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The 11th annual event was one for the ages.
Since the live event of the 11th annual DSN Global 100 Celebration in Dallas was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, DSN presented a special video event on their website on the evening of April 1. It was co-hosted by DSN Publisher and Editor in Chief Todd Eliason, as well as John Fleming, who is a member of the DSA’s Hall of Fame and recipient of the DSN Lifetime Achievement Award.
As it does every year, the Global 100 celebrates the accomplishments of companies that continue to demonstrate extraordinary levels of success; those that have achieved tremendous year-over-year growth; and those that have broken through as newcomers to the ranking.
“What is obviously different in previous years is our delivery of the Global 100,” said Todd Eliason, DSN Publisher & Editor in Chief. “We canceled our live event in order to keep everyone safe, including the many direct selling executives that typically attend. However, we chose not to cancel the Global 100 Celebration because we believe it’s important and relevant to continue the tradition of highlighting the very best in direct selling. We are at a unique moment in time, one that will undoubtedly change the way we live and the way we do business in the future.”
We are at a unique moment in time, one that will undoubtedly change the way we live and the way we do business in the future.
—Todd Eliason, Publisher & Editor in Chief, DSN
The DSN Global 100 list offers a unique perspective on the global impact of the industry on economic and social realms. It provides a range of mutual learnings not only for industry members but also for researchers, investors and—most important—those seeking opportunities within the industry.
2020 Best Places to Work in Direct Selling Announced
During the first portion of the video presentation, Eliason announced the winners of its annual Best Places to Work in Direct Selling. This is the fifth year that DSN has offered this look at direct selling workplaces. This article was designed with four goals in mind:
- To spotlight the channel as a positive job-creating engine;
- To recognize and honor companies that have created positive work environments and become employers of choice;
- To identify and share best practices with the wider direct selling community; and
- To provide valuable feedback and data to participating companies that will assist them in measuring levels of employee satisfaction and engagement.
Since choosing the best places to work in our channel is by no means an easy task, DSN once again teamed with Quantum Workplace to measure, analyze, and select the best places to work. This year, 11 companies were honored:
- 5x Winners – Nu Skin, Team National
- 4x Winners – Jeunesse, LifeVantage and Xyngular
- 3x Winner – USANA
- 2x Winners – MONAT, Scentsy and Total Life Changes
- 1stx Winners – MODERE and SeneGence
Bravo Award Winners
Eliason tossed the hosting duties over to Fleming, who went on to announce the DSN Bravo Award winners for outstanding achievement and excellence in areas of leadership and revenue growth year-over-year.
The Bravo Growth Award winner went to Medifast subsidiary OPTAVIA. One of the fastest-growing health and wellness communities. This Baltimore, Maryland-based company saw sales increase from $301 million in 2017 to $501 million in 2018 to $713 million in 2019—$200 million growth in each of the past two years. It is the company behind one of the fastest-growing health and wellness communities. Based on nearly 40 years of experience.
Its community of thousands of independent coaches teaches clients to develop holistic, healthy habits through products and clinically proven plans, the Habits of Health Transformational System and comprehensive support from a community of likeminded people.
“This recognition is truly a reflection of our amazing coach community that tirelessly propels our mission—and in turn—our growth,” said Nick Johnson, President of OPTAVIA. “I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank them for their work as change agents and champions for clients throughout their transformation journeys. From the start, our coach community has always been the lifeblood of OPTAVIA. Now, 35,000 people strong, they’re the champions of our mission, and what differentiates us in a crowded market.”
DSN also presented two awards for leadership. The first Bravo Leadership Award winner went to Orville and Heidi Thompson, Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of Scentsy. This husband and wife team began their business out of a shipping container in 2004. In just seven years, their company grew to over half a billion dollars. Then they were broadsided by copycat retail products, and the company began consecutive years of decline.
Throughout it all, these two leaders stayed transparent, sharing the details of their struggles and how strategy tied to the company’s values set them on the road to recovery. They regained their brand and their confidence by taking slow, steady and deliberate actions to return to their cultural authenticity.
“We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Direct Selling News for this honor,” said the Thompsons. “At this time of unprecedented disruption, we are proud to be part of direct selling. Our industry proves that as our economy shuts down, direct sellers get to work. For years we have talked about how direct selling is the original social network. Now we can add we are the original work-from-home workforce. The whole world can learn from direct selling.”
The second BRAVO Leadership Award went to Carl Daikeler, CEO of Beachbody. In 1998 he cofounded the Santa Monica-based health and fitness company to support others with their fitness goals as well as to find a solution for the obesity epidemic. Since then, the company has redefined in-home exercise with its fitness and weight-loss solutions, on demand workouts and popular Coaching Network.
Daikeler’s goal to create the largest community of health and fitness-related peer support in the world continues to win over millions of satisfied customers. In the past few months, his company has created virtual workout groups for the entire family due to the coronavirus pandemic and has made available free workout classes for kids.
“Obviously, these are pretty interesting times to be a leader in, and to lead a company through,” said Daikeler. “We’re certainly working hard at Team Beachbody to help our field feel compelled to help people through these times. It’s going to be a time where having some financial independence and options are going to be key things for people, and I think that’s something the direct selling industry, in particular, is unique at providing.”
A New Twist on the List
The DSN Global 100 had previously listed 100 companies, ranging from $60 million to over $10 billion in revenue each year. This year the 2020 list took on a new look, acknowledging 50 companies achieving more than $100 million in revenue for 2019.
“Due to the many factors putting pressure on our channel over the past few years, we knew a reevaluation of the list was necessary,” Eliason says. “The purpose of the Global 100 list remains the same: to showcase the true impact of this channel on people’s lives as well as the economic impact direct selling companies make on the communities they serve.”
For the eighth consecutive year, Ada, Michigan-based Amway claimed the top spot as No. 1 direct seller in the world, with $8.4 billion in revenue in 2019. This 60-plus-year-old global giant maintains a large portfolio of some the world’s best-selling brands, including Nutralite vitamin, mineral and dietary supplements, Artistry skincare and color cosmetics, eSpring water treatment systems, and XS Sports Nutrition and Energy Drinks. More than 3 million Amway independent business owners offer 450 unique products in 100 markets and territories throughout the world.
Los Angeles-based Herbalife Nutrition moved up one spot to claim No. 2 on the list with $4.9 billion in revenue in 2019.
London-based Avon Products, Inc. took the No. 3 spot (down from No. 2 last year) on the DSN Global 100 list, with $4.76 billion in revenue in 2019.
DSN thanks all the companies that willingly participated in the Global 100 as well as the dedicated team of researchers who helped present the remarkable achievements of direct sellers around the globe. DSN
A Few Insights from This Year’s List
- 50 companies representing nearly $53 billion in revenue
- 48 percent of companies grew year-overyear from 2018 to 2019
- 2 of the top 10 companies reported increased revenue
- Six companies grew by $100 million from 2018 to 2019
- Companies ranking 11-25, seven reported increased revenue
- Companies ranking 25-50, 15 reported increased revenue


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Latest MIT Stories
If you've ever stood on a hill during a rainstorm, you've probably witnessed landscape evolution, at least on a small scale: rivulets of water streaming down a slope, cutting deeper trenches in the earth when the rain turns heavier.
MIT researchers say they found ionic wind thrusters may be a more efficient source of propulsion than conventional jet engines.
According to an MIT Technology Review report, some smartphone manufacturers may one day use sapphire in their displays instead of glass. It’s expensive now, but the material can take a beating.
Researchers from MIT and Georgia Tech have adapted techniques that ensure airplanes won’t stall out during flight to prove that computer programs will not divide by zero.
A new software system could help reduce cloud computing hardware requirements by 95 percent, as well as help improve performance.
Thanks to a group of MIT researchers, one high-tech robotic cheetah is proving itself to be dominant above its flesh-and-blood counterparts in terms of running efficiency.
More Images (12 images) »

domain: news


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Move Over Siri: Google Now Comes To iPhone, iPad
Has Google decided if it can’t beat ‘em, join em? The tech giant released it’s Google Now software to smartphones running Apple’s iOS software nine months after rolling it out to its own Android phones. Releasing its own software to Apple phones may be Google’s latest attempt to lure Team Apple users away from their devices. And it’s not a bad strategy…
I just downloaded the new Google Now app for iOS, and I must say… it’s pretty awesome. I can totally see it dominating my smartphone desktop from now on. Google released the free app for iPhone and iPad yesterday, and it performs a lot of the functions Siri promises, but a lot better.
Google Now uses a phone’s GPS function to provide a user personalized information without the need for search. Local weather, traffic alerts and driving directions from Google Maps are displayed in the form of cards that can be swiped away if unneeded. Scores of local sports teams, calendar reminders, currency conversions and translations are also available in swipeable cards. And the more Google Now is used, it customizes cards to match the user’s most frequently followed features.
A simple click of an icon also brings up a screen with all of Google Now’s features, including, YouTube, Google Plus, Gmail, Chrome, Offers, Shopper, Books, Translate, Voice, Blogger, News, Photos and more. Basically anything a user might search for in Google can now be reached by tapping an icon.
Google Now also understands speech. By tapping the microphone from Google Now, users can speak to their phones and quickly get answers spoken back to them. And Google Now is just as smart as Siri. If you ask it if you’ll need an umbrella this weekend, it will give you the weather forecast. If you ask it the nearest pizza place, it will break down nearby pizzerias exactly as if you’d typed in a search, including directions, phone numbers and a map.
But Google believes that its software is actually smarter than Siri because it will “learn” a user’s preferences and proactively provide information before it’s asked for it. Obviously, as iOS users know, Siri can learn your language but only answers questions reactively.
Of course, Google isn’t giving iOS users the full flavor of Google Now, as it wants them to hop aboard Team Android for all the benefits. Apple users aren’t able to get information about concerts or nearby events with Google Now, nor are they able to get boarding passes for upcoming flights. Likewise, Google Now does not provide push notifications for iOS users, instead they have to tap the Google app every time they want to see new information.


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- Valve intervened in 44 cases of review bombing;
- Steam Laboratory has contributed to the addition of over 29,000 titles 6.1 million times;
- Players have spent over 20 billion hours playing on Steam;
- The monthly number of users has increased to almost 95 million;
- More than 3.7 million users have used Remote Play, and more than 2.3 million have used Remote Play Together.
Nearly a year ago, Valve promised to take on the phenomenon of review bombing, i.e. flooding with negative reviews due to factors that have little to do with the game itself, on Steam . Apparently, Steam is a company of its words. A recently published summary of 2019 on Steam states that so far the company has had to exclude part of the user reviews as many as 44 times.
Just a reminder: Valve has addressed the issue of the so-called review bombing after successive scandals with massive under-rating of games for issues not related to their actual quality. Some of these situations were related to the temporary exclusivity of the titles in Epic Games Store, but they have also affected, among others, the horror game Devotion for making a joke about the Chinese president. Therefore, Steam's owners decided to remedy the effects of these phenomena by collecting data from developers and using special tools to detect such anomalies to ensure "accurate and reliable" scores.
It should be noted that it's not about complete elimination of irrelevant reviews (as Valve calls them). They are simply not included in the game's rating by default, with relevant information provided on the page of every affected game. What's more, if we want to see controversial reviews as well, next to the message we will find the "Edit preferences" option, where we can set whether ignored reviews will also be displayed and will count towards the overall rating of the game.
Apart from the matter of irrelevant reviews, the company also did not fail to boast of the platform's achievements. In the past year, users spent a lot more than 20 billion hours playing, and the number of active users per month increased to almost 95 million. Valve also assured that many more new productions were successful on Steam, although no details have been given for now. "For now", because the company is going to share detailed information as part of the "Steam data deep analysis" series that will be published in the coming weeks. This is part of the platform's new policy to replace the unofficial (and thus unreliable) analyses of independent companies and to provide a complete picture of the condition of the platform and individual titles.
The summary also mentions the novelties added in 2019, including the new design of the games library (although the users' opinions on this one were divided). The Steam Laboratory, a section introduced in July, wasa success . It enables users to test prototype functions of the platform, such as automatic reommendation and micro trailers. Thanks to these options, players have added over 29,000 titles 6.1 million times to their wish lists. The Remote Play option has also been warmly welcomed - 3.7 million players have used it so far, of which 2.3 million have used the Remote Play Together function introduced in November. This is not the end of the story, as Valve is planning more news, including sharing the Steam Trust (known as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Trust) with selected developers as part of beta-tests, patches for mobile application and Steam's web cafe program.


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The information on Netflix’s results for the first quarter of 2022 was received with surprise. It turned out that the largest of the streaming platforms, paving the way for later services, recorded a loss of 200,000. subscribers compared to the result for 2021 We make a diagnosis – the reasons for the decline vary, but most of all Netflix is starting to give up the values for which we liked it.
Netflix family – we are all from one account
Once upon a time, watching a coveted movie was associated with a trip to a physical rental shop. Those magical times are gone, although here and there you can still find a shrine that fights against the prevailing fashion. However, little can compare to the convenience of an extensive library of titles available in one click and with a subscription fee. It was Netflix that taught us this convenience, and part of it made the possibility of sharing an account with family and friends. However, the company is taking an amazing direction in this regard.
Still from Red Notice, Netflix 2021
According to statistics, about 100 million subscribers are shared accounts. The messages sent from the Netflix website represent this fact unfavorably – after all, if everyone paid for using the giant’s offer, the profits would be greater. Agreed, but the available packages themselves impose the need to share Netflix, because in the case of the lowest rate (PLN 29), we have to be satisfied with the SD image quality. 4K / HDR is available only in the option for PLN 60 with the possibility of watching simultaneously on four different screens. If we translate the screens into people, subscribing with friends is a more profitable solution. Well, unless Netflix really wants each of us to pay the highest amount?
The plans include a new – probably the cheapest – package with advertising, which may turn out to be an even worse option than the one with SD image quality. In other words, Netflix would continue to push its users towards account sharing. There are also restrictions whereby only residents of the same household could use one subscription. This could already increase the number of individual subscribers, but at the same time it is quite a risky step – because what if viewers simply quit Netflix? Another idea, the extra charge for shared accounts, also looks uninviting.
It cannot be ignored that the streaming giant has recently gained serious rivals who also regularly enrich their offer – which translates into a fight for various licenses. A few years ago, Marvel’s series were hosted on Netflix (moreover, they were produced for him, like Daredevil if Punisher)today their home is Disney +. Friends they wander from place to place, and at the time of writing, we can watch them HBO Max. Everyone is armed as much as they can, and the cost-effective competitors are more affordable than Netflix – for example, a Disney + subscription is to cost PLN 28.99 per month and guarantee access to high-quality video, as well as allow viewing on several screens at the same time.
In a spiral of similarities – Netflix prefers safe designs
Netflix’s algorithms are supposed to lead him to success, but they may prove to be the nail in the coffin. This is part of the larger and, in fact, the most serious problem of the platform – striving to please the masses and blind faith in statistics kill the chance for development. This is the case of animations whose creators have to deal more often with the requirements imposed by hard data – allegedly reading viewers’ expectations.
Once upon a time, Netflix was home to creative producers. For the record – it still is to some extent, high quality movies and series are still being made for this platform. But the message from former employees is that Netflix wants to invest in what pays off according to algorithms. This means less space for risky and groundbreaking projects that may surprise viewers, become classics in the future, and maybe even sensational hits.. Netflix starts saying “No” to this approach – not very loud yet, and not always, but still. That is why the creative director of the animation department – Phil Rynda – was fired and some of the projects under development were canceled, including Gnata (an adaptation of the Jeff Smith comic book series).
Still from the Witcher series, Netflix 2019
The situation is best expressed by the change in Netflix’s motto, also regarding the aforementioned segment of films and animated series. It used to be like: “We want to be home to all your favorite productions.” Today, the words are completely different: “We want to create what our viewers want to see.” At the same time, this desire is determined by the algorithm – which can flood us with similar titles. There is an interesting phenomenon at work here, because some of the items (we underline: not all of them!) are characterized by similar aesthetics. Netflix leads to the unification of certain standards (e.g. related to the color of the image)thanks to which we can consume productions without the need to devote our full attention to them. What’s more, it is supposed to create the impression that the next proposal will be similar to the already watched product, and since it is similar, it will probably also fit our tastes – such an unconscious manipulation.
As a consequence, together with Netfliks, we can fall into a spiral of similar productions, created according to computer data and marketing recommendations. Anyway, the command algorithm will not take the risk of suggesting a movie or series that could broaden the viewer’s horizons. It is true that the latter is even understandable, but it can complete the destiny of drowning in the sea of mediocrity – with which Netflix is already becoming associated. However, you have to give back to the company that so far it still produces both good titles and big hits, even if the latter are not necessarily liked by everyone (such as The witcher with many critics in Poland). The positive effects are certainly brought by diversifying the offer with titles implemented in different countries. Korean Squid Game after all, it turned out to be an international success.
Still from the Stranger Things series, Netflix 2016
Elizabeth Ito, the creator of the animated series, spoke about the algorithm determining the projects City of Ghosts. The artist drew attention to the company’s attachment to data – with the help of which it is impossible to evaluate art. Here, however, a new thread appears, because According to Ito, Netflix not only relies on data, but also manipulates it. With their help, justifying the cancellation of a given production or failure to guarantee its appropriate promotion, necessary for it to stand out. As a result, the creators leave. Ito has found a new job at Apple.
Quo vadis, Netflix?
The war in Ukraine should also be added to the reasons for the decline in subscribers. It was because of her that Netflix suspended its operations in Russia, which meant it lost 700,000. cont. The pandemic also had an impact – at first favoring the platform, because during the lockdown we had to sit at home and look for spending time on the streaming platform, among others. Now, however, we have already returned to the previous lifestyle, and this certainly had an impact on Netflix’s statistics. In addition, COVID-19 has led to production downtime, which is why the continuation of hits such as Stranger Things were delayed. Some subscribers may have temporarily stopped paying for the service while waiting for their favorite titles to return.
The situation is multifaceted, but I’m afraid Netflix won’t draw the right conclusions from losing subscribers. This is evidenced by the ideas of introducing advertisements or restrictions on account sharing. The chosen direction may of course bring a profit for the company, but rather in the short term. Sooner or later, subsequent changes for the worse may result in an outflow of users to the increasingly powerful competing platforms. Hopefully Netflix will wake up in time or at the right times will be able to throw the algorithm to the devil and bet on risky projects.


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Jon Stewart fans, the wait is (almost) over! Yesterday, Apple TV+ announced in a new teaser video that The Problem with Jon Stewart will make its debut on 30 September on the streaming platform. The biweekly currents affairs show marks the TV icon’s first time hosting his own show since he left The Daily Show in 2015.
Each episode of the show will see Stewart dissect an issue of national importance, in a deep-dive that will seek to take “tangible steps that can lead to a solutionary path forward,” Apple said in a statement. Needless to say, the show will include “lots of jokes,” as well as serious interviews with those “impacted by the issue” and “those who have a hand in creating the impact.” It will also have a companion podcast.
The teaser takes place in a swanky dressing room, and depicts Stewart adorning a suit, picking out a crisp shirt and a fresh pair of socks to the sounds of Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic before freaking out when faced with himself in the mirror. “What the hell happened to my face?” cries the comedian, faux-shocked at his haggard appearance and questioning his return to a visual medium.
A short podcast teaser has been released too, in addition to this memorable sketch lampooning the billionaire space-race between Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Richard Branson which took place a month ago.


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Late last year, Adobe purchased Behance, an online portfolio site for artists which has now been tapped to power the social side of Adobe Cloud. Now, Adobe has purchased another company specifically for making apps with Behanc: the company has picked up mobile app developers Thumb Labs, who created the official mobile app for Behance, and will now be solely working on Adobe projects.
According to TechCrunch, the financial deals of the acquisition are still under wraps, and since Behance is used to power the social side of Adobe’s Creative Cloud, the purchase seems to be part of the company’s continuing push on all things cloud related. Apparently Thumb Labs will be used primarily to maintain Behance’s existing apps and new ones, and eventually push more into “Creative Cloud initiatives.”
Given Thumb Labs’ previous efforts seem primarily tied to mobile apps, it probably would not be unexpected to see them be tapped by Adobe for more work with smartphones and tablets.


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Microsoft makes splash with big plunge into Web
Seattle Times technology reporter
Live, from Microsoft
Previews of the company's new Windows Live services are being released via ideas.live.com, while previews of Office services are expected to be released in early 2006 via officelive.com. Here are some of the services unveiled Tuesday.
Live.com: A home page that users can personalize with connections to favorite Web sites and services. The page would constantly update with new photos as they're added to a photo site, for instance, or news updates would occur as they appear on favorite news sites. A test version is available.
Windows Live Search: Expected to arrive in 2006, this would deliver services that help users find what they are looking for on the Web, their PC desktop, mobile device or give information about their geographic area. Replies will appear in the form of documents, pictures, multimedia content, local information and maps.
Windows Live Mail: Messaging and e-mail service that would eventually replace Hotmail, although Hotmail addresses would remain valid. The service would let users share photos and documents with their contacts. The company is accepting requests to participate in testing.
Windows Live Favorites: Service that enables users to access their Internet Explorer and MSN Explorer favorites from any PC that's online. Now available in test form.
Windows Live Safety Center: Free security service that scans PCs for viruses and cleans their machines. Now in test. After the scan, users are invited to subscribe to Windows OneCare Live PC maintenance service, also in test.
Microsoft Office Live Basics: Ad-supported free service to help small businesses establish a digital identity. Provides a domain name, hosted Web site with 30 megabytes of storage, five e-mail accounts and simple Web page design tools.
Microsoft Office Live Essentials: More complete service for small businesses offering a domain name, Web site space, up to 50 e-mail accounts and 22 applications for managing a business.
Microsoft Office Live Collaboration: Business management tools, including customer management, project management, document management and collaboration, hosted by Microsoft that companies can use standalone via the Web or in conjunction with Office.
SAN FRANCISCO — Like an old card shark who has been watching the game while holding a handful of aces, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates laid out a dizzying array of new online products Tuesday to help his company regain the attention and business it has been losing to Google and other Internet upstarts.
The products are part of an ambitious new "Live Software" strategy to weave together computers, electronic devices and the Internet with new online services. Gates characterized the move as one of the enormous shifts in focus Microsoft undertakes about every five years.
"It's a new way to look at software, a better way that creates a lot of opportunities," Gates said while outlining the strategy for reporters and analysts in San Francisco.
The new services are intended to make it easier, for instance, to synchronize addresses and phone numbers between your computers at home and work, your mobile phone and your online e-mail service.
Microsoft has been trying to evolve into more of a services business for years. Gates unveiled a ambitious vision for Web services in 2001, but it never became as universally embraced as he hoped.
Meanwhile, Microsoft faces growing challenges from Google and other companies offering services that allow consumers and office workers to conduct more and more activities online, rather than on PCs loaded with Microsoft Windows and Office software.
Now that fast Internet connections, wireless networks and improved hardware are readily available, Gates said the time is ripe for a new approach for Microsoft and for developing software in general.
But there's still work to be done, as evident by several technical glitches Tuesday, which included a connection failure that initially prevented Microsoft Vice President Blake Irving from demonstrating a service called Windows Live.
Glitches aside, it remains to be seen how the services and strategy will affect Microsoft's earnings and its humdrum stock, which gained 26 cents Tuesday to close at $25.96.
But several analysts at the presentation were intrigued by the company's new foray into Web services. "At least they're saying, 'We get it, we understand the model,' " said Rick Sherlund, an analyst at Goldman Sachs.
Another big question is whether software developers will embrace the technology. Microsoft is releasing a new programming toolkit next week, and Tuesday's announcement may be intended partly to generate excitement around its software platform.
Most of the products are free services Microsoft would provide over the Internet, including a messaging system to replace its Hotmail e-mail service over the next year, a Windows security checkup and a Web page creation and hosting service for small businesses.
Simultaneously, Microsoft is preparing a huge push into the market for online advertising. The free services will generally be supported by ads, similar to how Google's advertising sales bolsters its search service.
Microsoft also hopes the free services will entice users to buy subscriptions to more advanced versions.
Services shown yesterday are intended to supplement, rather than replace, Microsoft's Windows and Office.
The idea is not to phase out packaged software or the PC, but instead make it easier to synchronize home and office computers, devices such as digital cameras and online services from Microsoft and other providers such as Yahoo!
People don't have to use Office or Windows to take advantage of the services, but the software provides "rich capabilities that let you get more out of those things," Gates said.
Microsoft Chief Technical Officer Ray Ozzie said the goal is to create "seamless experiences" with a new approach to developing software and services.
Apple, Xbox influence
One inspiration was Apple Computer's music system, which combines the iTunes online music store, a computer-based media player and the iPod portable music player. Another was Microsoft's Xbox Live online gaming service.
"That weaving together — it really accomplishes these experiences that would not be possible if they were not designed in concert with one another," Ozzie said.
Competitors were still digesting the announcement Tuesday.
Google did not comment directly on Microsoft's news but issued a statement welcoming the competition. "Since our inception, we've focused our development efforts on delivering useful services over the Web. ... As always, we welcome new technologies and perspectives that help connect people with the information they need."
Sun Microsystems simultaneously announced two Web services, one to convert text to a format for podcasting, the other to convert documents to an open-source format. Both carry charges and require a credit card.
"What I've seen in the [Microsoft] announcement is it's a bit of more of the same; it's Microsoft becomes the host for your assets," said Alan Brenner, Sun's vice president of client systems.
Microsoft's new products are partly a broadside against Google, but the companies are still taking a different tack, said Van Baker, an analyst with the Gartner market research company.
"The difference that I see between them and Google is Google wants to deliver Web services-based applications, so every application, every functionality is going to be delivered via Web services," Baker said. "What Microsoft wants you to do is buy software that's enhanced by Web services and Internet connectivity."
Baker said that despite Microsoft's "muddled" message yesterday, "there's some pretty interesting technology that's being demonstrated there."
"It's really a great platform for Microsoft to use advertising-funded capability to deliver some great services to consumers and small businesses," he said.
"It's an entree for them to position what they deliver for free as step one in a set of services that you can supplement by doing an a la carte or subscription or license arrangement for incremental services."
Microsoft's new strategy is partly an evolution of a Web-services strategy code-named Hailstorm that Gates presented in Redmond in 2001.
Programming technology behind Hailstorm is now widely used, but it never became the ubiquitous platform for consumers to organize their lives via the Internet and Microsoft software, as Gates had envisioned.
One hurdle was that the Hailstorm vision depended on users registering with Microsoft's Passport authentication service. Consumers and businesses were reluctant to use Passport as a sort of gatekeeper, and competitors soon developed an alternative approach to verifying online identity.
Irving and David Cole, a senior vice president developing the services, confirmed the new Live services will also require users to have a Microsoft Passport.
But Passport is less of a concern now that Microsoft is no longer perceived as "the evil empire," said Dave Winer, a software developer whose work on Web standards helped build a foundation for Microsoft's new services.
"Google is more the evil empire now," Winer said. "Microsoft represents the opportunity for a two-party system."
Brier Dudley: 206-515-5687 or firstname.lastname@example.org
Copyright © 2005 The Seattle Times Company


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According to Eurogamer, screenshots for the new unconfirmed Ubisoft Splinter Cell project, dubbed “Blacklist”, have been posted online by the French site Gamekyo.
Sam Fisher’s location, according to one of the photos is Mirawa: Jadid Basecamp, and depicts his location to be in a dusty, Middle Eastern settlement in broad daylight sporting desert camouflage.
The screenshots look promising, showcasing Fisher wielding a pistol and assault rifle, ducking behind cover, grappling off the side of a building while pointing his weapon, and what looks like a close-encounter interrogation. Plus, you can’t forget Fisher’s iconic trifogal goggles.
The much-anticipated Splinter Cell title will be under development by Ubisoft Toronto, and lead designer Jade Raymond.
Tune in to GTA Gamers for more news about this developing title.


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Published in Mobiles
Apple denies censoring Google Application
The dog did it
Fruit-themed retailer Apple has denied that it censored an application written by rival Google. The application for the iPhone was blocked by a mysterious body which has nothing to do with Apple at all and it is not clear how this organisation was able to take over the work normally carried out by hand picked minions of Steve Jobs.
Apple was hauled before federal regulators who were a mite interested in the groundless allegation that the outfit was using its iPhone muscle to shut out competition. However they were told that Apple has not rejected Google's application outright and was still looking at it.
Well that is all right then isn't it? Well, not really. Apple then went onto say that Google could not run its software on the iPhone because it alters important functions on the device. Google Voice gives people an additional phone number that's not tied to any one phone line. People can program the service to direct incoming calls first to a cell phone, then a work number and finally a home number.
However the word is that Apple and AT&T saw a Google Voice app for the iPhone as a potential competitor to their monthly mobile plans and canned it. Apple said it rejected the program because it replaces the iPhone's own interface for making calls and sending text messages with a Google version.
In addition Apple accused the app of sending the contents of people's iPhone contact lists to Google's servers. So all Google has to do to get its application accepted is to stop it working and then it will be approved.


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Facebook speculation turns to launcher, HTC partnership
Leaked images show a home screen launcher for Android-based smartphones
Computerworld - News leaks and speculation are pointing to a launcher for Android smartphones as the mysterious announcement expected from Facebook on Thursday.
Android Police published reportedly leaked images that appear to show that Facebook is teaming up with phone maker HTC Corp., and using its latest phone to show off a Facebook-focused home screen for Android smartphones.
Smartphones generally ship with whatever home screen or launcher the phone maker creates. This launcher, if that's what Facebook's announcement is about, would be Facebook focused, making it faster and easier for users to access the social network on the go.
Facebook has not said what it will announce Thursday, except that it's about Android, the mobile operating system from Google. The invitation to the press for the 1 p.m. ET announcement reads: "Come See Our New Home on Android."
Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said repeatedly that the company has no plans to develop its own phone, despite rumors to the contrary.
However, a Facebook launcher on an HTC smartphone, if the reports are accurate, would make a good fit. A launcher would help the social network take advantage of its growing mobile user base, while avoiding the need to get into the hardware business.
"Strategically, this makes sense for Facebook, as they need to control more of their mobile destiny," said Patrick Moorhead, an analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy. "Partnering with HTC make a lot more sense than doing a complete phone, because they can put most of the resources and risk onto HTC."
A partnership with Facebook also would make sense for HTC, which has been struggling in the competitive smartphone market and could use the attention that a deal with Facebook could produce.
HTC has been trying to prop up its lagging global market share with new smartphones, having dropped half of its market share in 2012 from 2011 to less than 5%.
The company's recent launch of the HTC One, to be sold in the U.S. on April 19 on AT&T and Sprint, could be boosted by a partnership with Facebook.
However, Moorhead noted that a launcher would have to be well-planned and designed. If it looks too busy or is overbearing, it could drive users away from Facebook instead of pulling them in.
Jeff Kagan, an independent industry analyst, said the wireless industry is more complicated than many people, and companies, think. Facebook may have a big job on its hands if it wants to try a launcher that people will love and use to dig deeper into the site.
"The question right now is simple. Is this the time? Yes," he said. "But that does not mean it will be successful. The market is ready if Facebook can get the recipe right. We'll see."
Kagan, added that the speculation of a launcher announcement could be off base, and Facebook could have a different surprise up its sleeve.
Computerworld Senior Editor Matt Hamblen contributed to this report.
Sharon Gaudin covers the Internet and Web 2.0, emerging technologies, and desktop and laptop chips for Computerworld. Follow Sharon on Twitter at @sgaudin, on Google+ or subscribe to Sharon's RSS feed . Her email address is email@example.com.
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Steve Jobs Dies at Age 56
didn't believe it at first either, but it's true. Steve Jobs is dead.
Steve was only 56 years old at his passing, but had battled with pancreatic cancer since 2004. On August 24, 2011, he actually stepped down as the CEO because he could no longer keep up with his duties. A little over a month later, Steve Jobs has now passed on.
Thinking back, you could really say that Mr. Jobs was changed the world with his innovative creations. He made the personal computer possible and was the mastermind behind the iPod, iPhone, and iPad, which have been a huge success.
One only wonders where Apple will go from here. At the close of Tuesday's market, their stock (AAPL) was sitting pretty at $378.25. There's no doubt that the value will drop throughout the day on Wednesday, but what about the distant future? Where will Apple be a year from now?
There are quite a few visionaries within the Apple organization, and I'm sure there will be new devices debuting in the future, but the company will never be the same. I hope they continue to show strong growth in the years to come, but with the passing of a visionary like Steve Jobs, I would not be surprised if this day becomes the peak of their success.


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Interested in learning what's next for the gaming industry? Join gaming executives to discuss emerging parts of the industry this October at GamesBeat Summit Next. Register today.
Adobe will be going on-stage today at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, with some announcements aimed at keeping the company’s Flash and AIR platform technologies relevant in an increasingly mobile and application-centric world.
Specifically, Adobe said it will demonstrate the use of Adobe AIR on mobile phones, starting with a device running Google’s Android operating system. Previously, Adobe offered AIR as a platform for apps that are installed on users’ laptop or desktop computers, usually with a strong online component. (For example, I’m currently using an AIR app to receive notifications whenever a member of the VentureBeat team posts a comment in our room on FriendFeed.) Now Adobe is also pitching AIR as a tool for building mobile apps that run outside the web browser on multiple phones.
The idea is that a developer will be able to build a Flash-based application and release it in Apple’s App Store using Adobe’s already-announced iPhone exporter. Then, using the AIR format, they could release the same app in stores for other mobile devices. On each phone, the app would be slightly different to adapt to different screen sizes and other device features, but developers could reuse a lot of the same code.
The company has talked vaguely about bringing AIR to mobile devices before, but this will be the first public demonstration of what that will look like. Android will be the first platform supported, with Motorola (maker of the Droid and other Android phones) and BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion expressing public support for the project.
Adobe has endured a lot of negative speculation recently as Apple expanded its shutout of Adobe technologies. Flash doesn’t work on the iPhone, and last month Apple revealed it wouldn’t work on the upcoming iPad, either. The iPhone exporter that I mentioned is basically a workaround, so Flash developers can still get apps onto the iPhone, and soon the iPad, but Flash websites like YouTube and Hulu won’t work in the devices’ browsers. Combined with the improved capabilities in HTML 5 (the latest version of the web’s basic markup language), there’s been more and more talk of Flash’s irrelevance.
This announcement should help Adobe push back, because it positions Flash and AIR as technologies that can help developers get into the mobile app stores that are hot right now, and helps them build apps for multiple devices without having to start from scratch each time. (Something that Google’s Vic Gundotra declared even his company is “not rich enough” to do.)
Adobe is also emphasizing its plan to make Flash Player 10.1, which will work in the browser of pretty much every major smartphone except the iPhone, available sometime during the first half of this year. Adobe cited research by Strategy Analytics estimating that there will be 250 million phones available with Flash 10.1 by the end of 2012.
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One of Britain’s most senior HR leaders has hit out at “s*** jobs” in Amazon (AMZN) warehouses in a speech about working conditions in modern Britain.
Peter Cheese, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), said many workers did not have a choice about taking such roles, and warned low-skilled people in Britain were being “left behind.”
He said good pay, benefits, employment terms, job design, social support, work-life balance and employee voice were vital in a speech at the World of Work conference at the University of Reading’s Henley Business School on Thursday.
But he warned jobs at fulfilment centres run by the online retail giant Amazon did not show “any of those characteristics.”
But an Amazon spokesman said it would be happy to invite him to one of its fulfilment centres to see its “good jobs and conditions.”
It said its workers enjoyed “industry-leading, comprehensive benefits,” and had. topped a recent list of the most in-demand employers on jobs site Glassdoor.
Cheese told Yahoo Finance UK after the speech that figures showed many jobs in Britain were “overly controlled and don’t use people’s skills,” despite record levels of employment.
“Some of the most egregious examples are in warehouses. It’s driven by the economy of robotics, but they are not using technology to understand its impact on people and their jobs,” Cheese said in an interview.
“Do people have choice doing jobs like that? The answer for me is no. If I don’t have many skills my choice is limited. My worry is it’s a bifurcation – those that have the skills have the choice of jobs, those that don’t get left behind.”
He added: “This is not socialist dogma. I would call it a humanist agenda. We have to create jobs that are good for people, give them a voice and pay them fairly.”
Cheese had told a packed conference hall: “You look at Amazon warehouses, and the jobs that are there are s*** jobs.
“We’ve got to correct stuff like that – correct work scheduling systems that give people no control over their life, no autonomy over how and where they work.”
The comments were part of a wider call for a “reset” of modern working life, with Cheese warning firms were seen as pursuing profit “at the expense of everything else.”
He said the Nobel prize-winning US economist Milton Friedman was partly to blame for why “the only thing business thinks its responsible for is profits”, and a “homo economicus” view of humanity in recent decades.
Friedman was one of the world’s most prominent supporters of free markets and monetarist economics, and played a key role in the economic policies of former US president Ronald Reagan and former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
Cheese said: “We have an issue of trust with big business. Businesses have a responsibility to more than just shareholders.”
He said too many of the gains from technology and capital were going to shareholders and the owners of capital.
Firms had a responsibility not just to employees but also to customers, suppliers and society, he said, adding that the “most important thing” was showing business was part of society.
He said he was encouraged by moves such as gender and CEO pay gap reporting, and by initiatives to improve work led by regional mayors amid the “paralysis” of central government.
But Cheese also warned in his speech that the law was “way behind” on changes in modern work, such as the rise of independent contractors and smaller firms.
He said recent controversies over the responsibilities and rights of companies like Deliveroo and Uber and their workers were the “debate of our times,” with “massive confusion” over the definition of employers and workers.
Cheese also criticised parts of the HR industry, saying it had been part of the problem by writing many rules and process that “control and treat people like bad robots.”
“We are caught in these paradigms we’ve literally had since the industrial revolution,” he said, asking if the idea of standard work as full-time and five-days-a-week was “in the Bible.”
He said he was a “massive fan” of agile and flexible working but said it had to be about giving workers opportunities the chance to “break the cycle of work that’s increasingly stressful.”
He warned it should not be a way of simply saving money on office costs, and highlighted initiatives in Finland to give workers significant choice over where and when they work.
An Amazon spokesman told Yahoo Finance UK: "At Amazon we provide industry-leading pay, comprehensive benefits and a safe, modern working environment. In fact LinkedIn this year named Amazon as the number 1 workplace where UK professionals want to work.
“And just this week Glassdoor, one of the world’s largest job and recruiting sites, published its inaugural report on the UK’s most in-demand employers, with Amazon topping the ranking.
“We’d be happy to welcome Mr Cheese to any of our fulfilment centres so he can see first hand the good jobs and conditions that Amazon offers.”
The spokesman added that the firm had created thousands of “good jobs” with pay starting at £9.50 an hour, with opportunities for training and more than 2,000 permanent roles created this year alone.
The benefits package for permanent staff includes private medical insurance, life assurance, subsidised meals and an employee discount and a company pension plan, the spokesman said. Further funding worth thousands of pounds is available for adult education courses.


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Google yesterday unveiled a slew of new hardware at its Pixel 3 event in New York City -- smartphones with cameras that choose your best shot, a tablet that has a keyboard dock -- that was also notable for what one product does not include. The $149 Home Hub, a smart assistant that will compete with devices like Amazon’s Echo Show that turn off the lights but don’t yet put the kids to bed, lacks a camera.
“We consciously decided to not include a camera on Google Home Hub so you feel comfortable placing it in the private spaces of your home, like the bedroom,” said Diya Jolly, Google’s vice president of home product management.
“The thought process makes sense. Ditching the camera means that Home Hub can go anywhere you want it to without you worrying about your ‘assistant’ catching you in your bloomers. Privacy concerns brought about by embedded cameras in similar devices can be sidestepped, and all users have to do to keep Google in the dark is hit the large mute switch on the rear of the Home Hub. No tiny piece of masking tape required,” observes Patrick Lucas Austin for Time.”
That pronouncement comes on the heels of Google announcing that it would pull the plug on its Google+ social network after the Wall Street Journal’s Douglas MacMillan and Robert McMillan revealed Monday that a glitch had given outside developers potential access to private Google+ data for hundreds of thousands of users between 2015 and March 2018. It did not disclose the possible breach, however, for fear of riling regulators.
“Alongside the Hub, Google showed off a revamped Google Home app. Whereas before the Home app was purely for setting up Google’s various smart speakers, it's now a much broader smart home control center,” writes CNET’s Andrew Gebhart. The Home Hub screen and the app feature similar views: “quick-access buttons populate the top and you can scroll down for a room-by-room view of all of your devices.”
“The goal of the app was to create ‘the simplicity and the elegance that we've already built for voice where I can just think something and say something and have it happen,” Ben Brown, Google's senior product manager for apps and connectivity, said. “And we wanted to try to bring that to mobile.”
The Wall Street Journal’s David Pierce points out that “Google’s launch comes weeks after Amazon released its own Alexa-enabled gadgets. Alexa users can now talk to their car, their TV, their doorbell and even their microwave. Google is similarly racing to fully infiltrate consumers’ lives, making its products and services omnipresent as computing shifts away from phones and laptops and onto other connected devices.”
Not that phones and laptops aren’t important, too. But by the time the Pixel 3s took the stage yesterday, there wasn’t much to say about them that hasn’t already been said.
“With something like two-dozen different leaks and an entire lost box of devices that went up for sale on the black market, the Pixel 3 is probably the most-leaked smartphone of all time,” Ron Amadeo quips for Ars Technica.
“Google is still only using a single 12.2-megapixel camera lens on the back this year, but the Pixel line has never disappointed in the camera department. Google’s cameras have topped the competition for some time thanks to ‘computational photography’ -- an approach that aims to make up for the limited lens size of smartphone cameras with algorithms and computing power,” Amadeo writes. It’s called Top Shot. In addition, “another new feature called Super Res Zoom uses multiple photos and AI to create a crisper, higher-quality zoomed-in photo even without the use of optical zoom.”
Yes, the two new Pixel 3s still make phone calls. More important, they have an ability to “screen spam calls and provide real-time transcriptions,” Micah Singleton writes for The Verge.
This signals, perhaps, the end of the Golden Age of Bot Telemarketing. “The new feature will allow Google Assistant to answer a suspected spam call and then transcribe the response in real time, letting users decide whether to answer the call, end it early, or block the number entirely and report it as spam.”
The $599-and-up Pixel Slate, meanwhile, provides “flexibility” with its ability to plug in a $199 keyboard, according to Kan Liu, Google’s senior director for Chrome OS product management. It “can go from work laptop to bedtime tablet, with the Google Assistant helping users get work done during the day and find a show to watch at night, he said,” reports the WSJ’s Pierce.
Google’s Osterloh lays out all of the new products in a blog post, with links providing prices, availability dates and more detailed product explanations. He also writes that as the company enters its third decade, “our guiding principle is the same as it’s been for 20 years -- to respect our users and put them first.”
Noted. But not necessarily believed.


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Amazon unfairly billed parents for their children's in-app purchases, a federal judge has ruled.
"The evidence demonstrates that Amazon was aware that many customers did not understand in-app purchases when they were first implemented," U.S. District Court Judge John Coughenor in Seattle wrote in a 23-page decision issued on Tuesday.
The ruling grew out of the Federal Trade Commission's 2014 lawsuit against Amazon, alleging that the company unfairly allowed children to make in-app purchases without their parents' consent. Before suing Amazon, the FTC settled similar cases with Apple and Google; both companies agreed to provide refunds to parents.
Coughenor released two rulings -- a complete decision, which was marked as "sealed" and a decision for the public, which was marked as "redacted." That redacted version has large swaths of text covered with black bars, but the opinion can be read in its entirety by cutting and pasting it into another file.
In some cases, the redactions referenced confidential material. But in other cases, the judge didn't explicitly provide a reason for the deletions. For instance, the sentence quoted in the second paragraph of this article appears with some key words blacked out in the imperfectly redacted version, which reads: "The evidence demonstrates that [redacted] many customers did not understand in-app purchases when they were first implemented."
The FTC argued earlier in the case that Amazon wrongly billed parents for "millions" of dollars as a result of in-app purchases by their children.
Amazon countered that it provided refunds to parents who complained, but Coughenor rejected that defense. "It was Amazon’s stated policy not to provide refunds for in-app purchases and so many customers would have reasonably believed such recourse was not available to them," he wrote.
He added that the time spent by consumers seeking refunds "constitutes additional injury to them."
A portion of the ruling that was intended to be redacted states that 1,573 "known customers" unsuccessfully sought refunds.
One of the FTC's experts estimated the total customer injury as more than $26 million, according to the un-redacted opinion.
Coughenor intends to assess damages at a later date.
The decision, like the enforcement actions against Apple and Google, stemmed from a time when the industry engaged in questionable in-app billing practices, says Internet law expert Eric Goldman, a professor at Santa Clara University.
"The good news is we've moved on," he says, adding that the major companies today don't appear to be "engaged in such trickery to get in-app purchases."


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Government regulators could more realistically assess the value of improving food safety if they considered the fact that consumers typically want to avoid getting sick – even if it means they have to pay a little extra for safer food, researchers say.
In the world of food regulation, cost-benefit analyses are a primary tool for assessing the societal benefits of mandating more stringent – and more expensive – processing practices. In most cases, regulators determine a dollar value associated with pursuing new rules by estimating how many illnesses and deaths the safer processing would prevent.
But a recent study proposes a new way to approach these estimates. Instead of focusing on reducing food-borne illnesses and deaths associated with a specific pathogen, why not ask consumers how valuable food-safety improvements are to them? The researchers conducted such a national survey that they designed with the help of an economic model that predicts consumer behavior.
The results suggested that Americans would be willing to pay about a dollar per person each year, or an estimated $305 million in the aggregate, for a 10 percent reduction in the likelihood that hamburger they buy in the supermarket is contaminated by E. coli, said Brian Roe, professor of agricultural, environmental and development economics at Ohio State University and co-author of the study.
By comparison, a 2008 U.S. Department of Agriculture analysis estimated the value of eradicating a specific type of E. coli contamination from all food sources would result in a benefit valued at $446 million. ...
via Study: Consumers Value Safer Food More Than Current Analyses Suggest.


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Publish Time：2019-09-04 03:54:48Source：WTCF
【Introduction】：On September 3, the 2019 World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) Helsinki Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit was held in Helsinki, Finland. The theme of this summit was “Smart Tourism – Road to City Innovation and Development.”
Song Yu, Secretary-General of the WTCF, delivered a keynote speech
On September 3, the 2019 World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) Helsinki Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit was held in Helsinki, Finland. The theme of this summit was “Smart Tourism – Road to City Innovation and Development.” After the opening ceremony, Song Yu, Secretary-General of the WTCF, delivered a keynote speech on promoting innovative development of world tourism cities.
Song Yu first talked about the important role of tourism cities in the development of world tourism. He pointed out that tourism cities are not only the main destinations of tourists aroundthe world, but they are also the main distribution centers and sources of world tourism. In recent years, the contributions of tourism cities to world tourism have continued to increase. According to the “Report on Development of World Tourism Cities 2018,” the total tourism GDP of the 100 cities surveyed reached US$798.3 billion in 2017, accounting for 60% of the total global GDP generated by outbound travel. The tourism sector also created 74.7% of the jobs in the service industry in the 100 cities surveyed. For the top 10 and top 50 cities, the jobs created by the tourism sector accounted for 82.8% and 82.2% respectively. In this regard, Song Yu believes “tourism cities have become the core carrier of world tourism development and have played an important role in promoting global economic growth.”
With the extensive use of mobile internet technology, new travel modes – such as free travel, customized travel, and family travel – are emerging one after another, posing new challenges to the traditional travel service, management, and marketing models. According to the UN World Tourism Organization analysis, one fourth of the tourism products provided by the world’s major tourist destinations are now ordered via the internet, and e-commerce transactions have exceeded 30% in global tourism transactions. With the expanded application of new-generation information technologies such as 5G and 8K, smart tourism will embrace even greater opportunities. More major tourist cities around the world have also identified smart tourism as a strategic goal for future development. In the global process of smart tourism development, two main models, based on government investment and public resources, have been formed. However, on the whole, the development of smart tourism in the world is still at the stage of localized, decentralized and individualized exploration. Systematic, globalized and standardized development has not yet taken shape. Accelerating the creation of information infrastructure and public service platforms at the global level, improving the global capacity of IT applications, and transforming the development focus of smart tourism from individual scenic spots and cities to the integration of different regions and cities, are the key tasks of innovative development of world tourism cities.
Song Yu said the fundamental purpose of the development of smart tourism cities is to provide efficient, smart, and people-friendly services for urban residents, improving their travel experiences. He suggests that tourism cities should conduct in-depth research on major issues of world tourism, actively adopt modern technologies such as Internet, big data and artificial intelligence, constantly improve the performance of city governance and services, support the innovative development of a shared economy, customize tourism, embrace new forms of tourism, and continue to provide innovative products that contribute to world tourism development. Cities should take advantage of the role of online tourism in resource integration; take effective steps to prevent over-tourism from affecting people’s lives, and build smart tourism cities into core vehicles for promoting world tourism development. He said that the theme of the 2019 Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit focused on smart tourism to share the typical practices of the world's tourism cities, to discuss the effective measures of the world's tourism cities in terms of innovation and development, and finally to achieve a win-win situation in jointly promoting the sustainable development of the world tourism industry.
Song Yu said at the end of his keynote speech: "As the world's first global international tourism organization focusing on cities, WTCF will actively establish and promote typical cases of smart tourism cities in the world, and introduce a set of cases on the development of smart tourism cities in a coordinated way, so as to inspire tourism cities to build smart cities based on their distinctive features. WTCF will also enhance the comprehensive service capacity in an all-round way, leveraging the organizational strength, actively promoting cooperation and exchanges between city and institutional members, exploring the models of more convenient and efficient tourism services, and constantly raising the contribution and influence of tourism cities to world tourism.”


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Investors in Veeva Systems (VEEV -0.85%) have grown accustomed to massive returns from the cloud software provider to the life sciences industry. Rapid top-line growth led to share gains of 41% in 2016 and 36% in 2017, but the stock has gone nowhere since May of last year, and at a recent price of $60 is down close to 15% from its 52-week high. So will 2018 be more of the same, or will it be the best year yet for Veeva?
Veeva got its start in 2007 when Peter Gassner, vice president of salesforce.com at the time, realized that industry-specific software systems could be built on Salesforce's cloud platform, and the life sciences industry would embrace an integrated software-as-a-service solution that simplified the cluttered landscape of legacy on-premise systems.
Veeva's platforms have been adopted by most of the largest enterprises in life sciences, and as Veeva has grown its suite of offerings, it's been able to cross-sell new applications to its growing customer base, resulting in revenue growth of 33% in the last fiscal year, which ended Jan. 31, 2017.
Slowing growth may be stabilizing
It was inevitable that that sort of growth rate would slow eventually, though, and that's what happened in calendar 2017, putting the brakes on the stock's long run. Veeva has two broad platforms: the more mature Commercial Cloud, which includes its customer relationship management (CRM) application, and the newer Development Cloud, which supports a company's clinical, quality, and regulatory processes.
Growth of the Commercial Cloud is slowing, as Veeva is already selling to almost all the major industry players. The Development Cloud with the Veeva Vault product is where the growth is coming from. For the full 2018 fiscal year, Veeva expects 15% subscription growth from Commercial Cloud and 50% subscription growth from Vault, which comprised 40% of revenue in Q3.
Market saturation of the company's CRM core product has caused the overall revenue growth rate to decelerate.
|Fiscal Quarter||Revenue Growth (YOY)|
|Q4 2018 (Guidance)||20%|
Preliminary guidance for full-year fiscal 2019 revenue growth is about 18%, so the slowdown is continuing, but could be close to leveling off. Veeva Vault is still early in its life, so as it grows into a bigger proportion of Veeva's business, it should stabilize the decline in growth. In any case, Veeva investors need to factor into their thinking that the days of sustained 30% top-line growth are probably over. 2018 won't be Veeva's best growth year ever, and neither will subsequent years, most likely.
Meanwhile, although sales growth has slowed down, profit and cash flow continue to pile up. In the first nine months of this fiscal year, operating cash flow increased 59% and net income more than doubled.
Plenty of drivers for long-term growth
The investment thesis for Veeva is that the company is the dominant leader in helping life sciences companies consolidate a hodgepodge of legacy IT systems into a single, integrated, cloud-based system. This is a big potential market, and Veeva has perfected a methodology of developing add-on applications, working closely with early adopters to refine the software, and using reference accounts to cross-sell new solutions. The pipeline of new applications is key to maintaining growth, and Veeva has plenty in the works there.
Veeva has a large core of CRM customers and part of its growth strategy is to sell additional offerings in the Commercial Cloud to this large base. These add-ons help sales and marketing teams stay coordinated and share information while staying compliant with the myriad regulations across the world. This is the slower-growing part of Veeva's business, but new add-ons such as event management and a marketing territory alignment tool are still early in their lives and have a long runway ahead.
The biggest immediate growth catalyst is Veeva's Development Cloud, which is still in its early days and, according to the company, has a $4 billion addressable market. The core offering is the Vault Clinical Trial Management System, which is starting to get some good traction with Veeva's pharma customers. Add-ons include document management, quality management, and software for keeping track of interactions with regulatory agencies. The company's latest announcement is a new safety module that will help drug companies keep track of all adverse events associated with a treatment.
A third major source of future growth is expansion outside of the life sciences industry. Veeva is working on adapting its quality management suite to sell to customers that manufacture things other than drugs, such as packaged consumer goods. The company expects that this business will add $1 billion to the company's addressable market, but that could be conservative. The payoff won't be in 2018, and probably not in 2019 either, but Veeva is laying the groundwork for the company's next big expansion years into the future.
Finally, Veeva's growing cash hoard gives the company some optionality for growing by acquisition. Veeva has been conservative in that regard, preferring to grow organically. But with over $5 per share in cash, the company is in good shape to pounce on any opportunities for growth-enhancing additions.
Don't expect big surprises in 2018
Could there be any big positive surprises from Veeva in 2018? Probably not. That's not because there isn't anything good happening with the company this year, but simply because this company doesn't typically deliver big surprises at all, positive or negative.
Veeva's business is simply very predictable, since its revenue comes mostly from subscriptions. And its software helps companies run mission-critical aspects of their business, so when a customer buys into its platform, it is making a strategic decision that often gets reviewed all the way up to the C-suite. It may take a long evaluation process for a company to commit to the Veeva platform, but once it does, that customer will be retained for the long term and typically adds new Veeva applications over time.
The company has managed to beat revenue and earnings expectations every quarter since it went public four years ago, but don't expect things to change very suddenly for Veeva -- for better or worse.
Keep this year in perspective
Will 2018 be Veeva's best year ever? With slower growth and little chance for some explosive good news, it isn't likely that this year will eclipse the previous four. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't own the stock.
Fortunately, long-term investors don't have to worry about predicting what will happen in any given year, and Veeva Systems has plenty of appealing qualities for the patient shareholder. It's an emerging leader in its space and has plenty of addressable market still ahead of it. The founder-led management team is investing for the long term, and plenty of profit and cash flow growth is ahead for this steady, predictable business.


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After much hype and a match that disappointed many, we have a new champion. But as per usual, the Internet is the real victor.
Silicon Valley is pouring more money into Internet security companies than ever before.
Spotify offers a free music tier that delivers a good portion of the service's paid subscription version. And that's exactly the problem.
The power of the Internet makes a takeout joint in Kona, Hawaii, one of the highest-reviewed US restaurants on Yelp.
The video game maker will beef up imagery, animation to compete against the top titles in the industry.
Boost your Mac's performance and reclaim hard-drive space with this handful of tips.
A special edition of Vienna-based Vangardist seeks to get people talking about HIV and AIDS, but at least one reader "was too scared to pick it up."
Astro Teller, head of the search giant's Google X research lab, talks about Google's missteps with Glass -- and beyond.
A solar-powered plane is preparing for a 35,000km trip around the world without using a single drop of fossil fuel. Here's how you can follow its journey.
From a carrier price war to wearable technology, it was a busy 2014 for mobile -- and there's more to come next year.


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In a world where ad rates are declining for traditional broadcast media, the corporations responsible for making the fictions that millions devour daily need to find a new business model.
Subscription services are on the rise — with every major broadcaster launching an on-demand service — and so are ad-supported video streaming services to replace the traditional networks.
But there’s another Holy Grail of the advertising industry, long thought to be too technologically difficult to achieve, that may finally be within reach. It’s the on-demand product placement of branded goods in a video, and it’s the technology that Ryff has been developing since it was founded in early 2018.
Product placement is an increasingly big business in the U.S., raking in some $11.44 billion in 2019, according to data collected by Statista. That figure is up from $4.75 billion in 2012. The same report indicated that roughly 49% of Americans took action after seeing product placement in media.
The effectiveness of product placement has even been proven by researchers from Indiana University and Emory University. They found that “prominent product placement embedded in television programming does have a net positive impact on online conversations and web traffic for the brand.”
And while streaming services enjoy the dollars their subscribers are throwing at them, they’re also looking at ways to diversify their revenue streams. Netflix and Hulu are both expanding their product marketing divisions and analysts like those from Forrester Research predict that product placement will be a huge moneymaker for the company as traditional ad rates decline.
There are companies that handle product placement already. Startups like Branded Entertainment Network, which works with brands and producers to place real brands into contextually relevant scenes in movies and television, and Mirriad, which adds branded billboards to scenes, are working to bring more money to platforms and producers.
Ryff takes the technology to the next level, using computer vision, machine learning and rendering technologies to identify objects in a scene and replace them with branded products that can be tailored based on customer data.
“The infusion of SVOD/streaming platforms into the market, combined with platforms like Netflix that are unsuccessfully trying to grow their subscriber base will force those same platforms to explore and embrace alternative revenue streams,” said Marlon Nichols, managing general partner at MaC Venture Capital, and a new director on the Ryff board. “In addition, consumers on paid platforms do not want their content consumption interrupted by ads. As such, product placement will be an important growth channel and Ryff’s new marketplace and unique technology set it up to be the unequivocal growth market leader.”
To continue its technology development and ramp up sales and marketing, the company has raised $5 million in financing. According to Crunchbase, Ryff had previously raised $3.6 million from investors, including a subsidiary of the Mahindra Group and undisclosed investors. The new financing came from Valor Siren Ventures, MaC Venture Capital, Moneta Ventures and Vulcan Capital.
“Ryff’s offering is well-timed with the rapidly increasing demand for solutions that extend the reach of a brand’s content and drive business results,” said Uday Ghare, vice president for media and entertainment at Tech Mahindra, in a statement at the time of the company’s investment. “We believe the market will continue to see a shift of brand dollars to both content marketing and programmatic advertising as brands increase their reliance on content-centric programs and look to scale those efforts.”
Ryff’s ads can be tailored to the viewer’s taste, the platform on which video is being distributed, the geography of the broadcast, the date and time of the broadcast and a broader demographic profile, according to the company. Basically it’s like AdWords for videos.
In a blog post writing about the rationale behind his investment firm’s capital commitment to the company, Marlon Nichols of MaC Ventures wrote:
Imagine a future where an IP owner can maximize the value of its content by putting it on the Ryff marketplace, where that content will be mapped for dozens if not hundreds of product placement opportunities and be layered with restrictions that comply with creative needs. Those opportunities will be ranked and priced by their effectiveness to drive marketing goals for brands. Brands can bid on in-video placement opportunities that fit their marketing strategies and budgets. 3D brand assets can be uploaded and inserted dynamically into content right before the moment of video delivery.
Ryff’s first disclosed partnership is with the “reality” television producer Endemol Shine.
“Ryff successfully takes the concept of product placement, the only advertising format that can’t be skipped by the viewer, and delivers a scalable and adaptable advertising solution that can be applied to any content, at any time and in any market,” said Roy Taylor, founder and CEO of Ryff, in a statement. “The result benefits all — content free from annoying distractions, audience-specific brand placement and delivering a new means towards monetizing video assets.”


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The never ending security and privacy threat posed to Cloud providers has led Google to let businesses create their own encryption keys.
The move will likely frustrate the UK government’s plans to increase law enforcement’s surveillance powers, but is it a hollow gesture?
The company hopes to build trust with its customers in response to Microsoft’s claims that the company snoops. Kevin Turner, COO, Microsoft, said: "We don’t read your email. We’re not listening to conversations in your house, driving cars up and down the street to do so."
However, what may make the introduction of encryption keys a hollow gesture is that it has nothing to do with its consumers or SMB offerings.
Rafael Laguna, CEO, Open Exchange, said: "Google has no choice but to do this – customer-supplied encryption keys are the only way for the Internet giant to build trust in its Compute Engine and compete with Amazon, IBM and others.
"But this extra level of security and privacy has nothing to do with Google´s consumer or SMB offerings like Gmail, Google+, Google Docs and Google Apps – here it continues to collect and monetise data at the expense of its customers.
"Until it adopts a more privacy-first approach across all of its products, it still has a long way to go in gaining public trust."
The company still has a long way to go before it can truly live up to its motto of, "Don’t be evil."
Where the company may be succeeding, is in causing problems for the UK government. The move will make the company incapable of decrypting data, even if it is ordered to.
This means that it will be a lot harder for external agencies to gain access to the data, law enforcement agencies would have to mount individual requests to each customer. This is something that would significantly slow down surveillance operations.
As Google’s trade is in collecting and essentially monetising your data, its position against UK and US surveillance plans could be seen as somewhat hypocritical.
Effectively, the company is saying that it is ok to use all your data to make money, but it’s not ok for it to be used to potentially stop crimes.
The company is one of a 140 companies that sent an open letter to President Obama to urge him to reject anti-encryption proposals.
Jacob Ginsberg, Senior Director, Echoworx, said: "This move won’t keep the majority of business’ email or data secure. However, it does appear that in the face of recent controversy, the large players in the technology industry are taking notice regards people’s right to communicate privately."
The uniting of the tech industry to battle security fears is something that Rackspace is also looking to do.
According to Brian Kelly, CSO, Rackspace, speaking to The Register, cloud companies need to come together to share information.
The idea of the group would mean that when one detects an attack or threat, the other members are made quickly aware of it so that the industry is better positioned to combat emerging threats.
A group that could include companies such as Intel, Dropbox, Google, Microsoft and AWS may be launched later this year.
Kelly, who recently spoke to CBR, highlighted a gap in the market which made it almost impossible for SMB’s to effectively combat security threats. With this in mind Rackspace appears to be aiming for a Security Operations Centre – as- a-Service initiative.
The whole interview with Kelly can be found here.


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This year Google debuted Android 3.0 (Honeycomb)the first version of its mobile operating system designed for large-screen tablets. The OS shows a lot of promise and has some clear advantages over the Apple iPad 2 like better multitasking and a Web browser that supports Adobe Flash. The Motorola Xoom was the first tablet available to feature Honeycomb and now new models from Acer, Asus, and Samsung are imminent. But I think you should skip them. If you want a Honeycomb tablet, I suggest waiting for Google's own Nexus Tablet, which is rumored to be released later this year. Here's why: Just like with Android smartphones, Google's Nexus-branded handsets are the only models that get prompt software updates.
The now-discontinued Google Nexus One and recently released Google Nexus S are the only Android phones running the most-current version of the OS that's designed specifically for smartphonesAndroid 2.3.3. And that's because Google directly supports these phones. Every other Android phone on the market is running a version of Android that's about a year old. Even Google admits that only 1.7 percent of all Android phones are running Android 2.3.3. You should never buy a phone, a tablet, or a computer that has a history of going a year without getting a software update—that's just a waste of your money.
While iPads and iPhones aren't for everyone, Apple does have a sterling track record when it comes to updating its iOS devices promptly and frequently. Choosing a tablet that will deliver prompt updates should not be a feature you compromise on. It should be a requirement. Updates offer better performance, add functionally, and fix critical bugs. The Android 2.3.3 performance improvements are considerable—they include boosts in speed, responsiveness, and battery life. Featurewise, Android 2.3.3 adds a new multitouch on-screen keyboard, a new way to copy and paste and a redesigned UI to take advantage of high-contrast OLEDs. It also fixes a bug that can occasionally cause your Android smartphone to send a text message to the wrong contact. If there were a bug in Honeycomb that accidentally sends an e-mail message to the wrong contact, and Google issued a fix, you'd be wishing you had the Nexus tablet, because it would come with prompt updates.
I've seen rumors that LG will be making the hardware for the Google Nexus Tablet. (HTC made the Google Nexus One and Samsung made the Google Nexus S.) Perhaps it will debut next month at Google's I/O developer conference.
Like I mentioned earlier, the first Honeycomb tablet, the Motorola Xoom runs Android 3.0. It's fresh now, but just wait for the next major version of Android for tablets to come out, and see how long it takes for Motorola to issue an update. Based on the company's awful track record of supporting its smartphones, it's unlikely the Motorola Xoom will get quick updates.
Only Google's Nexus-branded line of hardware has an A+ track record of delivering updates, while other vendors simply fail. It doesn't look like anyone is learning any lessons either, just take a look at the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. This tablet blends the Honeycomb OS with Samsung's non-removable TouchWiz interface. Most all of Samsung's Android Smartphones feature TouchWiz I find that it just gets in the way. Generally, when a manufacturer customizes Android, it's not good for the user. The customizations are typically non-removable, add a layer of confusion, and just end up being bloatware. And Samsung is even worse than Motorola at issuing updates. Its Galaxy S phone for Verizon, the Fascinate, was released last summer with Android 2.1, even after 2.2 was available, and only this week received its 2.2 update.
You shouldn't get serious about buying a Google Android tablet until manufacturers get serious about supporting them, or Google introduces its own Nexus tablet.


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The Elkhart County Convention & Visitors Bureau’s is presenting Elkhart County Restaurant Weeks from March 15 through 30.
More than 20 restaurants will participate in the two-week event by offering special deals and menus.
“Restaurants, bars and bakeries are some of the hardest working and most creative places in Elkhart County’s tourism and hospitality industry,” said Jon Hunsberger, executive director of the Elkhart County Convention & Visitors Bureau. “There’s no better way to celebrate that than with Elkhart County Restaurant Weeks and encouraging residents to support our entrepreneurs.”
Menus are available at TasteElkhartCounty.com. Diners also can check in on the mobile passport for a chance at a $100 gift card for use at one of the participating restaurants.
“We’re excited for this opportunity to showcase our restaurants,” said Kurt Janowsky, president of Navarre Hospitality Group. “Each has a distinct feel and atmosphere with menu choices that run the full spectrum of great food. We hope to see many regulars and welcome new friends during Elkhart County Restaurant Weeks.”
Navarre’s three restaurants in Elkhart — Artisan, Bird in Hand and Jackson Rooftop — are part of Restaurant Weeks.
The Elkhart County CVB is the official tourism organization for the county.


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When you can buy a 2013 Dodge Dart later this year, the fastest model you can drive off the dealer’s showroom floor will be packing a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, good for 184 horsepower. That goes to the front wheels only, likely via a six-speed manual or a six-speed dual dry-clutch transmission. While the combination will still provide...
For $16,700, you can buy a 2013 Dodge Dart. For slightly more than that, you can upgrade to one of four other higher tiered models, including three different engine options. Though we can’t yet publish our first driving impression o... Read Post
Four-time Rally America champion Travis Pastrana will drive the 2013 Dodge Dart in the Global RallyCross Championship, SRT Motorsports announced today. “At Dodge, racing is an integral part of our heritage and embodies our competiti... Read Post


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LIHUE — No injuries were reported after a three-wheeled Honda motorcycle caught fire Wednesday morning in a shipping container at Young Brothers in Nawiliwili Port.
“Firefighters from the Lihue station were on scene by 9:50 a.m. and had the fire fully extinguished by 10:03 a.m.,” Kauai County spokeswoman Sarah Blane wrote in an email.
Wendell Kam, manager of Young Brothers Kauai, said the blaze started when a customer tried to start the motorcycle after replacing a dead battery.
“The bike is totaled,” he said. “My container is kind of history, too.”
Kam said the container was in an open area and few people were around at the time of the incident.
An investigation continues.


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The global market for Consumer Batteries is forecast to reach $55.4 billion by the year 2017. Rising popularity of portable electronic devices; growing adoption of rechargeable batteries; increase in consumer income levels, specifically in emerging markets; ever-increasing end-use device markets; and growing popularity of Lithium polymer batteries in applications such as mobile phones; are the key factors driving growth in the global consumer batteries market.
The global battery market is forecast to exhibit steady growth through 2017. Global economic growth in future would encourage the global demand for primary and secondary consumer batteries. Additionally, the increase in consumer incomes would also drive the demand for high-performance batteries and battery-enabled consumer devices. Growing popularity of portable electronic devices, such as camera phones, digital cameras, and portable computing devices, is fueling the demand for consumer batteries, especially in the Asian region. China is expected to emerge as the single largest and fastest growing market for consumer batteries, recording gains led by strong economic growth, increasing per capita income, continued industrialization efforts, and solid demand for battery-enabled consumer electronic products. The same factors are expected to drive the demand for consumer batteries in other developing regions, including India, where growth is expected to be particularly robust, and also in South Korea, Indonesia, Iran, Poland, and Argentina, where growth is likely to exceed the global averages. The US, Europe, and Japan are relatively mature markets, and are forecast to grow moderately through 2017. Though mature, these markets would continue to be of major interest to battery manufacturers, as they together would account for a lion’s share of the global consumer batteries market by 2017.
Europe represents the largest regional market for consumer batteries worldwide, as stated by the new market research report on Consumer Batteries. The US trails behind Europe. However, growth in the market would be led by Asia-Pacific, which is projected to be the fastest growing regional market during the analysis period. Asia-Pacific market is projected to post a compounded annual growth rate of about 7.7% during the analysis period. Segment-wise, primary batteries, which represent the larger segment compared to rechargeable batteries, would see alkaline batteries observe the strongest growth, driven by the growing use of high-drain electronic and electrical devices, including digital cameras, which originally have been supported by primary batteries. Also fueling growth would be the continued conversion from cheap, basic zinc-chloride and zinc-carbon dry cells to lithium and alkaline types, specifically in the developing countries.
The secondary/rechargeable batteries segment would see lithium-ion rechargeable batteries display the maximum growth opportunities, driven by the widespread popularity of consumer electronic devices, including mobile phones. The strong demand for electronic devices would also support the demand for Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries to a certain extent, but only in the developing countries of Latin America and the Middle East. Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) is a maturing market worldwide, accommodating less room for further innovation in terms of technology. Newer technologies, such Lithium batteries, have posed substantial threat to the market share of NiMH over the recent years. Not withstanding this pressure, NiMH batteries remain a price-efficient solution across many applications, owing to its performance characteristics and lower price/kWh. Li-ion is the latest and the first adoption of the promising Lithium chemistry. Similar to NiMH, the new battery technology is again a response to the demand for greater power by the current generation of portable devices, especially cellular phones and laptops. Despite the high premium, constraints regarding the availability and the additional control circuitry involved, Li-ion has surged like no other battery technology in the primary and secondary segments. The rapid acceptance of Li-ion reflects the immense potentiality for a truly competent rechargeable technology, which extends the operating time of the device and conforms to the space constraints.
The popularity of color display phones has led to the widespread use of Lithium-ion battery and lithium ion polymer battery. Lithium-ion battery is the most advanced battery. The global Lithium-ion batteries market would continue to be monopolized by Japan, China, and South Korea. China has been instrumental in achieving several milestones in the Lithium-ion battery space. There is a huge demand for lithium-ion batteries with the soaring popularity of mobile devices, such as laptops, mobile phones, and digital cameras. Sales revenues of Lithium-ion batteries have outpaced that of Ni-Cd and NI-MH batteries. Additionally, with the shrinking markets of Ni-Cd and NI-MH Batteries, and with the growing popularity of mobile devices and consumer electronics such as mobile phones, laptops, PDAs, digital camera and camcorder, the Lithium-ion battery industry will grow at a relatively rapid rate in the future.
Major players profiled in the report include BYD Company Ltd., Duracell, Electrochem Automation Inc., Energizer Holdings Inc., FDK Corporation, GP Batteries International Limited, Hitachi Maxell Ltd., LG Chem Co. Ltd., Panasonic Corp., Sanyo Electric Company Ltd., Sanyo Energy (USA) Corp., Samsung SDI Co. Ltd., Sony Corp., Spectrum Brands Inc., VARTA Consumer Batteries GmbH & Co. KgaA, Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc., Ultralife Corp., Valence Technology Inc., among others.Li-Ion, Lithium-Ion, Market Size, Market Trends, Nimh, Primary Batteries, Rechargeable Batteries


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Global snack maker Mondelēz International has announced plans to add the message “Helping Farmers to Grow” on its chocolate products.
The company indicated that this means it will not only consider commercial imperatives but also environmental, social and ethical factors when choosing where to source key ingredients, like cocoa.
During a March 27 media roundtable, Mondelēz South, Central and East Africa corporate and government affairs manager Navisha Bechan-Sewkuran said sustainable sourcing was not only good for business but also for the empowerment of farmers, communities and future generations of cocoa farmers, particularly in rural cocoa growing areas.
The purpose of the roundtable was for Mondelēz International and co-hosts, Bean There Coffee Company, to create a platform to discuss sustainable sourcing and why it was necessary.
Industry and academic experts also formed part of the panel to provide a holistic view on this topical subject.
Mondelēz International has implemented its Cocoa Life programme in West Africa, South America and Asia.
The programme, which was launched in 2012, is aimed at investing $400-million in 200 000 cocoa farmers and one-million community members in the regions where the company sources cocoa by 2020.
The Cocoa Life programme invests in women by providing farmer training, improving financial literacy and resilience, and empowering them to earn an income and be active community leaders and members.
The programme also helps to protect children from child labour in cocoa-growing communities by addressing its root causes; and combatting climate change by reducing its carbon footprint and addressing deforestation in the cocoa supply chain.
Mondelēz says its interventions go beyond the procurement of cocoa to include helping communities identify ways of developing their land and diversifying their sources of revenue.
“Cocoa is a seasonal crop. It was important that we share skills with farmers and assist them to develop a Community Action Plan to ensure that they have a way of looking after themselves and have an income beyond the cocoa season.”
“We are proud to say that, with our intervention, we have managed to help communities that were solely dependent on cocoa farming to diversify [into other farming projects] and, in one case, have created a bakery that has become a main source of income,” said Bechan-Sewkuran.