One of Google’s prominent AI research centers, DeepMind AI lab, which is based in London finally turns a profit for the first time. After years of investing in secretive projects, somehow, they managed to pull off a profit of $43.8 million.
It makes sense, Google has enough data to train these models on which can give them useful insights. These models could then be applied within different sections of the Google umbrella. To further improve the efficiency and reliability of their systems such as search engine recommendations; Google translates and a plethora of other services.
Despite all the media frenzy surrounding artificial intelligence, it still hasn’t yet hit the mass market. Major corporations are still at the epicenter of the research and design of most of these algorithms.
These companies spend hundreds of millions a year to acquire top engineers. Who could then research, design, build and deploy artificial intelligence models? Google is at the forefront of the artificial “revolution”. Larry Page who is one of the founders of Google was on a talk a couple of years ago where he stated that Google is evolving into more of an artificial intelligence company.
It’s quite an improvement given that they have invested billions of dollars over the years into different projects and put a lot of human resources behind them. Despite the numbers, it still seems like there is a long way to go.
Most of their services still haven’t hit the consumer market yet. Despite their profit, questions still remain over whether or not this is just a one-off figure.
Artificial intelligence like many of the other technologies in this era such as cryptocurrencies are exponential technology. Expect to see non-linear growth sometime within the next decade or two. Artificial intelligence will become a huge part of our society.
Simply Water Limited is a new water company headquartered in Kingston Jamaica. It was founded by two young entrepreneurs named Glen-Ross Mcdonald and Dennis Daniels.
Both are Kingston natives and visionaries that are also passionate about the environment. They saw the need for a more environmentally friendly product and with the use of technology and a drive to protect the environment this was accomplished.
Simply Water team cleaning up the environment
Move over bottled water, there is a new kid on the block and its name is Simply Water. This new water with eco-friendly packaging is very unique. Instead of plastic, it comes in a box with a cap that is 100% plant base. Each box contains 500ml of mineral water.
Simply Water really lives up to its slogan ” Enhance Eco-Friendly Earth.” The company’s background and initiative is to make a great impact on lessening plastic on the earth’s surface.
Its new design is eye-catching and its eco-friendly packaging is very admirable and should be the standard going forward.
This is a premium product from a high-quality company that’s gearing up to take the market soon. This company will stimulate change and become a role model as it relates to using more environmentally friendly materials in manufacturing.
The product can be found at Lees Food Fair, Fontana Pharmacy Waterloo, Life Store Constant Spring, and Ciao Bella Art Cafe Ocho Rios. There is also an option to purchase this product online.
Simply Water is bringing innovation to the beverage space and we look forward to seeing what this company has in store for the future.
Signage is displayed outside Facebook Inc. headquarters in Menlo Park, California. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
Facebook shed billions off its market cap Monday due to an outage that lasted for hours. It is already deemed to be one of the worst outages that have ever occurred in over a decade. This had users flocking to other social media platforms that were “more” stable.
In a period where major tech stocks are facing a sell-off due to a rise in bond yields. Facebook is at the forefront of the losses. Currently, its shares have fallen the most since November of last year.
This is probably a drop in the bucket for Facebook as they have many other pressing issues to deal with. These include pressures from regulators over monopolistic activities, competitive platforms which are on the rise such as TikTok, and whistleblower Frances Haugen, who is basically spilling the beans on insider details that can potentially taint the company’s image.
Regardless, Facebook is still the world’s most dominant social media platform and it will remain at that level for some time.
Compound Labs founder Robert Leshner begs his users on Twitter to return lost funds that were due to a bug. At first, the total loss was estimated to be approximately $92.6 million (280,000 comp tokens).
Mr. Leshner tweeted that it could be far more than that as he estimated that a further 202,472.5 comp tokens could be floating around the crypto-sphere.
This entire fiasco was caused by the undergoing upgrade of the platform which resulted in a bug in the platform. This bug caused the platform to automatically give away tokens to users.
At the moment the price of COMP is trading at a loss of 4.8%.
Robert Leshner further added fuel to the fire with the way of how he approached his “fanbase” when it happened. It seems as if he was threatening them.
If you received a large, incorrect amount of COMP from the Compound protocol error:
Please return it to the Compound Timelock (0x6d903f6003cca6255D85CcA4D3B5E5146dC33925). Keep 10% as a white-hat.
Otherwise, it's being reported as income to the IRS, and most of you are doxxed.
Most fractions of the crypto community never took that positively. In a series of damage control, he later released a series of tweets to retract his statements.
I'm trying to do anything I can to help the community get some of its COMP back, and this was a bone-headed tweet / approach. That's on me.
Luckily, the community is much bigger, and smarter, than just me.
To dissolve the issue, Leshner will be hopeful that the upcoming upgrade will solve the problem and return things to a certain level of normalcy. It goes to show that from an engineering perspective, things still need to be solved in the defi community.
Losses like these will add further fuel to the argument that the market needs to be regulated to a certain extent to protect customers from losses.
Experience the Beauty! the Richness and the Vybz “Out Of Many One People”. The home of Reggae and Dancehall welcomes all her visitors to Jamdung, where thrilling adventures, breathtaking views, exciting activities, and raving nights are sure to make your experience a memorable one.
From the rhythm of the music to the mouthwatering cuisine. Likkle rum inna yuh cup and a stop by the jerk man pan di corna. There is no place that can compare to the warmth of the people and the cultural diversity found in Jamaica.
On the Cliff in Negril overlooking the sunset
As the day winds down, relax with a refreshing beverage during the golden hour and view our spectacular sunset.
Guests enjoying themselves at a foam party
Planning a baecation? girls trip? or just a weekend getaway? The sunshine Island has countless seaside/beach resorts to choose from and here are a few of the top tourist hotspots.
Places to Visit In Jamaica
The Martha Brae River
Rafting on the Martha Brae
Located outside of the town’s capital in the Parish of Trelawny, this river rafting adventure begins at ‘Rafter’s Village’. Guests are seated on a 30-foot bamboo raft that glides down a three-mile stretch of turquoise water.
Adventurers can learn about the history of the Martha Brae while enjoying the scenic view of Jamaica’s tropical rainforest, perfect for nature lovers.
A stop by a bar, gift shop, and Miss Martha’s Herb Garden for a presentation on some of the finest herbs renowned for their healing properties will put a spark in the tour.
Bob Marley Museum
The entrance to Bob Marley Museum
One of Jamaica’s Heritage Site, the museum dedicated to Reggae icon Bob Marley can be found in the country’s capital, Kingston. The former place of residence for the ‘One Love’ singer is now a tourist hot spot.
The museum offers a glimpse into the life of Marley and one can see displays of his accomplishments and artifacts such as guitars, platinum, and gold records, awards, and photo galleries.
The grounds of the property include a theatre, exhibition hall, the main house, gift shops, and if you want to ‘Stir It Up’, visitors can enjoy scrumptious victuals from the One Love Cafe.
Negril
Hands down one of Jamaica’s most irresistible beach destinations. Negril is best known for its seven-mile stretch of white sandy shores and clear blue/turquoise water with stunning sunsets.
Located on the west end of Jamaica, the town is lined with many all-inclusive resorts, bars, and restaurants. The town offers alluring guesthouses, luxury hotels, villas, adult-only hotels, and other interesting accommodations.
This getaway is ideal for a destination wedding/honeymoon. The beaches are arrayed with many restaurants and bars. Explorers can choose from a number of water activities like snorkeling and deep-sea diving.
Places to visit in Negril:
Rick’s Cafe
Seven Mile Beach
Kool Runnings Adventure Park
Zipline Canopy Tours
Blue Mountain
Being the highest mountain in Jamaica with one of the highest mountain ranges in the Caribbean, Blue Mountain is widely known for its coffee. This national treasure spans four Parishes namely; Portland, St. Thomas, St. Andrew, and St. Mary.
The Blue Mountain Peak is a part of the Blue and Johncrow Mountains National Park and is a popular site for hiking and camping.
The spectacular sunrise and sunsets from the Peak are a sight to behold and are a must-see for campers and hikers. Cuba can also be seen from the highest points.
Explore the mountains and discover numerous springs and nature at its finest with exotic, captivating plant life. One can also participate in activities such as bird watching, coffee tours, nature walks at Holywell, and a range of other interesting features. The Blue Mountains are one of the best sites to visit in Jamaica.
Devon House
Devon House mansion
Built in the late 1800s, the Devon house mansion stands as the former residence of Jamaica’s first black millionaire George Stiebel. It is one of the most recognized monumental sites in Kingston, St. Andrew.
One can tour the mansion that is furnished with antique pieces and learn about the captivating architecture and history of the property.
Devon House is a very popular hangout spot, especially for locals on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Enjoy delicious sweet and savory freshly baked pastries and patties from the cafes. Restaurants and bars on-site offer both Jamaican and international cuisines.
The pearl of the property, however, is the famous Devon House I-Scream Shop. This frozen dessert is a sweet treat that will leave your taste buds wanting more. It offers a wide variety of flavours, some of which are unique to the Island and have become favourites among locals and tourists alike.
This landmark hemmed in by beautiful lush lawns is perfect for an evening stroll or reclining under the evergreen while savoring a delectable treat.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says he has no regrets about not starting Cristiano Ronaldo in Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Everton, which left his team with just two wins from six games.
Solskjaer has picked Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial at Old Trafford – it was the first time Ronaldo had been picked off the bench for a Premier League match with United since May 2007 – claiming the squad needed to recover after 2-1 ‘physical and emotional’ fatigue Win over Villarreal on Wednesday.
The decision seemed justified when Martial gave United the lead just before the break, and despite Ronaldo’s introduction before the hour mark, Everton scored through Andros Townsend in the break-up to send United into the international semi-final unconvincingly.
Ronaldo looked visibly frustrated at walking the tunnel full time while muttering to himself.
When asked after the game if he regretted leaving Ronaldo on the sidelines, Solskjaer replied: “No. You make decisions throughout a long, long season; you have to handle the load of players’ work and the decision for me was the right one.
“Anthony Martial did well, scored a good goal. Edinson [Cavani] needed minutes and could have scored a goal. We have to make those decisions then. “
After Bruno Fernandes’ weak corner was cleared, United midfielder Fred had two chances to win the ball from Demarai Gray on the sideline before Everton escaped and scored. Solskjaer says the problem should have been addressed early.
We are living in an age that is ripe with change. There are opportunities all around us and they are growing daily if we know where to look. One of the main things the pandemic has taught us is that we cannot rely on one stream of income.
Capital makes you powerful, while growing up, I never truly understood the power of capital until I improved my social circle. If you are living in the western region and you have a good internet connection, freelancing could be a good way to generate a side income until it becomes your main income.
I am sure most of my audience have some idea of what freelancing is and others might even dip their toe into it already. If you are just entering into this world, welcome but be prepared to fight for every client because it’s not easy and it’s not getting easier. But don’t let that deter you, if you are someone who loves challenges and will do whatever it takes to succeed, you can succeed.
In this guide, I wish to pull the curtain from over the window blades, to give you a different perspective on the whole topic. Grab a notebook with a pen and let’s begin.
Where Should I Start?
Before you even think about freelancing you have to first evaluate yourself. Look at where you are now, analyze your habits, your values, and your entire existence. You might be wondering why is this necessary, it’s easy to fool ourselves.
Often times we try things initially, then stop only after a couple of months or even weeks and jump onto something else totally. Forgetting why we are even doing this in the first place. By knowing who we are, why we are doing what we are doing will give us the drive the push forward.
I am not really deep into the self-help guru “woo woo” kind of stuff. But it does help to look at where we are currently and evaluate ourselves to see if there is anything in the way that might trip us up later.
Organization and Efficiency
‘Forrest Gump’ 1994 directed by Robert Zemeckis. (Photo by Sunset Boulevard/Getty Images)
It’s not a mistake that Alibaba’s CEO Jack Ma said that on numerous occasions Forrest Gump is his favorite movie. Within the movie Forrest Gump is portrayed as being “dumb” but yet still he achieved lots of success due to one key trait.
He was good with making habits out of things and focusing on that one thing until he becomes a success. Sometimes I wondered if he was even aware of how successful he was.
Make no mistake it takes a lot more than that, but forming good habits is essential. Once you choose to venture into freelancing and you are occupied by a day job or even on other things, you have to be efficient and organized.
Let’s say that you have 3 hours per day to invest in this venture, that’s 15 hours a week excluding weekends. That’s not a lot when you have others working full time or even investing 5 hours a day. But it’s not about the time, it’s about efficiency.
You have to ensure that within those 3 hours you are as efficient as can be, shut out the world and get to work. Let chaos build up outside of that little bubble. After those dedicated hours you can get back to reality.
Don’t multitask, it’s unproductive especially if you are doing something creative. It will show in your work and clients can and will know. Remember that you are competing, you don’t have a day job where your boss is pointing fingers and you are behind him. You are the CEO of yourself, so manage it like it.
Passion vs Skill
Another thing you need to think about is the battle between passion and skill. What you might be passionate about might not be the thing that will bring in money and it’s rarely ever the case. You have to be realistic when you look at this situation and never fool yourself.
For example, let’s say that you are passionate about drawing or writing, you can do it extremely well, but when you go online you realize that it is super competitive. Don’t seriously think that you are going to stand out and win over clients from established giants.
You either have to do market research to find another market that is lucrative and has potential. Or do something that you are skilled in that will rake in money. There is no easy answer to this but looking at it from a pure business perspective, market research is the way to go.
Market Research
Within any business market research is key. Are you going to cast a wide net and attack everything you see or target a specific segment of the market that will provide enough income to be successful?
For example, you get one client a week making you USD $1,000 or you are working with 20 (It’s all on you).
Another thing with market research is to research the skills that are currently in demand and are profitable. Some of the skills that I find always in demand are:
Graphic Designing
With graphic design, you are mainly dealing with digital art. You can design logos, do retouching, e-book design, etc.
Computer Programming
If you are competent at computer programming you can make it your full-time job but you have to be competent. There is no way around it, the market is competitive but if you know your craft and you are constantly sharpening that craft you can easily make over USD $90,000 a year.
Some of the in-demand skills are web development, database management, cyber security, etc. It’s a vast field, you just have to know what you are good at, who your clients are, and position yourself properly within your domain.
Writing
Clients will always need writers until the day artificial intelligence takes that task over. If you are a competent writer or editor and you can spit out articles at good speed coupled with low mistakes you could try your shot at writing. You could write blogs, advertisements, books, scripts, etc.
Virtual Assistance
Working online can be draining and things can get complex pretty quickly. Hence often times online business owners outsource some of their mundane tasks to virtual assistants. It can be a profitable career if you find the right client with who you can work.
Depending on the region, time zone issues can become a problem but if you have no problem shifting up your schedule such as working at night, you can probably even juggle two clients. That’s if you find that opportunity.
Tutoring
Online tutoring is on the rise as in-door classrooms are becoming unpredictable. If you know a topic really well and you understand the level where you want to teach, you can make good money doing online tutoring.
Using YouTube to share your knowledge as well could be a great marketing tool. You could then channel that traffic to your main freelance page or website landing page promoting your classes.
Digital Marketing
As businesses start to do more online marketing, they will be in need of competent digital marketers who can bring in “consistent” results. Similar to computer programming, this field is also vast and the skills tend to converge and vary.
Some of these skills would include search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising, content marketing, video marketing, social media management, etc. You just have to do your research and see where you can add value.
Exotic Skills
If you are ambitious and really want to separate yourself from the market. You can have a look at skills that will be in demand within 5-10 years. These are what I call exotic skills.
They have all the buzzwords surrounding them such as artificial intelligence, blockchain development, internet of things. Persons are really in need of engineers who can work within these niches and they offer big bucks due to the current lack of skilled workers.
Summary
Overall, this is just the tip of the iceberg on the skills you can offer and market research. My advice is to go on these platforms and search around, look at what clients are asking for and see where you fit within that puzzle.
See if you can learn a skill or two to compete. At first, it might look daunting but never let that deter you.
Knowledge Worker and Tools
“You are only as good as your last success”– Tim Grover
Once you are a freelancer or basically working on your own, your future is within your hands. You are now a knowledge worker, being a knowledge worker is someone who thinks for a living and is creative.
As a knowledge worker, you have to ensure that you are always improving, your life should never be static. It should be ever-shifting within a sea of change. That’s how you are going to win. Never let go of that pressure to improve, unless you choose to.
If you want to learn how to up your skills, here are educational platforms you can take advantage of. Some offer free courses while others are really cheap:
Youtube (Don’t take it for granted it’s probably the most accessible and powerful!)
Freelance Platforms
Let’s say that you have a skill and you are prepared to enter into a niche. Now, where should you go to make money, below is a list of platforms that you can use:
Upwork can be pretty useful if you know how to use it. It’s a bit competitive but if you can present yourself well and bid for jobs, you could reap rewards. It has over 1.5 million clients and you can find jobs for almost any skill under the sun.
Fiverr is pretty competitive, basically, you will be the one creating a gig which is basically an advertisement promoting a skill.
It’s pretty easy to set up but you will probably have to do a lot of online marketing to get your first couple of clients unless you find a niche where it’s not yet crowded.
PeoplePerHour is not bad at all especially if you have skills in certain areas such as marketing, search engine optimization, and web development. It has a nice interface and good usability.
Guru is also not a bad option either. It’s similar to Upwork and less popular but you can still find jobs if you are persistent and know where to look.
It also gives you the option to do a productive job search. You can choose jobs hourly, work by project, location, etc.
If you are good at writing and editing you can have a try at this platform. The good thing is that the jobs are always fresh so you can find daily jobs pertaining to your interest.
99Designs
If you are good with graphics, you can find high-quality design jobs on this platform. It is based on a contest. You will be presenting your design along with many others based on the client’s demand.
Once the client chooses the design he or she likes, they will work with that freelancer and pay them. It’s a bit competitive but don’t let that deter you if you are competent.
Closing Remarks
Now that you are thriving on a freelance platform. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Having a schedule is a must. Additionally, you need a system to organize tasks and deal with clients. You can use slack, Trello, and various other online productivity tools to keep things organized.
As it relates to finances you can use PayPal to get paid, it’s the most accessible. You could even use Payoneer which is also another payment gateway that is accessible on some of these platforms.
When you are bidding for jobs on websites like Upwork for example, you have to stand out. You can use the foot in the door mentality, which is to quickly work on the project before the client even realized it.
When you do this and then you let the client become aware of it, he or she will often be amazed at your enthusiasm and come to appreciate it. It is not a guarantee that you will get the job, but it will put you above the competition.
Additionally, you can do other things such as a video introduction or even recording your screen discussing the project and what you can offer. There are a lot of ways you just have to be creative.
Lastly know your worth, if you know that you are worth more than they charge, well let them know, or don’t even bother to bid. This is important and it can save you from headaches working with clients who have high demands with low pay.
Hopefully, you find this guide helpful and you can extend on it with your personal experience and journey.
Squid Game was the first Korean drama to hit No.1 on Netflix and did it in just four days after its release. According to Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s Co-CEO and Head of Content, “Squid Game will definitely be our biggest non-English language show in the world, for sure,” and has “a very good chance it’s going to be our biggest show ever.”
Sarandos didn’t specify the metric used to gauge Squid Game popularity. Traditionally, Netflix ranks the popularity of its originals by counting how many people watch a title for at least two minutes in the first 28 days of release.
“There’s a show on Netflix right now that is the No. 1 in the world, like everywhere in the world. It’s called Squid Game.
Squid Game will definitely be our biggest non-English language show in the world, for sure,” Sarandos, who is also the head of content at Netflix, said on Monday at the Code conference in Los Angeles.
But he added that there’s “a very good chance it’s going to be our biggest show ever.”
squid game
In an interview with Variety, Dong-Hyuk Hwang says he may return to produce feature movies before making the sequel to Squid Game.
The director is currently working on drafting a film titled KO Club, short for “Killing Old Men Club,” a film depicting an inter-generational war of sorts.
However, a second season has not been ruled out, with Hwang adding that “if I were to do it, I would certainly not do it alone. I’d consider using a writers’ room and would want multiple experienced directors”.
If you have watched squid Game comment your thought on the series in the comment section below.
It appears the rumored remasters of GTA III, GTA: San Andreas, and GTA Vice City are indeed real, but nothing is certain yet.
More evidence has come to light that the rumored GTA remaster trilogy is real. Korea’s rating board has published a rating for Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition.
This has not been announced, but it is seemingly the rumored remaster collection of Grand theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Grand theft Auto: Vice City Rockstar is said to have originally planned to launch these remasters sooner but the COVID-19 pandemic affected those plans.
According to a report, the remasters are expected to be offered digitally in a package on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Google Stadia, and mobile.
Rockstar Dundee, the studio formerly known as Ruffian Games and known for its work on Crackdown before getting acquired by Rockstar, is said to be developing the remasters. The games will apparently run on the Unreal Engine, and the idea is for them to stay mostly true to their PS2-era origins but with better resolution and a new UI.
While that game is not confirmed at this stage, we do know that Rockstar is working on bringing Grand Theft Auto V to yet another generation of consoles.
A new edition of the celebrated and massively popular open-world game is coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. It was originally slated to launch in November before Rockstar shifted it to early next year.
Mailpac shifts focus on the grocery market with a service delivery product Mailpac Local Groceries. Mailpac is an e-commerce and logistics company that has been operating in Jamaica over the last couple of years.
The main value proposition is to make it convenient for customers to seamlessly order groceries and have them delivered conveniently.
“One unique element of the ‘New Mailpac Local’ is the exclusive price guarantee that will now be offered to shoppers. If Mailpac shoppers find grocery items cheaper than those listed by our online store (at a reputable grocery store in the corporate area), we will match the lower price,” Gonzales Lindo said.
Even though Mailpac Local Groceries is offering grocery delivery, it’s not the first they are offering such a service. They have been doing it on small scale through grocery delivery channels. One of which they chose to partner with local supermarket chain Hi-Lo with which they have recently cut ties.
Mailpac Group also stated it launched this service as a means to help local Jamaicans get through the global pandemic.
“The reality is that we do not know what the future holds, but it is clear that the utility of online shopping is here to stay. Accordingly, it is on us to help our customers better navigate through this new world with greater savings, convenience, options, and safety,” said Khary Robinson, who is executive chairman of Mailpac Group.
This is interesting news for the Jamaican grocery delivery market and shows us that digitization is taking effect. Look to see similar ideas popping up in the delivery space.
