Category Archives: Mind Uploading

Earlier this year marked the25th anniversary of the airing of The Inner Light, an episode of Star Trek The Next Generation that focused on the brain and the adaptability of the human mind. It may be time to add it to the expanding list offuturistic developments forecast by the iconic television series.

Indeed, our growing understanding of how memories are formed is pushing us toward a day when well be able to scrub disturbing memories from our minds, or even replace them with experiences and skills that would normally take years to learn.

The television episode deals with what happens after the USS Enterprise encounters an alien probe in deep space, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) finds himself on a planet with a humanoid civilizationknown to have gone extinct 1,000 years earlier. The starship commander spends some six decades in his new environment, gradually embracing his new life. He becomes a community leader, a father and grandfather, and a virtuoso on the native flute. Over time, he mourns the death of a close friend and then his wife. He also copes with the reality that the planets changing climate will deny his grandchildren a full life. None of this, however, is real.

After seeing a space probe launch the very probe that the Enterprise encountered in space Picard wakes up on the Enterprise bridge. What felt like 60 years in Picards mind actually transpired over the course of just 25 minutes, during which he appeared to be in coma. The probe was carrying a rather uniquemessage it consisted of the experience of being part of the dying civilization.

Neural interface technology had packed 60 years-worth of experiences into Picards brain, and not just images of people and events. Inside the probe was a Kataanian flute, and Picard was able to play it with the expertise that he had developed in his simulated life. Imagine getting an upload of a new talent or skill into your brain as easily as uploading a computer file.

Could we develop a similar capability? That may depend heavily upona handful of ambitious attempts at brain-computer interfacing. But science is moving in baby steps with other tactics in both laboratory animals and humans.

Thus far, there have beensome notable achievementsin rodent experiments, that havent doen so well withhumans. We dont have a beam that can go into your mind and give you 60 years worth of new experiences. Nevertheless, the emerging picture is that the physical basis of memory is understandable to the point that we should be able to intervene both in producing and eliminating specific memories.

At MITsCenter for Neural Circuit Genetics, for example, scientists have modified memories in mice using an optogenetic interface. This technology involves genetic modification of tissues, in this case within the brain, to express proteins that respond to light. Triggered by implants that deliver laser beams, brain cells can be triggered to be more or less active. In research that has been published in the prestigious journal Nature, the MIT team used the approach in specific brain circuits important to memory consolidation. The researchers wereable to enhance the development of negative memories for instance a shock given to an animals leg and also to covert those negative memories into positive memories. The latter was achieved by letting male mice enjoy some time with females, while nerve cells that usually deliver the negative impulses associated with the former shock were stimulated through the optogenetic interface.

In humans, work with memory modification has involved N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, which function like little doors for positive ions to move through the membranes that surround neurons. NMDA receptors are affected by glutamate, a neurotransmitter whose effect on the NMDA receptors is enhanced by an antiobiotic called D-cycloserine (DCS). When this happens in an area of the brain called the amygdala, memory consolidation (the stabilization of newly developing memories) is strengthened. Researchers have thus found that DCS can increase effectiveness of whats called exposure therapy, if given within a few hours before commencement of each therapy session. Used to treat anxiety disorders, exposure therapy involves the intentional exposure ofpatientsto the thing that provokes their anxiety. If you fear snakes, for example, the therapist will will show you a snake, from a distance at first. Eventually, you will be asked to hold the snake. The implication of the research is that DCS improves the learning that removes the anxiety in exposure therapy, which also should have implications for other therapies that work based on learning and formation of new memories and associations

Theoretically, [DCS should] facilitate learning processes, so if you can use it to facilitate extinction learning, thats got fantastic clinical implications, noted Mark Bouton, PhD, a University of Vermont professor of psychology was quoted in a review from the American Psychological Association.

But using drugs like DCS could be really tricky, requiring precise adherence to very specific timing and dosage that could vary significantly depending on the clinical setting and even between patients. A 2012study, for example, on patients with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) found that DCS actually made things worse.

The same is true when researchers try to exert the opposite effect on memory by way of the NMDA receptors, namely blunt memory consolidation. The agent under study in this case is xenon gas, an anesthetic used in humans. When given to laboratory animals within an hour after after a traumatic event, xenon blocks the memory consolidation that can lead to long-term trauma equivalent to PTSD in humans. Exercise and nutritional factors also play roles in blocking the processes that make psychological trauma worse.

So what we have here is an immature, but real, tool bag of agents that can help and inhibit formation of long-term memory. But it is very incomplete and must work in concert with outside factors includingpsychotherapy or the experiences of ones life. Still, given the rapid development of virtual reality technology its not hard to see thatsupplying theouter stimuli we may very well be toward a time when were able to manage the brains memories.

David Warmflash is an astrobiologist, physician and science writer. BIO. Follow him on Twitter @CosmicEvolution.

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Our brains as hard drives could we delete, modify or add memories and skills? - Genetic Literacy Project

Last updated13:36, August 9 2017

The pictures you post on social media could offer clues into the state of your mental health, according to new research.

Just short of 44,000Instagramimages were examined in a study of 166 people, who were also asked questions about their history of mental health.

Filters, if used at all, prevalence of coloursand how many comments and likes each post received were examined.

Those who had depression typically posted images with darker hues and had fewer faces in their posts. They were also less likely to use filters when editing and uploading photos.

LEV DOLGACHOV/123RF

What you're sharing - or not sharing - on Instagram can offer insight into your mental health state.

READ MORE: *How to useInstagramand Snapchat on a computer *Instagramis the worst social network for young people's mental health *How much cash could you make with yourInstagram?

"When depressed participants did employ filters, they most disproportionately favoured the 'Inkwell' filter, which converts colour photographs to black-and-white images," the authors wrote in the paper published in the journal EPJ Data Science.

Healthy participants favoured the Valencia filter, which lightens the photo.

Chris Danforth

Images with the Valencia filter are likely to be used by those with sound mental health.

For people with depression,theirworld-view is often darker, they added, which could explain the photo filters they tended to choose. Those with a more positive frame of mind posted more frequently.

The researchers were eventually able to create an algorithm that could determine whether or not an Instagramuser would have depression. It had a 70 per cent success rate.

The algorithm studied people with similar qualities, like the fact theywere active on social media and willing to submit information on their mental health, making it difficult to know if it could be applied to the average user.

Chris Danforth

Images with darker hues are more likely to be shared by those suffering depression.

Study author and University of VermontComputational Story Lab co-director Chris Danforth told The Huffington Post:"It shows some promise to the idea that you might be able to build a tool like this to get individuals help sooner".

"The end goal of this would be creating something that monitors a person's voice, how they're moving around and what their social network looks like all the stuff we already reveal to our phones," he said.

"Then that could give doctors a ping to check in or at least some insight. Because maybe there's something going on that even the individual doesn't recognise about their behaviour."

Where to get help:

Lifeline (open 24/7) 0800 543 354

Depression Helpline (open 24/7) 0800 111 757

Kidsline (open 24/7) 0800 543 754. This service is for children aged 5 to 18. Those who ring between 4pm and 9pm on weekdays will speak to a Kidsline buddy. These are specially trained teenage telephone counsellors.

-Stuff

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How Instagram posts reveal whether you have depression: study - Stuff.co.nz

YouTube star Joey Graceffa, with his upswept mane, arched eyebrows and just a glint of madness in his eyes was a natural choice to play the enigmatic host of YouTube Red original series Escape the Night, a mega-collab in which a famous cast member gets killed off each week.

Now in the middle of the season 2 run, Graceffa said he had even more fun the second time around with Escape the Night (for which he also served as executive producer) while continuing to pump out daily comedy vlogs for the 8 million-plus subscribers on his YouTube channel.

Graceffa, whose audience skews three-fourths female and is largely between the ages of 13 and 25, has evolved his YouTube material to keep with the zeitgeist while avoiding controversies that can stir up internet trolls and unwanted publicity. I kind of like to stay out of the drama, he says. I feel like if youre in the drama, yeah, it will get you attention now but that will fade.

And the multihypenate recently added another title: young-adult novelist. Elites of Eden, the second book in his dystopian trilogy, will be released Oct. 3, 2017. The first book in the series, Children of Eden, debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times Best Sellers young-adult hardcover list in October 2016 and remained on the chart for 10 weeks.

Graceffa, 26, sat down with Varietyto talk about his life as a YouTuber, his dream of turning the Eden books into movies, how he manages social media, and his expanding line of merchandise (including nail polish). An edited transcript:

Where do you see yourself in your career right now? I think the cool thing about being a YouTuber is that fact that you arent limited to anything. I mean, you can put your own limits on yourself Im one of the people that doesnt. My channel is a variety of all sorts of things. Its constantly evolved, and I think thats how Ive stayed relevant on the platform for so long, because Im constantly changing what Im doing. Currently, right now, I think its so cool I get to do fun, crazy stuff on my channel daily, but I can also do big projects like Escape the Night with YouTube Red. I think thats where my true passion lies: being a creative, and creating big worlds and stories, and seeing them come to life.

How did you start the Children of Eden book series? Its something that I have had in my mind for a few years. It started as a short film idea. So I had it all in my head; it was just a matter of getting it down. Its just been really cool to start with a small scene, and slowly build up this world, and Ive just finished the second book [Elites of Eden]. Its crazy to think I have one of these out in the world after being an avid reader of the genre in my teenage years. YouTubes allowed me to create this universe that I hope will be able to be turned into a movie like Hunger Games and The Maze Runner and Divergent thats the goal with that, and where I kind of where I want to see myself go.

What happens in the third book?Well, I havent started that. [Laughs] Im still working on it! As Im creating this, its all as if its a movie. I see things very visually. When I sit down, I can just imagine a scene taking place and I trust my instinct.

Have you pitched the books to studios? Not really. Were kind of going the route of trying to attach a producer or a writer, someone I can take with me into these meetings. Its kind of in the beginning phases.

Would you star in it? Id have a role in it, just because I have a love for acting. But its mostly just the creating. I dont mind having other actors play the main characters, as long as I get to have a small little part.

What was your original career goal? Obviously this has been evolving over the years. Before this was even a possibility to be a career, I wanted to go the traditional route of maybe being an actor or being in film somehow. Slowly, I just started to realize that what Im doing is what I love. And why am I trying to go out and attain something that maybe was the mentality of a few years ago of what was the thing to want. After realizing that, I kind of homed in on my channel, and figuring out what I love to do without having to go out and wish for things. And just make them happen myself.

Right after you came out [in 2015], you talked about your concern beforehand about revealing your sexual orientation publicly you said, The internet is full of trolls and haters. Do you still think thats the case? Maybe theyre still there but I just dont see them. YouTube has some tools, you can block out certain comments. I never really see it on Twitter. Of course, when youre a little controversial online, thats when the strangers find you and thats when the hate comes. I think right now Im in a place where I just really have the people who have found me are looking at me, and Im not getting a lot of outside attention from strangers from me acting wild, or being a crazy YouTuber and causing controversy and being problematic. I kind of like to stay out of the drama. I feel like if youre in the drama, yeah, it will get you attention now but that will fade.

How is season 2 of Escape the Night different from the first one? Oh, my gosh. We learned so much from the first season, the second season we could make bigger and better. It was just a bigger production. We also have a great cast this seasontheres a lot more lighthearted moments, because we have such a comedic cast. We have Liza Koshy, the Gabbie Show, and Tyler Oakley who gave so many funny moments. We didnt take ourselves so seriously. Season one was more like murder-mystery vibe; this is more like a group escape.

Who are some YouTubers you would love to get for season 3 of Escape the Night? Well, I havent gotten the OK for season three. [Laughs] But there are a few people I really, really would love. I would love Jenna Marbles I dont know, I dont want to put it out there! Its tough, its a big ask for YouTubers to dedicate the time. Its five days filming straight with night shoots although, if you get killed off the show, you dont have to stay all five days.

How has it done for your brand?For me personally, its opened me up to a newer audience. Just because with all the marketing YouTube is throwing at it. The show is almost like a giant collaboration. With 10 YouTubers, theyre all bringing their audience to the show. Since it lives on my channel, they have to subscribe to get notified, so that was a benefit to me. The first couple days [after Escape the Night season 2 premiered in June], I think I got 100,000 subscribers within the first two days of when it launched.

YouTube is your main platform. How do you think of other platforms in terms of reaching audience?Its day to day, I post daily. Its almost like a routine. Throughout my day, Ill post on Instagram Stories, and Ill throw to my most recent video. I dont use SnapchatIll use the filters and put it on Instagram, but I dont really use the platform. Facebook Ill use just to promote videos. Twitter is really my main place to connect with my audience. They all have their own unique purpose.

Why arent you on Snapchat? Just too much. I mean, Snapchat and Instagram stories are pretty much the same thing. Since I already use Instagram to post pictures, I dont knowits all too much. [Laughs]

How do you manage having to be constantly online? Do you take breaks, like, After 9 p.m., Im not checking anything? The only time its turned off is when Im sleeping. Thats my break. When I was on The Amazing Race [in 2013], I was forced to be disconnected. I had someone else working my social-media accounts for like a month, uploading my videos. I definitely had some moments when I really just wanted to check in. But I dont feel like Im too consumed with my social media. Im pretty good at keeping my phone down.

Would you want to do a network show like Amazing Race again? Yeah, if it fit well and they were open to my world on YouTube, and making sure I can keep that going.

You were a big presence at this years VidCon. How has it changed over the years? What do you like about it, and what do not like about?VidCon, the obvious thing is, its just gotten bigger and bigger. For me personally, its become more of a work thing as opposed to, Im going to go to this event to hang out with my friends, which is what it was the first few years. Its become so work-heavy, doing press, doing panels. Its always amazing to meet your viewers, and I love that part, but its still a business thing. I love going, and this year especially with having my face all over the outside of VidCon, I felt like I was the King of VidCon. But yeah, its work.

For your YouTube channel, where do you draw your ideas? Its a lot of researching YouTube and seeing whats going on, what are the trends, seeing someone elses ideas will inspire an original idea of mine. Its taking ideas from everywhere.

To what extent do you try to create trends? There was one I brought back: men wearing nail polish. I was one of the first guys to bring that back, maybe a year and half ago. It developed into my own line of nail polish, which has been really fun I never thought that would happen.

Any other merchandise? Yeah, it started with [Crystal Wolf] jewelry. Then its slowly growing, Im adding new things I have sunglasses, T-shirts, and pins. I just love wolves, and I love crystals, so: Crystal Wolf.

But you dont want to just push merch on people. Its definitely a delicate balance of not being too in their face. But you know, when I get excited about it, I just want to keep talking about it. So sometimes I feel I can be annoying but its coming from a genuine place because its my own excitement and love for my products.

Graceffa is repped by UTA and managed by Addition LLC.

Original post:

Q&A With Joey Graceffa: YouTube Showman, Dystopian Novelist, Nail Polish Thought-Leader - Variety

The designers say the app has been developed toimprove information gathering after an accident and speed up any subsequent claim.

UK software company Lightstone Systems has launched a new app that sends the details of a drivers motor accident directly to their broker in real time.

Called Mercury Incident Reporter, the app delivers information such as damage to vehicles, injuries, persons involved, witnesses and police attendance coupled with notes, photographs and video recordings direct to thebroker.

The information is stored on a cloud-based dashboard platform calledAurora.

According to the makers, to help and provide guidance to motorists at the time of an incident the app includes an automatic vehicle registration number lookup tool, address lookup, incident location pinpointing, uploading of dash-cam video and roadside recovery telephone number.

Easy Road traffic incidents can be stressful, often involving emergency services, witnesses and third parties, said Andrew Ayres, development lead at Lightstone.

With this in mind, we designed the Mercury app to be very easy to use, allowing the driver to gather quality data in whatever order is most convenient at the time. Weve also automated input wherever possible, to minimise the time and effort needed to collect data.

According to the firm, the appimproves information gathering, speeds up any subsequent claim and provides a powerful compliance tool for fleet customers.

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InsurTech Futures: App designed to notify brokers of motor accidents - Insurance Age

A picture of Hilary Duff in a bathing suit has gone viral after the 29-year-old actress called out body shamers.

Getty Images

Uploading a sweet snaps of her carrying her 5-year-old son, Luca, Duff wrote: "I am posting this on behalf of young girls, women, and mothers of all ages. I'm enjoying a vacation with my son after a long season of shooting and being away from him for weeks at a time over those months."

"Since websites and magazines love to share 'celeb flaws' - well I have them!", she contined. "My body has given me the greatest gift of my life: Luca, 5 years ago. I'm turning 30 in September and my body is healthy and gets me where I need to go."

"Ladies, lets be proud of what we've got and stop wasting precious time in the day wishing we were different, better, and unflawed. You guys (you know who you are!) already know how to ruin a good time, and now you are body shamers as well."

She closed the statement with "#kissmyass ".

This is not the first time Duff has used her social media as a platform for calling people out. Last year the actress was criticised by her followers for kissing her son - something she had zero time for.

She responded to haters by writing: "For anyone commenting that a kiss on the lips with my four year old (sic) is 'inappropriate' go ahead and click a quick unfollow with your warped minds and judgement."

We commend Hilary for speaking her mind and standing up for women - the more transparent celebrities are, the better.

More:

Hilary Duff's bathing suit picture was all over our Facebook this weekend & here's why - Glamour.com

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--If youre like most people, you probably wish you were better organized when it comes to your important financial and family documents. Where are last years tax filings? The familys birth certificates? Property titles? For many, the answer to these questions may be a somewhat less-than-resounding, somewhere in the filing cabinet...I think? Fortunately, summer is the perfect time of year to start doing something about this situation and the good news is, according to a recent survey conducted by online storage provider FidSafe, doing so can also bring with it greater peace of mind.

Whether it includes clearing out your bills and receipts, cleaning out closets of unnecessary clutter or sitting at your desk to prepare and organize your familys most important documents, the fact is that paperwork piles up over time, and every household could benefit from some much-needed springor summercleaning. According to the experts at FidSafe, locating and storing critical documents, such as a will, health care proxy, life insurance policies, tax filings, property titles, and marriage and birth certificates should be at the top of everyones to-do list; and it doesnt have to be complicated. The immediate benefit: taking action now can help ensure essential documents are easily accessible if and when you ever need them.

While getting organized is one project on most peoples checklist, many find the task overwhelming and put it off as a result, said Andrew Peterson, vice president and product manager for FidSafe, which offers a free electronic digital storage service that was introduced by retirement leader Fidelity Investments one year ago. FidSafe utilizes Fidelitys state-of-the-art technologies and security protocols to keep consumers information safe with two factor authentication and end-to-end data encryption. Furthermore, FidSafe users can designate one trusted person to receive access to their documents after they pass away.

FidSafe experts recommend breaking the task of organizing your financial life into five manageable steps:

The biggest benefit to getting your financial and family documents in order is the comfort youll find in knowing where your most important files are stored and that you have easy access to them, said Peterson. In fact, a recent survey of FidSafe users found that after uploading their essential documents to FidSafe, two out of three respondents felt more organized and better prepared to find critical documents in the event of an emergency1 . That enhanced peace of mind can be worth the time spent locating electronic versions of the documents and organizing them within FidSafe.

Looking for a place to store everything? FidSafe can help. Opening a FidSafe account is quick and easy. A mobile app, how-to tips, planning checklists, and informational videos are available online to guide consumers, who can upload documents to a FidSafe account using any home or office scanner or simply by taking a photo using a mobile device and then uploading it into FidSafe at a convenient time. All documents are kept private and confidential and only the owner of the account can choose when and how to share with family members or trusted advisors.

To demonstrate how easy FidSafe is to utilize, a graphic and short videos are available. FidSafe also allows individuals to:

For additional information on FidSafe, visit http://www.fidsafe.com.

About Fidelity Investments Fidelitys mission is to inspire better futures and deliver better outcomes for the customers and businesses we serve. With assets under administration of $6.2 trillion, including managed assets of $2.3 trillion as of June 30, 2017, we focus on meeting the unique needs of a diverse set of customers: helping more than 26 million people invest their own life savings, 23,000 businesses manage employee benefit programs, as well as providing more than 12,500 financial advisory firms with investment and technology solutions to invest their own clients money. Privately held for 70 years, Fidelity employs more than 40,000 associates who are focused on the long-term success of our customers. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit http://www.fidelity.com/about.

Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, RI 02917

810032.1.0 2017 FMR LLC. All rights reserved.

1 Online survey of 1,145 FidSafe users conducted October 24 November 8, 2016. Survey by XTRAC, LLC. for FidSafe.

Excerpt from:

Five Ways to Get Financially Organized This Summer | Business Wire - Business Wire (press release)

Instagram is a platform that has become famous due to photo sharing, but as of 2103 the platform also allows for shorts videos to be posted. This brings a whole other side to Instagram and users love it. They absolutely adore giving their friends and families quick updates through short videos. A combination of photo and video sharing options is considered the standard nowadays for all the platforms like Instagram, as people want as many options as possible when it comes to how they keep people updated about their life.

Are you interested in uploading videos to Instagram from your computer? If so, youve come to the right place as we are going to show you just how you can do that without having to pay for it. Keep in mind that using paid online services is definitely unnecessary simply because you can do it for free.

Why upload from PC?

Many might not understand why someone would want to upload to their Instagram from their computers, but its quite simple. The thing is, you might want to edit the video a little before posting it and the basic editing tools that Instagram provides just wont cut it. The solution in this case is to take your video through PC video editing software and give it the necessary touches. But what comes after that? Lets take a look and see.

All hail the almighty Dropbox

You might be familiar with Dropbox but in case you arent, its a service that allows you to store data on the cloud, which basically means online. So once you sign up with Dropbox, or another cloud storage service that offers Instagram support, upload the video to cloud then install the app to your phone as well.

Now, say youve uploaded your video to Dropbox and are now accessing your Dropbox from your mobile phone. Simply tap the video that you want to share and select the Export feature. From there, you should get a list of all the available options, sites or services that you can use to export the file. The file, in this case your video, can be exported to Instagram, thus sharing it on your Instagram profile.

So there you have it, a simple and easy way to upload more thought out and edited videos to Instagram from your PC. Its definitely a neat trick to know and it can get you out of a jam quite often.

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Uploading videos to Instagram How to do it from your PC without hassle - Blorge

In your speeches you always claim that the best investment is in yourself. Could you please elaborate on that?

We live in uncertain times that is the simple truth. The evolution of technology together with globalization has greatly impacted how we perceive our job and status in our current society. Living in the digital era is like nothing human beings have done before. Everything is changing rapidly around us and all of us must co-create our future in order to not only survive but thrive in these uncertain times. When uncertainty strikes, it is only the creative and adaptable people who will survive. These people will know to invest in themselves (in their education and in their image) and will be eager to work closely with technology. The futurist Thomas Frey predicted that 2 billion jobs will disappear by 2030 and freelancing will be the most profitable profession in the world. And our children will be technologically native to the point that they will not know how to survive without the internet. In such a context it is only natural that the ideas of the businesses of the future to receive a lot of heat. But the truth is, no matter how many people will like to call themselves futurist prophets, most have no idea what the future holds. Thus, your best asset is you and your best investment is in yourself.

Karina, you are a Brand Master. What does a personal brand represent for you?

Andy Warhol predicted correctly that in the future everyone will have their 15 minutes of fame. Andy's future is our now. And with the help of the internet, we can now (if we know how to) sell our products and services and share our message with anyone and everyone who is willing to listen. Did it seem to you that investing in yourselves, brand and image is too big investment? You think you cannot afford it? You cannot afford not having it. Because not having a well crafted online presence is equivalent of being dead. You cannot expect to market and promote as you did 7 years ago and wonder why it is not working. And the business of the future is called personal branding. A personal brand is an ensemble of elements (logo, motto, graphic elements, storyline, image and so on) well crafted in order to create a perception in the mind of your target customer with the intention of selling your products and services and becoming a status symbol.

Why would anyone need a personal brand?

Because people buy people. Just think about it. People buy products and services from someone they like and whom they trust. If Doctor Oz would suddenly move to your neighborhood, everybody will have an appointment. Why? Because people know him and feel that they can trust him. That is the power of a well constructed brand.

Because people do not know what you do until you tell them. Doctors for example, have no shame in showcasing their title in front of their name every time they have the chance. Why should not you do it if you are really good at something?

Because you have a brand even if you do not know it. It might not be a well crafted brand but it is there. Because as you form an opinion about with whom you interact with in real life, so do people form an opinion about you when they interact with your website (or lack of a website) or with any picture of any cousin or any interesting meal you post.

Creating your image as a celebrity expert in your field is crucial if you want to have a secure position as a professional in the future, because a secure image is something no company, no robot, no competitor can take away. And if you construct this brand well enough whether you are a coach, a consultant, entrepreneur, business person, writer, nutritionist, artist, singer or even a manager or a freelancer, you will reach a wider audience, you will be paid more than someone without a well constructed image. Being the CEO and Brand Master at KO by Karina Ochis, the next generation branding and marketing agency, as well as a best-selling author for the book Cracking the Code to Success, co-authored with Bryan Tracy (Chairman of Bryan Tracy International and world renowned development authority), in which I elaborate my formula on elite branding, I dedicated my life to studying these subjects and the people who became celebrity experts in their field.

Can you tell us a few tips and tricks that anyone can implement in their personal branding strategy?

1. Be authentic but do not over share

Telling your story and highlighting the struggles you overtake is one thing and constantly exposing your misfortune is another thing. It can take 20 years to build a reputation and only one wrong photo to ruin it. It can be easy in the internet age to get carried away by the moment to post something that seems like it benefits you short term, and in the long term would be completely disastrous. In my case, I would have gained a much bigger audience quicker, if I would have posted humoristic videos. But because I am a professional who builds a long lasting career and thinks about the long term consequences of the implications of my decisions, I will not do so.

2. Fact sells but story tells

In writing your story you need to be authentic, consistent and keep the story grounded in facts. Sure, you can write your story in a manner to best showcase your abilities, your philosophies and your achievements. However, the internet world is very transparent. Thus writing a fallacy will always be in your detriment for the long run.

A brand book comprises Brand Consultation, Brand Strategy and Visual Identity Handbook. Whatever the situation, you and your team should be able to refer to this brand book at any time to have a clear framework for your brand design and its implementation.

4. Do not have a static website?

When having a website became a trend, individuals as well as companies, had a tendency towards creating a website, uploading it on the internet and leaving it there. But merely having a website on the internet does not guarantee that you will sell more products and services, nor than people will know more about you. You grow as your business grows and implicitly, your website needs to grow together with you. A website is not something of a static nature that you upload once and then just leave it on the internet. It is your main branding and marketing vehicle and you have to upload it constantly with news, information, as well as with expert advice and your expert opinion on your field. Depending on your brand and on your field of activity you should post either every week or on a monthly basis. When you share your opinions and advices on a topic with your audience, when you are naturally perceived as the expert of your domain, and when you give actual real life advice to individuals, they will be more likely to contact you rather than your competition. For example on my blog, I regularly write about branding, entrepreneurship, leadership and lifestyle design, since I am both a coach and a speaker in these subjects.

How should one communicate their personal brand on social media?

You do not behave in the same manner at a football game as you do at the opera. In consequence you should not communicate on Facebook in the same manner you would communicate on Twitter. Every social media platform has its own style of communication and its own framework in which you have to share your story. It is up to each personal brand to figure out how to communicate with their target audience on each platform. Instagram for example is appropriate for showcasing a more personal side of yourself, in contrast to LinkedIn where you want to focus on your CV and on your professional activities. Facebook should play the role of you newspaper, where you aggregate all the main information about you: what you stand for, what your mission is, as well as your latest news. You need to familiarize yourself with the language and abbreviation of every platform, because you cannot speak in an impropriate manner on a platform and expect great results.

What is trending right now when it comes to personal branding?

Documenting is the new marketing. When you build an authentic brand, one that is true to you and to who you are, you can be transparent with your journey. The time of overly creating content is slowly and gradually fading away. Personal branding and marketing is going to be all about documenting your journey and your professional activities.

What do you wish everyone would know about personal branding before they start the branding process?

Firstly, DIY is not always the best option. Not all personal brands are created equal. I am always baffled by how people are willing to invest enormous amounts of money on universities, but when is time to pay for a logo that represents themselves, they try to find the cheapest option. Remember - your brand book, logo and your brand pictures, reflect who you are in the digital world. If you think about it, your website is like your office and your social media is like your car. Sure, there are things you can do yourself and there are things that you should not try to do yourself. That is why, when you build a house, you call an architect.

Secondly, your time will come. Strong personal brands are built in time. Dont expect to be an overnight success. You need to build a strong foundation that you can easily expand. If you are good enough, your time to shine will come. When they invented the saying Everyone is replaceable, they clearly did not count people with a strong brand. Because when you have a strong brand, you become irreplaceable.

Karina Ochis is the CEO and Brand Master at KO by Karina Ochis (next generation branding company), founder of Ana Karina Luxury Concept (company dedicated to the implementation of the businesses of the future), Best Selling Author (for the book she co-wrote with Brian Tracy, Cracking the Code to Success), International Speaker, Life and Brand Coach (accredited by Tony Robbins) and host of the YouTube shows Branding Biz. Club and Weekly K.

Karinas Website: http://www.karinaochis.com

Karinas company website: http://www.kobykarinaochis.com

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You are the business of the future. - HuffPost

News Legal WannaCry Ransomware Hero Arrested in Las Vegas on Hacking Charges

Marcus Hutchins, the man who was hailed this past May as a hero for stopping the spread of WannaCry ransomware, will be in a Las Vegas courtroom on Friday afternoon, facing Department of Justice (DOJ) charges. Hutchins stands accused of being a co-conspirator in the creation of another malware system aimed at hacking bank accounts, which the DOJ alleges occurred for a year, between July of 2014 and 2015.

Marcus Hutchins, a computer security expert credited with stopping the WannaCry virus in May, was arrested Wednesday at McCarran Airport on charges he tried to distribute another type of malware. He will enter a plea in a Las Vegas courtroom on Friday afternoon. (Image: Bloomberg)

He was arrested in Las Vegas on Wednesday at McCarran International airport by FBI agents, as he waited to head back home to Britain after attending two global security conferences that ran in late July.

The 23-year-old is being charged with six counts, all involving his alleged involvement with the formation and propagation of Trojan Kronos, a software program that was aimed at infecting bank accounts. The bug is capable of stealing banking logins and other financial information.

Hutchins was charged along with another as-yet unnamed person, who the Justice Department accuses of uploading and selling the malware, but at least one cyber criminal defense attorney doesnt think the DOJ has a very compelling case.

Talking to the UKs Telegraph, American attorney Tor Ekeland described the situation this way:

By [arresting Hutchins], theyve made the internet less safe because nobody in their right mind is likely to help the US Government stop attacks now. Theyve sent a really bad message that even if you help stop a major malware attack and save people millions of dollars you could be arrested because someone you supposedly associated with supposedly sold malware for $2,000.

Ekeland added that while Hutchins could face as much as 40 years in prison for his actions, he doesnt think its likely.

I doubt it, it would be a bizarre outcome. Is it possible? It sure is, he noted to the Telegraph.

Hutchins was in the US attending conferences Black Hat and Def Con, two conventions for people interested in computer security. Seminars highlight any and all issues of interest to security and surveillance professionals, including, of course, cyber hacking, which has become the modern-day equivalent of the 18th centurys highwaymen.

Word of Hutchins arrest went viral and most who know him by his Twitter handle of @MalwareTechBlog were shocked, posting their disbelief via their own tweets on the social media site.

Andrew Mabbitt, founder of cyber firm Fidus Information Security, said on Twitterthat he and others were trying to find him a lawyer and would be starting an online crowdfunding account.

I refuse to believe the charges against @MalwareTechBlog, Mabbittsaid. He spent his career stopping malware, not writing it.

But a DOJ presser on the matter described a two-year investigation that had gathered evidence against Hutchins, including a tweet that he put out in July 13, 2014 soliciting others for a copy of the Kronos virus.

Could this Tweet by Hutchins from 2014 be his death knell? The DOJ says it is damning, but others claim it means nothing malicious. (Image: Twitter)

The indictment charges him with six counts, including one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse, three counts of distributing and advertising an electronic communication interception device, one count of endeavoring to intercept electronic communications, and one count of attempting to access a computer without authorization.

Depending on Hutchins plea on Friday, he could remain in Las Vegas or be transferred to Wisconsin, which was where the DOJ made the charges, according to Ekeland. If the latter, the attorney (who is not representing Hutchins as we go to press) says it could take anywhere from a few months to as long as three years to come to trial. He adds that he doubts Hutchins will be allowed to post bail, given his foreign national status and the potential for flight risk.

More:

WannaCry Ransomware 'Hero' Arrested in Las Vegas on Hacking Charges - Casino.Org News

A few yesterdays ago, I started to keep a journal. I have done that many times before. The difference is this attempt, which appears likely to continue, relies on a computer program. Called Day One, it is recommended in all the reviews. I cannot complain about it, with its prompts at specified intervals to me to jot down or, rather, to type on the facsimile of a keyboard displayed by a tiny screen what is on my mind.

Yet I am skeptical about my own enthusiasm. I do not wish to become a life logger. That practice, much maligned, involves wearing devices to document every moment: who did I meet and what was my mood before and after the encounter? It is related to the quantified self movement, which encourages analysis of those details, from the food that is ingested to everything that is egested and the hiccups and belches in between. The idea is to capture it all. Fitness trackers are the lite version. I admire Gordon Bell, the patient zero of lifelogging. You have to respect somebody willing to dedicate themselves to a project with such extremism. I just dont want to be him. Most of us do not have the discipline.

I confess that I am a half-hearted member of the cult of self-improvement. I am glad I took up running, but I try not to be obsessive about uploading every stroll on social media. The meme has become passe, if its not on Strava, then it didnt happen, referring to the leading platform for sharing the statistics about exercise. I once told a colleague that I attended the opera, which I do not like all that much, in order to be a cultured person. My motivation is not quite as instrumental as that, though the determination to better myself is genuine.

The reason I wonder about all the fuss is not the risk of narcissism or obsessive-compulsive planning disorder. It is the confusion of the photograph with the experience. The point of running, or attending the opera, is to be there. We already are too attached to our gadgets, and my wife implores me to be here now, as they used to suggest when society believed in consciousness raising. My journal habit promotes the opposite of that mantra of mindfulness. My life has been reduced to my feed.

People who know me do not mistake me for a spiritual individual. Even I, as committed as I am to scientific method, doubt that the digital can substitute for the physical. It can be a representation, even a convincing simulation, like a smell generated by a neurological disorder. It is nonetheless a dystopia, where we cannot distinguish between the illusion and the real. The risk is we will not care. We will be satisfied to sit in Platos Cave, watching the flickering shadows on the wall for the duration.

The transaction costs of keeping a digital journal are quite low, perhaps too much so. It intrinsically favors numbers (GPS coordinates for my location) over words (a paragraph about what the vista evoked). There are apps that automatically add entries. I installed one that downloads the weather each morning. Beyond that, there is a vast network of virtual self-reference that you can plug into. Other options take posts on Facebook, for example, and replicate them inside Day One. (It works in the other direction of course: you can export your scribblings for your friends to read.)

But the endless recording produces nothing more than a recording. Even if it is a perfect reproduction, it lacks any reflection. It is all outer life, not inner life. The journals of Pepys or Emerson or memoirs such as Annie Dillards Pilgrim at Tinker Creek are compelling to us, because they show us what is beneath the surface. As a law professor, I see analogies. The student who takes class notes, earnestly and furiously, typing up every remark is the student who is likely to lack comprehension. She is training herself to be a stenographer. Anyone who has read transcripts, who also was present for the trial, is aware of how limited they are, with literal accuracy that distorts events. The 1992 courtroom comedy movie My Cousin Vinny demonstrates this omission of nuance with an apparent confession that resulted from the failure to hear the nuance of ?

The omnipresence of my smartphone, and the addictive allure of filling in every blank time slot on the calendar page, causes me, and countless others, to compromise our integrity. That is what it is, when we give up our privacy. We turn ourselves over to the cloud. It is as if we are volunteering for surveillance. We yearn to belong to a community. We do so by offering snapshots of our meals to people who are strangers but for acceptance of an invitation to connect. Diaries are not secret anymore. They are our advertisements for our fifteen minutes of fame. There should be no shame in the solitude of our thoughts. We can keep to ourselves.

My data is as useful to others as it is to me. (The Day One folks make ample assurances in this regard.) I exchange my information for convenience: I will tell you what detergent I prefer, if you ship it just on time; from the brand of soap and a smattering of seemingly random data points, you infer my political affiliation. Corporations can buy the bits, aggregated and anonymized as well as with all the cookies that identify me, and, by piecing it together into a caricature of my persona as a consumer, in turn try to sell me what they have figured out I want, before I am aware of my desire. That was the dream of the late Steve Jobs. His genius was to make such prescience seem other than sinister. I am not sure I myself can benefit especially from the accounting of the mechanics of my life, unless I expend altogether too much time reviewing it. I am reminded of a joke by deadpan comedian Steven Wright, who said he had an actual map of the United States, full-size, scale 1:1. He doesnt unfold it very often.

Perhaps I should buy pen and paper. I am told handwriting is making a comeback.

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The Problem with My Journal - HuffPost