Flipping the focus from burgers to social media

Maysoon El-Ahmad on Nov 5, 2018

WHAT’S GOING ON

• As AI, robotics and sensor-based technologies put the future of low skilled jobs in jeopardy, the youth of today are turning to social media for part-time income
  • Retailers and Food Service operators globally are replacing low paid / low skilled jobs with more efficient technologies
  • Amazon plans to open 3000 of its Amazon Go cashier-less stores by 2021
  • Store chains like Standard Market (Canada), Moby Store (China) and even Woolies in Double Bay (Australia) are investing in ceiling cameras, scanners, payment apps and AI all in an effort to improve customer convenience and operational efficiencies
• So if you can’t flip a burger or be a check-out chick, where do you go for a casual income in 2018? Where you go for just about everything else – social media
• Anyone under the age of 18 has grown up with social media so they know how to use it to their advantage
• Platforms such as Instagram are a hunting ground for brands wanting teen attention and therefore teens who want to earn an income through sponsored content
• Brands such as Icewise have chosen teens over celebrities to promote their accessories – not only are they cheaper, brand owners believe they’re better. Matthew Weisberger of Icewise said that working with teens “was like striking gold….these girls are excited to create an entire meme around your product and charge you $20”
• Sound like extortion? It’s actually a pretty fair value exchange, the brands build awareness and even pre-teens as young as 12 develop skills in sales, negotiation, photo editing, marketing and management – and they don’t even have to get out of bed!

GROWTH MANTRA’S PREDICTION

• This “grey” market will increase and result in a new cohort of employees in the future who have mature negotiation and sales skills and will not rely on traditional income streams

IS THAT FOR REAL? FAKE EXPERIENCES.

Maysoon El-Ahmad on Sept, 2018

WHAT’S GOING ON

As economies all around the world shift out of agriculture and manufacturing to a service based economy, and as we become healthier, wealthier and more educated, our appetite and expectations for novel, adventure and immersive experiences is rising. 

Consequently we are seeing the global rise of fake experiences emulating real life experiences.

For example, demand is growing for indoor recreational centres that emulate experiences that were once the haven of adrenaline junkies and out of reach of the average person, particularly ‘thrill seeking experiences’ (due to factors such as cost, physical ability and the odd bit of bravery required to jump out of a plane):

• Several indoor skydiving centres have opened up around the country, including facilities in Perth, Penrith and Gold Coast allowing those who aren’t brave enough to jump out of a plane to live the experience.  
• Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide are all working on building wave pool parks where novice surfers can take part in the activity without a worry of sharks or getting caught in a rip. You are literally in safe waters.
• Indoor ski parks are the latest to join the rank. Only last week China announced to debut the world’s biggest indoor ski park in Shanghai, developed by the owner of the world’s famous Dubai ski park.
• Penrith is also developing the country’s first carbon neutral indoor snow centre due to open by 2025. The complex will include an 80 metre beginner slope, a snow play area, ice skating rink, ice climbing and rock climbing areas and fitness facilities.
• A Bear Grylls Adventure Park is opening in Birmingham later this year. The park is designed around real-life challenges faced by Bear Grylls (Man vs. Wild) himself. For those brave enough, the complex will feature indoor skydiving, climbing and the highest free-roam high ropes in Europe, and even a zip line from a Chinook helicopter.

Technology is further enabling our hunger for experiences. Our favourite example comes from a recent partnership between Samsung and Uniting Aged Care. The partnership involves a pilot program that will see Samsung visit five Uniting aged care homes across NSW and the ACT to encourage residents to ‘tick off’ their bucket lists through immersive virtual reality experiences. Residents will select an experience from their personal ‘bucket list’ that they have not yet achieved, particularly those they have always dreamed of doing. Samsung will source the virtual reality content based on their individual request for them to enjoy in the aged care facilities.

We have previously spoken about the tech giant’s ambitions to create augmented reality (AR) experiences with Facebook ploughing millions of dollars into developing AR platforms.

GROWTH MANTRA’S PREDICTION

• We believe the new experience economy has only just begun with fake experiences becoming a core feature of it – making experiences attainable to the many rather than the few.
• In a world where social is the new currency, social media is the perfect platform that feeds this growing trend. Engaging in thrill seeking activities is just half the fun, sharing it with your social network completes the experience as we continuously seek approval and validation from those around us.
• As our growing desire for experiential consumption over material possession in our on-going pursuit towards happiness grows, we believe this trend towards fake experiences will become even more pronounced in years to come as we increasingly pass up the latest handbag to shell out for experiences that bring out a level of bravery and adventure in all of us.

WHAT’S IN MY BURGER? FAKE FOOD YOU SAID?

Maysoon El-Ahmad on Sept, 2018

WHAT’S GOING ON

If 2017 was the year of fake news, 2018 is becoming the year of fake food.

From counterfeit food to food products being developed in laboratories to act as substitutes to real food, these changes are sure to get your taste buds frothing (or not).

With vegan and vegetarian diets on the rise in advanced and developed countries, we are seeing a foray of meat substitute products flooding the market.

Memphis Meats, a food technology company in San Francisco is producing animal cells in the lab to create meat without the animal. In 2016, it unveiled a lab-cultured meatball that cost $18K per pound to grow. In 2017, it released samples of lab -grown chicken and duck meat, with the cost per pound reduced to $9K. As prices fall, it hopes to launch commercially in 2021.

Tyson Foods (the largest meat processor in the U.S) is now injecting more money Into fake meat (aka Plant-Based Meat) with CEO Tom Hayes stating that “Plant-based protein is growing almost, at this point, a little faster than animal based, so I think the migration may continue in that direction”.

Finless Foods (a food start-up) aims to use biotechnology to create synthetic fish, which its founders say requires less energy than creating synthetic meat. It plans to release its first product, Bluefin Tuna, in 2019.

This trend is growing so fast that meat producers are seeing it as a threat to their industry. The US Cattlemen’s Association have recently petitioned the government to exclude plant-based and lab-grown products from the definition of meat.

In fact as of September 2^nd, Missouri became the first state in the USA to pass a law that prevents food producers from using the word “meat” in reference to anything that does not come from harvested livestock or poultry.

We are seeing a similar movement here in Australia where the dairy farmers industry are calling on the govt. to ban fake milk (aka plant based milk such as Soy, Almond, Oat) from being called milk. Dairy farmers in the USA are also placing pressure on the FDA to do the same thing.

And the story to sweeten this new world of ‘fake food’ came from our own shores early this month after research claimed that half the honey sold in our supermarkets is fake. This means the honey is adulterated with cheap sweeteners while claiming it is ‘pure’.  The ACCC is taking this seriously launching an urgent investigation into the honey industry.

GROWTH MANTRA’S PREDICTION

• We expect to see more ‘fake’ food product innovation coming from science / tech based companies to meet the growing trend of the socially and ethical consumer. As more and more consumers look to alternative consumption options to help lower their impact on the environment, we expect to see this grow in the next decade as the impact of global warming continues to wreak havoc on our planet.
• This is likely to see large food manufacturers either collaborating or acquiring tech food start-ups to help sustain their growth and / or prevent them from losing market share to this growing new breed of food manufacturers.
• We expect to see innovations in packaging, apps and blockchain to tackle the growing problem of counterfeit foods.
• Alibaba is investing in Blockchain technology to help combat the large proportion of counterfeit products coming from China. Recent research shows they have filed over 10% of the world’s Blockchain patents.
• Diageo have just introduced an app that enables consumers to scan a QR code to confirm the authenticity of their whisky bottles.
• PURITI, a brand of honey have just launched a unique honey jar which has features to prevent international counterfeiting.

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THE STREAMING MOVEMENT CONTINUES TO STREAM UP

Maysoon El-Ahmad on Jul, 2018

WHAT’S GOING ON

As the last 2 Blockbuster stores in Alaska announced their closure last week leaving just one remaining in the entire world based out in Oregan USA, a new range of streaming platforms are ushering a new age of content. 

In music, streaming is now the preferred form of consumption. Recent data just released by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) shows that music streaming has now officially taken over as the format of choice in Australia with revenue sales growing from $135.5million in 2016 to $213million in 2017 over taking all other formats. The story is the same in the USA with recently released Nielsen figures revealing that in the first half of 2018, Americans streamed 403 billion songs, almost 100 billion songs more than what they streamed in all of 2015, when streaming accounted for as much as half of US music revenue.

Tech companies are reimagining the streaming experience in new areas with a new wave of creative content with many now focusing on live streaming.

• With its recent IPO, Spotify has begun expanding its streaming services beyond music. Earlier this year, the company announced Spotify Spotlight, which integrates video content into original podcasts alongside audio, most notably Amy Schumer’s 3 Girls, 1 Keith, which launched at the end of June 2018.
• With its success in “stories” which has seen rapid growth and used by 250million people daily, Instagram has just launched IGTV (Instagram TV) which allows users to upload longer form content (up to one hour), going head to head with YouTube.
• Betaworks, an American startup studio and seed stage venture capital company, has just launched an accelerator program focused on supporting companies looking to advance the streaming ecosystem. They are looking for new live-streamed experiences in gaming, sports, entertainment, fitness and much more.
• Peloton, a company known for its popular fitness bike and large library of fitness classes that users can take any time has now started offering live-streamed classes. Members can choose from 15+ daily live studio classes taught by elite NYC instructors.
• Then there is Kanopy, a streaming video on demand service just like Netflix (that started in Australia) is available free to anyone with a library card. Not exactly a live streaming platform just yet, but the service is already used by more than 5 million people — in partnership with 4,000 libraries around the world. They are now starting to license titles which include acclaimed and historically significant documentaries before they’re available to stream anywhere else. They are also looking to acquire the rights of documentaries and independent films that get launched at festivals but find it hard to find a home. Their vision is to create a platform that makes these films widely available around the world.
• Recent rumours suggest that Google is about to launch a subscription based game streaming service. The service, codenamed “Yeti”, would put Google at the forefront of a new part of the video game business that lets people play games as they’re being streamed, rather than using downloads or disks.

These recent launches come at a pivotal point at which more and more people are rejecting traditional television in favour of digital content. They also represent a shift toward increasingly mobile-first entertainment, in fact according to Ericsson’s “TV and Media 2017” report, 70% of consumers now watch television and video on mobile devices, a figure that has doubled since 2012.

GROWTH MANTRA’S PREDICTION

• Entertainment and how we consume content is already fragmented, and we expect this to become even more so as new experiences and platforms enter the market.
• 5G technology will really ramp things up by making mobile live streaming a much more reliable and enjoyable experience. Last week, Telstra successfully completed a world first end to end data call on a commercial mobile network which shows we aren’t too far off from 5G enabled phones.
• Live streaming will enable global connection. We already saw that people crave the type of connectivity where they can share and influence live events with one another (which has helped drive the success of social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube).
• We believe this new world of streaming will open up new opportunities for brands to engage with their customers in new and exciting, deeper, interactive and impactful ways like never before.

THOW BLOCKCHAIN COULD DISRUPT THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY

Maysoon El-Ahmad on Jul, 2018

WHAT’S GOING ON

Two weeks ago renowned Hollywood film producer Teddy Zee stated that “blockchain is the next game-changer, it will shake the whole entertainment industry from film to TV and music”.

For those unfamiliar with this technology, in its simplest form, blockchain is an open and public (therefore decentralised) permanent digital ledger system that records the transactions between two parties without the need for a middleman. It is held on many computers and does not allow any transaction data to be altered. More importantly, what happens in a blockchain stays in a blockchain for all participants to see (in line with the transparency mega trend).

While in its infancy, blockchain could revolutionise the way transactions are exchanged between people, including entertainment, mainly in the form of crowdfunding, ledgers for record keeping, and ‘smart contracts’. Agreements actioned via blockchain cut out intermediaries, bringing transparency to the entertainment industry. We are already starting to see pockets of this globally:

• In 2017, Mitzi Peirone became the first director to fund her film “Braid” through a crowd equity strategy using blockchain production company ConsenSys. The campaign was a success which saw her reach her goal of $1.7 million within a month. Whatever revenue Braid generates will be paid out to investors (token holders using cryptocurrency) plus 15% interest.
• Watcha, a Seoul-based video streaming provider is developing its own blockchain platform called “Contents Protocol”. Dubbed the Netflix of Korea, it aims to improve copyright distribution for all parties on its existing services ranging from film, TV shows to music, webtoons and e-books.
• MovieCoin launched two months ago providing the entertainment industry with a new transformational financing platform built on blockchain technology. It will offer investors an unprecedented opportunity to invest in Hollywood movies and TV shows with transparency regarding where their money is spent and how their investments perform. They just hired six strategic advisors all with a background in the media and entertainment industry to offer on-going strategic support. So they mean serious business.
• Apollon is a blockchain ecosystem & marketplace for the entertainment industry which covers all aspects of the industry to allow exchanges between parties across the entire entertainment value chain.

GROWTH MANTRA’S PREDICTION

• While Blockchain technology has yet to gain mass adoption in the wider community, recent developments are presenting potential to completely disrupt the state of play in the media and entertainment industry.
• This could be 5-10 years away which is supported by research company Gartner who state the technology ‘is poised to create one of the most transformative and dramatic impacts in the next 5-10 years’.
• Just like the share economy and the Internet have democratised what were once rigid and closed industries (think Uber and the Taxi industry, the Internet, making information freely available), we believe Blockchain has the potential to completely democratise the art industry.
• It opens up a new platform for independent artists to freely sell their creative talent and follow their heart without the hurdles of the multiple layers of the industry.
• Most importantly it will help shift what has been a closed industry to one that will be more open and transparent by creating a more equal level playing field for all parties involved.

TECH GIANTS LATEST PUSH INTO LIVE SPORTS

Maysoon El-Ahmad on Jul, 2018

WHAT’S GOING ON

With social media now ubiquitous, the way we consume media and all forms of entertainment has changed dramatically over the last decade, particularly how we watch sport. Scripted broadcast programming has experienced sharp drops in ad buying driven by the recent consumer shift towards On Demand, or other commercial-free options.

The tech giants are now bidding against traditional media outlets for sport broadcasting rights as they try to gain more of our attention. Over the last two years Amazon, Facebook and Twitter have been spending millions of dollars to acquire the rights of major sporting events.

• In 2016 Twitter paid $10 million for the rights to simulcast American NFL Thursday Night Football games. Those rights have now been bought by Amazon, which broadcast TNF games last year and paid $50 million for the rights to broadcast games for the next two seasons. While Amazon streams the games to paying Prime members, non-members can watch for free through Amazon’s Twitch service.
• Amazon also recently bought the coveted rights to stream 20 English Premier League soccer games starting in 2019. 
• YouTube TV has also joined the streaming fight, spending millions to gain exclusive rights to broadcast games for Los Angeles’ new Major League Soccer team. This is said to be the first time a streaming service of any kind has made such a deal with a U.S. pro sports team instead of a TV alternative.
• Last year, Facebook reached a deal to stream one simulcast Major League Baseball game a week, but this season, they are exclusively streaming 25 games that can only be watched, for free, on Facebook and just last week saw them secure a $200m deal to broadcast the English Premier League in South East Asia.

GROWTH MANTRA’S PREDICTION

• One of the key macro trends that constantly comes up in our trend work is the increased desire for a sense of community and connection. We believe these recent moves by the tech giants tap into this trend by empowering viewers with an enhanced experience that allows them to share, discuss and engage with peers in digital communities. Despite the recent data scandals, social platforms like Facebook act as key enablers that cater to the human need to connect with others (which explains why most of us are still using it!).
• One just needs to look at the conversations and newsfeed on both Facebook and Twitter during a big sporting event to see the level of social conversations that are already taking place with viewers using two screens (in most cases their TV and their mobile phone). Social media platforms streaming live sports will help create a much more integrated, seamless and natural experience all on the one screen and platform. 
• The trend of social watching could pose new threats to traditional media broadcasters beyond live sports. We could see a future where social media platforms buy the rights of some of the big reality TV shows (e.g. MasterChef) allowing viewers to watch and discuss their favourite shows with others as the show unfolds.
• With Facebook working on several Virtual Reality projects we could see a not too distant future where social watching becomes a more immersive experience allowing viewers to virtually view events in the same space using VR technology, cheering, high fiving and physically feeling the real energy of a live event. Go out and watch Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One,” to get a glimpse of what this world could look like, while a different context that type of immersive VR experience could become the killer app.
• While linear TV is still important and reaches a huge audience, traditional media broadcasters need to take note of not just the fact that the tech giants are now entering their space but how the viewing experience is changing as consumers needs and expectations are fast evolving. The future rests on their ability to keep up with these changes and capitalise on these trends to provide viewers a combined experience of live viewing and social watching that is both contextual and seamlessly integrated.
• Digitally connected young people are increasingly becoming the mainstream consumers in this market. With online social media being their preferred way of staying connected, they are pursuing digital content as their main source of entertainment, so it is important to be ahead of these trends to ensure future survival.

FROM TECHLASH TO RESPONSIBLE TECH

Maysoon El-Ahmad on May, 2018

WHAT’S GOING ON

In business years, the tech giants are still quite young and therefore have lots of growing up to do. Just like teenagers, the last few years may have been their reckless years, with experience now on their side and with big wake up calls, we may start to see greater levels of maturity and responsibility emerge.

Already the tech giants are rushing to self-regulate and introducing new initiatives aimed at creating a ‘healthy Internet’ and ‘digital wellbeing’.

• Facebook and Twitter both recently announced changes to their internal ad policy aimed at increasing transparency to users and preventing foreign parties from manipulating the platform.
• On Tuesday the 17th of April 2018, more than 30 high-tech companies led by FB and Microsoft announced a set of principles that included a declaration stating they refuse to help any government mount cyberattacks against “innocent civilians and enterprises from anywhere”. Google and Amazon have declined to sign it for now.
• In April, Facebook-owned platform Instagram created an entire team dedicated to making people feel better while using Instagram—and it’s literally called the “Wellbeing Team”. In response to studies that have linked social media platforms (specifically Facebook and Instagram) with mental health issues, one of their top priorities is to make the community a safer place, ‘a place where people feel good’ and fosters happiness for users. The CEO of Instagram, Kevin Systrom has been heard stating that the Internet was a ‘cesspool’ that he had to ‘clean up’ so we could see more to come from this newly developed team.
• Late last year, in its iOS 11 upgrade, Apple introduced a ‘Do Not Disturb While Driving’ feature designed to mute incoming calls, texts, and notifications while driving aimed at cutting down on accident-causing distractions. The feature can be set to turn on manually or automatically when the iPhone detects a car’s acceleration, or when an iPhone connects to a car’s Bluetooth.
• Early this month when Google ran its annual developer conference, CEO Sundar Pichai spent some time talking about how the company was striving to be a more responsible player, especially as new technologies like artificial intelligence emerge. He stated ‘We just can’t be wide-eyed about the innovations technology creates, the path ahead needs to be navigated carefully and deliberately’.
• While Google hasn’t experienced Facebook’s public backlash, it is taking a proactive position. It is reframing digital safety around personal wellbeing and is about to release new features for the next Android update currently code-named ‘P’. It includes a dashboard that tells users how often they have unlocked their phone by day and how much time they spend on different apps. It will also let users set time limit for apps and remind them after an hour of browsing Instagram that it may be time to stop (if that is the limit that has been set). Google vice president of product management Sameer Samat stated that ‘Digital well-being is going to be a long-term theme for us’.

GROWTH MANTRA’S PREDICTION

• After enjoying a decade of freedom and little scrutiny, we are now at a critical juncture which may see new levels of responsibility and maturity from the tech giants. We are already seeing snippets of evidence to support this.
• The tech giants are realising that without self-regulation, government and societal pressure will mount forcing disruptions to their business models. To avoid this, they have no choice but to take on a more responsible position which we predict will see growth in new initiatives from the tech giants aimed at fostering a healthier digital planet.
• The health and wellbeing trend that has become a priority focus for many brands will extend into digital health and internet health, with the tech giants (ironically) driving innovation in this space. We expect to see new roles emerge in the tech companies that will be focused on creating greater levels of wellbeing among their users and for the wider community.

FROM TECH DARLINGS TO TECHLASH

Maysoon El-Ahmad on May, 2018

WHAT’S GOING ON

Once seen as the saviours of democracy, openness and free speech, sentiment towards the tech giants we idolised only a few years ago is starting to turn sour (namely Google, Amazon, Apple and Facebook).

The tech giants have brought huge benefits to the world and continue to do so. They have opened up access to information never imaginable, improved how we communicate with each other and have revolutionised how we do business on a grand scale. However concerns about the power and influence they hold is mounting. These concerns are coming from people within the industry itself as well as their shareholders and investors, and it’s not just Facebook people are concerned about.  

• Over the past few months, Trump has berated Amazon for its postal service financial model, ‘claiming’ the company is not paying its fair share in market rates. Similarly, New York University Professor Scott Galloway recently stated that Amazon’s power has become so big that ‘it can inflict serious damage on competitors just by sending out a press release’.Early this year, Apple investors published an open letter placing pressure on Apple to ‘improve the parental control features in iPhone and iPads’ citing research that links negative psychological effects of young children who over-use technology.
• In early April, 39 year old Youtube content creator Nasim Aghdam went on a shooting rampage at the Youtube headquarters after claims that YouTube had ruined her life for ‘unfairly censoring her videos’ making them ineligible for advertising revenue which she came to rely on. This came on the back of mounting tensions between YouTube and its creators when the company changed the requirements for ad payments with many seeing it as a direct threat to their livelihoods. 
• Only weeks ago Google showcased its artificially intelligent bot that calls people up and pretends to be human causing many to question the ethics of allowing a conversation with a robot to take place without being made aware (this similarly applies to the current chatbots that many of us are probably already conversing with unknowingly).
• Recent controversies have also seen Facebook being accused of ‘weaponising misinformation on an industrial scale and undermining the foundation of democracy.

Even the founding fathers of digital technologies are starting to question their growing power. Tim Berners-Lee the creator of the World Wide Web has recently hit out at the big tech companies in an open letter stating:

“The web that many connected to years ago is not what new users will find today. What was once a rich selection of blogs and websites has been compressed under the powerful weight of a few dominant platforms. This concentration of power creates a new set of gatekeepers, allowing a handful of platforms to control which ideas and opinions are seen and shared”.

The tech giants have grown so fast that their influence has only become apparent now that they are so entrenched in our lives. Consequently we are now finding ourselves grappling towards novel forms of remedy:

• Europe is at the forefront of this which has seen regulators impose serious sanctions on tech companies that abuse their dominance.
• The French government also recently issued a ban on all students across the nation from using mobile phones while in school which will come into effect in September this year.

GROWTH MANTRA’S PREDICTION

• The traditional solution for supercilious corporate power is usually through anti-trust legislation, however we don’t expect this to gain much traction as the tech giants are so embedded in everything we do. Many also argue that we created these tech giants, ‘with our demands driving their inventions’ which we eat up each time they bring it to market (and who hasn’t spent hours stalking their ex on Facebook?)
• While there has been speculation that Facebook may consider a paid user model after Mark Zuckerberg stated earlier this year that there will ‘always be a version of Facebook that is free’ (leaving open the possibility that Facebook may someday offer a paid version), we don’t think this will happen. Even after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, how many of us deleted Facebook? While celebrities like Cher and Elon Musk did, the movement didn’t catch much momentum. Community ties and even work obligations make it difficult for people to bid farewell to Facebook for good.
• So where does that leave us? We believe it will be left up to the tech companies to reign themselves in and start acting more responsibly.

WHEN TECHNOLOGY MALFUNCTIONS

Maysoon El-Ahmad on May, 2018

WHAT’S GOING ON

The digital era is well and truly upon us, we are all digital, the eldest of the digital generation most commonly known as the millennials are about to enter their fourth decade, we are no longer transitioning to a digital world, we have arrived.

Unlike previous era’s, digital technology means that our world and lives are now increasingly dependent on elaborate networks and systems. From power grids, the cloud, tech platforms, finance systems and so forth, any major threat to these has potential to cause immense havoc.

We have become so reliant on these systems that any breakdown will paralyse and bring countries, cities and companies to a halt. These breakdowns can be caused by technological glitches, cyber-attacks or even simply damage to the undersea cables that supply the world with the Internet.

In the last few months alone we have witnessed these threats play out: 

• In early April this year, the Commonwealth Bank experienced an unprecedented technical outage that stranded their customers at cash registers. The outage saw credit card, bank transfers and BPAY bill payments disabled for over 24 hours.
• Also in April, Woolworths stores around the nation shut down during afternoon peak hour for a short period of time after their check out systems experienced a ‘glitch’ and stopped working.
• In March this year the government of Atlanta was forced to shut down the city due to a crippling cyberattack. This saw their courts close down and people unable to pay their bills online.
• And one of the worst cases to date occurred in March this year – Mauritania was taken completely offline for two days after a 17K submarine internet cable was cut. This meant Internet access was partially or completely cut off to residents of Sierra Leone and Mauritania and affected surrounding countries in Ivory Coast, Senegal, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Gambia, and Benin. While there is no evidence of sabotage, this incident echoes one of the biggest global concerns.

These examples – occurring in the space of 2 months – give us a glimpse into how our modern lives now hang by a delicate thread (or cable) and how vulnerable our world is becoming.

GROWTH MANTRA’S PREDICTION

• Without us noticing, our lives have been placed in the hands of computer systems that ought to be a lot more reliable than they are.
• There is no question that we need to be better prepared for further outbreaks. Just as fire drills are commonplace, we expect ‘cyber-attack’ and ‘system outage’ drills to be introduced to schools and workplaces – giving rise to ‘cyber-brigades.
•  While the threat of nuclear weapons has occupied headlines since WW2, the risk of Internet cable sabotage could almost be as frightening. 

WHEN PERSONAL DATA CROSSES BORDERS

Maysoon El-Ahmad on March, 2018

WHAT’S GOING ON

Internet data by its nature is a global commodity which transcends national borders, making the way we manage it on a national and international scale a very delicate task.

Data sharing and data management is becoming an increasingly difficult task as different countries start to adopt different rules, regulations and policies when it comes to how companies and governments use personal data.

For example, Germany forbids marketing to specific ethnic groups, while America does not. In the US certain companies are prohibited from disclosing information to foreign governments while in Europe, the data privacy of consumers is strictly protected and companies are restricted in how they can transfer data outside the bloc.

Running a business in an ever changing world already comes with challenges. This new paradigm adds increasing complexity and risk.

While a data economy presents many opportunities, it comes with new complexities that many are not prepared for as such, data privacy laws continue to evolve.

This evolution includes focused effort by nations to protect individuals:

Europe is a trailblazer in this space. On the 25th May 2018, the EU will undergo the greatest change in decades to its data protection laws when the EU General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) come into force.

Given the global nature of our digital world this could impact Australian businesses who have a footprint in Europe including; an Australian digital media or advertising business with an office in the EU, or whose website targets EU companies, or whose websites references customers or users in the EU, or a business that tracks individuals in the EU on the internet and uses data processing techniques to profile individuals to analyse and predict personal preferences, behaviours and attitudes.

These new laws will force Facebook to completely change its approach to personal data for their European users. Facebook commercially exploit “sensitive personal data for advertising purposes” which is forbidden by the new GDPR, and punishable with fines equal to 4% of the company’s global turnover.

The EU is also wanting to force US tech giants like Apple, Google and Microsoft to hand over electronic evidence across borders when investigating serious crimes. The proposed law would apply to any company that does business within Europe, no matter where its data centres are based.

GROWTH MANTRA’S PREDICTION

• Digital borders are becoming a growing global issue. As more companies start to operate cloud networks of giant data centers this could mean an individual’s data can reside anywhere.
• Tensions are building between the tech giants and governments. Should this tension increase, a ‘digital war’ between countries could prevail as each looks to protect its own citizens.  As data fast becomes one of the most valuable assets in our digital economy, this could be the new arms race.
• We expect to see the proliferation of ‘data privacy law’ consultants assisting companies to navigate the new laws locally and internationally to avoid any potential data breaches that can cost them thousands if not millions of dollars.
• We see a not too distant future where the United Nations will impose universal laws that transcend borders. These new human right laws will aim to protect individual’s personal data which may spark increased tension between countries if the laws are in opposition to their own laws or commercial interests.

THE NEXT FRONTIER OF BIG DATA

Maysoon El-Ahmad on May, 2018

WHAT’S GOING ON

Traditionally data has been all about reporting on historical performance and telling us what we did, but we are fast moving towards a future where data is becoming more forward-looking to predict, anticipate and advice in real time.

The sheer amount of data collected now along with the rapid improvements in computing power and sophisticated algorithms will partner to provide unimaginable opportunities for all industries, governments and individuals.

We are already starting to get a glimpse of what this new future of big data is starting to look like.

Telenav, an intelligent technology company provides connected car and advertising solutions is using data to help drivers find a parking space, predict a flat tyre, alert authorities to dangerous intersections, and most recently alerting drivers where there are discounts on fuel nearby if the fuel tank is running low. 

Pheramor, an online dating start up uses DNA and social media data to help matchmakers find their ideal partner.  DNA kits are shipped to the customer who take swabs from their cheeks and returns for sequencing. The results are combined with data including personality traits and interests gleaned from their social media profiles. The combination of this data is fed into the app generating a carousel of genetically and socially optimized potential partners in the local area.

Researchers from the University of Melbourne are conducting a study using data from phones to track the lives of patients with bipolar disorder to understand, monitor and even predict the sudden swings between their manic and depressive episodes.

Japan is trialling a predictive policing system it hopes to put in place before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Using Artificial Intelligence, the system learns autonomously using big data including social media and criminology including data related to the time, place, weather condition, geographical condition and various other aspects of past crimes or accidents to help predict crime and likely offenders.

Built by Doctors and Data Scientists, KenSci, a machine learning company, has recently launched a project to predict end-of-life mortality and improve patient care. By analysing longitudinal health records across several different datasets and modelling diseases, the solution can help identify high cost patients for hospitals and predict end of life aimed at improving palliative care for the patient.

And finally, the latest move from China to assign every citizen a social citizen score that is publicly rated has got many heads turning. Using big data, the system will generate a score for every citizen based on their social behaviours, social interactions online, how regularly they pay their bills, to spending habits and many more. This social score will drive the basis of a person’s trustworthiness aimed at measuring and enhancing nationwide ‘trust’ and building a culture of ‘sincerity’. According to the Chinese government “It will forge a public opinion environment where keeping trust is glorious”

GROWTH MANTRA’S PREDICTION

• All a bit “Black Mirror”? We think so and we think there is much more to come.
• For the first time in history, enabled by big data the world has a nervous system. We are entering an era where all our behaviours and interactions with ourselves, with each other and our environment has a voice offering insights that will transform how the world is run.
• With real time data becoming the norm, we are fast entering an era of predictive and prevention which is vastly different to previous periods of ‘fixing’ and ‘reacting’. Companies and governments will ramp up their preventative efforts by employing and investing in ‘prevention taskforce’ teams who will detect problems and fix them before they happen. 
• We are looking to a future with lower levels of disease, crime, traffic delays, accidents and fraud as we get smarter using data to detect patterns and predict likely future scenarios.
• Cybercrime, however, is a threat that might bring everything to a halt, however as we get smarter using data to anticipate ‘what may happen’ even cybercrime may become a thing of the past.
• Our increasing ability to quantify ourselves, to measure our behavior to levels we couldn’t dream about just a decade ago is a sign that things are about to get crazy – so buckle up!