Categotry Archives: Posts

Biotechnology is the branch of applied science that uses living organisms and their derivatives to produce products and processes according to investopedia.com. These products and processes are featured in healthcare, medicine, biofuels, and environmental safety. Biotechnology has been around since the 19^th century with the discovery of microorganisms, Gregor Mendel’s study of genetics, and groundbreaking work on fermentation and microbial processes by Pasteur and Lister. Early 20th-century biotechnology led to the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming, which went into large-scale production in the 1940s. Today, the five branches into which modern biotechnology is divided are human, environmental, industrial, animal, and plant which help us fight hunger and disease, produce more safely, cleanly and efficiently, reduce our ecological footprint and save energy. Biotechnology is seen in everyday life through vaccines, pest resistant crops, cheese production, alcoholic drinks, and forensic science – DNA fingerprinting. Modern biotechnology provides products and technologies that combat rare and debilitating diseases, reduce the environmental footprint, feed the hungry, use less and cleaner energy, and have safer, cleaner and more efficient industrial manufacturing processes. The four major potential risks include health risks, environmental risks, risks to biodiversity, and socioeconomic risks. Biotechnology could help to address many global problems, such as an aging society, climate change, food security, infectious diseases, and energy security to name a few. Biotechnology though is both time consuming and can become costly, the advantages of it vastly outweighs the cons.

One popular app is TikTok, which is used to watch and create short videos as well as going live and interacting with followers/viewers. The target audience according to omnicoreagency.com are 18- to 24-year-old users. TikTok makes money off the ads and sponsored posts from creators as well as a percentage of what creators make. Now for how the creators make money, there is a creator fund where creators with over 100,000 followers can earn anywhere from $200 to $1,000 a month. Creators with over a million followers can earn from $1,000 to $5,000 or more per month. There are some creators who can earn $100,000 to $250,000 for a single post while working with big brands according to Foundr. Other revenue streams include driving sales, being part of an affiliate program, posting sponsored posts, becoming a brand ambassador, and receiving gifts and donations from followers. To get the most out of TikTok here are a couple tips and tricks. In order to grow your account and gain more followers be sure to jump on new trends such as trending sounds, filters, and hashtags so that your posts will get pushed to more “for you pages”. Another tip is to post consistently and keep the videos short and concise to keep the viewers engaged.

Another popular app is Candy Crush. Candy Crush is a mobile free to play match 3 puzzle game. The target audience are woman aged 25 to 45 according to Feedough and the game was actually designed that way. The revenue stream first came from advertisements, but then soon switched to in app purchases, currently the app brings in $405,708 per day according to Business of Apps . Here is a tip to getting the most out of the app. One tip is to connect to Facebook with Candy Crush so you can see friends who also play and get lives from them if you run out and vice versa.

Two cloud-based systems that I use are Dropbox and iCloud. Dropbox is a file hosting service operated by the American company Dropbox that offers cloud storage, file synchronization, personal cloud, and client software. This can be used to share documents with other users or to save documents and other content without using up your own storage. iCloud is a cloud-storage and cloud-computing service from Apple Inc. This service is used to save personal information and to back-up information from Apple products such as iPhones, iPads, Mac computers, and can be accessed from Windows as well. All you need is an Apple ID, then you can enjoy the limited perks of iCloud web-only access without needing an Apple device. The cloud makes it possible to save and share large files and save a lot more data as there is essentially no limit. The advantages of a system on a distributed network are scalability, cost-effectiveness, and performance. When it comes to security and privacy concerns cloud storage is designed from the ground up for maximum data security. When you store data in the cloud, your files are encrypted and continuously monitored to protect against cybersecurity threats. Your data is also stored redundantly to ensure that a copy will survive any catastrophe.

One example of bad behavior in an online space would be the time that Kyle Traxler from Ohio scammed low-income consumers by creating a fake broadband provider in order to scam consumers who thought they were getting government-funded discounts on internet service and devices. Kyle created Cleo Communications which he tried to authorize as a provider in the FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program, which provided $50 monthly discount on internet service. The FCC began investigating after receiving complaints from consumers in at least eight states who ordered devices and did not receive them, but payments were excepted. consumers said that Cleo threatened to sue them after they asked for refunds for items and service they didn’t receive. Cleo’s terms of service stated that it never issues refunds and that attempting to get a refund or chargebacks is a “breach of contract”. According to WIRED Some forms of telecom fraud involve the use of fictitious, ineligible, or duplicate customers to obtain payments from FCC programs, but the FCC said Traxler instead scammed consumers directly: “While Cleo never filed for or received disbursements from the EBB Program, Cleo promised consumers that they would receive EBB Program-discounted broadband services and devices in exchange for online electronic payments to Cleo, but the company never delivered the broadband services or devices. Cleo’s schemes to defraud consumers under the pretense of participating in the EBB Program caused severe harm not only in monetary terms to the low-income consumers it preyed upon, but also to the trust and goodwill this or any program needs to achieve its purposes effectively.” The FCC said it doesn’t know exactly how many victims there are from this as many consumers may have just not filed a complaint. Others may have chosen not to apply for discounts with other providers due to their experience with Cleo. This is an ongoing case, but criminal charges are a possibility here. The FCC said applicants to the EBB program were warned that submitting a false certification could result in criminal prosecution and/or liability under the False Claims Act. Wire fraud can also result in prison sentences of up to 30 years, and the FCC said Cleo apparently committed multiple wire fraud violations by taking payments through interstate wire transactions and never delivering the ordered services or devices. Traxler’s scam lasted from May to August 2021, during which he repeatedly engaged in conduct that violated the federal wire fraud statute and the Commission’s rules. The proposed $220,210 penalty is “the statutory maximum we can impose, and reflects the scope, duration, seriousness, and egregiousness of Cleo’s apparent violations,” according to the commission. These types of scams have become more prevalent online and have scammed countless victims out of money and time. These can be avoided by checking reviews and googling companies, owners, and reporting these crimes as soon as possible to hopefully help stop it before it happens to others. As for the FCC and other affiliate organizations in situations like this it is their responsibility to take action as soon as they become aware of the crimes to protect both their reputation and future consumers.

As a CIO of a corporation with both retail stores and an e-commerce marketplace there is always a potential for cyber threats and here are some ways to both detect and help prevent those threats to the company.

There are a plethora of potential cyber security threats that could hurt a company. According to isgtech “It is small businesses that are most at risk. In fact, one in five small-to-medium-sized businesses are victims of hacking each year. And of those, more than half go out of business within six months simply because they failed to prepare for a cyberattack.” Here are some of the most common as of 2022. Malware is one of the most common attacks that can drastically hurt a company. Malware is a malicious software such as viruses, spyware, emotet, and ransomware. This can be harmful because these softwares once opened on a computer by clicking on an unknown link can cause a block to key network access, installation of more harmful software, and covertly obtaining information from your computer system. Another threat to be weary of are phishing emails. These are often the first step in unintentionally installing the malware by clicking and opening links or enter ring personal information requested by an email you either don’t know who it’s from or thinking it’s from someone you trust when it isn’t. These emails have become very prevalent and have some tell tail signs like a slightly incorrect or misspelled email address, urgent requests for information, or requesting you to go to a link for more information. Denial of Service or DoS is a type of cyber-attack that floods a network or computer so that it is unable to respond to requests which inevitably doable the network which then gives the hacker time to launch other attacks and or malware onto a computer or network. Man in the Middle is a type of attack where a hacker inserted themselves between an online user and an open network like unprotected Wi-Fi to steal data and install malicious software onto devices connected to that open Wi-Fi. Password attacks like phishing attacks rely on individuals being human and having their guard down. This is a type of attack that can involve tricking employees into breaking security protocol or can involve simply guessing or hacking and stealing passwords. Therefore longer, and more unpredictable passwords are so important as well as employee training.

Source: types-of-cyber-security-threats

As a company there are inevitably digital processes, systems, and functions that are both necessary and can be a doorway in for hackers and other cyber threats. As a business there needs to be a way to accept and transfer money from customer to company. In this age most customers pay with card which means there will be a digital transaction and this data or information could potentially be intercepted or simply stolen. This can be done using malware on either the system itself or an attack on a third-party system that most companies tend to use. Every company has an email whether it be the owners, employees, or a single company email and these are prone for phishing emails. These emails can be seemingly harmless until they are opened, and a link gets clicked, then suddenly, you’re locked out of your own system and have a hacker requesting money to unlock your computer or have malware installed onto your computer unknowingly stealing your clients and employee’s information. Speaking of employee information, every company has personal information on each employee that is usually entered into some kind of system that helps to keep track of time, pay, and overall employee information such as name, address, social security number, date of birth, and anything else that would be valuable for a hacker to sell. Employees should not have to worry about this happening. As a business there will always need to be spreadsheets, receipts, and tracking of both money and inventory. These are also usually kept using a third-party system or maybe even on an Excel spreadsheet saved to the company computer. Either way this information can be stolen several ways which include malware attacks, password attacks, and phishing attacks. Lastly, the business e-commerce website could simply be hacked which could result in customer’s information being stolen or the website being taken down until the business can get control over the website again. This can hurt the business’s reputation which in today’s world and the way information spreads can be detrimental to any company.

Source: capterra

To try and assure that these attacks and situations either don’t happen or are quickly extinguished, here are some security and process suggestions. First and foremost, would be education. Most of these attacks can be stopped before they even start by just understanding how the hackers get onto your computer system. Employees should all have phishing and cyber security training along with occasion fake phishing emails sent out to catch those employees that may still far for it so that they can learn from that mistake and hope they never fall for a real phishing email. Another important thing to think about is to ensure password policies are strong and that these passwords are changed frequently per company policy. Passwords are often not changed unless directed to do so by a system and are also often identical to other passwords by the same user. Having varying passwords for different company systems that change frequently can help to protect the company, employee, and customers in the long run. Frequently Installing updates for both the firewall and the system can do wonders. There are system updates for a reason and many of these have security updates in them. By not updating these as soon and frequently as possible this could lead to a successful cyber-attack. Every company should have their information backed up whether it be on the cloud or on a server somewhere. Then even if you’re hacked or a distasteful of some sort happens all the information gathered over the life span of the company is not completely gone. The information and a plan for both saving information frequently and how to access it quickly and when needed from either the cloud or server is essential. Lastly, having IT support on call 24/7 for both customers and employees could be a big help in both preventing and determining threats and attacks as these users will be the first to notice “something’s wrong” and having that knowledgeable support could be the difference between running a successful business and losing everything to a hacker.

Source: isgtech

Photoshop Tips and Tricks for Beginners 2022 – Visual Design Tips (vdtips.com)

This article was posted on January 23, 2022 by VdTips (Visual Design Tips). VDTIPS is a blog for graphic designers by Success Creative Hub, a graphic designer who is told in the About Us section on the site the article was found on. There’s not much of a gatekeeping mechanism, only tags for Photoshop toward the bottom for SEO. The information is well written and easy to understand. This is something I would use in the future as its well written and very helpful Photoshop tips and tricks.

Exploring Digital Media through Filmmaking Trends in 2022 – Raindance

This article was posted on June 15, 2022 by Sunny Popli who is the owner of SPOPLI Web Development & Services. The only gatekeeping mechanism is that the article is posted on the 3R Raindance Website. The article is well written with clearly marked sections for the reader to easily find a specific sections instead of having to read the entire article. This is not necessarily a resource I’d use in the future, but a very interesting read and something I find interesting.

The 8 hottest graphic design trends in 2022 | Creative Bloq

This article was posted January 26, 2022 by Joseph Foley who is a journalist, editor at Creative Bloq, and a project manager at a design and branding agency. The only gatekeeping mechanism that I see is that the article is posted to the Creative Bloq website. The article is easy to read a dwell written, with the different trends numbered to be easily found apart from the article itself. This blog is something I may use in the future as its easy to navigate and use.

Content management system or CMS is an application that helps you create and manage a website with a more user-friendly interface with no coding necessary. Content Management systems are not just for websites, they can be used for applications and other software as well according to Sitecore.

Building a website with a content management system and coding a website by hand using HTML/CSS look differently. According to bemarketing.com here are some of the pros and cons of both methods. Some of the pros to using CMS are its easier to keep things organized, CMS has add-ons that help to make the website much more personalized, and You can make a dynamic sitemap and a website structure which will make it easy for search engines to crawl your site which makes your website more SEO friendly. Some of the cons of CMS are though there are many things you can do with CMS it’s still not as inclusive as HTML would be and though it is more user friendly you will still need some knowledge of how to set up the website and may even need to get some outside help. Some pros of HTML/CSS are that the Website is more secure and harder to hack then CMS sites usually are, and you can design your website exactly as want it since you have complete range and control. Some cons to HTML/CSS are you must code the website so the initial setup will take longer and be more intricate, along with the fact that over time older versions of HTML can become obsolete and result in diminished SEO over time. Currently the best practice when creating a website is dependent on what you are needing and looking for in a website, either HTML or a CMS can work.

CMS is impacting the web design industry by making websites easier and quicker to make with a faster turnaround time which can make a web designer more money according to Hongkiat. People can surely pick up and make their own website with a CMS, but there will always be a need for both traditional HTML websites and the knowledge and know-how from web designers even if they use are using a CMS to create the website.

The top three social media sites in terms of traffic in 2020 are listed in order TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat according to forbes.com

Here is a brief summary of how each social media site works and why people use it.

TikTok is a quick and short video sharing platform. This has led to shorts on YouTube and reels on Instagram as these quick videos gain a lot of engagement and views. People use this to share and create fun or entertaining videos for followers.

Instagram is a platform to share photos and short videos called reels. People use this to share and find photos and short videos they find funny, beautiful, entertaining, and at times use those photos and videos to tell a story.

Snapchat is a platform to share photos and videos that last 24 hours before disappearing and is the start of ephemeral content that we now see on Facebook and Instagram. People use this to share in the moment content with friends and followers.

Demographics are specific information about users such as age, gender, ethnicity, income, education, and more. These are important as it helps to direct content to likeminded users and get more views and engagement on content.

Demographics that tend to stand out per these three social media platforms are as follows.

On TikTok about 43% of the global audience is between 18 and 24 years old and 57% of users are female according to omnicoreagency.com

On Instagram 31.2% of Instagram users are 25-34-year-olds and 51.6% of all Instagram users are male. omnicoreagency.com

On Snapchat nearly six in ten or 59% percent of internet users aged 13-24 years old use Snapchat according to oberlo.com

On average users spend 52 minutes a day on TikTok according to wallaroomedia.com, 29 minutes a day on Instagram according to BroadbandSearch, and 28 minutes per day on Snapchat according to BroadbandSearch

The fastest growing social media platform is currently TikTok according to Oberlo. This is because of the popularity of the short quick videos that we now see on other social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and even Pinterest.

The majority of users are visiting these social media sites via mobile access. About 83% of social media access is mobile while 15% comes from desktops or laptops according to BroadbandSearch.

Between computers and mobile devices more people access the web via mobile devices according to a study done by BroadbandSearch. More than 55% of web visits are done using a mobile device and around 42% are from computers, that leaves about 3% visited using a tablet. The World Wide Web is controlled by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The World Wide Web is made up of millions of interlinked web pages called Uniform Resource Locators (URLs). Tim Berners Lee is a British computer scientist who graduated from the University of Oxford. Tim is best known for fathering the World Wide Web in 1994 in the United States at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Laboratory for Computer Science. A blog is a regularly updated web page or website used for either personal or business use to share information about yourself or any topic with the reader. Responsive website design refers to websites automatically fitting to size to be used on any size screen from a mobile device to a computer or tv screen and still look and work well. These responsive Website designs are necessary because if the website can be used with any device, then more people will be able to access that website efficiently which increases traffic to the site. SEO is Search Engine Optimization and website owners should be aware of this because it helps to naturally boost website traffic and to get more quantity and quality users to see and interact with a website. Dynamic content is personalized content that changes based on interests, behavior, and data from the user. The content management system is used to allow users to create and manage a website without having to know how to code. One that we work with currently is WordPress. A YouTube channel is a YouTube member’s home page where they can upload videos, shorts, and post to their community. Those who would start a YouTube channel is any person or company that wants to share video content for others to view.