The COVID pandemic has affected the way businesses and employees travel and interact at events, especially with the big shift towards digital engagement. More communication is being done over email and video conferencing while online engagement has reduced the need to travel. This in turn has led to a decrease in business travel’s share of hotel room revenue as more employees who usually travel for work say they won’t be returning to the road. 

In terms of events, more events are planned to be virtual or hybrid with audiences moving to digital platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams. In fact, Zoom saw daily meeting participants grow by a factor of 35 between 2019 and 2020 while Microsoft Teams saw annual users increase by a factor of 13.5 from 2019 to 2022. Still, online interacting does come with its own frustrations, such as technological issues during virtual meetings and poor communication between participants. 

In fact, the online setup can be draining as the amount of eye contact and sizes of participants’ faces are unnatural on screens. It can also become stressful to see yourself in real-time during video chats as it can increase opportunities for self-criticism. Video chats also can lead to unnatural, exaggerated non-verbal communication to be understood. Nonetheless, almost 50% of people who attend 10 or more events every year attend online events. 

Virtual events can actually benefit businesses as they save time and money, help increase employee engagement, and increase productivity. Hybrid events are slightly different as they involve two separate audiences connected by the content they’re accessing in a way that creates a good experience for everyone. There is usually a main event that can be either virtual or physical and a virtual component that everyone can access. Gamification can help increase event engagement and improve event effectiveness while using the metaverse could make the event experience more immersive and create advanced learning opportunities. 

Event planners can improve event quality in several ways, including considering a more persistent interactive experience that strays away from one-off events, offering access to online breakout sessions, and using polls, chats, and Q&As to encourage networking. Utilizing online social engagement platforms can help businesses create successful hybrid and virtual events that will better engage audiences.

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History of Google Analytics

Since 2012, Google has used a system called Universal Analytics or UA. This has been the backbone behind Google Analytics and offers a slew of benefits. UA lets site owners track specific users across multiple platforms and even devices by assigning them user IDs.

This creates really rich customer data, allows offline behavior monitoring, and in 2016, through the use of AI, even lets the real time monitoring of users. Although these are great benefits for site users, there are a lot of worries around the privacy of site users. Google has always prided itself as being a socially conscious group and here they seem to falter.

Luckily, in 2020, Google Analytics 4 (GA4)was introduced. This is a new backbone for Google Analytics and changes a few key things about how Google does web analytics. Including most notably for Google’s social image, in the privacy department.

G4A does in fact track more, and more detailed and dense data, although it makes it a lot harder for sites to give users information out to anyone who wants it. Google now even offers a consent mode that will further reduce the types of data that GA4 can track.

G4A is fully compliant with EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the standard behind web analytic privacy that UA failed to meet, something that has served as a major concern over the past few years.

In Conclusion

This all represents a positive shift in how Google operated web analytics. By July 1st, 2023, UA will be completely phased out and replaced by GA4. This means that all current site owners need to make the transition in that time, something that takes some preparation and time. Still, regardless of the inconvenience to users, GA4 is the technological and social future of web analytics.

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Currently, Gen Z’s favorite brands (in order) are Google, Netflix, and YouTube.  Clearly a technology-focused age group, Gen Z relies on social media to connect with not just each other, but businesses as well.  And considering around half of Gen Zers get their news from social media, businesses who promote themselves on these platforms have a direct line of communication to this increasingly important target audience. 

But social media acts as more than a broadcasting platform for companies, it serves as a two-way street of communication. In fact, 44% of Gen Z consumers purposefully interact with posts to influence the algorithm and reach the content they are looking for.  This allows them to find the perfect businesses that hold similar values to their own, including environmental responsibility and inclusivity practices. 

With the increase in online shopping, connecting technology and business is a clear route to the ever-important Generation Z.  Nearly half of all teens in the United States are online more than 10 hours a day, and two out of three are interested in making a purchase through social media directly.  If businesses are to connect with this young generation of consumers, they must do so through authentic online relationships. Learn more about Gen Z brands below:

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This has come in the form of major economic sanctions primarily. Russia has been removed from SWIFT, majorly reducing their international banking capabilities. The U.S has stopped all importation of oil from Russia and removed the ability to buy Russian bonds. And several countries have frozen Russia’s foreign reserves.

On top of this several companies have suspended all operations within Russia, prompting several lookalikes to pop up as Russia removed all U.S intellectual property rights. This all serves for up to a 15% downturn in Russia’s economy throughout 2022, but the effects are not just economic.

Russian citizens are now being looked down upon as support for Putin only grows. The U.S is seeing skyrocketing gas prices and low stock values and Russia and its citizens are being seen as the ones to blame. Resentment continues to grow but Russian citizens are only serving to be harmed.

Higher interest rates, fluctuating currency, the complete block of money being sent abroad, these are some of the things Russian citizens are dealing with. In times of war common citizens are the ones most harmed, one must only look at all the displaced people of Ukraine to understand that. 

Although action must surely be taken against Russia. It’s important to recognize the effects of war on the people of Ukraine, Russia, and even places like the U.S. War takes a toll on everyone and that’s a natural consequence of actions taken to promote its end. What the future holds for these countries is only yet to be seen.

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Let cloud computing be part of the solution. The cloud can help reduce greenhouse gas in a variety of ways. Cloud centers are more efficient with energy than their on-premise counterparts. High carbon physical machines can be replaced with their virtual equivalents in the cloud, using less energy to do the same thing. The cloud can also offer a degree of flexibility that lets the same electronic devices be used for more purposes, lowering the consumption of resources. The cloud can enable a circular economy that keeps e-waste out of the landfill either through diversion or refurbishment.

To compound the benefits of cloud computing, set up your cloud data center on a clean energy grid. Choosing locations strategically can bring down emissions even more. Take Google as an example: in 2020, Google achieved 67% round-the-clock carbon free energy across all their data centers. As a company, Google Cloud is working towards 24/7 carbon-free energy by year 2030.

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Hire slow fire fast is a phrase that describes a new way of viewing the hiring process that prioritizes hiring candidates that will benefit the company long term rather than hiring people who can satisfy immediate needs.This means that each candidate is given significant thought regarding their individual skills, how they can benefit the company with their work, and how well they can fit in with an existing company team. 

On the other end of hiring, the hire slow fire fast method also means firing employees who are not a good fit quickly so as to not bring down the rest of the business. While this may seem harsh, it really benefits everyone who is involved. Companies are able to search for a candidate that is a better fit, and the employee who is let go is free to pursue other options that may be a better fit for them. Keeping an employee who is not performing to the standards the company expects or who is not happy in their position can be detrimental to a businesses performance overall. 

So while many businesses may not be able to weed out passionate workers by offering a reward for quitting, the hire slow fire fast method of finding new candidates can ensure that more time is spent finding great employees and helping poor employees find better opportunities elsewhere.

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Traditional face-to-face learning has not changed much in the past few decades, and this is actually harming students. Most students report only remembering about 40% of the information that they learn, doing work simply to earn a passing grade, and 86% of students even report cheating at some point in school. Tragically, there has also been a rise in bullying in face-to-face schools and teens are now 5x more likely to suffer from mental illness than previous generations. When students switched to online school, there were some positive trends that saw students enjoying school more and improving their overall grades. 

Post pandemic, 57% of students report feeling more positive about online schooling while only 19% of students prefer the traditional in-person school. These students’ families agree that online education is beneficial for their students, and they often link these benefits to the more flexible schedule, safer environment, and opportunity for family involvement that remote learning offers. 

While students and their families state that they enjoy remote learning more than face-to-face learning, that is not the only proof that we have to show that remote learning is beneficial. Studies show that online students perform better overall than face-to-face students, and that they retain 25-60% more information! 

It is clear that changes are needed in teaching young minds. With students reporting that they enjoy remote learning and the positive changes that are already occurring from offering remote courses, transitioning to hybrid or remote learning opportunities could be the future of school.

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To detract from the controversy businesses face around tracking their customers, some businesses are beginning to implement cookieless tracking systems.This protects consumers from unwanted online tracking, personal profiling, unsolicited marketing tactics, and nonconsensual data harvesting. These systems also increase the users autonomy and allows for them to be informed of when their data is being collected and what it is being used for.

Autonomy is important when it comes to digital data collecting because, as we all know, not everything you read online is true. This means that there is sometimes data that can be incorrect about a person that is being collected, or there is data that is very private that is being collected. Using data blocking services, customers can correct any inaccurate personal data that is collected and can choose which–if any– aspects of their personal information can be processed. 

It can be shocking when you look for recommendations on the best pizza in town and then all of a sudden get hundreds of ads about pizza on your social media. If you value your online privacy and want to protect yourself from these marketing tactics, make sure you are well informed about if the websites you’re visiting are using cookies or if they are making the switch to cookieless tracking data. Learn about data tracking and how to prevent it in the infographic below: 

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Sleep improves mental and physical health.  REM sleep is one of the biggest factors of nurtured creativity, a skill that is extremely valuable to the modern job market.  Sleep dramatically reduces clerical errors and mistakes, making it easier to get tasks done right the first time.  The effects of sleep aren’t just mental.  A greater amount of sleep also leads to a stronger immune system, a critical trait in a world ridden with disease.  1.2 million working days are lost due to the poor sleep workers receive.

If you do have dysfunctional sleeping habits, don’t worry.  It is always possible to improve your sleep routine.  First step to better sleeping health is to do away with all nighters.  Adults going without sleep for 48 hours have similar mental impairments to someone with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.1%.  On the subject of alcohol, reduce consumption where you can.  2 or more servings of alcohol a day reduces sleep quality by 39.3%.  Above all, make it a priority to receive 7-8 hours of sleep. 

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Telehealth stems from a lack of security over the collection, use, and sharing of data. The lack of security made it easier for patients to share their data with providers. It also made it easier for third parties to access their information as well. With no paper trail, patients and providers had no way of knowing whether or not their sensitive information was being shared.

To solve this problem, providers are beginning to incorporate block chain applications into their everyday routines. Blockchain-powered telehealth increases security while also supplying a seamless exchange of data between doctors and patients. A ledger is also kept of all data so that both parties are able to see who is looking at this data. This ensures that there are no breaches in security. This ledger increases consumer confidence in the system. Overall, this makes for a more reliable and beneficial experience for both patients and providers.

With all the benefits of blockchain, hospitals across the country should make the switch to a more reliable cybersecurity system.

Learn more about blockchain and health in the infographic below:

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The two main issues affecting new tech are chip shortages and supply chain hindrances.  A 30% chip cost increase is anticipated through 2022.  Right now, only about 1 in 8 of all global chip manufacturing happens in the US.  When it comes to shipping goods from Asia, both sea and air freight have seen absurd cost increases.  Sending a 40-foot container from Asia to the US costs nearly 14x what it did 2 years prior.  Asia-US air cargo rates are normally higher than maritime, but right now they’re also up 40% since the end of August.  Even people willing to pay the higher prices for new tech will find themselves waiting well into January for the goods to arrive.

Savvy shoppers are looking for a way around the shortage.  One avenue they can explore is the regifting of used tech.  There are more than 120 million used smartphones available worldwide, many in the US already.  Simple repairs like battery replacement can return an old device to like-new condition as well.

Learn more about holiday tech shortages and what you can do about it below:

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Another major trend occurring in the eyewear industry is replacement lenses.  Rather than purchasing a new pair of glasses, savvy consumers are paying for new lenses to be inserted into frames they already own.  This practice is less expensive than buying a new pair of glasses would be.  It allows consumers to hold onto their favorite lenses for longer.  No longer do they need to alter their personal style thanks to an updated prescription.  These lenses can include single vision, lined bifocal, progressive bifocal, or trifocal styles, with costs varying by need. 

Replacing lenses doesn’t have to be a hassle, nor does it have to be costly.  No matter an individuals’ vision needs, eyewear doesn’t have to be expensive.  Lenses are replaceable. Your vision aid is not. Learn more about the future of eyewear in the infographic below.

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