It seems like an unfortunate day for the news to break out that Elon Musk has officially stepped out of the $44 billion Twitter deal. We have to accept that Elon Musk tried too hard to get the deal in the first place and seems like he tried too hard to get out of it too.
On Friday, the Tesla owner announced that it is stepping out of the Twitter deal as Twitter has violated many provisions of the merger agreement. In a filing, Musk’s attorney pointed out that Twitter had failed to provide information that was crucial for the company’s business performance like the number of bot accounts on the platform.
“Sometimes Twitter has ignored Mr. Musk’s requests, sometimes it has rejected them for reasons that appear to be unjustified, and sometimes it has claimed to comply while giving Mr. Musk incomplete or unusable information.”
The filing read, “Twitter has failed or refused to provide this information. Sometimes Twitter has ignored Mr. Musk’s requests, sometimes it has rejected them for reasons that appear to be unjustified, and sometimes it has claimed to comply while giving Mr. Musk incomplete or unusable information.”
Another reason why Mr. Musk is stepping out of this deal is that the company fired its senior executives and also laid off one-third of its talent acquisition. By doing so, Twitter violated its obligation to “preserve substantially intact the material components of its current business organisation”
On Friday, Tesla’s shares surged after its head announced that it is abandoning the Twitter deal while Twitter’s shares fell further closing at a value of $36.81, which is 29% less than $51.70, the company’s close on April 25th when Twitter accepted Elon Musk’s deal.
According to a report from Business Insider, the Tesla and SpaceX owner a.k.a the world’s richest man has also lost nearly a quarter of its value since he announced the Twitter deal.
The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement. We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery.
From now, one can expect the beginning of a legal battle between the social media company and Elon Musk. Bret Taylor, the chair of the board at Twitter, tweeted, “The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement. We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery.”
On terminating the deal, Musk will have to pay $1 billion as a termination fee to the company.
It only gets more interesting as someone claimed that Twitter has suspended Elon Musk’s account after he tweeted about it on his account. While the world went bollocks on this news, only to know that it was just a prank and the suspended account has an (I) in ‘Elon’ instead of (l) in the username.
This long-drawn story of ‘will Elon Musk buy Twitter or not?’ had a good run but if we look back at the twists and turns in the story, it could also be a question of whether ‘this is it?’ For Musk, buying Twitter was certainly not just about money and rather saving the future and helping the world access free speech. So, it is actually heartbreaking to see him give up on the deal so easily.
Bad news for Tesla as over 15 black employees have sued the company because of racism towards them. This controversy has created a bad image for the company and its CEO, Elon Musk, who was also accused of sexual harassment over a month ago.
The lawsuit comes from 15 current as well as former employees of the company. The lawsuit was filed last Thursday in a California court and it reads that around 46 employees of the company who are in different managerial positions have made the work environment toxic and hostile. The lawsuit also talks about how the whole atmosphere of the firm has become an us vs them situation, and how the company chooses to do nothing despite this information.
Tesla has already been in murky waters with their stance on discrimination, as a different lawsuit was filed against them in February which claimed that their factory situated in Fremont is a racially differentiated place. The 15 people who have taken the current lawsuit up, have accused the company of being preferential towards white employees and that black people are not getting the same rights or promotions, even though they work equally hard.
One accuser talked about him getting charged by another employee and when he went to report it to a superior official he was told things like “man up” and “this keeps happening here”.
The lawsuit talked about Tesla overlooking the fact that these black employees were discriminated against with the N-word and there was racially provoking graffiti in the bathrooms. This graffiti included symbols like Swastika, the N-word, and the letters “KKK”. One accuser talked about him getting charged by another employee and when he went to report it to a superior official he was told things like “man up” and “this keeps happening here”.
His plight was brushed off as something which is not a big deal. This same guy also had metal bolts thrown at him, another incident which when reported, went under the rug. Sadly, this is not the first time black people working in Tesla are witnessing such dark times, back in February, A black, gay woman, was harassed by a co-worker who later even threw a hot grinding tool at her. A situation of this gravity was said to be ignored by the company, even after she complained multiple times.
According to reports, 46 lawsuits have been filed in Tesla’s Fremont factory alone. These lawsuits range from racial slurs to discrimination to outright physical bullying for being from another race to sexism and whatnot. We are yet to hear any official comment from Tesla or Elon Musk on this subject.
According to reports from The Verge, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is developing an early-stage AI translation model that can work with over 200 languages from all over the world.
The report suggests that Meta will dig deep into this project and include a lot of languages that arent supported in many commercial tools. They are also open-sourcing the project so that others can chime in on their work. This AI model is supposed to be a dream R&D project and Meta is prioritizing creating their “Universal Speech Translator”. They also believe that this will help in the company’s growth across both Instagram and Facebook, it’ll also be beneficial in developing domains like AR and VR.
This in turn will also help them boost the advertisements they show to their users, which comprises 97% of their revenue.
The use of machine translation is going to come in very handy for Meta as the company will be able to understand the wants of their users better without the language barrier. This in turn will also help them boost the advertisements they show to their users, which comprises 97% of their revenue.
Machine translation experts told the website that although Meta’s latest research was ambitious and precise, the quality of translations done by the model would probably be below that of languages that are better-supported, such as Italian or German. Translation can be a touchy subject as it might rub some people the wrong way.
the lack of importance given to low-resource languages is what made them work on this project so dedicatedly.
Angela Fan, Meta Research Scientist.
Often times we see people posting something on Facebook with great intent only for it to be lost in translation. It gets pretty heated when the app translates something and gets a derogatory result as it can lead to some controversies. Meta has made sure that they have done thorough research over this as their researchers have run quite a few language tests using a benchmark common in machine translation known as Bilingual Evaluation Understudy (BLEU).
Angela Fan, Meta’s research scientist said that the lack of importance given to low-resource languages is what made them work on this project so dedicatedly. The features which are developed in this model will be put soon into Meta’s translation tools.
After the US Supreme court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision on June 24, 2022, many conversations were sparked in the whole country. The decision to end women’s constitutional right to abortion is expected to affect around 40 million in at least 26 states of the U.S.
According to a poll by the Wall Street Journal/NORC, 68% of the respondents think that abortion should remain legal in the country, while 30% are in support of the court’s decision.
Although it is unclear what’s to come with this, there are many concerns that are being faced by tech companies such as using personal data against people to monitor or track their whereabouts or for any other reason.
Staying on its feet, Google announced on Friday, that it would automatically delete records of places visited by the user including abortion centers and other health facilities. The company said, “Today, we’re announcing that if our systems identify that someone has visited one of these places, we will delete these entries from Location History soon after they visit. This change will take effect in the coming weeks.”
“Today, we’re announcing that if our systems identify that someone has visited one of these places, we will delete these entries from Location History soon after they visit. This change will take effect in the coming weeks.”
– Google said in a blog post.
This includes places like abortion clinics, counseling centers, domestic violence shelters, fertility centers, weight loss clinics, cosmetic surgery clinics, addiction treatment facilities, and more. Any visit that an individual would wish to keep private is included in this list.
Although the “location history” feature is typically switched off in Google’s Android Services, even if it is turned on, it will delete the history.
Fitbit is a fitness tracking wristband, owned by Google’s Parent company Alphabet. The wristband also has a feature that lets you track your menstrual cycles. Now, it will be rolling out a feature where users can delete their menstruation logs one at a time while they are working on a feature that will allow users to delete multiple logs together.
The information from menstrual cycle tracking applications and similar applications can be used against any user where abortion is now illegal. Although Google has not made any comments about how it would respond to requests from legal authorities for data, it emphasized the fact that it has always been an advocate of a nationwide privacy law that can protect anyone and everyone.
On the other hand, several companies including Meta have said that they will be covering travel expenses for employees who are in need of reproductive care but have to travel to another state to “the extent permitted by law”. A meta spokesperson said:
Statement from @Meta spokesperson: "We intend to offer travel expense reimbursements, to the extent permitted by law, for employees who will need them to access out-of-state health care and reproductive services."
Apple and Google have also assured their employees that they would be given time off and the company will be taking care of the travel expenses.
Spotlight on Data Privacy Issue
In the light of the recent US abortion law, one thing that has crossed everyone’s mind is there is a good chance that data can be used against users. Tech companies are anticipating that they will be receiving subpoenas from the court for users’ search history, location history, search information, and more.
As we saw, most tech companies have been vocal about decisions that align with their values but this time they have been put in a tricky position.
People and advocates who have previously fought similar cases say that they have already faced privacy concerns in states where abortion has a restrictive statute.
In a recent blog by Electronic Frontier Foundation, the non-profit points out what tech companies can do to protect their users’ data and ensure privacy.
It is still unclear to what extent can data be used against a user but it is sure that the law can use it and probably will be using it. Data privacy experts have become increasingly concerned about the court’s decision and are pointing out ways both tech companies and users can follow to better protect data in a “Post-Roe World”
Facebook now known as Meta, has been a pioneer among social media platforms. It has now existed for well over a decade and in this decade there have been multiple controversies surrounding the app.
From frequent data breaches to the company’s decision of not fact-checking ads for politicians, the company has faced its fair share of wrath from the public as well as the media world. Over the past few years, the company has had to make numerous changes in its policy.
As recently as last month, the company settled a lawsuit that stated that its product has had harmful effects on young people all across America. Another lawsuit talked about the discriminatory housing ads which the company was showing. With all of these things in the back of their mind, the last thing they would need is another controversy.
The company’s policy is such that it tries to keep everyone happy. There is also some rigidity to its structure and you will need to follow certain rules to make sure that your account stays on the platform. The first rule is about not changing your name.
Facebook doesn’t want you to play smart with the names unless and until it’s a page. The rule clearly states that you should use a name that your friends and family call you by, in everyday life. Things such as symbols or numbers or capitalization on unnecessary words are not allowed. Although you should know that unless your username is downright derogatory, Facebook probably won’t notice.
“The name used in the profile should be the one which is used in your official documents as well”
Another rule that the company has made very clear if you don’t want your account to get deactivated is to use your account enough. The time frame after which Facebook removes your account is unknown but the company is trying to reduce the number of bot users on their platform. As per the rules, you will get a warning e-mail and your account will be temporarily disabled, following which if you don’t take any action, your account will be permanently deleted.
Nudity and Sexually Suggestive posts are also a big no-no on the platform. It is obvious that no social media site wants nude pictures on its site. Throughout the years, Facebook has worked hard on its policies and fact-checkers to make sure that the distinction between sexual and non-sexual is as clear as day. Pictures of genitalia are strictly prohibited unless it’s a picture of a child being born or breastfed. Female nipples too are banned if the picture in question does not signify a medical or health reason.
At the end of the day, it’s a platform where tons of data are uploaded as well as deleted every second which makes it impossible for the detection technology to be precise every time. A lot of the time wrong accounts are banned after which these accounts need to contact Facebook through email to retrieve their account.
While we know what’s going on with Twitter in the US, with the company’s continued battle with Tesla CEO, Elon Musk. But according to reports from media agency Reuters, Twitter has sued the Indian Government over its orders to take down content.
There has now long been some tension that is brewing between India and the social media giants. As per sources close to this case, a lawsuit was filed today in the Karnataka High Court. This lawsuit says that the government and top-ranked officials have used their power to bully the company into removing content in the form of tweets, from the platform.
For the past year and a half, the relationship between Twitter and the Central Government has been very sour. It is said that the government put extra pressure on Twitter to act on some particular type of content. This content was ranging from accounts tweeting about having a different Sikh state to the plight of the farmers in the Farmer’s Protest as well as how efficiently was the pandemic handled by Indian Authorities.
This content was ranging from accounts tweeting about having a different Sikh state to the plight of the farmers in the Farmer’s Protest
A lot of users on Twitter also have stinging criticism for the policies that our government has introduced as well as for the Prime Minister of the country. According to, The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Twitter has repeatedly failed to act on the content take-down notices sent to them. They further also added that the last warning notice was sent on 27th June.
The company has already complied with the government over a few matters but is still contesting some of them as certain rules don’t make sense to them. This makes Twitter unable to contest any takedown orders. The new IT rules which came into practice last year give the government the right to block public access to some content that can be detrimental to the security of the nation.
If you try to access the tweets that have been removed by Twitter according to our IT act, then you will see a message flashing on your screen which says, “withheld in India in response to a legal demand.” The relationship further took an ugly turn when last year Twitter put the tag of ‘manipulated media’ in front of BJP Spokesperson, Sambit Patra’s tweet.
It will be interesting to see how this lawsuit affects Twitter’s share and its selling position in the Elon Musk deal.
The problem of unemployment is something that our country has faced for a long time now. You often hear about people being qualified yet not getting the job they want. We need to understand that a major cause for this among other reasons is the inadequacy of skills the person has for the job that they are applying for.
Here is where Ed-Zoe comes into use. Ed-Zoe is a startup that provides an aggregator marketplace that primarily solves the challenges of skill development for guaranteed employment in a stress-free manner. The startup makes sure to make you well-equipped for the job you are searching for.
Angelin Jeevamony, the CEO of Ed-Zoe, has always been someone who is passionate to solve problems. Her curiosity to always find the better option has enabled her to be a lifetime learner of new things. Her skills include Management Strategy, Research, and much more.
Team Sociobits connected with the Founder to know more about her company, the company’s competition, and what lies for them in the future.
Team Sociobits: Tell us a little about the company and how you came up with its idea?
Angelin Jeevamony: I had my fair share of difficulties coming from Nagercoil (Kanyakumari), India’s southernmost tip. I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with communication barriers when it comes to communicating in English. I frequently felt alienated while reading academic texts and comprehending the concepts contained within them. I’ve always wanted to learn concepts in my native language because it allows me to learn more quickly and with greater interest than spending time as a non-native English speaker trying to figure out the meaning behind English words.
In Frame: Ed-Zoe Founder with Clients
I discovered hundreds of young people with high test scores who lacked basic job skills while working for a top recruitment firm. Further investigation revealed that the skill gaps are primarily the result of a force in scorecards rather than practical learning. Further investigation revealed that language plays a significant role for a person who wishes to upskill with deep understanding, which had always been a barrier for me in previous years, but was still prevalent in many people, particularly the rural population.
Another question arose while considering the skills available in the native language: since skills are primarily taught for employment, would the type of skills taught lead to an employment opportunity with unknown recognition? This pushed me to help people learn employment-based skills in their native language from employers (Businesses) themselves with a direct brand or business recognition where potential employees can be properly trained before even seeking any employment opportunity and getting placed wherever they want with proper recognition from the employers, which is when Ed-Zoe was born.
Team Sociobits: What issues are you resolving through your startup?
Angelin Jeevamony: Ed-Zoe is a startup that provides an aggregator marketplace that primarily solves the challenges of skill development for guaranteed employment in a stress-free manner. According to the data and our research analysis, we encountered a significant number of people, particularly those from rural backgrounds, who were naturally discouraged from learning new skills because they were unable to cope with the market content. They felt the content fell short of their expectations, particularly when it came to learning regional languages.
I’ve always wanted to learn concepts in my native language because it allows me to learn more quickly and with greater interest than spending time as a non-native English speaker trying to figure out the meaning behind English words.
Angelin Jeevamony, CEO, Ed-Zoe.
Not only that but there is a lot of confusion these days about which platform one can rely on for upskilling when it comes to employment before purchasing an upskilling course. So Ed-Zoe comes to their aid. On the other hand, this solves a significant problem in the B2B end of finding a potential candidate for a specific position as they serve as content partners to observe these trained pools of candidates with a brand certification with the utmost trust, which is a win-win situation for both the employer and the job seeker.
Team Sociobits: How has your journey been so far?
Angelin Jeevamony: We’ve been working on this concept since 2020. We’ve done enough on-site and online research, as well as attended multiple accelerator programs and fine-tuned them. It has not been an easy journey. Many people were discouraged by our idea, and only a few people stood by us and helped us get started. Thank you to everyone who has helped, the majority of whom are family and friends. So far, so good; all we can say is that we have learned a lot; we are partnering with Top Brands and especially SMEs from various Industries to onboard them as content partners and deliver high-quality, real-world content for a specific job position in a much more convenient way of learning through Self Paced Mode, Live Sessions, and Offline Learning.
we are partnering with Top Brands and especially SMEs from various Industries to onboard them as content partners and deliver high-quality, real-world content for a specific job position
Team Sociobits: What are the challenges that your startup has faced or may face?
Angelin Jeevamony: Speaking with employers about content creation was initially difficult because businesses see it as extra work. However, following the successful completion of our MVP with potential businesses such as Naturals beauty salons and Spa, Ensileta Interiors, Dock Charge, a recent Startup in the EV Space, GardenGram, and many others who have offered courses to create more trained candidates for specific job positions such as Makeup Artist, Battery Technician, Interior Designers, and so on.
We are now receiving positive responses in B2B Partnership. Our client base is gradually expanding, and we are in talks with companies in the medical industry, logistics, and hospitality management, among others, about content partnerships. We will launch our Robust working model before December 2022, with promising brands for promising positions.
Team Sociobits: Who are the potential competitors of your company and why should users choose you?
Angelin Jeevamony: When it comes to a MOOC Model, we don’t see EdTech players like Udemy or Coursera as competitors. Our value proposition is straightforward: we offer any type of course to Industries directly from businesses for future employment.
Team Sociobits: Do you have any immediate goals set to be achieved this year?
Angelin Jeevamony: Yes. We want to onboard 100 businesses as content partners before December 2022. We also want to raise seed capital for scaling up and incubating the company at IIT Madras.
Angelin Jeevamony: Within two years, we hope to have a strong 200 Brands and 500000 trained talent pools for businesses in various sectors. Our goal is to create this ground-breaking platform for both businesses and job seekers, bringing hope and smiles into people’s lives through employment.
Any SME or Brand interested in developing trained talent pools or having difficulty finding qualified candidates for a specific role should consider partnering with us. Our platform can assist businesses in growing from Tier 1 to Tier 4 markets. If the reader is looking for work, Ed-Zoe now allows them to learn directly from brands.
Ed-Zoe continues to strive and make its platform better and with the utmost convenience for the users. At a time after the pandemic, a platform like this will come in handy for thousands of people who don’t have a direction.
With the startup culture becoming increasingly popular, it is very important to have investors that bring value to this ecosystem and also help these startups grow in the right direction.
One such investor is Dr. Srinivas Chunduru, the founder of VANS Group (VMentor.ai| VANS Investments| VANS Foundation) and also an investor in many new-age startups. Also a serial entrepreneur, Dr. Chunduru has more than two decades of experience in diverse functions including P&L Management, Corporate Strategy, M&A, Sustainability, and Strategic HR.
Team Sociobits connected with Dr. Srinivas Chunduru to understand his investment philosophy, what is important for startups to grow, and more.
What do you think is the future of the startup culture globally?
Many people are talking about “winter” in startups and the drying up of funding. However, my view is this is temporary, the startups are here to stay and create a positive impact in solving some of the critical human and business problems. I think many newer countries will evolve as “Valleys” of startups.
Is there anything that we can change to develop or give a boost to the startup ecosystem?
In the current ecosystem, a couple of elements seem to be missing and can unlock a large potential and these are :
Lack of tight integration with the B-school and graduate schools. A comprehensive platform that will support the startups with research through internships is missing.
Leveraging strengths and synergies between the startups and sharing the best practices
Lack of structured “Kid’prenuer and School’prenuer” incubators
How important is the role of mentors when it comes to guiding budding entrepreneurs?
The concept of mentorship is often confused with that of an advisor. I think the role of a mentor is much more nuanced, involved, and broader. I think it is extremely important to have a mentor, who has his/ her skin in the game (either through investments/ sweat equity/ commitment to the outcome) and the engagement has to be extremely structured and at the same time flexible to adapt to the ever-changing environment.
“I think it is extremely important to have a mentor, who has his/ her skin in the game and the engagement has to be extremely structured and at the same time flexible to adapt to the ever-changing environment.”
– Dr. Srinivas Chunduru
We at Vmentor.ai work extensively with startups at different stages to handhold them and work alongside them to deliver results.
If you would like to give one piece of advice to all the budding entrepreneurs who are looking to raise funds, what would that be?
Focus on building a robust sustainable business model and an ethical organization. Valuation should be an outcome of the same and not a primary focus.
What have you learnt in your journey as an investor?
Never invest in companies, where you are not able to add positive value and support the vision of the founder. One of the key criteria for us for investments is our ability to add value to the business.
Spend a lot of time with the founder of the potential investment to understand his/ her thought process, way of working, vision, and style of working before the investment is made. Investment is always based on the founder and his/ her qualities.
How did you get into the investing or funding space?
It was a very natural and organic process. We established Vmentor.ai as a platform for structured mentorship to support corporates and startups through 2 of our signature products and offerings i.e., Meraki (Interim CXO services) and 10X (strategic and functional interventions for delivering growth). We started working very closely with founders, and teams and were part of teams taking ownership of end results and growth.
Investing was a natural extension and also an indication of our skin in the game while mentoring the organizations/ startups.
What are the easiest thing and toughest things about being an investor?
Nothing comes easy! The toughest part is judging the quality and intent of the founder. The ability to analyze business models, viability, customer segments, and financial feasibility is relatively objective and with experience can be managed well. However, judging the quality, chemistry, and intention of the founder is a learning experience and every investment has to discover/rediscover the same.
What we look for in a good founder is clarity of vision, style of operation/ decision making, values, and last but not least; will we be able to comfortably work with them basis our style and values
What is the common mistake that businesses make while pitching to investors?
“All is well” is overly focused and an extreme amount of optimistic projections (slightly different than aggressive) is one common error. Lack of focus on the identification of risk and mitigation is another common mistake most founders do.
How do you spot a good founder?
This is a million-dollar question and I must admit that like most investors, we are also learning. We erred in our judgment in a couple of our investments as well. But largely, what we look for is clarity of vision, style of operation/ decision making, values, and last but not least; will we be able to comfortably work with them basis our style and values.
What are some of the red flags that you have faced in your investing journey?
As I have already mentioned, we have erred in our judgment in a couple of investments. Lack of transparency in sharing information on a regular interval, High salaries of founders (relative to the stage and size of business), inter-party transactions, and team structure (or lack of it) are some of the red flags.
Would you like to mention your investments?
We have invested in over a dozen businesses including a company that’s now a unicorn. Most of our investments have been in Health food, Sustainability/ Clean energy/ Climate, and Edutech’s.
This interview gives us a basic overview of the mistakes that startups should not make while they look for good investors. Dr. Chunduru has also added points that can help an investor decide if investing in a particular startup matches their ideologies or not.
Disclaimer: The opinion expressed here is provided for informational purposes only, and is not investment advice. There is risk involved while investing so, you should always do your research before making any decision. Sociobits’ opinions are not necessarily being reflected here and we don’t recommend investing money that you cannot afford to lose.
Looking at the current economic situation, it becomes very difficult to decide whether you should invest or not. And this is just the beginning of a series of questions. A lot of us don’t understand investing but know that investing would definitely give you amazing results.
To answer all your mutual fund investment-related questions, team Sociobits connected with mutual fund experts, Mr. Satish Salvankar and Mr. Rahul Ambre.
Team Sociobits: Could you explain how mutual funds work as an investment tool?
Mr. Rahul Ambre: Basically, a mutual fund is a pool of investors’ money. Let’s say there are ten people in this room who are not aware of where they should invest in the stock market, also they don’t have the time to compare which stock is better and which is not. All in all, people who don’t understand the overall market conditions, for them, mutual funds are a very good option, wherein there is a fund manager, who manages the funds on behalf of those investors. So, if there are ten investors, every investor invests as per their capacity into that particular fund and the fund manager manages. This is how simply a mutual fund works.
Mutual Funds can give you from around 11% returns to 15% returns and there are many schemes in the market in the last 10-15 years that investors can choose from and we can advise them accordingly.
Rahul Ambre, Mutual Fund Expert.
Team Sociobits: Why should people choose to invest in mutual funds?
Rahul Ambre: There are a lot of options available in the market. There are FDs, RDs, and many Indian investors are more interested in these investment tools because they get fixed returns but we also need to understand that fixed returns are only fetching a maximum of 5 or 6%. Right now, the inflation rate in our country is close to 6 or 6 and a half and sometimes it goes below 5% as well but even if you earn the same through FDs, it doesn’t beat inflation all the time. So, to get some extra returns, and to create a good corpus for your future, or for any goal, you have to invest in mutual funds. Mutual Funds can give you from around 11% returns to 15% returns and there are many schemes in the market in the last 10-15 years that investors can choose from and we can advise them accordingly.
Mr. Satish Salvankar: There are also many advantages to investing in mutual funds like the time duration is flexible. In many other investment tools, this is not flexible. Also, you can start investing with as low as Rs. 500 so the amount is flexible. Another advantage is that it is regulated and the major advantage is that there are different types of funds available that can cater to the long-term, medium-term, or short-term goals of every individual.
Team Sociobits: Can you point out any specific strategy that people can follow while investing in mutual funds?
Rahul Ambre: There are different options available if you are looking to invest in mutual funds. One of them is lumpsum, and the minimum amount that an investor can invest in mutual funds is Rs. 5000 so you can begin with that.
Also, there are different ways to do it like a Systematic Investment Plan or a SIP, something that Indian investors started investing in. When I started working in this industry, the SIP book was close to Rs. 3500 crores every month. Now, that same book is Rs. 12500 crores because we have seen the kind of money that is going into SIPs.
In a layman’s language, a SIP is similar to a Recurring Deposit (RD). What you do is, if you want to invest ‘x’ amount in your RD, then every month that amount will be deducted from your account. You can invest in mutual fund schemes in a similar manner.
There are different types of mutual funds but when you are investing in an equity mutual fund, the money is going into an equity market. And we know that there is a lot of volatility in an equity market so one cannot decide when is a good time to invest in a mutual fund. So, for the kind of investors that are confused, they can invest in SIPs as they start on a monthly basis.
When I started working in this industry, the SIP book was close to Rs. 3500 crores every month. Now, that same book is Rs. 12500 crores because we have seen the kind of money that is going into SIPs.
It works very simply. Let’s say, you start investing in SIPs in the month of January and you invest Rs. 1000 in an Rs.10 NAV, at this price you get 100 units. Moving forward, if the market conditions are good, then the NAV becomes Rs. 11 (90.0 units). So, you invest another Rs. 1000 in Rs. 11 NAV, and if the market is not good, then you will invest the same amount in let’s suppose Rs. 9 NAV (111.1 units). This way, rupee cost averaging takes place. The money you are investing gets averaged out and this reduces the risk.
Another ‘not-so-popular’ way is a Systematic Transfer Plan (STP). Unlike the SIP, where your money goes from a bank account into a fund, in STP, your money goes from one fund to another fund.
Satish Salvankar: Another thing is that an investor makes money because of discipline and knowledge, not due to strategy. When you choose any investment strategy, you should be disciplined enough to follow it throughout. So, first, you should plan your goals, then figure out which investment option you want to go with, and last, stick to it. Strategy is important, but discipline is more important.
Team Sociobits: Is it a good time to invest in mutual funds?
Rahul Ambre: There are different indicators in the market that tell you whether it is a good time to invest or not but nobody can time the market. The best fund managers can also not time the market because the market is beyond everybody’s capacity. So, if your question is ‘whether it is a good time to invest right now?’ then yes, because the SENSEX is in the range of 51,000 – 53,000 and NIFTY is in the range of 15,000 – 16,000. At times, the market was around 63,000, especially in November 2021. So, if you look at today’s scenario, we are 20% in the correction mode.
To understand the market better, people look at the P/E Ratio i.e. Price-to-earning ratio. So, the best time to invest would be when the P/E ratio is around 0-12 as the valuation of the stocks gets cheap. This is the best time to invest but during that time, the sentiments and confidence of the investor are very low. People tend to withdraw money at that time but actually, it is the time to invest. When the P/E is 14-24, even this is a good time to invest in stocks or mutual funds. And whenever, P/E goes above 26 or 28 then we say that the market is getting overvalued. One should be a little cautious while investing when the P/E is above 30. SIPs and STPs are something that you can choose to get into at any time.
Satish Salvankar: When we talk to general people, understanding terms like P/E is difficult. Let’s say you wish to buy your normal Kirana shop that is situated where you live. The right time or the profitable time for you to buy the business would be when the shop is not doing well and the owner will sell it in a less amount. So, the scenario is the same in the market. When the market is not performing well, it is the best time to invest.
You will earn money when you take an action or apply what you have learned. This is exactly how investing works. It is difficult to take action at the right time because nobody can time the market
Satish Salvankar, Mutual Fund Expert.
Another suggestion I have for investors is to make investing your habit. If you are investing a fixed amount every month, the market will either go up, sideways or down and no one can predict it. So, if you are investing systematically then you are in a better position to gain money.
When you are investing in a debt fund, it doesn’t make a lot of difference whether the market is going up or down. There are a lot of techniques to invest systematically but the main thing is your habit. It takes some time to develop this habit. Basically, you will not earn based on your knowledge. Suppose you have learned a course but you will not earn money because you have completed the course. You will earn money when you take an action or apply what you have learned. This is exactly how investing works. It is difficult to take action at the right time because nobody can time the market and nobody can predict which stock is going to perform in a manner and for how long. So, it is better to keep investing money in specific time intervals.
Team Sociobits: Do you think that mutual funds are a better investment tool as compared to stocks?
Rahul Ambre:There are very few people who understand stock markets very well and they have enough to understand the stock market. The stock market is not something that can be understood just by looking at it three or four times. Knowing the level of NIFTY, SENSEX and the correction is not enough to invest in the stock market.
When you invest in the stock market, you hold three or four stocks in your portfolio but understanding their business line, fundamentals, profit and loss, and earnings are very important. When you invest without having enough knowledge, you end up making a mistake.
Many investors that we meet come and tell us stories like “Sir, we bought x stock, and it gave 40% returns in one year. We only receive 15-20% returns in mutual funds.” But you should also notice that with that one stock, you may have bought many other stocks. A lot of times, they don’t choose the other stocks correctly, and when it doesn’t perform well, it results in a 25-30% loss. That’s where the calculation gets balanced and sometimes people have to face a loss of more than they are earning in the market.
Basically, to choose the right stock, you need a specialist and in mutual funds, a fund manager’s job is to do exactly that. Their job is to look for good stocks and invest in good stocks that will give returns to people. So, someone who has time and the right knowledge can invest in stocks but people who don’t have time and understanding should choose mutual funds. Generally, there are around 40,50, or even 60 stocks in a portfolio, still, it depends from scheme to scheme.
The advantage here is that you are not taking a huge risk over a single stock and your portfolio too, looks diversified. Because of this diversification, the risk factor gets considerably reduced. Even if a few of your stocks don’t do well, you can still rely on the other maybe 45-50 stocks to help you cover the losses.
Satish Salvankar: I would like to add one point here. Let’s suppose there are two people, one has 10,000 Crore rupees to invest and the other one has 10 Lakh rupees. It’s obvious that the person with 10,000 Crores is in a much better position to allocate resources and gain knowledge. Similarly, when we invest, the maximum we can go to is 5,10 or 15 Lakhs. But the big players are sitting on sums of crores of rupees, so clearly we can’t do better than them.
If you are not able to manage your time then time will manage you. Similarly, if you are not able to manage your money then money will manage you
This economics of scale is what gets applied in Mutual Funds and one should know that it’ll perform well if you invest in a measured time. Another thing is that, if you buy 10 stocks that are going to last for twenty years, then it will be very difficult for you as an individual to track that. So, it’s better if you just focus on your work and give the money matters into a professional’s hand. I firmly believe that time should be respected and if you are not able to manage your time then time will manage you.
Similarly, if you are not able to manage your money, then money will manage you. So it’s important for you to give that money to someone to manage. This will also help you in gaining confidence in the market, what happens is people tend to sell their stocks when the market is going down. If you work with an advisor they can help you manage this much better.
Rahul Ambre: I think a financial advisor is very crucial to have in these situations. Especially the way the market has been for the last 5-6 months, having an advisor by your side can be beneficial. They will assure you to stick with your scheme and make you understand where your investments are and how they will bear your money. A lot of investors start with zeal but as soon as the market gets a little rattled, people are quick to take out their money. This is where the advisor plays a big role.
Satish Salvankar: To give you an example of our own client, he started a SIP of 10,000 rupees and this was before COVID. When the market went down during Covid, he stopped and withdrew his money with whatever loss he had faced. After some time he came back to us and again invested his money. As of now, his portfolio reads negative 80,000 rupees, a much bigger loss than what he had faced last time.
But because of these small experiences, now he has enough confidence and patience to see this through. He also understood how the market works. Also, as an advisor, we have all the tools ready to help people who join us. As experts, we at Saavi, make people understand how investing in mutual funds works and then leave it up to them as to how they want to move forward. We make sure that we provide trust and knowledge to an investor.
Team Sociobits:When we talk about mutual funds, according to you both, a long-term investment works better or a short-term investment?
Rahul Ambre: Ideally it should be a long-term investment. When you are going for a short-term investment, it’s not possible to perfectly time the market. If the market is falling, no one can say for sure where this freefall is going to stop. There are a lot of things to factor in and you would still not know how the market will respond. For example, during Covid, the market’s Sensex was 25,700. People thought that it will drop further but the opposite happened and Sensex reached up to 35-38 thousand.
If you cannot time the market then it’s better to remain invested in the market. If you see any mutual fund scheme, if the market is doing well for one or two years, the results you get will be good. But if you are invested for let’s say 8-10 years, then the returns you will get on your investments will be worthwhile. It’s better than other ways of investing, like an FD or a recurring deposit.
The other good thing is the regulation of mutual funds. As Satish sir said, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is involved in this. SEBI is a very trustworthy body, that has its full attention on these funds. So all the rules and regulations are followed diligently.
If you cannot time the market then it’s better to remain invested in the market.
If a person still wants to go for a short-term investment, then there are options to hold your money for 20 days or 25 days in debt funds or short-term plans. It depends on your horizon. Whether you want to invest for one month or four months, there will be options that are available for you.
People, when they think about mutual funds, they only think of equity funds. But there are a hundred other options for you like there is an option that gives you the combination of equity as well as debt fund. It ultimately depends on the person, how much they want to invest and how long they want to invest it. These factors help the financial advisors to guide you.
Team Sociobits: Do you think Mutual Funds are less risky as compared to other investment tools?
Satish Salvankar: If you have an investment in a company and in the future for whatsoever reason the company decides to shut down, then your investment will not be lost and will be merged with some other company. Regardless, your investment stays safe.
Rahul Ambre: The money which you have invested in mutual funds can go up and down but if you think that because there is an issue in the company you have invested in and now all your money will be gone, then that’s not true. Some companies will come and merge them or one can even sell their business and continue. SEBI is involved here as well.
None of these decisions are made without SEBI coming into the picture and approving them. So if safety is your major concern, then you should be relieved because SEBI will take care of any failing business.
Team Sociobits:The way the global economy looks right now, do you think it will affect Mutual Funds in any way?
Rahul Ambre:Global Economy has always had an effect on mutual funds. If you have an equity mutual fund where your money is majorly invested in the stock market, then it will suffer due to the economy. Since globalization took place in the 90s if something goes wrong in China or the USA, it will affect various markets. We are aware that even foreign investors have investments in our market, so if something goes wrong, everyone in that chain will face an impact.
I believe this is the perfect time to invest because all the prices are down and they will eventually rise up. When it does, you will reap benefits from it. Right from the 90s till now, just look at the Sensex and how much it has grown. The same SENSEX which used to be at 3 or 4 thousand is today around Rs. 51,000. When you look at a graph of over 20-30 years, you will always see it going up rather than down and therefore it will definitely make you money.
This discussion covers how everyone can invest in mutual funds, whether this would be a good time to invest and a lot. Getting insights from experts like them will encourage people to invest and grow their money.
WhatsApp is planning to soon give you the ability to hide your online status from the contacts that you want. As one of the world’s leading messaging platforms, Whatsapp routinely comes up with new features for the convenience of its users.
A month back the company was working on letting users export their chat backups from Google Drive. According to WaBetaInfo, this new feature from Whatsapp will be under its privacy controls. The feature currently is in testing and it will allow you to choose who can see if you are online or not.
The app already has a feature of hiding your last seen, just so you can choose to ignore someone being guilt-free. This new feature will also help the company catch up with Telegram in terms of privacy. Whatsapp says that they got tons of requests from users every year to introduce this feature as it provides you more privacy. Maybe you don’t prefer talking to someone or are just fed up with someone who stalks you, either way, this can be a good way of tackling that.
Image Source: WaBetaInfo
You can access this new setting by going into your ‘Last Seen’ settings. Here, a new section has been introduced that reads ‘Who can see when I’m online’. In that section, there will be two options which are ‘Everyone’ and ‘Same as last seen’. I will simplify this for you, if your ‘Last Seen’ is ‘Nobody’ then nobody can see that you are online regardless. If your ‘Last Seen’ is ‘My Contacts’, then those who are not in your contacts can’t see if you are online.
Whatsapp is taking active efforts from its side to level up the privacy that users get. Last year, the company introduced a feature that automatically filters the contacts that you have on your phone that you haven’t chatted with and stops showing them your ‘Last Seen’. They took this step to prevent third-party apps from monitoring users’ last seen and online status. Still, people you have talked to once or twice could see you’re last seen, but the new update will now take care of that as well.
It’ll be interesting to see Whatsapp’s next steps to make their security and privacy even better.
Disclaimer: The opinion expressed here is provided for informational purposes only, and is not investment advice. There is risk involved while investing so, you should always do your research before making any decision. Sociobits’ opinions are not necessarily being reflected hereand we don’t recommend investing money that you cannot afford to lose.
There’s always something happening in the world but these days there are exceptional things happening in the world of crypto. If there’s something that makes it to the headlines every other day, after Elon Musk then it definitely has to be cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrencies have been seeing new lows these days. After Coinbase announced what the industry referred to as a “crypto-winter”, many crypto companies including Coinbase, Robinhood, and BitMEX decided on cutting down their staff.
Recently, it was also reported that Bitcoin fell 70% from its all-time high leaving investors fearing about what is going to happen with cryptocurrencies. The cryptocurrency market keeps seeing fluctuations all the time. It may have seen great highs but also seen very terrible lows. Although the market is fairly new to judge and there are a lot of factors that have contributed to its recent downfall, a lot of people have already invested in the market. So, questions like what is going to happen with cryptocurrencies in the future? And whether one should keep investing or not? are normal.
To give keep your brain at ease, here is what some of the experts in the finance and crypto market have to say about the future of cryptocurrencies.
Crypto is seemingly hanging in the balance and the market’s future is as uncertain as crypto is volatile. There is absolutely no way of telling with absolute certainty what will become of crypto. However, considering some of the factors surrounding the current meltdown may help in making educated predictions.
First, it is worth mentioning that it was mainly external factors that brought about the current collapse. With the exception of the Terra incident, there have not been any significant failures in the structure and design of crypto as technology. The concept of crypto and a decentralized economy is thus still viable. That being the case, how did we find ourselves fighting the worst crypto winter yet?
While crypto has reached some significant milestones, it has also suffered some backlash from institutions as well entire countries. Concerns about the environmental impacts of crypto have been on the rise, so much so that Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, said that the company would stop accepting Bitcoin as payment because mining Bitcoin requires too much fossil fuel-generated electricity. This and similar events caused a more rapid decline in the price of Bitcoin.
Additionally, some governments, in addition to the environmental impacts of crypto mining, are concerned about the role crypto and blockchain technology play in fraudulent activities and money laundering schemes. China is just one country that placed a ban on crypto and started pushing its own centralized digital currency. This contributed to reduced activity in the crypto space.
All these events coupled with the hiking of interest rates by federal reserves in response to the inflation caused by adverse world events led to investors losing confidence in the crypto market and instead choosing to invest in other less risky assets. Crypto being a sentiment-driven market did not respond well to this and the situation worsened.
Although it may appear as though crypto is doomed, the factors causing its downfall aren’t permanent. With regards to environmental concerns, alternative crypto mining methods have been developed that require much less energy. For instance, Ethereum, the second-largest blockchain, is already working to switch from the energy-intensive proof of work mining mechanism to the much more eco-friendly proof of stake mechanism. Even for blockchains, like Bitcoin, that are less likely to make this switch, alternative sources of power are being promoted such as solar and wind.
Such positive moves will most likely improve crypto’s image which may lead to much wider adoption. Investor confidence is also likely to be restored once the current world conditions are resolved or if financial institutions find investor-friendly solutions to inflation.
A decentralized economy is still an enticing concept for many and this crypto winter may well be just another hurdle that crypto needs to overcome to evolve and become a better technology.
Leslie Radka – Founder and Financial Advisor of GreatPeopleSearch
Cryptocurrency is getting the attention of investors day by day. And with the passage of time is becoming popular and it will be impossible of investors to ignore cryptocurrency. According to the estimates of analysts, this industry will grow triple times in the year 2030. The value of cryptocurrency will be approximately $5 billion.
The growth of cryptocurrency is extremely fast, and the future holds much more for this digital currency. The peak time of cryptocurrency was started during the pandemic when a lot of people had some assets invested in this global market. And in the future cryptocurrency will get more importance and soon it will become the most widely used and preferred online trading and digital currency platform.
Investors of cryptocurrency currency are increasing day by day but in the future, this platform will get tremendous investors that will make it the world’s most widely used digital currency platform. A considerable number of investors is proof that this currency has potential. More institutions are getting involved in it and some countries have given it legal assurance.
Cryptocurrency has the potential to give financial freedom to its investors. People who have understood the phenomena and technology behind cryptocurrency are wisely investing in cryptocurrency. In the future, there is a chance of minimal risk and maximum profit in cryptocurrency for its investors. This blockchain technology will allow its users to get maximum profit out of it.
Hence the future of cryptocurrency is super bright for people, and those who are not taking it seriously and are thinking that there is nothing worthy in cryptocurrency, or that cryptocurrency is a total scam are in deep ignorance. Everyone should understand the importance and efficacy of cryptocurrency because in the future the world will be transformed into a digital world, where everything will be done via the internet.
Eddie Rejcevic – Crypto Expert and Market Researcher at TastyTrade
Eddie Rejcevic – Crypto Expert and Market Researcher at TastyTrade
One trend that I believe will continue to develop over the next few years is the adoption of self-custody wallets. People are starting to realize that not having total control over their assets is becoming a major liability. Institutional adoption of crypto will also continue, but only if they see use cases for the assets rather than simply investing in the assets. De-Fi will continue to grow, even with the recent hurdles, such as Celsius, hurting De-Fi’s reputation. The ability to put your crypto assets to work will appeal to the masses and become easier and easier to participate in.
“I do believe that in the next 12-18 months, dependent on the macro environment, we can see crypto return to a bull market,”
– Eddie Rejcevic
While I am not making the case for bitcoin to retest its all-time high in the next week or month, I do believe that in the next 12-18 months, dependent on the macro environment, we can see crypto return to a bull market. It’s not uncommon to see large drops in the overall crypto space, but historically, we tend to see even larger price increases in the years to follow. Over the last 6 years, on a yearly basis, we’ve seen an average drawdown of -50% in bitcoin, but we then saw an average rally of 590% to follow. While it may not immediately lead to new all-time highs, it will be a time of higher highs and lower lows.
The future of cryptocurrency lies in going back to solving real-world problems: providing better ways to spend, save, and invest.
Crypto can provide better ways to spend. Blockchain-based cross-border payment rails can be superior – in nearly every measure of efficiency, cost, and speed – to the present system of running on SWIFT interbank messages, card processors, and paper invoices.
International trade, remote work, and e-commerce – each billion-dollar industry in its own right can be made more frictionless with cryptocurrencies. The fewer barriers to the movement of money, the more global economies can become.
These are not just castles in the sky from a distant future. For the first time in history, we have seen truly global labor markets, with the normalization of remote work in the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and the mushrooming of remote-first Web3 companies and DAOs.
On top of that, we have decentralized finance, which can also provide better ways to save and invest. More efficient, accessible financial markets are enabled by smart contracts and programmable money.
The IMF Global Financial Stability Report 2022, illustrated how DeFi platforms can function as financial intermediaries at about a third to a quarter of the operational costs of banks and other NBFIs in advanced economies. In emerging economies, DeFi platforms can be up to seven times cheaper on average than their traditional financial counterparts.
The more global capital markets are, savers can get better returns on their savings, while entrepreneurs anywhere can raise money more easily and cheaply. Today, a person living in the Philippines cannot easily invest in the S&P500. Nor can potential unicorns in Africa access the sort of venture funding available in Silicon Valley. Crypto can, and in some cases has already changed that.
Throughout this period, we have witnessed participation in capital markets on an unprecedented scale. DeFi platforms and speculative investments in crypto have attracted users and entrepreneurs from virtually every corner of the globe in an incredibly short span of time.
Crypto can create the preconditions for more competitive, global, and innovative markets – from labor, to capital markets, and even in global commerce. The crypto winter will not change that. On the contrary, it has eliminated the misallocation of capital toward frivolous projects. The companies who are continuing to build in this bear market today will emerge to become the FAANG companies of tomorrow.
Just look at the numbers to see that crypto is the way of the future. Don’t get caught up in the “empower the little person, fight the banks” nonsense; it’s an emotional tale, and you should invest in economic stories rather than emotional ones.
Crypto lowers the barriers to participation on the economy’s supply side, decreasing the need for middlemen (corporations) and resulting in more efficient economies. They will win in the end because they are more efficient; you can either accept them and win with them or fight them and lose.
Until we completely eradicate scarcity, which isn’t going to happen anytime soon, economics will always influence the course of the globe.
MORE AND MORE ACTORS ARE BECOMING RECEPTIVE
Cryptocurrency is expected to become a more generally recognized financial system in the near future. It has caught the interest of both the corporate and governmental sectors, and It is currently widely accepted in a variety of businesses. So far, both public and private institutions have formally recognized bitcoin as a part of their financial systems. Throughout the world, institutional investors, technology-focused corporations, and even national central banks have begun to accept cryptocurrencies into their operations.
In addition, as a result of its acceptance, new policies and regulations are being implemented to promote more consistent procedures in the future. As more players break into space, the policies are also being utilized to keep all players in control.
Given that hundreds of billions of dollars of crypto wealth have been wiped out during the past several months, it is easy to ask questions. Many wonder what will become of the digital assets industry. But, I think it would be fair to consider that the industry split in two. Perhaps, even, it had been two separate industries all along.
Both industries were harmed during the past several months. Both suffered losses, mostly due to external factors. Both suffered from a lack of investor confidence. A lack of confidence stemmed from an unpredictable war in Ukraine. A lack of confidence from surging inflation due to unrestrained spending during the COVID pandemic. A lack of confidence was brought about by a wait-and-see game of how the Fed would react to said inflation. A lack of confidence is egged on by new strains of COVID which continue to produce surges.
Those factors, and others, led to the faltering of Bitcoin and other digital assets. Those same factors led to the same faltering in the traditional assets arena, including a day last month that saw the Dow Jones drop more than 1100 points. Those factors hit the two separate industries just the same. But the lasting impact – that’s where the industries will diverge.
On the one hand, there’s the burgeoning blockchain economy. It is filled with innovative projects which are based on development, adding value to the industry and the world. There are cryptocurrencies that fall into this industry, as well as crypto projects and other blockchain-based technologies. In the other industry, too, are cryptocurrencies, projects, and other blockchain-based technologies.
“Some projects and tokens were outright scams. But, others were able to simply ride the bull run. They weren’t necessarily purposely toxic. They were simply redundant or useless, invented by those who were looking for a quick payday, cashing in on a trend, rather than developing the future,”
– Richard Gardner
So, one might ask, how can two industries emerge from one? It is simple really. One industry is based on innovation. It boasts innovators who have developed projects which aim to add value to the world. Innovators who engaged investors so that they could fund these incredible feats of human ingenuity. These projects lost some value. And those projects saw investors lose value. However, based on the strengths of their innovation and purpose, they will rebound, that much is sure. So, too, will the Dow. Eventually.
But what of the tokens and projects in the other industry? What about them? The second industry was one built out of greed rather than innovation. Those are the projects that we see make the news for swindling investors. Some projects and tokens were outright scams. But, others were able to simply ride the bull run. They weren’t necessarily purposely toxic. They were simply redundant or useless, invented by those who were looking for a quick payday, cashing in on a trend, rather than developing the future. These projects… most will not be able to withstand the dip.
The two industries diverge on intent, and those projects which are built with integrity and innovation in mind will rebound. And, in the end, those projects will be aided by this purge. This momentary dip will help mold the industry, as it moves into the future. While this dip wasn’t caused by the industry, that doesn’t mean that the industry won’t find strength in this dark time.
It’s time to take a long-term lens to view this short-term debacle. With increased ties to more traditional institutional money, it only makes sense that digital assets would follow the same drop due to external factors. Simultaneously, because of that increased institutional money, the industry will find traditional ways to mitigate risk. I think this drop will create brand new, increased interest in crypto derivatives. Used properly, they can mitigate risk from single asset price fluctuations. And, now, we’re headed towards a slimmer market – one which will have an increased interest in derivatives.
What is your opinion on the future of cryptocurrency?
The future of cryptocurrency is uncertain, but it holds great potential. Cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography to secure its transactions and control the creation of new units. Cryptocurrency is decentralized, meaning it is not subject to government or financial institution control. This makes cryptocurrency an attractive option for those looking for an alternative to traditional currency.
Is cryptocurrency here to stay?
Cryptocurrency is here to stay. Despite volatility and some risk, the benefits of cryptocurrency are too great to ignore. Cryptocurrency is a more secure, efficient, and affordable way to conduct transactions. It is also a more accessible option for those who do not have access to traditional banking systems.
What will be the future of cryptocurrency?
The future of cryptocurrency is uncertain, but it is likely that it will continue to grow in popularity. Cryptocurrency is a more secure, efficient, and affordable way to conduct transactions. It is also a more accessible option for those who do not have access to traditional banking systems. These benefits are likely to continue to attract users to cryptocurrency.
What are the benefits of cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency offers a number of benefits over traditional currency. Cryptocurrency is secure, thanks to its use of cryptography. Transactions are also quick and efficient and can be conducted anywhere in the world. Cryptocurrency is also more affordable than traditional currency transactions.
What are the risks of cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency is not without risk. Volatility is a major risk associated with cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency is also a target for hackers, and there have been cases of stolen cryptocurrency. In addition, cryptocurrency is not regulated by any government or financial institution, which means there is no guarantee that it will be worth anything in the future.
What challenges will cryptocurrency face in the future?
The future of cryptocurrency is uncertain, but it is likely that it will continue to grow in popularity. Cryptocurrency is a more secure, efficient, and affordable way to conduct transactions.
By 2030, the market for cryptocurrencies will have more than tripled, reaching a value of around $5 billion. Investors, companies, and brands can’t ignore the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies for very long, whether they want to or not. However, contradictions tend to follow cryptography everywhere. Investors support regulation, but they are concerned about many of the effects it will have. They care about the environment, yet cryptocurrency has a significant carbon impact.
Understanding these subtleties is essential to foreseeing customer behavior in the face of a highly hazy future for cryptocurrencies as well as the general consumer mood.
While cryptocurrency investors have been on the rise globally for some time, recent growth has been spectacular.
Additionally, the characteristics of investors have changed. It’s no longer such a specialized passion in the era of meme stocks and stimulus cheques. Instead, regular people have viewed this new asset class as a means of bolstering their portfolios with potentially more lucrative, albeit riskier, assets.
“Future prospects for cryptocurrencies are still very much in doubt. Critics only see risk, while supporters see boundless possibilities.”
– Steve Wilson
Future prospects for cryptocurrencies are still very much in doubt. Critics only see risk, while supporters see boundless possibilities. Although Professor Grundfest is still skeptical, he acknowledges that there are some situations where cryptocurrencies can be a practical answer.
Comments from experts give us an idea of what the cryptocurrency market will look like five to ten years down the line. It is true that there have been a lot of factors that contributed to the current scenario of the market but many experts also rightly pointed out that there are numerous possibilities when we talk about crypto.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, there has been constant talk about how this conflict is unique because social media and cellphones have made it impossible for the old methods of propaganda and information control to be effective and have allowed civilians to see through the smoke of battle.
It is crucial that we, as historians and scholars of communications, offer context to such assertions. What is “new” in this battle is less important than understanding its unique media dynamics. The interaction between traditional and digital media, particularly the several loops from Twitter to television to TikTok and back again, is a crucial aspect of this conflict.
We have transitioned from a largely static mode of communication, where journalists report on the news according to established rules and formats, to one that is highly fragmented and even participatory. Users help spread the content by sharing and commenting online on information concerning the conflict.
Modern warfare and media
Media technologies and modern warfare have a long and complicated history. Aircraft were used in the First World War as both weapons and media, dropping propaganda leaflets over enemy lines and snapping aerial photos. Prior to their political and military authorities forbidding such actions and placing them in the hands of specialists, soldiers frequently used their personal cameras in the early months of the battle.
Journalists promptly called it the “Nintendo War” after seeing the military’s neat movies and photographs. Since then, the pace and fragmentation of the role of media in war have accelerated.
Each division of the German army had a staff of cinematographers that documented the conflict during the Second World War. Thousands of troops took part in the 1943 production of Kolberg, a 1945 propaganda film intended to boost German morale when the army was short on money.
According to media expert Daniel Hallin, the Vietnam War was frequently portrayed as the first conflict that was “uncensored.” The 24-hour coverage by cable news stations during the 1991 Gulf Battle created a different perception of war. Journalists promptly called it the “Nintendo War” after seeing the military’s neat movies and photographs. Since then, the pace and fragmentation of the role of media in war have accelerated.
An increase in cyberwar
A crucial aspect of the ongoing conflict is cyberwar. It alludes to all activities carried out on the internet as well as the underlying physical system. This includes website jamming, network outages, and other issues.
Along with traditional media control, cyberwar also involves the rapid dissemination of information. It consists of intricate human-machine communication events that can be planned, coordinated, and deliberate—or not.
Ukraine has seen varying levels of cyberwar. Drones are capable of collecting enormous data sets for artificial intelligence to analyze and use for precise targeting. This involves locating soldiers or civilians using heat maps, digital signals, or posts on social media.
Cyberspace is the extension of many traditional propaganda strategies, but a recent innovation is the ability to target and customize disinformation. Techniques for aggressive military propaganda are combined with online marketing tools.
Russia’s practice of censorship
There is no war being led by Russia, only a special operation, according to all official Russian TV networks (TV1, Russia, and Zvezda). The Russian government concentrated on a historically large-scale disinformation campaign against its own people while stifling independent media outlets that had already been targeted as so-called “foreign agents.”
The War Censorship Law was passed by the Kremlin a few days after the invasion started in order to “prohibit the dissemination of fake news about the special operation” and the use of words like “war” and “invasion”; violations are subject to up to 15 years in prison.
Images of the Russian troops “liberating” Ukraine from “neo-Nazis and drug addicts” are being shown on official Russian television.
Russian media deceives viewers by frequently utilizing forgeries and arousing fear by making references to nuclear contamination. The audience is informed that Ukrainians are solely responsible for their own problems.
To present a favorable image of the Russian “liberators,” staged scenes are deployed. One of them displays a warm-hearted gathering of Ukrainians in Kherson who are delighted to meet Russian troops and receive kind humanitarian assistance. However, after the shooting, the Russian army seized this assistance from the populace and moved on, as a buddy in Ukraine wrote to one of us on Telegram.
Last but not least, Russian television employs “denazification” in an effort to convince Russian viewers of the necessity of their special operation in Ukraine. This has been a feature of Putin’s historical revisionism for a number of years and is meant to arouse a retrograde nostalgia for the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Ukrainian forces use technology to identify dead Russian soldiers
It has already come to light that the Ukrainian defense ministry has begun utilizing facial recognition software. However, a recent allegation claims that Ukraine is currently using the software in a way that would cause the Russian families to oppose the conflict.
Ukraine has started utilizing the program, according to the CEO of American facial recognition company Clearview AI. The American business reportedly offered to find the Russian attackers, dispel rumors, and identify the fallen soldiers.
The Washington Post reported that the corpses of Russian soldiers are then photographed and sent back to their families in Russia, which is terrible, but that is not what makes it disturbing. It was hoped that the grim reality of casualties on the battlefield will convince common Russians to oppose the war even while they are backing the “special military operation”.
According to recent reports, on Russian personnel who have died or been captured, around 9,000 facial recognition searches have been made so far.
Russian families apparently received photos associated with 582 fallen servicemen, according to volunteer hackers who work with the Ukrainian government. It is important to note that both nations have exploited the technology in the current battle.
Russian families apparently received photos associated with 582 fallen servicemen, according to volunteer hackers who work with the Ukrainian government. It is important to note that both nations have exploited the technology in the current battle.
While Ukraine is using the technology to identify both its own and enemy dead, Russia is using it to locate and detain anti-war protestors. However, Clearview AI had stated that it had not provided Russia with the equipment.
For some time, controversy has surrounded the American corporation. It has received criticism for gathering images from social media and using them for US law enforcement.
A number of countries have received complaints against the corporation from data protection campaigners. European protesters charged the program with flouting the stringent privacy laws of the UK and the EU.
As soon as concerns about the program began to circulate in early 2020, regulators from Australia to the US began investigating it. The use by the police in Canada was deemed a grave violation of privacy laws by the country’s privacy commissioner.
I am sure most of us have a bucket list of destinations where we want to go and do recreational activities available there. Year by year passes and our life keeps us so occupied that we hardly cover two or three destinations from our bucket list. Most people would imagine going to an exotic place like Greece or a happening destination like Bali, but our guest through his experiences has shown us that you can find all this in India as well.
Bob Rupani, is a pioneer in the field of automobile journalism in India. He started his career in 1986 as an automotive journalist with the Indian Auto Journal. Over the years, he has played the role of an executive editor for multiple top automobile magazines. Right now he serves as a consulting editor of Overdrive.
Apart from this, he is also a keen traveler, having driven well over 1.5 million kilometers across India. His love for cars and traveling has been well-documented. He used the knowledge he gained from traveling all across India and authored his first book which was a critically acclaimed bestseller called ‘Driving Holidays in India’.
His book ‘India’s 100 Best Destinations’ was selected by the Government of India Tourism to be a gift for foreign dignitaries. A month ago, he started his Youtube Channel where he goes for exploration drives and lives with the culture of that place.
Team Sociobits connected with Mr. Bob Rupani to discuss his explorations, what he has learned from the outdoors, and the future of Electric Vehicles in India.
Team Sociobits: How would Bob Rupani define himself?
Bob Rupani:
A person who has not worked a single day in his life. Because I’ve always done what I’ve enjoyed.
A lot of people talk about my career in auto journalism or that I have run and edited so many magazines, but to me, it’s always been about having fun and following my passion. That’s why whenever someone asks me this question, I say that I have fun and I have not worked a single day.
Team Sociobits: How did you make the decision of entering the automobile industry?
Bob Rupani: Since childhood, I have always been into cars. My elder brother was into cars as well and he did a little motor racing, I got involved in it too and started modifying cars. Actually, I was always into cars, and on my birthdays, I would get toy cars or model cars as gifts because everyone knew I was fascinated with them. In 1986, India’s first auto magazine, The Indian Auto Journal, started, and the editor of that magazine, Gautam Singh, was a dear friend of mine.
So he came to me and said that this magazine is starting and I would like it if you could help me with it and write for us. That’s how my journey as a journalist started, something I had never imagined. But I was interested because it was related to cars, reviewing them, testing them, and more. So right from 1986, the journey has continued and I have never stopped.
Team Sociobits:We know that you are a seasoned traveler now but comparatively what was your first traveling experience like?
Bob Rupani:
When you love cars, the love for driving goes hand in hand. I have always loved driving and seeing the world through the windscreen of my car.
Bob Rupani
Back in the day, I was into motor racing, particularly rallying. Car rallies are generally run in beautiful forest areas, hilly areas, away from the population. In those days we didn’t close the roads for rallying, but we would generally prefer areas where the human population and traffic were less.
During that time I realized how beautiful India is and how fortunate I am to be born in this pretty country. As I was competing, I was driving fast through those places but I promised myself that one day I will come back and see all these places at leisure. From then on, since the mid-’80s, I take a nice car and I do road trips, exploring the architecture of various places, the natural and man-made beauty, and through these experiences, I have fallen in love with India.
I would say I have driven more than 15 Lakh kilometers across India to all the corners. In the initial years, I used to maintain a log but then stopped. So I don’t know the exact number, but it’s definitely around 1.5 million kilometers.
Team Sociobits: What difference did you feel when you saw these places while rallying as opposed to leisurely, at your own time?
Bob Rupani: Huge difference because when I was rallying, I was racing against time. When I started driving for leisure, I said to myself that I will not follow a fixed schedule. This is what makes traveling in your own vehicle so pleasurable because unlike public transport you don’t have to follow a schedule and reach a certain place at a certain time.
Traveling independently on your car or motorcycle gives you huge freedom, if you like a place you can stay there on your own terms, if you don’t, you can choose to go elsewhere. I like this freedom from schedules. One time, me and my friend were traveling somewhere. In front of us, there was a road junction where one road led to Indore and the other somewhere else.
We thought let’s toss a coin and decide which way to go and that’s what we did. These were two roads going in completely opposite directions to different destinations altogether. But we left it to the coin to decide which way we would go. That’s how I used to travel and I have made quite good friends as well this way. This one time, I was traveling and I had stopped somewhere in Gujarat for refreshments.
At the time, I was driving a modified Maruti Gypsy, and someone saw it and came to talk to me. He appreciated the way I had modified the car and said that a relative who lived about 200 kilometers away was also fond of cars and he had some old jeeps too and that I should visit him someday. I told him why someday, I can go today.
There were no phones at that time, so we went to a phone booth and he called his relative. He told his relative that I have come from Bombay and I have a nice modified car. His relative was pleased to hear this and said I was welcome. Today we are good friends, this is what travel does.
Team Sociobits:What have you learned from your travel experiences that you can or have applied in your personal or work life?
Bob Rupani: Travel has taught me a lot. It’s unfortunate that in our country, we don’t have a culture of traveling after you have finished your graduation or master’s degree. You see foreigners doing this, including many of the backpackers that come to India. After they finish their education and are about to start their careers, they take a 5-6 month break and go travel, see the world and get new experiences. Traveling teaches you about culture, food, places, and new people.
When you travel, you learn to adapt. If you are sitting at home, there’s a certain comfort level attached to it. I have been born and brought up in Bombay, I know almost all the streets here and what I can and cannot get here. When you go to a new place, some things might be available, some might not, so you should keep an open mind. When I travel, I like to talk to the people there and get to know what the culture is like. I like to have these local experiences.
Travel is a teacher. It is one of the biggest teacher’s in life.
People here like to go on vacations just to have fun. I’m not against having fun, do that by all means, but when you come back there should be at least something which you have picked up from that place. It might be their culture or their food, a habit or practice, or information about a place.
Our country is so wonderful that every 100 kilometers the language changes, people’s way of talking changes, and food habits change. The dresses also change, and if you’re able to pick up things from this diversity, then it’s only going to make you a richer and better human being.
Team Sociobits:In these long travels, do you feel homesick?
Bob Rupani: Now I don’t travel as much as I used to back in the day. But of course, you feel homesick. Sometimes that feeling comes after three weeks, sometimes after four weeks. Once I would be home, the bug of traveling would bite me again and I would then head on to another trip.
I have explored most places, so now when I travel, I like to go to the forests and places with wildlife. Not the overcrowded wildlife parks and tiger reserves overflowing with tourists. I prefer going to quieter places where I can really appreciate and enjoy nature.
When you are living in the city, you constantly see people around you and there is just so much noise with the cars honking. I have literally gotten sick of seeing people, so I like to drive to places where there are few people. If I’m in a place where I don’t hear a car’s horn for 4-5 days, I think I have landed in paradise.
We are surrounded by so much pollution and noise, that i look for fresh air and peace whenever I travel now.
Team Sociobits: Today the means of travel are far more advanced than before due to technology. What changes have you observed in these years and in what aspects?
Bob Rupani: In the 80s and 90s when I was traveling cars were not as reliable. They needed regular repairs and there was no infrastructure for a traveler to go very far. There were not a lot of options to eat food or stay, the infrastructure was very limited. Due to this, only people seeking adventure traveled by road.
Earlier, driving from Bombay to Himachal Pradesh was seen as a big deal but today if someone tells you I’m driving from the South of India to Ladakh, people will not be amused. Earlier driving so far required a lot of preparation. Even a clean meal or lodging-boarding options were difficult to find.
Today, almost all major manufacturers are making and selling cars and motorcycles inIndia. The quality of vehicles and our road infrastructure together have improved a lot. Earlier roads would get washed out, they were not well maintained, it’s not the case now. Surely, the traffic has increased and one thing which I feel has gotten worse is the driving culture.
Previously, fewer people were driving yet they had better road etiquette than people do now. If you give anyone a compass and ask them to show you the directions, they won’t be able to because they are so used to Google Maps. I still have all the physical maps that I used to travel with. I still trust those more.
I don’t entirely like Google Maps because it will not necessarily take you from the most scenic route, it takes you by the shortest route which can be very congested. I prefer to stop at taxi stands and bus stands on the way and ask the local drivers about routes that are nice and pretty.
Sometimes people would say that you go and take the highway and it will get you to your destination in 2 hours but if you take this other route, it might take you 4 hours but you will see many beautiful waterfalls on the way. This helped me go on the route I wanted to take.
Talking to people. has helped me make some wonderful discoveries. This is something I will continue to do because there is nothing like getting local knowledge from the people who live there.
Google Maps won’t tell you the things people will. One time, a person told me about a narrow road, which could be inconvenient for me, but he said that on that route, there is a beautiful viewpoint that will show you all the mountains. I said that’s the route I want to go by.
Team Sociobits: As a traveler, how much can you actually rely on technology?
Bob Rupani: As I said, nowadays cars are very good and reliable so you don’t have to think about that. The roads are very good and so are the service networks.
I prefer to switch off my phone when I’m on a holiday rather than being disturbed by Whatsapp forwards of someone wishing you good morning and good night.
Yes, I do carry a laptop with me, which I check occasionally when I get Wi-Fi to see if I’ve got any E-mails, but that’s about it. It’s a choice you have to make. Nowadays, I see that the first thing that people ask is if there is Wi-Fi available at the place they are visiting. My question is the exact opposite. I believe that if there is no network there, then I can enjoy my holiday in peace.
Unfortunately, we have become so addicted to our personal devices and technology that we do not know when to stop. I like to detach and I’m personally very happy when all these things are not available.
Team Sociobits: Being an automobile expert, could you tell us your opinion on Electrical Vehicles(EV)?
Bob Rupani: There are no two ways about it that the future is electric. When this change will happen or should you be using coal energy to charge these vehicles, remains to be answered. In India, most of the electricity we generate is by burning coal. If you will use that to charge your vehicle, then you are just moving the pollution away from the tailpipe of the car to the chimney of coal plants.
If you will use that to charge your vehicle, then you are just moving the pollution away from the tailpipe of your car to the chimney of your coal plants.
Electrical Vehicles will help in reducing pollution in a big way when they are charged with other alternative forms of energy like solar power, wind energy, or hydropower. In India, we are going down the EV route, but I think we are doing it a little too quickly. We need the correct infrastructure and enough eco-friendly sources of electricity.
I wish it helps with reducing pollution, but I don’t think it will. At the same time, I wonder why we haven’t looked at hybrid vehicles, which charge themselves more seriously. You have an electric motor and a battery and you have a regular, smaller engine. This way you don’t have to worry about where you are getting your next charge from.
It is your car’s regular internal combustion engine that is charging your battery. Hybrids could have been a good solution for India before we moved completely to electric vehicles. Companies like Toyota, Maruti, and Lexus are introducing hybrids and they are getting popular but they are not quite mainstream yet.
In my view, the transition should have been from internal combustion engines to hybrids and then electric vehicles. We have jumped two steps forward due to which now we are facing problems with EVs and people are saying, we don’t have the infrastructure ready yet.
I believe EVs are the future but only when we have enough charging stations as well as alternative energy sources, rather than just burning more coal.
Team Sociobits:Which company do you think will dominate the EV sector in the coming time?
Bob Rupani: EVs have changed the game completely. To make a regular vehicle, you’ll need an engine, a gearbox, and many more things. A huge amount of manufacturing expertise and technology goes into this process. EVs are pretty simple in comparison, you just need batteries, motors, the platform and body of the car, and suspension and wheels.
Most EVs don’t even have a gearbox. It’s basically the equivalent of assembling a computer. You get the motherboard from somewhere, then you get the RAM from somewhere else. You just buy things from suppliers, assemble them, and present a vehicle. Not every EV manufacturer is doing that, some are investing a lot in research and development.
They are making their own vehicles but particularly in the EV two-wheeler space in India, we are launching a new Electric two-wheeler every day. I have lost count of how many electric two-wheeler manufacturers there are in India, but I can tell you a new one comes out every day.
These guys just need a space and some workers to assemble all the parts of the electric two or three-wheeler. Going ahead, it’s difficult to take one single name as to who will dominate. It could be someone completely new. Currently, Tesla is dominating the US market with their cutting-edge technology. Similarly, Apple too may enter the space as could so many others.
It could be anyone, but I think that established manufacturers with decades of experience will always be slightly ahead.
Team Sociobits: One issue that’s been consistent with EV users is the range anxiety they have due to how the car is made, what do you think of that?
Bob Rupani:
Life is anyway stressful, why do you need to have that range anxiety on top of that!
Life is anyway stressful, why do you need to have that range anxiety on top of that. I don’t like the fact that if I am driving a vehicle, I may run out of charge. Then, I am dependent on a charger which I may or may not find. There are multiple things that can go wrong and I don’t want that. That’s why I prefer hybrids.
As time goes by, the range for EVs is increasing but if the vehicle will have a longer range, it’ll also be that much more expensive. The question of affordability comes in here. 10 years from now we should be in a better position to say yes to EVs but as of today, I don’t want that range anxiety.
If I did own an electric vehicle, I will only use it in the city and not on long road trips. People have done it but I personally won’t be comfortable doing it. Others are mostly doing it for records. Of course, it is doable provided you know where to stop to find charging stations and appropriate infrastructure.
Team Sociobits: You have recently ventured into Youtube, what can we expect from your channel in terms of content?
Bob Rupani: During the pandemic, everyone was locked in. Even newspapers were not being published for some time in the beginning. Around that time, things started making a big shift towards digital media platforms such as YouTube and people requested that they would love to see me make videos.
My friends and colleagues encouraged me to do the same, so I gave a thought to trying it out. It is any way just a change of medium, earlier I used to write a story, now I tell a story. I started my YouTube channel just a few weeks back and the response so far has been really positive and encouraging.
We plan on making short films on a variety of subjects. These subjects will include historical monuments, wildlife, culture, and more.
Team Sociobits: Before we end, can you give budding travelers any tips on exploring India?
Bob Rupani: Recently, I have been very disappointed with the way people have been behaving at tourist places. Someone drove into the Pangong Tso Lake! then there was a couple who was fined 50,000 Rupees for driving on the sand dunes. There were also people smoking near a Buddhist Shrine.
The Buddhist Monks are non-violent people otherwise if this was some other part of the country, these people would have been beaten up for smoking and drinking at a place of worship. It doesn’t matter what place you are visiting, you should respect the local culture, the local people, and their culture and landscapes.
I don’t understand what makes a person do things like these, the Pangong Tso Lake is one of the world’s most pristine spots and you choose to drive your car inside it. A similar case happened in Goa where somebody took their vehicle across a beach in Goa and got it stuck in the water, the Goans were pretty unhappy about this.
Indian tourists are pretty unaware of the place they are going for a holiday. If you see a foreign tourist, they read up on everything and know exactly what place is of cultural significance. They do their research in all aspects, about food, history, about everything. My wife’s friends recently were talking about their experience in Jim Corbett National Park.
For me, it’s less about having a big bank balance and more about the knowledge and experiences you’ve had to talk about.
Bob Rupani
They stated that they couldn’t see a single tiger there. I asked them whether they expected the tiger to be sitting there and waiting for them. I then inquired about the birds they saw and they said that they saw quite a few birds, all colorful, none of which they had seen before.
I told them that it’s your fault that you were not well-read before going there. The birds you saw there are extremely rare and bird-watchers from Europe come down here to see these birds. Then they said they spotted a bear, at which point I said that it’s great because a bear is harder to spot there compared to a tiger.
This is the problem, we don’t have an appreciation for what our country has to offer. So I would suggest, go read up on historical monuments and places. Visit them and you will come back a richer human being, a human being with knowledge. For me, it’s less about having a big bank balance and more about the knowledge and experiences you’ve had.
Over the past year, NFTs have developed into a cultural phenomenon that frequently makes headlines due to celebrity involvement, antics, scams, and legal disputes. There are still many reasons why someone would want to try their hand at making one, even though it’s difficult to predict whether they will maintain or regain their popularity after a market dip or two. In a market where innovators have made millions of dollars who can resist?
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Before we discuss how to build an NFT utilizing two of the most well-known marketplaces, let’s first discuss the fundamentals of what an NFT is and the choices you might have to make before opting to sell one. (If you’re a little more familiar, skip to Step 3 to start the process of actually making a token.)
What is an NFT?
NFTs, also known as non-fungible tokens, are digital tokens stored on the blockchain. Each NFT is unique and can be sold as proof of ownership over some form of a digital file, unlike cryptocurrencies where each coin is identical (there is no reason to favor one Bitcoin over another).
The files are virtually never actually kept on the blockchain itself. Instead, a link to the file and the token serving as ownership verification for the content it points to are saved. Additionally, there is no restriction that two or more NFTs cannot exist for the same file; you can have editions of NFTs, much like trading cards. For instance, an NFT can be common if thousands of the same NFT have been “minted,” or added to the blockchain, as opposed to being uncommon if there are only 10 copies. Additionally, nothing prevents someone from using the file you used to create your NFT and using it to create their own NFT (though the blockchain entry will show that it came from their account, not yours).
You should keep in mind that your first NFT should most likely be some kind of image, video, or audio clip. Such limitations could assist you in reducing the options if you are unsure of what you want to market as an NFT.
Technically, any digital file can be sold as an NFT, but if you want to use a marketplace’s simple minting facilities, you’ll only be able to use those formats. You should keep in mind that your first NFT should most likely be some kind of image, video, or audio clip. We’ll talk more about that later. Such limitations could assist you in reducing the options if you are unsure of what you want to market as an NFT.
How to create and market an NFT
To create, or “mint,” your first NFT. You must decide on an NFT platform and a payment wallet before you can create an NFT of your artwork. You must use the latter to pay any costs and to collect money if your NFT is successful in selling.
There are many online marketplaces where you can buy and trade NFTs. OpenSea, Rarible, SuperRare, Nifty Gateway, Foundation, VIV3, BakerySwap, Axie Marketplace, and NFT ShowRoom are a few of the most well-known NFT auction sites. A comparison of some of the most well-liked choices may be found in our guide to NFT marketplaces.
There are many NFT payment platforms as well, with some of the more well-known ones being Coinbase, MetaMask, Torus, Portis, WalletConnect, MyEtherWallet, and Fortmatic. We will demonstrate the creation and sale of an NFT using the NFT platform Rarible and the cryptocurrency payment platform MetaMask for illustration reasons.
Any of the platforms listed above, as well as many more, are options, and using them will typically involve following a similar procedure. Before making a decision, we advise carefully examining the fees involved.
STEP 1: Purchasing cryptocurrency to fill your wallet
You’ll need cryptocurrency in order to create and sell an NFT. To “mint” an NFT, which is the procedure that converts your artwork into a non-fungible token that you can sell, all of the NFT auction platforms previously mentioned will ask for an upfront payment.
Most of the time, payment must be done in cryptocurrency, therefore you’ll need to buy some to pay the fees before you can sell an NFT of your work and perhaps earn any bitcoin.
Since Ether (ETH) is the native cryptocurrency of the open-source blockchain platform Ethereum, where NFTs were initially introduced, it is also the most widely used method of payment. However, other platforms are beginning to accept a range of payment methods and create NFTs utilizing several blockchains, some of which are more environmentally friendly. For more information on which might be ideal for you, see our guide on NFT crypto.
There are other solutions for this, as we previously indicated, but in order to demonstrate the procedure, we’ll utilize MetaMask, which is accessible as both a browser extension and a mobile application. Go directly to step 4 if you’d rather use another provider or if you already have a digital wallet and are familiar with how it functions.
STEP 2: Establishing an online wallet to pay for your NFT
To produce and sell an NFT, you must first create a digital wallet with MetaMask. To do this, go to the company’s website and click the blue “Download” icon in the top-right corner. Although there is a mobile app, since we will be utilizing a desktop computer, we will select the option to install the browser extension.
A confirmation question will ask you if you really do want to “establish a new wallet and seed phrase.” The term “seed phrase” refers to a set of words that contains blockchain information, so don’t worry about that too much. If you select yes, all that’s left to do is accept the terms, choose a password, and through a few security checks before your account is created.
STEP 3: Adding cryptocurrency to your wallet
You must add some ETH to your MetaMask wallet—or another digital wallet—after you’ve configured it. If you don’t already have any ETH, you’ll need to buy some right away. To accomplish this, click the “Buy” button and choose “Buy ETH with Wyre.”
You will be directed to a screen where you can purchase ETH using either Apple Pay or a debit card. This stage can be delayed if you’d like not to spend any money at this time, but doing so will involve a bit more work. To determine how much you’ll need to buy, check the costs associated with your preferred NFT platform.
This portion of learning how to create and sell an NFT can be intimidating due to the cryptocurrency lingo, but purchasing money is actually pretty simple. Just be aware that Ether’s value might change greatly, just like it can with bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies.
One Ethereum’s price has fluctuated greatly in 2021 alone, from less than $1,000 to $4,700 at the time of writing. It is entirely conceivable for the exchange rate to change by several hundred dollars in a matter of hours.
STEP 4: Connecting an NFT platform with your wallet
The majority of digital wallets function similarly. You must link it to the NFT platform you’ll be using to sell the NFT, regardless of which one you select. Although we’re using Rarible for illustration, there are other different NFT platforms to pick from, and the procedure will typically be similar to what we lay out below.
Visit Rarible.com. The word “Connect wallet” is written on a button that is located in the upper right corner of the screen. After clicking there, you will be prompted to enter your wallet provider, which in our instance is MetaMask, on the following screen. You can choose to link your wallet to Rarible via a popup. Click “Next,” then “Connect,” confirm that you are over the age of 13, and accept the terms of service.
STEP 5: Uploading the file you want to convert to an NFT
You are now prepared to learn how to create and market an NFT since you have a wallet connected to ETH for making payments. Click the blue “Create” button in the top right corner of the Rarible website. The decision to produce a single, unique work or sell the same thing more than once will then be presented to you.
In this instance, we’ll choose “Single.” You must now submit the digital file that will become an NFT. PNG, GIF, WEBP, MP4, and MP3 files up to 30MB in size are all supported by Rarible.
STEP 6: Setting an auction for your NFT
You must make a decision on how to sell your NFT artwork in the following section of the form. Three alternatives are available. You can set a price and sell your NFT immediately if you use the “fixed price” option. Those who choose the “Unlimited Auction” option may continue placing bids until you accept one. The term “Timed auction” refers to an auction that has a fixed duration.
This brings us to the most challenging step: selecting a minimum price. If you sell your NFT for too little money, the high fees will eat up your profit and can even leave you with nothing. We’ll give individuals seven days to submit offers after setting our price at the audacious 1 ETH.
You then have the choice to “Unlock once purchased.” This allows you the opportunity to share a complete, high-resolution version of your artwork and/or supplementary materials with your potential customer via a private website or download link. The next choice down labelled “Choose Collection,” is the most confusing. This is a highly technical query about the technology of the blockchain. Rarible is the default selection in this field, and we suggest leaving it that way.
STEP 7: Add a description to help sell your NFT
Give your listing a title and a description at this point. You should give this some thought to increase the chances that your NFT will sell. The next step is to ask you to decide on the percentage of royalties you want to receive from any future sales of your artwork.
A greater proportion will give you more money per sale in the long term, but it will also discourage others from reselling your artwork because they won’t be as likely to make a profit. This is another balancing act. The last field is an optional one where you can specify the properties of your file. You’re practically done once you’ve finished it.
STEP 8: Paying the listing charge to sell your NFT
Clicking “Create Item” is the last step in learning how to create and sell an NFT. You’ll then be asked to connect with your wallet to pay the listing fee. Don’t worry if you don’t have enough money in your wallet; you won’t have to start over. You can add money to Rarible immediately from the wallet by clicking on the icon in the top-right corner of the screen.
Just one more word of caution before we proceed. The listing fee can appear low. Before continuing, you must consent to another cost in order to create your NFT.
You will have to pay a commission fee on the NFT sale as well as a transaction fee to transfer the money from the buyer’s wallet to your own if someone actually purchases your NFT.
The complexity of blockchain technology, the wild price swings of cryptocurrencies, and the lack of transparency on the platforms make it impossible for us to explain how to evaluate the prospective cost of making and selling an NFT simply and clearly.
You’re left with little choice except to take a chance, watch to see how much you’ll ultimately be charged if you make a sale, and cross your fingers that you’ll still turn a profit. However, we wish you success if you decide to take a chance and invest some money in creating NFT art.
The ecosystem for non-fungible tokens is expanding quickly and getting simpler to utilize. It is very easy to mint your own NFTs if you are interested in doing so. There is a project available for you to utilize whether you want to make, purchase, or sell NFTs.
The metaverse era, in which we shall coexist with actual lives in networked, persistent virtual realities, is rapidly approaching. Every activity we can perform in the actual world will have a “digital twin” in the metaverse that we can interact with without leaving our homes. We will use these spaces more and more for work, leisure, socializing, and education. This includes making investments and earning money, and just like in the real world, purchasing real estate will be one of the most well-liked methods of doing so.
Real estate in the metaverse, or should we say virtual estate, is already a lucrative industry. Superstars like Snoop Dog and major corporations like PwC, JP Morgan, HSBC, and Samsung have already purchased virtual parcels of property that they plan to use for a variety of projects. Early investors have already reaped significant rewards—at least on paper. On Decentraland or the Sandbox, two of the largest metaverse platforms, the average cost of the smallest parcel of land up for sale was less than $1,000 less than a year ago. It currently stands at about $13,000.
Prices for the cheapest available pieces of property on two well-known platforms are retailing for more than $13,000, pricing out many would-be landowners as the metaverse land rush continues.
The term “metaverse” describes several online platforms that are building an interactive environment with virtual entertainment and enterprises. According to Meta Metric Solutions, a business that measures the cost of digital real estate, the lowest price for a piece of land on the Sandbox platform as of Wednesday was 3.7 Ether, which is equal to $14,099, and on Decentraland it was 3.46 Ether, which is equal to $13,211. The smallest plot of land is 1×1, which corresponds to 96 by 96 “meters” in the Sandbox and 16 by 16 “meters” in Decentraland for the user’s avatar.
Is there a chance to purchase the newest and greatest digital assets now before they become popular? similar to purchasing NFTs two years ago or Bitcoin ten years ago? How can you participate if you want to be part of the action? Or would it be wiser to avoid what might turn out to be an overinflated bubble that is about to burst? Find out by reading on!
Why purchase metaverse land?
There are two major reasons you might desire to own land in the metaverse, much like in the real world. The first option is generally the safest; you want to use it for anything, like constructing a home or place of business. In the metaverse, “dwelling” refers to having a location to call home where you can display your belongings and perhaps even invite people over to hang out. In the early days of the internet, before everyone switched to social media, it was similar to owning a personal website.
Individuals will utilize their metaverse “homes” as a platform to showcase their personalities online or to store their collections of one-of-a-kind digital collectibles. Since it’s likely that you’ll get what you desire from your purchase, this is perhaps the less dangerous reason for wanting to buy metaverse land.
The second reason is as an investment, and this is where things could become a little dicey as there is obviously no guarantee that its value would increase like with any investment. The average price of metaverse real estate has increased by a factor of 10 over the previous year, so we certainly appear to be in the midst of a gold rush. Due to the simple belief that it will become increasingly valuable as more people become interested, many people are purchasing digital land now. Even more, people are buying to rent now that a strong rental market is developing.
How to buy land in the metaverse?
To buy a property in the virtual world, you must register with a metaverse platform, such as Decentraland, The Sandbox, or Axie Infinity, among others. A fully-funded digital wallet is all you need to conduct transactions in the metaverse. You can use your digital wallet to convert your dollars into cryptocurrencies like ether or the local money of the metaverse you are trading in, like MANA or Sandbox.
You can buy, rent, flip, or even sell properties in the virtual world with the support of the nearly complete ecosystem provided by the metaverse, and ownership is through non-fungible tokens (NFTs) title.
Here’s a step-by-step instruction on how to purchase land in the metaverse.
Step 1: Decide on a metaverse platform.
You must choose a metaverse platform before purchasing metaverse property. Your choice of project, which we shall discuss later in our tips section, will depend on your motivations for purchasing the land. For the purposes of this tutorial, we’ll utilize The Sandbox on Ethereum as an example; Decentraland is another much-liked choice.
Step 2: Get your wallet ready.
In order to access the cryptocurrencies you possess, you must build a wallet. Depending on your preference, you can use a browser-based wallet or a mobile wallet. On the other hand, there will normally be fewer issues when using a browser-based wallet.
Although various blockchains are supported by MetaMask and Binance Chain Wallet, you should always confirm that the wallet you select supports the NFT land blockchain.
You’ll get a phrase known as your seed phrase when you set up your wallet. As this is how you’ll be able to get your wallet back if you lose access, keep it in a secure location. The location where you store it should always be offline.
Step 3: Connect your wallet to the Sandbox marketplace.
Land parcels up for bid can be seen on The Sandbox’s map. While some of the transactions are housed on other exchanges like OpenSea, some can be done directly through The Sandbox marketplace. To keep it basic, let’s look at one we can bid on through The SandBox.
You need to connect your wallet before you can place a bid on anything. Click [Sign In] in the top right corner of the Sandbox map. Make sure the project, in this case, Ethereum, is set up correctly in your wallet as well.
Click [MetaMask] after that.
You will see a pop-up from MetaMask inviting you to connect. Press [Next].
Click the [Connect] button to proceed to link your wallet.
You will now be prompted by the Sandbox to enter your email address and choose a pseudonym. For the final step in creating your account, click [Continue]. If you want to utilize the SandBox editor, you can optionally specify a password.
To finish your account, click [Sign] next to the MetaMask signature request.
Once you’ve joined successfully, your account balance and profile photo will appear in the top right corner of the website.
Step 4: Purchase ETH or SAND on Binance, then transfer it to your wallet.
You’ll need either SAND or Ether (ETH) in your wallet to buy or bid on the land. Purchasing ETH is probably more beneficial as most Only ETH is accepted at the Sandbox land sales. You can purchase SAND or ETH using a credit or debit card through your Binance account. You must transfer your cryptocurrency to your crypto wallet after buying it. Use the public address you copied from your cryptocurrency wallet as the address for your withdrawals.
Step 5: Choose a LAND parcel.
With the filters below, you can quickly browse the land that is up for bid or purchase in The Sandbox. You will typically only find land available on OpenSea because much of the property in The Sandbox has already been purchased. Through The Sandbox map, you can still place a bid on these sales, though. Due to the fact that OpenSea linkages are integrated into the user interface, the SandBox map is also the best way to confirm that you buy a genuine NFT plot.
When you locate a plot of land you want to buy, you may either click the [Bid] button to make an offer or the ETH amount to buy it at a set price. Let’s review making an offer by clicking [Bid]. An offer-making pop-up will now appear for your consideration. Don’t confirm the transaction with your wallet before entering the bid amount and clicking [Place Bid]. The cryptocurrency will be returned to your wallet if the seller rejects your bid or the auction is canceled.
You will be directed to OpenSea to complete the transaction if you click on the fixed pricing. Before you can buy the land, you must connect your wallet to the market. If you don’t want to use The Sandbox, you can also make an offer using OpenSea.
What to keep in mind before buying land in the metaverse?
The digital land in the metaverse will cease to exist if the platform you purchased it from fails and goes offline, unlike investing in the real estate market where the physical land you have acquired actually exists. The significant volatility of the cryptocurrency used to transact in the metaverse’s real estate market is another thing to keep in mind. The value of the assets you hold in the metaverse changes in proportion to how unstable the value of the digital currency is.
Additionally, since investing in digital real estate is a relatively new asset class, there are many aspects of it that have not yet been fully investigated. Before making any investments, it is advisable to thoroughly investigate the advantages and disadvantages of the digital real estate market in the metaverse.
The ecosystem for digital real estate has grown significantly within the bitcoin community. As you can see, buying and selling land is rather straightforward. However, sometimes, it could cost more than making a tangible real estate investment. If you decide to buy NFT metaverse land, be cautious to weigh the hazards and follow safe crypto practices.
People have enjoyed producing bizarre photographs using an artificial intelligence application that can take a random description and build an image from it.
Craiyon, formerly DALL-E Mini, is an AI system that can generate images from natural language descriptions. It is a knock-off, less powerful, but freely available version of DALL-E by OpenAI. Early in June 2022, the project went widespread on Twitter because it was used to create amusing photographs, such as characters in peculiar places or characters eating different meals.
DALL-E Mini is an open-source community project that was started as an inspiration for the original DALL-E and has since continued to develop with amazing outcomes due to Boris Dayma and all collaborators. Here are 15 weird and wacky DALL-E Mini or Craiyon creations that are taking rounds on the internet:
“Helicopter View of your Mom” and “The Father..The Son..and the Holy Pee Pee”
Artificial intelligence does have a knack for making art, despite the existential horrors that come with the vast amounts of knowledge it amasses. Today, the internet is utilizing this technology to its fullest potential by using DALL-E Mini to produce some epically bizarre visuals.
People are always eager to adopt a new AI that is accessible online and that anyone can interact with. With the new Craiyon, which enables users to enter any notion of their choice and watch the AI produce an image of it, this is the case once more. The AI is certainly not perfect, but it is fairly intelligent. All of the people do have some fairly unsettling faces afterward, but it just serves to increase the humor.
Crypto started out as something where people who are tech-geeks or people who are already knowledgeable on the subject of virtual currency were investing in it. In came 2021 and crypto took the whole world by storm. Now everyone from a 16-year-old to a 45-year-old wanted to get on the bandwagon and earn money from investing.
The numbers speak for themselves, as in the calendar year 2021, venture capitalists from all around the globe invested around $30 billion in numerous crypto startups. But as the saying goes, “all good things are not permanent”, Bitcoin has fallen 70% from what its record high used to be. Accompanying them, a number of altcoins have taken the hit too.
The beginning of this loss can be traced back to when Luna went down because Terra had lost its peg to the US dollar. UST is pegged to the US dollar so one UST is supposed to have around the same value as 1 dollar. UST is kept stable by an algorithm that burns (permanently destroys) Luna tokens to mint (create) UST tokens.
Multiple factors played in the meltdown of crypto and people need to understand that it is a fairly new market to explore. The industry is unmonitored for the most part and quite a few people ignore the red flags they see because everyone is here to earn loads of money.
Ultimately, Luna fell in value by 99.9%. This situation, similar to hyperinflation, unexpectedly caused huge losses to crypto investors.
Add to that the fact that some veterans from the finance industry stand strong with the digital currency. Recently, Bank of England Deputy Governor, Jon Cunliffe, compared the crypto meltdown in May, where known names such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Terra’s Luna suffered huge losses, to the dot com crash that occurred at the beginning of the year 2000. He is a firm believer in crypto is here and here to stay.
If you are someone who has followed Crypto closely, you would know that it has gone through a lot of literal ups and downs. These down phases are commonly known as “cryptocurrency winter”. The crypto market has certainly seen some good days as last November it skyrocketed to $3 trillion including all assets. The beginning of May saw the estimated value at $1.65 trillion whereas now its plummeted down to less than $1 trillion.
Trouble also brewed for major crypto players such as Babel Finance, Celsius Network, and Three Arrows Capital as the prices went down. Three Arrows Capital even failed to repay a loan worth $350 million. At the beginning of this week, Bitcoin fell by about 3.5% to $20,650. These numbers also led to known exchange firm Coinbase putting a hold on hiring more people for the foreseeable future, at the beginning of this month.
Luckily, because Crypto is as mainstream as ever now, investors who previously would only be interested in traditional investments are now making crypto a part of their portfolio. As the financial sector seems to be plummeting all around the globe, crypto has been smart enough to utilize social media and marketing to its benefit. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has a $175 million sponsorship deal from the leading trading site, Crypto.com.
So it’s assured that the virtual currency is seen. With this visibility and the success that crypto enjoyed during its previous peak, it’s safe to say that this is not going to be the end of it. Venture capitalists are surely more observant of where their money is going, but still, the investments continue.
All Meta-owned apps have recently seen a major jump in the number of updates they are getting. It seems like the company makes notes of what problems might come up with their product or what more should they add to make the user experience better.
Now, it’s being reported that Instagram is testing out a new ‘notes’ feature for the app. These notes are most likely going to be disappearing after 24 hours. This feature will also enable users to post short notes on their stories which can be seen by their followers or people in their ‘close friends’ circle. This will come in handy if you want to make a small announcement and don’t want to get lost in someone’s DMs.
This feature was first brought into the spotlight by marketer Ahmed Ghanem. His tweet about the feature also showed viewers that the notes feature will potentially be displayed a row above the app’s direct message service. You can add a new note by tapping on the plus button(+) which will be in front of you.
Image Credits: Ahmed Ghanem
According to the report, Instagram’s note feature will allow users to write about 60 characters. Instagram’s goal with this feature will not be what Twitter wants to achieve with its notes feature, that is posting long-form content. The users will not get a separate notification for the notes on Instagram.
Currently, the company has confirmed that they are testing this feature and there is no fixed date as to when it will be released. The access to test this feature is available to a select few users as of now. It makes sense to introduce this feature, as Instagram is an app that has a lot of things going on and it can be very easy for a friend or someone important to miss a message. With notes, the topic of concern will be crystal clear to the person concerned.
Image Credits: Ahmed Ghanem
Instagram also came up with a way of creating your digital avatar on the app which can be shared on stories and DMs. Besides that, you can now pin your posts on your profile as well as look back on the very first picture you liked. The company is taking some good and interesting steps to make its product reach greater heights than it’s already at.
If you have tried working in the media industry as a director, cinematographer, editor, etc. then you surely know that the industry is very unorganized. It is very hard to find a job that suits your profile. Similarly, when you work are looking for a professional to cover these jobs, it is difficult to find someone that can match your description.
Team Sociobits connected with the Founder of Crewbella, Mr. Chirag Balani, who has created a platform that aims to solve this major problem faced in the media industry. Chirag Balani is a storyteller and CEO of Crewbella who has worked in the media industry for 4-5 years. He practices his skills in the fields of Direction, Editing, Cinematography, and Writing and has worked with Dubai Expo, the Government of India, Netflix, Prime Video, Hotstar, etc. Here’s what Chirag Balani told us about his startup, Crewbella:
Team Sociobits:Could you tell us a little about Crewbella?
Mr. Chirag Balani: Crewbella is a platform where anyone in this country can hire a crew for their media-related projects. For example, if a production house in Bombay wants to shoot in Assam but it’s difficult for them to hire a crew from Mumbai and take them to Assam. Then, they can directly hire from Assam. This goes similarly for TV, radio, video, films, and the events industry.
Team Sociobits: Why did you choose Crewbella to be focused on the media industry?
Founder: I am from the media industry. I have worked in the industry for the last five years and this and a problem that I was witnessing every day. So, the production house that I was working at required a different kind of crew almost on a daily basis, and every day we had hundreds of people waiting outside our offices for work. Most of them were actors but some of them were media crew and hence, my production house couldn’t connect with the crew. So, I thought that there should be a platform where people could see the profiles of every kind of crew they want to hire; They can see their skills, they can see their profession, and experience, and then they can hire. This is why I thought that the media industry will be the best because no one here is doing so.
I thought that there should be a platform where people could see the profiles of every kind of crew they want to hire; They can see their skills, they can see their profession and experience, and then they can hire.
– Mr. Chirag Balani
Team Sociobits: How did you come up with the name Crewbella?
Founder: Actually, there is no logic behind it. As you see, my name is Chirag Balani and the company’s name is “CrewBella”. So, the initials are the same. Also, ‘Bala’ in ‘Balani’ means beauty, quality, or purity, and ‘Bella’ in ‘Crewbella’ has a similar meaning. So, Crew means crew, and Bella means quality; Hence, Crewbella.
Team Sociobits: How has your journey with Crewbella been?
Founder: When I first started the platform, I saw that there were already Facebook Groups doing a similar job but it was failing because Facebook Groups had thousands of people and the reach of the post was not even twenty. Let’s consider if someone wanted to hire a cinematographer in Jaipur, Rajasthan, and they post it in their group, then the probability of that post reaching a person in Rajasthan in 10,000 is less than one percent.
At Crewbella, I designed a system where, in this case, we will directly send a notification for the requirement to the cinematographers in Rajasthan. They would know that someone from Bombay wants to hire us. This is how I thought that there should be a system and we cannot rely on social media.
Team Sociobits: Can you point out any major challenge that you face and how are you tackling it?
Founder: There are specifically two challenges that I faced. One is in the technological aspect because the platform is based on a blockchain contract. Everything is made on blockchain technology which is comparatively still a new concept in India because very few developers have been able to make services and products based on it.
I saw that there were already Facebook Groups doing a similar job but it was failing because Facebook Groups had thousands of people and the reach of the post was not even twenty.
What we do is, hire a crew using a digital contract and this has to be the safest option on the internet. And if anyone is able to hack into that contract, it means the platform is not working. So, finding developers to build this technology has been really difficult and another thing is that the media industry is still corrupt when it comes to a crew. Clients do not trust the crew with their money and the crew does not trust clients with the work. The crew is afraid that the client will eat up the money and the client is afraid that if I give him the money, they will mess up the work.
Now, when someone hires through Crewbella, they get two options. First, their money is secure and their work is secure. And another thing is that you will only meet genuine clients and genuine crew because we do a background check and if either of them has been involved in some malicious activity in the past, then it will be represented on the profile. You can also see the Google Reviews of the clients and the crew. So, these are the two challenges that I am tackling.
Team Sociobits:How do you ensure monetary security to both clients and the crew?
Founder: So, let’s say you hired me to shoot this interview and I charge you Rs. 15,000 for the entire shoot. So, before hiring me, you will pay that money to Crewbella which will be shown as credits on my profile. That you have hired me for work and the amount she has paid. Then, I’ll come here and I’ll do my job, after the interview has been shot, you will have to tap ‘yes’ when the shoot is completed and I will also tap ‘yes’. Then, Crewbella will transfer that money to me. Hence, I as a crew, need not worry whether I’ll get money, and you as a client won’t be afraid because you’ll see me working.
Let’s also consider that I come here and I don’t work the way you wanted me to or I do not deliver the quality of work that I assured in my profile or in my resume. So, you can report that digital contract on Crewbella. You can upload video and photographic proofs. The platform will then analyze this and if they find out that I have not worked up to the mark, they will be returning all or a portion of the money that is required to be submitted to you.
Similarly, if I come here and I see that I am ready to work but your equipment is not up to the mark like, your camera is not working, your lights are working, etc. And you have also taken a lot of time for the shoot to begin, then I can report you on Crewbella, in turn terminating the contract. I’ll also get reimbursed for the amount of work that I have done.
Team Sociobits: What are your revenue sources?
Founder: I started Crewbella, not as a means of earning money. So, it is free for everyone to use and it is free for everyone to find crew. Only, when you make a digital contract, I charge a minimal amount. So, if you hire someone for Rs. 30,000, then I’ll only charge around Rs. 1,000 from it because maintaining, organizing, and creating a digital contract is a robust process; it requires money and that’s how I earn. So, digital contracts are my first medium of earning money and the second would be, later on, I can run ads on the platform so that I can reduce the amount that I earn from the crew and client as a commission for the digital contract.
What I have observed is that Fiverr and Upwork only help you in getting remote jobs or jobs that you can do on a computer. They do not provide on-field creators. You can find a good graphic designer, video editor, web developer, and poster designer on these platforms.
Team Sociobits: Can you also explain how are you different from other freelancing platforms like Upwork or Fiverr?
Founder: See, what I have observed is that Fiverr and Upwork only help you in getting remote jobs or jobs that you can do on a computer. They do not provide on-field creators. You can find a good graphic designer, video editor, web developer, and poster designer on these platforms, but you won’t find a cinematographer, photographer, art director, production designer, or storyboard artist. These are the professions that require you to come to the field and work. They don’t have such systems.
Another thing is that the work is limited. So, if you type video editors for work, you will see profiles that say, ‘I will edit a one-minute video and my charge is Rs. 5,000.’ It is already fixed by the platforms. At Crewbella, the price is not fixed because we know that several projects have several other demands. So, what happens is, that a client can post, ‘I want someone to edit a video of three minutes and my budget is Rs. 15,000. The video editors can then analyze whether they are interested in doing something like this or not and apply accordingly. This way, you can find a crew based on your budget, your requirement, and your skills. It works for the crew in a similar way.
Team Sociobits: Since you were ideating Crewbella in 2017, did COVID-19 have an impact on your startup?
Founder: The pandemic is the only reason that I was able to create this platform. In 2017, I only had an idea that I need to build a community where every artist can come and share work or sell work. In 2019, when I was graduating from college, I worked for two years in Bombay in different production houses. So, I knew exactly what the problem was and what the solution was. Thanks to COVID-19 that I got two years to work on, 2020 and 2021. In those two years, I did research, and development, I made my team, I made the base, I promoted the brand, and finally, in 2022, I am ready for my app to launch for everyone to use. We have an active running website but it’s a prototype of what we do. Our final technology, the one that will be used by people effortlessly and will be free is set to launch on 15th July and all of its work was done during the pandemic only.
Team Sociobits: Currently, how many users do you have on your website?
Founder: In the last year, we have more than 6,500 registered users, out of which almost all of them have found work on Crewbella or given work through Crewbella. The website has been coordinated with our social media pages and we are posting requirements every day. Almost every day we post requirements and every day we are helping people to find the right crew. In a month, we hire 40-50 crews throughout the country.
I want my startup to fail only when the product is not good but not because of valuation or some silly investor that has huge pockets. So, I am looking for someone who can invest 5-7 years with an adequate amount of money. I do not want a billion-dollar investment.
Team Sociobits: What are your future plans? Are you looking for investments?
Founder: When I started Crewbella, it was not intended to be a profit-making startup. It was just to help the community but now when I see the market and the possibilities, I will be looking for investors that are here for the long term, for at least 5-7 years because I want to build a brand and I don’t want to create a bubble. Almost every startup today is creating a bubble, picking up valuations, burning them out, and eventually, I am afraid that it will lead to the crash of my startup. I want my startup to fail only when the product is not good but not because of valuation or some silly investor that has huge pockets. So, I am looking for someone who can invest 5-7 years with an adequate amount of money. I do not want a billion-dollar investment, I only want something that can help to gain profit for 2-3 years. And if I don’t see a profit, I don’t want to onboard investments and that is what my motive is right now.
If the app launch is successful by 15th July, I aim to cater to at least 50,000 users in the media industry by this year, while also maintaining my current crew acquisition. For example, if we manage to gather 50 crews in a month, I would want this number to stay stable. It’s good if the number grows, but I don’t want to go below this number. I don’t want to see a hike and then a low, I want to stabilize first. If I see that 100 people want to get hired but only 20 are getting hired, I would be focusing that those twenty people get an adequate amount of services from my platform and while focusing on stability, eventually I’ll grow into numbers. So, this year I am focusing on onboarding 50 crews every day or a week.
Team Sociobits: Are you looking to expand out of India?
Founder: Yes, I am looking to go out of India but the major problem is that a system is already there. They always work with contracts be it Hollywood, London, anywhere big film industry always make contracts and everyone is habitual to it. India is the only country that works with mouth publicity or on liaisoning and that is why it is needed the most in India. Of course, when I have built the technology where I can reduce the paperwork and burning of foreign film productions, I will expand it to Hollywood.
The founder of Crewbella is striving to transform to make the media industry more organized. On the other hand, this will offer many media professionals more job opportunities and offer convenience to clients.
The most recent cutting-edge alternatives to the back-end systems used by conventional banking firms are fintech companies. Fintech encompasses a wide range of sectors and industries, including retail banking, instruction, investment management, fundraising for nonprofit organizations, etc.
In the fintech sector, software and algorithms are utilized to manage financial operations and procedures. Fintech is expanding in many fields, although it is primarily concerned with the traditional banking industry. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are developed and used by the fintech industry. It has brought about a significant transformation in India.
Let us admire the list of Fintech companies in India for landing. Fintech lenders employ cutting-edge technology to enhance antiquated and inefficient loan procedures. It enables lenders to streamline their procedures and quicken the processing of payments.
Many Indian Fintech businesses today enable lenders to offer individualized services based on the wants and needs of each borrower.
What are India’s Fintech Companies?
Let’s first study the fundamentals of fintech before learning about the best Fintech businesses in India. Insurtech is the application of technology to better the insurance industry.
Policybazaar, one of India’s most well-known Fintech insurance providers, provides a range of products on a user-friendly platform. For instance, term life insurance offers greater insurance coverage at a cheaper premium cost.
Another fintech business in India that provides a range of financial solutions is Kaleidofin. With the use of its specialized suitability engines, it can give its clients customized financial solutions. Partners include IRCTC, PVR, MakeMyTrip, and others. The business also provides a credit limit with a 14-day grace period without interest.
Because inventory times are shortened, its services also assist businesses in providing better services and increasing revenue. In India, two well-known Fintech firms are Neobanks and Milaap. Both businesses provide cloud-based payment services that power more than 350,000 PoS terminals across more than 3,000 cities. One of India’s fastest-growing Fintech startups, Slice, provides payment gateway services as well as a cashback program that offers up to 2% of each transaction. Cashfree Payments is another well-known B2B Fintech firm in India that offers banking and payment processing. India’s low cost of payment gateways and high success rate make it a distinct offering.
The Top Indian Fintech Companies for Payment
The success of Fintech payment companies has contributed significantly to the quick expansion of digital payments in India. When attempting to grow into new markets, these companies don’t have many advantages over other financial institutions. To counter the challenge posed by Fintech, major Indian banks have increased their efforts to enhance their digital product offerings. Here are a few examples.
Mintoak
Mintoak is one of the top Fintech businesses in India. Mintoak is a white-label merchant payment platform that enables businesses to take all types of digital payments, including cards and cash, and creates a single transaction report. The retailers are now free to concentrate on their businesses. In collaboration with the State Bank of India and HDFC Bank Ltd., Mintoak generates revenue via subscription fees and a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of the banks’ goods. The company is 5.2% owned by HDFC Bank.
While traditional banks resisted accepting payments made using smartphones, Fintech firms in India seized the opportunity to target the deposit-taking business of traditional financial institutions.
BharatPe
Leading mobile wallet BharatPe, which is partially owned by a bank, is trying to get retailers to use its payment service rather than current accounts. The second-most used consumer wallet in India, Google Pay, owned by Alphabet Inc., is promoting fixed deposits at the same time.
The Indian government has made initiatives to encourage international investment in the Fintech sector in addition to these new financial services. The International Direct Investment (FDI) framework in financial services has been liberalized by the Reserve Bank of India since 2016, making it simpler for businesses to entice foreign investors.
The new regulations also permit businesses offering financial services to draw funds from abroad. Agritech businesses are an excellent illustration of the latter. Farmers that use their services see greater sales and quicker inventory cycles.
Indian Agri Fintech Companies
In India, there is little use of technology improvements in the agriculture sector. In the end, India’s agriculture sector provides barely 17–18% of the GDP of the nation. In recent years, India has seen a growth in the number of AgriTech firms that support farmers in improving their lives and expanding access to technology.
Agdhi
AI-powered vision-based technology has been introduced to agriculture by a Bengaluru-based Agritech startup. Agdhi is introducing techniques based on computer vision and machine learning to find flaws in crops and seeds, enabling farmers to buy high-quality seeds and plants. Within minutes, the results will be made available. The objective is to disrupt seed testing, seed sampling, and yield technology, which is now necessary. The business is developing digital technology and coming up with substitutes to support sustainable agricultural practices.
AgroStar
Sitanshu Sheth and Shardul Sheth, twins, launched the business in 2013. AgroStar is an online marketplace where farmers may buy agriculture inputs. The AgriTech business also provides farmers with in-the-moment professional guidance on how to improve crop quality and productivity.
Indian Fintech Companies for Wealth Management
A wide range of features are available in the digital realm for wealth management, such as access to free research reports, backtesting, Algo trading, curated investing options, and investment advisers. For urban Indians, this makes wealth management and investing simple. Due to the rise in Fintech services, several entrepreneurs are seizing this opportunity.
Cube Wealth
With 17 investment alternatives available on a single screen, including equities, P2P loans, gold, liquid funds, and other assets, Mumbai-based Cube Wealth is a wealth technology platform.
A dedicated “wealth coach” who offers individualized advice on every investment works for wealth management systems. One of the site’s distinguishing characteristics is that it offers users the choice of a free personalized investment portfolio depending on a range of factors, such as spending and goals, monthly savings and goals, etc.
Groww
The company was set up in 2017. The founders are Harsh Jain, Lalit Keshre, Ishan Bansal, and Neeraj Singh, all former workers of Flipkart. Groww’s web platform and mobile applications are designed to make it simple and easy for people to make their first mutual fund investment.
Groww seeks to educate investors about the numerous risks associated with each portfolio through Groww Assist in addition to offering investors an unbiased analysis of all mutual funds accessible on the market. The SmartSave service from Groww is an investment tool that functions like a bank account and lets users take money out of their investments.
According to analysts, fintech businesses in India will expand both horizontally and vertically. Technology’s increased accessibility is the key to achieving vertical growth. As people acquire new instruments for saving, investing, and trading money as well as changing their economic structures, new financial innovations will emerge in vertical development.
Through these sorts of growth, India is likely to achieve financial maturity and be able to unleash a significant amount of economic growth. This list of the best fintech companies in India has given you clear guidance.
