Are Bitcoin and other digital currencies the future of money?

April 17, 2021

Cryptocurrencies…They started as a great idea that hit us like a fly on summer days. Billionaires had been ignoring it since its beginning; however, in the last few months, many companies are accepting it (this is the fact that cryptos are going to be around us for a while). Companies like PayPal, Tesla, and Square started to accept Bitcoin. So, what is it? Will it ever replace the traditional currency?

What a cryptocurrency is?

A cryptocurrency is a digital currency that can be managed through the use of high-level encryption methods known as cryptography.

The culmination of using cryptocurrency happened with Bitcoin in 2009. While in following years, Bitcoin attracted a growing, it achieved notable investor and media attention in 2013 when it peaked at a record $266 per bitcoin. Bitcoin had a market value of over $2 billion at its peak, but a 50% fall quickly.

Thereafter, sparked a furious debate about the future of cryptocurrencies in general and Bitcoin specifically. These days, everyone is asking: will these alternative currencies replace traditional currencies? Or are cryptocurrencies just a trend that soon will be vanished?

Some financial analysts are predicting a big change in crypto as institutional money enters the market. Moreover, some predict that people are looking to invest in Bitcoin, but there still needs to be the interest to want to invest in crypto.

Understanding Bitcoin

Being a decentralized currency, Bitcoin, uses peer-to-peer technology, which enables all functions as transaction processing, currency issuance and verification to be carried out collectively by the network.

This decentralization does render Bitcoin free from the government interference of manipulation, but there is no central authority to ensure the value of Bitcoin and if things are running smoothly, that’s the flipside. This currency is digitally created through powerful computers to solve complex algorithms and crunch numbers. This process is called “mining”. Currently, Bitcoins are created at the rate of 25 Bitcoins per 10 minutes.

These kinds of characteristics make Bitcoin fundamentally different from a flat currency, a currency that if backed and in full faith of its government. Flat currency’s activity is supervised by a nation’s central bank and is a highly centralized activity. Even though the bank does regulate the amount of currency that is issued in accordance with its policy objectives, there is no upper limit to the amount of that currency issuance, in theory. In addition to that, Bitcoin has no support like flat currency against bank failures which are covered by a government body. The whole value of Bitcoin is dependent on how much investigators are willing to pay for it at one point in time. Also, in case a Bitcoin exchange folds up, a person with Bitcoin balances has no resources to get them back.

Alternatives to Bitcoin

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin have risen dramatically over the last year, and are making headlines.

What Is Litecoin?

Litecoin was one of the most popular digital currencies, behind Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Litecoin is that type of digital currency that enables instant, near-zero cost payments to anyone in the world. Litecoin is an open-source and global payment network that is fully decentralized. What secures the network and empowers individuals controlling their finances is – Mathematics.

How Litecoin Is Different

Litecoin is different than other currencies in a couple of different ways.

First, unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum, Litecoin uses a ‘script to mine units. This somehow prevents individuals from making rigs specifically to mine the currency.

Second, Litecoin has one of the fastest transaction times of the digital currencies (2.5 minutes).

Third, and the most popular ones is that Litecoin is the cheapest of the three major cryptocurrencies.

Ethereum

Ethereum is getting popular among investors over the last year. However, unlike Bitcoin and rival currency Litecoin, Ethereum is being adopted by many companies to do transacts.

In the cryptocurrency wars, some people are considering that Ethereum is like the diamond of the currencies – it has both a fundamental value and an industrial value. On the other hand, Bitcoin operates like gold – it has not much industrial value, but people buy it and sell it based on its inherent value.

Due to the popularity of Ethereum, everyone is getting curious about what it actually is, how it is different from Bitcoin, and how to invest in it.

Ethereum was designed as software to allow developers to run the code of applications. Wait, what? Everyone thought that Ethereum was money. Well, yes! Ethereum has a monetary aspect.

But How Ethereum Is Different from Bitcoin

Bitcoin was created to be a digital currency. Ethereum, on the other hand, using a system called ‘Ether’ was designed in the first place to facilitate Software’s. As a result, people are becoming interested in investing in the Ether.

Finally, Ethereum is much cheaper than Bitcoin. Bitcoin currently trades for over $2,600 per unit, while Ether trades at just $318.

Dogecoin

If you’ve been following all of the excitement around Dogecoin, you have probably seen some related media coverage coming from Elon Musk. Thanks to Musk’s tweets, Dogecoin has recently been getting a massive run-up of its own. So you may try to buy Shiba Inu coin.

But what exactly is Dogecoin and Where Can I Buy Dogecoin?

Back in 2013, Dogecoin started as a joke. Its name comes from a Shiba Inu dog meme. Unfortunately, Dogecoin isn’t supported by many popular cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Coinbase, Gemini, and BlockFi.

What Is the Future of Dogecoin?

Elon Musk has been tweeting for Dogecoin – which he helped to drive up its price. He started tweeting about Dogecoin at the end of last year and he hasn’t stopped yet.

Musk has tweeted his support for the Dogecoin again, again, and again! As long as he keeps tweeting about the coin, people will keep buying it. But, while following social media hype can be a smart short-term trading strategy, it doesn’t necessarily mean that DOGE will have a lasting future.

Ripple (XRP)

Ripple or widely known as XRP is different than other cryptocurrencies because it is created by a private company – because they wanted to enable an easy way to send money globally.

Buying Ripple is not easy as is with other cryptocurrencies, because it requires some additional steps.

Ripple was created as a payment processing platform that allows global transactions using its coin, XRP.

Like other cryptocurrencies, there is a high risk if you are considering investing in Ripple. However, because of the low price, why not investing in it – you might be thanking yourself in several years.

Cardano

Cardano is that type of cryptocurrency that actually tried to solve problems that bother Bitcoin. It was created in 2017.

Cardano uses a currency called Ada. However, most people simply refer to it as Cardano. Cardano is trying to be different from Bitcoin, they want to deliver a secure and sustainable blockchain that can protect user privacy, but on the other hand, meets the needs of regulators as well.

Lately, Cardano has become popular – and its value has risen dramatically.

How to use and store bitcoins and cryptocurrencies

If you make up your mind and decided to use Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency – you need to have a digital wallet.

A cryptocurrency wallet is a software program that stores private and public keys. Of course, they interface with various blockchains – to help users to monitor their balance, and do transactions.

For example, if a person sends you bitcoins, they transfer the ownership of coins to your wallet address. There are several types of wallets that provide different ways to store and access your digital currency. The most popular ones are Exodus Wallet, Electrum, Mycelium, Ledger Nano X, Ledger Nano S, Trezor Model T, etc.

Should You Invest in Cryptocurrencies?

If you have ever considered investing in cryptocurrencies, you should bear in mind that you have to treat your investment as any other venture.

You should also keep in mind that there is a chance you can lose most of your investment.

Cryptocurrency has no fundamental value, despite the buyer’s willingness to pay for it. The cryptocurrency is very sensitive to price fluctuations, which increases the risk of losing investments. If you are not able to tolerate that kind of volatility, you can always look elsewhere for investments that are suitable for you.

What Does it Hold the Future of Cryptocurrency?

There are a lot of problems that virtual currencies presently face: digital fortune can be erased by a computer crash, can be stolen by a hacker. But these problems that cryptocurrencies face may be overcome in the future through technological advances.

Nowadays, cryptocurrencies are accepted by a minor number of retailers, the number is increasing, but there is still work to do. To be widely used, they have to be first accepted by consumers.

To become part of the mainstream financial system – cryptocurrencies have to accomplish some criteria. It should avoid hacker attacks; they should be easy to understand; preserve user anonymity without being a conduit for tax evasion, money laundering, and other bad activities. These are very challenging criteria to satisfy, but there is a possibility that cryptocurrency in a few years could be part of our lives.

Conclusion

The rise of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has divided the opinion about its future. The success of Bitcoin has inspired entrepreneurs to create alternative cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Litecoin, Ethereum or Dogecoin. A cryptocurrency that wants to become part of the financial system would have to meet some divergent criteria. While that possibility looks far away from happening, there is a doubt that Bitcoin’s success or failure in dealing with difficulties may determine the future of other cryptocurrencies in the years to come.

Go to top

The Importance of Bitcoin Mining and Halving Events

April 17, 2021

Bitcoin is one of the most talked-about subjects in the global financial industry. This cryptocurrency managed to break all barriers and become as valuable as gold in 2021. Not only does Bitcoin allow its users to make a substantial profit, but it also holds tons of advantages when used as a payment method.

Greater security, instant online transactions, and the fact that users void all unnecessary fees are just a few of these advantages. There are many processes that make sure that Bitcoin remains stable and thrives with each passing day. These processes allow the people to reap all its benefits as a payment method and as an occupation (making money). With that being said, we decided to take a look at two of arguably the most important processes in the Bitcoin network – mining and halving.

We’ll take a detailed look at both of them and explain the importance that they have. Let’s begin.

Mining Bitcoin

You’ve probably heard of mining as this is one of the main ways to earn Bitcoins. Even though mining is extremely hard, it is free, and in a way, guarantees a profit for the traders. In layman’s terms, mining Bitcoins is solving complex puzzles.

The purpose of solving these puzzles is for the miners to earn Bitcoins, while at the same time, making sure that the network is updated. How? By solving these puzzles, miners actually record and verify Bitcoin transactions. Each transaction that they verify is known as a block and they are stored into the blockchain network. Think of the blockchain as a notebook. Each block that miners record is a page of that notebook. Thanks to the fact that the blockchain is updated daily, the network can remain stable.

And if you are wondering how are Bitcoins sold after earning them, we are more than happy to explain that process as well. Trading sites are the platforms where the magic of making a profit with Bitcoin happens. Thanks to reputable trading sites like Bitcoin Storm, traders are provided with an extra service that maximizes their profits.

This service is an AI system that collects all the data about Bitcoin from the market. The data is analyzed and the results provide traders with accurate predictions on Bitcoin’s future fluctuations. These predictions are very precise, which is why the daily profitability rate at the aforementioned site is very high. In doing so, traders know when to sell their assets and generate the highest possible profit.

Halving Events

Halving events take place when 210,000 Bitcoins are mined. On average, these events are held every 4 years. Their purpose is to control the flow of Bitcoins that are released into the network. Too many or not enough Bitcoins will plunge the market, which is an unlikely scenario.

During halving events, it becomes extremely hard to mine Bitcoins, hence the number that is released is drastically cut. Since mining Bitcoin becomes very hard and there are not a lot of Bitcoins in the network, their value rises at spikes at a certain point.

So far, there have been 3 halving events and all of them led to price surges around a year and a half later. The first halving event took place in 2012, the second took place in 2016, and the most recent one was in 2020.

After the first halving event, Bitcoin peaked at $713 in January 2014. The second halving event led to the 2017 record in value, while the most recent halving event wrote history as Bitcoin topped $50,000 in value. Some experts even believe that Bitcoin will keep rising and reach its peak around summer or autumn this year.

Go to top

4 Impressive VR Projects That Can Help With Your Studies

April 16, 2021

In 2017, it was predicted that more than half of colleges will be using virtual reality for educational purposes in 2021. Now, in 2021, the global VR market size is around 5 billion USD, and it’s projected to grow to more than 12 billion in just three years.

Benefits of VR

Schools have a lot to do with it as VR and AR technologies proved to be the perfect means to enhance students’ learning experiences. In recent years, the implementation of such cutting-edge technologies has allowed students to

become more engaged;
bring out their creative potential;
understand complex topics and concepts better;
improve the overall performance.

With cutting-edge VR solutions, it’s now possible to present many tasks – from a typical poem analysis essay to a complex research paper – in a new and exciting way. With this technology, no assignment is boring anymore.

Projects to Use in Your Studies

During the pandemic when schools switched to online learning, VR and AR solutions for education thrived even more. Without the opportunity to explore the world outside of their own apartment, both students and educators turned to technology, and it, in turn, provided seemingly endless possibilities.

If you’re willing to explore the new exciting learning experiences that modern VR technologies offer, here are a few projects for you to start with.

HistoryView VR – History

History is one of the disciplines that can benefit the most from implicating VR solutions. Now, even with the travel restrictions still not lifted in many countries, you can visit numerous historical sites for free with the help of the HistoryView VR project.

What’s more, you don’t even need a VR headset to do that as HistoryView is available on tablets and Chromebooks. As of today, this highly impressive online tool offers immersive tours of famous historical sites globally, as well as the world’s best museums.

With HistoryView, you can visit the Titanic or Salisbury Cathedral, Roman Colosseum, or the Amazon rainforest… Isn’t it a perfect way to find inspiration for your next history or geography essay?

However, there’s always a problem with essays – proper formatting. When your paper is ready, don’t forget to check this annotated bibliography example APA to make sure your formatting meets all the requirements. Otherwise, you may get a lower grade than expected, even if the contents of your essay are flawless.

Story Spheres – Making Presentations

“Everyone has a story to tell and a place they’d like to tell it,” Story Spheres creators state. What they do is offer the tool to create that unique story in the chosen setting.

Story Spheres website enables students to upload 360-degree images – the ones they’ve taken themselves or downloaded from open sources. Then, they can add music, narration, and sound effects to complete their VR story.

Thus, any essay – a film or a book review, for example – can be presented in a far more engaging way than simply reading it aloud to the class. You can even present critical lens essays in a similar way if you are creative enough! You’ll just need to find the right images and switch your imagination on.

Mondly – Language Learning

It may seem unobvious, but language learning is a field of knowledge that has benefited a lot from the development of VR technologies in recent years.

According to experts, learning a foreign language is much more effective in a natural setting than in an instructed one. Now, there’s no need to travel abroad to find that natural setting – with the help of VR, you can have it right in your headset or tablet.

There are many VR language-learning tools out there, but Mondly has long established itself as one of the best solutions. Once you enter the virtual setting as your avatar, you can experience some of the most common situations that a tourist in a foreign country would. Then, you can talk your way through them without anyone actually hearing you speak!

Merge Cube – Tangible Experience

It’s impressive enough to see something that is not real, but what about being able to touch it? This is exactly what Merge Cube enables you to do: with its help, you can hold (well, not physically) digital 3D objects and interact with them in a whole different way.

You can hold practically anything, even something you could have never imagined to touch, like the Earth or a DNA molecule. Medical students can dissect a virtual frog, history majors – touch ancient artifacts, and future engineers – explore complex mechanisms.

What’s more, the tool is compatible with 3D creation software (Paint 3D, Tinkercad), which means you can preview your 3D design before printing it.

Final Thoughts

The world is changing rapidly, and every year students are offered new exciting tools to enhance their learning experience. However, it’s vital to understand that all the impressive VR projects mentioned above are just the tools – the ideas still have to be your own!

Go to top

Staying In Control Amid An Extended Pandemic – 5 Outside-The-Box Moves

April 16, 2021

The pandemic is still here, even after a year of lockdowns and travel restrictions. While vaccine rollouts are in full swing, new strains and resurging waves are challenging the human race. It gets harder to deal with the extended pandemic as you struggle on the physical, emotional, and financial fronts. Staying in control at this point requires more than just maintaining a grip over your health and finances. You will need to think beyond the ordinary to get through the crisis. Here are some outside-the-box moves that can help to stay sane and in control amid the ongoing pandemic.

Prioritize work-life balance

Most companies are working remotely and even the ones opening up aren’t operating in full capacity. Maintaining a work-life balance can be challenging in these circumstances, so it should be your top priority. Whether you work from home or are back in the office, focus on good communication. It will help you perform better, minimize errors, and strengthen human connections with your colleagues.

Stay on top of finances

Pay cuts, job losses, business closures, and an overall recession make it hard to keep your finances in place. But staying on top of your expenses is vital to keep things on track. You must be equally conscious about saving as much as you can and limiting your borrowings. Make efforts to supplement your income with creative side hustles. Tight control over your finances will keep you sane even during this crisis.

Pay attention to mental well-being

Your mental well-being is as crucial as physical immunity when it comes to dealing with the pandemic. The situation is stressful, and your mental health bears the brunt. While mindfulness and meditation can help, you need to look for additional support. Thankfully, cannabis is an aid you can rely on for anxiety relief. It is legal, so you can stock up on the best products and dab tools and use them to relieve stress at the end of the day. Once you handle the stress, you will have a better grip over your life.

Be generous

It may sound ironic when the money runs tight, but you can be generous without giving away a fortune. You can volunteer, distribute food to the needy, or just shop groceries for a sick neighbor. Talk to a friend and make them feel better by helping them deal with their isolation. Every effort counts, so make a difference wherever you can. You will surely count your blessings!

Engage in spring cleaning

Clutter in your living space brings negativity and depression, and these are the last things you need right now. A spring cleaning project for your home is a great idea as it gives you a sense of control over your life. Decide what needs to go out and donate the stuff that someone else can use. Your home will look light and fresh, and even small donations can keep others afloat.

The pandemic has made life challenging, but regaining control is easier than you think. Just change your perspective and look for a silver lining, and life will be sorted.

Go to top

Master the Unique Approach to Bitcoin Trading

April 16, 2021

One of the best possible ways of achieving the ultimate success is definitely using the available techniques that are created to help you explore the benefits that come from the Bitcoin trading journey. This segment is definitely one of the rising trends as it is filled with an abundance of possibilities that allow users to enjoy every single aspect of the experience. However, to make sure that you are completely ready to reach the points of success that can be achieved through the Bitcoin trading journey you have to make sure that you have mastered the unique approach that will allow you to achieve all of this. According to all of this, the best possible way to start this whole segment is by exploring the basic ideas that are crucial for every beginner trader to understand.

To start this segment, you have to be aware of the fact that the world of cryptocurrencies is quite large and holds a number of different digital values and assets, these digital files can be a subject of exchange just by allowing people to use them as a major exchange source that will lead them to potentially making a profit. However, all of this is much complicated than it initially seems, meaning there are so many factors that are contributing to the final outcome, so it is of great importance to learn how to master this unique approach to crypto trading.

Here, in today’s article, you will get a chance to explore the most popular cryptocurrency, which is Bitcoin, and learn all about the ways you can achieve success in the process of trading, thus make profits. So, let’s get right into it.

Constructing the Unique Approach

The first thing you have to understand is what really makes this approach unique. Well, the uniqueness depends on your personal preferences, as well as the fact that this segment is free to use and is well-constructed to fit users from all kinds of previous experience to the absolute beginner trader. No matter which category you fall into, when starting to deal with a new cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, you have to consider all of the possible options you can take in order to achieve success.

One of these options is the popular unique approach we have devoted this article to, which is dealing with Bitcoin trading platforms that are filled with impressive ways that will lead you to make insane profits. You can check it out https://bitcoinprime.io/ and build the necessary understanding that will show you how to start making money right this instant.

Once you have decided that you want to explore this segment in greater detail, you will get a chance to learn all about the Bitcoin trading platforms, how to access them, and how you can actually make profit.

How the Bitcoin Trading Platform Actually Works?

As mentioned above, starting the trading process, especially if you are new to this whole aspect of Bitcoin trading, you should make sure that you are determined enough to learn all about the way the platform is functioning. So, to put things briefly, the Bitcoin trading platform we are discussing today is based on the highest forms of technology, also known as Artificial Intelligence.

These segments are responsible for creating and developing the best trading algorithm that the platform is depending on. This implies the fact that the trading robots are carefully designed to gather all of the necessary data provided by the users, research the Bitcoin market, calculate the volatility of Bitcoin at the particular moment of trading, and generate the best-suited trading deals for you. All of this contributes to helping you take advantage of the trading possibilities that this completely automated and unique approach to Bitcoin trading has to offer.

What to Expect?

Just as previously mentioned, the unique approach is based on finding one aspect of the broad segment of cryptocurrencies and focusing on learning all about the possibilities that will follow. This implies the fact that, even though it is a completely automated approach, the results you get at the end are also dependent on you, meaning, the deposits you are placing in your trading account will determine the future Bitcoin trading deals you will get.

Go to top

How Improving The Organization Within Your Business Can Help Your Bottom Line

April 16, 2021

Everybody who runs a business, whether it has masses of employees, a small handful of workers, or if you’re just sat at your kitchen table on your own, having a great bottom line is the target – but in reality, only a few manage to achieve it.

It may seem easier said than done, but there are some simple steps you can complete to make that wish more of a reality. Clearly, the exact execution of these will vary according to the size of the company and what you do, but they can act as a solid and proven framework to build your own strategy around.

1. Organize your surroundings

First of all, you need to look at how you organize the area your staff work in, or at least your own area if you don’t have staff. Setting up a place for everything may be more complicated than you imagine, but once you put routines in place, you’ll be surprised how quickly they become the norm. Make sure any boxes and or drawers are clearly labeled so you can find them easily, and also make an effort to organize your computer folders.

2. Now you’ve organized those areas, keep them clean

Keep work areas clean and clear of clutter. This will help focus the mind on the work in front of you, which will improve output and production rates. It should also cut down on the number of mistakes made due to distractions.

3. Effective task scheduling

Organizing workloads and scheduling is an absolute must. Gantt charts or similar are an excellent way of keeping track of people, workloads, and scheduling even if the people involved aren’t in the same building, state, or country.

There are many different types of gantt chart software available, so taking time to check out which is the best for you and your company is very beneficial. Seeing if a project is on target or running over (or even ahead) of schedule is a convenient tool as you can see if you need to put more workers on a particular area of the job to get it finished. Or, you will be able to give your customer or client a more accurate estimate of the date and time for delivery.

4. Update and streamline

Put step-by-step procedures in place to complete a project is also critical. When looking at organizing the workload, seeing at what stage a project is currently at gives an idea of how long it will take to complete.

With procedures and steps being carried out in a specific order, it also means that crucial areas of a project will not have been missed or overlooked even if the job is being carried out by someone who isn’t used to doing that specific task (maybe covering for sick or holiday time of a fellow employee).

In conclusion

Getting yourself and your workers organized can help your bottom line and keep your employees feeling happy in a settled environment as they will know what is expected of them. They will have a clear idea of the length of time they have to carry out any duties, therefore giving time to inform team leaders or managers should their end of project time run over. They can also save time by organizing work areas, keeping work areas free from clutter and clean to avoid distractions.

Go to top

Best Practices In 2021 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI): One Year On From the Pandemic

April 16, 2021

By Stephen Shefsky

There is refreshed optimism in the American workforce in 2021 after a long and tumultuous year in which everyone struggled, including millions of furloughs and firings in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As 2020 came to a close, employers, employees and job seekers alike learned a lot; we witnessed seismic gaps in employment simmer to the surface, shedding light on untapped talent from individuals and whole communities, including those that have been arguably, routinely left behind.

In a justifiably heightened effort to combat social injustice, ensuring Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace has become more than just an existential priority; finding equitable pathways to prosperity has become a focal point for the Biden Administration, and rightly so.

We are obviously not out of the pandemic’s throes just yet – Although a hopeful jobs report was released in February of 2021, the New York Times recently noted that there are today approximately 9.5 million fewer jobs than roughly this time last year. March 2021 indicated an over 10% unemployment rate, 10 million Americans have documented themselves as unemployed, with many more remaining underemployed.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) of 2020, coupled with President Biden’s 2021 sweeping Coronavirus Relief Package should offer a slight reprieve, with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reporting to USA Today that the stimulus package “…could generate enough growth to restore full employment by next year.”

However, what will “full employment” look like? How will we look to remove bias in the recruitment process now and a year from now, addressing the social issues that should inherently accompany the current workforce recruitment system?

Equity is about ensuring fair treatment, access and equal opportunity. It’s also about realigning best practices to acknowledge that advantages and barriers have existed and then righting the ship and making the commitment to address those imbalances. The recruitment technology of today needs to reflect this mission.

There is a sea change taking place in the way talent is onboarded, one based on skills rather than resumes, past job titles, academic degrees or even candidate names and locations (where they come from), a change that could not come at a more pertinent juncture.

Before learning a person’s name, education or ethnicity, the first thing a recruiter should see through today’s DEI-oriented technology should be whether or not an individual has the specific, prerequisite skills needed to ably fill a role. This change in the way we tackle HR removes many layers of initial (and often subconscious) bias, allowing employers to know their talent based on their talent and not on outdated variables that often delay the perfect hire.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also ensured that certain jobs are no more, meaning that of the nearly 10 million today unemployed, many will feel pigeonholed by their resume to a single industry and/or will struggle to establish themselves within a new job. Hiring on skills means that these individuals can be recognized, first and foremost, for their ‘transferrable talents’, making it more efficient for hiring managers to visualize the value that each employee or candidate would potentially bring to their organization.

It’s the responsibility of recruitment technology providers to continue to elevate the game, accelerating this inevitable part-time and full-time transition to skills-based hiring. All from within a mobile application lies the potential to even upskill or retrain existing employees, managing talent rather than perpetually looking for outside hires to fill a void that a sitting employee could bridge if properly identified.

While many jobs have come and gone, it is interesting to note the new employment opportunities taking shape in 2021 – Diversity, Equity and Inclusion experts with the “cultural competence” and leadership skills to influence organizational change have become almost overnight in demand.

Hospitals, law firms, pharmaceutical companies and multinational retailers are examples of those companies with current postings for full-time specialists in the DEI arena.

It’s a step in the right direction – Boston Consulting Group found that 75% of employees who rated their organizations the most diverse felt that their organizations were also outperforming their competitors, nearly twice that of employees who rated their organizations as the least diverse.

The principles of DEI touch every facet of every organization, whether it’s the way employees interact or who is represented in upper management; and yet, the American Marketing Association suggests that the true work often begins with the hiring process.

Nonetheless, today’s Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are not designed for today’s labor market.

Boston Consulting Group found that 75% of employees who rated their organizations the most diverse felt that their organizations were also outperforming their competitors.

Why is this the case? Because they rely on resume databases (with that same inherent bias in the screening process) and antiquated keyword search technology. The problem is that this assumes that a job title on a resume equates to a qualified candidate, and that is where they fail. Employers or HR Recruiters potentially short-list candidates without the right skills to perform the job, or even worse, they filter out a company’s potentially best qualified candidate.

It’s critical for organizations to address their own weaknesses; to remain versatile in the adoption of recruitment technologies that offer a clear picture of where talent lies within an organization and if an outside hire is necessary; moreover it is critical in ensuring that outside hire leaves no able candidate left behind.

There are strong workforce management tools readily available to solve the skills gap dilemma for hiring companies; those that do not take advantage of them will continue to struggle to react to the demands of their customers or remain resilient to change as an organization.

At tilr, we are more than a job board, more than an ATS and more than a hiring tool. We are a fully-integrated, modular and entirely agnostic talent management system that automates and accelerates succession management and recruitment, on the job and remote learning and development, and external talent acquisition, all based on the currency of one’s skills and all from a mobile application.

We proudly believe that our Clients will find the best person (internal or external) to fill their next position, and do so in a fraction of the time and at a lower cost than our competitors.

There is no time to waste in finding the right talent here in 2021 – We must bring the job market up-to-speed and inclusive in its approach to hiring in the process.

Go to top

About the Author

Stephen Shefsky is the Co-Founder and CEO of the tilr Corporation. The views expressed are his own.

The Grow-NY Competition Kicks Off For The Third Year Running

April 15, 2021

90% of new startups struggle to make it, and one of the biggest reasons is a lack of investment. Without venture capital and equity behind a project, it is always difficult to realize a dream. This is why the Grow-NY competition is a big deal for startup businesses within the agriculture and food industry. Entries are open until July 15 2021, and the prize is up to $1 million dollars to help your business thrive within the competitive startup ecosystem. The competition also provides an invaluable opportunity to gain advice from mentors who are experts in their industry.

Raising equity

Raising equity is one of the biggest issues for new startup businesses, and it always helps to get professional advice. An equity simulator can help you make the best financial decisions about funding your new business venture. It can help you work out your investment plan and future-proof your startup. This year’s Grow-NY competition is offering the winner a $1 million prize to grow their business. There are also two prizes of $500,000, and four prizes of $250,000. Simply becoming one of the 20 finalists can be extremely beneficial to your business, however, in helping you to expand your business plans. Finalists are assigned a mentor who will assist them with business development, give entrepreneurial support, and even introduce them to other business owners within the region who can help.

The application process

Applicants for the Grow-NY contest should be within the food and agriculture industry in the New York State region. The judges are looking for businesses that have innovative solutions to growth and supply. The winners of the competition will be expected to have plans for how to grow jobs, contribute to the economy, and connect with partners within the industry. If you are planning on entering this year’s Grow-NY competition, you will have to think big when it comes to expanding your business. You should have solid, well-researched plans that are backed-up by facts about how your business is going to provide something invaluable for the consumer in a sustainable way. The application process online is simple using the Grow-NY website, but you will have to have a good business plan ready to discuss.

Previous winners

Past winners of the Grow-NY competition include businesses that have designed and researched new crop varieties, or perhaps offered new and innovative methods of harvesting, growing and monitoring crops or livestock. Winners have included businesses that have improved methods for packaging, preparing and improving food and drink products. Startups are considered at every point within the agriculture and food chain, but they must be environmentally conscious, sustainable, and working in a healthy way to serve a growing population. They should also be able to offer high-growth opportunities within a fast-moving industry.

Building your startup business is extremely difficult without equity, particularly in the early stages of development. The Grow-NY competition is a great opportunity for businesses in the region to secure not only finance, but also valuable help and advice.

Go to top

Broadband for Gamers

April 15, 2021

Just about every game you buy, for any platform, requires a broadband connection. Whether that’s to play online, download patches or for DRM, most games require a live connection to the internet to get the most out of them.

The type and speed of the broadband you need depends on how you play. If you’re into online shooters like Call of Duty or Fortnite, speed is everything. If you play single player titles from storefronts like Ubisoft or Steam, speed is less important than reliability.

We teamed up with Broadband Genie to take a deeper dive into broadband for gamers to better understand the unique requirements of gaming.

Why broadband matters for gaming

There are several reasons why a fast, reliable broadband connection is essential for gamers.

Most games are now digital-only – Boxed games are history. Most platforms now rely on digital downloads for all, or a significant part of new games. Call of Duty: Warzone for example was 54GB on PC and 49GB on Xbox, so a good broadband connection is essential if you don’t want to grow old waiting for a download!

Patches, fixes, DLCs and mods – Even when a game has been released, it isn’t finished. Patches, fixes, Downloadable Content (DLC) and game mods are all dependent on a good broadband connection.

Game streaming – If you use Twitch, YouTube, Caffeine, Owncast or one of the other streaming platforms, you need a fast, reliable broadband connection to play the game while also live streaming at the same time.

Online multiplayer – Arguably the most important element of gaming for some is multiplayer. Speed is essential for many online shooters and even MMOs. Ping kills online and the slower your broadband, the higher the ping. Whether you’re killed or kicked, slow broadband is an online game killer!

Cloud gaming – Cloud gaming platforms are the new way to play. Google Stadia, GeForce Now and others offer the chance to play new titles without having to buy them. Think Netflix for games and you won’t be far wrong. These services require a fast connection to avoid lag and to stream the entire game content from the cloud to your home.

Broadband for gaming – speeds and types of connection

Broadband comes in a couple of flavours depending on where you live.

They include:

ADSL – Older and slower connections that use phone lines. ADSL is usually only when fibre or cable isn’t available.

Fibre – Fibre can mean FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) or FTTP (Fibre to the Premises). Either way, fibre is usually the fastest option and provides a decent connection speed with low ping. Click here to learn more about fibre broadband.

Cable – Cable from Virgin Media is provided by coaxial cable to the home. It offers fast speeds (up to 1Gbps in some areas) and low ping but isn’t available everywhere.

4G/5G – Mobile broadband may be okay for certain types of gaming but it won’t work for everyone. It’s entirely dependent on signal strength and what type of game you play. Plus, most mobile broadband contracts have data caps and you could burn through your entire allocation in a single day!

Broadband speed requirements for gaming

When you’re gaming, faster is always better and that’s the same for your broadband. Not necessarily for connection speed, as this will often be limited by game servers or the service, but for low latency, or ping.

The lower the ping, the smaller the delay between your movement in-game and it being communicated to the game server. We have all been there when latency has been high and it seems to take an age for your avatar to dodge roll or move. That’s often down to latency.

A note on gaming broadband

Technically, there is no such thing as gaming broadband. It’s a marketing term for broadband packages designed to appeal to gamers. The packages may include inducements to benefit gamers but the broadband itself uses exactly the same network, connection and technology as standard broadband.

If you like the special features, gaming broadband may be a good idea. Just don’t be seduced by the marketing!

Do you need a gaming router?

You’ll see dozens of gaming routers advertised online. They are a bit like gaming broadband. Most of them are standard routers marketed specifically to appeal to gamers.

They use the same technology, have the same WiFi speeds, the same firmware and the same hardware as standard routers.

If you have a good router already, there is no need to buy a specific gaming router. If you have an older router or one from your ISP, you may benefit from a newer model.

New routers offer new firmware, faster hardware, compliance with new faster WiFi standards and perhaps better security but they aren’t always necessary if you already have a good one.

Gaming broadband troubleshooting tips

If you’re having issues with your broadband, here are a couple of simple fixes to common problems.

High ping or lag – Check who else in the house is using the internet and make sure they aren’t downloading while you’re gaming. Also, change game server (always choose servers closest to your location), shut down unnecessary processes on your device or reboot your router. All can fix high ping.

Connection dropping – A broadband connection that keeps dropping could be your console or computer, router or the internet connection. Start by rebooting your device and testing. Then reboot the router and finally, test your internet connection with your ISP.

Slow WiFi – WiFi isn’t great for gaming unless you’re using the latest 802.11ac or 802.11ax standard, but you can troubleshoot by testing your signal using a WiFi analyser app, moving closer to the router or using a signal booster.

Go to top

Major Tech Issues & What Can Solve Them

April 15, 2021

Over the past few years, the world has changed and everything seems to be going digital. This shift has been great but it has also highlighted lots of underlying tech issues that need to be addressed. Most tech issues can affect security, productivity, and communication. Here are some of the most common tech problems and their possible solutions.

1. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

The power of machine learning and artificial intelligence is unmatched. Even though AI was once infamous for being disruptive, it has now become mainstream. From assistants like Alexa and Siri to facial recognition and language translators, it has become the new normal.

Companies are now using it to automate their business processes, improve customer experience, and enhance the performance of employees. It frees employees from lengthy and time-consuming tasks allowing them to focus on the core operations of the business.

The main tech challenge is how companies can stay in charge of employees’ relationships with AI machines. The machines replace the need for some employees and increase the demand for certain skills. The most obvious solution for the problem is making changes in the HR process. Companies now seek to employ people with a specific set of skills.

2. Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is widely accepted all across the world. It became even more popular after the COVID shutdowns. In the period of uncertainty, most companies had their employees working from home. Cloud computing has been necessary for businesses to resume their regular operations. According to data cabling professionals in Florida, the benefits of cloud computing include scalability, pay-per-usage pricing, and accessibility from any location or device. However, the technology still presents a few challenges. They include performance issues, access speed, and privacy issues.

One of the main ways to deal with the privacy issue is by building a private cloud. Even though many organizations may not consider it a priority, it is very important. Automating all the manual tasks possible may promote smooth operation.

You can improve performance issues by picking the right provider. Real-time data is important for data-driven decision-making. One of the most important benefits of the cloud is the ability to access data in real-time.

3. Robotics and Automation

There is a sudden urgency to go digital and many companies have responded to it. Those with BPM, RPA, and other automation processes in place are better equipped to face the emerging business demands. Those that still depend on legacy processes are struggling. Reliance on manual processing is ineffective for modern companies. The main challenge when dealing with automation technology is security. Therefore, companies have to invest extra effort into it.

In the world of robotics, there is an increased demand for soft robotics, artificial muscles, and assembly strategies. They will promote the development of more power-efficient and multifunctional autonomous robots.

There are lots of technology issues to be overcome over time. Even though technology has brought about lots of solutions for businesses, it has presented a few challenges as well. Knowing how to deal with them for the benefit of the business is the secret to success.

Go to top

1...906907908...1,128 Page 907 of 1,128

FOLLOW US!

EDITOR'S PICK OF THE WEEK

CFO's new mandate. CFO explaining the presentation

The Performance and Transformation Orchestrator: The CFO’s New Mandate in the Age of AI

Anglea 0

By Terence Tse CFOs are evolving into AI-driven transformation orchestrators, balancing finance, technology, and strategy while upskilling teams, managing risks, and driving measurable business value. A key insight from this year’s AI for CFOs event, organized...