Category Archives: Mind Uploading

Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos by Publishers

Youll find no comfort in exotica here. No kaleidoscopic weddings to reel a reader in. No stern fathers, no dishes to remind an exile of home, no careful arranging of marriages. In The Immortal King Rao, the first novel by Vauhini Vara, the tune sounds different from the others that seem to bind Indian diasporic literature. There are, however, a lot of coconuts and at least one mango. The coconuts belong to a discordant, bloody family farm in South India; later, Coconut will become the name of the tech company that the familys prodigal son will develop once he lands in America, before going on to sort of rule the world. The most notable mango-eating scene directly precedes a gory murder.

Vara, a longtime tech journalist and an editor who has worked at The New Yorker and The Wall Street Journal, sings a song all her own in a premonitory, daring book that lands somewhere between speculative fiction and bildungsroman, storytelling and fortune-telling. The rise of its hero, King Rao, helps define a time in the near future when inhabitants of America largely identify as Shareholders; Rao started the company that controls their lives, the blown-out Apple analogue Coconut. By the time of the books present day, King has been ousted from the company by an all-powerful board. Those seeking escape from the tyranny of an information- (and consciousness-) sharing economy, known as the Exes, have absconded to a set of islands off the coast of Washington State that they call the Blanklands. These outliers are willing to sacrifice comfort for freedom from the protection and possession of their lives by a morally fraught company, and they live together in tenuous harmony. Meanwhile, the target of their ire Rao himself lives in secret nearby with his daughter, Athena, with a trail of casualties behind him for her to discover. Its Athena who tells us the story.

The novel flashes through time and space with an agile clarity from before Kings birth to grown-up Athenas present day. Yet Vara has not exactly made this book an easy read. King is Dalit, a member of the so-called untouchable caste, whose parents have adopted the high-caste family name Rao. In one critical scene from Kings childhood, he is confronted by a one-legged man who lives near the familys compound. If youre a person like us a cripple, an untouchable youve got to make them afraid of you. Youve got to place yourself above them however you can, the man tells King. Then he insists the boy touch the stump of his severed leg. Go on, rub it, he says, and King does; the man closes his eyes and sighs, murmuring, Good, good.Vara tells us the stump is smooth, hard, hot. King begs to stop.

King feels ill at that moment. I had felt ill myself, during earlier scenes. Indeed, I found the novel unbearable at times whether during the bloodbath that signals Kings birth or while witnessing moments between a widowed King and his daughter that seem more marital than parental in spirit, as when King accidentally glimpses Athenas naked adolescent body. In this particular passage, however, between King and the one-legged man, I saw a logic in the books methods. Vara does not emphasize the photogenic side of life. In her ruthless depiction of the handicapped man of so many lives in and around the plantation she uncovers what can seem to be a vestigial Indian landscape of beggars, poverty, and birth defects, untouched by the new rights movements that has begun to wash the film of taboo from lives outside the mainstream. At other points, when writing about America, Vara depicts tech not as an organizing force able to smooth the edges and turn any reality bougie so much as a Sauron-like catastrophic power. The suburban bohemia that can seem to define the American novel is nowhere to be found here. The only community is a fractured one. The sharpest description of food is spent on a can of old, crumbly beets scavenged from a Blanklands tent. Vara, throughout, essentially asks the reader forces us to engage with the hidden parts, to rub the stump.

Perhaps it makes sense that some of the most trenchant work on the shortcomings of technotopia is written by women. Outnumbered in the industry, women drawn to the tech ecosystem can find an outsiders position from which to make sense of its overlords those ambitious, aggressive, arrogant young men from Americas soft suburbs, as Anna Wiener puts it in her memoir about her time in start-up land, Uncanny Valley. Wiener was inspired in part by the writings of Ellen Ullman, the programmer-cum-writer whose dazzling 1997 memoir, Close to the Machine, probes the links between masculinity, coding, and techno-futurism. As Ullman put it to Wiener in a 2016 interview, the goal of tech may well be to change the world, but for whom? And to what end? Ullman thought everyone should know that programs are written by people with particular values those in the clubhouse and, since programs are human products, the values inherent in code can be changed.

In The Immortal King Rao, Vara constructs a world designed by man and woman. While King may be the public face of the company, it is really his wife, Margaret, whos driving. Moreover, the idea for the companys most radical creation a consciousness-uploading device called the Harmonica is stolen in part from a paper written by a female programmer at a rival company. King names lofty purposes: By allowing people to communicate online simply by thinking, hes opening up possibilities for people who cant speak for instance, his own father. Hes also abetting the creation of a record of human existence, the only trace that might remain after climate change destroys the earth. Of course, he has other agendas, too, like the expansion of his own empire and, in a sense, his life. Unbeknownst to Athena, he uses the Harmonica technology to connect his daughters mind to his own, in the ultimate bad-parent move, turning her life into a vehicle for prolonging his. (And offers up a useful storytelling hack;Athena narrates Kings life via access to his memories.) Yet King is a complex figure, neither villain nor hero. King Rao might have started all this, says Elemen Ex, a rebel who takes Athena under her wing. But if he hadnt done it, someone else would have If we had killed him, someone else would have become CEO in his place.

Although Elemen Exs description paints King as interchangeable, the characters identity is part of why the story is so notable. Like King, Vara is of Dalit heritage herself, and she drew on her own family history to build the setting of the coconut plantation. In an email, Vara told me she that she doesnt know of any other Dalit novelists in the US. She is an outlier. Her work, so focused on those who would be outliers too the Zuckerbergs, the Bezoses is doubly symbolic. By tracing the intricacies of a fictional Dalit family, she shines a light on a part of India and a psychography not often explored. Although the Hindu caste system exists most formally in India, it also pervades the West, imported through the terms of immigration; most early Indian immigrants to the US needed to prove they were skilled workers with a high level of education to obtain visas. Western public intellectuals of Hindu parentage are more likely to be Brahman, and the names give it away. (My own, for example: My family name is Rao, the Brahman pseudonym adopted by Kings family.)

Here is a truly American novel: Steve Jobs, but untouchable. Elon Musk, but brown. It can seem like too neat an idea, but in Varas hands, the invisible grottoes of the planet come alive. We see the bunk bed in a broken-down Indian shack as well as the elaborate hideout of a tech-mogul couple, landscaped with tropical plants tweaked by geneticists to thrive in Seattle. Some of the most compelling of the novels passages betray a journalists sense of the world. At one point, a music video designed to destroy Kings reputation goes viral in a believable, trippy manner, with Varas language conjuring a kind of Black Mirror montage. In another deep aside, she introduces a photographer who takes advantage of strung-out models; he sounds all too real, his exploits smacking of the stories the model Emily Ratajkowski recounted in her memoir.

But the internet of Immortal King Rao is also one mapped by a poet. Vara is forever aware of the costs of technology, of the hidden world behind the public one. This world teems with small moments the cadence of romance, the missteps of an immigrant. Although the title character is a man, women are chief among the storytellers and meaning-makers. Theres the narrator, Athena. Theres the Rebel Elemen Ex, with whom Athena shares an uncanny connection. And then theres the daunting presence of Athenas white American mother, Margaret, whom King admits to himself is the rightful creator of Coconut. Margaret wants nothing to do with childbirth, with motherhood. She uses King hes pliant because she knows the world will not accept her force. Shes a puppet master, but she loves him. We are rarely in a press conference with the couple; more often, were with them in the privacy of an office or a bedroom, aware of the tint of her skin and the heat of his breath.

Varas novel works in gyroscopic ways, world-building in a circular progression. Athena is her fathers daughter, as we are consistently reminded: When she eventually leaves him behind, its because she has dreams of her own, as he once did. By the time we arrive at the sharpest scene in which she accesses her fathers memories, we know enough to experience the happening through this double lens. Every child is arguably forever in touch with the parent of the past. But thanks to Coconuts technology, Athena can plunge into a vignette from her fathers memory with a jarring and visceral intensity; she nearly becomes him. Afterward, she reflects on the feeling the scene leaves her with. She realizes she loves her father despite herself. She feels protective toward him, guilty about her need to escape, even as she recoils from the texture of his memories and his manipulation of her mind.

Vara is something of an old hand at this marriage of form and function. Last summer, she published a story in The Believer titled Ghosts. Part of it she wrote, and part she constructed: The essay, about the actual death of her sister, was written partially by an AI. Grief can render a griever mute. Vara found a way to tell the story through the filling-in capabilities of a sophisticated writing bot called GPT-3. Its now possible for an algorithm to simply make up memories for you, give words to feelings you may as well call your own. The piece is surprising; it reads so alive. In her guidance of the AI, in her admission of her own inability to write about her sister, Vara somehow captured a human pulse the beat of one persons blood against anothers that constitutes love.

The Immortal King Rao too thrums with a pulse. The beating heart feels located in the love between daughter and father, a love that made me uncomfortable when I first encountered it. Born in unusual circumstances, Athena faces an age-old conundrum writ large. How do you break off from the larger-than-life parent? If King Rao must die, its for the old Greek reasons: to clear the path for his progeny, to make the story continue.

In Jennifer Egans novel The Candy House, a world that can seem twinned to Varas unfurls. Towering over it all is a piece of technology called Own Your Unconscious, invented by a man named Bix Bouton. In this case, interested parties can upload their unconscious all their memories and thoughts generated up until the point of upload to a cloud server. If uploaders choose to make this data available to anyone, they in turn will gain access to the data of others. Egans Bix, like Varas King, carries a seemingly magnanimous purpose in mind: He envisions the memory log as a way to bring family members together, a kind of digital connective tissue. Once more, a small ragtag group of defectors rails against this glossy argument; here, the rebels are called eluders, described by one character as that invisible army of data defiers. And once more, memories act as currency: They can be uploaded and accessed, mined for data, and used by loved ones for emotional and material needs.

The Candy House is dizzying, in scope and achievement. Egan telescopes in on more than a dozen characters with an unnerving mastery. Her new book is a sort of sibling to her Pulitzer-winning A Visit From the Goon Squad; old characters resurface, all grown up, and new ones populate their orbit. The rakish record executive Lou Kline is seen through the eyes of his daughters. Sasha Blake has traded her kleptomania for a quiet, celebrated life as a sculptor in the desert. To read Egans book alongside Varas is to witness a novelist in peak form next to one beginning her career, both using futuristic conceits to amp up old conundrums. (And to be struck by novelistic trends: The names Athena and Hollander appear in both books.)

At times, Egans approach feels almost too masterful. Rather than assert its contours organically through the course of character development, racial identity reads like just another tool in her arsenal. A minor character who breaks up a marriage is referred to as the beautiful Asian woman who often sat with us at dinner, as if the Asian part connects to the seductress angle. Egans tech titan, Bix, is a Black man, a detail that can seem chosen mostly for the purposes of justice and plot. When he dares to pose as someone much younger in one striking opening scene, he reasons that he tends to look younger than white people anyhow. His in-laws, white folks from Texas, once shunned him because of his race; now, his mother-in-law embraces him, a turn that seems painstakingly conceived. Its as if Bix represents a kind of brokered, symbolic harmony: a Black man who is also the most powerful figure in this universe, unflappable and savvy, a transcender of race who telegraphs its importance. Not that anything feels forced, exactly. Egan moves her players around in exhilarating ways. Each section deals with a different set of characters often an entire family yet features subtle incursions from others who claim space elsewhere in the book. This, then, is a community rendered on the page, a group of folks who are somehow each the main character.

Bixs inventions may provide the through-line, but for Egan, techno-reality is resolutely secondary to the miracle of existence, of skin-to-skin living. A beach glitters as two daughters run into the water with their absentee dad, the first real happy day they spend with him. Two overly analytical data analysts known as counters fall in love on a bed; he counts the pace of her heartbeat. Each section can seem to threaten despair, only to wind up on notes of quietly soaring, richly orchestrated positivity. A suicide attempt is thwarted, leading to a redemption arc we learn about from brief asides later in the book. Two warring, paranoid neighbors form a delicate friendship in the background of other stories. Egans brilliance at constructing vignettes is layered into more dimensionality here, thanks to the futuristic window dressing. But ultimately these are old, small tales. People are born, fall in love, marry, have children, die. The technology adds a layer of possibility, of complication: Characters can now see what a parent saw. They can see what happened on that day long ago when a friend died. Perhaps they can see life as a novelist does.

Where Varas book takes us into the root system a tangled, dark, muddy place Egan can seem to have her eye trained on the lotus above the water, lavishly attending to each petal, even as we contend with the somewhat nightmarish vision of a corporatized collective consciousness. There are so many moments in The Candy House that live in the realm of air, of grass, of blood. How can the love and dread she feels for her middle son be converted into something tangible, something that can help him? wonders the mother of Ames Hollander in a finely wrought final chapter titled Middle Son. Its notable that Egan thanks her own sons in the acknowledgments; some of the books most affecting love scenes, as it were, occur between mother and son. Another observation in Middle Son rings eternal: One horror of motherhood lies in the moments when she can see both the exquisiteness of her child and his utter inconsequence to others. There are so many boys in the world. From a distance they look alike even to her, especially in uniform. Horror here ties to human quandaries, not ones invented by technocrats.

Social injustices are dealt with poetically, even playfully. And once again, women play shadowy, critical roles: Bouton builds his technology using principles outlined by an academic named Miranda Kline. The sequence of the novel that narrates Klines fevered departure into a life of the mind is one of the books most startling. She escapes her marriage and daughters to retreat to the jungle, where she performs esoteric, obtuse research that seems to hold meaning only to her. When she returns, she dives once more into a world of her own, writing in private and reverting to the clothing, appearance, and lifestyle of a student, which she becomes. Her behavior is incomprehensible to those around her. She looks very much like a bad mother, a bad wife. The slim volumes she produces go on to change the world in ways, we come to understand, that she would not have approved of, as Kline becomes an eluder. She sought to understand what brought humans together; her decision seems to assert that tech connectivity does nothing of the sort.

Egan presents a world that looks somehow the same as it always has, no matter the state of technology. Varas view of a similar future reads punkier, darker, dystopic in a way that can make it hard to turn the page. For some people, of course, things really dont change, no matter the conditions of the world. Egans book is arguably populated by such folk, who are born into a kind of security; Varas, not so much. Both authors offer the suggestive existence of rebels. Egan never shows us her eluders, though; we never go with them into the wilderness. Instead, we remain inside the Candy House of fairy-tale lore, a beautifully constructed novel where the human capacity to feel and touch persists. Perhaps its a trap that feels like protection.

Go here to read the rest:

Review: 'The Candy House' and 'The Immortal King Rao' - Vulture

Renowned 20th century physicist Denis Garbor declared the future cannot be predicted, but the future can be invented. Its a motto that futurologist Dr Ian Pearson, who lived in Belfast for nearly two decades and graduated from Queens University, can probably appreciate. The leading expert tells Weekend what technological strides will shape our lives in 2022 and beyond.

Metaverse and Virtual reality (VR)

Close

Augmented reality technology

Getty Images

It has been launched in the past a few times and failed. Like 3DTV, I think theres enough critical mass this time to see it take off this year.

And thatll lead on to augmented reality, where you overlay VR onto the environment around you like walking through Belfast and seeing offers pop up marketing information overlaid onto reality as you walk by shops. Thats easy to do.

This also has a negative side and could be seen as a gross invasion of privacy if it isnt regulated properly, because face recognition technology is obviously capable of identifying a person.

Theoretically you could walk through town and see peoples phone numbers, names overlaid on their avatars, gained through information available on social media.

Generally, most of the applications coming out of VR are positive; upgrades to Zooms where you can meet people in 3D, albeit using avatars with smart glasses.

In the next few years we might see contact lenses with 3D overlays in the real world. This year we might see a prototype for that.

Tissue-cultured meat substitutes

Weve known for many years that its only a matter of time before you can start culturing meat cells in chemical plants and vats, rather than using cows and sheep walking around a field.

This means that you will be actually eating meat tissue. So people who are vegetarian or vegan can get animal protein without the cow or sheep being killed for its meat. Some people who fall into this category may switch and start eating meat again.

This has been coming for a while, but its now starting to arrive in the shops, roughly at the right prices as well.

Cultured-tissue chicken is now started to be made. Were now at a breakthrough point in the next few years, because theres already quite a bit of momentum and that would capture that trend quite nicely.

Electronic pets

Close

AI pets cod relieve loneliness

Getty Images

Weve seen these in the past electronic dogs 15, 20 years ago, and even before that I had an electronic cat back in the 1990s.

Theyve been around a long time but were now seeing more of those because of the advances of AI (Artificial Intelligence). Theres new chatbots to talk to about various subjects; sometimes they appear on a screen as an avatar. Its just as easy to put those into a robotic doll or pet that moves around a floor. Especially given lockdown and a lot of people feeling lonely.

I think it has reached a market point where its very useful its companionship for people.

Some research has shown that they are really good for older people and people form good bonds with electronic pets.

Its very good for alleviating loneliness, but its not a substitute for a human being. Its a good second best.

Digital dcor

A few years ago cruise ships started doing virtual windows in some of the windows because not everybody has a balcony.

If you havent got a balcony and youre looking inside a cabin, theres no reason why you couldnt have a whopping big plasma screen on the wall which looks like a window, looking out onto a nice beach or showing you what the view would be if you had an outside one.

Of course, screens have got better, thinner and illusions are becoming better each year at a good economic price. Windows in cruise ships have led the way.

Its quite likely it will start happening in peoples homes some people can buy a second TV and use it as a window. So they can have a nice view of a Caribbean beach instead of looking out at the drizzle from your Belfast flat.

Of course, you can have any view you like, and this goes along with the trend in virtual reality where we get used to going around the world virtually.

People might welcome having a view looking out at whatever views they want for the day New York City, the Grand Canyon.

One of the major television brands has brought out a high-quality projector that is designed specifically as a decor substitute.

The purpose of which is to project on a surface so that you could transform your room into an art gallery, or a window or just change the colours of the room.

Its below the 400 mark and I think it is something that could take off this year or next.

Electric cars and self-drive vehicles

Close

Self drive cars could improve

Getty Images

Every week theres a new development that makes the battery last a bit longer, or cheaper, or less pollution when theyre made.

The thing I find interesting about electric cars, is that is couples quite nicely with self-driving cars. With the AI right now, its really quite difficult to get cars that can self-drive all day without accidents in the real environment. Its very easy to get right in test tracks.

Lately, weve seen seeing a lot of problems with people hacking into software for self-driving cars which is a potential danger.

Theres two ways of doing self-driving cars; you can either have a lot of AI and a lot of sensors, which is extremely expensive and a lot of high tech.

The alternative, which you dont hear much about, is the idea of pod systems electric pods which go around and pick people up.

Fibre-glass shells could be used which are cheaper, and these could be used for public transport in cities, picking people up and dropping them off where they need to go, using the current road surface and guided by electronic maps.

It would be more environmentally friendly and cheaper for the consumer if they could buy their own pods.

Digital afterlife

By 2050 or thereabouts the links to the brain will be so good, a lot of our thinking will take place in server phones inside your head.

Think of it as an extension to your brain, one that operates faster and has more memory and allows you connect directly to the internet.

Just think of it that its still you, with your brain, but you have an extension to it in the servers, which can be anywhere in the world.

One day when you die, or your body dies, 99% of your thinking will be taking place in the cloud, so you might barely notice that your body has died your mind is still carrying on.

By 2060, it will become cheaper, and by a decade later, everyone will be able to have this. Those born now, who will live naturally to the age of 70, probably will find that they wont die because theyll essentially live on digitally.

Androids will replace their body, while their mind will be in the cloud. Its really a question of extending your mind, not uploading.

The mind lives more and more in the cloud.

Read the rest here:

Futurologist gives predictions on what future life will look like - Belfast Telegraph

Image source: Getty Images

As a business owner, you're spinning a lot of proverbial plates at the same time: customer communications, sales figures and projections, scheduling, invoicing, and marketing, to name a few. Plus, as the number of pieces of software to manage all this multiplies, the mental energy and time required to keep it all straight increases, too.

If this sounds familiar at all, it's time to begin using customer relationship management (CRM) software, which can roll many, if not all, of these tasks into a single application.

With that in mind, here are our picks for your best CRM software options :

If you're not familiar with client organization software, it can seem a bit daunting when you see all the things it can do in addition to relationship management: lead qualification, lead scoring, sales metrics, and customer analytics. That's why, especially when you're getting started with contact management software, you need to consider the following points.

The first critical factor is how easy the software is to use. All the great features and capabilities in the world don't matter if no one wants to use the CRM client tracking tools you've chosen.

People from different departments, including marketing, sales, service, and billing, will be using it, so good client management software must be equally accessible for them all.

Every business is different, so your CRM software must be flexible enough to accommodate your individual needs. If you're a small business, you'll want to dial back the available options to those you'll regularly use.

At the same time, you'll want to be able to scale up the features you're using as your business and customer base grows, so a flexible client management software solution is key.

Finally, while a robust CRM system can combine many of your tasks into a single software package, there are some individual applications, such as email, you might want to keep using. In that case, your CRM software needs to easily support integrations of this type.

Plus, you'll want to be able to automate tasks such as customer follow-up communications and social media marketing to save even more time.

Even a cursory online search will turn up a large number of CRM providers, all of whom claim to be the best. To make your choice easier, here are our top six client management software providers in 2020.

With a score of 8.4 out of 10, Insightly is our top-rated account management software. That's due to its robust customer support, easy-to-learn interface, and scalability from small businesses all the way to large enterprises. Plus, it offers customization options that even tech novices can set up and use.

Reporting is fully customizable to meet your specific needs. Image source: Author

Key features: As you can see from the sales analytics screenshot above, the drag-and-drop customizations allow you to create graphs, charts, and visualizations to share throughout your organization. In addition, Insightly offers multiple integration options with applications such as MailChimp, QuickBooks, Microsoft Outlook, and Gmail. It's also integrated with Zapier, so you can still connect with other web-based services even if Insightly doesn't do so natively.

Still needs improvement: Integrations are not as stable as would be optimal and can break. In addition, many of the marketing options are only available with the higher-tier plans.

Pricing: Plans range from a "forever free" option for two users that offers a limited number of features all the way to an enterprise plan for $129/month per user. The top tier comes with unlimited storage as well as dedicated tech help whenever you need it.

Read The Ascents full Insightly review

Next on our list is Agile CRM, which we rated as the best value for client organization software. It's designed for small to midsize companies, offers gamification to motivate your employees, and easily integrates with Facebook and Skype. Plus, it includes Telephony, a built-in calling feature.

Agile CRM offers the most competitive pricing structure. Image source: Author

Key features: Agile CRM is designed to be your all-inclusive client management software for sales, marketing, and service. Lead management will be easy as its major features are accessible with a single click. You can also manage your social media marketing as well as create visually arresting landing pages.

Still needs improvement: Customer support is lacking at the lower-tier levels, which can be an issue given the scarcity of tutorials for advanced features. Plus, the automation options can be challenging to set up, and customization features are limited.

Pricing: Agile CRM has multiple pricing levels, including a free option that allows up to 10 users. The $48/month per user enterprise level supports over 50 plug-ins and integrations with third-party websites and apps.

Read The Ascents full Agile CRM review

Out of our top three client management software picks, Redtail CRM is rated the easiest to use. It's designed for finance industry professionals and is suitable for small sales operations that include both consumer and business-to-business (B2B) sales.

Redtail CRM contact cards have multiple fields to include extensive client information. Image source: Author

Key features: Your sales team will love Redtail CRM with its robust contact cards as they move each prospect or lead through the sales funnel. Even better, it tracks and archives client emails to meet compliance standards of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Still needs improvement: The learning curve to use all the features is initially steep, and it's $425/person to attend Redtail University, which offers additional support and training at in-person events around the country. In addition, the mobile app, which will be of use to those working out of the office, is lighter on features than expected.

Pricing: While there is a free 30-day trial period, the baseline cost after that is $99/month per 15 users. After that, it's another $99/month to add 15 more users at a time.

Read The Ascents full Redtail CRM review

Another easy-to-use CRM system, Pipedrive, integrates your sales and marketing activities. There is extensive customer support, and it also tracks all communications with your clients.

Sales reports and lead tracking are visualized via easy-to-read bar graphs. Image source: Author

Key features: You can easily track the sales process on the sales dashboard. Plus, Pipedrive offers a wide array of automation features, including chatbots as well as schedulers, to help capture leads from your website. There is also a sales forecasting feature to help you maximize your sales pipeline. All plans are compliant with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regulations.

Still needs improvement: There is no way to separate new leads from the rest of your contacts in this client management software. Its also not possible to integrate directly with most social media applications. Instead, you'll have to use a third-party application like Zapier to do that.

Pricing: The essential plan is $12.50/month while the enterprise level is $99/month.

Read The Ascents full Pipedrive review

HubSpot CRM is one of the most popular client management software options available, thanks to its robust features and the integration of sales and marketing efforts. It also has impressive automation options that will free up you and your sales team to focus on outside or inside sales.

You can easily send and receive emails within HubSpot CRM. Image source: Author

Key features: HubSpot includes an online chat feature as well as a universal inbox so that the first available team member can respond to customer inquiries. In addition, you can create email templates and track their performance, including notifications when emails are opened and attachments are downloaded. You can also make calls and update activity logs within your CRM dashboard.

Still needs improvement: Getting a handle on the wide-ranging set of features can be initially intimidating. Plus, the costs begin to add up if you import more than just contacts, and you'll need a higher-level plan to use the marketing automation options.

Pricing: This client management software offers options ranging from "forever free" all the way to an enterprise level that's $1,200-$3,200/month.

Read The Ascents full HubSpot CRM review

Great for small businesses or even sole proprietorships, Capsule CRM has limited features compared to some of your other choices above, but this client management software offers powerful functionality for what it does include.

Pipeline's intuitive interface lets you track deals, which it calls cases, along with relevant information from start to finish. Image source: Author

Key features: When you're prospecting for leads, you can save a lot of time by uploading CSV spreadsheets of contact or company information into Pipeline. Plus, you can track potential deals, called cases, on cards similar to your contacts. You can also make calls from within the interface and add notes with sales tips and other information.

Still needs improvement: Capsule CRM's strength -- its simplicity -- is ultimately its weakness as reporting features and integrations as well as customer support are limited.

Pricing: There is a free option which allows for two users, 250 contacts, and 10 megabytes of storage. The professional version of this client management software is only $12/month per user and comes with two gigabytes of storage and up to 50,000 contacts.

Read The Ascents full Capsule CRM review

The quality of your customer account management is a key driver in determining how successful your business will be.

To generate the best results over the course of the customer life cycle and journey map, everything from customer acquisition to invoicing repeat sales, it's never too early to begin using client management tools like the ones detailed above.

Read more:

The 6 Best Client Management Software Tools in 2022 - The Motley Fool

The pandemic has impacted every industry in one way or the other. The insurance industry is no different. However, the silver lining is that it has reinforced the importance of technology more firmly, especially Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Cloud Computing for this specific sector.

Artificial Intelligence in the insurance market size is valued at USD 6.92 billion by 2028 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 24.08% in the forecast till 2028.

Based on a survey, 21% of insurance organizations report they are preparing their workforce for collaborative, interactive, and explainable AI-based systems. It is predicted that investment in AI Insurance is ranked high on decision-makers agenda.

The growing need to offer personalized insurance services leads to the requirement of insurance automation for operational processes. AI does exactly the same by automating the operational tasks performed by humans and are done without fatigue and error in a shorter span of time.

AI has brought in a revolutionary change in the way the insurance industry performed a few years ago. Insurance was normally associated with loads of paperwork, time-consuming meetings, filing complicated claims, and waiting for months for a decision.

AI in insurance has brought in automation that has started rebuilding the trust toward insurance providers. Not only this, insurance automation helps in stimulating business growth, lowering risks and frauds, and automating various business processes to reduce overall costs.

To cut it short, it is helping insurers and policyholders alike. Heres how:

The machine learning algorithms help underwriters to gauge risk with more information that helps them to offer better and tailored premium pricing. Additionally, AI in the insurance industry is streamlining the process to connect applicants with carriers directly making the process more efficient.

With the need of the hour and to stay competitive, it has become imperative for the insurance industry to adopt the latest technologies like machine learning, robotic process automation, and more. Let us understand how can the adoption of the latest technologies add value to the existing tedious and exhaustive insurance process.

Processing claims is a complicated process. Agents are required to assess various policies and comprehend them with every detail to determine how much the customer will receive for the claim. There are many steps that are repetitive and standard tasks to be performed. Machine learning in insurance can take up such automated tasks to reduce errors and the time taken to process the claim.

To increase operational efficiency, companies have been adopting emerging technologies like AI, RPA, and the Internet of Things (IoT). The increase in connectivity, smart home assistants, fitness trackers, telematics, healthcare wearable devices, and other types of IoT devices, now allow insurers to stay connected and collect comprehensive data automatically. This data can then be imbibed into the underwriting process and claim management tasks that will help in better decision-making with reduced risks.

The process of underwriting was largely dependent on the data provided by the applicant manually by filling up regular forms. There is always a possibility of the applicant being dishonest or making mistakes that may lead to inaccurate risk assessment.

The rise in connectivity and increased use of IoT devices, help you fetch the larger datasets with correct information. Natural Language Processing (NLP) enables insurers to assess through the abstract resource to fetch apropos information to better assess the risk.

Research analysis shows that the benefits of the AI in insurance, specifically in underwriting, include the ability to:

The massive insurance industry collects approximately $ 1 trillion in premiums every year. With the size, the fraud ratio too is high. The total cost of non-health insurance fraud is estimated to be more than $40 billion per year that in turn increases the premium cost from $400 to $700 per year per family. Read below to understand how artificial intelligence in insurance claim fraud can be prevented.

Adding value to the existing process only makes sense if it brings along the visible benefits. AI in insurance brings a sigh of relief by revolutionizing it in many ways:

AI in insurance claims can handle the first notice of loss without or with minimal intervention from humans where insurers can report, route, triage, and assign claims. Chatbots can efficiently facilitate the claim reporting process as the customers can report their incidents from any device, any place, and at any time. The AI-enabled chatbots can further disperse the information for further processing.

By regulating all the processes of data capturing, claims creation, authorizations, approvals, payment tracking, and recovery tracking through AI, can be paired with other applications to streamline the fraud detection process, thus saving time and costs.

Artificial intelligence in insurance claims can reduce claims regulation costs by 20-30%, processing costs by 50-65%, and processing time by 50-90% while improving the customer service experience.

The power of Artificial Intelligence in the insurance industry has brought in a revolutionary change in the level of customer service. As mentioned above as well, chatbots are the easiest way to initiate the process and further disseminate the information to the next aligned process without human intervention making the process smooth, quick, and error-free.

AI-powered chatbots can cross-sell and upsell products based on the customers profile and history. By automating the repetitive process, scaling up the operations can be done easily while utilizing the human resources in more strategic roles.

With the advent of disruptive AI technology, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and OCR, assessing the damage has become easier and quicker as the same can be easily done by uploading a picture of the damaged object.

Predicting the potential loss and providing recommendations make the loss estimation process quick and efficient.

With the power of AI, the fraud detection system addresses the shortcomings of hand-filled applications and provides valuable details on tips for better human judgments. Machine learning and deep learning algorithms are well equipped to identify repeated patterns that might be abnormal or fishy.

From the above-mentioned benefits and value adds, an inference can be drawn that there are fundamentally three areas in which artificial intelligence technology in insurance can bring the revolution claims process, risk assessment, and forecasting. It becomes easier to understand it with examples. Mentioned below are some of them:

Lemonade is an InsureTech startup that uses AI technology to run end-to-end insurance tasks. This has helped them in saving the operational costs that leverage them to offer reduced prices, increase customer acquisition, and elevate customer experience and engagement.

With AI, it lets the lenders assess the traditional and non-traditional data leveraging them to better gauge the risk. A better and automated underwriting process helps the company to boost profitability while reducing the risk.

Nauto is a driverless car company. Its aim is to avoid collision of the commercial fleets by reducing distracted driving. The AI-driven driver safety system uses the dual-facing camera, CV, and other algorithms to prevent risky behaviors in real-time

Implementing chatbots, NLP, and OCR are just the first step toward automation of the insurance industry. The pandemic has virtually forced us to adopt new technologies to stay in the business. This technological wave is certainly going to continue. Deep learning techniques and artificial intelligence are yet to be exploited to their potential. The scenarios will surely advance to machines mimicking the perception, reasoning, learning, and problem solving of the human mind,

It is expected that in the next decade, insurance will shift from its current state of detect and repair to predict and prevent. The users too are getting accustomed to using the advanced technologies to enhance productivity, lower costs, enhanced decision making, and enhance customer satisfaction.

The future of the insurance industry will take a steep curve to achieve new heights with the implementation of various AI technologies. It will not only impact the insurance companies but will also impact the people with insurance. Lets explore some of the trends:

We are experiencing this even today. With IoT, the number of various devices that are connected is increasing day by day. With AI, this connectivity will lead to the collection of comprehensive data. Understanding consumer behavior with this data will enable the insurance industries to come up with new product categories, more personalized pricing, and increasingly real-time service delivery.

Extended reality is the advanced form of virtual reality. It will not be necessary for the object to be insured to be physically present at the spot. Inspection will be done virtually with the help of AI technology after the claim is filed. It will be easier to provide better quotes based on the safety feature of the vehicle to be insured.

Data is the king in AI. Collecting the data from various sources and making sense of it is what AI technology is. However, ensuring that the data is precise and accurate will help in making better business decisions. Insurance companies can use accurate data to mitigate risks and frauds even before they take place.

Artificial intelligence in insurance is all set to transform the future of the insurance industry. Appinventiv can be your reliable development partner that helps you harness the benefits of automation in the insurance sector.

With our expertise in AI software development services. We have successfully helped businesses in transforming their business capabilities.

For instance, Appinventiv has successfully automated the banking process for a leading bank in Europe. The automation process helped the bank in improving the accuracy by 50% and the ATM service levels by 92% .

Also, with the help of conversational AI in banking, the client is able to handle over 50% of customer service requests through chatbot, thus reducing the manpower costs by 20%

You can also exploit the expertise of the seasoned team at Appinventiv to take a leap into the future of insurance.

AI is today and the future of insurance. Leveraging various tools of AI technology will automate the insurance processing from application state the claim settlement in no time that too with no human interventions. Saving this cost and time will help the insurance industry to come up with better product categories and personalized premium quotes that will be generated on data collected from various sources.

AI insurance is at a very nascent stage right now. It will change dramatically in the next decade.

FAQs

Q. What are the advantages of applying AI for Insurers and policyholders?

A. The benefits of applying AI for insurers are listed below-

The benefits of applying AI for policyholders are listed below-

Q. Which function of the insurance industry is expected to exploit AI in the future?

A. Although the impact of AI is holistic aiming to automate the process/functions to increase efficiency and save costs and time. However, with the use of predictive analytics, the underwriting process is the one that will adopt it to the maximum.

Q. What are the emerging AI use cases for auto insurance?

A. Primarily following are the emerging AI use cases for auto insurance

Sudeep Srivastava

More:

AI in insurance - How is artificial intelligence impacting the insurance sector? - Appinventiv

This article is a part of a Narcity series breaking down the highlights of what you need to know about where Ontario's Political Party Leaders stand on issues important to millennials. Each leader was contacted by Narcity for comment. You can read more of our coverage of Ontario's 2022 Election here.

The provincial elections are coming up in Ontario, and Andrea Horwath is hoping that you will cast your vote for Ontario's New Democratic Party on June 2.

Narcity spoke with Horwath to hear about what the Ontario NDP plans to do for residents. She shared the key points of the party's platform, from how they'll tackle the housing affordability crisis to what health care benefits they plan to provide.

Q&A With Andrea Horwath, Ontarios NDP Leaderyoutu.be

Horwath shared what the NDP has planned for homeowners and renters in the province, which includes some major plans for first-time homebuyers.

"It includes helping first-time homeowners to get into this out-of-control market by both helping on the financial side with assistance in downpayment, so 10% of the value of the first home will be covered through a Shared Equity Loan that bears no interest and no repayment requirements until you sell or move out of the house, and includes changes to planning and zoning that allow for more missing middle housing to be developed," Horwath told Narcity, and explained this means they would bring on more starter homes into the market at greater volumes.

Another part of their plan will help renters find an apartment or condo in the province.

"So many tenants are being suddenly hit with these massive increases in rent. We're going to bring rent control back to Ontario," Horwath said.

Part of that includes making sure that you'll pay the same rent as the last tenants who rented out your unit. Per the party's platform, the NDP plans to create a portable housing benefit to help over 300,000 households pay their rent and cover costs for other necessities that they can't afford.

When it comes to minimum wage, Horwath said that they will bump the rates up to $20 an hour by the end of their four-year term in 2026. But, the raise will start immediately in the fall when it will go up to $16 per hour, Horwath said.

On top of this, the Ontario NDP plans to introduce a four-day workweek pilot project to Ontario that will be implemented for one year for some of Ontario's workers. They also plan to legislate 10 permanent personal emergency leave days for everyone and extend the Staycation tax credit for another two years.

"We're definitely going to be taking some stress off of people's pocketbooks on a number of fronts," Horwath said and brought up the issue that some Ontarians can't pay for their car insurance anymore.

"They can't pay their insurance bills. That and of course, depending on where they live, it's even worse."

Horwath explained that they plan to end postal code discrimination so nobody is paying more for their bills because of where they live in the province.

"Once our plan is in place, and our plan is to reduce auto insurance rates by 40%, that will save $660 on average a year for a person that drives a car and is insured," Horwath said and added those in Brampton could see savings upwards of $2,000.

The Ontario NDPs have a few plans for how they will deal with COVID-19 and any other future pandemics that the province could face.

Horwath said that the NDP will launch a full public inquiry to see what went right, what went wrong, and what they could do better next time Ontario sees itself in this position so they can make sure they are prepared.

But on top of that, Horwath wants to tackle the province's "massively underfunded health care system."

"Hospital budgets were squeezed, beds were closed, and that's got to be reversed. So our plan not only includes doing that homework around the public inquiry, but getting rid of Bill 124 which is the low wage policy, funding our hospitals properly, [and] making sure we're recruiting, retaining, and returning some of the health care workers that have fled their profession because they were burnt out," Horwath said.

On the topic of climate change, Horwath explained that they will implement a retrofit plan that will make sure anything that's built meets energy efficiency standards. The Green New Democratic deal will also create thousands upon thousands of jobs, Horwath said, so when the province transitions to a net-zero economy, Ontarians can have well-paying jobs that can pay the bills.

"It's a plan that we call Our Plan for Climate, Jobs and Justice because [...] we need to tackle the climate crisis in partnership with Indigenous peoples and acknowledging that some people, members of Black communities, racialized communities, Indigenous communities, low-income communities often pay the highest price when it comes to these kinds of initiatives, so we have a cap and trade program that we will reintroduce," Horwath said.

Per the party's platform, this cap-and-trade program guarantees that big corporate polluters pay for their emissions and makes sure that at least 25% of the revenue goes to support these groups who are disproportionately impacted by the carbon pricing.

The NDP also plans to resolve drinking water advisories so everyone has access to safe drinking water, and promises to ban all non-medical single-use plastics by the end of their term.

On the topic of health care, Horwath shared the many plans that they have to bring a variety of benefits to Ontarians.

"So, we're going to bring a funded dental plan into Ontario so that everybody, immediately with a household income under $90,000 annually, is going to be able to access free dental care," Horwath explained.

"Then, within two years we'll be able to cover everybody under $200,000 annual income and that'll make a big difference for people."

On top of that, the NDP promises to provide universal prescription drug coverage for Ontarians, which even includes completely covering the costs of birth control provided under OHIP.

Horwath added that the NDP's plan will also help all Ontarians access mental health care services.

"Our plan enables you to get your mental health supports, your counselling, your therapy with your OHIP card instead of a credit card," Horwath said.

"It also boosts up the number of people available to provide that counselling, because we're going to be training people, at the government costs, training social workers and nurses and family docs and people like that, who could provide those services if they had the extra credentials, and so we want to boost up capacity as well. And I'm excited about that."

Horwath touched on what the NDP plans to do to help curb the costs of rising gas prices in the province, as well as what they have in mind for Ontario's transit systems.

"Everybody knows what it's like when that long weekend is coming and there's one coming in May and the gas prices start to creep up," Horwath said. "Or you're driving somewhere in rural Ontario or northern Ontario, and you think, 'Okay, well I'm gonna gas up now because you know gas prices will probably be the same and you get two towns over and the gas prices are like five cents cheaper."

To combat that, they are going to regulate gas prices because Horwath said it's a "permanent solution."

"[Oil and gas companies] can't gouge us on long weekends, or when there's a sunny forecast coming. It's highway robbery and we're going to stop it," Horwath said.

Part of the NDP's Green New Democratic deal focuses on mass transit systems that will build inter-regional transit systems throughout the province.

"One of the pieces that we have is uploading 50% of the operating costs in transit to give that ability for the municipalities to really beef up their transit systems in a way that's affordable to their communities," Horwath said.

"It's not a gimmick. It's a sustainable long-term plan to really support local transit systems, and everybody knows the minute you start increasing fares, ridership goes down, and we shouldn't be doing that."

Per the party's platform, the NDP will make sure transfers between GO services and local transit services like TTC are available at no extra cost.

Horwath used the last few minutes of the interview to really stress the importance of the upcoming elections.

"Ultimately, I think that the election that we have is an election where there's a lot at stake. COVID has shown us that there's a lot broken in Ontario," Horwath said.

On top of this, Horwath reiterated that the NDP will be working for the interests of the people, like addressing the issues of affordability and our health care system.

"Health care and education are absolute priorities, making life more affordable, making sure people have jobs to pay the bills, and taking the pinch out of your pocket with things like mental health care, dental care, prescription drugs, and increasing minimum wage," Horwath said.

To learn more about the NDP of Ontario's election promises, check out their campaign platform.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Go here to read the rest:

7 Reasons Why Andrea Horwath Wants You To Vote NDP In Ontario's Election - Narcity Canada

STEALTH is building 1000 companies that are going to change the world forever.

STEALTH is aiming to reinvent the way we learn, work, and play and redesigning the constructs of a new society with a portfolio of companies in AI, VR, Media, Fashion, Wellness, CleanTech, EdTech, and a slew of complementary businesses for the new Metaverse.

Our companies have been voted Best, Top or Most Innovative and Featured in over 50 lists. Heres an introduction to a few of them.

HARD SHIVER is a publishing house that has released 6 books and 10 Albums.

Book Soundtracks are created using C3POE Audio. C3POE Immersive Audiobook Technology can turn any book into an audiobook. Not just any ordinary audiobook claims CEO Ali Sina, this is Immersive PoetryTheater of the Mind for a new age!

C3POE is not only disruptive, its lightning fast. Theyve completed 10 albums in 10 weeks with hopes to get the conversion time down to a few hours an album.

Protagonist Art is an NFT Art gallery with 3 exhibits and over 200 originally minted NFTs.

Olly Olly Oxen Free is a new era production company, creating content for the competing streaming platforms. With a pipeline of 100 projects in a multitude of different genres, Olly Olly functions as a content factory essential for any brand in a digital age.

Olly Olly has created 9 commercials and their first official release, RAGE is streaming on Youtube.

Protagonist Art and Olly Olly are collaborating to make the first ever NFT movie.

STARTUP X is a popular online Startup School. Short online courses teach everyday people how to launch their ideas and turn them into profitable enterprises. Startup X is gamified to keep you engaged with teaching techniques customized to help you better absorb the material. And its fast; made for the modern world.

This is the first school of a series of academies that the STEALTH team envision will supplant a crumbling, out-of-date and improbably expensive college education system. 5000 Students and counting.

Neon White is a modern design studio that captures, influences and fuses the culture of today with the products of tomorrow. Weve designed everything from album covers and movie posters to brand new tech and consumer products.

Forkaia is a one of a kind Work Experience platform that has helped thousands of college students gain work experience, get into grad school and land the jobs they want. The workplace is rapidly changing; remote work has emerged as the new norm. Forkaia has always believed that the Future of Education is Experiential and the Future of Work is Remote so they created a virtual, interactive learning platform that provides college students with a multi-faceted online working experience.

With limitless access to industry mentors, innovation labs, incubators, think tanks and technology to help students unlock their full potential; theres truly nothing that exists like Forkaia. They have collected over 1000 testimonials.

Rise Capital is a Bitcoin & Crypto Asset Investment Fund. Managed by Amadeus One, a built-in crypto Robo-Advisor, RC holds a cryptocurrency portfolio of various digital coins, NFTs and investments in a multitude of blockchain companies.

Round Z is a Robinhood for Startup Investing so you can make money before companies go public. With one dollar, you can invest in 100 startups.

Launchpad is a Talent Agency and Career Accelerator platform that helps college students launch their careers. Launchpad believes college students deserve better tools to assist them in their career journey. So they built a vast ecosystem of talent, tools and resources to help them prosper. Over 500 fellows have successfully landed jobs at Google, Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, LinkedIn, etc.

FASCIA is an AI research and Deployment company with a goal to advance digital intelligence to improve human existence and move humanity forward. Their mission is to crack the ASI code. They want to build an AI that can outperform humans at our most economically valuable work so people can free up their time to focus on new ways of finally moving the human race forward. FASCIA aims to solve planetary-scale problems in areas where humanity is failing and there is no obvious solution today. The FASCIA Teams research focus is on basic income, the future of work and education, building new cities, anthropogenic climate change, gene therapy, life extension, braincomputer interfaces and mind uploading. FASCIA believes what theyre working on will result in products and services that are hard to imagine today.

INSOLAR is making the world greener everyday with an innovative online solar adoption platform that makes buying solar simple and affordable. Their cost plus model is a hit; solar shoppers are seeing up to 50% savings. With cheaper and more accessible solar panels, more people can switch to sustainable energy alternatives. INSOLARs SaaS platform is also helping solar companies close more deals, faster and cheaper. Weve transacted well over 1000 successful residential and commercial solar installations and have 3000 reps on our platform.

mooVRoom (Cinema 4D) is the theater of the future with an aim to give moviegoers the ultimate cinematic experience. So you can enter a movie instead of just watching it.

Side Hustle is a Smartphone App for side money gigs. But the gigs are customized, and they come to you. No more browsing. There are currently 1500 freelancers on our platform.

STEALTH has also built a career accelerator that nurtures, trains, and manages a new type of talent the Business Athlete. BAM (Business Athlete Mode) is a health and wellness brand that doubles as a new kind of Athleisure Apparel company: Business Athletics.

We believe AI will transform everything so we are preparing people for these changes with BAM Talent, where the worlds greatest resources in a soon-to-be AI-driven world (young, talented human brains) will be trained, drafted, managed, compensated and placed (traded) where they may maximize the application of their skills for the betterment of humanity as a whole.

And PANDA is a Plug N Play Startup Platform that makes it easy for anyone to bring their ideas to market. So far weve helped 15 founders launch their businesses.

STEALTHs companies span across multiple sectors including TMT, EdTech, Clean Energy, NFTs, Crypto, health and fitness, BCI, VR, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. Digital ecosystems, Future of work and education, new work paradigms, immersive learning; the teams at STEALTH like new ideas and pushing boundaries. They claim to have some of the most talented humans on the planet working on the most interesting, challenging and groundbreaking projects by breaking the limits of whats conventionally thought impossible.

So whos funding all of this? How much has Stealth raised from investors?

Zero, says STEALTH Founder and CEO Ali Sina, Ive invested my own savings. When asked about future fundraising plans Sina says, I dont think well need it. Our companies are doing well, if we need more money well just sell more products. Im a firm believer in bootstrapping because it forces companies to develop organically instead of synthetically juicing them up with cash so Im not a big fan of the current VC landscape. Were the only VC not only steroids. So were never in a rush.

STEALTH says theyre going to keep building companies whenever inspiration strikes.

STEALTH Founder and CEO Ali Sina says Artificial Intelligence will change the world more than electricity and the internet have, combined. He continues, Deep learning will learn to do everything humans can, thus transforming the workplace by automating a sweeping array of human activity. At STEALTH, were building companies that will reshape work and education to meet the nature, speed, and dynamics of these changes and rethinking the role and purpose of human workers in an age of informational abundance, process automation, and machine autonomy.

STEALTHs mission is to destroy the conventions, rules, and orders of the past that are no longer sustainable and make space for something new. We like using AI to improve life on this planet and make it more interesting. While Billionaires are racing to leave the planet Mr. Sina says, were building the future, here on Earth.

Media ContactCompany Name: STEALTHContact Person: Ali Sina (Founder and CEO of STEALTH)Email: Send EmailPhone: (310) 994-1511Country: United StatesWebsite: http://www.stealth1000.com

The rest is here:

STEALTH is reinventing the way humans Learn, Work and Play. - Digital Journal

Are you exhausted even on your free days? Is your mind perpetually tired? Do you prioritize your mental health enough? By asking about prioritizing mental health, I mean, does your day-to-day behavior project that you care about your mental health?

Sometimes it is not the world, but we are the ones who drain our own mental health. Perhaps, because of the amount of toxicity we absorb on an everyday basis, or maybe because we are trapped in the loop of our unhealthy habits.

If you're wondering how is this possible, here is the list of 12 unhealthy habits that drain your mental health. Stating the obvious but if you are doing this to yourself, please stop now for your own good.

How many times have you and your smartphone been in different rooms? The truth is that we hardly ever keep our smartphones away from us. We carry our cellphones everywhere. Some of us even carry them to the loo. Some even have the habit of unlocking and locking the phone every few minutes. Our dependency on our mobile phones is scary.

And if I speak of social media, there is so much toxicity out there that pollutes our minds every day. Somebody is uploading questionable content, somebody is spreading hate while somebody else is getting trolled. Social media is filled with meaningless posts and videos that grip you in this mad frenzy of scrolling online. You must know if you are that somebody who overuses their smartphone. And if you do, then it would be better to cut yourself some slack and take frequent breaks.

A fractured sleep cycle is another alarming sign that you are not taking your mental or physical health seriously. An exhausted body and a drained mind won't do you any good. Your to-do list will keep on piling up with unfinished tasks which are never going to be completed with efficiency. If you know how your body functions with dearth of sleep, then try giving your body what it wants for once. If you are wondering how to sleep, try keeping your phone away and closing your eyes. Even that would work. Just get the rest you deserve.

If you are an active couch potato relentlessly binging on Netflix without getting any air, you're risking your mental equilibrium. Being a couch potato is detrimental to both mental as well as physical health. You need to get some air, meet some people, and travel the world to rejuvenate your body and mind. Sitting in one place for hours will suffocate your thoughts and push you into a laid-back lifestyle. We honestly don't need it in our lives.

We know that we should not judge the book by its covers. Life on the outside and life on the inside is almost always opposite. Another point to note is that all of us function at our unique pace. So, somebody can be a millionaire at the age of 20. But, it does not mean we are any less. We need to stop comparing our lives with the life of others who come from different backgrounds and operate in different contexts.

Nothing in this world is perfect. Nobody is flawless. When we know this, then we need to stop obsessing over perfectionism. We need to stop holding ourselves accountable for every minor thing. We are all beautifully flawed. Also, it is only through mistakes that we learn. Why fret over something that is completely normal?

Our brains need a breather. Work-o-holism is not as cool in real life. It is unhealthy. A person needs family time, friends time, and me-time to navigate life. You cannot possibly be forcing yourself to sit behind the screens every day and expect yourself to have good mental health. When your working hours are over, just close the laptop and go out for a walk. You are paid for a certain amount of time. Stick to it and do not exhaust your minds every single day.

This one is a bummer. Get out of a toxic relationship. No amount of feelings or intimacy is worth a person who is perpetually toxic and radiating the same upon you. We have enough things to deal in our life than a partner who adds to our burdens.

All of us think about our past and why not. Our past is why we are here now. However, if your mind is constantly grappling with thoughts of could-haves and what-ifs of people and situations from the past and you forget to live in the present, you are draining yourself. Past is dead, it doesn't exist anymore. We cannot afford to live our life in hindsight. We need to let go.

Yes, we need to be there for our loved ones. But not at the cost of our own mental sanity. If you are surrounded by friends who are forever pessimists, and they project the same negativity upon you, get out. Friendships should not be parasitic. If we constantly overwhelm ourselves with the negativity of others, our own thoughts become self-deprecatory and self-destructive.

Our thoughts and emotions need an outlet for expression. Piling up emotions and then exploding one random day is not healthy for us. Feelings should be expressed and conveyed, if need be, to lighten up the head. Freewriting thoughts and emotions on a piece of paper has also proven to be very therapeutic. The idea is that burying feelings and suppressing emotions would induce stress and should not be done.

Sometimes, it's not them, it's us. We cannot blame others for our own plight always. At some point in time, we will have to become accountable to ourselves and bring change within to evolve for good. We must stop the blame game.

Nobody has seen the future. It is yet to come. The uncertainty of what is coming is indeed overwhelming, but we cannot afford to be preoccupied with the thoughts of something that may or may not happen. We need to understand that thoughts about the past and future will always try to tear us apart, but we cannot let the present dissolve.

If you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or anxious, please reach out to your family or seek professional help.

Read more here:

12 Unhealthy Habits That Drain Your Mental Health & You Must Stop Now - ScoopWhoop

Videography is the best partner for every adventure. Travel photography blogs and vlogs are great sources of inspiration. Both for travelling around the world and the photography that comes with it. They can provide useful tips and destination ideas as well. and here some tips for travel and photography lovers provided by the travel blogger Sam Freij.

Travel videography and photography are considered as basic element of travel blog. Travel bloggers from all over the world use to share some photos and videos which they capture during their travel. And thats how they relate to their blog! How it comes if those photos and videos are high quality ones, really worked on and taken by the best lenses ever!

Choosing equipment for shooting is another difficult task. If you ask the opinion of experts, which is thebest camera for video, you will get many options. After years in the market, and after trying out different tools and ways to take photos and videos while traveling, I prepared these tips to ease the work for you travel and photography lovers. Sam Freij.

Best current video and photo mobile phone

Its the iPhone 13 Pro due to its size and the three large cameras setup. The Pro camera system gets its biggest upgrade ever. With next-level hardware that captures so much more detail. Super intelligent software for new photo and filmmaking techniques. And a mind-blowingly fast chip that makes it all possible. Itll change the way you shoot.

It makes you utilize the sunlight to your advantage always test with several shots to understand how sunlight impacts your final content

Keep your camera lens clean, carry a mini microfiber lens wipe with at all times

When uploading connect to Instagram take your time to edit exposure, warmth, vibrancy and definition prior to upload

Go Instagram settings and allow or enable high quality uploads in order to capture higher post engagement

Explore DJI Gimbal a stabilizer for image that you can mount your iPhone on for major image enhancement connects to your iPhone via Bluetooth IOS app

DJI Gimbal is an amazing technology that was and still used in Hollywood film making.

Sam said once, Keep in mind, you do not have to invest into a super high dollar camera like Canon or Olympus in order to generate awesome content for social media.

Media ContactCompany Name: KOSAWADA AGENCYContact Person: Jinan FahesEmail: Send EmailPhone: 0097470715766Country: United StatesWebsite: http://www.kosawadapanel.com

Read more from the original source:

Tips for travel and photography lovers with Sam Freij - Digital Journal

POV: youre at breakfast, order an omelette and fruit and when the bill comes, you see its $150. Thats what happened to travel influencer Tania Loves on her recent trip to Tulum.

Tania took toTik Tok with a video of the meal, explaining that although her budget was $50, but she ended up spending $150 on a breakfast she thought was 150 pesos.

Ive been here for quite some time since 2020, and my experience has been whether Im entering a boutique or a local restaurant, all the prices are always in pesos, explained Tania.

She went on to say, But when we got inside this place, the menu wasnt uploading and they didnt have a physical copy. They pretty much described the breakfast to us, and were like oh itll be fruit and an omelette.

Drinks were not included in the breakfast, so Tania had to pay for those separately. She thought that since breakfast was only 150 pesos, coffee would most likely be another 55 pesos. That is, until her friend asked, Its pesos right, not US?

After going back and forth with the chef, the chef went to the owners and managers about people complaining. Tania said, So I guess we werent the only ones to experience this. So for me, it was the lack of transparency, I feel like if you know what the price will be, just announce it, and then let people make informed decisions.

She did share that the service was amazing, despite the price point. I dont mind paying but the value Im getting has to be worth itnot eggs and fruit.

So next time youre traveling, be sure to verify the price because those eggs and fruit just may be more costly than you think.

Related: Worlds Most Expensive Cities For Expats In 2020 Revealed

Here is the original post:

Travel Influencer Takes To TikTok After Being Charged $150 For Eggs And Fruit In Tulum Restaurant - Travel Noire

American rock band Bon Jovi recently closed their 2022 tour and founder, frontman andsinger Jon Bon Jovis voice has sparked concern amongst fans as many notice some sort of change.

Videos shared from a recent concert appear to show the rock legend struggling to perform some of his biggest hits and numerous supporters worry that the star may have lost his voice, while others seem to think his vocals have stayed the same.

English musician and YouTube personalityJustin Hawkins voiced his opinion and issued a warning in a recent video posted online, suggesting that he should stop performing immediately.

Find out what exactly Hawkins had to say and explore various responses from social media users.

60-year-old Jon Bon Jovi has a legendary, classic rock voice but it seems as though his vocals have recently been receiving intense criticism and concern, especially following the bands recent US tour dates.

Bon Jovi has been touring across the American South throughout April and many fans have been uploading videos that show the lead singer seemingly struggling with his vocals.

A Justin Hawkins Rides Again YouTube video titled Whats Wrong With His Voice?! was uploaded on 3rd May 2022, in which the English singer gave his expert opinion on what is going on with Jon Bon Jovis voice.

Hawkins suggests that the singer is experiencing a temporary problem with his vocals, adding that it sounds like hes super tired and proposing the idea of therapy:

It sounds like something hes gonna need some therapy with actually talk to somebody and try and coax the performances back out.

The content creator clarifies that, in his opinion, the artists voice may not develop permanent damage:

It doesnt sound to me like theres damage in there. Im not a doctor but Ive experienced voice problems before. And to hold a note with it being off-key suggests some pitching issues that might be to do with hearing as well.

Hawkins described Jon Bon Jovi as a great singer, explaining that this sounds like something is eating away at him from the inside.

The YouTuber finalised his opinion-based video with the statement:

I feel like the people around him need to tell him to stop.

A fan named @Jennife39481653 recently replied to a tweet from Bon Jovi by expressing their concerns for the lead singer:

Hope Jon gets his voice and pitch back. Hope its nothing serious.

Another user named @Alaskan_Gypsy suggested that Jon Bon Jovis voice problems could be caused by his previous battle with covid-19:

With all the speculation regarding Jon @BonJovis voice, why has no one suggested that his long battle with covid-19 likely caused this. His tonal quality has completely changed. No doubt in my mind its the result of COVID-19.

On the other hand, a Twitter user named @Christo59932098 counteracted the concerns in their comment which advised the artist not to take any notice of the media about his voice:

They have to realise weve had a pandemic and you have not been able to tour. To me, your voice great as ever.

BridTV

9946

Zero Contact | Official Trailer

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/T5Vj9r3AfJ0/hqdefault.jpg

1010592

1010592

center

13872

In other news, Azealia Banks takes a jab at Lady Gaga in recent tweets

Read more here:

People ask what happened to Jon Bon Jovis voice as Justin Hawkins issues warning - HITC - Football, Gaming, Movies, TV, Music