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Published on Inside Radio
Demographics have long been the guide posts for buyers as they approached audio advertising, and that remains the rule of thumb for broadcast radio. But as marketers approach digital audio, a new study finds that investment in first- and third-party data pays off in delivering a better return on their spending.
Magna, the media intelligence and investment arm of IPG Mediabrands, and SXM Media partnered on the study among music streamers. It identified and matched audience segments using first and third-party data from IPG’s Acxiom against roughly 12,000 data attributes – from behavioral to demographic – with a focus on a personalized experience. It then compared the results of those so-called “matched ads” to spots placed using just traditional demographic information such as age, gender, and income. The results show both additional data sources beat demographics alone.
First-party data delivered a 52% increase in aided ad recall while audiences bought using third-party data had a 42% increase in aided ad recall. That compared to a 34% increase for recall among music streamers targeted using traditional demographic parameters.
“This data shows that if brands are only leveraging demographic audiences in their digital audio buys, they are not leveraging the full power of digital audio and are leaving some effectiveness and cost efficiencies on the table,” says Kara Manatt, Executive VP of Intelligence Solutions at Magna.
The report says those matched audiences are also more cost effective at driving purchase intent. While demographic audiences have a $0.25 cost per person cost, it finds that those targeted using third-party data are much cheaper at a $0.09 cost per person.
Manatt says the research is not implying that demographic targeting doesn’t work, but rather that first- and third-party data can be used to sniff out audiences that can be even more impactful at driving metrics like recall and purchase intent. The study finds that those streaming listeners who were sourced that way had more than three-times greater impact on purchase intent. While demo-based buys had a 6% lift on purchase intent, the matched audiences delivered a 19% boost.
“We found that going beyond demographics alone yields stronger results across the key metrics that marketers care about, creating more memorable ad experiences and driving purchase intent,” says Melissa Paris, VP of Sales Research & Analytics, at SXM Media. “Reaching people based on demographics works. However, people are naturally more than their demographic profile, so when advanced data is used to identify those with a high propensity to buy, the impact on branding KPIs is greater.”
The research was done with clients in the audio and travel categories. While their identities are not being released, Magna and SXM Media say the ad creative was tailored to align with audience insights to highlight key product features that would be most relevant, or select a music bed or voiceover that would resonate with a brand’s intended audience.
“While the size of the impact differed, the patterns in the data were very similar for both auto and travel in that matched audiences consistently performed better,” Manatt says.
The customized message was not only useful to the brand, but also listeners as more than half said they found more personalized ads provided helpful information.
The matched audiences also helped sway those in the discovery phase. Brand favorability rose 13% with first- or third-party matched audience ads, compared to 1% gain for demo-based ads. The customized ads also had a 17% lift in users finding the brand “exciting” while the general market ad had 5% boost.
Regardless of how audiences are targeted, the study shows people of all ages are receptive to audio ads. About two-thirds of each age group say they are open to audio advertising, with Millennials the most receptive to the medium.
“We often find that it is more difficult to capture and hold the attention of younger generations, so it is very interesting to see all generations highly receptive to audio ads,” Manatt says.
The study focused on streaming music, and researchers are cautious about concluding the results would be the same for spoken word audiences.
“This would be a great next study,” Manatt says, “especially given how passionate we know listeners are about their podcasts.”


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ShopClues buys out Bengaluru-based startup Momoe
The deal size is pegged at $10-12 million, with consideration being paid in both cash and stock
The deal will also help ShopClues establish an office in the startup capital and all five Momoe founders are expected to join its senior management team across functions like design, corporate development and technology. The deal size is pegged at $10-12 million, with consideration being paid in both cash and stock. ETfirst reported about the deal on March 14.
Investors in Momoe — which raised $1.2 million from India Quotient, IDG Ventures India and Jungle Ventures — will get both cash and stock in ShopClues as a part of the transaction.
“We got five very senior people in the company as a part of this acquisition, which is the most exciting part,” said Sanjay Sethi, CEO of ShopClues, while declining to comment on the deal size.
Two-year-old Momoe was founded by Utkarsh Biradar, Karthik Vaidyanathan, Ganesh Balakrishnan, Neelesh Bam, and Aiman Ashraf, mostly graduates of IITs and IIMs, and is present in Bengaluru. All five are joining ShopClues in senior management positions.
Biradar will join as vice-president heading design and product on the merchant side; Balakrishnan will lead platform monetisation and services; Bam will head merchant acquisition helping ShopClues expand base in South India; Ashraf will head technology for payment and Vaidyanathan will work on strategic initiatives with ShopClues cofounder Radhika Aggarwal. Besides the team, the deal will also help ShopClues kickstart a paysemi-closed wallet and solutions for merchants.
“Momoe comes with a working merchant base, PCI compliance which would have taken us 8-12 months to obtain and banking relationships. Building a payments business requires a different DNA,” said Sethi. Momoe’s technology will help ShopClues build payments solutions for its base of over 5,00,000 merchants, who can use it for not only online transactions but offline payments as well.
“Payments is a tough talent to acquire and Momoe’s team will help ShopClues monetise their large base of merchants by building payment tools for them which can add to their margins,” said Anand Lunia, co-founder of India Quotient.

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March 2023 marks six years since cargo-partner opened its first branch in Gothenburg, as the company continues to develop and grow across Sweden.
The local team of 20 logistics experts are based from offices in Stockholm and Gothenburg, offering a comprehensive portfolio of air, sea, rail and road transport services to a variety of industries, helping customers to move shipments across the globe.
The two cargo-partner offices are positioned in and close by to key transport hubs, with strategic connections to airports, ports, rail and road networks, supporting both local and international businesses with all transport needs.
The company’s Swedish head office is situated in Gothenburg, home to Sweden’s largest port, while the Stockholm office, located near Arlanda Airport, can provide air freight and courier services for clients’ urgent shipments. Furthermore, the logistics provider can offer a variety of warehousing solutions through cargo-partner’s network of selected partners.
Speaking about the milestone, the company’s Managing Director for Sweden, Dennis Bengtsson, said: “2023 is an exciting year for cargo-partner. As the global business celebrates its 40th anniversary in the logistics industry, more locally we’re proud to be celebrating six years of being closer to our customers and partners in Sweden.
“It’s been a privilege to welcome new colleagues and customers to the company over the last six years, and we’re excited to deliver on our growth strategy as we continue to increase our profile and operations from Sweden.”
The Swedish team provides tailor-made solutions for a range of industries, including automotive and spare parts, high tech and electronics, as well as pharmaceuticals and healthcare.
The Austrian-based logistics provider offers a comprehensive portfolio of air, sea, land transport and warehousing services, with special expertise in information technology and supply chain optimisation. cargo-partner’s teams are available at over 160 offices in 40 countries across the globe.


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Mobile fraud is most prevalent on finance, shopping and gambling apps
In 2022, 78.6% of the South African population accessed the internet via a mobile device, and this is projected to grow to more than 90% by the end of 2026. However, mobile fraud is also on the increase.
While smartphones such as Samsung and Apple have built-in anti-fraud technology, the reality is that mobile fraud is becoming an increasingly pressing issue, especially in Africa’s growing tech space.
AppsFlyer’s 2023 Global State of Fraud report reveals that finance apps are the biggest targets, followed by shopping and gambling apps. This is confirmed by the banking ombud’s annual report for 2021, which highlights that the key trend of the past decade was fraud and theft by cyber fraudsters.
The top categories of complaints, namely, internet banking, current accounts and credit cards, showed that fraudsters are targeting individuals through phishing emails and links, and vishing calls pretending to be from bank staff.
Online purchases in South Africa passed the R50-billion milestone in 2022, driven by an ongoing boom in demand for home deliveries, according to an Online Retail in South Africa 2022 study conducted by World Wide Worx with Mastercard.
“One can call this the pandemic dividend,” says World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck, principal analyst on the research project. “The 2020 boom in home deliveries has continued for the past two years, as retailers compete aggressively in every area of online shopping.”
On the iOS platforms, there was a 210% year-on-year surge in fraud on shopping apps. The finance sector accounted for more than 50% of all mobile fraud in 2022. The report states that a substantial portion of fraud within the finance sector is perpetrated by fraudsters generating fake users.
“This is because it is considerably easier for fraudsters to concoct a fake user with a counterfeit device than to dupe a real user. The pandemic only fuelled the fire, offering a fertile environment for fraudsters to scale up their mobile fraud schemes to take advantage of the remarkable surge in mobile device usage,” the report says.
AppsFlyer anti-fraud specialist Andreas Naumann explains that install hijacking describes a group of fraud schemes that try to poach credit for driving a real user to download an app while not actually advertising to the user.
“The most common form of this fraud is click injection — where the fraudster injects a click after you have decided to download an app. Another example is click hijacking where an attacker tries to manipulate the attribution process by following your real click with a fake click of their own in order to poach attribution from the legitimate ad publisher,” he says. DM/BM


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If you’re an Apple fan or a tech industry watcher, today is one of the biggest days of the year. It’s what Apple holds its annual event to launch its next-generation iPhone.
Apple has named this year’s event “Far Out” which can give us some hints about what to expect today. Here’s what Apple is likely to unveil:
- iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max: These are Apple’s flagship smartphones. They are rumored to gain satellite connectivity (hence the “Far Out” event name), an always-on display, a 48 MP rear camera system, and a faster A16 chipset. The iPhone 14 Pro series is also expected to do away with the notch in favor of a pill-shaped Face ID system.
- iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus: The iPhone 14 this year is expected to be a relatively minor upgrade. It will even stick with a version of the 2021 A15 chipset and it’s not expected to get any of the advanced features of the Pro series. But the new thing here is the iPhone 14 Plus model, which is expected to measure 6.7-inches, just like the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
- Apple Watch Series 8 and Apple Watch SE: Apple is expected to introduce its next Apple Watches. The Series 8 is expected to look much like the Series 7, but gain a body temperature sensor. Apple is also expected to introduce a lower-cost entry-level Apple Watch, which could be a new version of the SE.
- Apple Watch Pro: For the first time, Apple is expected to debut a rugged “Pro” Apple Watch. The Apple Watch Pro is expected to feature a larger display and a rugged body and is designed for professional athletes. It’s also expected to be much more expensive – perhaps as much as $1000.
- AirPods Pro 2: Apple’s pro wearables also could see an update. The second-generation AirPods Pro are likely to have improved audio quality and noise cancelation.
Apple’s “Far Out” iPhone 14 event starts at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST today, Wednesday, September 7, 2022. Here is the start time converted into local times around the world:
- Adelaide: 2:30 a.m. September 8
- Athens: 8:00 p.m.
- Auckland: 5:00 a.m. September 8
- Beijing: 1:00 a.m. September 8
- Berlin: 7:00 p.m.
- Brisbane: 3:00 AM September 8
- Cairo: 7:00 p.m.
- Calgary: 11:00 a.m.
- Cape Town: 7:00 p.m.
- Chicago: 12:00 p.m.
- Denver: 11:00 a.m.
- Dubai: 9:00 p.m.
- Hong Kong: 1:00 a.m. September 8
- Honolulu: 7:00 a.m.
- Houston: 12:00 p.m.
- Kyiv: 8:00 p.m.
- Lagos: 6:00 p.m.
- London: 6:00 p.m.
- Los Angeles: 10:00 a.m.
- Melbourne: 3:00 a.m. September 8
- Mexico City: 12:00 p.m.
- Moscow: 8:00 p.m.
- Mumbai: 10:30 p.m.
- New York: 1:00 p.m.
- Paris: 7:00 p.m.
- Perth: 1:00 a.m. September 8
- Phoenix: 10:00 a.m.
- Sao Paulo: 2:00 p.m.
- Singapore: 1:00 a.m. September 8
- Sydney: 3:00 a.m. September 8
- Tel Aviv: 8:00 p.m.
- Toronto: 1:00 p.m.
- Vancouver: 10:00 a.m.
You can watch Apple’s “Far Out” iPhone 14 event live in the following ways:
- On Apple’s events website here.
- On the Apple TV app on any of your devices.
- On Apple’s official YouTube channel here.
We’ve also embedded the YouTube livestream below so you can watch the Apple iPhone 14 event live right here:


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Though there is much good news to come and optimism for the future of travel in 2023, the impact of the cost of living crisis is still seeing an effect on future travel plans for consumers with reduced disposable income as a result of the recent financial crisis.
According to a new survey conducted by the Irish travel company, Click & Go, many of the consumers surveyed were looking at changes to their travel plans in 2023 because of their reduced disposable income. Though many travellers are still determined to travel in 2023 despite the cost of living crisis, many travellers are looking to spend less on their holidays to compensate for the change.
1,522 travel consumers responded to the survey conducted recently with over 80% of them and 87% of families stating that they are currently concerned about the increased cost of living due to their disposable income being ‘significantly reduced’ over the course of the last six months. This great reduction since July was recorded for 64% of responded and 74% of families, according to the survey.
Despite this great impact on their income, only 53% of respondents and 46% of families have actually changed their spending habits as a result. 50% of families and 40% of respondents have stopped some of their spending where disposable income is concerned.
66% of respondents to the survey and 77% of families claimed that they will have less spendable income for a 2023 holiday, though the demand for travel in 2023 is still very high. 31% of respondents and 18% of families said there will be no changes to the price of their planned holidays in 2023 despite this impact on their income.
In a rapidly adapting industry over the years of the pandemic, many travel businesses are making accommodations for the impact of the cost of living crisis. Some businesses are appealing more to cheaper but quality holidays, while others adapting deposit prices to give consumers the confidence to book now before it is too late.
Despite this impact on income, many consumers are still hoping for a great holiday in 2023, with the demand high in the calm after the Covid pandemic stranded many keen travellers at home. The great awareness that many travel businesses and consumers alike have developed for good financial security surrounding travel after Covid is an advantage as we deal with the cost of living crisis and many Protected Trust Services (PTS) members are displaying the great financial protection they offer through PTS, so their consumers can still have the confidence to book a great holiday for 2023 despite these hurdles.
So, if you’d like to learn more about how your consumers’ monies are protected with Protected Trust Services (PTS) and how we support excellent travel businesses, check out our pages. Or you can get in touch with the lovely PTS team by calling 0207 190 9988 or emailing us at email@example.com.


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Sometimes thieves are brazen, stealing 500-pound beehives in the quiet, dawn hours. But sometimes they're just into quietly carbo-loading, as is the case with a recent wave of theft inside local-everything focused grocery and cafe, Revival Market.
Revival Market's Morgan Weber tells Eater Houston the most recent theft trend is:
Half loaves of Slow Dough cranberry walnut bread. We've had a few instances at the shop where, during the day we've noticed bags of opened, half-loaves of bread sitting in our bread case. Interesting that they don't take the bag itself, just the bread.
Not to condone theft or anything, but why wouldn't someone go for broke and take the whole loaf? That bread is damn good.


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On Thursday, the broader market continued to trade on a slightly negative note for the second day in a row. At 1:15 PM ET, the S&P/TSX Composite Index was trading with 1% loss for the day after losing about 0.6% yesterday. Some Canadian tech stocks were among the biggest losers today. Long-term investors could consider this market pullback as an amazing opportunity to buy some excellent tech stocks cheap.
Here are my three favorite TSX tech stocks that fell sharply today. You may want to add these are stocks to your portfolio before they start rallying again.
Shopify stock fell 6%
Earlier today, the shares of the Canadian e-commerce platform provider Shopify Inc. (TSX:SHOP)(NYSE:SHOP) extended its March losses by falling more than 6% for the day. Yesterday, it settled with 6.6% losses. There has been no major negative update specific to the company this month. So, its recent losses were primarily due to the ongoing broader market sell-off. During the COVID-19 phase, the demand for Shopify’s services skyrocketed as more businesses sought to build and improve their online presence.
As a result, the company registered an 86% year-over-year (YoY) jump in its total revenue. Its adjusted net profits surged to US$491 million in 2020 as compared to just US$34 million in the previous year. Similarly, its bottom line margin significantly expanded to 16.8% last year from just 2.2% in 2019.
While its sales are likely to normalize as the global pandemic gradually subsides, analysts still expect it to grow by nearly 40% this year. I expect the company to beat analysts’ sales and profit expectations in the coming years as its merchant solutions’ demand continues to grow at a robust rate. These positive factors are likely to help its stock continue surging in the coming years.
Lightspeed stock slipped 5%
Lightspeed POS (TSX:LSPD)(NYSE:LSPD) stock fell by 5% today — bringing its year-to-date losses to nearly 10%. Last year, its stock more than doubled and yielded 149% positive returns. This Montréal-based software company provides omnichannel commerce-enabling platform to businesses.
Despite the COVID-19 woes, its sales growth has been remarkable. In the December quarter, its revenue rose by 79% YoY to US$57.6 million. While its gross profit rose by just 15% in the last quarter, analysts estimate it to inch up by 81% in the March quarter.
In the coming years, the market for its cloud-based products is likely to expand further as it continues to increase its business footprint in many countries. That’s why I believe its last year’s nearly 150% gains were just the beginning of its big long-term stock rally. The ongoing drop in its stock is giving you an opportunity to buy this excellent tech stock cheap.
Kinaxis stock tanked 20%
Today, the shares of another fast-growing Canadian tech company Kinaxis (TSX:KXS), saw a major 20% decline. It’s a Kanata, Ontario-based SaaS (software as a service) provider. Its Artificial Intelligence software is used by businesses across industries — primarily in decision-making to improve their supply chain operations, monitoring risks, capacity planning, and recognizing business opportunities.
While Kinaxis reported better-than-expected Q4 sales this morning, it missed analysts’ earnings expectations. This could be the key reason for triggering a sharp sell-off in its stock on March 4. On the positive side, its SaaS revenue jumped by 24% in the last quarter and 25% in the full year 2020. The company has guided its 2021 SaaS revenue growth to remain stable despite the negative impact of COVID-related incremental booking delays.
I expect the demand for artificial intelligence-based solutions to surge in the coming years as more businesses seek to modernize their decision-making process with the help of technology. This could keep a long-term rally going in Kinaxis stock in the coming years.
Buying such amazing tech stocks amid the ongoing market pullback could be one of the best investment decisions you can make. Holding these stocks for the long-term has the potential to give you extraordinary returns in the coming years and even make you a millionaire.


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In an attempt to steal away some of Netflix and Hulu's younger subscribers, Fullscreen Media is launching a new streaming service targeted at those obsessed with YouTube, according to Variety.
The service, which will be available for $4.99 a month, will give subscribers access to exclusive content from over 75,000 YouTube creators that fall under Fullscreen's talent library. Fullscreen Media, which launched in 2011, is a talent and promotional agency that helps young creators build their personal brands on sites like YouTube.
The service is intended to target a 13-30-year-old demographic, or as CEO George Strompolos (co-founder of YouTube's Partner Program) told Variety, a generation of consumers who don't want to pay for television, but who want something different from Netflix. Grace Helbig, Hannah Hart and Shane Dawson, three of the bigger personalities on YouTube, have signed on to produce new series exclusively for the service.
The biggest competitor Fullscreen will have is YouTube's own YouTube Red, which is a subscription-based service that gives customers access to exclusive series like Scare PewDiePie. Strompolos told Variety that while he acknowledges that Red offers similar content, he believed that Fullscreen had more to offer than just YouTube stars.
Through partnerships with Warner Bros. TV, Sony, MTV and other networks, Fullscreen will also be able to offer series like Daria, Saved by the Bell, Happy Endings and Dawson's Creek.
Fullscreen's subscription service is set to launch April 26. A 30-day free trial will be made available to those interested.


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The automotive industry is at the cusp of a technological revolution, a recent industry analysis warned.
James Edmondson, research director at consulting firm IDTechEx, wrote in a recent paper that the auto sector is witnessing unprecedented changes with the advent of electrification, autonomous driving and the emergence of software-defined vehicles. It raises the question of the role technology firms might play in this new era.
According to the IDTechEx report Electric Vehicles: Land, Sea, and Air 2024-2044 electric vehicles (EVs), including hybrids, are fast becoming the norm. The report estimated that more than 23 per cent of new cars registered in 2023 were electric, with pure battery-electric vehicles seeing a nearly five-fold increase from 2020 to 2023.
Furthermore, autonomous driving features are becoming more prevalent, with Level 2 autonomous vehicles now standard and Level 3 vehicles hitting the roads. The shift towards software-defined vehicles, capable of receiving over-the-air updates and offering new feature subscriptions, is opening up fresh revenue streams for automotive manufacturers. IDTechEx forecasted that software-related revenues to exceed US$700 billion by 2034.
The automotive industry has traditionally been slow to adapt, bound by lengthy development cycles and heavy reliance on tier 1 and 2 suppliers, Edmondson observed. But this is changing rapidly. Tesla has disrupted the market by mass-producing electric cars and redefining car buying and ownership, allowing customers to purchase vehicles online and initiate servicing remotely.
“This is in stark contrast to the historic model, where everything is carried out at the car dealership, including updating navigation maps for a hefty fee,” Edmonson noted.
These innovative approaches are spreading throughout the industry, providing technology companies with greater opportunities to make their mark. In late 2023, Hyundai and Amazon formed a strategic partnership to sell cars on Amazon.com. In 2022, Sony teamed up with Honda to bring Sony’s expertise in AI, entertainment and augmented reality to the automotive world.
“But as the automotive industry electrifies, and the combustion engine is no longer the defining feature, is it possible that this trend could go beyond tech companies providing the infotainment for an automotive OEM and start producing vehicles themselves?” Edmonson asked.
Merging the automotive and technology sectors poses unique challenges, he observed, especially for smaller startups that have struggled to scale up production while maintaining quality. However, well-financed tech giants are poised to overcome these obstacles.
Huawei is collaborating with Chinese automotive OEMs to develop car technology and produce electric vehicle drive units. Electronics giant Foxconn, known for manufacturing Apple’s iPhones, has ventured into electric car production with ambitions to capture 5 per cent of the global EV market. At the end of 2023, Xiaomi, a leading smartphone maker, unveiled its first electric car, aiming to become a top global automaker. Rumours suggest that other tech companies may soon follow suit.
The intersection of automotive and technology sectors prompts a pivotal question for Edmondson: Is it harder for traditional automakers to develop the necessary technology for future consumers or for tech companies to acquire the manufacturing expertise needed for the automotive mass market?
“The reality will likely lie somewhere between, where partnerships are sure to be a mainstay in the short term, but developments, acquisitions, and some displacement in the long term,” he wrote. “One thing is certain: The automotive market has a huge evolution ahead of it in the coming years, with many significant challenges.”


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The 70,327-tonne Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) cruise liner, which has the capacity to accommodate 1,791 passengers, is set to be converted into a 300-room luxury floating hotel
The vessel was bought by Istithmar World, the investment arm of government-owned conglomerate Dubai World, from shipping company Cunard Line for US$100 million in June 2007.
The initial plan was to refurbish the QE2 and showcase it at a maritime-themed development on Palm Jumeirah, but the plan was shelved in the wake of the financial crisis. The liner, with top quality lifestyle facilities, will now be docked permanently at Dubai's Port Rashid as part of a plan to transform the port into a tourist attraction and entertainment village in 18 months.
The 293-metre long vessel, which in its heyday could accommodate more than 2,900 people, will add to the attractions the port offers as the leading cruise destination in the Middle East.
Istithmar is currently in talks with three hoteliers, including Jumeirah Group, to manage the property.
Maritime company DP World has been expanding Port Rashid's capacity to cater for the growing demands for cruise tourism.


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Though Micromax had been marking its hazy presence in the market with a market share falling below 10% for quite some years now, it was nowhere in the competition.
But, with an apparent spirit of rising from the ashes, the company has announced its return into the smartphone industry with a motto to become the talk of the town again.
Rise And Fall Of Micromax
Truth be told, at present, the Indian market constitutes a hub of Chinese companies that dominate many of its major sectors, including the smartphone market.
It is not like that India never saw indigenous phone manufacturing firms developing and prospering on its land. But, eventually, things fell out of their hands, and somehow they were left trailing the Chinese giants from far behind.
Micromax is a brand that once enjoyed an undisputable commanding position in the Indian phone industry. As in August 2014, it was India’s biggest mobile phone brand and the tenth-largest supplier of mobile phones in the world.
But, a major fallout hit the brand once Chinese brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, Gionee, Vivo, etc. thronged the Indian market and started providing handsets with better quality and cheaper prices to the masses.
With the unforeseen arrival and spread of 4G in India through Reliance Jio, tides were no longer easy to sail on for Micromax who mostly sold 2G and 3G portable devices.
Owing to this and some other destructive reasons, in a matter of merely a few years, the brand almost went into oblivion.
Also Read: FlippED: Should You Buy Chinese Smartphones In The Current Scenario?
Micromax Is Set To Return
On 16 October 2020, Micromax co-founder Rahul Sharma put up a video message on social media to explain how they rose and fell, but now, they strive to make a comeback on the call of India for domestic phones.
Hello everyone, yeh hai meri aur micromax ki ek choti si kahaani. We are ready to comeback, India ke liye. Are you IN for India? #MicromaxIsBack #AatmaNirbharBharat #INMobiles https://t.co/8PvVf4rMnv
— Rahul Sharma (@rahulsharma) October 16, 2020
He also condemned the Indio-Chinese clash at Galwan Valley and hinted at being pushed to make an even stronger comeback due to it.
What’s New In The Store?
Micromax is bringing in a new sub-brand named ‘in’ and claims to avail it in India by the end of 2020.
“We will only come out with performance-oriented products. Our new ‘in’ brand is not just aimed at cashing in on the sentiment…We wanted to come back with a complete strategy, backed by feature-rich products…we will invest Rs 500 crore over the next 12-18 months in research and development, marketing and sprucing up manufacturing,” said Micromax co-founder Rahul Sharma.
The company is riding high on the PLI scheme under which the government will give a 4-6% incentive to eligible electronic companies on incremental sales of manufactured goods like mobile phones and electronic components such as printed circuit boards and sensors, among others, for five years.
What Can Be Expected From New Micromax Phones?
The company has not declared the details of the upcoming phones officially, yet some reports have been surfacing online about the specifications that customers are likely to get with the new phones of Micromax.
If speculations are to be believed, the ‘in’ mobiles are expected to be available in the range of ₹7,000-₹10,000 to ₹20,000-₹25,000.
Probably, Micromax aims to release two phones initially, one with Mediatek Helio G35 processor and the other one with MediaTek Helio G85 processors, both of which have targeted the mobile gaming enthusiasts previously.
An article by The Mobile Indian reported,
“The phone that comes with the G35 chipset is expected to come with a 6.5-inch HD+ display and might come in two variants, one with 2GB RAM and 32GB of storage and the other with 3GB RAM and 32GB of storage. The device might feature a battery unit with 5000mAh capacity. One of the biggest reveals is that the device may come with stock Android out of the box without any added bloatware from the company. The 2GB variant of the device is expected to feature a dual-camera setup as well. The 3GB variant, on the other hand, might get a triple-lens setup.”
Micromax is promoting its new venture using the concept of the Atma Nirbhar initiative by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Let us leave it to time to unfold the story of the brand’s second league in the smartphone market and wait to see if it stands at par with the buzz it has created even before the launch.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: HuffPost, Finnovationz, Livemint
Find The Blogger: @ELadki
This post is tagged under: boycott Chinese products, Chinese smartphones, Comeback of Micromax, Galwan Valley clash, india china clash, Indian smartphone companies, Indian smartphones, micromax, Micromax retuns to the market, smartphones in India
5 Major Sectors Where China Has Invaded India: Another East India Company In Making?


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The latest leaks confirmed MediaTek’s plans to launch the first version of the “G” series of chips, which are distinguished with 6 nanometers manufacturing accuracy, at an event to be held in the third quarter of 2022.
MediaTek is preparing to replace the Helio G96 chip with a 12nm manufacturing accuracy in the market with a new version of the series based on 6nm manufacturing accuracy.
MediaTek has not revealed the title of the next version of the “G” series chips, but the leaks confirm that it features the same CPU configuration as the G96, so it comes with two Cortex-A76 cores at 2.0 GHz, and 6 Cortex-A55 cores at 2.0 GHz .
The Mali G57 MC2 graphics card also comes, and the ISP processor in the chip is scheduled to support 108-megapixel cameras, 2K video recording at 30 frames per second, and supports FHD Plus display quality, with a refresh rate of up to 120Hz.
It is reported that the chip comes with the feature of connecting to 4G networks only, and it is expected that the chip will be announced at the end of the second half of 2022.


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Trying a new thing this week so people know when to expect a show. We go live at 5pm UK, that’s Midday Eastern. Patreon supporters get the episodes as soon as they’re ready. You can be like them by clicking here.
Welcome to a new Patreon supporter Bob Riedlinger.
Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily, you trusted source of EV information. It’s Friday 24th February it’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don’t have to.
VOLKSWAGEN’S NEXT-GEN ID.3 EV SHOWS ITS FACE IN NEW TEASER VIDEO
– Summary: Volkswagen is teasing their second generation ID.3 electric vehicle model, which will have an updated design, a deceptively spacious interior, decent range options, and a low center of gravity. The ID.3 quickly became one of the top-selling EVs in Europe and entered the Chinese EV market in 2021. The automaker plans to release a new, second-generation ID.3 on March 1, 2023 with a sharpened exterior design, improved tech and software, and more sustainable materials. Powertrain details are still unknown, but the ID.3 Life will start at €43,995 (about $46,000). German customers who pre-configured models will receive their EVs in the fourth quarter of 2023.
TESLA INSTALLS AND TESTS FIRST MAGIC DOCK ON SUPERCHARGER IN NEW YORK
– Summary: Tesla has installed and is currently testing the first Magic Dock at a Supercharger in Verona, New York, as part of their plan to open their Supercharger network to other electric vehicles (EVs). The Magic Dock includes a CCS adapter that can be unlocked for non-Tesla EVs, but can still be used for Tesla owners as the NACS connector is still available. The signs at the station provide instructions for non-Tesla EVs to download the Tesla app and create an account to charge their vehicle. The Magic Dock is still not available for use yet.
Tesla engineers were also on-site testing the Magic Dock with a Rivian R1T, although they declined to confirm or deny what they were doing when asked by the Redditor. However the signs that have been installed alongside each Supercharger don’t exactly hide what the new device does – “Scan for instructions to charge a non-Tesla.”
BMW I4 EDRIVE35 NOW AVAILABLE FOR ORDERS IN THE UK
– Summary: The BMW i4 eDrive35 is now available for ordering in the UK with prices starting at £49,995. It has a single rear-mounted electric motor that produces 282 horsepower and accelerates from 0-60 mph in 5.8 seconds. The battery pack has 66 kWh of usable capacity and a WLTP-rated range of 299 miles. Standard features include LED headlights, 18 inch wheels, a black Senstatec/cloth interior, and heated front seats. The M Sport package adds aerodynamic visuals, BMW’s Shadowline black exterior trim, aerodynamic wheels, an M Sport steering wheel, and an Alcantara/Sensatec interior with blue contrasting accents. The i4 eDrive35 is suitable for city-dwellers as it has enough power and a lower cost of entry than other models, making it a great value electric sports sedan.
– Original Source: https://www.bmwblog.com/2023/02/23/bmw-i4-edrive35-uk/
LORDSTOWN HALTS PRODUCTION, SHIPMENTS OF ENDURANCE ELECTRIC TRUCKS TO ADDRESS QUALITY ISSUES
– Summary: Lordstown Motors announced Thursday that it is suspending production and deliveries of its Endurance electric pickup truck in order to address quality and performance issues with certain components. The company will also voluntarily recall 19 vehicles due to a potential issue with electrical connections that could cause a loss of propulsion while driving. Shares of Lordstown have dropped significantly from their all-time high, and the company is providing a more detailed update on their earnings call on March 6. The recall and production problems add to a long list of issues the company has faced since going public.
ELECTRIC CAR FEATURING SODIUM ION BATTERY UNVEILED
– Summary: Chinese scientists have unveiled an electric vehicle powered by a sodium ion battery, called the Hua Xianzi (flower fairy), which has a total energy capacity of 25 kilowatt hours and can drive up to 250 kilometers per charge. Sodium ion batteries offer cost, safety and sustainability advantages compared to lithium-ion batteries, and could provide a viable alternative due to the scarcity and cost of lithium. Li Shujun, general manager of HiNa Battery, said the company will facilitate the application of the sodium ion battery in electric vehicles and electricity storage infrastructures.
“The more permissive Chinese driving test cycle says the small four-door should be able to do 155 mi (250 km) on a full charge in city traffic. The best thing about it, however, is that it’s allegedly losing only 10% of its capacity at -4 degrees Fahrenheit (-20 degrees Celsius) and doesn’t need any kind of preconditioning to function normally.
“The battery installed in the car has an energy density of 120 Wh/kg. To put this figure better into perspective, the first [lithium iron phosphate](https://www.autoevolution.com/news/tesla-s-new-lfp-battery-truly-shines-in-sub-zero-temperatures-looks-like-a-winner-178846.html) (LFP) Tesla used in the Model 3 back in 2020 had an energy density of 125 Wh/kg. After three years, it increased to almost 300 Wh/kg which indicates progress is possible.”
– Original Source: https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202302/23/WS63f76b55a31057c47ebb0873.html
MKBHD CALL OUT STATE OF CHARGING
– Summary: Marques Brownlee, a YouTube star with 16 million subscribers, recently made a video highlighting one of the biggest drawbacks of EV’s: the lack of an easy-to-use charging infrastructure. Brownlee found that even at a mall charging station, the process of charging was confusing and difficult. .
Brownlee pointed out that the charging infrastructure is “just as important to the electric car experience as the car itself.”
“Imagine explaining to your parents, your grandparents, or anyone who’s not super adept with technology especially, that instead of going to a gas station, they need to make sure they find a working charger with the right adapter and all this — it might take longer, it might be a slower charger, it might be broken.”
“There’s been versions of this before, where people are actually, genuinely mad, like ‘I don’t think the electric car thing is for me,’” Brownlee remarked, adding that there are countless examples that keep bringing this to light.
SURGE IN ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGERS IN SPAIN AS COUNTRY MEETS EU’S TOP FIVE LIST
– Summary: Spain has recently made the EU’s top five list for the most public electric car chargers, with 34,380 charging points installed across the country. This is a positive step for Spain’s green energy transition, although the country still has a long way to go to reach its goal of 100,000 chargers by 2023. The data also highlights an access gap between countries like Germany and the Netherlands, which account for 42% of the EU’s total chargers.
RIVIAN LAUNCHES NEW PRODUCTION LINE TO AID MANUFACTURING RAMP
– Summary: Rivian has launched a new production line dedicated to producing “Enduro” motors for the Dual-Motor AWD R1 vehicles, in order to address concerns about their ability to ramp up production. The new drive unit produces 600 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque, allowing the R1T to accelerate to 60mph in 4.5 seconds and tow up to 11,000 pounds. An optional “Enhanced Dual-Motor AWD” is available for additional power, though it does not match the performance of the quad-motor variant. The Rivian R1T and R1S with the new dual-motor system are expected to begin deliveries this year.
Ramping production of our new Enduro drive unit for our Dual-Motor R1 vehicles! [pic.twitter.com/Ez1Y0QRkZY](https://t.co/Ez1Y0QRkZY)
— RJ Scaringe (@RJScaringe)
“For everyday driving and adventures, dual-motor is highly capable,” says Rivian’s Director of Vehicle Testing. “If you want to go way off-road with ease – or simply want maximum performance and control – then Quad is for you.”
– Original Source: https://www.teslarati.com/rivian-launches-new-enduro-production-line/
GEELY UNVEILS NEW ELECTRIC CAR BRAND TO TAKE ON TESLA, BYD
– Summary: Geely Holding Group Co. has unveiled a new line of high-end electric cars called the Galaxy, which will include seven models over the next two years. It also has an existing line of electric vehicles called Zeekr, which sold more than 70,000 units in 2022. Geely is planning a U.S. IPO for Zeekr later this year and is also working on improved hybrid engines and autonomous driving technology. Geely is the fourth-largest carmaker in China by market share, behind BYD, SAIC Motor Corp. and Tesla. Its overall car shipments have been below forecasts, with 1.43 million last year.
FORD TAKING NEARLY 2,000-HP ELECTRIC SUPERVAN 4 AT 2023 PIKES PEAK
– Summary: Ford has announced that the all-electric SuperVan 4 will take part in the 101st Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC) in 2023, driven by Romain Dumas, a three-time Le Mans winner and PPIHC record holder in 2018. The SuperVan 4 is powered by an ultra high-performance 50kWh battery and features a lightweight carbon composite body, FIA specification roll cage, and adjustable regenerative braking. Ford Performance and EV and R&D specialists STARD have entered into a five-year partnership and the SuperVan flaunted its nearly 2,000 horsepower at Goodwood. The PPIHC is set to take place on June 25, 2023 and Ford Performance will reveal more details as the motorsport event approaches.
– Original Source: https://www.motor1.com/news/654154/ford-supervan-2023-pikes-peak/
SWARCO & CONNECTED ROLL OUT CHARGING IN THE UK
– Summary: Swarco Smart Charging and Connected Energy have partnered to accelerate the roll out of EV charging in the UK. Swarco Smart Charging will provide EV charging hardware with Connected Energy’s E-Stor system, which utilizes 24 second-life EV batteries from Renault Kangoos to provide onsite energy storage. The E-Stor system is able to store excess energy from renewable sources and provide energy for EV charging, even during demand spikes. The two companies have been collaborating since 2017, with the E-Stor system being able to deliver energy up to 300kW and able to charge 20 cars for two hours at a rate of 7kW.
– Original Source: https://www.electrive.com/2023/02/23/swarco-connected-roll-out-charging-in-the-uk/
DODGE UPDATES DAYTONA EV ‘EXHAUST.’ HERE’S HOW IT SOUNDS
– Summary: Dodge revealed a simulated exhaust sound system for their upcoming all-electric muscle cars at the Chicago auto show. Called the Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust, the system produces a 126-decibel “exhaust” noise. The latest iteration of the sound is more realistic to a V8 engine and will not be properly judged until heard in person. CEO Tim Kuniskis stated they had changed the sound of the car 1000 times and they would continue to do so over the next two years until the cars go on sale in 2024.
MARELLI POWERS THE NEW MASERATI GRANTURISMO FOLGORE
– Summary: Marelli has been selected to contribute key technologies to the new Maserati GranTurismo Folgore, the first full-electric car from Maserati. The vehicle features a total installed power of 1200 HP, thanks to one of Marelli’s most compact e-motor solutions. The e-motors were developed and produced in-house by Marelli at their Modugno plant in Italy, in a record time to market. Additional contributions from Marelli include full LED headlamps, an Adaptive Driving Beam Matrix system, and a Telematic Control Unit. The e-Powertrain system of the Maserati GranTurismo Folgore is based on 800V Marelli’s electric motors, with high power density and torque of 1350 Nm. Marelli has also recently won a global contract to supply Battery Management Systems for electric vehicles to a major carmaker.
MEET THE MADMAN BUILDING A 900-HP DUAL TESLA MOTOR EV-CONVERTED ESCAPE
– Summary: Robert Dunn, also known as ‘Aging Wheels’ on YouTube, is undertaking the ambitious task of converting a Ford Escape into an electric vehicle powered by two Tesla large drive units, producing a combined 900 horsepower. The project involves multiple iterations of mounting components, including angle iron, sheet steel, a plasma cutter and a MIG welder, as well as using battery packs from Chrysler Pacifica PHEVs and hardware from AEM’s electric vehicle division. Despite the complexity of the project, Dunn hopes it will help others in their own conversion processes.
NEW STUDY REVEALS CATASTROPHIC HEALTH IMPACTS OF PETROL AND DIESEL CARS
– Summary: This new study from Melbourne University reveals that there could be more than 11,000 premature deaths in adults each year in Australia as a result of traffic pollution from petrol and diesel cars. In addition, it could be causing 12,000 cardiovascular hospitalisations, 66,000 active asthma cases, and almost 7,000 respiratory hospitalisations per year. Various international studies have found the same shocking public health impacts and have highlighted the importance of transitioning away from petrol and diesel cars. Solutions to this problem include implementing fuel efficiency standards, increasing electric vehicle uptake, and promoting walking, cycling, and public transport. All levels of government must work together to tackle this issue in order to ensure that cities can have clean air.
PHIL ROBERTS / ELECTRIC FUTURE
PORSCHE OF THE VILLAGE CINCINNATI
AUDI CINCINNATI EAST
VOLVO CARS CINCINNATI EAST
NATIONAL CAR CHARGING ON THE US MAINLAND AND ALOHA CHARGE IN HAWAII
DEREK REILLY FROM THE EV REVIEW IRELAND YOUTUBE CHANNEL
RICHARD AT RSEV.CO.UK – FOR BUYING AND SELLING EVS IN THE UK
OCTOPUS ELECTRIC UNIVERSE – GLOBAL PUBLIC CHARGING MADE SIMPLE WITH ONE APP AND ONE MAP.
MILLBROOKCOTTAGES.CO.UK – 5* LUXURY COTTAGES IN DEVON, JUMP IN THE HOT TUB WHILST YOUR EV CHARGES
LEASEPLAN ELECTRIC MOMENTS – PROVIDING ALL THE TOOLS AND GUIDANCE EV DRIVERS NEED
DAVID AND LISA ALLEN
JUKKA KUKKONEN FROM WWW.SHIFT2ELECTRIC.COM
BATTERY REPORTS FOR EVS AT RECURRENTAUTO.COM
DARIN MCLESKEY FROM DENOVOREALESTATE
ALEXANDER FRANK @ https://www.youtube.com/c/alexsuniverse42
ANDY NANCARROW AND LILIAN KASS
COLIN HENNESSY AND CAMBSEV
IAN (WATTIE) WATKINS
JAN FROM EMOBILITYNORWAY
JOHN VAN DEVOORT
JON AKA BEARDY MCBEARDFACE FROM KENT EVS
LAURENCE D ALLEN
NEIL E ROBERTS FROM SUSSEX EVS
PETER & DEE ROBERTS
REALTORS CHOICE PHOTOGRAPHY
ROB FROM THE RSTHINKS EV CHANNEL ON YOUTUBE
THE PLUGSEEKER’S EV YOUTUBE CHANNEL
THOMAS J. THIAS


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SCOTIA — Connie and Mark met Jack for lunch Thursday afternoon.
The Scotia couple hadn’t seen their favorite in months. But the visit didn’t last long — Jack was gone in minutes.
“It’s nice and big, it’s juicy,” said Connie Wysin, 65, picking up a Jackburger at Jumpin’ Jack’s Drive-in restaurant in Scotia. “It’s seasoned just right.”
Mark Wysin, 68, agreed.
“That’s a true statement,” he said. “You can’t have too many of them … but you can only have one a week. These are great, it’s the coleslaw that does it.”
Hundreds of Jackburgers were served Thursday, as the celebrated drive-in conducted its traditional late-March opening. Several dozen men and women were in line when grill men began frying hamburgers, hot dogs and sausages at 11 a.m. The restaurant remained busy most of the day.
Fryers bubbled with hot oil and cooked clam strips, pieces of cod fish, chicken tenders, french fries, onion rings and large, pie-shaped pieces of dough. Patrons say spring begins when the crew from Jumpin’ Jack’s — with their own glossary of menu items — fill red plastic trays with summer-style food.
Mark Lansing Jr., Jack’s general manager, said the Jackburger is the top seller at the business. He believes the burger started with Jack Brennan, who started the restaurant in 1952. Mark Lansing Sr. bought the business during the mid-1970s.
“He traveled up and down the East Coast and the Southeast, taking notes from all the different restaurants he visited on the things he liked and things he didn’t like, then came back and built this place on all those,” Lansing Jr. said.
Brennan was inspired to create a stacked sandwich and used a triple-decker sesame seed roll.
“It’s a cheeseburger, piece of roll and a hamburger on top because the hamburger holds the coleslaw nice,” Lansing said.
Hamburger gourmets may remember at one time, stacked hamburgers were considered signature sandwiches at many fast-food stops. Carrols had the Club Burger, McDonalds’ entry was the Big Mac. The Red Barn chain sold the Big Barney; Smashburger currently offers a giant-size sandwich; Big Boy restaurants were known for double-decker hamburgers.
“It’s probably our answer to something like that, from way back,” Lansing said. Jackburgers sell for $6.75.
The rest of Jumpin’ Jack’s top five are:
* Clam strips: “We can’t keep them in the place, they go out of here like crazy,” Lansing said. “Fried clam strips, we cook them light and they’re really good, tasty. We’ve had them on the menu from the beginning. They’re served in a hot dog roll.”
* Fish fry: “Same thing, served in a hot dog roll. Breaded multiple times daily,” Lansing said. “I think it’s a little less popular than it used to be, maybe we’ve just added more things to the menu over the two-plus decades I’ve been here. The fish fry is a quarter-pound pre-cooked and the fish dinner is a half-pound pre-cooked.”
* Chicken tenders: “They’re seasoned well, we don’t buy the ones with the filler in them,” Lansing said. “Those are served in a hot dog role. I prefer them with cocktail sauce, but that’s just me.”
* Fried dough: “We added it to the menu probably seven years ago,” Lansing said. “At the start it didn’t take off, it took a little while for us to figure out the right product to throw over the counter, but once we did, it’s one of those things where we order the fried dough and somebody else in line hears we’ve got it or they see it come up on the counter and then they order one, and you bring that up and someone else see it and orders one and it just snowballs.”
Junpin’ Jack’s will serve its full menu – which includes sausage and peppers, veggie burgers, shrimp fries, steak sandwiches and a selection of ice cream cones, dishes and milk shakes – from now until the day before Labor Day. Hours now are 11 a.m. until 9:30 p.m.; around Memorial Day, the restaurant will remain open until 10 p.m.
Jumpin’ Jack’s Lingo
SCOTIA — If you visit Jumpin’ Jack’s Drive-in during the spring and summer months, you will hear some unusual lingo. Here’s how to be cool — and order in a way JJ’s personnel will understand.
7 — Called out as the first number, it represents chicken
745 — Chicken dinner
701 — Fried chicken sandwich
Balantine — A triple order of onion rings, called after the Balantine beer symbol of three interlocking rings.
Indian — Onion rings, so called after the French and Indian War. Fries were once called “French” and onion rings became “Indian.”
Jackburger — Jumpin’ Jack’s signature burger, it’s a two-patty double-decker with cheese on the bottom and creamy coleslaw on top.
Loaded — A steak sandwich with sauce and onions
Subway — A customer put money in the tip jar. Jumpin’ Jack’s lore says the “Subway!” exchange may date to a deli in New York City. If someone left a tip at the deli, the guy would thank his benefactor by yelling “Subway!” and tell him he now had money to ride public transportation home.
Twister fries — Curly fries
Whale fry — Fish fry
Whistle fry — Shrimp fry
Did we miss something? Tell us your favorite Jumpin’ Jack’s slang!
Contact Gazette reporter Jeff Wilkin at 518-395-3124 or at [email protected]
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Categories: News, Schenectady County


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Firefighters look on as the Walbridge Fire burns near Sweetwater Springs Road last summer. (Photo courtesy of Ivan Redus)
LOS ANGELES – California’s record wildfire season has left many cannabis growers concerned about Croptober – the primary harvest season for marijuana sold in California, where it’s legally consumed.
As fires continue burning into the record book, California growers – whose operations are federally illegal and therefore difficult to insure – are demanding protections for their billion dollar industry.
Cannabis farms, as well as wineries, agricultural farms, have been hard hit by the wide range of California fires, and the toll faced by cannabis farms is among the worst.
Since January, California has had more than 9,177 wildfires burning more than 4.1 million acres, which is more than double the old record in 2018, according to Cal Fire.
High in the hills overlooking the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County, Kila Peterson and her daughter, Keala Peterson, are partners on Sweet Creek Farm, a small family-owned and licensed cannabis farm that also grows avocados and sweet bananas.
The cannabis venture started more than 10 years ago when Kila began growing it to produce CBD for her father, who had cancer. The mother-daughter approach is rooted in sustainability; their techniques include a solar-powered irrigation system fed by rainwater catchment and pollinator-friendly companion flowers, according to the farm’s website.
The Petersons continue to produce for recreational dispensaries, which were legalized in 2016. California’s Proposition 64, which was approved by 57.13% of votes, allows adults 21 or older, with certain restrictions, to legally grow, possess and use cannabis for non-medicinal purposes in the state. Federal law, however, outlaws the possession, purchase and sale of marijuana.
Sweet Creek Farm was badly damaged by the Walbridge Fire in August, destroying 70% of its entire crop. The loss, estimated at $150,000, wasn’t insured.
For the past three years, the farm has worked on fire prevention, but it wasn’t enough this summer.
“The damage was very severe, and we have a multigenerational family compound, and we lost one of our houses,” Kila Peterson said.
“I really didn’t understand how proactive you have to be in the fire management until this fire happened. I thought we were doing so well of our clearing and making sure we had dispensable space, and all that, but it’s really a level that I really didn’t understand until after the fire.”
The Walbridge Fire began in August and was a part of the LNU Lightning Complex, a rare series of lightning strikes across Lake, Napa, Yolo, Solano and Sonoma counties. Fires in the LNU Lightning Complex now are contained and have burned 363,220 acres, according to Cal Fire.
The farm suffered from the fires in August but was spared from the flames of the most recent fires in Northern California, which largely affected wineries. But smoke from those ongoing fires still could affect Sweet Creek Farm’s cannabis. Smoke contains a cocktail of chemicals, which could lead to cannabis absorbing lead or other harmful chemicals, Peterson said.
State certified testing labs are available for cannabis farmers, Peterson said, and they aren’t as backed up as testing facilities for winemakers trying to determine whether their grapes are smoke tainted. Sweet Creek Farm had its product tested by a certified lab, which found it clean of pesticides and heavy metals, she said.
California Cannabis Testing Labs and other labs comply with regulations for inhalable cannabis and other cannabis products. Services entail seven analyses and screenings: potency analysis, terpene analysis, residual solvent analysis, category I & II residual pesticide analysis, microbial screening, mycotoxin analysis and heavy metal analysis. The state’s Bureau of Cannabis Control provides a text of regulations that must be met when testing for quality standards. Cannabis that doesn’t pass these tests is thrown out unless remediation is possible.
Proximity to fire and smoke can determine the damage done to the crop. Ash can carry heavy metals, which cannabis growers remove by manually blowing it off, which may not be enough if the plant has started flowering, or washing the flowering buds, which may remove more ash, according to SF Evergreen, a San Francisco marijuana and cannabis news publication.
Although the tested product with salvageable damage would not be considered a premium smokable flower, Peterson said, it still can be used by extracting the oils and sold as a discounted bulk mass. Flower refers to the smokable section of a female cannabis plant, which is popular because it can be smoked in a variety of ways.
The challenges growers face are unlikely to affect consumers but could be disastrous to the businesses that supply growers, industry insiders told the San Francisco Chronicle.
North of Sonoma County lies what’s known as the Emerald Triangle, a trio of counties – Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity – that produce more cannabis than any other place in the United States.
The Emerald Triangle is home to cannabis as Napa is home to wine, and both industries have been distressed by the summer fires. The progressive history and cultural explosion in the 1960s Haight Ashbury neighborhood may be a factor in the Emerald Triangle becoming the cannabis capital of the nation.
Kristin Nevedal, whose husband owns a cannabis farm in southern Humboldt County, said the effect the fires have had on California cannabis growers isn’t fully known. Some farms have burned to the ground, others have survived relatively unscathed but are monitoring the flames and smoke.
Nevedal, who is a co-chair of the California Cannabis Industry Association’s Agriculture & Manufacturing Committee, said most farms in her county that are exposed to the smoke are just starting to harvest.
Covering plants, storing water and supplementing light are a few of the ways to protect the crop, Nevedal said, being prepared for natural disasters is a way to combat damage and continue growth.
The hard reality for many farmers, she said, is having money invested into licensing and compliance but not having crop insurance and access to banking services. A lot of farmers depend solely on the summer harvest for the entire year, and if they lose this crop they might not have the money for next year’s license and permits to plant.
Many cannabis growers in California have made the case for insurance, especially because natural disasters like wildfires put their operations at great risk.
Hemp, which has 0.3% or less THC, whereas marijuana has more than 0.3% THC, was legalized by the 2018 farm bill, qualifying it for federal crop insurance. However, the federal program is expensive, according to Politico, and only 5% of the hemp crops in the country are insured under it. Unless hemp crop insurance is heavily subsidized, growers usually skip the expense, Politico said.
Cannabis has proven its worth in California. In the fourth quarter of 2019, the crop generated a total tax revenue of $172.7 million. The total program revenue, since January 2018, is $1.03 billion, which includes $498.1 million in cannabis excise tax, $123.4 million in cultivation tax, and $403.1 million in sales tax, according to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.
Arizona, which legalized medical marijuana in 2010, on Election Day joined 11 states where recreational marijuana is legal. Voters in New Jersey, South Dakota on Nov. 3 also approved measures for both medical and recreational use, and Montana voters approved recreational use. Voters in Mississippi also passed the medical use of marijuana on Election Day.
Nearly 60% of Arizona voters approved Proposition 207, the Marijuana Legalization Initiative, which will allow adults 21 or older, to smoke legally, with restrictions. In addition, anyone arrested for, charged with or convicted of less serious marijuana-related offenses will have the right to petition to have their criminal records expunged beginning July 21.
Many details have yet to be announced and no date has been set for the law to take effect, but dispensaries could begin the process of applying for a license to grow and sell marijuana as soon as January, according to ABC15 Arizona.
The law enacts a surtax on marijuana sales and requires the development of rules to regulate marijuana businesses.
In addition, President-elect Joe Biden has stated his support for adult-use marijuana decriminalization, federal medicinal legalization and other reforms.
Nevedal, the Humboldt County grower, said federal legalization of cannabis production and use would mean access to banking and the expansion of insurance opportunities. Many COVID-19 relief programs denied cannabis farms access to the Paycheck Protection Program and low interest short term loans available under the $2 trillion CARES Act passed by Congress in March.
“Federally legal opportunity for cannabis opens up those sort of banking relief programs, and grants that might be available for disaster relief,” she said.


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The Land Transportation Office (LTO) will be implementing its online payment system for the registration of new motor vehicles for the whole of Luzon in November.
?People are not only expecting but are demanding the availability of our services online. In the few months that we have been implementing this in Metro Manila, we reduced processing time and avoided heavy queuing for new registration transactions,? LTO chief Ed Galvante said in a statement on Wednesday, October 24.
“In NCR (National Capital Region), with the implementation of ?Moving Forward? and online payment project, OR/CR (official receipt/certificate of registration) and motor vehicle plates are made available within three days after MV/MC (motor vehicles/motorcycle) dealers submit the documents,? he added.
The LTO said it is preparing for the implementation of online payment of initial registration fees for three years of new motor vehicles and motorcycles in Luzon next month and to the rest of the country by the end of the year.
Other forms of payments such as fees for license application and renewal, as well as MV/MC renewal can be paid online by next year.
The LTO is using the Electronic Payment Assessment Tool (e-PAT), an online based facility that computes the amount to be paid without human intervention which eliminates opportunities for bribery or extortion.
The computed amount from the e-PAT and other details for the payment are then channeled to the Land Bank of the Philippines – Electronic Payment Portal (LBP-EPP), where the MV/MC dealers can use their LBP account to pay for the transaction online. The payment will then be reflected at the LTO-Information Technology (IT) System enabling faster issuance of the vehicle?s OR/CR.
The LTO has partnered with Landbank for the online payment transaction and with its current IT service provider Stradcom Corporation for the online payment system.
The agency launched the use of Internet-based payment system for Metro Manila transactions last June in response in accordance to Republic Act No. 11032 or the ?Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.” — Aerol John Pate?a (PNA)


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With less than 10 days to go the Arab Games Doha 2011, the excitement is building throughout Qatar with the Arab Games Organising Committee (AGOC) giving everyone a chance to play and feel part of the games through a series of mall events. The Games will be held between December 9 and 23.
Starting this weekend and running up right up to the opening ceremony on December 9, interactive mall events in the Villaggio mall between December 1 and 10 have been designed to reach out to and inspire young people in the local community through sports and a chance to play.
The sports themed events aimed at families and younger visitors to the malls give everyone the opportunity to watch sports with win tickets to the Arab Games Doha 2011 on-site. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the event with a range of entertaining attractions that include foosball table, basketball, a goal scoring wall, punching bag, Playstation 3 games, and a hula hoop station.
Speaking ahead of a weekend of Arab Games fun for young people at Villaggio Mall, manager of promotions of Arab Games Committee Abdulla al-Mohammadi said: “In just under 10 days Doha will welcome the very best Arab Athletes. As hosts of the Arab Games for the first time the countdown in Doha is a period of great excitement and pride. We wish to share that excitement and let all communities in Qatar feel part of the Arab Games especially the youngest members of the community, letting them win tickets to see real sporting drama.”
With the multi-sport event only less than two weeks away, tickets sales are already increasing by the day. Carefully designed packages for individuals, groups of friends, and families are on sale now in order to make this Arab Games accessible and enjoyable to all.
Full-day, single, and sports fan ticketing packages can be purchased at Virgin Megastores at The Landmark and Villaggio malls and through the official website of Arab Games Doha 2011: http://www.arabgames2011.qa. Selected packages include discounts on QOC and Arab Games merchandise, dining outlets, shopping, and car wash services, among others.
“In Qatar sport is our past, our present and within our vision of the future. We want everyone in Qatar to enjoy this special time shared through sport and celebrate by attending the games. The opening ceremony will be spectacular and cannot be missed before two weeks of world-class sporting action starts. Each country deserves your support as athletes compete for glory and gold. We want our athletes to be inspired and encouraged by crowds filling packed stadiums”, al-Mohammadi.
The mall series is just one of a series of community and cultural events created to let families and young people to enjoy the occasion of the Arab Games Doha 2011.
The Arab Games Doha 2011 games will feature over 20 countries, close to 30 sports, and over 6,000 athletes and officials, in one action-packed multi-sport event. Follow all the latest news on www.arabgames2011.qa
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LOS ANGELES – May 29, 2018 – A host of exciting developers will be joining the PC Gaming Show lineup including Sega, Square Enix Ltd., Crytek, Double Fine, Hi-Rez Studios, SkyDance Media, Digital Extremes, Raw Fury, Klei, Modern Storyteller, tinyBuild, Cloud Imperium Games, Starbreeze, 505 Games, an untitled publisher, and more who will share enticing reveals with PC gaming fans on Monday, June 11 at 3PM PDT at The Wiltern theater in Los Angeles.
Previously announced sponsors and game companies include Oculus Rift, Stardock Entertainment, Tripwire Interactive, baked goods company Drake’s Cakes, Coffee Stain Studios, Frontier, Team 17, and Chance Agency.
PC gamers will be able to attend in person or watch the show on twitch.tv/pcgamer. The show will also be hosted on the Twitch homepage as part of their official “E3 Day Zero” programming. In addition, the PC Gaming Show will also be broadcast on platforms including Facebook Live, YouTube Gaming, Steam’s front page, and more.
For more information and to register for press or content creator access, please visit: www.PCGamingShow.com and follow #pcgamingshow. For consumers interested in attending the show, please visit: www.PCGamingShow.com/tickets.


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from the please-pay-me-extra-for-no-coherent-reason dept
Twitch has announced that the company is shutting down in Korea after regulators there imposed a ridiculous new regulatory framework that drove the company’s operational costs through the roof.
Basically: Korean telecoms convinced gullible regulators to pass a new regulatory framework wherein edge providers and content companies are forced to pay telecoms additional fees just to have their traffic successfully reach its destination (consumers). It’s in addition to bandwidth costs, and, as we’ve pointed out for a while, it’s a dumb cash grab and the latest extension of the longstanding net neutrality wars.
In a blog post, Twitch CEO Dan Clancy explains that with the addition of these new mandated network fees, the company has found it impossible to turn a profit in Korea and has been forced to close up shop:
“Ultimately, the cost to operate Twitch in Korea is prohibitively expensive and we have spent significant effort working to reduce these costs so that we could find a way for the Twitch business to remain in Korea. First, we experimented with a peer-to-peer model for source quality. Then, we adjusted source quality to a maximum of 720p. While we have lowered costs from these efforts, our network fees in Korea are still 10 times more expensive than in most other countries. Twitch has been operating in Korea at a significant loss, and unfortunately there is no pathway forward for our business to run more sustainably in that country.”
For the better part of the last few decades, global telecom giants have been trying to “double dip.” As in, not only do they charge businesses and consumers an arm and a leg for (often terrible) broadband, but they’ve been trying very hard to institute new regulatory frameworks where consumer and content companies alike pay telecoms huge sums of additional money for no coherent reason.
This idea that big ISPs are inherently owed a cut of the revenues of services traveling over their networks is what launched the net neutrality wars around the world several decades ago, when AT&T insisted Google “wouldn’t ride our pipes for free.” It’s evolved in dumber and dumber ways ever since.
Under Korea’s model, edge providers (like Netflix) are forced to pay “network service fees” to ISPs. Basically, ISPs there have claimed that they’re inherently owed more money if a TV show on Netflix is super popular, claiming they should be compensated for extra bandwidth costs.
Of course, bandwidth provisioning doesn’t really work like that. ISPs are supposed to build networks that can handle any peak capacity spikes caused by normal consumer demand. The origins of those demands are irrelevant. Consumers and edge providers have already paid an arm and a leg for bandwidth, particularly if regional monopolization has driven down any incentive to compete on price.
All they’re really doing here is trying to offload network operations and maintenance costs to someone else. In this case: Korean game streamers or Netflix users.
Demanding that popular companies pay more to telecoms just for being popular is an inherently stupid idea, but it’s been dressed up by telecom lobbyists as serious adult policy under terms such as “sender pays” or sometimes “Sending Party Network Pays” (SPNP). I’ve been dumbfounded by how these proposals have been treated as serious policy.
The efforts always begin with false claims that companies like Google and Netflix are somehow “getting a free ride” on the internet, despite spending billions in bandwidth, CDNs, undersea cables, and cloud infrastructure. From there, they usually involve some flavor of false claim that this model will help expand broadband availability to those in need. But its only real function is to fatten telecoms’ purses.
Like many countries, Korean regulators largely favor just three big major ISPs, which then influence policy determinations to an extremely lopsided degree. This muted competition, combined with regulatory capture, plus the SPNP model, has driven up costs for Korean consumers (see Michael Nelson’s good 2021 piece on this, or this 2022 Techdirt story by Konstantinos Komaitis).
Now, regulatory capture is driving edge companies out of business, and driving up both bandwidth and content costs for consumers. It’s all predatory nonsense created by regulatory capture and corruption, and the telecom policy marionettes pushing the idea aren’t operating in good faith. They’ve hijacked regulators to implement systems that deliver telecoms billions of additional dollars for doing nothing.
And if you think this is only happening in Korea, it’s not. It’s been an ongoing debate in the EU, where telecoms have floated a direct tax on any company that accounts for more than 5 percent of a telco’s average peak traffic. Here in the States, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr (R, AT&T) has been a big proponent of the idea for several years now.
Again, it’s basically telecoms trying to get paid twice for the same (often substandard) service. That it has been dressed up as a serious policy proposal is embarrassing. California’s net neutrality rules ban such practices, and if they’re worth anything, the FCC’s soon-to-be-restored rules will as well.


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Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, Prof. Dr.. (HC.) K. H. Ma'ruf Amin encouraged Indonesia not only to become the world's largest halal consumer which reaches 10 percent, but also to become a halal producer in the world. This is the basis for the holding of the International Halal Congress (KHI) on June 14-18, 2022 in Bangka Belitung.
"Therefore, the Government of Indonesia through the National Committee for Sharia Economy and Finance, we are making efforts to try to make Indonesia a world halal producer in 2024," said the Vice President when opening the 2022 KHI activities, in Bangka Belitung, (14/6/2022).
Some time ago, said the Vice President, the Committee had taken one new step, namely: moving faster to realize Indonesia as the halal center of the world. According to him, the acceleration to realize Indonesia as the world's halal center must continue to be carried out, even not only at the central level, but also at the regional level.
Meanwhile, reporting from the official website of the MUI (mui.or.id), the Chairman of the MUI for Sharia and Halal Economics as well as the Chairman of the KHI Steering Committee, K.H. Sholahuddin Al-Aiyub, said that this activity has a very strategic relevance and purpose. With the theme "Acceleration of Increasing the Contribution of Halal Products and Halal Tourism in Realizing Indonesia as a World Halal Producer Center", this congress is expected to be a form of MUI's support to the government to realize Indonesia as the world's halal center.
"One of the agendas of this Congress is to welcome what has been launched by the government, that in 2024 Indonesia will become the halal center of the world," explained Sholahuddin Al-Aiyub.
Data from the Global Islamic Economy Report 2020/2021 states that Muslim consumer spending on halal food and beverages, halal pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, as well as Muslim-friendly tourism and halal lifestyle in 2019 reached a value of 2.2 trillion US dollars. Meanwhile, the consumption of Indonesian halal products in 2019 reached 144 billion US dollars.
This figure makes Indonesia the largest consumer in this sector. Meanwhile, in the tourism sector, Indonesia occupies the 6th position in the world with a transaction value of 11.2 billion US dollars. In the Muslim fashion sector, total consumption in Indonesia reached 16 billion US dollars and Indonesia's halal pharmaceutical and cosmetics sector ranked 6th and 2nd with total expenditures of 5.4 billion A dollars and 4 billion US dollars, respectively.
"The government has launched a road map for Indonesia as the world's leading halal producer in 2024. There are also many community groups and halal activists. Therefore, what is needed is synergy (at-tansiq), collaboration (at-ta'awun), mutual strengthening (at-taqwiyah) of stakeholders, industry players, activists, and the wider community in order to encourage the immediate realization of Indonesia as a leading halal producer in the world," explained Sholahuddin Al-Aiyub.
In this case, the Institute for the Study of Food, Medicines, and Cosmetics of the Indonesian Ulema Council (LPPOM MUI) has also made various efforts in encouraging Indonesia to become the world's halal center in 2024. One of them, LPPOM MUI has obtained the SNI ISO / IEC 17025: 2017 Accreditation Certificate for Halal Laboratories in 2016 and SNI ISO / IEC 17065: 2012 for Halal Certification Bodies in 2018.
Through KAN, LPPOM MUI has also been recognized by an overseas halal certification body, the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA) on the UAE standard 2055:2-2016. With this accreditation, LPPOM MUI as the first and most trusted Halal Inspection Agency (LPH) in Indonesia has proven its credibility both at the national and international levels and has also supported Indonesian business actors to expand the market to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The KHI was held in collaboration with the Central Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) with the Bangka Belitung Provincial MUI, the Bangka Belitung Provincial Government, and the Regency/City Government in Bangka Belitung. Attending this event were the MUI Fatwa Commission from all over Indonesia, halal activists throughout Indonesia, LPPOM MUI throughout Indonesia, halal inspection agencies throughout Indonesia, halal and halal tourism stakeholders throughout Indonesia, as well as international halal certification bodies. (*)


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Canon reigns supreme in both DSLR and mirrorless camera sales in Japan for 2018.
And the results are somewhat staggering to behold.
In DSLRs, Canon enjoys a 57.4% market share in Japan according to PetaPixel. The King is then followed by Nikon and Ricoh which hold 39.3% and 3.1% of the DSLR market.
For those of us that are not mathematically inclined, this means that a little more than every 2 out of 4 DSLR cameras sold in Japan come from Canon. As PetaPixel points out, combined Canon and Nikon completely dominate the DSLR market in Japan for 2018.
These numbers were tallied for the BCN Award which went to Canon for its dominance in both markets. As impressive as those numbers are, Canon’s DSLR market share is down somewhat from its 2017 number which exceeded 60%. Still, Canon isn’t hurting when it comes to selling DSLRs in Japan.
In the realm of the mirrorless camera Canon’s dominance was less impressive. Coming in at 31.6%, Canon is followed by Olympus and Sony at 23.5% and 22.7% according to numbers cited by PetaPixel. These numbers include all sensor sizes in the mirrorless segment.
Full-frame mirrorless cameras are a different story for Canon as it lags behind segment leader Sony but not for lack of trying. The market reacted well to the EOS R, disrupting Sony’s stranglehold on the segment somewhat.
In the fixed camera segment Canon fell to second place as Nikon takes 31.5% of that market.
Canon News has an interesting take on it all, writing: “All is not rosy when it comes to Canon, however, as a surprise happened in the compact camera market, where Nikon leapfrogged Canon to take the #1 spot for the first time since BCN started giving out awards for the calendar year of 2005. Even though both gained marketshare this last year, Nikon gained the most, with approximately 6% gain.”


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Intel probably wants more funding for chip factory in Magdeburg
Dhe American semiconductor manufacturer intel demands significantly more funding for the planned location of a chip factory in Magdeburg. From circles of the federal government it was said on Thursday that Intel now needs 10 billion euros instead of the promised 6.8 billion euros. From the point of view of the federal government, this is difficult to imagine, but the talks are still ongoing.
The economic ministries in the federal government and in Saxony-Anhalt as well as the company itself did not want to confirm corresponding media reports on the increased funding. First, the “Handelsblatt” reported about it.
According to the reports, Intel considers the additional billions to be necessary because of the increased energy and construction prices in Germany. In addition, the company wants to use a newer technology than originally planned. One is currently working with the state of Saxony-Anhalt and the federal government to close the “cost gap” caused by the additional costs, said an Intel spokesman on Thursday. After all, the company has to be competitive.
Start of production planned for 2027
In March 2022, Intel announced that in Magdeburg by 2027 chips of the latest generation are to be produced. In a first expansion stage, two semiconductor factories are to be built, which could create several thousand jobs. The investment should cost 17 billion euros. In the course of this, the federal government had promised funding of 6.8 billion euros – subject to a change in the legal framework by the EU. This should come in the summer of 2023.
Saxony-Anhalt’s Economics Minister Sven Schulze (CDU) emphasized the economic importance of the planned Intel settlement for Europe on Wednesday evening. “It’s about the fact that not only Germany, but Europe has to keep up,” said Schulze on Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk. The “essential investments” in the chip sector would continue to be made in the USA and Asia, but there was an urgent need to catch up. The planned investments are therefore “urgently necessary”.


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Driven by technological advancements in veterinary care, the animal health industry has almost tripled in the last two decades. In 2019, it was valued to be worth $47.1bn.
This growth has been enjoyed by animal health giants like Elanco and Boehringer Ingelheim, while also attracting major corporations from other industries to the marketplace – like Pfizer with their subsidiary Zoetis.
The presence of these multinationals has made it harder for start-ups and smaller companies to compete.
It’s already a tough environment for start-ups, with R&D, testing, trials and market entry for vaccines, medicines, feed additives, technology and devices lengthy and costly processes.
But with M&As helping larger companies to increase their market share, diversify their offerings and stay at the bleeding-edge of innovation; start-ups are beginning to recognise their limitations within the market and major players are enjoying the mammoth share.
Despite the global turmoil caused by COVID-19, there’s been a considerable amount of deals done in 2020 with more companies taking advantage of M&A growth strategies.
Merck Animal Health have been busy diversifying their offering with new technology from IdentiGEN in DNA-based animal traceability for livestock and aquaculture.
IdentiGEN’s technology combines each species’ unique DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and data analytics to provide an evidence-based animal traceability solution, called DNA TraceBack. It accurately traces beef, seafood, pork and poultry that is verifiable from farm-to-table.
This deal came after exciting news of a $100m manufacturing cash injection into their Desoto site. This will ramp up their animal vaccine production and pave the way for future innovation.
Boehringer Ingelheim’s acquisition of Belgian biotech, GST, seems to be all about diversification of their offering and innovation too.
The deal strengthens Boehringer Ingelheim’s stem cell capabilities in animal health, taking advantage of GST’s state-of-the art stem cell products for horses and pets.
The acquisition follows two years of partnership that brought the first-ever registered stem cell-based veterinary medicine to the European market.
This decision to acquire GST is fully aligned with part of Boehringer Ingelheim’s Animal Health strategy, aiming to strengthen its portfolio capabilities to accelerate innovation and growth.
Major players aren’t just acquiring start-ups, they’re acquiring each other too.
In April, US company, Heska Corporation, made a move to become the global leader in veterinary point-of-care diagnostics. They acquired Europe’s frontrunner in this area, scil animal care.
Scil animal care’s network and localised resources are ready to help Heska conquer the region. Plans for expansion are in place and should see Heska offer their service to over 25 countries around the world with major market shares in the US (≈12.5%), Canada (≈13%), Germany (≈40%), Spain (≈40%), France (≈30%), and Italy (≈19%). Heska also aim to leverage a strong and growing presence in the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Poland, the UK, Australia, Latin America and Malaysia.
Heska are a company going places, servicing millions of pets through tens of thousands of veterinarians and active point of care analysers around the world. This M&A confirms them as the major power in veterinary point-of-care diagnostics.
In August, Elanco completed a $7.6bn acquisition of Bayer Animal Health in the biggest deal of the year so far.
Bayer bring new strengths to Elanco, including sterile injectable products which are manufactured locally, plus well-known pet products like Advantage and Seresto.
Bayer’s expertise in retail and consumer marketing will also be advantageous when capitalizing on trends accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes pet owners’ increased desire to access care and products via online, retail, telemedicine and direct to the doorstep.
The new entity is now equally strong in the livestock and companion animal markets. I expect to see them go from strength to strength from here on out and wouldn’t be surprised to see a continuation of an aggressive M&A strategy that’s already seen acquisitions of Prevtec Microbia, Aratana Therapeutics and Janssen Animal Health.
M&A’s are proving a successful way for major companies to expand their market shares, diversify offerings and innovate. I expect to see this trend continue for the rest of the year.
While it’s hard to see how smaller companies will compete in this market, all is not lost. The animal health market is growing and start-ups should enter the market in confidence, knowing that there’s big pay day available to those with unique technology.
If you have something to say on this topic or would like to share your experiences working in animal health, please get in touch and email Ameer.Khan@lifesci-cm.com. I’d be really interested in what you have to say.
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Recently, WELL, a Delaware-based company announced their plan to launch healthcare block chain platform. What is unique about this company is that it already has a successful business model and partnerships in place. WELL hopes to build a truly global, decentralized, block chain marketplace for health care. The company wants to transcend borders and connect patients with health care specialists.
WELL was incorporated on June 4, 2015. The founder Ildar Fazulyanov broke his leg in a snowboarding accident and had to undergo a surgery. After discharge, he had to undergo physical therapy and rehabilitation. However, he had great difficulty in getting access to health care. That led to the establishment of WELL in April 2015.
WELL, which has the largest therapist network in California, is a profit making entity. As of date, WELL has successfully conducted 22,916 consultations. The company has a successful partnership with Medicare, Optum, Century Pacific Medical, Inc. myMatrixx, Medi-Cal, Tricare, Veteran Affairs, Medicare Advantage, self-pay/private pay, dozens of hospitals, several HMO/PPO plans, , Assisted Living Facilities, Hospices, and over two hundred home health care agencies. Notably, WELL clinicians can communicate in several languages, including English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Armenian, Farsi, Russian, Hebrew, Japanese, and others.
The on-demand healthcare project is expected to solve the current problems of cross-border payments, payment risk, and data accessibility. At the same time, patients are guaranteed to receive the highest quality of health care.
Speaking about the project, Ildar Fazulyanov said
“WELL is a HIPAA compliant virtual care platform, encompassing telemedicine, biometric devices and telemonitoring to engage and manage patients and at-risk populations. WELL has built-in secure messaging and their own private clinical network composed of over 1,600 providers covering 49 states in the U.S. and some of the world. We’re planning to spend funds raised during the crowd sale for the development of our own block chain and distribution of WELL platform all over the world.”
WELL co-founder Alex Prokhorov said
“By lowering the barrier of contacting a physician, WELL both saves substantial health care costs as well as encourages patients to visit the local emergency department when appropriate. By modern standards, the block chain is more private and liquid, costs less to administer and also provides a real-time, lifesaving flow of medical data.”
The company’s token sale will begin on February 25, 2018 and will end on May 15, 2018 or soon after reaching hard cap of $28 million. The company has already raised $3 million through crowd sale. WELL tokens are valued at $0.10. Apart from fiat currency, nearly 90 different types of crypto currencies can be used to invest in WELL tokens.


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YouTube videos promoting hate speech by white nationalists, Nazis, and conspiracy theorists -- along with other nefarious creators, including pedophiles and the North Korean government -- ran with advertisements for more than 300 major companies, organizations, and government agencies, according to a new investigative report by CNN. The news comes despite measures announced by the online platform to stop monetization of hateful content.
Companies with advertising running on questionable YouTube channels include Adidas, Amazon, Cisco, Facebook, Hershey, Hilton, LinkedIn, Mozilla, Netflix, Nordstrom, and Under Armour, as well as U.S. government agencies like the Department of Transportation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Under Armour paused all advertising on YouTube until the situation can be rectified, according to a company statement.
"We have strong values-led guidelines in place and are working with YouTube to understand how this could have slipped through the guardrails. We take these matters very seriously and are working to rectify this immediately," Under Armour said in a statement to CNN.
YouTube did respond to the report: "We have partnered with our advertisers to make significant changes to how we approach monetization on YouTube with stricter policies, better controls and greater transparency. When we find that ads mistakenly ran against content that doesn't comply with our policies, we immediately remove those ads. We know that even when videos meet our advertiser friendly guidelines, not all videos will be appropriate for all brands. But we are committed to working with our advertisers and getting this right."
YouTube has not responded to inquiry from The Advocate on its advertising policies.
The issue of hateful content on the site has plagued YouTube. The company last year faced an advertising boycott over allowing advertising to appear on videos many companies did not want associated with their brand. In December, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki announced new systems in the works to protect against violent or extremist content. And officials with the company told The Advocate then that revenue raised on content later deemed inappropriate gets credited back to advertisers.
Earlier this week, the company again posted on its Creator Blog that it would continue to unroll new tools to identify objectionable content, while stressing the important of the site remaining an open platform for a variety of views.
"One of the biggest challenges we face is balancing the freedom of expression with our responsibility as a community," Wojcicki wrote in a new post. "We value the incredible diversity of voices on our platform and want to focus our policy changes on where we believe there can be real harm."
YouTube reportedly takes a 45 percent cut from advertising on the platform. That means YouTube has collected hundreds of thousands in revenue from advertisement on hateful speech.
While Alphabet, YouTube's parent company, took a $1 billion hit in revenue in the first quarter of 2017 amid an advertising boycott, the company finished the year with $110.9 billion in reported revenue, up 23 percent from the prior year. The company is expected to announce earnings from the first quarter of 2018 on Monday.