Sunday, May 9, 2021

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While hosting “SNL,” Elon Musk acknowledges having Asperger’s … and riffs on Dogecoin

Posted: 08 May 2021 10:42 PM PDT

Elon Musk delivers his monologue as host of NBC's "Saturday Night Live." (NBC Video)

Elon Musk made his mark tonight on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" — not only as the richest host in the late-night skit show's 46-year run, but also as the first host to acknowledge on live TV that he has Asperger Syndrome.

That's not exactly a surprise: For years, folks have noticed that the billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla has the laser focus and social awkwardness that's associated with Asperger's. But Musk fully embraced his Aspieness during tonight's monologue.

"I'm actually making history tonight as the first person with Asperger's to host 'SNL,' or at least the first to admit it," he said. "So I won't make a lot of eye contact with the cast tonight. But already I'm pretty good at running human in emulation mode."

“I’m actually making history as the first person with Asperger’s to host SNL … or at least the first to admit it.” — @elonmusk

Hands down one of the best opening monologues I’ve seen ???? pic.twitter.com/z2bVVaHy6o

— Pranay Pathole (@PPathole) May 9, 2021

It's true that Musk probably won't make "SNL's" greatest-hits clip show for the roles he played in the comedy skits — including an Icelandic TV producer and an Generation Z doctor — but he won the day with his self-deprecating humor.

The spaciest (and spiciest) moment came when Musk played himself, dealing with a Mars crisis involving Chad, the clueless slacker who's a recurring character played by Pete Davidson. (Watch the clip all the way to the end — if you dare.)

You’re a hero, Chad pic.twitter.com/dQ3G4ffk0j

— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) May 9, 2021

Despite the qualms that were expressed in advance of the show, cast members put in a few good-natured digs as well.

During "Weekend Update," for example, SNL regular Colin Jost noted that a Chinese Long March rocket crashed into the Indian Ocean, apparently harmlessly, after days of hand-wringing over the risk from orbital debris. "For once, we know it's not Elon's fault," Jost joked. "A lot of people have been wondering, 'Why is he hosting our show?' And now we know: It's because he needed an alibi."

"Weekend Update" co-host Michael Che also got in a jab at Musk as well as Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Che started out by noting that Bezos' Blue Origin space venture had just set up an auction for a ride to space aboard its  suborbital spaceship.

"Why are all these rich white people trying to go to space?" he asked. "Look, if there's any Martians watching this, when you see a bunch of foreign ships pull up on your land, take it from a Black dude, don't get on them … unless you want to be a Martian with the last name 'Washington.’"

Musk and the "SNL" writers managed to work in a couple of references to Dogecoin, the meme-inspired cryptocurrency that became a focus of pre-show speculation.

During "Weekend Update," Musk portrayed a nerdy, bow-tied financial expert who struggled to explain to Che and Jost exactly what Dogecoin was — until he said that it could be traded for conventional money.

"Oh," Che said. "So it's a hustle."

"Yeah, it's a hustle," Musk's character replied.

Lloyd Ostertag stopped by the desk to talk cryptocurrency. pic.twitter.com/cuILxOBJlj

— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) May 9, 2021

As the show proceeded, Dogecoin plummeted in value, and the Robinhood trading app experienced a temporary outage due to high trading volume. But if Musk's monologue is to be believed, there's a new addition to the family Doge holdings.

Because this is Mother's Day weekend, the cast members' moms were featured in some of the jokes — as was Musk's mother, Maye Musk.

"I'm excited for my Mother's Day gift," she told her son. "I just hope it's not Dogecoin."

"It is," Elon Musk admitted.

Elon Musk made his mark tonight on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" — not only as the richest host in the late-night skit show's 46-year run, but also as the first host to acknowledge on live TV that he has Asperger Syndrome. That's not exactly a surprise: For years, folks have noticed that the billionaire CEO of SpaceX and Tesla has the laser focus and social awkwardness that's associated with Asperger's. But Musk fully embraced his Aspieness during tonight's monologue. "I'm actually making history tonight as the first person with Asperger's to host 'SNL,' or at least the first to admit… Read MoreGeek Life, Space, Elon Musk, Saturday Night Live, television

THE BEST TWEETS: Twitter Goes CRAZY Over Elon Musk on SNL

Posted: 08 May 2021 01:58 PM PDT

Twitter goes craaaazy over Elon Musk on SNL

I joined the frantic insanity. I only want someone to give me ONE Dogecoin before Elon Musk makes his appearance as guest of Saturday Night Live. I just want one. I figured I might’s well join the Eloncraze. Here are the highlights on Twitter regarding Mr. Musk’s SNL appearance tonight.

Thanks for the link, @elonmusk

Report says Facebook’s creepy data collection lets Big Pharma target your illness

Posted: 08 May 2021 10:40 AM PDT

Facebook is at the center of two different privacy issues that have the same thing in common: Facebook appears to want unchecked access to your information. Facebook wants to collect more user data from WhatsApp users, and it's practically forcing them to accept a controversial privacy policy change that has received plenty of criticism so far this year. Facebook also wants continued access to user data from iPhone and iPad, where Apple implemented a couple of features that help improve user privacy. New app privacy labels only inform users of the terrifying amount of data that apps like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp can collect. Then, the new app tracking transparency feature lets users block Facebook from tracking them across other apps.

A brand new report reinforces the idea that Facebook can gather a treasure trove of user information and turn it into lucrative personalized ads, even if the transaction involves highly sensitive health data. Big Pharma has been able to target people suffering from various illnesses with ads promoting corresponding drugs even though Facebook doesn't offer advertisers the ability to explicitly identify health conditions.

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Analyzing data from its Citizen Browser project, The Markup found that Big Pharma companies use drug ads on Facebook aimed at users with interest in topics related to a specific illness. "Awareness" of a disease is also a proxy for illness in targeting campaigns, the report notes.

The Markup details the various drugs advertised on Facebook based on illness-related data. Here are some examples of Facebook interests and the corresponding medications and health conditions they're supposed to treat.


"Cancer awareness" — Zejula (GlaxoSmithKline) for advanced ovarian cancer
"National Breast Cancer Awareness Month" — Piqray (Novartis) for cancer
"Diabetes mellitus awareness" or "Diabetes mellitus type 2 awareness" — several unspecified drugs
"Stroke awareness" — Brilinta (AstraZeneca)
"Multiple sclerosis awareness" — Mayzent and Kesimpta (Novartis)
"Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease awareness" — Trelegy (GSK)
interest in the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance; interest in therapy; interest in National Alliance on Mental Illness — Latuda (Sunovion)
interest in cigarettes or "oxygen" — Anoro (GSK) for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
interest in the "international classification of headache disorders" — Nurtec (Biohaven Pharmaceuticals) for migraines
interest in the chemical industry, Corona beer, and bourbon — Keytruda (Merck) for cancer
interest in "genetic disorder" — Syprine (Bausch Health) for Wilson's disease

A Facebook spokesperson explained to The Markup that Facebook doesn't use "medical history to inform the interest categories we make available to advertisers." Facebook's Tom Channick told The Markup that instead, "people are placed into interest categories based on their activity on Facebook, including the pages they like or the ads they click on."

While Facebook might not be doing anything illegal here, these examples further prove that Facebook collects more data than many people realize and they use it in ways that aren't immediately obvious. Needless to say, Facebook is able to monetize this data even if it means targeting extremely sensitive subjects like health conditions.

Facebook ran ad campaigns this year explaining that personalized ads can help small businesses, and that's why users should let Facebook track them online across apps and services. That campaign obviously did not address creepy ad practices that allow companies to target a person's health conditions, or what personalized ads mean for big businesses like pharmaceutical manufacturers.

The report explains there are massive privacy implications for these practices. Even if the Big Pharma companies do not know the identity of the people they're targeting, the ads that appear on someone's computer might expose information about a person's health conditions to others. The Markup's report is worth a read in full, and it's available at this link.

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Buy NowFacebook is at the center of two different privacy issues that have the same thing in common: Facebook appears to want unchecked access to your information. Facebook wants to collect more user data from WhatsApp users, and it's practically forcing them to accept a controversial privacy policy change that has received plenty of criticism so far this year. Facebook also wants continued access to user data from iPhone and iPad, where Apple implemented a couple of features that help improve user privacy. New app privacy labels only inform users of the terrifying amount of data that apps like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp can collect. Then, the new app tracking transparency feature lets users block Facebook from tracking them across other apps.

A brand new report reinforces the idea that Facebook can gather a treasure trove of user information and turn it into lucrative personalized ads, even if the transaction involves highly sensitive health data. Big Pharma has been able to target people suffering from various illnesses with ads promoting corresponding drugs even though Facebook doesn't offer advertisers the ability to explicitly identify health conditions.

Analyzing data from its Citizen Browser project, The Markup found that Big Pharma companies use drug ads on Facebook aimed at users with interest in topics related to a specific illness. "Awareness" of a disease is also a proxy for illness in targeting campaigns, the report notes.

The Markup details the various drugs advertised on Facebook based on illness-related data. Here are some examples of Facebook interests and the corresponding medications and health conditions they're supposed to treat.

"Cancer awareness" — Zejula (GlaxoSmithKline) for advanced ovarian cancer
"National Breast Cancer Awareness Month" — Piqray (Novartis) for cancer
"Diabetes mellitus awareness" or "Diabetes mellitus type 2 awareness" — several unspecified drugs
"Stroke awareness" — Brilinta (AstraZeneca)
"Multiple sclerosis awareness" — Mayzent and Kesimpta (Novartis)
"Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease awareness" — Trelegy (GSK)
interest in the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance; interest in therapy; interest in National Alliance on Mental Illness — Latuda (Sunovion)
interest in cigarettes or "oxygen" — Anoro (GSK) for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
interest in the "international classification of headache disorders" — Nurtec (Biohaven Pharmaceuticals) for migraines
interest in the chemical industry, Corona beer, and bourbon — Keytruda (Merck) for cancer
interest in "genetic disorder" — Syprine (Bausch Health) for Wilson's disease

A Facebook spokesperson explained to The Markup that Facebook doesn't use "medical history to inform the interest categories we make available to advertisers." Facebook's Tom Channick told The Markup that instead, “people are placed into interest categories based on their activity on Facebook, including the pages they like or the ads they click on.”

While Facebook might not be doing anything illegal here, these examples further prove that Facebook collects more data than many people realize and they use it in ways that aren’t immediately obvious. Needless to say, Facebook is able to monetize this data even if it means targeting extremely sensitive subjects like health conditions.

Facebook ran ad campaigns this year explaining that personalized ads can help small businesses, and that’s why users should let Facebook track them online across apps and services. That campaign obviously did not address creepy ad practices that allow companies to target a person’s health conditions, or what personalized ads mean for big businesses like pharmaceutical manufacturers.

The report explains there are massive privacy implications for these practices. Even if the Big Pharma companies do not know the identity of the people they're targeting, the ads that appear on someone's computer might expose information about a person's health conditions to others. The Markup's report is worth a read in full, and it's available at this link.Big Pharma, facebook, privacy

Massive CyberAttack Shuts Down Pipeline Carrying 45 Percent of East Coast Fuel

Posted: 08 May 2021 10:03 AM PDT

Massive CyberAttack Shuts Down Pipeline Carrying 45 Percent of East Coast Fuel **** Ransomware attack closes pipeline which transports 100 million gallons of fuel daily from Texas to New York

**** Ransomware attack closes pipeline which transports 100 million gallons of fuel daily from Texas to New York ****

By Daniel Webster dWeb.News

  Massive CyberAttack Shuts Down Pipeline Carrying 45 Percent of East Coast Fuel  **** Ransomware attack closes pipeline which transports 100 million gallons of fuel daily from Texas to New York
Ransomware attack closes pipeline which transports 100 million gallons of fuel daily from Texas to New York. Photo Colonial Pipeline

A cyberattack forced the shutdown of one of the largest pipelines in the United States. It appears to be a significant attempt to disrupt vulnerable energy infrastructure. The pipeline carries refined gasoline and jet fuel up the East Coast from Texas to New York.

Colonial Pipeline, the operator of the system, said in a statement late Friday that it had shut down its 5,500 miles of pipeline, which it claims carries 45 percent of the East Coast's fuel supplies, in an effort to contain the breach on its computer networks. Disruptions along the pipeline hit earlier Friday, but it was unclear whether that was a direct result of the attack, or the company's moves to proactively halt it.

It was unclear who was responsible for the digital intrusion or how long the company's pipeline operations would be impacted. 

Most of that goes into major storage tanks, and with energy use depressed by the pandemic, the attack was unlikely to cause any immediate disruptions.

Colonial Pipeline said it had contacted law enforcement and other federal agencies. The F.B.I. leads such investigations, but critical infrastructure is the responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. An administration official said that an investigation into the episode was in the very early stages, and that it was unclear whether the attacker was a nation or a criminal group. 

“On May 7, the Colonial Pipeline Company learned it was the victim of a cybersecurity attack. We have since determined that this incident involves ransomware. In response, we proactively took certain systems offline to contain the threat, which has temporarily halted all pipeline operations, and affected some of our IT systems,” Colonial Pipeline System Disruption stated. “Upon learning of the issue, a leading, third-party cybersecurity firm was engaged, and they have launched an investigation into the nature and scope of this incident, which is ongoing. We have contacted law enforcement and other federal agencies.”

Colonial Pipeline is taking steps to understand and resolve this issue. At this time, their primary focus is the safe and efficient restoration of their service and their efforts to return to normal operation, according to a company press statement. 

“This process is already underway, and we are working diligently to address this matter and to minimize disruption to our customers and those who rely on Colonial Pipeline,” the company said.

How We Can Help Children In Rural Communities Thrive

Posted: 08 May 2021 09:33 AM PDT

Mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders, such as anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or ADHD, and learning problems, often begin in early childhood and can affect life-long health and well-being. Children with these disorders face challenges at home, at school, and with friends.

When children grow up in a safe and nurturing home environment, have opportunities to learn, and time to interact and build relationships with other children, they are more likely to reach their full potential. This is especially true for children with mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders.

Children in rural area walking in the green outdoors. Mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders, such as anxietyattention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or ADHD, and learning problems, often begin in early childhood and can affect life-long health and well-being. Children with these disorders face challenges at home, at school, and with friends. About 1 in 7 US children aged 2-8 years have a mental, behavioral, and/or developmental disorder reported by a parent. Photo by form PxHere

Mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders, such as anxietyattention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or ADHD, and learning problems, often begin in early childhood and can affect life-long health and well-being. Children with these disorders face challenges at home, at school, and with friends. About 1 in 7 US children aged 2-8 years have a mental, behavioral, and/or developmental disorder reported by a parent.

Previous research has shown that children with mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders and their families face personal, financial, and neighborhood challenges more often than families of children without these disorders. These challenges may make it harder for some parents to give their child the resources they need to thrive. The type of community that families live in, urban versus rural, may increase these challenges.

Overcoming challenges to support children

To better understand the differences between urban and rural areas, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers collected information from parents on children's mental health in both urban and rural areas. Parents were asked questions about their child's mental health, their own mental health, their neighborhood, and other personal and community factors.

Parents of children with mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders in rural areas (isolated, small rural, and large rural areas combined) more often reported having trouble getting by on their family's income than parents of children with these disorders in urban areas. Regardless of poverty level and race/ethnicity, these parents more often rated their own mental health or their partner's mental health as "fair" or "poor;" they also more often reported living in a neighborhood in poor condition and without amenities, such as parks, recreation centers, and libraries. To overcome these challenges, children and their parents living in rural communities may need additional support.

Children with mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders can benefit from better access to mental and behavioral health care, programs that support parents and caregivers, and opportunities to learn, play, and socialize.1,2,3

What might help families and their children with mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders?

States that:

  • Support the delivery of affordable mental and behavioral health care to families.
  • Foster policies and programs to alleviate financial hardships for families.
  • Expand neighborhood amenities where they are lacking to allow children to play, read, and socialize.

 Healthcare systems that:

  • Collaborate with early learning programs, parenting and caregiver support programs, and primary care clinicians to help improve access to mental and behavioral health care, and community social and recreational resources.
  • Explore ways to deliver affordable mental and behavioral health care services for parents and children, such as integrating these services into primary care settings and schools, as well as using telehealth technology.

Primary care clinicians that:

  • Connect families with mental and behavioral health care, parenting and caregiver support programs, and early learning programs.
  • Screen parents for stress, depression, and other mental health problems to help connect parents to the right resources.

 What is CDC doing?

CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) is committed to helping children with mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders and their families get the support they need. NCBDDD studies mental health and developmental disabilities, identifies factors that put children at risk for these conditions, and informs state and local decision-makers and other stakeholders, so that children and families can get the support they need as early as possible.

To learn more, please visit the following resources:

References

  1. National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine. (2016). Parenting Matters: Supporting Parents of Children Ages 0-8. Washington, DC: The National Academic Press.
  2. National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. (2009). Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People: Progress and Possibilities. (M. E. O'Connell, T. Boat, & K. E. Warner Eds.). Washington, DC: The National Academic Press.
  3. S. Department of Health and Human Services, US Department of Education, US Department of Justice. (2000). Report of the Surgeon General's Conference on Children's Mental Health: A National Action Agenda. Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services.

The risk of ADHD may be lower if children grow up in green environments

Posted: 08 May 2021 09:16 AM PDT

The results of a new Danish study by researchers from iPSYCH show that the amount of green space surrounding children’s homes has influence for the risk of developing ADHD. The study is so far the largest of its kind.

AARHUS UNIVERSITY
The results of a new Danish study by researchers from iPSYCH show that the amount of green space surrounding children's homes has influence for the risk of developing ADHD. The study is so far the largest of its kind. A group of kids are outdoors on a sunny day. Photo: Georgia Department of Community Health
The results of a new Danish study by researchers from iPSYCH show that the amount of green space surrounding children’s homes has influence for the risk of developing ADHD. The study is so far the largest of its kind. A group of kids are outdoors on a sunny day. Photo: Georgia Department of Community Health

The amount of green space surrounding children’s homes could be important for their risk of developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This is shown by new research results from iPSYCH.

A team of researchers from Aarhus University has studied how green space around the residence affects the risk of children and adolescents being diagnosed with ADHD. And the researchers find an association.

“Our findings show that children who have been exposed to less green surroundings in their residential area in early childhood, which we define as lasting up until age five, have an increased risk of receiving an ADHD diagnosis when compared to children who have been surrounded by the highest level of green space,” says Malene Thygesen, who is one of the researchers behind the study.

ADHD is one of the most common psychiatric diagnoses among children and it affects those with the disorder in different ways. The reason why some children develop ADHD is still not fully known. ADHD may be hereditary, but other factors may also play a role. For this reason, there are strong arguments for research into the causes of children developing the diagnosis. One condition which has been of interest for research is children’s access to green space, as previous studies have found an association with children’s mental well-being and cognitive development.

A complete study

A single study does not provide sufficient basis to conclude that there exists an association between access to green environments and children’s risk of developing ADHD, as this requires further studies. But the results of Malene Thygesen and the team’s research are the same as those of previous similar research projects, and the study’s research methods have taken into account many of the other factors which can also come into play in the development of ADHD.

“In the study we adjusted for gender, age, the child’s year of birth, and the parents’ psychiatric diagnosis and socio-economic status, and neighbourhood level socio-economic status. Our study is strong because it includes many individuals and because the information is very detailed. For example, we use data based on clinical diagnoses of ADHD made by specialists,” says Malene Thygesen.

Perspectives for further research

The research article written on the basis of this study can be found in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives and may inspire researchers to continue studying the association between access to green spaces and the risk of children being diagnosed with ADHD or other diagnoses.

“It’s interesting to think that living in green environments may be a protective factor for children in relation to the risk of developing ADHD.” Methodology

The study makes use of data on the addresses of more than 800,000 people born from 1992 and up until 2007, as well as information on clinical ADHD diagnoses from age five until 2016. In addition, the researchers use a specific measurement of how green the environment around a household is, the so-called normalized differential vegetation index. This measurement places the address in the middle of a quadratic area with 210 metres on each side, and on this basis calculates how green the surrounding area is.

###

Background for the results The study is a population-based cohort study which follows a section of the population in order to determine health development, with this particular study focusing on clinical ADHD diagnoses.Partners from Aarhus University: Malene Thygesen, Kristine Engemann, Gitte Juel Holst, Birgitte Hansen, Camilla Geels, Jørgen Brandt, Carsten Bøcker Pedersen, Søren Dalsgaard.The study has been financed by grants from the Lundbeck Foundation (iPSYCH), the Aarhus University Research Foundation (AUFF) and Nordforsk (Nordic WelfAir).

Establish a Digital Ecosystem and Enjoy Competitive Edge on the Market

Posted: 08 May 2021 07:41 AM PDT

2020 was a tough year, but we've moved on. Within a matter of weeks in 2020, the world has changed dramatically. Many businesses died overnight. But again, we live in an extremely competitive world; when one dies, others fill its niche instantly.

Despite all disasters, the population is growing, but we still stick to our lovely blue globe. Situations like the one we've witnessed the previous year became a new normal. Further, we move in time, the harder it will be to compete and survive as a business without a digital ecosystem.

How to Mitigate Risks in the Post-COVID Era?

The key point is the speed; every business must be fast despite any slowing factors – think fast, predict fast, adapt fast. It is hard to do that without innovations. The more automated the business processes, the faster to perform operations.

Go Digital

In the current world, the speed of operations, systematic approach in your business is everything.

Make sure you are digital. Any business without the digital presence and digital operations are already dead or soon will be dead. Your clients must be able to interact with you online as much as possible. They must understand your services without salesmen; they must be able to order any service without a single phone call.

But make sure your intranet is ready for it. Not all businesses use CRMs, not all have shared file storages, not all have knowledge bases. If you are one of those, be ready for big troubles. Your competitors have a great chance to overcome you.

Example of Striving Business

A good example here is the furniture factory that produces and distributes its own products. Without a good website, without an online furniture configurator, or any other digital product, what can it do when reseller stores are closed? Nothing, this type of business can silently wait until lockdown will be lifted and customers will come back again.

Let us open a secret; they won't. Because of a financial crisis, they will seek cheaper solutions, and more automated businesses can offer them such an opportunity. Those businesses don't spend money for sales representatives. They spend money toward digital solutions and highly effective personnel who do not spend working hours but are result-oriented and connected to real key indicators.

First Steps

Fire all the ballast, it may sound a bit aggressive, but it is not. If you want to be fast, you cannot do this with a stone chained to your leg. Cut it as soon as possible, increase the speed, introduce KPIs and OKRs, and everything that cannot fit into those will self-destruct.

It may be a sleepy employee; it may be a service provider that feels confident in your partnership just because you've worked for 10 years together and doesn't bring the required value at all.

There are so many opportunities around, you just need to open your mind for it. The crisis is a great test for every business, and you should completely understand how your business can strive in a crisis. Any decision may lead to instant death; there is no time to support laziness and unproductive behaviors.

Supply Chain

Check the supply chain. We don't do everything in-house; even companies like Apple partner with Samsung to provide the best possible services and experiences for their own customers. Make sure the whole chain is stable enough to sustain lockdowns and economic challenges.

Try to prepare plans B and better C in advance, but if it is too complicated or impossible, support those in need.

If you have a great supplier, but it is a small business, make sure it can make it through. It can deliver great products and services for you, but if it dies, you can have a hole in your processes. Help it, support it, as much as you can. This will reinforce the partnership and will definitely solve near and far future problems.

What to Do?

In general, let's highlight that speed is everything in our world. If something slows you down, it is a good time to say goodbye. Get rid of the unimportant things in your business operations. Instead, implement faster proceedings via digital solutions.

Eventually, you will see how your business not only survives but starts growing. It is relevant to any company, be it a startup, small business, medium-sized business, or huge enterprise corporation.

The more innovations each company implements, the better service we all will get, and the more productive we will be competing in each market.

After all, COVID-19 quarantine showed the necessity of digital solutions in any company. Whether it is huge enterprises or small businesses/start-ups, now every entity requires external and internal digital collaboration processes to be established.

What Is a Software Gap and How It Ruins Businesses?

Many companies already have pretty big infrastructures, others have very little software footprint, but they all unite one thing. It is the digital gap in many aspects of any business's life.

Example of Software Gap

For example, a big car dealership may have many automation software, databases, accounting solutions, and so on. However, it is still not possible to make a full cycle totally remote or human-free operating.

The crisis showed that most automated companies dominate less automated and digitized companies.

So that very same car dealership business has a CRM and probably great salesmen ready to use any automation or remote software to sell even when we have distancing and stay-at-home orders.

But their website is quite old. It doesn't have any configurators or any kind of interactivity (visartech dot com). So a user won't even call them. Especially when there are competitors on the market with an online configurator, where clients can configure a car of their own dreams, buy it, and conduct the necessary proceedings through the website.

The well-known Volkswagen automaker company has created a People's Car Project. It was meant to let any person design their "perfect car." Guess how popular the website became? There were 33 million website hits and 119,000 ideas designed. Amazing, isn't it?

What's the Outcome?

When a website becomes one place for ordering, clarification, and paying, most definitely, the "old-style" dealership is gonna lose the battle. Their great salesmen will sit straight without phone calls and will never meet a plan.

This is what I call the software gap. They have a gap between clients and a car review process. Their potential clients are not able to simply see what they will get, and they will just swipe for the next dealership that has it.

As you can see, any company must avoid those gaps as much as they can. Even the smallest crack can ruin the business in matters of a month.

The Ecosystem Saves Business

It sounds terrifying, but only if you're not doing anything. Many companies are already on their way to a digital transformation – they work on covering and re-thinking those gaps.

Logically, the only way to avoid any gaps is to build the Ecosystem.

It is natural because its main purpose is to glue all company's processes and goods together.

Any ecosystem is consistent and self-sustainable. Even deadly wounded, it tries to find a way out by any available means.

Well-known Examples of Ecosystems

We all know that any well-implemented ecosystem sells. Usually, it includes more services and better integration between them than others. The most ostentatious examples are Apple and Google.

Both built amazing products, software, and hardware. Both of them have created amazing ecosystems that the rest of the world uses.

We all saw how Nokia lost its smartphone leader position when Apple presented its ecosystem. For users, it was amazing as all applications are in one place, no need to surf the web, download a calculator, etc.

What Are Your Next Steps?

The same rule applies to any other business. The already mentioned dealership desperately needs to build at least a simple digital ecosystem to sustain future problems and win the competition.

They should add a configurator, integrate it with the CRM, implement synchronization with the car manufacturer. It all helps to check the availability of the goods and order things automatically. As you can see, it looks like a small but lifesaving ecosystem.

Let's go deeper into details. Usually, any business has a web page. Pretty rarely, there is a mobile app, and some kind of CRM to track sales and marketing activities.

At some point, business managers come to realize that all customer-business interactions must be automated and available online to prevent a possible gap. What do they do? Correct, they implement the digital ecosystem.

What Lies Behind the Digital Ecosystem?

The core of any digital ecosystem is a backend that holds the business logic. It is the brain of the whole infrastructure. Usually, the backend process allows us to input information and make some decisions.

For example, calculate your Credit Score based on the data received from third-party services like credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Those organizations have their own servers and are able to respond with it.

Once you have a backend, you need some sort of a client, a web page, an application, or usually both. This is a kind of gateway for your customers and employees. It helps them to interact with your backend and other nodes of the digital ecosystem.

You may have numerous services or products with a bunch of backends and clients, but they must be connected to each other to avoid gaps.

Ecosystems for Small Businesses

Let's try to model an ecosystem for a small business company.

For instance, the company sells ice cream. It has 2 shops and a delivery service.

Develop a Website for Your Ecosystem

In order to create an ecosystem for this business, we need to start with a website. It should have essential information about the product, contacts, and provide an ability to order takeaway or delivery directly on the web page. It is truly significant for your business.

But the website is just a client, so it cannot store any data persistently. All the information is available only during the session. In order to store all the data and process payments, a back-end solution is required. Besides that, we also need integration with delivery services. It helps to synchronize the data through web requests with a third-party service provider and return to the client with waiting time and a delivery price.

There are many third-party service providers that any business interacts with. Imagine how convenient it is to have a comprehensive connection with all of them. Just think about it; based on your sales data, a system can automatically order new ice cream from manufacturers. Or even build forecasts on which ice cream will be popular in the next few weeks according to weather conditions and tv-shows releases.

Build a Mobile App for Your Ecosystem

Even such a small ecosystem gives businesses some real advantages over their competitors. The system may be indefinitely upgraded with more services that meet the customers changing moods.

For example, mobile users prefer to use applications instead of mobile-friendly websites. It requires businesses to create mobile applications for iOS and Android and connect them to the backend. It leads to an increased presence and improved service for the customers.

Take Care Of Wearables

In certain cases, there is a need to create an application for smartwatches, so customers can see the delivery status and alerts right on their hands.

In collaboration, a new value is born. Having an idea to deliver ice cream together with flowers, and integration with a flower salon is essential. Here businesses can implement as many integrations as they need to fulfill the greatest demands of their customers.

All of these interactions are nearly impossible to achieve manually. Everything must be connected with each other and communicate clearly. This is the only way when customers can see the crucial information about their orders on their screens in a matter of seconds.

That's exactly what lays the foundation for further growth. Such a business can scale up to satisfy the increasing demands of the highly competitive market.

Wrapping Up

Every business needs some sort of an ecosystem, simply to connect all business nodes together. The better ecosystem, the more effective the business itself.

With the right tools in your hands that you are easy to use, you're stable and mistakes-free. This way, your business can stand out on the market and satisfy your most demanding customers' needs.

Image Credit: ketut subiyanto; pexels; thank you!

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2020 was a tough year, but we've moved on. Within a matter of weeks in 2020, the world has changed dramatically. Many businesses died overnight. But again, we live in an extremely competitive world; when one dies, others fill its niche instantly. Despite all disasters, the population is growing, but we still stick to our
The post Establish a Digital Ecosystem and Enjoy Competitive Edge on the Market appeared first on ReadWrite.Apps, Entrepreneurs, Small Business, Software, Startups, Tech, business software, mobile app development, software development, tech ecosystem

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