Giving Cryptocurrency as a Gift for Loved Ones: Seriously?

December 2, 2021

We all love receiving gifts on birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, and other special occasions. But as the famous maxim goes, there’s a different kind of feeling when you’re the one giving. If this holds true for you, then here’s a great idea: you can now give cryptocurrency as a gift to the one you dearly love. Head on to some of the popular crypto trading sites with expert help such as Coinbase and Bitcoin Evolution.

This is good news among crypto holders as they don’t have to look anywhere else to make someone feel loved and appreciated. They could simply credit or transfer their virtual money to another, and, voila, it makes the whole celebration a lot easier and more meaningful.

Once the recipient gets a certain amount of crypto as a gift, they can use this to shop for items online. The asset may also be used to start crypto trading if that’s what they wish to do. There are plenty of choices that anyone can make out of crypto gifts.

No more extra expenses on gift wraps, just little fees in money transfer transactions. While this is just beginning to become a trend nowadays, many people are now doing it on one or more occasions. The blockchain technology that operates crypto networks offers broad possibilities, and allowing virtual currency as a form of gift is a life-changing development.

Common Ways to Give Crypto as a Gift

There’s now an increasing number of e-commerce companies that accept cryptocurrencies as a method of payment. This allows consumers to shop and pay bills using virtual currencies or digital assets. In the near future, gift-giving cryptos might become a trend in many societies. Here are some of the common ways that you can give cryptos as a gift to your loved ones.

Gift Cards

Various websites are now selling cryptocurrency as gift cards. If you prefer this option, you can look for a reliable company that offers advantages to their customers. A provider with good consumer reviews and allows secure and convenient transactions is usually preferable. The process would normally include paying a certain amount of gift cards, and you’ll be given a corresponding product. The recipient can redeem the gift by going to the same company and entering the details displayed on the card.

Crypto Exchanges

Another way to give cryptocurrency as a gift is through an exchange. But before you can make use of this choice, you’ll first need to choose a specific platform, register an account, and decide on a payment method. When you’re already part of it, the digital assets that you bought and hold can then be sent to the recipient’s wallet address. It’s that simple, but choosing an ideal exchange that suits your needs is important. You might be able to earn some practical advantages with the right choice in the market.

Choosing the Best Cryptocurrency as a Gift

Over 6,000 cryptocurrencies are now circulating in the market, which makes choosing one more challenging than ever. It helps to consider what experts think about the matter if you’re clueless or confused. As general advice, it is ideal to opt for the mainstream choice that has an established reputation, like Bitcoin, Ripple, or Ethereum. These cryptos may be more expensive than other variations, but they are nonetheless more popular and stable.

Likewise, you have to bear in mind that cryptocurrencies are high-risk investments. It is only crucial to review your options before buying one. When you do some research, you’ll be able to evaluate your prospects accordingly. You can check the white paper that contains all the essential information that you need to know about crypto projects. But if there’s a more valid basis, it’s probably the preference of the recipient of your gift. Try to know what the person wants to fulfill their wishes.

Are there Taxes Associated with Crypto Gifts?

Giving cryptocurrency as a gift to recipients is not usually a taxable transaction. The exception is when the transfer exceeds the gift tax allowance, in which case the Internal Revenue Service has to be notified when the asset is sold by the recipient who might earn capital gains or a capital loss. For instance, when the crypto gift is sold within one year at a profit, there is a short-term capital gain that will be taxed as an ordinary income. Beyond that period, however, it is considered as a long-term gain with lower tax rates.

In calculating the size of the gain, the amount paid by the donor is used. That means if crypto was purchased for $200 and then sold five years later for $600, then the recipient of the gift will have to pay taxes on $400 profit. On the other hand, losses can be used as deductions on the inverter’s tax return. However, a capital loss is only accepted if the asset was sold less than what it was originally valued. The IRS may also take the lower of the two amounts when there are issues on tax deductions.

How to Send Cryptocurrency to the Recipient

Generally, sending cryptos as gifts only requires pretty simple and easy steps. All you need to do is to log into your account, where you hold the virtual asset and then send a chosen amount to the recipient’s wallet address. Because QR codes are used in the process, you no longer have to worry about inputting the characters and bank account numbers. This eliminates the risk of making typo errors. The transaction can only take from seconds to a few minutes to complete. However, this may entail some transaction fees, which are imposed to cover the expenses in validating information on the blockchain.

Final Thoughts!

As technology is evolving in various industries, so too are consumer preferences. With the crypto market now allowing users to give their assets as a gift, many people can now enjoy quicker and more convenient transactions. Before going through the process, however, make sure that you understand the procedures and other information that entails some fees. This experience might prove advantageous to both the givers and recipients. You’ll know when you give it a try.

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The Best Tools To Help You Better Onboard New Employees

December 2, 2021

Every organization wants to get its new hires settled in as quickly and as better as possible. This requires new hires to quickly become familiar with the peers in the company and the responsibilities assigned to them. Getting a workable onboarding process for different departments is highly valuable to this process.

So what does the term onboarding mean? Onboarding is a Human Resource (HR) term that refers to the phases of introducing a new employee into a company and its values. As soon as the new hire accepts the job offer in writing, the following onboarding phases begin:

Hiring procedures
Orientation to the company’s facility layout and personnel
Introduction to colleagues.
Training for the specific role
Handover process from a form outgoing colleague or department
Provision of tools and equipment they need to fulfill their roles
Access levels to software, programs, selected departments, and so on.

The above phases show that onboarding a new hire includes the HR team, the IT team, the finance team, and the departmental team or coordinator. Thus, which are the tools that ease the onboarding of new employees?

Consider a few:

Onboarding Software for Human Resources

GoCo onboarding software

This software does not change the way you work or your collaborators. GoCo is an all-in-one platform used by HR teams. Its easy-to-use features support HR and IT teams to customize the software features according to their existing onboarding procedures, strategies, and partnerships. GoCo onboarding software suits the remote work environment because it caters to online processes.

Onboarding Software for Training

The new norm of having remote and hybrid workers makes it necessary for organizations to find ways for online pieces of training. As a business entrepreneur, you can use cloud communication software tools for real-time training. However, other online products allow you to build lessons that your new hire can easily complete.

Lessonly training software

Lessonly makes it possible for its clients to create specific e-lessons for different departmental teams. An organization trainer can customize the training to include images, text, documents, quizzes, training videos, and more.

MentorCliQ

MentorCliq is a mentoring software that enables a new hire to have a 1-1 mentor on job-specific tasks. The mentor and mentee connect through any communication and conferencing platform. These platforms provide a unique virtual mentoring for onboarding new hires.

Onboarding Tool for Project Management

With the ever-growing remote teams, you want to keep your finger on the ongoing progress of each project. Cloud-based project management tools such as Basecamp support you in monitoring your team and projects. Basecamp enables you to store and share files in an organized folder. It also allows you to assign tasks to your existing team and new hires, making their onboarding experience easier.

Onboarding Tool for Project Communication

For any organizational process, communication is the key element for success. Onboarding a new member requires information on tasks, documents, who they will collaborate with to complete tasks, and what they need to complete before set deadlines. Microsoft Teams enables teams to cooperate in workspaces in real-time communication, work assignments, and application sharing. New workers can ask questions, work collaboratively with their team members, and quickly assimilate into their new work environment.

Conclusion

Onboarding tools help to guide and streamline the process for inducting a new employee into a company. These tools assist the new hire to settle into their position and begin producing work as soon as possible to meet the company deadlines. The selection of onboarding tools lies with the company’s decision-makers. The business’ departments analyze what they need in terms of cloud-based software solutions that can help them streamline the process for onboarding remote and office workers.

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When Should You Hit at Blackjack?

December 2, 2021

One of the reasons that blackjack has remained such a massively popular card game for so long is its simplicity. Anyone can get to grips with the rules and start playing.

The most important aspect of blackjack for any player to understand is when to hit and when to stand, so what are the different situations to take into account?

An Overall Look at Blackjack Strategy

Basic blackjack strategy is the term used to describe how you decide when to hit or stand, depending upon the cards that have been dealt. This information might sound quite complex, but you can quickly get up to speed by looking at the charts that break it all down for you.

By carrying out basic strategy, you aren’t guaranteeing that you will win every time you play. But you will be making sure that you are giving yourself the best possible chance of success. The RTP figure listed for blackjack games is based on players using this sort of strategy.

Remember that you want to get as close as possible to 21 without going over it, but the real key is in beating the dealer. Even a modest hand can be a winner if the dealer goes bust or has to stand on a lower total than yours.

The Toughest Hands to Play

It is clear that you don’t want to hit on a hand like 19 or 20. You have a good chance of winning with this sort of total, while asking for another card increases your risk of going bust. Therefore, standing is a smart move according to the mathematical aspect of blackjack.

At the opposite end of the scale, you won’t have too much trouble total deciding to hit on a low total where another card won’t see you go bust. If you have something 4, 5 or 6 in your hand the only decent thing to do is ask for another card.

This leaves us those tricky hands in the middle, where you run the risk of going bust but feel that the total is probably too low to win with. This covers the range of numbers from about 12 to 17, and this is the sort of hand where most inexperienced players struggle to make the right decisions.

The first thing you need to do is look to see if you have an ace in your hand. It’s great news if you do, as this card counts as either 1 or 11, making it a lot more difficult for your hand to go bust. Hands with aces in them that can be counted as 11 without going over 21 are called soft hands.

Therefore, you can be more aggressive and hit with a soft hand than with a hard hand that has no ace in it. This is most clearly seen on hands like 15 and 16, where having an ace lets you ask for another card with confidence.

Just in case you are looking for an online place to play, bovada.lv offers live blackjack if you want to try these strategies.

Another area that players often fail to take into account is the dealer’s face-up card. If they have a strong card like an ace or one with a value of 10 then their chances of getting blackjack is higher. This means that you are best being more aggressive and hitting rather than settling for a low total.

Advanced Strategies

All of the advice we have looked at so far is contained in the basic blackjack strategies that you can find online. A quick glance at a strategy chart lets you see what you should do in each situation, which makes playing this game so much easier.

However, there are also some more advanced strategies that you can use to increase your prospects of a win. These are called splitting and doubling down, which give you useful alternatives to hitting in certain circumstances.

Splitting is carried out when you have two cards of the same value and create a couple of separate hands with them. The best example of how this can work is with a 16 made up of a pair of 8s. This is a difficult hand to win with, but 2 hands that each have an 8 in them is a lot more promising.

If you have 2 aces then this isn’t as good a hand as it initially appears, as it adds up to either 12 or 2. Yet, if you split them out this gives you a couple of chances at getting blackjack by then receiving a card worth 10.

Doubling down is a tactic you can use to double your bet, but you then only get a single card to add to your hand. This is something you will do when you have a good total, and preferably if you have an ace in your hand.

By using these strategies, you will make the right decision on when to hit more often, which will improve your chances of winning money overall.

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Small Business Invoicing: 5 Tips to Save Time With Your Invoicing

December 2, 2021

What is the value of your outstanding invoices? For US small businesses, the average owed is $84,000. This adds up to about $825 billion in unpaid invoices for American small businesses.

This is a staggering amount of money to leave on the table for a small business. If you have too many outstanding invoices, the problem may not be with your clients. It could be with your small business invoicing.

Try implementing these five tips to improve and save time with your business invoicing.

1. Automate

The easiest method for speeding up the invoicing process is to stop manually doing everything. Start using software to automate the invoicing process. Look for an invoice management system that can handle the entire process from start to finish.

An invoice generator with business invoice templates will streamline the invoice creation process. This could include an in-progress or project completion invoice. You can also schedule reoccurring invoices to automatically go out on a particular date for clients with whom you have an ongoing relationship.

Some systems can also send out invoice reminders for unpaid invoices and accept payments. Having reminders go out automatically reduces the manual oversight required while also increasing monthly cash flow and reducing outstanding invoices.

2. Enlist Help

As the business owner, it’s tempting to think you should handle all of the invoicing. However, as your business grows, this becomes impossible. Hire someone with invoicing experience.

This streamlines the process because it takes the task off of your plate. It also becomes optimized when you empower your employee to utilize their knowledge of how to write invoices to improve your systems.

3. Don’t Wait

Prepare a business invoice as soon as you complete a job. Don’t wait to send the invoice because this only delays the entire process. The sooner you send the invoice, the sooner your client will make payment.

Integrate your invoicing software with the rest of your business systems. This ensures you know as soon as possible when you can invoice.

4. Go Electronic

The most common business invoicing advice is to make paying your invoice as easy as possible. The easier it is, the sooner and more likely your client will pay it. Email is the fastest delivery method.

Many invoice management systems will include a “pay now” button in the email. Once clicked, the payee can enter their credit card or bank account information. Thus, the client pays the invoice right away, and there’s no risk of the invoice getting lost before they have a chance to pay it.

5. Use Templates

Using templates can streamline the invoicing process by having ready-made forms that you simply fill out. All of your templates should have your business information and branding already included.

Then you can make templates for each client. If you have common products or services, you can have them programmed with their prices. Then it’s a simple matter of saving a new invoice and inserting preprogrammed information.

Improve Your Small Business Invoicing

By implementing these five tips, you can improve your small business invoicing. Focus on finding a management system that can automate the process with templates and scheduling. Then enlist help with skilled employees to take the load off.

Check out our other articles for more helpful business advice when managing your finances.

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Outcomes from China’s 6th Plenum – Buyer Beware?

December 2, 2021

By Andre Wheeler

Much of the commentary around China’s 6^th Plenum outcomes has seen Xi Jinping elevated to supreme leader for life, elevating him to a position in the history of China that is comparable to Mao and Deng. His leadership and vision are glorified as is “given” supreme authority to guide China to greatness in the new Asian Century. This narrative has been accepted by several governments and organisations, such as the EU, with a rapid realignment of the seven-member group the EU’s special committee on foreign interference mission to Taipei.

Has all this hype not just a smokescreen to hide what is happening in the geo-political background in China? Has Xi Jinping become a divisive figure within the Party noting that being a divisive figure is not new to Party machinations? There is an element of truth and certainty as the Party is a master at using deflection and obfuscation to mask issues within its ranks.

Where does this claim of a convenient smokescreen come from? It starts with the official communique. The joint statement has several key indicators that all is not as unified as the propaganda machine wants the broader public to belief. Identifying these indicators and background moves suggests that business needs to tread a very careful path, adopting a cautious “Buyer Beware” stance when engaging with China in 2022.

If Xi Jinping had been elevated to “Leader for Life” why did the communique not, simply say that. Rather it is at pains to say that Xi Jinping has won approval to have his leadership extended. Whilst extoling the positive benefits that he has brought to China, such as significantly reducing poverty, embedded in the document are indicative nuances that his position was achieved through compromise. To understand these nuances, business needs to be aware of the emerging tensions between key factions within the Party, particularly the Shanghai faction led by Jiang Zemin. This came to a head on October 2, with Xi Jinping admitting in a press briefing, that there is indeed a power struggle. The briefing went on to clearly identify that the “disruptor” was the Shanghai faction led by Jiang.

There is a significant shift in tone between October 2^nd and the official communique coming out of the 6^th Plenum. The language has changed, with the communique devoting a lengthy paragraph talking of the two Shanghai factions’ leaders’ contribution to the policy history and direction of the Party. Noteworthy is the apparent concession that the Party has followed Jiang and Hu strategies of injecting state funding into infrastructure and real estate to improve GDP numbers. The paragraph goes onto to praise them for assisting in implementing Deng’s economic policy of opening China to the international community. This is in stark contrast to them being as being a poisonous influence on the Party on October 2^nd as well as confrontation between Zhang Gaoli and Xi Jinping on the eve of the Plenum. More detail can be found in the discussion around the Peng Shuai sexual harassment claims later in the piece.

Prior to the 6^th Plenum there was a push to rewrite China and the Party’s history that would effectively write Deng’s contributions out of Chinese history. By way of example, Xi Jinping spoke of Mao being misguided with regards the Cultural Revolution as opposed to the 1978 Declaration under Deng that the Cultural Revolution was a disaster, and that truth needs to remain. Prior to the meeting, Xi Jinping was said to be changing the narrative around Mao, challenging Deng’s pronouncements that the Cultural revolution was a disaster and replacing it with the softer narrative that Mao had merely misdirected the application of socialism.

Running in tandem was the narrative that Deng’s policy based on “trickle-down economics” was a mistake as well as revising historical texts that removed references to the dangers of one – man rule. All of these would effectively write Deng out of China’s history.

There are several reasons why Xi Jinping wanted Deng’s influence curtailed, particularly the internal Party disquiet around claims in the Resolution that Xi Jinping had improved the country’s governance systems. Not only are Xi Jinping’s actions ignoring Deng’s dictum of “taking a low profile and never taking the lead”, but there is also a growing dissatisfaction within the politburo that China has returned to Mao style governance. The creation of a one voice chamber – one man, Xi Jinping, making all the decisions. This policy detour is understandable when you consider that he socialized within such a system, with his political precepts grounded in Leninist power politics, hence moving away from the Party’s ban on cult personality cultivation.

Dissatisfaction is such that Xi has a new nickname, “Chairman of Everything”. He is accused of not allowing broad politburo and Party consultation with fellow leaders before making key decisions. It is said that Xi Jinping has sought to re-centralize power away from Politburo consensus to decisions made by a paramount leader. Party factions are worried that world history is now on new tracks under Xi Jinping and its destination more uncertain. Examples of this trend include the side lining of Jack Ma and preventing Ant Corporation from listing. Included in this politburo realignment is the current crackdown on technology companies and associated data exchange protections.

There is understandable tension between Xi Jinping and Deng’s legacy, particularly as there is a history of conflict between the two families dating back to the clash between Xi Jinping’s father and Deng’s. This clash resulted in Xi’s father being sidelined politically, essentially ending his career in obscurity. Xi Jinping was not going to make the mistakes of his father who had failed to galvanize political support, challenging Deng individually and without a clear strategy.

Given this context, the official 6^th Plenum Communique appears to have been drafted to placate the growing support for the Deng faction, led by Deng’s son. This explains why the communique reversed Xi Jinping’s wish to soften criticism of Mao and confirmed Mao’s Cultural revolution as a disaster.

Further evidence of Xi Jinping trying to placate internal dissent is his post plenum references to being a “servant of the people “and “happy to be a nobody”. This is taken as a direct attempt by him to be seen to be adhering to the Deng policy framework that a leader should show humility.

This “humility “highlights the inflection point reached within the CCP and to redress the claims made through nickname of being “Chairman of Everything”. Either Xi Jinping is using this to deflect his critics so that he can hold onto power for a longer period, or he is preparing the groundwork for a soft handover of power as seen with Hua Guofeng.

Whilst there appears to consensus that the Party is using the Beijing Olympics as cover for these internal rifts, there are two issues that may well undo these plans. Both will have a direct impact on international business within China.

The first of these is the international debate around the “disappearance” of tennis player Peng Shuai. There is still controversy as to the timing of her claims of sexual harassment against Zang, but what is emerging is that Zang is an important influencer over both the Shanghai Faction as well as Xi Jinping.

Zhang is not just a protégé of Jiang Zemin and Zeng Qinghong. He is linked to leading business figures, including Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing. His daughter married the son of Lee Yin Yee, a wealthy Hong Kong businessman, closely connected to state land deals with groups including Evergrande and Fantasia. These are among China’s most heavily indebted property groups, both headquartered in Shenzhen, and now battling for survive. Whilst Zhang is not considered a rival to Xi, his broader network of relationships might now prove pivotal to his Xi’s future, particularly his loyalty to Jiang Zemin.

It has been suggested by some that Peng was promised protection from persecution when raising Zhang’s sexual impropriety, as the timing was to remove a “deal maker” for Xi, thus weaking his grip on power. Many have raised the question of why Zhang did not fall foul of Xi’s corruption crackdown, and why it was Peng that felt the consequences.

There is also the interesting narrative surrounding the Peng Shuai incident. Professor Yuan Hongbing in a recent interview with Vision Secret China has claimed that there was a fierce power struggle in play prior to the 6^th Plenum. In particular, Zang Gaoli (the accused) was said to have stood up to Xi’s attempts to openly criticize Jiang Zemin’s time and policies to establish his new era of authority within the CCP. Xi is said to use the Peng Shuai affair as a warning and a means to silence Zang. What Xi failed to understand that this strategy essentially aimed at the domestic audience, would gain international attention. An important consequence of this incident has seen the CCP Police Head, Zhao Kezhi, being removed from his position. His mishandling of the “warning messages” meant that Xi and his supporters have been caught short. They have not been able to contain the fallout outside of China. With threats of a form of boycott against the Beijing Olympics, the truce between the warring factions based on a post-Olympic timeline, may well erupt into an all-out purging of the Party.

However, the bigger issue in terms of business and China is Taiwan. The issue goes to the heart of the One China Policy and the precept that the CCP represents all Chinese people. Not only has the policy failed to “reunite” Taiwan, but it has also moved the accepted “strategic ambiguity” narrative around Taiwan to direct interference and interaction. To harness rising domestic Nationalism, Xi and the CCP has become strident in their attacks on anyone seen to be supportive of an independent Taiwan. These threats are now being commercially weaponised, with the current attacks being particularly focussed on bringing Taiwan’s economy to its knees. Business needs to be aware that if they are seen to be supporting the Taiwan President, Tsai Ing-Wen and the DPP in any way, shape or form, there will be direct punitive economic and commercial sanctions by the CCP. This could include increased tariffs or simply denied access to the wider China market. Many corporates should be assessing all their Taiwan business and develop potential contingencies to cope with any potential fallout.

At a Geo-Political level, members of the CPTTP need to assess China’s behaviour around Taiwan and whether it is consistent with the international rule of law. Based on observations and comments from member countries to the CPTTP, China’s current behaviour does not warrant them gaining acceptance. This could be a significant catalyst to leadership change in the CCP.

Initially using the Olympic games in 2022 as a watershed moment for Xi Jinping to change his current trajectory or step aside, this may all happen earlier than expected. Whilst it is difficult to predict the magnitude and kind of changes that will happen, it can be said that 2020 will be a turbulent year for China. Business needs to prepare itself for this and have scenario based contingency plans in place to navigate these turbulent waters.

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About the Author

Andre Wheeler is the CEO of Asia Pacific Connex with more than 20 years’ experience in international business, with a diverse network throughout the USA, Asia, SE Asia , Africa and the United Kingdom. Holding a B. Science (Hons) degree and an MBA, he is currently working towards his Doctorate on the Impact of the China One Belt One Road initiative. Andre has expertise in oil/gas, construction, marine services and mining.

Shipping and the Digital Integration Required by China’s Belt Road Initiative

December 2, 2021

By Andre Wheeler

Beijing’s Digital Silk Road initiative runs contrary to many data sharing platform projects around the world, something shipping will have to grapple with in the coming years. Andre Wheeler investigates.

There has been tremendous progress with regards smart port / shipping developments in recent times. What is heartening has been the progress with development of common data standards and the number of port ecosystems that have progressed data sharing platform and associated APIs that allow secure data transfer.

The architecture is increasingly in place, setting the standard for exchanging data. Further progress in this digital space comes out of the Port of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. It has taken a significant step forward in data integration operating systems. Based on DP World’s terminal operating system and its operations and planning systems it has integrated these with the backend Navis N4 software platform. This optimisation of the operating systems will help DP World progress automation activities and real time location systems.

Whilst these developments are welcome, the issue that is not being directly addressed is how will this interface with China’s Belt Road (BRI) and Digital Silk Road (DSR). Have these developments taken account of the current megatrend coming out of China, namely the growing influence of China’s Digital Silk Road (DSR) on supply chain and trade. This important trend sees China creating a single digital platform that seamlessly integrates all trade along the BRI.

At first glance the DSR looks relatively benign as all global supply chain and logistics providers are working towards this seamless digital integration goal. There are significant and obvious benefits to this level of digital integration, particularly seamless data and information transfer between trading entities that would speed up trade across regional borders. Access to a central database reduces time and backlog constraints commonly found in the current manually driven documentation exchange such as Bill of Lading, Letters of Credit, and custom clearance. This trade Nirvana has still a long way to go.

The open system approach by the West to the digitisation and creation of smart trade and supply chains through data / systems integration, has progressed. Despite the building of data exchange networks, the slow implementation and agreement around data standards has been made problematic by the independent data silos found in this open digital network. Whilst the move from EDI data exchange to API exchanges focus on cyber security concerns through the incorporation of effective cyber security protocols, China is well ahead in its ambition to create a closed integrated and seamless ‘smart’ trade ecosystem that it controls from Beijing. Its closed data aggregation platform is the envy of others, but poses significant trade, transport and supply chain security questions for those seeking to diversify trade outside of China and its BRI.

This is fundamentally changing the way trade is conducted with China. The DSR platform is charged with co-ordinating and facilitating digital integration of all providers that conduct trade along the BRI regional ecosystem. In simple terms, it takes the discussion away from the idea of smart ports and/or cities and looks instead to creating a digital regional trade ecosystem. The DSR is a platform constructed along a single digital spine and skeleton, essentially owned, and controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. Key data is centrally stored, disseminated, and controlled by a state instrument in Beijing rather than in neutrally accessible data warehouses or cloud-based data storage.

This is disrupting current digital developments being undertaken by the maritime sector. This is especially important when one considers that the merge points of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road are largely ports. The core component of the strategy around these merge points is the development of physical infrastructure within a digital framework. Increasingly we see China’s applying pressure on all international trade to comply with and connect with its digital framework to trade with China.

Strategically, China is re-aligning trade such that it increasingly enforces participants to comply with China’s IT standards. The DSR is increasingly playing a central role in the development of a comprehensive package that includes policy dialogue, financial support, unimpeded trade, and people-to-people exchange. This ‘team China’ approach is to have all end user devices/services interfacing along a central/common digital infrastructure corridor that includes cloud-based platforms.

There are several indicators that China is becoming more robust in encouraging global shipping to dock into their platform. An example of this has been the introduction of the Data Security Law and Personal Information Protection Law that effectively shut western users access to AIS data based on national security. In some cases, shipping lost up to 90% AIS data access impacting on the visibility of vessels within China’s waters.

A further concern is China’s recent steps to replace US / Western technology with homegrown suppliers. Known as the Xinchuang whitelist it gives Beijing leverage to replace foreign tech firms in sensitive sectors. They have already forced Amazon Web Service and Microsoft to set up joint ventures to operate with China’s mainland. The Xinchuang committee is overseen by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the China Electronics Standardization Association. This should raise red flags for the likes of the Port of Jeddah which relies on the US-based Navis OS.

Another concern is the Cybersecurity Administration of China draft rules for data transfer on October 29, 2021. Under the heading of ‘Outbound Data Transfer Security Assessment Measures’ it lists 18 articles of assessment. Article 4 of the measures would require all outward data transmission to undergo transfer security assessments. Article 16 goes further by allowing the state cybersecurity department to unilaterally “cancel” outward data transfer and sharing activities. Sadly, it does not specify what data constitutes a “risk to national security” and as such we could possibly find greater disruption that recently experienced when international shipping was denied access to China AIS data.

What is no longer in question is no longer if technology will be used in Chinese backed ports, but when will it be no longer possible for global maritime trade to operate outside of China’s DSR, this ceding control and ownership of data to Beijing. Huawei’s Smart Port solution focuses on four key areas: custom clearance, visualised collaborative command, convenient clearance systems and port management. Locked into the Logink data aggregation platform, it uses Big Data, AI, and cloud computing to offer an attractive proposition for busy ports.

This raises strategic questions, particularly as to how European shipping and technology companies can compete.

Is it possible for Application Programming Interface (API) and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) standards that would allow differing operating data systems to securely communicate with China’s DSR? Can the recent Build Back Better infrastructure initiative recently introduced by the G7 offer a viable infrastructure / digital alternative to China’s BRI – how can this be leveraged?

What is becoming clear is that in the short to medium term, it is increasingly evident is that to trade with China will require incorporation into their DSR.

The article was first published on the Splash247 website.

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About the Author

NFT Marketing Guide – 2021

December 2, 2021

NFTs have been in the market for over a decade now, but they only got people’s attention lately. They have been widely welcomed by art lovers, gamers, collectors, and business giants. NFTs are considered digital assets that enable traders to trade digital artwork on an NFT platform with cryptocurrencies. The crucial part of NFTs is that they are not mutually interchangeable. Any art in a digital format can be tokenized into an NFT. They include popular video clips, films, sports trading cards, fashion, video game skins, memes, gifs, tweets, digital artworks, collectibles, intellectual property, digital property, and so on. NFTs have the potential to represent tangible assets as well. Minting rare NFTs is an essential part of the business because they have the potential to be purchased for a tremendous amount of money.

Non-fungible tokens have shared its time in the hall of fame. NFTs exploded in social media in the year 2020 and found their place on the bandwagon train. After the success of Beeple’s artwork, several companies witnessed the massive potential NFTs had in their businesses. NFT marketplaces were becoming popular too. An NFT marketplace is a digital platform where users can sell, buy, trade, and store NFTs. On the NFT marketplace, users can list an unlimited number of their NFTs for an auction. The buyer can purchase the NFTs through bidding. NFTs can also be bought at a fixed price.

To stay relevant in the business, you need to keep experimenting with new ideas frequently. Developing a unique non-fungible token is the first and foremost step in the NFT business. To create an NFT, one needs to understand the trends, the market depth and explore non-fungible tokens from every possible perspective and angle. One of the reasons several corporate companies are rushing to invest in NFTs through an NFT Marketing Agency is because they are so versatile and valuable.

From a technical perspective, non-fungible token development must be highly secured with features like authenticity certificate or proof, security assurance in the transaction process, and identity proof. NFTs also has a commercial aspect. Several companies saw the potential NFTs had in marketing and advertising.

Why do you need NFT marketing services?

Marketing NFTs is just like marketing any other product, and it is not rocket science to understand the basics of NFT marketing. In this era of non-fungible tokens, an NFT marketing agency should develop its own NFT collections and are selling them on its digital NFT platforms. These NFT marketplaces are becoming popular because of their ease of use. NFT marketplace apps are finding their spot on the user’s mobile phone. With the rise of the NFTs, it is essential to be unique to stand out among the competitors. And for that, you need to market your NFTs in every possible creative way. Marketing your NFTs assists businesses in enhancing their relationship with their audience, drives customer engagement, creates brand awareness, generates revenue, and helps the company to flourish. Through marketing, you will be able to educate your customers, deliver your message and values.

Advertising your product is essential in the 21st century. Through advertising, you can build trust in the digital space, and only then will you be able to explore and expand the industry and ultimately increase your sales. You can gain credibility as long as you stay honest and transparent. With the help of social media, you will reach a massive number of people in a short period of time. Digital marketing has taken the spotlight in recent times. Digital marketing has a significant part in marketing your NFTs. It would help if you found all the possible ways to make the best use of all the tools that are now available to sell your product in the digital space.

NFT Marketing Strategies

Listed below are some of the innovative NFT marketing strategies that will organically help your business;

SEO — Finding the right keywords for your search engine optimization is a crucial part of marketing. Keywords will help your audience to search your NFT marketplaces easily.

Influencer marketing — In this digital age, influencer marketing is a growing and effective method to market your product to your audience. Influencers are trusted individuals on social media. Many people buy things only if their favorite influencer approves the product. Because social media audiences find these influencers relatable, their audience will be assured of product quality when they approve. So brands must discover the right influencers to market their NFTs. This will help them in gaining credibility among their target audience.

Community relations — Building a community for your brand should be your primary goal. For longevity in the market, brands must communicate with their audience and stakeholders about their values. Brands must strive to build a healthy and organic work culture. In this way, they gain their employees’ trust. Another way of communicating and building a community is through social media. In this digital age, social media plays a vital role in connecting with your audience. You must educate your audience about NFTs as much as you can on social media. Also, keep them updated about the trends in the current market and often get feedback from them about your services.

Email marketing — This strategy has been used by PRs and marketers for almost two decades, and still to this day, this strategy prevails. You can inform them about new product releases, get feedback, send them press releases about the significant launches or so through emails.

Feedback Sessions — Feedbacks are the main element that makes your communication two-way and not one-way. Brands will not be able to succeed, grow in the business or build a community without feedback from their customers and stakeholders. It is mandatory to have feedback sessions online or offline to understand the needs, wants, and demands of the people.

Collaborating with relevant businesses — This NFT marketing strategy is one of the appropriate and organic ways to market your NFT services. Collaborate with various industries; for instance, NFTs are major art, so you can collaborate with or sponsor art shows, music gigs, sports events, and several other relevant organizations that will help you gain more traffic.

Campaigns — Campaigns should be part of your NFT marketing checklist. Campaigns have been used as a PR strategy to educate the audience about various things. Campaigns have been used as a PR strategy to market products and services. Target your NFT audience; understand their needs, wants, demands and expectations and come up with a campaign relevant to that. This is a fun and effective way to grab their attention and to communicate with them. Also, Make maximum use of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn for your campaigns.

Conclusion

Marketing is an essential part of any business because, through marketing, you can let people know about the existence of your product or service. But marketing is not relatively easy, and it sounds, it needs thorough research, understanding, and economic analysis of the market. This will consume a lot of time, so the way to market your product is to find a company specializing in NFT marketing such as coinbound nft marketing agency. So all you have to do is find a company that has impressive and effective NFT marketing services.

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Why a Business Professional Needs a Brand Development Strategy

December 1, 2021

Mercedes, Nike, Toyota, Apple, Coca-Cola, and McDonald’s. What do these brands have in common? Without a doubt, all of them are powerful brands in their respective fields.

Many elements go into making a brand. It includes the product, positioning, voice, and audience. It also includes the emotional connection a brand builds with customers. It determines how they perceive your brand. It could be good, bad, or indifferent.

Brand Development What Is It?

Think about brand development as everything you do to establish brand equity. Brand equity refers to the impact a brand name has on the mind of consumers. It aims to influence how people perceive your brand which later on translates into commercial value.

Brand development is an important part of any business. A strong and recognizable brand can help a company stand out from its competition, and attract new customers. When it comes to developing a strong brand, you can’t go wrong with a reputable brand development agency. They can help you develop the best branding strategy, and create a brand image. By working with an experienced agency, you can be sure that your brand will reach its full potential.

Why You Need a Strong Brand Development Strategy

According to HypeLife Brands, trying to develop a brand without a strategy is like walking in the dark. You do not have a roadmap or blueprint to guide your activities in developing a strategy.

Start by understanding the company mission, vision, and positioning. With these, you can develop a brand personality, brand voice, and visual expression.

You must know Who you are and How you will speak to your audience. What visual elements like logos, fonts, and color palettes represent you? What are your beliefs? What is your purpose?

You also seek to answer the question, why. Why are you in the business? More importantly, why should your customers care about you?

Now, let’s discuss why you need a brand development strategy.

1. You Get To Know Your Brand Better

How do you sell your brand if you do not truly understand what it is in the first place? Remember, loyal customers, look beyond your products. They want to understand why your brand exists.

But how can you tell them if you also don’t know? Make sure you can answer the following questions and know them by heart.

What are your core values?
What solutions will you provide?
What do you want your customers to think about you?
How are you different from your competitors?

Upon answering all of these, you’ll be able to craft strategies that will help mold your customer’s perception of you.

2. It Helps With a Better Understanding of the Target Audiences

When coming up with the strategy, focus on who you need to be talking to. Develop customer profiles so that you can narrow down your target audiences. Research is a critical process because you will need the data to determine what your next step is.

Look at factors like what motivates your customers to buy. See how they interact with your brand. Check the psychological factors that allow them to connect with you. Ask yourself why customers will buy from you and not your competitors.

Let’s take the example of Chipotle. It targeted millennials by creating a fictional web series, complete with its music, website, and trivia. The company also released a video game on the iPhone. The idea was to generate curiosity about food and its sources.

They knew what would appeal to their target audience. It was about the experience and ability to participate in the campaign.

3. It Allows You to Establish a Brand Voice

Brand development is not only about conversions. You must build loyalty through authentic conversations. Your brand voice is the emotion or personality that accompanies all your communications. What kind of words and tones does your brand use?

What other unique personality traits set you apart from competitors. Look at it as a true embodiment of your personality. Think words like passionate, quality, authentic, dependable, fun, and understanding.

McDonald’s is about family, sharing, happy times, and good food. Mercedes has established itself as dependable, elegant, sophisticated, and elite.

Toyota is every man’s car. You may have seen the phrase ‘the car in front of you is always a Toyota’. Whether this is true or not, it is a phrase that many people associate with the brand.

4. You Attract Customers and Build Loyalty

The business landscape is competitive. Customers have access to so many brands and products. Capturing their attention can be very difficult. It gets worse when you’re trying to build loyalty.

Building customer loyalty to your brand will take years. One of the main components in building it is making sure that you bring high-quality products or services consistently. When people know that they can expect the best from you, they’ll easily keep coming back for more.

A strong brand name also works to connect at an emotional level. They make sure that they release relatable content to be able to achieve this. Once you capture them at this level, you stand higher chances of keeping them. You can achieve more leverage in the industry, thus putting you ahead of the competition.

Have you ever wondered how Coca-Cola managed to become one of the world’s most recognizable brands? Here are some tactics they have and continue to use.

They have remained consistent with their branding and visual expression. We all know the red and white color and the recognizable font. It ensures they maintain top of mind awareness amongst consumers ·
The brand appeals to what is important to customers. They push branding, not just their product. It is all about the lifestyle, togetherness, and family
It takes advantage of popular culture to maintain relevance. Coke’s main selling point revolves around sharing and happiness. Look at the advertising language. Words like happiness in a bottle evoke warm feelings, which are likely to sway customer perception.

4. You Improve Chances of Conversions

Imagine we have two sneakers. One is a knock off and another has the Nike logo. They could have similar features and are both relatively functional. But why is it that people have no problem paying the higher prices for Nike shoes?

The answer is quite simple. There is a strong association that customers build with such brands. The companies have managed to build a level of credibility. The credibility exists amongst their customers and the entire market.

For customers, it goes beyond just the product. For some, it’s the prestige that comes with having these products. They also have greater trust for the products, even if they do not have proof that they are more superior. It all comes down to the power of branding.

5. A Brand Development Strategy Helps With Decision-Making

A proper strategy incorporates tons of research and data collection. You look for information about the market, customers, competitors, and business environment. The insights you get will guide all the decision-making processes.

Let’s take the example of coming up with a marketing campaign. You achieve better targeting because you understand the customers’ pain points.

You communicate with them in the language that they understand. Furthermore, you provide solutions for their needs because you know what it is. Your chances of getting conversions become much higher.

Final Thoughts

Business professionals must have a brand development strategy. It helps position you in the competitive business world. Customers need more than a good product. You get more loyalty if they build a deep connection with your company.

Your strategy is the road map that will help you achieve your brand development goals. It is a long-term vision of where you want your business to be. Start by understanding your brand well. Next, research the target market to identify what they need so that you can provide a solution.

Remember. Even the recognizable brands had to go through the process. They will probably tell you that it took years to achieve brand recognition. But, with the right tactics and enough patience, it is achievable.

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UX vs UI: How They Work Together in Web Design

December 1, 2021

What is web designing? This is a web development process that focuses on factors like user interface and layout to reflect a company’s brand. It refers to the user experience aspect while embracing various skills in the production and maintenance of websites.

Some of the reasons why your company needs a website are as follows:

They set your client’s first impression of your brand
They aid your SEO strategy
They ensure there’s consistency across your page
They set the impression for customer service
They build trust with the target audience

Getting a web design agency is difficult especially because of the growing number of web design agencies. An experienced and well-established agency should provide details of their past projects. They should also be familiar with the latest design trends in order to create a responsive website.

Keep in mind that the website will be representing you online. It will also be your potential customer’s first interaction with your brand. That is why you have to find a good web designer from the best website design company. Search more about the top design agencies in the world.

Some of the best website designing companies are:

Deloitte digital web designing company in New York
Razorfish web designing company in Massachusetts
North Kingdom web designing company in Sweden
Grey Global Group in New York

A good web design firm must have professional web designers. They must be able to meet their client’s expectations by realizing his or her vision. The professionals must listen to the client’s ideas and bring more exciting ideas to the table. They must understand that content is key and have a portfolio of live websites for client review.

A strong social media presence is also an indicator of good website designing companies.

Once your website is ready and your business is up and running, the next step should be to think about the product. Think about how UX and UI designers can work together to create a good product.

So what is user experience? It refers to the quality of the end-user’s interaction with a product or service. This includes how users can navigate a product, the ease of use, and the relevance of the displayed content.

User interface refers to the process of anticipating the user’s needs and making sure the interface has elements that are easy to access.

While UX designers decide how the user interface will work, UI designers determine how the user interface will look.

Web designers use the information gotten from the work done by UX and UI designers to make a website functional. This should be one that potential customers can interact with using a web browser.

It’s possible to have a web designer who is also a UI or a UX designer. However, web designers think more about the conditionals and tasks. They think in terms of code and content management systems and how to implement designs for the web.

UX and UI teams design and build products. On the other hand, web designers take care of introducing and selling that product to users through the website. They get information about the product and brand, and package it in a way that will educate customers and get them interested in the product.

How UX And UI Work Together

It’s no secret that UX design and UI design are important in creating a successful and quality product. But, you have to dig deeper to understand their differences. It’s also necessary to know how UX and UI complement each other to impact the complete development of a product.

Here’s a look into how both UX and UI complement each other.

1. The Discussion Procedure

It’s important to discuss with all your teams every time you introduce a new product. The teams to be included in the discussion are as follows:

The company’s CTO
The web design team
UI designers
UX designers

During the discussion, it’s the responsibility of UX designers to analyze the feasibility of the idea. The user interface designer’s role is to carry out research and share with the teams. They provide information on what users would like to have in the product and so on.

All teams must discuss and analyze before launching anything new. It helps to save time and money.

2. Research in UX and UI Design Processes

What follows next is for UX and UI designers to talk about the scope of the project. They are also supposed to plan the work expected in the project.

Research continues by UI designers finding out the user’s behavior, possible problems, responses, and demands. They gather data and conduct analysis through interviews, surveys, and focus groups. The type of project, target publics, their needs, and available budget determines the data that gets collected.

It’s important to know whether users will love the new product or feature. It’s also crucial to know the kind of user experience they’ll get from the product.

3. Presentation of Findings

Results get presented to the design team once UX and UI designers have completed their research.

To come up with a strategy that leads to the development of specific UI and UX design, specific requirements of the client are considered. Results from the UI design team and suggestions from UX designers are also considered.

In the past, UX and UI designers constructed designs based on assumptions. Now they have to conduct research to aid with the production of quality products.

4. Design Testing

After a long period of discussions, research, and creation of the product, it becomes ready for use. The next stage is to find out what the user thinks of the product. At first, the product is only made available to a few users. The design testing is then conducted either on the internet or in person.

The teams then receive feedback from the users about the product. They get to find out about the ease of use and other factors regarding the product. The feedback determines whether changes are needed to the UI design or the UX design.

The teams must prioritize the users’ likes and dislikes when making the changes.

5. Deriving Final Design and Implementation

The final prototype gets prepared after the design testing. In case there’s a need for testing at this stage, it’s the role of either UX or UI designers to ensure the design is compatible with the feedback.

With a focus on specific users, the final product is released into the market. The UX and UI designers must continuously keep in touch to avoid losing time in updating.

It’s clear that UX and UI designers are closely linked. Once in the market, the product must be in existence. Every team must ensure the product is of high quality at all times.

Conclusion

User experience and user interface are unique roles associated with web design. It’s not right to say that all web designers are skilled in both fields. But, once you understand the difference, you’ll be in a position to look over their work and ask questions.

To get the value out of their strategies, brands must know they need the two professionals, despite their subtle differences.

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How Businesses are Using NFTs to their Advantage

December 1, 2021

Commerce is constantly changing and innovating to keep up with the times. Creativity is needed to stay ahead of the competition, especially in crowded markets where the digital age has made it easier than ever before to begin trading.

One of the newest concepts is that of NFTs. They have been around since 2015 but have only just started to come into a wider public consciousness so what are NFTs and how can businesses use them.

A Brief Beginner’s Guide

NFT stands for non-fungible token: Two of those words are in common use but what about that rather obscure term in the middle? The dictionary definition states that fungible relates to something that can be replaced by something of equal value.

So, if we have something that is non-fungible, it cannot be replaced and is completely unique. Businesses have been aware of the power of limited-edition products for some time but, by making something irreplaceable, they are taking the concept to a whole new level.

The Lively Arts

NFTs offer great scope for artists and this is where they are predominantly being used. Musicians are at the forefront of the movement and the band Kings of Leon are generally credited with bringing these tokens to a wider audience.

In March 2021, a number of NFTs were attached to their latest album, When You See Yourself. One-off copies of the release and front row seats to future concerts were among the perks available to a handful of lucky fans.

The potential for the arts sector to harness the power of NFTs is obvious and the Kings of Leon’s example is an easy one to follow. Labels can release one-off vinyl and CD editions while personal services can be offered to fans attending live performances.

Painters, sculptors and authors can also follow this lead. To an extent, some of their work is already unique by its very nature but everyone in the arts world can create a unique product or experience for their fans.

A World of Sport

Any business involved in sport and its associated industries should also be taking a very close look at the potential of the NFT marketplace. The top performing sportsmen and women have many opportunities to release unique items into their fanbase.

It could be a match worn shirt from the NBA finals series or a boot that struck the winning goal in soccer’s World Cup final. That potential is only limited by the imagination of the individual’s PR team and, as long as it’s unique, there is the possibility of producing a one-off product.

Sports clubs can also follow the lead and issue matchday experiences that cannot be replicated. Maybe supporters could even bid for a token that lets them sit in the dugout on matchdays.

Associated companies also have the potential to benefit. Those that sponsor clubs can get involved while betting operators, who provide markets for sporting events, have also seen the potential of NFTs.

The possibilities for account holders at sportsbooks and online casinos is limitless. As well as playing for cash prizes, there can also be the potential of landing a unique product or experience attached to the world’s biggest teams and players.

Across the board, the sports industry has a fantastic opportunity to expand their customer bases thanks to the power of NFT.

Big Names Join In

It’s easy to see how an artist or a famous face can take advantage: They already have public profiles that fit NFTs to perfection but what about the regular world of commerce and industry?

The connection here may not be immediately obvious but it’s all about using the concept and finding anything in your specific industry that could be made unique.

In the case of Taco Bell, the company auctioned off a series of NFT Gifs which attracted huge sums of money. The food chain also allowed all proceeds to go to charity which is another popular way in which to build a profile.

Fashion brands have also released one-off items of clothing while unique logo designs of big brand names have also been auctioned off.

Back in the 9 to 5 World

There’s lots of advice relating to NFTs in business but much of it quotes the big companies. It’s fine to auction off a logo if you are Nike but what if you’re a suburban retailer selling bathrooms who hasn’t made a trade outside of your own region?

It’s clearly not so straightforward but there could be options. If you’re engaged in real estate or property development, is it possible to design and auction a house with unique features that will never be produced again?

The same principle could be applied to the car industry where manufacturers can produce a one-off model that will not be replicated.

As long as a product is developed and released, there is potential for that industry to make it a unique deal and to issue an NFT. While it might not gain as much attention and revenue as the Kings of Leon or Taco Bell, this remains an opportunity for businesses moving forward.

All things are relative and, whether there is international, national or local competition, this is a way of getting an edge over the rest. Think of a unique product or service and it’s perfectly possible to harness the power of those non-fungible tokens.

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