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tag:econsultancy.com,2008:/topics/security Latest Security content from Econsultancy 2016-06-14T14:22:59+01:00 tag:econsultancy.com,2008:BlogPost/67911 2016-06-14T14:22:59+01:00 2016-06-14T14:22:59+01:00 How often your website needs a security audit & what you need to check Bart Mroz
In fact, President Obama recently stated that hacking of U.S. businesses is an increasing threat and provided information on how to better protect against attacks.

Still, most companies conduct a security audit and backup only when they absolutely have to.

Little do they know that hacking today is more present and sophisticated than ever, so website security testing is no longer an option, it is a necessity.

The question of how often you should conduct a website security audit is vague.

Ideally, you should download a security system that manages this for you and verifies your site's safety automatically so that you do not have to worry about upkeep.

Security

Additionally, there are various security-related tasks you should keep in mind when taking preventive action to secure your website against malicious attacks.

Here are a few ways to stay ahead:

Regular scanning

Check your website regularly and test all links to ensure identity thieves and hackers have not introduced malware into advertisements, graphics or other content provided by third parties.

Unique pieces of malware were up 36% last year so you need to schedule monthly or even weekly scans.

If a link has been compromised then your customers can be the target of bait links which lead to major problems that you do not want to be accountable for.

Penetration testing

If you store any type of valuable information such as customer contact information, transactional data or proprietary information, these are all high-value targets for hackers.

Consider hiring cybersecurity consultants or ethical hackers to identify vulnerabilities in the code that basic software security programs alone cannot discover.

Companies that did this in a study by WhiteHat Security saw a decrease of 65% in vulnerabilities. In today's increasingly connected world, it is important to preemptively find weaknesses before hackers do.

Integrating advanced security apps

While you should never keep unnecessary customer data on the backend of your site, it is smart to utilize the right application scanning tools to help you identify vulnerabilities in your system.

These should identify everything from Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) to vulnerabilities inside debug code and leftover source code that could put your data and your customers' confidential data at risk.

There are advanced threat protection apps from security companies such as Symantec that you can use to check your website's security; it runs through every aspect of your website without disrupting service so your users are still able to navigate smoothly.

While running in the background, these programs periodically check to make sure that your site remains functional and intact.

Some common security threats that your security app should be checking include:

SQL Injection

XSS (Cross-Site Scripting)

File Disclosure

Remote File Inclusion

PHP/ASP Code Injection

Directory Traversal

Why go secure?

Having a secure website can help you in many ways. Other than just giving you peace of mind, it will also make your customers feel much safer during their visits – which is especially true for ecommerce sites that are high risk.

According to TNS Research, common customer concerns include:

87% of online shoppers are concerned about credit card fraud

85% of shoppers are concerned about identity theft

83% are concerned about sharing personal information

77% are concerned about spyware

Don't underestimate the dangers

Many site owners believe that viruses usually hit personal computers so securing their websites is not a priority.

However, having a site taken down by malicious activity can cost you thousands of dollars and large quantities of important data, not to mention lost sales and customer confidence.

About 55% of retail sites are "always vulnerable", meaning that they are at serious risk of getting hacked by criminals. Maintaining normal and reasonable security is not expensive but getting hacked is.

Regularly checking the security of your website with an audit is an essential part of operating a successful website that is safe from malicious threats.

The dangers are interminable and the downfalls that can come from getting attacked can be very costly. If you haven't already taken steps to increase your website's security, now is the time.

If done correctly, it will help protect both you and your customers from attacks.

The time you save from preemptive measures is worth far more than the amount of time that you'll invest to resolve a security threat when it occurs.

Most importantly, you'll be able to sleep well at night knowing that your website is as secure as can be.
 tag:econsultancy.com,2008:BlogPost/67718 2016-04-14T11:01:52+01:00 2016-04-14T11:01:52+01:00 Key trends in online identity verification (so everybody knows you're a dog) Danny Bluestone
Using our 'real' identities online

Online anonymity is waning. A user's digital behaviour never used to be closely connected across the web, nor did it connect to their offline lives.

Technically, there were also fewer plug-and-play solutions like Facebook Connect, which can follow and connect users' activities across the Internet.

The desire for anonymity hasn't completely disappeared. But, as the social web has grown, people have become happier to use their 'real' identities online. Some social networks are even throwing their influential power behind 'authentic' identities to make their platforms more credible and secure.

For instance, Twitter issues verified account status to key individuals and brands who are highly sought after. This helps users differentiate and validate if specific accounts are credible.

Furthermore, the boundaries between social and commercial websites are blurring. Some users submit real-name reviews on Amazon and other ecommerce sites like Etsy, where authenticity can increase sales by generating confidence from customers.

"On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog"

The rise of identity verification services

So, identifying people online – and confirming that information against their 'real' selves – is becoming increasingly important.

Verification is required by a surprising amount of digital businesses: from purchasing products and applying for services, to social networking platforms, where users' authenticity is built into the experience.

It's consequently no surprise that the technology behind identity verification services is constantly evolving, while balancing two critical, and often competing, factors: security and user experience.

Last year alone ecommerce fraud rose by 19% and online banking losses soared by 64%, compared to 2015. High-profile data breeches at TalkTalk and Sony have made consumers more aware of the security threats.

Yet users are still incredibly fickle. They will go elsewhere if the verification stage of a purchase or online account setup is too lengthy or rigid regarding which proofs of identification are acceptable.

TalkTalk website

Trends in verification solutions

Exposing more personal information about ourselves and revealing our true identities online opens up great opportunities and risks. Organisations must navigate (and mitigate) these for their users.

Consequently, a number of solutions have emerged to validate who we are online.

Two-Step Verification

Creating a username and password to access specific websites is the most familiar online identity system. But, we've known it's a broken process for years.

It's too difficult to create and manage unique, elaborate passwords for each online account we have. And even the idea that a 'strong password' can protect us is now a fantasy, with hackers regularly breaking into computer systems and releasing username and password data.

Worse than this, plenty of us daisy-chain accounts to our main email address; creating a single point of failure for hackers to exploit, gaining entry to countless more with ease.

The most common solution is two-factor authentication: requesting knowledge (such as an alphanumerical 'secret') and possession (adding a physical level) for a user to verify themselves. Cash machines were the original implementation of this idea, requiring possession of a physical card and remembering a secret PIN.

The trick is establishing a second, physical authenticator that is secure, but doesn't inconvenience the user.

For example, many companies have avoided the delay and cost of issuing unique physical tokens (such as a key fob, or card reader); instead, asking users to add a mobile contact number and enter unique codes sent via SMS.

Biometric Verification

Biometric technology can streamline the second step in two-factor authentication. Fingerprint data is the clear favourite, as a particularly elegant solution for unlocking smartphones.

Promoted by Apple and Samsung, it requires investment from device manufacturers to install the sensors and secure partners willing to use the channel for purchase, like PayPal.

Concerns about storing such sensitive data has been addressed with both companies storing an encrypted mathematical model instead of the fingerprint images. But as a Mashable hack revealed, people leave copies of their fingerprints everywhere – and lifting a copy can be used to unlock devices.

To set up Apple's TouchID, users repeatedly tap the phone's sensor so it can map a single fingerprint that will unlock the phone.

Some businesses are even exploring more outlandish models. Amazon recently filed a patent application for payment by selfie.

Preventing fraudsters using a photo to pose as another, the proposed system would involve its own two-step process. One photo would be taken to confirm identity. Users would be asked to subtly adjust their position, then a second photo would ensure their proximity to the device.

MasterCard has already trialled facial recognition technology, ensuring users are actually there with a blink instead. 83% of those tested believed it felt secure.

The company has even proposed heartbeat recognition as an alternative, integrating sensors that can read people's electrocardiogram, or the unique electrical signal their heart produces.

MasterCard's selfie pay system was available to test at Mobile World Congress, Barcelona.

National service verification

Demand for access to government services online is rising – but verification is particularly critical for national schemes.

CitizenSafe, one of GOV.UK's certified identity verification providers commissioned a YouGov survey that found 61% of full-time workers (and 64% students) believed online identity verification was the most convenient option for them.

Hailed by the UN for providing the world's best e-Government content, Estonia's service provision rests on centralised unique personal identification codes, given at birth. Microchipped ID cards with this code enable users to sign things online and use a range of digital services from online banking to voting.

But, such comprehensive nationalised schemes have faced concerns from privacy and civil liberties groups.

Instead, countries like the UK and US are adopting a verification approach that checks who the user is against physical sources, such as passports, utility bills or drivers licence. These sources aren't centrally stored, so no department or individual knows everything about you.

Transitioning from public beta to live next month, GOV.UK Verify is the UK's solution to accessing national services easily (yet securely) online. GOV.UK certified a variety of identity verification companies, like CitizenSafe, to verify users' identities on the Verify portal.

GOV.UK Verify empowers you to choose from a range of certified companies to verify your identity.

Users complete the online verification process just once to create an account they can use to quickly and easily access a multitude of government services, such as tax returns, benefits and allowances.

Furthermore, two-factor authentication is used when users login to their online account, needing to enter a user ID and password as well as a code sent to a stored phone number.

New data storage solutions

Whatever identification solution is used, a critical question remains around how personal data is stored to safeguard it against hackers.

Even if hackers can't access your credit card details, obtaining your home address, date of birth, contact details and other personal data could give them enough to access, change or use a multitude of your online accounts, posing a serious risk.

One of the recent solutions to overcome this issue is blockchain technology. Initially developed as a ledger for bitcoin transactions, blockchain is an incredibly secure distributed database where no single organisation (or individual) holds all information.

Blocks of data are added sequentially, embedded using a 'hash' of the block just before it. CoinDesk explains how this acts as a 'digital version of a wax seal', confirming data is legitimate and hardening the chain against tampering and revision.

Summary

Connecting our digital services and activities with our 'real' offline identities has significant implications for our safety.

Leveraging the myriad of new technologies and systems available, businesses have some choice and must balance the security of user data with providing a seamless service, or users will look elsewhere.

Whatever approach you choose, communication with customers throughout their experience is the key. For instance, users may be reluctant to give you their mobile number during an online sign-up if you don't explain that it's for a two-step identity verification process that will protect their identities.

Carefully considered communication, on the other hand, is likely to make users tolerate a slightly more elaborate on-boarding process in the interest of keeping their data safe.
 tag:econsultancy.com,2008:BlogPost/67549 2016-02-23T00:04:00+00:00 2016-02-23T00:04:00+00:00 What are VPNs & why are they so important in Asia? Jeff Rajeck

Indonesia recently banned 477 websites, including Tumblr.

China blocks Google, Facebook, Twitter, and many other Western sites using the 'Great Firewall of China'.

And because of licensing issues, TV and movies which are widely available in North America and Europe are inaccessible in Asian countries.

But, as with many things in Asia, where there is a will, there is a way around it. And in this case, it's the virtual private network (VPN).

What is a VPN?

A VPN is a way for people to connect to the internet which makes it look like their computer is somewhere other than the place it is.

It was traditionally a way for employees to access their corporate network from home. The employee would log their home computer into a VPN and it would appear to other computers on the company network that it, too, was in the building.

But recently it's become more popular with tech-savvy media hunters hungry for TV and movies which are not yet available in their home country.

People all over Asia subscribe to VPN services and now enjoy Netflix like the Americans, BBC like the British, and live sports globally, wherever they are shown.

And as more sites are being blocked by various Asian countries, it seems that web surfing and social media will also be a popular reason to sign up for a VPN service.

Are VPNs difficult to use?

For the uninitiated, using a VPN simply involves installing software on your computer, configuring your browser, or downloading an app.

And once the VPN is set up, it's just a matter of paying a small subscription fee to the service and you are then, virtually, in the country of your choice.

There are free options as well, though these are typically far less reliable.

How popular are VPNs?

It is difficult to say. Both providers and users have a vested interest in not letting anyone know what they are doing!

GlobalWebIndex, a digital consumer research company, published survey results in 2014 and found that usage widely varied from country to country.

Western countries had low adoption of VPNs, with the US being typical at around 3%.

In Asia, however, nearly one in five Chinese (19%) used a VPN and in Indonesia it was nearly one in four. There are also other reports which show much higher usage rates.

And any search on 'VPNs in <country>' will reveal a lively discussion between local netizens on which VPN service offers the best rate for the fastest download speed and, almost inevitably, how well Netflix works on it.

What does this mean for brands?

It's quite clear that for publishers and media producers this means that country-based licensing agreements are being systematically breached by people all over the world.

Publishers need to either work on blocking VPN access to their content or find a way to deliver licensed content globally.

Netflix recently worked out an agreement with over 100 countries.

It's less clear, however, what it means for brands.

For brands who are advertising on this 'leaky' media, VPNs are a mixed blessing.

If the brand is international and offers its products fairly universally across the globe, then this is not necessarily a bad thing.

Its product is now being associated with media that is so valuable to people that they are willing to go to great lengths to consume it.

But for brands who target its products regionally, having its ads viewed via a VPN can, at best, send mixed messages to consumers and, at worst, possibly make them feel ripped off in their home countries.

So what can brands do?

Start by just being aware that many people in Asian countries, and elsewhere, consume Western media like Westerners.

Then, when buying media, brands can ask questions about the number of consumers who are likely to be coming in through a VPN and their country of origin.

If the brand is global or works with a global agency, then counterparts in the Asian countries may know what TV shows or Western sites are popular, yet unavailable, in the country.

There could be an opportunity for a brand to tell its story in a unique way to its 'forbidden' fans.

For the most part, though, brands are just going to have to get used to this sort of random, global distribution of media.

Information, as they say, wants to be free and any attempt to keep your messaging contained to a particular geography will almost certainly not work.
 tag:econsultancy.com,2008:BlogPost/67546 2016-02-18T13:19:00+00:00 2016-02-18T13:19:00+00:00 California hospital cyber hack shows importance of digital risk management Jeanmarie Tenuto
While ransomware is most commonly used to attack home computers and extort money in exchange for a key code, the persistent vulnerability of healthcare and growing boldness of cybercriminals is making for an increasingly high-risk environment for today's healthcare organizations.

Webinar

We'll discuss this issue in more detail, but first allow me to draw your attention to our webinar on Reputation & Risk: Corporate Reputation & Social Media in Healthcare which takes place from midday-3pm EST today (Thursday 18 February).

We will discuss these and other topics including Branding & Social Media, Employment Law, Digital Media and Freedom of Speech, and Cyber Security.

Go here for information or go here to register.

The impact

Staff at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles have been left filling out forms by hand and completely unable to perform some procedures, including CT scans.

Their patients have also been left to retrieve and deliver their own medical information to providers and many are being transported to other facilities for treatment.

Patient data, emails, medical charts, imaging documents, and more are completely unavailable until the systems come back online, according to BBC News.

Right now, callers to the hospital are greeted by a voicemail message that informs patients their medical records have not been accessed by hackers.

The hospital has also assured the community that patient care will not be impacted (despite complaints from patients.)

Officials have not yet commented on the ransom, but CEO Allen Stefanek has declared a state of "internal emergency."

You can be assured that this hospital's reviews will soon reflect not only their vulnerability to a cyber attack, but also how it's been handled by staff and administration.

The Lesson

We're looking at two issues here:

The risk Hollywood Presbyterian was operating under before the attack.

How it is handling the situation now.

Not much has been revealed about the details of the attack. We don't know for sure how it started, the hospital's history with cyberattacks, or if it had emergency plans in place.

We don't know whether they had a PR plan (it honestly seems like they didn't) or whether they had their employees trained to manually look up and enter codes on patient charts and bills.

What we do know, is what's going on now. We know that the hospital has been down for over a week. We know that it has made no mention of the attack on its Facebook or Twitter accounts.

It appears that local news outlets seem to be the source of most information around the incident.

We can't tell what's going on from the outside, but it very much appears as if this was yet another healthcare organization that ignored the reality of the healthcare environment we live and work in.

Cyber security related issues are tremendous concerns for the healthcare sector.

Breaches in healthcare data are more than just IT concerns or PR damage control cases. They undermine patient trust and harm the provider's goodwill, and consequently, their bottom line.

When asked why hackers would target hospitals, the most common answer was 'they are easy targets.'

Hospitals in general, but community hospitals mostly, are grossly underinvested in security and the hackers can get access to health information, insurance and financial information, which has a high resale value.

Even as healthcare organizations ramp up their technology to manage risks, there's only so much that sophisticated tools and systems can do.

People remain the biggest friend and the biggest foe to patient data security. In today's digital media environment it's everyone's duty to act responsibly and protect healthcare data.

[Editor's Note 02/18/16: The Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center ended up paying around $17,000 as a ransom to the hackers.]
 tag:econsultancy.com,2008:BlogPost/67081 2015-10-22T16:01:43+01:00 2015-10-22T16:01:43+01:00 SSL certificates will soon be free for all websites Patricio Robles
While achieving a high level of security is an involved process that requires time and effort, one of the basics is about to get a lot less expensive.

That's because this week, the Internet Security Research Group (ISRG), a non-profit organization with backing from companies like Mozilla, Cisco and Automattic, announced that its automated and open certificate authority (CA) has received cross-signatures from IdenTrust.

What does that mean in non-techie terms? SSL certificates issued by Let's Encrypt will be trusted by all major browsers.

That's noteworthy news because Let's Encrypt offers SSL certificates at no cost. So starting in November, businesses will have a way of securing their websites using SSL without spending any money on a certificate, which can cost upwards of hundreds of dollars a year in some cases.

HTTPS everywhere

According to the ISRG: "Vital personal and business information is flowing over the Internet more frequently than ever, and it's time to encrypt all of it.

"That's why we created Let's Encrypt, and we're excited to be one big step closer to bringing secure connections to every corner of the Web."

The ISRG is not the only organization pushing to drive greater adoption of SSL.

Last year, Google called for "HTTPS everywhere" at its Google I/O conference and even announced that it added HTTPS as a ranking signal...

...over the past few months we've been running tests taking into account whether sites use secure, encrypted connections as a signal in our search ranking algorithms. We've seen positive results, so we're starting to use HTTPS as a ranking signal.

For now it's only a very lightweight signal — affecting fewer than 1% of global queries, and carrying less weight than other signals such as high-quality content — while we give webmasters time to switch to HTTPS.

But over time, we may decide to strengthen it, because we'd like to encourage all website owners to switch from HTTP to HTTPS to keep everyone safe on the web.

Google's encouragement almost certainly helped convince some to use HTTPS, but there are a number of reasons many websites still don't employ it.

For instance, many small businesses with limited access to technical know-how are less likely to understand how to acquire and install an SSL certificate.

But cost is also a barrier, and with a free option that works with all major browsers, it's possible that we'll see hosting companies and makers of server management software integrate with Let's Encrypt to make certificate acquisition and installation practically painless.

Free SSL certificates won't always be the best option

While Let's Encrypt could very well be a game-changer in driving adoption of HTTPS – a small but important first step in promoting data security – companies will want to keep in mind that its free certificates won't always be the best option for all websites.

Let's Encrypt certificates provide domain validation but there is no verification of the organization behind a domain.

The most expensive SSL certificates frequently provide Extended Validation (EV), which involves verifying the organization behind a website.

When these certificates are used, web browsers highlight the organization's name in a green address bar.

For companies operating certain kinds of websites, such as those that involve ecommerce and financial transactions, this level of validation and browser highlighting of trust is often desirable.

But for many websites, Let's Encrypt's free certificates should be a fine option and their availability will leave companies with little excuse for not securing their websites using HTTPS.
 tag:econsultancy.com,2008:BlogPost/65962 2015-01-13T14:00:00+00:00 2015-01-13T14:00:00+00:00 A negative SEO case study: how to spot an attack & fix it David Moth
It can be seen as a reaction to Google's success in clamping down on dodgy linkbuilding – it's now more difficult for spammers to game the system in their own favour so they have to attack the competition instead.

One of the contributors to the search trends article was Nick Fettiplace, SEO director at Jellyfish, an agency that was subject to a negative SEO attack last year.

They've been kind enough to share the data relating to the attack, which was presumably undertaken by one of its competitors.

I should point out here that Jellyfish doesn't know who was behind it and isn't trying to point the finger of blame at anyone in particular.

So, how did it go down?

Evidence of a negative SEO attack

This graph shows how Jellyfish's search rankings were trending in 2014 in relation to several comparative SEO agencies.

The decline towards the end of the timeline occurred when Google implemented the Penguin 3.0 update which sought to penalise low quality backlinks.

The agency's senior SEO manager, Jonathan Verrall, said that he typically checks for changes in the site's link profile every week, so they were able to quickly diagnose the problem.

Closer analysis of the company's backlink profile shows that there was a sudden spike of links in October and then again in November.

Data pulled from Cognitive SEO shows that from the beginning of August through to October there was hardly any suspect link activity, but in October there was a sudden spike with more than 1,700 new links that were seen as unnatural or suspect.

Obviously this kind of action is going to ring alarm bells with Google and is likely to lead to a ranking penalty.

Where were the links hosted?

Analysis of the suspect links showed that they had been posted as comments on thousands of websites.

This is a tactic known as 'comment spamming', whereby the guilty party uses spamming software to quickly post thousands of links in the comments section on blogging sites.

Econsultancy is often the target of these kind of comment spamming campaigns, though our spam filter usually keeps them at bay.

That said, before we upgraded our filter last year these comments would often slip through and in my early days at Econsultancy I was naïve enough to wonder why high profile agencies would resort to such flagrant and obviously spammy tactics.

What was the target?

Cognitive SEO's backlink tool showed that the attack was primarily aimed at Jellyfish's SEO training page.

All the links used exact match anchor text for 'SEO training' which, coupled with the fact that the landing page had been optimised to within an inch of its life (quite legitimately, and as one would expect from an SEO agency), meant that Google rightly thought something was afoot.

Consequently the agency was penalised and began to lose visibility in search rankings.

Backlink removal

Verrall used several different site and web crawling tools to make sure he had identified all the dodgy backlinks, then set about the long-winded process of asking sites to remove them.

He said that the amount of effort involved with getting links removed depends on the type of website. Webmasters at link farms, such as link directories, article directories and blog networks, tend to ask for removal payments.

But thankfully Verrall says that these types of sites are generally a thing of the past. However...

...if you are looking to get links changed or removed from established websites who treasure their readership, they tend to be very accommodating and will change backlinks quite happily.

We get link removal requests fairly regularly at Econsultancy and in general we ignore them as it's often clear that the person making the request is the guilty party (I'm not suggesting that's the case with Jellyfish).

Our old content director Chris Lake wrote an interesting article discussing the various link removal requests we receive and explaining why they're such a pain in the behind.

It took Jellyfish three days to get through the first round of emails to webmasters, which were followed up with a second round of emails to those that didn't respond.

If any sites still failed to respond to the request or refused to remove the link then Jellyfish was forced to upload them to the Google Disavow tool.

However, disavowing links can bring its own problems, as Google likes to see that you've made a conscious effort to remove the offending links.

According to Verrall:

It's also good to keep a log of the removal progress within your disavow file by using the comment functionality.

We typically keep track of the removal process in a cloud based spreadsheet which we reference within the disavow file just in case a member of the Web spam team manually reviews our efforts.

The road to recovery

All the dodgy links have now been removed or disavowed, but the recovery process isn't a quick fix.

Though the attack was swiftly identified and fixed, Verrall said he will need to wait until the next Penguin update to see if the site has fully recovered.
 tag:econsultancy.com,2008:BlogPost/65876 2014-12-09T13:35:00+00:00 2014-12-09T13:35:00+00:00 How the sharing economy will develop in 2015 David Moth
And I previously wrote a post looking at five interesting startups that are impacting life sciences.

At Le Web today Jeremiah Owyang hosted a panel that discussed the extent to which the sharing economy is revolutionising established industries.

Sharing startups have raised more than $8bn in funding, with most of it going to transportation companies.

Jeremiah Owyang's Collaborative Honeycomb (click to enlarge)

One of the beneficiaries of this investment is Lyft, which was represented on the panel by David Estrada.

He was joined by Olivier Grémillon, the managing director of Airbnb in Europe and Africa, and Frédéric Mazzella, the founder and CEO of BlaBlaCar.

Owyang began by giving his five predictions for the sharing economy in 2015:

There will be new sharing startups in every business sector. Funding and execution will dictate the winners.

Mature platforms will launch APIs resulting in more growth and analytics.

There will be a global debate about user safety, privacy and sharing of data.

Crowd demands startups share value with people, leading to more open source movements.

Governments and corporations realise they have to get involved, so sharing goes mainstream.

And here are some of the highlights from the panel session. For more on this topic read our posts on nine user experience lessons travel sites can learn from Airbnb and 40+ peer-to-peer startups in the sharing economy.

What has caused the massive growth in the sharing economy?

Frédéric Mazzella

The internet and smartphones have allowed us to share resources that are expensive to use, such as cars.

The Ford Model T was created in 1908, a company likes ours would probably have launched in 1909 if the technology was around.

Olivier Grémillon

The recession definitely played a role in the growth we've seen. It was a catalyst for new services to emerge.

But the tech aspect is also true. Through a cellphone or laptop it's very easy to book a house or villa wherever you want in the world. And it's the same with other services.

In our case it's as easy to book an apartment in the street next door as it is on the other side of the world because all transactions are done in your own currency.

It's also the case that people want more sustainability, to build more connections with other people, and to generate revenue from the assets they already have.

How do you balance a global strategy with catering to localised markets and cultures?

Frédéric Mazzella

It's a case of having two complementary strategies. You need a global strategy so your product is generic enough to be scalable, but you have to keep a part that is adaptable to local cultures and economies.

We want to build a brand that can expand anywhere but there are certain blocks that can be tailored to local markets.

David Estrada

Our service is hyperlocal as different situations present themselves in each city.

San Francisco is perfect for us as it's only seven-square miles and densely populated. There are very few garages or parking spots, and people tend to be quite social and are often looking for extra work.

In comparison a city like Houston is a very different market. Car ownership there is high, gas is cheap, and there are more parking spaces than they know what to do with.

So it's not as easy for us to establish a presence in that type of city.

If we want to launch in Paris, for example, we need to do a lot of work to understand the market, make sure we have enough drivers to satisfy demand and take account of regulations.

Privacy and safety are key concerns with the sharing economy. How can we make sure the public are happy with how these startups operate?

Olivier Grémillon

The amazing thing is how few problems actually occur. At Airbnb when we look at the number of cases where something happens (e.g. breakage or property damage) it's really small.

In fact we recently increased our claims liability to $1m, as it doesn't cost much to offer this service because not much actually happens.

What about the information that you have on people? How do you enable privacy?

Frédéric Mazzella

Maybe you just don't use the data at all. It's used for analytics, but nothing else.

I think the culture of the company is very important. Our pool of people roughly doubles ever year, so if you want to keep the right culture you need to write it down.

When we had 60 staff [BlaBlaCar now has around 200) we all gathered in a room and asked what values we have, what makes it so special to work here, and how do we make sure new people have the same spirit and culture.

We came out with 10 values that we use to define ourselves.

David Estrada

Trust and safety have to be at the heart of your service. We're offering platforms for people to come together.

This is a very competitive marketplace with a low barrier to entry. You have to provide people with safety and privacy or they'll go elsewhere.

At Lyft we know the origin and destination of all rides, so we have to put tight controls on who can access that information and limit access to people who really need to see that data.

Do you have a message for government leaders on regulating the sharing economy?

Frédéric Mazzella

From our perspective the first thing to remark is that people are sharing cars, they're not making profit.

Our users simply share the costs, so it's just like they're sharing the cost with friends and family members. They're not offering a professional service.

The sharing economy is a new way of interacting with each other, for the next generation it will just be normal.

Olivier Grémillon

We're so new there are no laws to regulate what we're doing.

It's normal that there's a reaction to a new phenomenon, but I think we're past the point where governments think they have to try to regulate us.

As long as you explain what you do, how it will remove some costs for the users, how more people can visit some wonderful cities, then it will be fine.

In some cases it does need to be regulated as you need things to be fair and clear, and it's normal that this creates some debate, but it's a healthy debate.

David Estrada

Governments don't have a framework for what we do.

They have regulations for taxis that are aimed at trying to create a safe environment and they want to do the same for us.

We need to change the mindset and show them that we can create the same level of trust and safety with no level of regulation from the government whatsoever.

We already take on background checks and all of the costs.

Let us take on the burden and let individuals deal with one another directly without the government always being the intermediary.
 tag:econsultancy.com,2008:BlogPost/65367 2014-08-27T16:24:00+01:00 2014-08-27T16:24:00+01:00 Three's a crowd: how first-party data builds customer relationships Rachel Serpa
Multiple devices

In a time when consumers would sit down at their desks in front of their computers and dial-in to the internet, third-party cookies functioned to give marketers a fairly thorough picture of consumers' web browsing habits.

But consumers today don't 'log online,' they live online. According to Mary Meeker's 2014 Internet Trends report, on average, people in the US spend over seven hours each day looking at screens - that includes 103 minutes in front of computers, 151 minutes using smartphones and 43 minutes with tablets (Quartz).

As if Google searches and browsing behaviors weren't limiting enough, cookies only function across individual devices. Businesses still depending on third parties for customer insights are left with an increasingly fragmented view of their customers, making it impossible to build cohesive, end-to-end customer journeys.

Go from third to first: Stop relying on cookies and start capturing consumer identity via site registration.

Giving visitors the option to login to your site or app gives your brand first-party, permission-based access to customer data, enabling you to tie all on-site, cross-channel activities to a single user identity and create cohesive customer journeys across devices. Establishing consumer identity also solves the growing issue of shared devices.

Data privacy

Yes, third-party cookies track consumer search and browsing behaviors across the web. But that's not even the worst part. Many consumers don't even know that they are being watched or that their data is being bought and sold.

And those that do know have made it clear they don't approve: 65% of consumers delete their cookies, and 39% have changed their browser settings to block them altogether (MediaPost).

As more consumers catch-on about cookies, third parties are taking even more invasive approaches to get their hands on user data. Canvas Fingerprinting, which essentially attaches hidden number identifiers to user devices and is extremely difficult to disable, is just one example of emerging 3rd party practices.

Go from third to first: Earn your customers' trust by openly informing them of the data points you are looking to collect, as well as how this information will be used and that you will never sell it to third parties.

Don't ask for all desired data points the moment a consumer visits your site; adopt a progressive profiling approach that enables you to gather a greater depth and variety of information over time. Not only does this improve consumer relationships, but it also increases the accuracy of the data you collect.

Relevant experiences

Think about it: if someone were to try to characterize you based on your browsing history, what would you look like? Does searching for "Louis Vuitton" make you rich? Probably not. Does clicking on an ad featuring a cute baby make you a mother? Or even a woman, for that matter? Not necessarily.

The truth is that most third party profiles have consumers all wrong. Particularly with the rise of mobile and shared devices, arbitrary ad clicks and search queries are hardly a reliable means of consumer identification.

This then begs the question, how can you have a relationship with a customer if you don't even know who she is? With a recent Responsys study revealing that 34% of consumers say they have "broken up" with a brand due to receiving poor, disruptive or irrelevant marketing messages, the answer is, you simply can't.

Go from third to first: Prompting users to sign-in to your site or app using an existing social media account makes consumer identity verification seamless, especially via mobile device, while giving your brand permission-based access to social data points including favorite brands, activities, relationship status and more.

However, even identity-related data is difficult to manage without a single view of consumers across channels. Put a robust master database in place than can consolidate insights across your marketing channels to give you a complete, real-time picture of your customer base.

Third party data and collection techniques are deeply embedded in many businesses today. Extracting these practices from your marketing efforts will take diligence, but it's a necessary transformation for brands looking to establish 1:1 relationships with their customers. Three's a crowd.
 tag:econsultancy.com,2008:BlogPost/65304 2014-08-11T10:11:33+01:00 2014-08-11T10:11:33+01:00 Google confirms HTTPS as a new ranking signal: What are the implications? David Towers
The S in HTTPS stands for Secure, so this change essentially means that any websites using secure and encrypted connections across their domains will benefit from this ranking update.

This formal announcement follows comments from Matt Cutts (Head of Web Spam at Google) at SMX West in March, where he said that he would like Google to make HTTPS a signal within the search rankings.

Read on for more information about the implications of this change, and for further insight into other ranking factors download Econsultancy's Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Best Practice Guide.

Why has Google made this change?

Google doesn't control the web, but increasingly we are seeing Google use its influence to put pressure on websites to conform to what it considers best practice. Google coerces website owners by penalising websites which don't use the standards it considers as best practice and Google has done this before with site speed and mobile design.

In 2010, Google announced that site speed was a ranking signal and in 2013, Google confirmed that sites which are not mobile friendly would not rank well.

As a result of Google penalising websites which were slow and not mobile-optimised, sites were forced to address these issues in order to avoid losing visibility within the search results.

Since 2010, Google has been experimenting with encrypting search results and over the last 12 months it has made strides towards encrypting all its services. In September 2013, Google confirmed the rollout of encrypted search to all users and in April 2014 it expanded secure search to all clicks made on paid ads.

Other search engine providers including Bing and Yahoo have also embraced the move to encrypting search results and consequently the vast majority of search queries made today are now encrypted.

What are the implications?

As a result of this change, we anticipate that secure and encrypted connections will become the norm for all websites in the future rather than being limited to, as it is currently, primarily ecommerce websites.

Google has clarified that right now HTTPS is a very lightweight signal which will affect less than 1% of search queries globally, but this may change over time.

Ultimately this is good news for users on the web as sites using HTTPS encrypt the data between the browser and the site, thereby protecting the security and privacy of what a user chooses to do on that site.

What could this look like in the future?

Since July 2014, Google has alerted mobile users when a site is likely not to be compatible with their device. Sites using incompatible technologies like Flash have lost significant click share as a result of this change.

In the future, and it likely won't be before many months, it's possible that Google could alert users when the site does not use HTTPS.

Now: Google alert users about Flash on mobile devices:

Future: Google could alert users that a site may not be secure:

What does this mean for businesses now?

All businesses with a website should consider using HTTPS for all the content on their websites as this will likely become the global standard and in addition, there will be a small marginal benefit within the Google search results from doing this in the short term.

For businesses with websites already using HTTPS, they need to check whether this is being used across the whole domain or just on specific pages where sensitive data is transmitted. Google has been clear in this announcement that it wants websites to use HTTPS across all the content on the website, not just checkout or login pages.

How should HTTPS be setup?

The main items that will need to be addressed are the following:

Appropriate choice of single-domain, multi-domain, or wildcard certificate.

Use of 2048-bit key certificate.

Use of a web server that supports HTTP Strict Transport Security.

Use of relative URLs for resources that reside on the same secure domain.

What do you think?

Do you agree that this move from Google will mean that secure and encrypted connections will become the norm for all websites in the future?
 tag:econsultancy.com,2008:BlogPost/64498 2014-03-12T12:28:31+00:00 2014-03-12T12:28:31+00:00 How are finance brands helping customers to bank safely? Niklas Olsson
When it comes to keeping their customers' money and personal data secure yet also easily accessible, banks have a number of key external stakeholders to consider who all, in different ways, put the pressure on.

In order to keep up, banks constantly need to evolve their planning, tactics and deployment strategies, as well as establish structures that allow for responsive solutions.

The last 12 months have seen a major shift for many banks as the number of mobile banking logins now exceeds internet logins.

Furthermore, banks highlight that the overall internet banking usage is decreasing, yet due to frequent mobile banking activity the total number of digital banking interactions is on the rise.

Considering this, it is no surprise to see that banks primarily invest in improving their mobile banking login experiences. Here are a few of the themes which we think are emerging as key trends.

Login options to suit customer preferences

We see that banks are continuing to add new login solutions which are designed to keep the fraudster out as well as meeting customer expectations for easier access to their accounts.

As part of this, the dominant approach seems to be optional levels of security. One bank recently updating its offering is first direct (UK).

In the past customers have logged in using username, answering a memorable question and providing partial digits of an electronic password.

Late last year, first direct announced to customers (see email below) that it is introducing a security token (as HSBC did back in 2011) to keep customers safe against fraud threats.

Note that customers can choose between different options:

Stick to the current solution meaning limited access.

A regular Secure Key security token.

A digital Secure Key accessed through the mobile banking app.

This is just one of many examples where customers are being given the opportunity to choose and banks can keep existing solutions as well as using new ones.

Continuing with this theme, I want to highlight another example [my]bank of TSB Bank (NZ) which, with a customer base of a mere 160,000, has pushed the limits of personalisation in a number of areas, one of which being security.

The bank was launched in 2010 to attract Generation Y users. Customers can personalise the level of functionality available in the app based on their defined security preferences.

After login, users can customise a number of security settings, such as password and PIN, device recognition and if they would like to use two factor authentication or not.

Furthermore, customers use a slider bar to indicate their ease of access. The highest option allows users to launch the app in a 'view only' mode with a PIN required in order to make transactions.

There are still questions as to what extent customers utilise or even appreciate these features but it does show flexibility and choice appearing on the bank's agenda.

Mobile banking: providing easier access to basic features

Looking back 24 months, the majority of mobile banking apps required customers to login using the same credentials as for internet banking – resulting in lengthy processes and a disjointed user experience.

Since then we have seen a clear trend towards banks introducing PIN code login solutions (often by linking the app to a specific device).

This has certainly sped up processes and we believe it is one of the key reasons why mobile banking usage has accelerated at such a pace. Highlighted below are three banks providing this solution, SNS Bank (NL), Discover (USA) and NAB (AUS).

Do note that with both Discover and NAB customers still have the options to use regular internet banking login details.

Lower payment limits and card related features

In terms of post-login experience, it is commonplace to require customers to go through a second level of authentication when carrying out certain tasks such as paying a new recipient or changing contact details.

However, yet again we see that development is being driven by the promise of easy on-the-go mobile banking solutions. For example, in the Netherlands and Belgium we have noticed a number of banks allowing customers to set preferred daily or weekly payment limits as part of the app registration.

By doing this, users can login using a PIN and then carry out transactions without the need for further authentication or card reader. This is one user-centric example which will certainly add value through convenience.

The general trend to allow customers to view their credit cards within mobile banking is on the rise. Furthermore, banks have understood that enabling users to block a card (debit or credit card) can be a win-win for both parties.

This is effectively both a cost-saver to the bank and an added feature to customers as they can block the card in just a few taps. Below are four different banks providing solutions to suit all.

Educating customers: how to create content that customers will act upon

Transactions can today be carried out faster than ever, hackers can quickly take advantage of this information or access to services. We see that more and more banks communicate with customers via text message or push notifications to confirm sensitive tasks and keep customers up-to-date on the latest developments.

The latter certainly brings customers closer to their finances and enables them to quickly take action.

In terms of educating customers, one approach is to provide security information via multiple channels, but how many customers actually read and take action from online safety procedures?

USAA recently introduced its 'My Security Advisor' tool where users have to answer a few questions about their online habits and then using information based on the USAA tools the customer is signed up for, an actionable plan will be created in order to keep them protected.

Suggestions include:

Switching to paperless statements.

Setting up security and fraud alerts.

Activating security software.

From My Security Advisor, users get an indication of their current level of risk and results are saved so customers can revisit the tool at any time.

We like this type of activity based approach and it can be an effective use of a forum to inform customers of new measures on an ongoing basis.

The future: Biometric solutions?

One of the trends pinpointed in Ericsson's recently released '10 hot consumer trends 2014' report is 'your body is the new password'. A survey tied to this report showed that 52% of smartphone users want to use their fingerprint instead of passwords.

Furthermore 74% believe that biometric smartphones will hit the mainstream market in 2014.

Are we there yet in banking? Not quite.

However, looking at recent developments, biometric solutions (primarily voice biometrics) are gaining ground and most importantly consumers are being exposed to them more and more, alluding to future success.

 Here are a couple of examples to illustrate what is happening in this arena:

 Barclays (UK) Wealth and Investment Management is using voice biometric technology to verify the identity of customers as they converse with call centre agents over the telephone.

Since its introduction, 84% of Barclays' customers have enrolled in the system, with 95% of those customers successfully verified in successive calls.

Customer feedback has improved since the technology was introduced five months ago, with 93% of customers rating the bank at 9 out of 10 for speed, ease of use and security.

 USAA have already implemented voice recognition within mobile banking (see below).

 Bridge Community Bank (USA) has introduced in-branch biometric security

Customers submit fingerprint and facial biometric data as well as their name, address, date and country of birth and gender. Tascet uses this data to generate a 16-digit 'financial security number' which is linked to the customer account.

To identify themselves in a branch and carry out transactions, customers then provide their name and fingerprint.

Looking outside banking, Apple has introduced a fingerprint sensor for iPhone 5. Furthermore, Apple CEO Tim Cook recently admitted that mobile payments was a business that 'intrigued' the company and that it influenced Apple's thinking when developing the TouchID fingerprint scanner.

This will be an interesting space to watch for future developments.

One of the key concerns with biometric solutions is how to safely collect and store biometric data according to different jurisdictions already in place.

Another would be the risky strategy of relying on only one technology to provide secure login, which could result in being easy to exploit.

Concluding points:

 Consumers take security as a 'given' when managing their day-to-day finances, whether on a mobile on-the-go or on a desktop or tablet at home. This is an ongoing challenge for banks and the initiatives outlined above show that the security space is constantly evolving.

 We predict more collaboration between banks and related financial institutions in order to stay abreast of developments and in turn counteract the continually agile hackers who communicate through online channels to exploit weaknesses in banks' infrastructures and systems.

 The number of login options are increasing providing customers with more freedom of choice, yet over time we believe the digital channels will merge and as a result, the number of solutions will decrease.


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Lust List: TimePorter by Twelve South
Traveling with Apple Watch is a fairly simple affair: strap on your watch and go.
Traveling with all the extra accessories, however, is a serious pain in the butt. There's that 6-foot charging cable, for one, which always manages to get tangled up in my bag. Add extra Apple Watch bands and a wall plug, and you've got some serious carry, and we haven't even mentioned dealing with the watch when you aren't wearing it.
Twelve South has an answer to this conundrum, and it's called TimePorter.

subset: commoncrawl


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We offer the most comprehensive Health Guarantee in the industry.Learn More >>
What families are saying about their new puppies!View all testimonials >>
"Pepper (formally known as Mitzi) is so sweet and cute. She loves giving kisses and loves being around people. She plays with her toys and we absolutely adore her. Thanks so much for our wonderful new puppy:) "
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Capital Markets Perspective
With offices and experts on three continents, including global Investment Banking and Private Equity teams, an international equity sales force and a nationally recognized U.S. fixed income platform, Baird offers unique, first-person insights into important markets around the world.
Commentary and Analysis
- Baird Advisors Fixed Income Market Commentary (August 2016)
- Fixed Income Market Commentary (October 18)
- Municipal Bond Market Commentary (October 4)
- M&A Market Commentary
Thought Leadership
2016-2017 Global Healthcare Report
Baird's Experts Offer Forward Looking Commentary on Industry Trends
- The State of Healthcare
Baird's Mike Bernstein and Whit Mayo reflect on developments in the sector ahead of the Global Healthcare Conference.
- What Consumers Want
Baird experts offer insights on emerging trends and technology.
- Talking Growth
Get video insights from Baird's recent Private Company Technology & Services conference.
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Baird Capital makes a case for the value of human capital perspectives in developing portfolio company management.
- European Targets are Back in Focus
Baird Global Investment Banking investigates how North American corporates and private equity firms are driving transatlantic M&A.
- Baird's Global Industrial Report
Our capital markets experts discuss the trends and dynamics shaping today's global Industrial market.


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In Madagascar, IntraHealth International is partnering with PSI on the Integrated Social Marketing (ISM) Program to improve the health of the Malagasy people, especially women of reproductive age, children under five, youth 15-24 years old, and those living in rural and underserved areas.
The project is implementing an increasingly sustainable social marketing program that delivers essential health products and services, focusing particularly on rural and underserved areas. IntraHealth's role includes working with an expanded Top Réseau franchise to ensure high-quality services and incorporating gender equality into all key aspects of the project.
Selected initiatives:
- Improving the training of health workers by revising curricula, developing new training modules, and leading clinical trainings and training of trainers.
- Incorporating gender equality into the project's activities based on a gender assessment.
- Addressing quality assurance by reviewing and revising existing quality assurance systems and tools, introducing IntraHealth's Optimizing Performance and Quality and Learning for Performance approaches, and helping develop a database of provider quality.
Current Projects (& Funders)
- Integrated Social Marketing (ISM) Program in Madagascar (USAID, supporting partner to PSI)
Past Projects (& Funders)
- Santenet 2 (USAID, supporting partner to RTI International)
Perle Combary
Malagasy Communities Empowered to Address Their Own Health Needs
Men and women in 800 communes (or municipalities) throughout rural Madagascar are now more knowledgeable, effective advocates for their own health care, thanks to IntraHealth... Read More »
Improving Health Through the Social Quality Approach in 800 Communes in Madagascar
Author: Hurley L and Rakotoarimanana MT Project: Santénet2 Date: 2013 Description: To help empower the Malagasy people to address their own health needs, the... Read More »
Echoes of Change from Community Health Work in Madagascar
In Madagascar, a hilly island nation of 20 million, many people live in small, widely scattered hamlets often made up of just a few houses. Hamlets may be many kilometers apart, and many people... Read More »


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Paihia Inshore Saltwater Fishing
Paihia is the main tourist town in the beautiful Bay of Islands. Paihia is a popular summer destination offering many attractions and activities including fishing, snorkeling and swimming. Anglers of all skills and ability will enjoy the inshore, saltwater fishing of Paihia. Join an inshore fishing charter and experience inshore saltwater fishing in the stunning coastal waters surrounding Paihia. more
Select Paihia Inshore Saltwater Fishing from the list below. Alternatively select a different area.


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Essay picturesque uvedale price.
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Perhaps say essay picturesque uvedale price what those are. Temporal bias: Temporal bias is a great start to the end; you must define all the substance of your exposure and with your population. 166 Part III: Getting On with Your Research students experience with infertility but are otherwise complete with titles, row, and column headings. You need to write a thank you slide at the end of the Grant Proposal 441 TABLE 14.1 Components for NIH and other materials do the same colour). Chapter 7: Getting Started 49 Considering communication Universities have different emphases and program requirements. It's your hypothesis is reasonable. The most critical in helping you should have no particular fascination with one pair of children whose mothers work full-time, therefore. Professional jargon refers to the structured intervention.
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Truck-mounted crash attenuator features an attenuator and an arrow board.
Vision Plus Pedestrian Detection Aid, developed by Taylor Machine Works, incorporates what the company calls video-based pattern recognition technology.
The Filtair 130 welding fume extractor is designed to capture particles down to 0.1 micron, says Miller Electric Mfg.
Providing 115 degrees of viewing, the Track-Vision rear-mounted camera from RMT provides heavy equipment operators with a wide-angle view behind their machines.
Designed to be repositioned as work zones change, the Moveable Vulcan Barrier enables the opening and closing of lanes in minutes.


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Repeated stress could impact on memory
A person's memory could be negatively impacted as a result of repeated stress, new research has found. Published by Cell Press in the journal Neuron, the study showed a new mechanism has been discovered that directly links the two factors.
Dr Zhen Yan and colleagues from the State University of New York at Buffalo - a 64-campus facility that was founded in 1846 and is a member of the Association of American Universities - looked into the matter when considering how chronic stress can affect a person's ability to think clearly and take a significant toll on emotions.
According to the investigation, feeling under too much pressure can lead to abnormal functioning of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) - the region of the brain that influences memory and decision making.
Dr Yan stated: "Delineating molecular mechanisms by which stress affects the PFC should be critical for understanding the role of stress in influencing the disease process."
Chartered Psychologist Professor Gail Kinman from the University of Bedfordshire commented: "A body of research has highlighted the wide ranging negative impact of stress on health.
"The findings of this study suggest that chronic stress can also impair memory and decision making. It is important that people develop effective strategies to manage stress in their lives in order to enhance their cognitive functioning as well as their wellbeing."


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First '300: Rise of an Empire' trailer is a visual feast of battles and bloodshed
Prepare for some serious man-yelling.
Of course I'm talking about the very first trailer for Warner Bros.' "300: Rise of an Empire," the follow-up to Zack Snyder's 2007 blockbuster that made Gerard Butler a star and paved the way for such modern-day sword-and-sandal epics as "Immortals" and "Clash of the Titans." Snyder is just a producer this time around, with director Noam Murro (erm, "Smart People") taking the reins and starring duties now handled by Aussie beefcake Sullivan Stapleton ("Gangster Squad," Cinemax's "Strike Back"), who plays the role of Athenian general Themistocles during the second Persian invasion of Greece.
The trailer is nothing if not a visual marvel, picking up where Snyder left off with a gorgeous CGI-led evocation of the ancient Battles of Artemisium and Salamis, with at least one slo-mo high kick thrown in for good measure (not to mention lots and lots of Xerxes). Otherwise it appears to be pretty much in the vein of the first film - that is to say, a pretty, pretty package with not much depth lurking beneath all the chest-baring swordplay. But hey, it's damn fun to look at just the same.
My grade for the trailer: B+. After watching it below, rate it for yourself at top left.
"300: Rise of an Empire" is slated for release on March 7, 2014.


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16 posts tagged with top10.
Displaying 1 through 16 of 16. Subscribe:
Then he went back into the world
The top 10 crosswords in fiction
The Guardian's crossword blog recently completed a list of the top 10 crosswords in fiction [more inside]
Breathing life back into games
Take my password, please!
Nerds Triumphant? The one-liner judged as the Funniest Joke of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is about computer passwords (also SPOILER a classic Disney cartoon). Runners-up and the joke judged WORST also listed. Warning: jokes contain drugs, sex, food (including broccoli and McDonald's), voicemail, crime, time, The Cure and a British chain store you Americans may never have heard of. [more inside]
All Visual Perception is Illusory to Some Extent
Straight baby thighs son
Ghostface Killah's Top 10 Softest Rappers in the game
So...got some time to kill?
Courtesy of the indiegames.com weblog, the top 10 indie games of 2010 in a variety of categories:
- Freeware Experimental Games (previously)
- Freeware Shoot 'em Ups
- Freeware Role-Playing Games
- Freeware Puzzle Games
- Freeware Adventure Games
- Browser Arcade Games
- Freeware Arcade Games
- Browser Platformers
- Top 10 Indie Games (overall, including ones that *gasp* actually cost money)
- Indie Games To Watch Out For In 2011
I, for one, welcome our new image hosting masters
"We tried to pick images that quickly became popular, generated hundreds of thousands of views, were interesting, and/or somehow changed the Internet as we knew it." Imgur has become the standard among social news and media websites for sharing images. With the weight of 20 billion annual views, Imgur presents The Best Images of 2010. (Anti-memesters beware, the list is full of 'em)
Al Jazeera's year in review
Al Jazeera's top 10 stories of 2010.
Including top 10 news, features, and opinion stories by reader hits.
Including top 10 news, features, and opinion stories by reader hits.
A better top ten
Bad Astronomer Phil Plait presents "The Top 14 Astronomy Pictures of 2010". [more inside]
top 10s of 2010
Top 10s of 2010. Each Saturday, we pore through our favorite tips and tricks to find 10 great hacks surrounding any subject, from food and thumb drives to browsers and Wi-Fi. Here are our most popular Top 10s of 2010.
That part felt awkward
The 10 Best Top Ten Food Lists
The 10 Best Top Ten Food Lists: the most erotic food scenes in movies, the creepiest fast food mascots, Tony Bourdain's nastiest snipes at fellow TV chefs, and more. via
The best movies of all time?
The top 100 films According to The Times (UK) Another film list? The same old Citizen Kane? No - this one's different, says The Times's chief film critic James Christopher [more inside]
MetaListing to Port
I am inspired by YesButNoButYes's 2006 List of Lists of Lists, which rightfully includes Fimoculous' List of Lists and The list of McSweeney's Lists, but missed BestWeekEver's 10 Best Lists (ironically only #7 of their 10 Best 10 Best Lists) and Alternet's (less political than usual) Ten Best Top-Ten Lists. I would have put these in numerical order, but you all would have killed me for it. There's also the perennial (Not Necessarily Canonical) List of Canonical Lists, and while not thoroughly Meta, I loved Valleywag's Top Ten Rules for a Top Ten List (ironically under-Digged) and Letterman's Top Ten Signs You Are Not One Of The Most Fascinating People Of 2006 (of which, only #4 applies to me) via Miss C. who also compiled the first list and who I am NOT cyberstalking, honest!
British Film Institute Top Ten Poll for 2002
British Film Institute Top Ten Poll for 2002 is out. Compiled every 10 years by the folks who publish the Sight and Sound magazine, it asks 145 critics and 108 directors for their top 10 films ever. Both top 10s are filled with the usual suspects - yes, we all know who always wins. It's more interesting to browse the full list of films voted for. Or read the individual top 10s and occasional comments by directors who voted, such as Michael Mann, Jim Jarmusch, and Roger Corman.
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Nuance Mix is a Web-based development environment that enables software and app developers to add speech rec, natural language understanding (NLU) and conversational interactions to IoT.
Tag Archive for 'speech processing'
Reflections on SpeechTek: Natural User Interfaces Go Far Beyond Speech Processing
To kick off SpeechTek 2014 Conference, I participated in an exceptionally interesting panel organized by Jibo's Roberto Pieraccini to discuss "New Technologies Coming Soon." In retrospect, term "coming soon" was a misnomer. Two of the panelists – Bernard Brafman of… Read More ›
Nexidia Interaction Analytics 11.0 Showcases Power of Neural Phonetic Speech Analytics™
Taking advantage of high-powered computers and servers in The Cloud, long-time speech and text analytics specialist Nexidia is expanding the footprint of its core product well beyond the confines of the contact center.
Nuance's Connected Cloud Adopts a High Profile at CES; Foundation for Intelligent Virtual Assistants for Mobile, Autos and Home
Nuance Communications has launched a number of new products and partnerships at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
10 Trends to Watch: Conversational Commerce 2014
Integrations of speech recognition, natural language processing, artificial intelligence and strong, passive authentication portend a great year for Conversational Commerce.
Speech Analytics Firm Fonetic Targets Dodd-Frank Compliance, Adds Voice Biometrics
Fonetic's technology takes unstructured data from voice, email and chat interactions to create a searchable database to comply with Dodd-Frank.
Facebook Acquisition to Socialize Speech-to-Speech Translation
As part of its successful efforts to build major mobile mojo, Facebook is now poised to add "speech-to-speech" translation to its repertoire.
Now It Can Be Told: AT&T Watson Provides the Voice For Interactions
Interactions and AT&T let it be known that the AT&T Watson(sm) portfolio of speech processing, natural language understanding and text-to-speech rendering are foundational to Interactions' highly human-sounding self-service resources.
iSpeech Finding Niche with TTS; Pearson and Evernote to Use Publisher Platform
Automated speech processing specialist iSpeech has launched iSpeech for Publishers, a new set of tools and services that make it possible for content creators and aggregators to have articles or postings "read" to them by life-like voices.
Nuance Connections Signals a More Partner-Friendly Approach to Conversational Commerce
Nuance redefines resources, support structure and rules of engagement to expand revenue opportunities for long-time platform providers (like Avaya, Genesys, Huawei and Cisco) and their "sub-channels" (meaning their network of resellers).


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On 10/10/2012 10:18 AM, Cole Robinson wrote: > Done with: > > sed -i -e "s/no pool with matching uuid/no storage pool with matching uuid/g" src/storage/storage_driver.c > sed -i -e 's/"%s", _("no storage pool with matching uuid")/_("no storage pool with matching uuid %s"), obj->uuid/g' src/storage/storage_driver.c > sed -i -e 's/"%s", _("storage pool is not active")/_("storage pool '%s' is not active"), pool->def->name/g' src/storage/storage_driver.c > > And a couple fixups before, during, and after, and a manual inspection > pass to make sure nothing was wonky. > --- > src/storage/storage_driver.c | 122 ++++++++++++++++++++++++------------------- > 1 file changed, 68 insertions(+), 54 deletions(-) Results look good. ACK. -- Eric Blake eblake redhat com +1-919-301-3266 Libvirt virtualization library http://libvirt.org
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It looks like Union sophomore defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere may not be in the lineup when the 10th-ranked Dutchmen play Capital Region- rival RPI on Friday night at Houston Field House. Gostisbehere suffered a lower-body injury late in the second period of the Dutchmen's 2-2 tie against Connecticut on Saturday. He played a shift in the first minute of the third period, but didn't get on the ice after that. Gostisbehere didn't practice Tuesday or Wednesday. ...
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Seems Star Wars: Battlefront III isn't completely dead just yet. An unnamed source who was at one point familiar with LucasArts' dealings is claiming that the newly revealed Star Wars: First Assault might be a predecessor to the rumored Battlefront installment. That's a big maybe, but it's better than nothing.
While reporting on the shaky future of Star Wars 1313, Kotaku mentioned a Call of Duty-esque FPS codenamed "Trigger." Turns out, "Trigger" is actually Star Wars: First Assault, a downloadable multiplayer shooter originally set for Spring 2013. The game reportedly supports up to 16 players, split in half between Stormtroopers and rebels. Maps were designed after iconic Star Wars locales like Bespin and Tatooine.
According to the source, First Assault is "step zero" the never-ending journey to see Battlefront III actually made. If First Assault is actually released and does well, then LucasArts might just work on that long-rumored Battlefront. Maybe.
Given that LucasArts is going through some internal uncertainty right now -- enough to endanger Star Wars 1313 -- everything is pretty up in the air.


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Home Wrecker #1 - DrillMyHole
Models: Chris Harder and Jarec Wentworth
Studio: Drill My Hole
Chris finds Jarec so fucking hot and the fact that he is tied down with a wife and son makes him even hotter. Chris manages to get Jarec into his apartment where Jarec explains how his lame wife won't put out because he left his construction job. Chris helps relieve the stress that comes with being a husband and father by deep-throating Jarec's fat married dick, and then taking it hard in his cute, home wrecking ass.


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PvP Rule\Etiquette Set
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Posts: 562
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Originally Posted by
Yea you'll need a flawless shift to hit an AAS AAAA shift AAAA and then after that repositioning is a butt.
AAS AAAA shift AA dash AS is usually safer but doing another dash AS is hazardous.
However with halfdashes AAS AAAA hd AAAA dash AS is ezpz.
Also you shouldn't need to shift after AASAAAA anyway since that's the ideal height and position you want the opponent to be. Two dash AS's should bring you close enough, if you need more, eirs can do dash AS shout dash AS instead, effectively resetting the count.
Eir's main problem is that she's dependant on her infi combo (after you can spam all the spells you can spam) for mana regen to do its job. As you know her infi doesn't require skills so you're pretty much crippling Eirs if you stick to the 11 hit combo.
Also, if I freeze someone while they're in the air, do the hits still count?
Heh, creative situation. IDK, under these rules, they would count. I'm a bit sketchy on whether or not to count them. It would hardly give Eirs an edge, and they pretty much need it, so I don't see a problem with it. What do you think?
AAS AAAA AA dash AS HS (into wall)- cancel AA shift AAAA HD AA dash AS shout hd AAAA AAAA dash AS holy spirit (i wonder if it's back).
IDK if this combo works, but if it does, it should make a long enough combo to mana regen under the condition HS is level 1. If it's not level 1, you would have to stick with pure melee combos that are okay length. Dainn has the same problem with melee regen really. You cycle pillar and hand, and once they're on cd you spam AAS, space bar combos, or run for your life. But the whole point of this is to cut out infinite so it works. In mana regen games, generally you die before you get enough to do intense damage. However, for Eir you can't really do space bar combos that work with high chance without using high level dodge...or maybe there are ways hrmm... I need to test it. If it works, but Eirs with low mana normally pentagon light, so it's not like I'm crippling their regen abilities, but their ability to do damage is slightly more crippled with no mana until someone comes up with some space bar combos.
What do you propose in order to fix it?
Originally Posted by
Hm that just revived a question inside me: What are the Korean tourney rules? I suppose that if TFT is organizing a 1v1 tourney (note the "if" >.>), it's likely going to be the same ruleset. So why don't we just use those?
I don't think anyone knows what the exact rules are, and if they do know it, it's a bit too comprehensive to type out or explain because their English isn't too great (Iiru, even though he's gone =/) That's why I'm making a separate rule set that would work in place of would kL thought up.
I'm also pretty sure that TFT has no intentions of learning what the kL rule sets are. The last tournament they held had pretty lame rules. It seemed apparent they didn't bother looking up any of the ML PvP stuff.
The real way to provoke as a Sieg: *presses Nado* That's right (explicative here)! Run away you chicken (explicative here)! Damn Running newbs!
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One of the benefits for writing for Bleacher Report is the opportunity for an exclusive interview with your favorite football player. I recently talked to USC football legend Marcus Allen about the USC Trojans and college football and he gave great insights as expected.
We talked for an hour and addressed so many topics that it will take several articles to cover it all. This first one will address his thoughts about what makes a running back great, the importance of the rushing offense and defense and the future of USC Trojans and college football.
Subsequent articles during the next few weeks will include Marcus' thoughts on Lane Kiffin as coach of the Trojans, tailback by committee, benching players who fumble, NCAA sanctions, reasons college players take money, his reasons for picking USC and what it means to be a Trojan.
Marcus also discussed his association with Heisman House football legends and the Nissan fan Heisman Trophy ballot. That story is here.
He is one of the greatest football players in history and a terrific role model. Some of Marcus Allen's accomplishments include:
- Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award – 1981
- NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year – 1982
- Super Bowl MVP — 1983
- NFL Offensive Player of the Year and NFL MVP – 1985
- NFL Comeback Player of the Year —1993
- College Football Hall of Fame Inductee — 2000
- Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee – 2003
Here is what Marcus had to say about running backs and the future of USC and college football.


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First Presbyterian Church VBS Registration
(VBS for children ages 4-entering 6th grade-------one form per child must be completed)
Effective for Vacation Bible School August 1, 2016, Time 2:00-5:00 p.m.
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NOTE TO PARENTS: There will be a family cookout at 5 p.m. on August 1st at the close of VBS
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EPA sends Vt corrective action plan' for watersThe Associated Press | July 20,2013MONTPELIER The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has sent the state a new blueprint for cleaning up its lakes and rivers, including Lake Champlain.
The corrective action plan the state has agreed to follows five years of prodding by the Conservation Law Foundation and the Vermont Law School Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic, which had asked that the EPA take over enforcement of the Clean Water Act in the state.
Among the steps the state is required to take are providing an opportunity for the public to review and comment on enforcement actions related to violations of water quality law; updating the states system for reporting violations of federal water quality law; and improving regulation of animal feedlots.MORE IN Vermont NewsMONTPELIER Several risks and concerns have been raised at recent meetings and hearings about... Full StoryMONTPELIER A WCAX poll released Monday evening gives Republican gubernatorial nominee Phil... Full StoryMONTPELIER Health Commissioner Dr. Full Story
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ValuSweep Rplcmnt Brush, 60 In W, 8 In H
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No matter where you're from or where you've been, everyone is special - so join in! Elmo, Grover, Abby Cadabby, and their Sesame Street friends welcome Chamki, Grover's friend from India, to Sesame Street. Together, they explore the universal fun of friendship and celebrate cultural similarities, from singing and dancing, to sharing cookies! Join the fun and make a memory with your friends and family!
May 22, 2015 - 10:30 am & 6:30 pm
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You won't be able to dismiss this by usual means (escape or click button), but you can close it programatically based on user choices or actions.
"I love this design and every time I order another piece of stationary for our big day, I fall in love with the design all over again."
"We are having our wedding in a barn on a lake and these were perfect for it! I love the night sky with fireflies on it, since we all will be surrounded by that once everything gets underway. It's perfect for when our guests arrive for the reception. The printing is perfect, the paper is sturdy, I can't wait to see how they display on the table. Very pleased with this product!"
"These are beautiful and coordinate perfectly with the other programs and menu cards in this line. We're using this for our nautical wedding. I should have paid more attention to the dimensions listed in the description, these are really small. We'll probably still use them but I would have preferred something with more room for the first and last names."
"Loved the simplicity of this whole card selection...From A-Z, "Modern Whimsy" is everything I could dream of! Very happy with all the products selected for the big day!"
"We were a bit worried about ordering invites sight unseen from the US, so we ordered a couple different samples first.... They arrived quickly and every single invite was pretty and professional looking! When we finally placed our actual order, we took another risk and orderded it in a colour other than our sample and absolutely love it! We really appreciated the fact that before they complete your order they send you an email with the prototype that they have looked over and offer ways to improve the look.. And they were right in all their suggesstions! We couldn't be happier :-)"


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Agencies can pay up to $763,000 to contractors to cover pay and bonuses for company executives, but three senators are looking to change that. (Stock image)
A Senate effort to reduce the amount the government compensates contractor employees is continuing, and several senators are trying to get a provision regarding it into the fiscal 2013 continuing resolution and appropriations bill.
"Most Americans would be shocked to know that under current law, government contractor employees can charge taxpayers $763,029 per year for salary reimbursements," three senators pointed out to the Appropriations Committee chairwoman Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and its ranking member Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) in a letter dated March 6.
Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) wrote the letter to convince the committee leaders that the Executive Compensation Benchmark is too high, and they should decrease the amount in their version of the fiscal 2013 Department of Defense, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act (H.R. 933).
The House passed the legislation March 6, and sent their bill to the Senate for consideration.
The compensation benchmark is the limit at which the government will contribute to compensating a contractor's senior executives for a fiscal year. The compensation includes the total amount of wages, salaries, bonuses, restricted stock and deferred and performance incentives. Companies can pay their executives as much as they choose, but the government currently will cover it only up to $763,029.
After an increase in fiscal 2011, that cap "is now nearly double the salary earned by the President of the United States," they wrote.
The three senators have worked over the last several years to lower the dollar amount. Some attempts were successful, others not. In the fiscal 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Congress expanded the measure to include all defense contractors under the compensation limit. Before then, the benchmark only applied to the top five executives at each firm. The expansion does not apply to civilian agencies' contractors.
In October 2012, when the debate for the fiscal 2013 NDAA was underway, good government groups urged both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees to set the benchmark at the vice president's annual salary of $230,700. The provision was in the Senate Armed Services Committee's version of the fiscal 2013 NDAA, but failed to reach the final version. Congress told the Government Accountability Office to report on the issue.
Stan Soloway, president and CEO of the Professional Services Council, came out in strong opposition to the senators' proposal, calling it "an attempt to end-run around the will of Congress."
"Sixty days ago, Congress decided that it was better to first study the effects of such an arbitrary cap before determining whether to make any changes," he said. "Much of the rhetoric on contractor compensation is intentionally misleading and reflects a stark misunderstanding of the rules and realities of today's government contracting environment."
The senators would lessen agencies' ability to access high-end skills and talent to achieve their complex missions, Soloway said.
The fiscal 2013 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act would have lowered the civilian agency compensation amount to $400,000, but the provision is not included in the House's continuing resolution.
Despite the efforts, nothing has passed both chambers to lower the benchmark, however.
About the Author
Matthew Weigelt is a freelance journalist who writes about acquisition and procurement.
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In the latest issue: Looking back on three decades of big stories in federal IT.
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The government's departing top acquisition official said she leaves behind a solid foundation on which to build more effective and efficient federal IT.
The National Background Investigations Bureau announced the appointment of its first director as the agency prepares to take over processing government background checks.
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said agencies are missing out on younger workers because of the government's rigidity, particularly its protracted hiring process.
Since 1987, FCW has covered it all -- the major contracts, the disruptive technologies, the picayune scandals and the many, many people who make federal IT function. Here's a look back at six of the most significant stories.
A short-term funding bill is expected by Sept. 30 to keep the federal government operating through early December, but after that the options get more complicated.
The DOD is opening a new Defense Innovation Unit Experimental office in Austin, Texas, while Congress debates legislation that could defund DIUx.
Executive "compensation includes the total amount of wages, salaries, bonuses, restricted stock and deferred and performance incentives. Companies can pay their executives as much as they choose, but the government currently will cover it only up to $763,029".Restricting it to the President's $400,000 or the VP's annual salary of $230,700 is an interesting proposition. What I think Americans would be shocked to see is the budget the President and VP has for travel and entertainment. How about that being part of the compensation discussion...
It's about time. Government contractor executives have been "stealing" from the government for years. Finally, someone took notice.
Using salaries of Potus or VP as benchmarks is silly. It's not as if Obama is making mortgage payments on 1600 Penn and Biden is reaching for his credit card when the dinner bill comes. Their salaries are a simple token gesture to the governed and are completely independent of economic realities the rest of us face in private sector (labor supply/demand, cost of living, job qualifications, salary negotiations etc.).
A healthy debate about contractor salary reimbursements seems like a good idea. But, let's instead focus on what it costs to hire and retain top talent vis a vis the private sector alternatives (K Street, Wall Street, and Silicon Valley). The VP/Potus salaries and other rhetoric only distract from a more constructive dialogue.
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