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Last week we saw T-Mobile getting ready for a primetime launch of its long-awaited 3G network on its 1700Mhz AWS spectrum. There were reports that the 3G launch covered voice-only, leaving data-hungry T-Mobile subscribers left wanting for high-speed UMTS/HSDPA data speeds with T-Mobile’s initial 3G launch in New York. Then we got reports from the field that seemingly confirmed that T-Mobile was rolling out its 3G data services alongside its voice services.
Now, to help clear the air of any uncertainty, T-Mobile has finally issued an official press release that puts the kibosh on worries that T-Mobile’s new 3G network won’t be bringing UMTS/HSDPA data to the table. New York will be the first market to be blessed by T-Mobile with higher data speeds that will give T-Mobile customer with compatible 3G phones “faster data speeds when accessing the Web, or downloading content from the T-Mobile t-zones content portal.” The 3G network apparently starts off in UMTS form, with the higher-speed HSDPA upgrade planned for later this year.
Like we said before, T-Mobile’s 3G network will be available in New York initially with other US markets coming online by year’s end.
Full press release on the link.
NEW YORK and BELLEVUE, Wash. May 5, 2008: T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced that the company has taken the first commercial step in the rollout of its third-generation (3G) wireless network by launching its UMTS/HSDPA network in New York City. T-Mobile plans to continue the rollout of its 3G network across major metropolitan markets through the year. By year’s end, T-Mobile expects its high-speed data network will be available in those cities where a majority of its subscribers currently use data services.
The launch of our 3G network comes at a time when 3G phones and services are more affordable, capable and appealing to our consumer marketplace than ever before,said Cole Brodman, chief development officer, T-Mobile USA. “We benefit not only from the economic scale of 3G, but also from the extensive commercial experience of 3G in our European markets. Today, T-Mobile USA customers already have among the highest adoption of data and messaging services in the industry. Through our 3G network, we look forward to delivering a rich portfolio of new and meaningful services to enrich our customers’ lives.”
T-Mobile’s 3G network supports voice and data services consistent with available service and handset offerings. The company today offers multiple phones that are able to operate on the UMTS network. The phones are designed to automatically connect to the best available network (3G or GSM/GPRS/EDGE) to provide the great call quality and rich communication services customers expect from T-Mobile.
Customers using a 3G-capable handset from T-Mobile will also experience faster data speeds when accessing the Web, or downloading content from the T-Mobile t-zones content portal, for example.
In the coming months, T-Mobile plans to offer its first HSDPA device, along with new and compelling data-centric, all-in-one devices that help make the most of T-Mobile’s high-speed data network.
The launch of the 3G network also enables T-Mobile to accommodate and serve more customers more efficiently through the use of its AWS spectrum, effectively doubling T-Mobile USA’s spectrum position, and laying the foundation for the company’s future growth. T-Mobile and the U.S. government, namely the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice, continue to work closely and effectively together to make available AWS spectrum that will give consumers access to the 3G network.
As the 3G service rolls out in targeted major markets, T-Mobile will continue to build upon its T-Mobile® otSpot Wi-Fi network, its wireless high-speed Internet offering that launched in 2003, and its nationwide voice and data network, to empower customers to effortlessly stay connected using the best available network.
T-Mobile International is following a common technology path across all of its markets in Europe and the United States, from GSM/GPRS/EDGE to UMTS/HSDPA. T-Mobile USA greatly benefits from T-Mobile International’s 3G experiences in Europe, where adoption of non-messaging mobile data is growing dynamically; and with more than 120 million customers worldwide, T-Mobile International is able to generate significant global procurement synergies.


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Two years ago, Amazon made it easier for its Prime customers to shop for groceries and receive their deliveries right at their garage through its Key service. It was originally launched in 50 cities, and late last year Amazon rolled it out to more than 4,000 cities across the U.S.
Today, Amazon announced yet another expansion for its in-garage grocery delivery service. Eligible Prime members across 5,000 cities and towns in the country can now get their grocery orders from Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods delivered inside their garage.
After placing your order, Amazon's shopper will prepare your items and a courier will deliver the groceries to your address. Your garage must be equipped with a compatible garage door opener or myQ Smart Garage Hub. To let the delivery personnel in your garage, you must connect the myQ app with Key and choose “Key Delivery” at checkout.
In addition, you can check when the parcel arrives by viewing videos of your delivery using a compatible Ring smart home camera or LiftMaster Smart Garage Camera. This also adds an extra layer of security.
For Prime members, the service comes at no additional cost. You can sign up for the service here and check if you're eligible. And for a limited time only, Amazon is giving a $20 credit after your first in-garage grocery order.
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Executives of Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty recently announced that half of the top 16 condominium sales in downtown Seattle year-to-date were represented by RSIR brokers while the firm maintains its place as the top selling branch office of urban condominiums since the Great Recession in 2009, according to Trendgraphix research.
“We are very proud to be playing such a significant role in the development of downtown Seattle’s housing market over the years,” said Dean Jones, President & CEO of RSIR. “We’ve certainly experienced the highs and lows of this marketplace in both new construction and resale representing buyers and sellers. Collectively, our firm has more than a half billion dollars in urban condominium sales experience since commencing our brokerage business in 2009 – twice that of our closest peer office.”
Jones says 2015 marks a pivotal point in the downtown Seattle condominium marketplace given that the first in a new wave of new construction projects are delivering and as predicted, both the total sales volumes and median home prices are increasing – up 18% year-to-date in 2015 over 2014. Luxury home values now consistently top $1,000 per square foot, which is required to pencil new development.
“When the credit crunch hit by 2009, there was effectively zero financing solutions for these larger, new construction high-rise condominiums and so it’s been more than five years since we’ve had any new supply delivered,” said Jones. “Now that there are new, inspirational products to move up to, we’re seeing greater liquidity in the market and the tides are rising. At the same time, the rising rents, which have increased by more than 40% since 2010, contrast with inherently low interest rates. So now that condo values are clearly rising, consumers are much more confident in homeownership.”
Dean Jones recently lent his condo expertise to an article on Seattle’s trends in The Puget Sound Business Journal, describing that condo sales in the Emerald City are increasing. “In July, 135 downtown condos sold, up 221 perfect over the same month in 2014, and the median sales price hit $551,000, up 15 percent and the highest recorded value since the market peaked in 2007, he said. Three luxury units sold for between $972 and $1,316 a foot, Jones said.”


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The West Africa Trade & Investment Hub (Trade Hub) has launched a Virtual DealRoom to provide global investors with details on the Trade Hub’s growing pipeline of impact market opportunities.
The Trade Hub, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), aims to use a market-based approach to catalyze economic growth in West Africa.
The Trade Hub anticipates attracting $400 million in new private investment through its co-investment fund.
The Virtual DealRoom was launched on Asoko Insight, a corporate data and collaboration platform that enables global investors, multinationals, and development organizations to find, shortlist, and connect with African businesses.
Investors will now interact with a variety of diversified, investment-ready companies from the Trade Hub’s wider portfolio through this creative portal.
Until gaining access to the Virtual DealRoom, all prospective investors and the companies chosen are vetted.
This activity aims to strengthen the Trade Hub’s partnerships with foreign and domestic investors in West Africa in order to boost companies’ capacity to expand operations, increase efficiency, and create employment.
“Private sector investment is critical to growth in West Africa and the continent as a whole, but identifying and screening companies is always a challenge for investors looking to make a difference,” said Michael Clements, Chief of Party at the Trade Hub.
“The Virtual DealRoom aims to help solve this conundrum, and the Trade Hub is excited to see how it can be used to boost regional economic growth.”
The first batch of select transactions, totaling approximately $30 million in new impact opportunities, is now available to investors.
These companies were chosen by the Trade Hub based on their stage of development, location, and industry. Agriculture, financial services, healthcare, water and sanitation, biodiversity, ecotourism, biomass, apparel, and logistics are among the industries represented in the deal pipeline. Over the course of 2021, The DealRoom will add over 100 select deals to its pipeline.
Asoko Insight COO and Co-Founder Greg Cohen said, “It’s exciting to work with USAID and the Trade Hub at a time when it’s allocating more money to private sector growth in Africa.”
“Asoko’s research and origination work in West Africa demonstrates a diverse range of high-quality, creative companies that can compete in the global supply chain but lack the necessary funding and marketability to succeed.
The Trade Hub has identified a number of high-quality opportunities across the city, and we’re proud to assist them in gaining access to these businesses so that new local champions can emerge.”
Read More on Tech Gist Africa:
The second cohort of the Yunus Environment Hub’s StartNow program is now accepting applications
African Innovators gets a break thanks to the MultiChoice Innovation Fund
The UK-Nigeria Tech Hub Developer Placement Programme places 100 software developers in internships with 43 selected SMEs in Nigeria


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Captain Dâ€™s Seafood Kitchen is no rookie when it comes to rebranding.The chain began its latest rebranding effort in August 2006, which was less than four years after its previous brand-revamping campaign broke in early 2003. The Nashville, Tenn.-based franchisor now has deployed a new logo, new trading nameâ€”it used to be just Captain Dâ€™s Seafoodâ€”new menu and new store design. Of course, the nearly 600-unit chain now has a new TV campaign to support the rebranding. Captain ...
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A new type of ankle exoskeleton is being designed at the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering. The design is lightweight, low-profile, and cost effective for use with the elderly and persons with lower-leg muscle strength impairments. Most notably, the design is believed to be the first ankle exoskeleton that could be comfortably worn under clothing without restricting the wearer's motion. Best of all, it requires no batteries or electronics. A study of their design was recently published in IEEE Transacations on Neural Systems & Rehabilitation Engineering, and builds upon a widely sited ankle exoskeleton concept developed in 2015. The engineering team's design will be presented during the 2019 Wearable Robotics Association Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
“Our design is lightweight, low profile, quiet, uses no motor or batteries, it is low cost to manufacture, and naturally adapts to different walking speeds to assist the ankle muscles,” says Karl Zelik, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Vanderbilt University School of Engineering and senior author on the study.
From the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering article: "'We’ve shown how an unpowered ankle exoskeleton could be redesigned to fit under clothing and inside/under shoes so it more seamlessly integrates into daily life,' said Matt Yandell, a mechanical engineering Ph.D. student and lead author of the study.
In a significant design advancement, the team invented an unpowered friction clutch mechanism that fits under the foot or shoe and is no thicker than a typical shoe insole. The complete device, which includes a soft shank sleeve and assistive spring, weighs just over one pound.
The unpowered ankle exoskeleton costs less than $100 to fabricate, without factoring in optimized design for manufacturing and economies of scale."
Read more about the low profile ankle exoskeleton at the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering.


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McDonald's cuts halal food from US menu
June 24, 2013
by Meat&Poultry Staff
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DEARBORN, Mich. – McDonald's will no longer serve halal menu items at two of its restaurants in the United States that offered halal food, according to a USA Today
report. Both restaurants were in Dearborn, Mich., which boasts a large population of Arab-American Muslims.
The move comes after the fast casual chain settled a lawsuit that accused the company of selling non-halal foods as halal. In April, McDonald's settled the lawsuit for $700,000 and denied any wrongdoing. The company began selling halal foods at the Dearborn locations in 2000.


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Save Foods (Nasdaq: SVFD), an agri-food-tech company focused on developing and selling eco-friendly products specifically designed to extend the shelf life and ensure food safety of fresh fruits and vegetables, yesterday announced that it has commenced a commercial pilot program of its treatment for citrus fruits with a large Turkish packing house, HERA Meyve ve Sebze.
The commercial trial, which is scheduled to begin between November 8th and 12th, was designed to verify that the Company’s products, when combined with permitted pesticides, mitigate undesirable pathogens but most importantly reduce the presence of the pesticides’ hazardous residues on citrus fruit, as required by the EU’s recently established “Farm To Fork Green Deal Initiative”.
Dan Sztybel, the Chief Executive Officer of Save Foods Ltd., the Company’s Israeli Subsidiary, commented on the announcement, “I am confident that this trial will confirm what we have repeatedly demonstrated in the pilots and scientific studies already conducted in Israel, the United States, Mexico and Spain; Save Foods treated produce consistently shows efficient control of pathogens with less hazardous residues.”
“This program is an important step in advancing our presence in the EU. Turkey is one of the world’s largest producers of fruit and vegetables, and while it is not a member of the EU, it is estimated that more than 42% of all Turkish exports go to EU countries. I expect the results achieved here will facilitate our relationships with other regional growers, packers, and retailers and help us take advantage of the many opportunities within the European marketplace,” Sztybel concluded.
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Enter At: 7.54


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Election commission wants to use satellite phones in the Maoist affected belt of Bengal to have better connectivity with the poll offiicals during the elections.
Vietnamese online retailer Techrum.vn has listed Nokia X on its website at a price of 2.2 mill to 2.5 mill VND (approximately $110).
Yahoo has reportedly announced that it has no plans to update its Flickr app for Windows Phone.
With East Delhi Municipal Corporation's new concept of G-Auto service, residents of east Delhi will now be able to book autorickshaws online or on phone.
SRK answers in the middle of the night, Deepika sends smileys, Big B always responds, while his bahu is another story…
The festival of Valentine's Day goes back well into the hoary past.The essence remains the same but the festival has eased into a world driven as much by technology as love.
Twitter user EVLeaks has released screenshots detailing the customized UI of the upcoming Android-powered phone online.
The specifications of Nokia Normandy have been leaked courtesy the database of benchmark website Antutu.
To be called Nokia X, the company's Android phone is reportedly all set to launch at the forthcoming MWC in Barcelona.
DC C Shikha held phone-in programme on Thursday and was flooded with complaints of water scarcity
Motorcyclists in the city are busy talking and texting on their cellphones while vrooming on their mean machines, paying no heed to policeâ€™s repeated appeal to put a brake on the dangerous habit.
Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu promises cell phones to DWCRA women if his party was returned to power in ensuing general elections


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Some Zionsville residents said they are prepared to fight the opening of a Wal-Mart store in town again, after the retail giant decided it would make another attempt to build in the community.
The company already owns nearly two dozen acres of land along Michigan Road and 106th street. The area is not far from downtown Zionsville and a Wal-Mart store near Michigan Road and 86th street.
Plans for a new store were originally shot down in 2006 by the town council, because they were too big. Now Wal-Mart will try again, but it will have to get a variance.
"It's the brick street. It's the small shops. The walking ability," said Annie Rogers, owner of the Zionsville travel shop, as she looked out of her downtown office.
While she could see the upside of a new store bringing “more jobs to our community," the small business owner simply couldn't support a big box store.
"I'm not sure if that's the kind of atmosphere we want to promote. The big business atmosphere."
A spokesperson for the retail giant has said Wal-Mart is not competition for the smaller downtown Zionsville businesses, but not everyone is buying it. Many people are prepared to fight it all over again.
"The town is gonna fight it all the way," said Regina Owens, owner of downtown’s Jewel Box Jewelers.
"It's just a charming small town, just really close knit community, it just seems out of place here," added Averill.
Residents ready to fight possible Wal-Mart store in Zionsville
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The 21-year-old is leading a national youth-led campaign to challenge white-washed media.
Founder Courtland Savage was only one of two Black pilots in his Navy squadron.
With anti-Asian attacks spiking across the U.S., the fact that this collaboration is entirely Asian-led isn’t lost on the trio.
Nyma Tang’s focus on inclusivity has paid off for her viewers who feel ostracized by the beauty world.
Harmony Anne-Marie Ilunga was rejected by numerous modeling agencies who only wanted white models.
Zappos just launched a new program that gives customers the ability to purchase a single shoe or two shoes of different sizes.


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This may be old news to some, but there’s new research that says not eating enough fruits and vegetables has actually caused 2.8 million deaths per year.
Our parents and guardians would always remind us: Eat your fruits and vegetables. Now, it makes more sense because studies have revealed that globally, millions and millions of death from heart disease and strokes are reported each year. It is concluded that low fruit and vegetable intake has caused this.
"Fruits and vegetables are a modifiable component of diet that can impact preventable deaths globally," said lead study author Victoria Miller, a postdoctoral researcher at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. "Our findings indicate the need for population- based efforts to increase fruit and vegetable consumption throughout the world."
Data from 2010 says that a breakdown of very minimal fruit intake has resulted in 1.3 million deaths from stroke, while 520,000 deaths are from coronary heart disease. While the remaining 800,000 deaths were caused by stroke because of minimal vegetable consumption. The data thatwas used came from 113 countries, which basically is around 82% of the world’s population.
As observed, countries in South Asia, East Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa are the ones that had low fruit intake. Therefore, higher rates of death associated with stroke. In countries like Oceania andCentral Asia, they had a low vegetable intake that’s associated with coronary heart diseases.
In the United States, despite the abundance of natural resources, it is said that there were 82,000 cardiovascular-related deaths due to not eating vegetables. While there were 57,000 deaths were linked to not eating enough fruits.
The researchers are now recommending dietary guidelines that we should follow to avoid the risk of diseases. For fruits, we should take about 300 grams per day which is equal to 2 small apples. For vegetables, it should equal to 400 grams per day which is equivalent to 3 cups of raw carrots.
"Global nutrition priorities have traditionally focused on providing sufficient calories, vitamin supplementation and reducing additives like salt and sugar," said senior study author Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.
"These findings indicate a need to expand the focus to increasing availability and consumption of protective foods like fruits, vegetables and legumes—a positive message with tremendous potential for improving global health."
Here’s a breakdown of the daily fruit recommendation:
- Women 19 to 30 years old: 2 cups
- Women 31+ years old: 1 1⁄2 cups
Men 19 years old and up: 2 cups Daily Vegetable recommendation:
- Women 19 to 30 years old: 2 1⁄2 cups
- Women 31 to 50 years old: 2 1⁄2 cups
- Women 51+ years old: 2 cups
- Men 19 to 30 years old: 3 cups
- Men 31 to 50 years old: 3 cups
- Men 51+ years old: 2 1⁄2 cups
While it doesn’t necessarily mean that deaths would equate to issues because of not eating fruits and vegetables; eating produce is essential for a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. A healthy diet will reduce risks of chronic diseases and will provide your body with enough nutrients that would aid in the health and maintenance of your cells. Thus, making it an essential part of your diet nevertheless.


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“For the last three years I was making some profit by selling firecrackers during the Diwali time but the decision of apex court to ban sale of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR has shattered all my plans this year. It is a black Diwali for me,” said Mohinder Kumar, who runs a small kirana shop at Khandsa village in Gurgaon district.
Mohinder had already placed orders for firecrackers worth Rs 4 lakh with the wholesaler and has already paid him Rs 2 lakh in advance.
“The district administration issues licences to sell crackers every year. A firecracker mela is organised here in Gurugram, but this decision is stealing the bread of the common man who earns a little profit through these sale melas. To earn more profits I booked the crackers early but I was not aware that such a decision will be made. Now what should I do,” said Mohinder.
Traders and wholesalers in Gurugram are trying to find some loopholes in the order. A wholesaler said they haven’t received any paper or order copy so they will continue to sell crackers.
“Business is already reduced in the last two years and many wholesalers have already quit the business. The livelihood of wholesalers like me depends on such occasions and festivals. There will be a huge loss and we are feeling cheated after the verdict,” said the wholesaler.
A couple of years ago, cracker traders posted good profits but since pollution awareness campaigns and protests over worsening air quality gathered steam, their business went south with cracker sales hitting a slump. Last year only 200 licences were issued for sale of crackers as compared to 2015 when 500 licences were issued.
There is no firecracker factory in Gurugram. They are manufactured in Jhajjar and Rohtak. The traders are somehow looking for buyers outside NCR to clear their stock this Diwali.
“Now, we have no clue what to do with our stock. We are under immense pressure to post sales and have to visit other cities (outside NCR) to sell the stock and that too, cheap,” said Ashok Kumar Saini, owner of Star Night Fireworks, Gurgaon.
Residents and environmentalists in Gurugram have, however, welcomed the Supreme Court order. “The air quality goes for a toss every Diwali. We have appealed and will inform residents in all sectors again about the SC order. The ban will definitely control air pollution this Diwali,” said Col Umed Singh, president of the Sector-22 residents’ welfare association in Gurugram.


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Many people recall childhood dreams of wanting to be a doctor, lawyer or even president of the United States. Not so for Ricky Engelberg, experience director of digital sport at Nike and longtime enthusiast of the brand.
"The mission of the company is bringing innovation and inspiration to every athlete in the world," says Engelberg, who has been with Nike for 11 years and personally works on Nike+, Nike+ Fuelband and Nike+ Running initiatives. "There are infinite possibilities here." He's gotten to work with some of the world's leading tech companies to create products and services for digitally-minded athletes and notes that a big part of the job is to "suspend disbelief to focus on what a few years from now can look like," a sentiment to which most startups can relate Read more...More about Nike, Careers, Business, Fuelband, and Jobs


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Next month, Amazon will reach its first anniversary owning Whole Foods Market. How’s it doing so far? As we expected, Amazon will not spend a lot of time giving us specific results for its Whole Foods unit, which makes up less than 10% of Amazon’s total sales.
In what appears to be the company’s last public statement in February about Whole Foods’ particular performance, Amazon CFO Brian T. Olsavsky said Amazon physical store revenue, which is made up mostly of Whole Foods, but also includes nearly 100 book stores and “pop-up” mall stores, about 10 Smart Home store-within-a-store set-ups inside Kohls, and the cashier-less Amazon Go in Seattle, reached $4.5 billion as of the end of the fourth quarter, December, 2017.
Whole Foods’ last fiscal year as a standalone public company ended September, 2017, with just over $16 billion in sales. According to Thasos Group, which uses mobile-phone location data to gauge trends, foot traffic has increased about 3% year-over-year since Amazon acquired the company. This would bring Whole Foods’ sales into the $17 billion range.
Membership ModelWhen the two companies first announced their marriage plans in June 2017, we noted the lack of any apparent tactical plan to mesh the highly curated quality of Whole Foods’ products and culture with the sell-anything-and-let’s-colonize-the-moon approach of Amazon. We also said at the time that the company, with its essentially unlimited access to cash and $300-plus billion stock market capitalization, probably didn’t feel it needed one. Since then, Amazon’s market cap has more than doubled, to over $800 billion.
Initially, Amazon highlighted price cuts on select everyday items. More recently, Amazon has linked its Prime membership to discounts at Whole Foods, with in-store signs calling out an extra 10% off certain items exclusively for Prime members, plus free 2-hour delivery from stores in select cities. In what may create the greatest incentive to join, Prime members will get an extra 5% back at Whole Foods when they use the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Card.
Notice the similarity to the Costco club warehouse membership model, which also offers a member credit card with an extra discount off product purchases. Of course, even if you add the 5% credit card discount to the 10% in-store discount on select items, Whole Foods’ nominal gross profit margin moves down from the 34% range to the low 20% range. Compare this to 12% gross margins at Costco.
Emerging ProfitWith the public markets giving Amazon a 25-year pass on the need to be profitable, the company has been able to grow from an online seller of books — which are the ideal non-perishable, low-weight, low-cube, high-dollar products shipped in a box — to become a seller of anything, with fulfillment infrastructure developing organically as the product mix evolved.
For most of its history, Amazon made its profits from Amazon Web Services, its cloud-computing business, and not from the online retail business. As of the quarter ended March 31, $1.4 billion in operating income came from $5.4 billion in sales through Amazon Web Services; a 25.7% operating income margin. On the retail side, operating income was $527 million on $45.6 billion in sales, or just over one percent (1.1%). The company has just raised its Prime membership annual fee to $119 from $99, which should add between $1 billion and $2 billion to its operating profit line, given its 100 million Prime member households worldwide.
Market ShareAs of the first quarter of 2018, the U.S. Census estimates total ecommerce sales at 9.5% of all U.S. retail sales, or $495 billion of $5.2 trillion annually. The food portion of online sales was somewhere between $13 billion and $28 billion, or 2% to 4.3% of the $641 billion U.S. grocery market in 2017, according to estimates by FMI-Nielsen.
Amazon’s share of online food is estimated at $2 billion, giving it somewhere between 7% and 15% of all online food sales. Add to this Whole Foods’ $17 billion, and Amazon Whole Foods’ total $19-plus billion works out to about 3% market share for all U.S. groceries through stores and online.
FMI-Nielsen estimates that the online food market will grow to $100 billion by 2025. Perhaps. At that point, assuming 2% annual growth for all U.S. groceries during that time, online food sales would be 13% of the then-$750 billion total U.S. grocery market. Where will the other 87%, or $650 billion, come from? Apparently, bricks-and-mortar stores will be around for a while.
Fresh Delivery — the Next Frontier?The most profound effect of Amazon’s 25-year reign as the pacesetter in shopping convenience is the dramatic increase in shopper expectations for delivery. A whole generation of Millennials — larger than the Baby Boom — is gladly eliminating traveling to buy everyday items, and certainly Gen Z, now reaching their early 20s, will insist on nothing less than home delivery as an everyday option.
Having started as a distribution company, Amazon is far ahead of other retailers with its fulfillment infrastructure. The company is nearing 200 U.S. warehouses and controls well over 200 million square feet of data center, office, retail-store, and warehouse space. But delivering food, particularly fresh food, remains a work in progress.
Outside of densely populated New York City, where Fresh Direct delivers fresh foods within hours, having meals or fresh perishable foods delivered same-day is rare. With Amazon’s free 2-hour delivery from select cities where it has a Whole Foods store, Amazon employees or a third-party will pick the items from store shelves, and an Amazon Flex driver — think Uber for groceries — will deliver the order to the home of the customer. With all this extra handling, it is safe to assume Amazon is heavily subsidizing this free service, and that it will not scale to profitability any time soon.
Most other grocers attempting fresh food delivery are using third-party “store-picking” services, such as Instacart, whose employees select items from store shelves, then deliver. Target recently acquired Shipt, an Instacart competitor. But Kroger, the largest U.S. conventional grocer with over 2,700 stores, is attempting to leapfrog everyone including Amazon with its recent partnership in Ocado. The U.K. company operates highly efficient automated robotic warehouses, and delivers fresh, frozen and shelf-stable foods in its own trucks—profitably. Kroger initially plans three Ocado warehouses, enabling it to reach a significant portion of U.S. households.
How Important is Convenience?So where is U.S. food retailing heading? Even if online grocery eventually captures 20% or 30% market share, the bricks-and-mortar portion will be many hundreds-of-billions larger.
In early June, Amazon announced two Chicagoland locations for its cashierless bricks-and-mortar store, Amazon Go. The company has been experimenting with the first Amazon Go store in its hometown Seattle. The point of these stores is to zero out any friction in the shopping experience. But is a friction-free experience what every shopper wants? If Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos thought so, he wouldn’t have bought Whole Foods.
Many U.S. consumers say they feel time-starved, yet primary household shoppers make an average of 1.9 grocery trips a week, sometimes to multiple stores, according to The Hartman Group. Monthly, shoppers make 12.2 store visits to an average of 4.4 channels. Although most shoppers could get all their groceries from one store at one time—most conventional grocers now carry a convincing selection of natural and organic foods—shoppers don’t actually do this.
The same consumers who see themselves as so busy all the time, “willingly spend 30 minutes strolling around their local specialty food retailer simply because they enjoy the experience and are looking to be inspired,” and delighted, says Hartman.
What accounts for this attachment to shopping; this voluntarily inefficient behavior? Tom Carson, writing in Los Angeles Magazine touches on the larger human need. Explaining his instant allergy to shopping at hard discounter Aldi, he writes “I didn’t get the impression they especially wanted me there.”
Describing the vast array of national-chain shopping options in his Southern California home, Carson recognizes that people have a special attachment to local chains, like Vons. “It’s a question of suddenly incomplete civic identity—a nagging gap in one’s everyday mental equilibrium. Where we shop for groceries is more important than we often realize in helping us feel connected to a place.”
Where’s the Rub?Will Amazon Go’s frictionless shopping experience conquer grocery? Will Aldi’s indifferent atmosphere dominate? Will someone finally figure out how to deliver dinner at scale profitably across the U.S., eliminating the need for bricks-and-mortar stores?
Something deeper than ultimate efficiency is in play here. Cooking, eating, and yes, buying food for our families is an act of love. Of all the things we do during the 16 or so hours a day we are awake, the most gratifying of them may be nourishing ourselves and others, physically and metaphysically. For a large and growing number of consumers, the desire to understand where our food comes from, and how it was made, naturally extends to a desire to connect with the place we buy it, and those who procure it for us. A little friction is a good thing.JJ
Jay Jacobowitz is president and founder of Retail Insights®, a professional consulting service for natural products retailers established in 1998, and creator of Natural Insights for Well Being®, a holistic consumer marketing service designed especially for independent natural products retailers. With 40 years of wholesale and retail industry experience, Jay has assisted in developing over 1,000 successful natural products retail stores in the U.S. and abraod. Jay is a popular author, educator, and speaker, and is the merchandising editor of WholeFoods Magazine, for which he writes Merchandising Insights and Tip of the Month. Jay also serves the Natural Products Association in several capacities. Jay can be reached at (800)328-0855 or via e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Sault Ste. Marie, ON / Toronto, ON – Today, the Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce (SSMCOC), in partnership with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) released the second annual Ontario Economic Report (OER), a comprehensive analysis of data and emerging trends on the economic health of the province. Original economic research from the report reveals that 77% of Ontario businesses say access to talent remains the largest impact on their competitiveness and nearly half report a lack of confidence in the province’s economy. Meanwhile, a lack of confidence in their own ability to sustain profits continues to decline.
The OER includes data from the OCC’s Business Confidence Survey conducted by Fresh Intelligence, a Business Prosperity Index developed by the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis (CANCEA), and a 2018 Economic Outlook prepared by BMO Financial Group.
Rory Ring, CEO of the Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce, notes that the voice of Sault businesses are very well represented in the report. “We received word that almost 50 businesses identifying as Sault Ste. Marie Chamber members, from a pretty wide range of industries and sectors, provided feedback. What we are seeing is that the concerns of our local businesses are falling in line with many of the concerns voiced by businesses across the province, but that there are also certain issues and concerns that are more prevalent here in the north.”
“Ontario’s businesses are feeling the impact of the rising minimum wage, significant labour reforms, increasing global and US competition, NAFTA renegotiations, consistent overregulation, rising input costs, and challenges to accessing talent,” says Rocco Rossi, President and CEO at the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. “This year’s Ontario Economic Report indicates that these challenges are creating a climate of low business confidence that will compromise the province’s future prosperity.”
According to OER findings, 68% of firms say the minimum wage increase is predicted to have a negative impact on their business. Compared to last year, they are more likely to project a decline in revenue and a shrinking of their workforce.
In the Sault Ste. Marie / Sudbury market, that number skews slightly higher. Ring notes that 72% of responding businesses anticipate that the minimum wage increase, first to $14 on January 1st of this year and then to $15 on January 1st, 2019, will have a negative impact on their business.
Energy costs and regulations are also weighing heavily on the minds of northern and Sault Ste. Marie businesses, with 66% citing electricity costs as a critical factor to their competitiveness. At the same time, these same businesses are not holding out confidence that programs such as the Fair Hydro Plan are going to help them (56% indicate that the plan will have no impact or may even have a negative impact on their business), while others (28%) believe that the province’s cap and trade system will negatively impact on their business. To address some of these concerns, the Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce is planning a series of “Know Your Energy” workshops in partnership with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce for April 12th. These workshops will highlight some of the cost savings programs available to assist businesses with everything from retrofits to lighting and refrigeration, to help curtail energy expenses.
Some of the additional highlights included in the 2018 OER on the outlook of Ontario’s economy include:
- Businesses are losing confidence in Ontario’s economy. In 2012, 47% of businesses reported they were confident in Ontario’s economic outlook. Today, that share has been halved, with only 23% of businesses indicating that they are confident in the economy.
- Nearly two-thirds of businesses cite input costs for their lack of confidence, such as the price of electricity, taxes, and the increase in minimum wage. This is compared to only 31% who name competitive barriers such as declining consumer demand or changing client behaviour.
- One quarter of small businesses in Ontario project declining revenue in 2018, which is twice the rate of large firms (26% vs. 13%). Given that the majority of businesses in this province are small, this will likely have a net-negative impact on economic growth.
- The production of goods and services represents a shrinking contributor to business prosperity. Production activities represent only 15.3% of business prosperity, meaning that prosperity is increasingly becoming more dependent upon financial activities instead of productive activities. This is indicative of Ontario possessing a higher-risk operating environment.
- Our historically low unemployment rate is a red herring, as more individuals remove themselves from the workforce or simply give up the search. The percentage of Ontarians not participating in the labour force is at a recent high of 35%, contributing to employers’ on-going struggle to attract talent.
“This important report identifies key vulnerabilities within our economy, and should provide decision makers and community leaders with the understanding needed to find solutions that will drive our economy forward,” says Don Mitchell, Acting President of the Sault Ste. Marie Chamber. “This year, the Ontario Chamber Network will continue to engage and advocate on behalf of Ontario’s business community to explore these issues and develop the necessary solutions for a more prosperous Ontario.”
He adds that “with both a provincial and municipal election looming in 2018, the Sault Chamber is urging all potential candidates and elected members to review the OER and familiarize themselves with the specific challenges that businesses are facing. The challenges that are outlined in this report need to be discussed at all levels. It’s time for us to have a very open dialogue about the number and types of regulations and outside influencers that are holding back, and in some cases jeopardizing, Ontario’s businesses.”
In addition to new economic research, the OER outlines the areas of focus for the OCC’s policy and advocacy work in the year ahead. In 2018, the OCC will be looking at the potential of the health and life sciences sector, examining challenges related to urbanization and housing affordability, and studying the critical transportation needs across the province. As businesses continue to cite access to talent as a top challenge, the OCC will continue to provide proactive recommendations and solutions to ensure we are leveraging our greatest asset—human capital.
To read or download the OER, click HERE.
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce is Ontario’s Business Advocate.
About the Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce
The Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce represents the interests of 700 plus business and agencies in Sault Ste. Marie and has been serving the needs of this community since 1889. The Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce will lead the way as the voice of business, advancing economic prosperity for its membership and the business community. Learn more about the SSMCOC at www.ssmcoc.com.


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New ‘metaverse’ themed co-working space opens on Oxford Street
A new co-working space has today launched in Oxford Street which will be themed around the ‘metaverse’ and help to bring creatives and investors into one space.
Office and workspace company Huckletree, which operates across some of the biggest cities in the UK, has opened London’s first dedicated hub for tech companies pioneering new digital solutions.
Situated at 213 Oxford Street in London’s West End, Huckletree the 22,000 sq ft space will provide facilities for companies involved in industries like digital fashion, and blockchain technology.
This is Huckltree’s fifth coworking space in the capital, with other locations in Soho and Shoreditch.
Last September, City A.M revealed that Huckletree was set to open in the West-End, in efforts to bring a much-needed boost to the area which suffered under pandemic restrictions.
It features Bespoke demo spaces that will allow companies involved in the development of the metaverse to “trial new technologies and products, while an NFT gallery will allow global artists to showcase their work”.
Prices to access the co-working space range from £35 for a day pass up to £315 for a monthly pass which gives you 24/7 access to the hub.
Gabriela Hersham, co-founder and chief executive Huckletree said: “Huckletree has always been at the forefront of the future of the workplace. Web3, and the metaverse are already present across our everyday lives and bringing companies together in the heart of London will allow them to adapt quickly to the evolving landscape.’
“We know the benefits that open conversation and cross-pollination between companies has. We’ve seen this come to life in our other curated hubs in London, including our GovTech and Venture Capital workspaces.
She added:“Joining Huckletree places companies at the centre of the tech and innovation ecosystem, with access to experts, advisors and industry thought leaders.”


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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Par Pharmaceutical Cos., PRX, -3.53% Spring Valley, N.Y., said it received final clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market cabergoline tablets. Cabergoline is the generic version of Pfizer's PFE, -1.34% Dostinex. The drug treats hyperprolactinemic disorders, or conditions arising from an elevated level of the hormone prolactin in the blood. Annual U.S. sales of Dostinex exceed $80 million. Par said it would begin shipping cabergoline tablets immediately.
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This week at Fast Company, we looked at the most sustainable Halloween candy, whether it makes sense to burn rabbits for biofuel, Green Tomato Cars' Twitter taxi service, and 6 ways Google has greened its main campus.
Want to steer your kids clear of Twix, Snickers, and Mars Bars? Check out this list of the four most sustainable brands of candy, courtesy of Greenopia.
Stray rabbits are eating crops in Stockholm parks, so rabbit hunters have taken it upon themselves to kill the bunnies and ship them off to be turned into biofuel. Is this wrong--even if the rabbits are invasive pests?
Green Tomato Cars has made waves in the past for its fleet of regular and plug-in Prius's. Now the London cab company is hitting the headlines once again thanks to its "twooking" service, which allows riders to book a taxi via Twitter.
Sure, Google invests millions in renewable energy startups, but what is the search engine giant doing to green itself? We take a look at 6 ways Google has greened its main campus.
Fast Company sets the agenda, charting the evolution of business through a unique focus on the most creative individuals sparking change in the marketplace.


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The United Distributing Company has reported that it has been delivering ‘many more redemption tickets’ than expected during July and August with visitors returning to arcades, particularly at seaside resorts.
The trend has served to counter fears in some quarters earlier during lockdown that coronavirus prevention strategies would lead to the end of redemption games as we know them and hasten any transition to ticket-less operation of games.
According to UDC, this is a step to be avoided. “Many in the industry feel that would be a shame and rob locations of the theatre and drama associated with big wins on machines that pay out bundles of tickets to excited customers,” UDC’s Matt Bland told Coinslot.
“The handling of paper redemption tickets is just as safe as handling a printed receipt,” he was quick to point out.
And the current evidence backs that theory; there are no reported concerns about contact transmission with paper tickets from health authorities.
Bland recognises this as an important plus for the industry. “Players love the experience of collecting together all of the tickets they’ve won and counting them up to see they can get the prize they desire. Other visitors get immediate visual confirmation that other customers are winning on games. Paper tickets are much more visible than simply collecting ticket points on to a plastic card. It’s all part of the charm and fun that players enjoy the experience that has made redemption so popular.”
“During lockdown ordering more redemption tickets was the last thing on arcade owners minds, so there’s been a rush to make sure that people don’t run out now that players have returned. We’re doing everything we can do keep up with demand.”
All the more reason why arcades using UDC’s ‘half ticket’ option are benefiting from having 6,000 tickets in a single stack – twice as many as a standard stack.
It’s a bonus that has proved popular, not least on price – the half ticket option vastly reducing operators’ overall cost for tickets.
Bland again:”The half tickets are suitable for all types of dispensers that use notches for paying out tickets; are readable by the new second generation Benchmark Ticket Station and can feature barcodes on one side leaving the reverse side for branding. And we’re offering a free artwork service for new bespoke tickets.”


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President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina has called on African countries to leverage the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by prioritising agro-industrialisation.
The AfDB President made this remark at a virtual conference to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Sahel Group themed “Zero Hunger: Africa’s Private Sector Driving Innovation and Growth”
AfCFTA was created by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement on March 21, 2018, to deepen regional integration across the continent and allow the free movement of people and trade across borders.
It is currently the world’s largest Free Trade Area since the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was formed, accounting for a market of over 1.2 billion people, with a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $3 trillion.
Adesina, who harped on the need for Africa’s economic growth said that countries must begin to increase food production through agro-industrialisation that supports smallholder farmers and the private sector.
He also lauded Sahel Capital for its hard work in transforming the agriculture sector, through its effective management of the Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria (FAFIN), a private equity fund for small and medium-sized agribusinesses.
On his part, Managing Partner and Co-founder of Sahel Consulting Agriculture & Nutrition Ltd highlighted the importance of the partnership among stakeholders to achieve food targets.
According to him, the engagement of stakeholders across the food ecosystem including entrepreneurs, policymakers, youth, and farmers was necessary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of zero hunger by 2030.
Speaking also, President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Agnes Kalibala urged stakeholders not to relent on their commitment to food security.
Kalibala asserted that Africa’s private sector handles 80 percent of food consumed on the continent and 48 percent of food consumed in urban areas.
She praised African entrepreneurs as dynamic and vibrant, encouraging stakeholders to appreciate their input in improving Africa’s agriculture and nutrition landscape.
Echoing Kalibala’s thought, Executive Director of Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), Lawrence Haddad that small and medium-sized enterprises must be investor-ready and fully aware of the finance mechanism available to them to improve their businesses.
He added that the future of Africa’s food system is hinged on developing new models to circumvent challenges faced in Europe and other western countries.
The post How Africa Can Leverage Free Trade Area – Adesina, Others appeared first on AgroNigeria.


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Imagine a situation in the future where Internet pirates are accepted – maybe even recruited – to replace expensive marketing and consumer awareness teams when bringing a product to market. Imagine the reward for the pirate was a free copy of the software/media he agrees to promote. According to an economist, it could be happening right now.
In her talk at the Annual Conference of the Royal Economic Society, Oxford economist Karen Croxson says that when people copy software, music and movies, it may actually help the producer.
“Digital piracy has been claimed to endanger whole industries” said Ms Croxson. “A natural question to ask is: Why do some companies develop water-tight technology to safeguard their intellectual property when others appear more relaxed about copying?”
Many pirates say that they would never have bought much of the stuff they downloaded or copied. If you fall into this category, you might be a ‘good’ or ‘promotional’ pirate. Croxson says that piracy is only a threat to sales when people who originally intended to buy, didn’t, and pirated instead. The others – of which there a many, many millions – never intended to buy and these, says Croxson, cannot possibly harm the seller.
Far from the “all pirates are evil” cry, these pirates tell their friends, and they tell their friends and so the priceless product ‘buzz’ is generated. This consumer ‘buzz’ is difficult to put a price on, but needless to say it’s very valuable indeed. Even if companies ‘paid’ a pirate with a free copy of their product in exchange for him spreading the word about the product, it’s still a fantastic deal – especially if these ‘promotional’ pirates weren’t going to buy the product in the first instance.
Also considered by Croxson are the reasons why people are tempted to copy something, which include value put on time, concerns about being caught and moral issues. Using these and other factors enables Croxson to discover piracy’s true threat to sales of a product and suggest the best responses.
Due to computer games being most popular in the youth market, they are heavily protected. Although young people place a lot of value on games, they have fewer fears when it comes to copying and have more time than most to do so. It’s suggested that this could be ‘bad’ piracy, in that these activities negatively affect sales, without the ‘promotional’ benefits.
On the other hand, business software companies put a lot less effort into anti-piracy measures. It’s suggested that people who use software in the course of their business place higher value on it, have less time to pirate and worry more about the legal aspects, so are less likely to pirate.
Croxson said: ‘With valuable users shying away from copying, the sellers in the business software market find themselves more naturally insulated against lost sales. Those more inclined to pirate, perhaps students, probably wouldn’t have bought the product anyway, so represent virtually free promotion. This helps explain why business software companies do not put as many resources into protection as computer games manufacturers.”
“Building a theoretical model of `promotional piracy’,” says Croxson, “it is possible to distinguish markets that are best advised to put considerable resource into safeguarding their products from others which may live quite comfortably with a higher incidence of digital piracy.”


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Wow! That means more than twice as many GM cars were recalled in the 1st quarter of 2014 (following the government’s GM stock sale in the 4th quarter of 2013) than were sold in the US during all of last year. In fact, 1st quarter losses almost equal all of the company’s 2013 profit of $1.9 billion.
Now, we’re asked to believe that no one in senior management at GM (or the government representative(s) at GM) knew about the problems leading to the recall (the major source of its losses) until shortly after the government’s sale of the last of its GM stock on December 9th 2013.
Call us skeptical.
Supposedly, General Motors delegates to two small groups of non-executives the absolute authority and responsibility for initiating recalls without requiring boardroom or senior executive approval. That would make sense. It would insulate the recall decision makers from the suits in the executive suite who might be overly focused on the bottom line. It makes no sense, however, to also keep the company executives uninformed and in the dark about a serious investigation into faulty parts that may be causing deaths to drivers of various GM models. After all, uninformed executives could, at any time, choose to sell some of their GM stock at a very inopportune and inappropriate time. Then again, a cynic might argue that that’s a rather nifty benefit of having such a see no evil, hear no evil, do no evil policy. Delegating recall authority is one thing. Perpetuating executive suite ignorance, for years on end, about the potential of a disastrous recall is quite another.
Reviewing information that has now come to light, it seems incongruous that the issue never reached upper management. According to a timeline that GM filed with regulators the problem has been percolating since 2001. GM first issued bulletins to dealers with suggested remedies for the faulty ignition switches in 2005. And, in fact, it seems that not all GM executives were kept in the dark about serious defects. As we go to press, the House Energy and Commerce committee has released documents that make clear that executives were involved for years in discussions about faulty GM models.
In March 2007, officials of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration met with GM employees to discuss a fatal Cobalt crash in July 2005. GM’s attorneys were, in fact, aware of the problem and had opened a file on the issue within two months of the crash.
By August 2011, a series of Cobalt and Pontiac crashes in which the airbags did not deploy, was brought to the attention of GM engineers, and the issue was, apparently, elevated to the two committees responsible for initiating recalls in 2013.
Here’s the way the recall system works. One small group is responsible for vetting incoming data and determining if a recall is warranted. It then makes a recommendation to an even smaller group in charge of approving the recall. If the second group approves a recall, the recommendation then goes to senior management.
Let’s face it, GM’s position that management just didn’t know that ignition switches could be inadvertently jostled out of position, causing power to cars to shut off and airbags to be disabled stretches credulity. People were, for over a decade, dying in crashes caused by these defects. GM says it ordered a recall in February once it learned that the defective part had been linked to 31 crashes and 13 deaths over more than 10 years.
We now know from subpoenaed documents, including emails, that Mary Barra, when she was head of product development (she is now CEO), was aware back in October 2011 of power steering problems with the Saturn Ion that led to recalls nearly two years later. While the power-steering issue is unrelated to the ignition switch defect, it certainly suggests that there is no Chinese wall keeping executives in the dark about major problems with the various models of GM cars. Barra, according to press reports, claims she didn’t know of the faulty ignition switch problem before last December (the month the government sold the last of its shares).
Our focus, at this time, is not about how GM handles it quality control problems, but rather about the plausibility of the government’s presumed ignorance of a huge problem that was about to erupt right after it sold the last of its stock in the company. Remember, The government’s relationship with GM was not exactly an arm’s length arrangement. Pursuant to the bailout, ten of GM’s 13 directors were placed there by the United States Treasury Department, while the Canadian government nominated one director. Thus far, only two GM employees have been subject to any action by the company. Both are engineers who were involved with the faulty ignition switch issue, and are now on paid leave.
This is not some academic point we’re discussing here. Hundreds of millions of shares have traded in the sliding stock since the government’s sale (which was about at the stock’s high) and accumulated loses have been huge.
The government sold the last of its shares near the stock’s post-bankruptcy’s high of $41.85. The share-price decline began shortly thereafter, closing last Friday at 31.91, which is below its November 17, 2010 IPO price of $33.00 a share.
The timing of the December 9th sale is, arguably, a bit curious. On Jan. 18 of last year, the U.S. Treasury released a formal trading plan announcing its intention to sell, on the open market, its remaining 300 million shares of GM stock by March 2014. In January 2013 the government sold approximately 5.4 million shares of GM stock between $27.61 and $29.16 a share during an eight-day period, netting $156.4 million. As the year progressed GM shares steadily improved. By the beginning of the third quarter of last year the stock had advanced to over $36.00 a share and by year end the stock was selling over $41.00 a share. Curiously, in October 2013, and in the midst of a steady increase in the price of the stock, the government announces that it plans to sell all of its remaining shares by the end of the year, three months earlier than the original outside date in had announced at the beginning of the year.
According to the SEC, any large sale of stock preceding a previously undisclosed event that has a material negative impact on a company is typical of cases that result in investigations of insider trades. We assume the only reason the SEC appears disinterested in the massive sale of GM stock just before the faulty ignition-switch fiasco became public is because the seller was the US government.
Meanwhile, much has been made during the past year of the so-called new GM. Frankly, the new GM appears to us to look remarkably similar to the old GM.
Available at Amazon.com
And on Kindle, Barns and Noble’s Nook and Apple IBook


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During a backers-only, pre-PAX East event in Boston, Star Citizen creator Chris Roberts presented a demo of the game's Dogfighting Module.
Star Citizen is Roberts Space Industries' crowd-funded, sandbox space exploration game. During the presentation, Roberts demonstrated how to fly the game's ship and take out oncoming enemies. The Dogfighting Module will feature five game modes, such as Battle Royale and Capture the Shore for competitive gaming and ranked matches.
Roberts Space Industries announced the backers-only presentation last month.You can watch the full event, including the demo and behind-the-scenes look at the game, in the video above.
Star Citizen is expected to launch for Windows PC next year.


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NAYA distributes $1M to area businesses
Gloria Gonzalez was two years into a five-year lease on a studio space for her business Vida Massage when the pandemic hit. Her storefront shuttered for 18 weeks before reopening, and even then, things were slow and the number of clients would ebb and flow. Gonzalez was unsure how she’d survive—until NAYA called with an opportunity for much-needed funds.
“Because I was able to use these funds towards my rent and PPE, I was also able to begin paying my mortgage from my income again, which was a huge relief,” Gonzalez said.
Native entrepreneurs and people of color have experienced the greatest impact from the pandemic. Working side-by-side with the Oregon Native American Chamber, NAYA has distributed over $1 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act—also known as the CARES Act—funds to 114 businesses through its COVID-19 Small Business Grant Program.
“Simply put, in many cases these funds have helped save entrepreneurs from closing their businesses,” said Matt Faunt, NAYA’s Cully business development coordinator. “The funds allow folks to pay rent, put food on their family’s table, and cover real expenses that otherwise could have gone unpaid. In many cases, business owners have been able to use the funds to invest in new strategies to pivot their businesses and adapt to a changing economy.”
NAYA has a long-standing partnership with Prosper Portland, Multnomah County, and the Oregon Community Foundation, so when the CARES funds landed locally, these partners looked to us for reaching out to the Native business community, and merchants in the Cully neighborhood and elsewhere in the city. In applying to dole out the money, equity was kept at the forefront. Our clients being among the most affected during 2020 and this year meant they needed the most support. Out of everyone who sought out assistance through this project, nearly half self-identified as Native American/Indigenous while more than 80 percent were people of color.
Applying recipients shared heartbreaking stories for seeking out the hand up. Many of them cited having to restructure their traditional day-to-day business operations due to fewer people visiting their storefronts or buying products, and needing resources to shift their professional plans and stay afloat. NAYA stepped up—we hit the $1 million-mark in distributed funds by mid-May 2021.
Gonzalez shared with NAYA that the weeks she spent unable to go hands-on with clients made her think about how she could serve them from afar. She resiliently reacted by creating a line of bath salts that will soon be available to buy online and at her studio. She also is working on a series of short educational videos that will teach clients proper stretching techniques to practice in between massage therapy sessions.
Michelle Week, Sxʷk̓ʷanɬqm (farmer) and founder of x̌ast sq̓it/Good Rain Farm, used the money received through NAYA to buy protective equipment for employees and customers, and to invest in added safety communications. The business also started offering home delivery, to keep its most vulnerable customers as safe as possible.
The funds helped Week’s business weather additional operational costs and better support the community’s access to fresh, local food during prolonged lockdowns. Without the help, the budding small business, only three years old, would have lost money and suffered a huge blow over the past year. “Supporting us not only helped create and sustain additional employment opportunities during a time that several businesses were shutting down and laying folks off, it also helped us deliver nutrient-dense, healthy foods to our community when they needed it most to both support them in preventive measures such as quarantining to reduce exposure to COVID and to nourish their bodies that supports a strong and healthy immune system,” she said.
Rebecca Smith, Muscogee Creek, runs Ice Queen, a female-owned, plant-based ice cream shop in Southeast Portland. She was able to keep her business afloat for some time, transitioning from selling at city markets to opening an in-the-works storefront on Stark Street a year ago. Still, as the pandemic lengthened, she felt she was missing opportunities for her growing business. She wanted more control, and with NAYA’s aid, she used grant money to do just that. She was able to budget food costs and keep her inventory stocked, as well as buy two freezers. “It absolutely helped me out. It was a lifeline. When you go from doing storefronts to having a store, you don’t really know how to do everything right away. With the grant money on hand, I was able to learn a lot,” Smith said.
While the initial disbursements of CARES funds have been fully given out, NAYA’s Economic Development Team continues working toward expanding wealth-building opportunities. Talks of expanding this specific program are in the works.


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Recently, the Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE) and the European Games Developer Federation (EGDF), presented Key Facts from 2021. Video Games: A force for good. This study updates the reality of the sector after the report of the previous year.
In 2021, the market value for the whole of Europe remained stable at €23.3 billion, following the exceptional increase from 2019-2020 due to the role video games played in helping millions of people connect whilst being apart during the strictest of the COVID-19 lockdowns. When considering revenue split by device, 45% corresponded to Smartphone/tablet (v 40% in 2020); 42% to Consoles (v 44% in 2020); 6% to PC (v 14% in 2020), and 2% to On-demand/streaming (v 2% in 2020). Digital ecosystem represents 81% of total revenue (80% in 2020).
The number of players has increased by 6% to 124.8 million. Playing games has gained popularity across all age groups, with the 45-64 age group being the fastest growing. Actual playtime, however, went down from 9.5 hours to 9 hours per week, showing that playing video games regained its pre-pandemic place in players’ routines. With 52% of Europe’s population playing video games, including children, the industry continues to take responsibility towards players very seriously, particularly with regard to minors.
Besides, the European Union had 4,600 game developer studios and publishers. Together, these companies employed 74,000 people (98,219 people in Europe) and had a combined turnover of €16.6bn in the EU. From the whole working force, 22% of estimated employees are women (compared to 17% of Europe’s ICT specialists), according to the European Institute for Gender Equality report
About Esports, following games and Esports analytics firm Newzoo, this segment had 205 million enthusiasts worldwide in 2021. This number is expected to increase to 286 million by 2024. Esports boast a total audience of 436 million, and will reach 577 million in 2024. Europe ranks 2nd, globally, in Esports revenue per enthusiast.
EUROPEAN VERSUS U.S. GAMERS
Taking into account that most of the numbers only change modestly year-to-year, it’s interesting to compare these Europe trade groups’ bigger picture report with that of its American counterpart, the Entertainment Software Association’s Essential Facts report, normally released around E3 each year.
One area where the two markets were similar was in gender breakdown, with the U.S. having 48% of players identify as female and Europe seeing that figure comes in at 47.8%. For market size, while the European market in 2021 was of €23.3 billion, the ESA said Americans spent USD 60.4 billion on gaming last year, citing NPD Group/Sensor Tower figures. That discrepancy is naturally related to the player base. While the ESA said there were more than 215 million active players in the U.S. last year, the European Key Facts report put the continent’s indicator at just under 125 million.
The two reports also had different criteria for what constituted a game player. In the U.S. report, someone had to play video games for an hour a week to be considered a game player. In the European report, the minimum threshold was playing games once a year (7% of European gamers played once a year). The inclusion of such sporadic players may have impacted Europe’s average playtime figures, which were reported as 9 hours a week in Europe for 2021, down from a pandemic-boosted 9.5 hours in 2020. In the U.S., the ESA’s 2022 data found that average time spent playing games each week was 13 hours, up from 12 hours in the 2021 report.
There were also differences in the two markets’ ratings systems. While the ESA reported that 84% of American parents were aware of the ESRB ratings system, only 67% of European parents were aware of PEGI age labels.
The European Key Facts study noted that there has been a significant drop-off in children making in-game purchases, falling from 42% in 2018 to 19% in 2020. The American Essential Facts text instead said 92% of children must obtain their parents’ permission to make in-game purchases, and separately stated that 67% of players make in-game purchases at least a few times a year.


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Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2 Revolution DLC Launch Trailer Gets Back In Black
The new Revolution DLC for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 has recently launched for the Xbox 360, and following up on the launch there's a brand spanking new gameplay trailer to help the undecided, the uncommitted and the unimpressed with more than 2 full minutes of intense 60fps PvP.
The trailer rolls out snippets from the new Turned zombie mode, enabling players to take control of zombies for the first time and lay waste to heroic zombie-killers. There's a nice collage of moving pictures for the brand new SMG, showcasing the reloading, the shooting, the recoil and the design. And the rest of the trailer is typical run-and-gun, smoke-and-stomp Call of Duty gameplay that so many people have become addicted to. Check it out below.
While FPS gamers like myself have become burned out with the over-saturation of these kind of games, I'm sure die-hard fans are salivating over the new DLC already and you can grab the Revolution content right now for the Xbox 360.
Unfortunately, PC and PS3 gamers have been given the shaft because Tretton and Newell didn't pay their early-DLC fees the way Microsoft does and so anyone who doesn't own an Xbox 360 will have to wait to get their hands on Revolution.
You can grab the four new maps, new weapon and new mode right now from the Marketplace for 1200 MS Points.
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Ford has finally announced that they are planning to release a fully electric version of the car its most popular collections — pickups series F.
Last year, the company announced that it plans to bring to the market 16 models of electric cars by 2022, starting with an electric crossover.
For the F-150 pickup truck the company prepared its hybrid drivetrain, but apparently after Rivian stunned audience in a Los Angeles production-ready electric pickup R1T, and Elon Musk touts vengeance future Tesla pickup truck, the company decided that the hybrid model will not be enough to have competition and launched a development in the direction of release a fully electric version.
However, the hybrid modification of the model F-150 is still scheduled for production, but it will immediately be released all-electric pickup truck.
It is unclear what kind of pickup truck F-series will be fully electrified, though the F-150 the most likely candidate for this role.
It is possible that the electric pickup will be released in the framework of electric mobility cooperation between Ford and Volkswagen, an agreement which the companies signed recently.


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The average price of a gallon of gasoline has dropped six cents over the past two weeks to $3.65 nationwide. Gas prices around metro Detroit are averaging $3.61 for a gallon of regular unleaded.
Motorists are seeing prices at the pump climb again.
The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline is up 9.5 cents to $3.51 a gallon over the past two weeks — according to the latest Lundberg Survey.
The Lundberg Survey of fuel prices released Sunday says the price of a gallon of regular jumped four cents in the last two weeks and now average $2.91.


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- On Tuesday, the hedge fund controlled by Sears Holdings CEO Eddie Lampert made a formal proposal via letter to buy the retailer's Kenmore appliance brand and the home improvement unit of the Home Services division, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- In the letter, ESL proposed purchasing Kenmore at a value of $400 million, which could be adjusted based on the brand's financial position at the time of a potential closing on the transaction. According to the filing, ESL has been in talks with potential partners to join in the acquisition and the transaction would depend on "ESL's receipt of equity financing from a potential partner on terms acceptable to it." The partner's name was not disclosed.
- The proposal also offers to buy the home improvement business at a value of $70 million. Additionally, the letter noted that ESL is still considering a deal for Sears' Parts Direct business, but the hedge fund is prioritizing the acquisitions of Kenmore and the home improvement business "in light of the complexities of separating Parts Direct from Sears Home Services Division and the timeline required to complete such a transaction."
The slow-burning fire sale of Sears Holdings' assets continues. A move to sell Kenmore for $400 million would be one more move this year that Sears has made to create liquidity and plug the outflow of cash from the business.
Lampert approached Sears about a deal for Kenmore and its home services businesses this spring. The Wall Street Journal has reported that "the original hope" was that ESL's initial letter of interest in acquiring the assets would "flush out other bidders." So far, no other proposal has emerged, though Sears has set up a task force to solicit bids beyond Lampert's, according to the company.
"If there were no other bidders for Kenmore, then presumably the board is selling it a price that is considered fair based on peer values but also factoring in the absence of other bidders," Philip Emma, a retail analyst with Debtwire, told Retail Dive in an email. "The real issue is understanding what the price is relative to the sales at Kenmore," he added, noting that the figure is not currently made public.
Emma also pointed out that valuations for Kenmore could also be affected by a prospective buyer's willingness to extend vendor to Sears on Kenmore shipments. "If an uninvolved third party purchased Kenmore, they’d have to take the credit risk. ESL is obviously comfortable with that credit risk, so it’s not simply an issue of price paid relative to sales, but the willingness of any bidder to provide vendor credit."
A sale of Kenmore to ESL would deepen the complicated financial relationship between Sears and its CEO. The company has borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars from ESL, and it has sold off hundreds of properties to a venture controlled by Lampert and his fund, among other transactions.
S&P analyst Robert Schulz told Retail Dive in April that a sale of Kenmore and the other units would be "consistent with their approach of selling legacy assets to fund any cash burn." Schulz pointed to Craftsman as a potential model for a Kenmore sale.
With the sale of the tool brand to Black & Decker, Sears has been able to keep selling the tools in its stores and source products independently, while Black & Decker has expanded the distribution of the brand, including to Lowe's. Sears on its own has already tried to broaden the audience and distribution of Kenmore — which over the years has lost significant market share but remains a major brand — by selling products through Amazon.
As with other asset divestments — including Craftsman, the sale of which dismayed some retail observers — spinning Kenmore off from Sears could leave the retailer without an exclusive brand that has been a draw for customers to its stores. It's a move against the current, where more retailers are expanding their private and exclusive label offerings to differentiate themselves. But it may be necessary to keep Sears solvent at the moment.


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(Wednesday Market Open) It’s the dog days of summer. Volatility is low. Oil prices are under pressure. Earnings are just about over. But the resilient stock market keeps posting highs.
That was again the case on Tuesday, when the S&P 500 Index (SPX) posted a record intraday high and the NASDAQ index closed at an all-time high. The SPX fell back a bit by the end of the day, but was slightly higher in pre-market trade early Wednesday.
One reason the market keeps showing vigor is a better than expected earnings season. We’re now at the tail end, with 90% of companies having reported, and of those companies, nearly 70% beat expectations.
The latest big name to report above-consensus results was Walt Disney (DIS), which late Tuesday reported adjusted fiscal third-quarter earnings of $1.62 on revenue of $14.28 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated earnings of $1.61 a share on revenue of $14.15 billion. So it was close, but definitely a beat. But DIS shares were down in pre-market futures trading, as concerns about the company’s ESPN network appear to dog the stock.
On Thursday, a number of the biggest retail names are scheduled to report (see below), and that could give investors more insight into the state of the U.S. consumer. Job growth has been very strong the last two months, so is that translating into more shopping? Of course, a lot of shopping these days is done online, so the “brick-and-mortar” stores may not tell the full story.
Speaking of the consumer, retail sales for July come out this Friday morning, and with that big report ahead, it’s possible slow trade could continue the next couple of days until investors see the data. The consensus is for a 0.4% rise in retail sales, according to Briefing.com, down from June’s 0.6% growth but still pretty robust.
Also on Friday, the government is scheduled to release the monthly Producer Price Index (PPI), and consensus is for no change from the previous month. The Fed continues to keep a close eye on inflation, but if analysts predicting PPI are correct, the PPI report won’t show the Fed any evidence of price growth.
Before retail sales and PPI, investors will get a look at JOLTS job openings data on Wednesday. The recent jobs report would seem to indicate some growing wage pressure, with wages up 2.6% over the last year and 0.3% in July, so it will be interesting to see if the JOLTS reports shows lots of openings in high-wage positions.
Though volatility edged up a little bit earlier this week, the VIX index slid back toward last week’s lows early Wednesday, falling to 11.47. The 52-week low is 11.02. Seasonal factors may be at play, and it’s possible the VIX could rise in September and October as a number of big events loom, including a Fed meeting, another earnings season, and the U.S. Presidential election. All those things potentially bring uncertainty, and could make for choppier markets.
“Choppy” is the last word to describe the current market, which keeps moving in a very narrow range. The SPX carved through technical resistance at 2183 on Tuesday as it soared to a peak of 2187, another new record high. But the SPX fell below 2183 by the close. That level remains worth watching from a technical perspective.
One economic data point today is the weekly U.S. crude stockpile report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Consensus, according to Reuters, is for a one million-barrel crude stockpile drawdown for the week ended Aug. 5. Last week, recall that crude supplies climbed well above expectations, but gasoline supplies posted a drop, which the crude futures market reacted to positively. That helped oil recover from lows below $40.
If crude stocks defy expectations and rise again, it would be the third week in a row, and supplies are already at record levels for this time of year. The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported Tuesday that crude oil stockpiles increased by 2.09 million barrels over the last week, a bearish reading that put some pressure on oil early Wednesday. Without much economic data to trade off of until Friday, the stock market could continue to take its cue from oil in the days ahead.
Where Has the Productivity Gone? U.S. productivity fell in Q2 for the third-straight quarter, dropping 0.5 percent, the government said Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters expected a gain of 0.4 percent, so the negative data came as a surprise, and also represented the longest stretch of declining productivity since the 1970s, according to The Wall Street Journal. Wasn’t new technology supposed to make U.S. workers more efficient, raising productivity? That’s exactly what happened in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when productivity rose and the economy advanced together as the rise of the Internet helped make business more efficient. Productivity growth averaged a healthy 2.6% between 2000 and 2007. But since the recession, it’s lagged. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said this summer that economists are divided on whether productivity will pick up. “Some are relatively optimistic, pointing to the continuing pace of innovations that promise revolutionary technologies, from genetically tailored medical therapies to self-driving cars,” Yellen said. “Others believe that the low-hanging fruit of innovation largely has been picked and that there is simply less scope for further gains.” According to some analysts quoted in the media after Tuesday’s data, low productivity could be a factor that keeps the Fed cautious on future rate hikes.
Did Shoppers Show Up at Brick-and-Mortar Stores? Thursday will reveal whether U.S. shoppers walked through the doors of some of the biggest department stores over the last few months, as Macy’s (M) and Kohl’s (KSS) report earnings before the open and Nordstrom (JWN) reports after the close. The last time these companies reported, back in May, the tallies were rather disappointing. Few predict big fireworks Thursday, either, with all three firms expected to deliver earnings per share well below year-ago levels, according to Briefing.com. As these results approach, it’s worth going back to the lesson from last quarter, when weak earnings from some of the big retailers contrasted with overall strong consumer spending. We may no longer be able to rely on brick-and-mortar retailer earnings to make projections about what consumers are doing, since so much of today’s shopping occurs online. The consumer appears to be alive and well, but may have shifted their preferences. That said, keep an eye on JWN’s Nordstrom Rack sales, which were relatively strong in the previous quarter. If they’re strong again, it could lend further credence to the theory that the discounting area is where the story is for brick and mortar. That would be a good sign for "big box"-type and discount retailers.
Watch Those Valuations: Though stock valuations aren’t high compared with the peaks of the Internet boom era, they do remain elevated from historic averages, perhaps a reason for investors to be somewhat cautious. That’s what analysts at Goldman Sachs are saying, anyway. The firm noted in a recent report that global stock valuations appear “stretched,” as volatility has fallen. The S&P 500 recently traded at a price-to-earnings level of 17.2, compared with the historic median of around 14. Typically, when the overall market has a high P/E, some investors look for bargains in the so-called “defensive sectors.” But even historic safe havens like utilities and health care don’t look too cheap at the moment.
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The poultry industry in Nigeria might be forced into a shutdown by January 2021 if urgent action is not taken by the government to address the high cost of grains, amongst other challenges facing the industry, warned Ezekiel Ibrahim, president of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN).
“The present atmosphere and scenario of things are very alarming and critical,” said Ibrahim, noting that the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown that followed resulted in devastating losses suffered by the sector with a restriction of movement of eggs, day-old chicks, poultry feeds, and other essential inputs for poultry production. Many small and medium-sized poultry farms have closed, and billions of Naira have been lost, reports the Premium Times Nigeria.
One of the biggest problems facing the industry is the supply of grains. The price of maize has risen from N85,000 (US$ 223) per tonne in November 2019 to between N145,000 (US$ 380) and N160,000 (US$ 420) per tonne today.
The government supported the industry by releasing 5,000 mt of maize at subsidised prices in anticipation of the price of maize falling or at least stabilizing during the harvest season.
Even more worrying is the supply of soybeans in the country. Where available, soybeans are being sold for between N215,000 (US$ 564) and N250,000 (US$ 656) per tonne, according to The Guardian Nigeria. Feed costs have risen by over 75% between March and November 2020. “In March, the price of finished feed sold between N2,650 (US$ 6.95) and N3,000 (US$ 7.87) is now selling between N4,600 (US$ 12.07) and N5,300 (US$ 13.90) per 25kg bag,” said Ibrahim, further advising the government to immediately halt the export of soybeans as well maize. The result, he said, threatens about 5 to 10 million jobs. The GM of Premier Feed Mills, Austin Dalyop, said the quality of Nigerian soybeans, being a non-GMO variant, has placed the grain on high demand on the international market. He further attributed the current downturn to the bird flu outbreak that affected many farms at the beginning of the year.


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Haven’t see all of our tweets? Don’t worry, here’s some of our favourite tweets from us last week which we liked or just found interesting. Everything from robot driven cars to robots helping in disaster relief and that delivery drone spoof.
Driverless cars: This article in The Telegraph outlined details of the first first large-scale test of driverless cars in Sweden.
Disaster relief robots?: The US Dept. of Defence launches challenge aimed at developing robots capable of working hand-in-hand with humans during natural or man-made disasters.
Twitter: Some interesting stats and data on how Twitter is being used in this article including how many tweets people send in a day, most send none!
All the noise about the Amazon drone prompted some good funnies, here’s our faves:
- The Amazon / Tax game
- A summary from CNN of all the spoofs of the spoof
- The OWLS alternative from Waterstones:


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North America’s largest anime, manga and Japanese pop culture celebration — officially kicks off Thursday, June 28 with a star-studded Red Carpet and Opening Ceremony at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Anime Expo Official Guests of Honor will greet fans on the red carpet at 6 p.m. with the Opening Ceremony to follow at 7 p.m.
Now in its 21st year, Anime Expo 2012 (AX) will present some of today’s most exciting anime, manga, musical, game and fashion artists from Japan and the U.S.; main event concerts and contests such as the crowd favorite Masquerade; new and exciting interactive offerings and even Lounge 21, where over-21 attendees can enjoy wine, beer and cocktails.
Announced Guests of Honors include composer Yuki Kajiura/”FictionJunction;” anime-inspired heavy metal band ANIMETAL USA; Culture Japan’s Danny Choo; Fate/Zero” creative team Hikaru Konda, Ei Aoki and Rikiya Koyama; Madhouse creative team Asaka Morio, Kunihiko Hamada and Takuya Tsunoki; animation director Tatsuo Sato; voice actors Ryo Horikawa, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Jamie Marchi, Monica Rial, Steve Blum, Joel McDonald and Ian Sinclair; Japanese pop star LiSA, Lolita fashion designer Cyril Lumboy, Lolita model Misako Aoki; Tokyo-based Gallery of Fantastic Art and popular cosplayer Jessica Nigri.
The following are highlights of the AX Main Events, all to be held in Hall G of LACC:
Day Zero: June 28, 2012
6:00 – 6:40 p.m. Red Carpet
7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Opening Ceremonies
Day One: June 29, 2012
5:30 – 6:30 p.m. ANIMETAL USA Concert
9:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. Anime Music Video (AMV) Contest
Day Two: June 30, 2012
7:00 – 8 p.m. Yuki Kajiura/”Fiction/Junction” Concert
Day Three: July 1, 2012
2:00 – 3:00 p.m. LiSA Concert
3:00 – 4:00 pm. Japan Fashion Mix at AX 2012: Fashion Show hosted by Misako Aoki and Danny Choo
with up-and-coming J-pop singer Kyoka
8:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. Masquerade
Day Four: July 2, 2012
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Art Auction
1:00 – 6:00 p.m. SPJA Charity Auction
6:00 p.m. Closing Ceremonies


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Watch out Gotham City - Google launches Penguin
Those who aren’t familiar with the dark arts of SEO and don’t rely on Google to direct traffic to their websites may not be aware of the storm surrounding Google’s latest algorithm, ‘Penguin’. With the primary aim of eradicating websites that break best search practice rules and to further eliminate spam, Google has come under fire with this latest update to the changes it regularly makes to Google search.
Its detractors have pointed out that the 3.1 per cent of search queries that Google acknowledges will be affected by Penguin are all in the ‘commercial transactional keywords’ category. No surprises then that it has also been - somewhat acerbically – commented on that this update is relegating to spam what last year counted as optimisation. So how drastic was the Google Penguin update and do we need any super heroic workings to minimise the damage done?
Penguin does indeed allude to an over-optimisation penalty. Google aims to keep an eye out for anchor text diversity and link relevancy and, by introducing Penguin, it is gunning for the companies that are engaging in webspam tactics to manipulate search engine rankings. It’s doing this by targeting those who use high keyword density and keyword stuffing. Off-site factors are also in the firing line, including back links and social indicators following some tweaking to Penguin, and that is what is fuelling the fire in the chat rooms with certain sites feeling particularly victimised by these recent developments.
Some critics believe that Penguin exists to promote a need for Google Adwords over and above SEO and that that is what Google is implicitly working towards. Google is, of course, a business like any other and so it stands to reason that it will be in favour of driving its own revenue but that’s not what SEO is about and there is room for both to co-exist.
In an ideal world, other search engines would be promoted to prevent the issue of dominance that currently exists with Google on the throne. If the power was shared, as it were, sites wouldn’t be optimised primarily for Google and the relationship between web developers and Google would have more balance. However, we have to look at where we are right now.
In the current climate, Google is right to target the ‘content farms’ where content is developed purely to cheat the engine’s algorithm. It is these sites and the tactics they employ that Google is trying to nail. Although it may have been a trifle heavy-handed, if it is successful with Penguin, it will remove a significant amount of Spam, clean up web space and give weight to the value of a good SEO strategy.
If you’re at all worried about your website being bitten by this particular animal, there are steps that you can take to ‘Penguin proof’ yourself. Firstly, begin creating unique, higher quality content now. We’re not going to tire of shouting this message anytime soon because it’s an absolute – you always have to have good, fresh content.
Secondly, now might be the time to consider diversifying your marketing activity. Put more in the mix so that not all your traffic is dependent on Google SEO eg. Content marketing, email marketing, adwords paid search, facebook and linkedin advertising. It’s a case of not putting all your eggs in one basket and relying on SEO alone to drive visitors to your website.
If you can take these simple, proactive steps, chances are you won’t need Batman to see off the Penguin any time soon. Go on, now is the time - channel your very own superhero.


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Basqet, a blockchain payments company, has announced the launch of its cryptocurrency payments gateway, which will allow businesses to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as payment.
The company said that as part of its strategy to drive cryptocurrency adoption, it will launch a public test and go live with 118 firms that signed up and agreed to start accepting bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as payment.
Prior to the beta launch, the Basqet team reported that they had completed around $1.3 million in transactions with a small number of enterprises.
According to Bunmi Eleshin, Senior Product Manager at Basqet, "we are creating a missing link between people who hold cryptocurrency and businesses who want to accept crypto as a means of payment. And we are doing it without merchants having to experience a loss due to crypto’s price volatility".
Basqet believes that its presence in the crypto space will help accelerate cryptocurrency adoption as an effective payment tool for goods and services, while still maintaining its enviable position as a hedge against inflation and currency devaluation.
Despite the fact that price volatility is a deterrent to cryptocurrency adoption, Basqet believes that its model of allowing merchants to accept cryptocurrencies as payment and be settled in US dollars, cryptocurrency, and over 5 other local African currencies will help hedge against cryptocurrency volatility.
So, if a merchant sells a product for $20, they will always get the same value in the currency of their choice, regardless of the volatility of cryptocurrency prices.
Cryptocurrency payment gateways such as Basqet are similar to Stripe in the United States, as well as Flutterwave and Paystack in Africa, but for crypto.
They have the ability to enable freelancers, company owners, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and fintech in over 120 countries to accept various cryptos as gifts, payments, or deposits.
They could also help to cut transaction fees by more than 60% with no chargebacks.
Basqet's developers also announced that during its beta launch, retailers would be able to accept cryptos such as USDT, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, with numerous more to be introduced in the coming weeks.
Merchants that sign up for Basqet's beta launch will have three options for accepting cryptocurrency: a payment link, a payment button, and the Basqet API.
Basqet stated in its press release that businesses can accept cryptocurrency payments even if they do not have a website. It just takes a business 10 minutes to sign up, produce a payment link, and give it to their customer via WhatsApp, Instagram, or any other channel.
Basqet objective is to help bridge the cryptocurrency divide by allowing African companies a cryptocurrency payment gateway via which they may accept cryptocurrency payments and get paid in US dollars and their local currencies.