supports innovation

A digital integration hub is one of the best tools to support a business in its digital transformation strategies. DIH works effectively with different API layers to support the latest online applications. Sometimes a business might require upgrading its systems to hybrid integration to help them take advantage of its sensitive data and on-premise information that cannot be migrated to the public cloud. In such instances, the DIH effectively supports such hybrid deployments. Due to DIH’s high data integration capabilities, it helps in analytics and fast big data management that enables real-time reporting on transactional data.

Nowadays, there is a need for businesses to keep a fast innovation pace for new digital applications. These are applications that can be used on different devices to deliver customer-oriented services. Business managers must work harder to ensure that each new application delivers its intended purpose seamlessly. If it fails to deliver, the effect on the business can be devastating.

Unfortunately, most applications do not deliver maximum performance due to the type of architectures they operate on. They perform poorly, making the innovation team go back to the drawing board at a time the problem is not the application but the architecture.

The digital integration hub comes into play at this point. Its architecture allows businesses to introduce new applications that provide different types of services to customers. Its capability to perform multiple tasks allows new digital apps to work through its API. Due to this advantage, businesses can innovate more by creating more apps for delivering greater value to customers. They launch new customer-oriented digital services with better performance that improve customer experience.

The traditional way of integrating newer technologies makes the processes too complex but in the DIH, all complexities are reduced to simple processes. The systems do not suffer from too much workload or security issues due to the DIH advanced capabilities. In the end, businesses save on operational costs, especially for maintaining their systems.

What DIH can help businesses to achieve

The DIH can help businesses achieve many things at super speeds. Businesses can consistently replicate data in real-time. They can deploy new programs or services fast and in the most effective way. They can use DIH to achieve super-fast data processing time and increase ingestion speed.

Using multiple cloud and hybrid infrastructures, a business can certify its compatibility with its systems. The technology seamlessly responds to any issues resulting from slowing systems and thus improves user experience. Business managers can tell if an app supports higher users’ concurrency.

Real use cases for the digital integration hub

The DIH is a highly flexible system that is known to perform super-fast. Due to these properties, many businesses use them for various reasons. The primary use is in scaling technology where businesses can deal with large volumes of data without affecting performance. DIH can handle petabytes of data, process it fast without affecting speed.

A large number of businesses collect data through data sensors. It is easy to collect data through this method but integrating it with data from other sources becomes a challenge. Sensor data is required to perform real-time processes but users need to keep performing API calls now and then. The DIH helps store data in the cache to make it accessible fast any time it is required. DIH helps with data analytics and integration to enhance the management of huge data. Businesses report in real-time, thanks to capabilities provided by DIH.

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