Need for Speed: Google Maps
Zoombombing makes it to Oxford dictionary!
Google Maps and the Quest for Relevance
Google Maps heavily relied on location of nearby businesses to not just guide you to your destination, but also help you discover local businesses around you (a major business useca$e).
And mind you, all of delivery businesses in India (and even global) rely on Google maps to get to the location.
Now a significant portion of that needs to be remapped and while Google took a great amount of time to map these businesses, there is very little time to redo this (the new business owners, I guess hardly have the enthusiasm and bandwidth to add their listings to ‘Google My Business’).
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How customer insights and long-term strategies helped in creating breakthrough products #BreakthroughWinners
..all breakthrough products in their report started with an insight about a major customer struggle.
E.g. “Cat piss so bad, I’m ashamed to invite guests home”
or “I don’t like either sugary drinks or artificially sweetened drinks. What should I have?”
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News and Data in headlines
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Cash is King: Average withdrawals from ATMs reach a record high of Rs. 5,000; Increased by 10% since Nov, 2019
Google testing the Task Mate app in India; users can now earn money by completing simple tasks (classified as 'Sitting” or “Field Tasks) on their Smartphone.
In view of suicides and complaints about people losing money on online gaming sites, the government of Tamil Nadu has banned online gaming involving betting. Violators will incur fines of Rs. 5,000 and/or imprisonment up to 6 months.
Moderna’s CEO, Stéphane Bancel has announced that they are planning to charge governments anywhere between $25-$37 (depending on the quantity ordered) for a dose of its COVID-19 vaccine
Google launches an AI powered webapp ‘Verse by Verse’, where you choose 3 famous poets and write your first line. Once you have written your first line, the AI-driven poetry will suggest more options
Snapchat launches the Spotlight feature on app to take on TikTok. Spotlight will showcase user-created 60 second videos and says it’ll spend a $1M a day on the best videos.
IT minister launches international version of UMANG - the government services offering app. App initially launched in 11 countries. The app will help Indian students, tourists and NRIs avail government services
IIT Madras has developed a hi-tech, solar powered unmanned survey craft to use in ports and waterways. The craft can be used to conduct surveys and transfer data over long distances and is in the process of being commercialized
Issued in public interest: Scammers, pretending to be friends in trouble, are asking for an OTP sent by mistake. The requested OTP is usually a verifier for your WhatsApp account, through which your account is hacked. Ignore all OTP requests through text, to stay safe.
Oxford English Dictionary (OED) expanded the OED word of the year to a list for an unprecedented year (2020), which had too many words to choose from. 47 words including Coronavirus, Covid-19, Zoombombing, Pandemic were chosen
The second-largest Apple iPhone assembler, Pegatron has approved an initial investment of Rs. 1,100 crore to set up manufacturing facilities in India. Plans to start production by the second half of 2021.
Russia opens judicial proceedings against Google. Says that the company has failed to delete banned content and has not removed up to 30% of what, Russia has termed as “dangerous content”
Saudi Arabia to offer Covid-19 vaccine for free to citizens and residents. Over 70% of the population to be covered by the end of 2021
Research firm techARC has released a report, which says India will be exporting $1.5 billion worth of smartphones in 2020. Some of the main countries getting these phones, include USA, UAE and Russia.