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paper dead shredder

Is paper dead?

  • min read
    • For retailers, predicting customers' future wants and needs is crucial – especially in this era of disrupted supply chains. I hope you won't recognize this story as something that might happen in your business, but it demonstrates how soon retailers of all sizes could find themselves in a new future. I bought a blouse recently from a traveling vintage clothes seller. Picture several racks of bright retro outfits set up under a caravan awning with a changing room crafted from tie-dyed blankets. Incense hangs in the air, as does the ringing of tiny bells attached to the seller's impossibly long hair, jingling as she wanders around after customers, straightening coat hangers. To pay, I offer cash, but she instead presents me with a beautifully calligraphed sign showing her bank account details. Given the riskiness of this practice, I offer a moment of security education. She tells me she's in the habit of giving out her bank details because it means more sales, and keeping enough change around is hard when you're always on the road. Even those on the fringes are moving towards electronic payment for its convenience and customer preference, albeit sometimes not in ideal ways. When it comes to meeting customer expectations in how your transactions happen, are you ready for a future where paper money, receipts, plastic cards are a thing of the past? Could your retail business work in a world where all money is changing hands by smartphone? Among Kaspersky researchers' privacy prediction for 2023 is that we'll keep seeing smartphones and other smart devices encroaching on activities once dominated by paper and plastic cards. A future where all we'll need is a smartphone seems close when we're paying by near-field communication (NFC) like Apple or Samsung Pay or QR code like Swish, or using apps to show COVID-19 testing and vaccination status. What does this mean for paper and plastic transactions? And what privacy and security issues should business consider when it comes to doing it all by smartphone? Environmental reasons to stop using paper and plastic Some might say the sustainability drive to eliminate paper and plastic in business transactions is overplayed. While both have significant environmental impacts, business transactions are not a major source. Meanwhile, electronic transactions can be responsible for much energy use and the equipment used will ultimately become resource-heavy and hard-to-recycle ewaste. Gen Z, Millennials and those younger will do much to avoid adding more plastic and paper to the world. Regardless of environmental impact, consumer demand for more convenient paperless and cardless transactions will only grow. Processes likely to move to smartphone apps Digitized identity documents look set to be the next big frontier for smartphones. It's already been a common approach to declaring COVID-19 testing and vaccination status worldwide, but soon passports, driver licenses, student IDs and more will be made available through apps. Germany started using app-based ID cards in 2021. Around the same time, Apple announced several US states would make digital identity cards and driver licenses available using Apple Wallet. ID stored on phones brings convenience and risk. A well-implemented system would let stores verify customers' age without seeing personal details they don't need, like home address – also known as 'zero trust' security. Digitized IDs could also speed up know-your-customer (KYC) procedures when applying for a loan with a smartphone. But using a smartphone to store growing amounts of personal data introduces 'single point of failure' security risk. Those who develop and commission smartphone software like apps must ensure top-notch device security and privacy-preserving data storage. Cardless cash withdrawal at ATMs is taking off around the world, especially where bankcard fraud is more common, like India. Smartphone apps enable cardless withdrawals, for example, scanning a QR code on the ATM screen with a payment app like Google Pay, or using near-field communication (NFC.) Again, these transactions aren't without risk. Speaking to price-comparison service Bankrate, Ricardo Pina, founder of personal finance blog The Modest Wallet, said, "Since bank cards are being replaced by phones, criminals will now be more enticed to target and hack your phone to mine your data, information and even change your phone and bank app settings." When will paper and card transactions become history? Those who run businesses that experience higher overheads thanks to processing cash, cards and printed receipts may dare to dream of a world where these go the way of the 'check.' Ubiquitous throughout most of the 20th century, many banks have stopped issuing and accepting these. Check payment is expected to be extinct by 2026. Those old enough to remember when checks were commonplace might think they'd disappeared years ago. But sometimes these methods strongly persist in parts of an economy that need them for specific reasons. A few years ago, a friend and I hiked the five-day South West Coastal Path in Cornwall, UK – and yes, it was glorious. This part of the UK is far from any major city. We were surprised to notice most bed-and-breakfasts  accepted only cash or check. Once we understood the area's geography, we paid by check wherever we could. Traveling on foot and far from towns, it seemed unwise to part with cash we might need. These businesses told us they didn't take card payments because they only had customers in summer, making point-of-sale machines uneconomic. Similarly, can smartphones – and reliable access to affordable data to operate apps – be all things to all people in all places? While access to mobile technologies has certainly enabled greater economic participation from marginalized people, we can easily overestimate how many can and will use these technologies if we use them or see them used around us often. Pew Research estimates around 85 percent of the US population owns a smartphone, but in China and India, it's lower at 70 percent. While China leads the world in mobile payment adoption, smartphone ownership numbers don't tell us how many people could use their smartphone for payments – for example, successfully download and register to use payment apps, and access data when needed. Cash transactions still account for far more business than many people think – in 2021, customers used cash for over 20 percent of point-of-sale transactions globally, according to the International Currency Association. Many businesses wouldn't survive losing 20 percent of their sales. There is also the inevitable backlash against smartphones because of negative mental health impacts, seeing some choose to quit or radically reduce how much they use them. It seems paper- and card-based identity and payment options will be with us much longer than we think, if the lifecycle of check payment is anything to go by. For small business, alternative point-of-sale card payment providers are fast making accepting cards more affordable, making paying by card even more ubiquitous without reducing security. When it comes to taking payment, it 'pays' to be flexible and listen to what your customers want, rather than focusing on what suits your business. Meanwhile, keep an eye on evolving technology making retail transactions simpler and more affordable.
digital presenteism

Presenteeism threatens flexible work gains. Here’s how to beat it.

  • min read
    • The pandemic forced many businesses to make a swift move to enable      remote work. But it's not just the threat of infection that recommends this shift – remote work can often mean reduced costs and improved productivity. Flexible hours have significant benefits too, like improved talent-attraction and employee health. Despite the promised benefits, businesses offering remote work and flexible hours may still see 'presenteeism' – a greater emphasis on being 'at work' than being effective. Qatalog and Gitlab's Killing Time At Work report found workers spend an extra 67 minutes online every day just to show their colleagues and managers they're 'working'. Why does presenteeism happen? Tony Jamous, founder and chief executive officer of Oyster HR, says, "For many years, [we sat] at a screen for eight hours a day with few breaks. Now, because of increased remote work flexibility, employees are adopting 'non-linear' workdays. These empower employees to do the school run, take a gym break or adjust their schedules to find their optimal focus time." Back when manufacturing drove many economies, workers had to be on site to create output. As office-based work grew, output was less tangible, so we started to equate longer hours with productivity. What makes us productive and effective at work? Tariq Rauf, founder and chief executive officer of Qatalog says, "Someone could be visible and present online for 60 hours a week and achieve little. Whereas, the next person might work for half that time, at different times of the day, and be phenomenally productive." Contrary to popular belief, people who work most effectively are not necessarily those most disciplined, but those who speak to themselves with kindness and self-compassion. Georgetown University professor Cal Newport links peak productivity with deep work, meaning "working for extended periods with full concentration on a single task free from distraction." When it comes to distraction, constant app notifications are a big culprit – knowledge workers receive notifications from an average of 6.2 different apps or tools. Productivity's enemies include stress, anxiety and mental and physical fatigue. Psychotherapist Roxy Rhodes told me, "Mental and physical tiredness compound mistakes, which could negatively impact your career progression. Working through illness also means you may need longer to recover, increasing burnout risk." Dr. Wladislaw Rivkin, associate professor in organizational behavior at Trinity College Dublin agrees that working through illness – even digitally – is a bad idea. H     is research found working when unwell "has a knock-on effect for remote workers' performance on the next day as [it] drains employees' psychological energy, which cannot be fully recovered after work." Business impact of presenteeism Presenteeism can be more detrimental than absenteeism. An "always-on" communication expectation can hamper productivity and cause anxiety. Remote work was meant to level the playing field for employees with disabilities, but if workers feel forced to show up for the sake of it, that benefit is lost. Employee digital surveillance further corrodes trust, and brings challenges of its own making by reducing contextual performance and morale and increasing stress. Workers feel drained, fear their employer is 'out to get them' or retaliate using the likes of mouse jigglers – software or devices that simulate      mouse movements to prevent computer sleep mode from activating, giving the impression the employee is working. "Having to prove you're working by using mouse jigglers or clicking the screen every few minutes indicates a toxic culture. When we hire people, we look for candidates who will take ownership of their work. How long it takes them to accomplish a project is up to them, as long as the output is delivered. We don't need employee tracking software to see output," says Bhavya Arora, talent management and culture partner for sales engagement platform Outplay. Young workers and juniors in a team are more susceptible to practicing presenteeism. Some organizations position choosing your own working hours as a privilege earned by those higher up the career ladder, and junior workers worry their work ethic may be seen as lacking even if they're absent even for a few minutes. How to switch off "always on" culture 1.    Measure performance by output not hours "We don't believe someone's commitment to work or their performance should be measured by how many hours they've worked," says Outplay's Arora. Qatalog founder Rauf agrees, "Organizations should implement an output-driven culture that focuses on the work people do, rather than worrying about when they do it and how long they're at their desk." 2.    Use tools that suit asynchronous work Communication tools that send notifications can reinforce an "always on" culture and mean workers find it hard to switch off. Encouraging 'asynchronous' instead means finding ways for colleagues to work together even when not logged in at the same time. Tariq Rauf, founder and chief executive officer of Qatalog says, "Asynchronous work lets people with caregiving responsibilities fit work around their life." Qatalog tries to enable asynchronous working with their platform, which centralizes knowledge, processes and resources in their platform. Asynchronous communication tools, like Loom for video messaging, CloudApp for screen recording, Yac, which claims voice messaging can eliminate meetings, and Hypercontext for meeting management, aim to provide for effective, high-fidelity communication      for asynchronous work. "With the right technology, you can break down silos and provide visibility across an entire organization," says Rauf. "Once you can see what everyone is working on, with decisions made transparently, trust is much easier to build. It's not a silver bullet, but it's a strong foundation." 3.    Build trust and lead by example Asynchronous communication tools must feed into a culture of trust and empathy. Leaders should hire employees they trust to get the work done, so there's no need to be logged in at the same time. Psychotherapist Rhodes says, "You're setting a precedent for what's expected of your employees – if a staff member sees their boss showing up to work sick, they'll likely feel pressure to do the same." Small but thoughtful changes in how you communicate can also build trust: Don't send employees texts or emails outside work hours. Let team members control their availability, honoring 'do not disturb' statuses. Segment communication channels, for example, using Slack for regular communication but mobile messaging apps only for emergencies. Rhodes also recommends, "Having a non-contact way for employees to announce sickness is effective in some companies. Staff feel anxious about "phoning in sick" and having to have a conversation where they feel they have to justify how ill they are." Management consultancy McKinsey's 2022 report found 40 percent of workers value flexibility so much, it drives their decision to stay in a job or look for a new one. If workers can't do their best work, employers will lose them. Productivity is in work delivered, not hours worked or how fast employees respond to messages. No workplace benefits from performed productivity, and presenteeism can strip remote work of its benefits. Businesses must make sure they give employees the tools and freedom to work in the way that best suits them.
data security metaverse

Why brands must get ahead on metaverse privacy and security

  • min read
    • While there's much buzz around the metaverse, few conversations focus on its security, privacy and safety. But these challenges may be even bigger in this emerging space than in the rest of the digital world. I spoke with several experts who agree organizations wanting to embrace this new medium must think about the challenges now – not when the metaverse gains full steam. What is the metaverse? The metaverse is an immersive three-dimensional world where people engage in social and commercial activities through digital avatars. Users can access it on many kinds of connected devices, but it's most immersive when used with a virtual reality (VR) headset. There are many metaverses, including that being developed by Meta, formerly Facebook, Horizon Worlds. Some call it the future of the internet. In this metaverse future, our physical and virtual spaces and lives may converge seamlessly. It could create a common place to work, shop and socialize. Some put this future closer than we might think. Global analysts Gartner predict 25 percent of people will spend at least one hour in the metaverse by 2026. Market Research Future says the metaverse market will grow by 45 percent annually until 2030. By contrast, they expect the Internet of Things (IoT) to grow by just 26 percent each year. Little focus on metaverse security and safety "The metaverse's attack surface [possible entry points for malicious actors] is bigger, and it's also a new technology space," says Nick Donarski, co-founder and chief technology officer at blockchain company ORE System. "Developers don't have the experience, technical resources and exposure for long-term understanding of its security and how it applies to organizations." Al Pascual, senior vice president of enterprise risk solutions at identity security provider Sontiq, thinks we can easily get 'ahead of our skis' when it comes to security. "We invent new ways to give people experiences and products using old security paradigms and have to clean up the mess later," he says. "We must think about security before we start deploying the metaverse to everyone." Securing the 'Wild West' "The metaverse is like the Wild West right now. There aren't even any standards yet," says Aarti Dhapte, senior research analyst at Market Research Future and an author of its metaverse market forecast reports. "You can't even regulate it well because everybody doesn't define the metaverse the same way." Gartner defines the metaverse as "a collective virtual space created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality" that's "device-independent and not owned by a single vendor" with "an independent virtual currency." Other definitions include fully immersive experiences, a three-dimensional overlay on the physical world and a persistent collection of universes we can traverse with digital identities and assets. Despite its early stage, many security experts expect the metaverse will see familiar security threats: Social engineering, phishing, identity theft and more. "Cybercriminals' methods are rarely new. More often, they use the same methods in a new channel," says Pascual, whose fraud prevention career includes working for global banks. Adding blockchain to the mix Many think blockchain will play a central role in the metaverse because of the need to decentralize the space and enable the various worlds within it to interoperate. Cryptocurrency, which uses blockchain, is the natural candidate for metaverse ecommerce. The metaverse could use smart contracts – digital transactions stored on blockchain that self-execute under certain conditions – to implement rules. Also a new technology, blockchain adds complexity and security challenges to the metaverse. And while many think its immutability makes it more secure, recent attacks on blockchain highlight its security shortcomings. Virtual currencies, whether cryptocurrency or non-fungible tokens (NFTs,) are also hard to navigate, especially for a big metaverse user group – children. "It's risky for kids and teens to understand handling virtual money in all forms and can lead to big losses," Dhapte says. People still the weakest link Malicious actors most often use people manipulation to attack. For example, Verizon's 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report says 82 percent of data breaches involve a human element. The metaverse's human element is similarly exploitable. The metaverse will also magnify data privacy concerns. Artur Kane, vice president at secure remote access company GoodAccess, says that since the metaverse is a "world attacking even more of our senses," tech giants can use it to make more money with better-targeted advertising. That means tracking even more of our behavior online. "We give away much more information in the metaverse," says Kane, a frequent privacy speaker at industry events. "Companies can learn much about us – like race, sexual interest, potential health issues." He mentions recent research showing how attackers could exploit hardware and application weaknesses to violate privacy. They set up a benign-looking VR escape room game and inferred many participants' attributes, from height to age to location, with high accuracy using just minutes of gameplay. Regulation far behind Lagging data privacy and security regulation adds to the metaverse's Wild West feel. "We're giving away so much more data than we realize," says Kane. "There's huge potential for data breaches and leaks in a new environment where legislation doesn't restrict much." Blockchain regulation is also lacking, which Dhapte thinks could mean greater chance of fraud. "Since various countries don't have fixed regulations for blockchain, tracking fraudulent activities would be a real challenge for governments." User risks in immersive environments The metaverse is a rich playground for abuse – from sexual harassment to virtual assaults. "Any vulnerable group, especially children, faces higher risk as non-consensual contact and communication might be more intrusive and targeted, given how immersive the experience is," Kane says. A survey by global think tank Wunderman Thompson Intelligence found 66 percent of parents familiar with the metaverse have child safety concerns. Fears are not unfounded – one media investigation found behaviors like racist comments and sexually explicit content directed at children. Pascual of Sontiq says metaverse participants exchange little of monetary value today, "But in ten to 20 years, the potential for financial transactions is huge, especially as digital properties gain value. Thefts will become more meaningful." In the meantime, users still risk fraud. Pascual says scams draw kids looking for cryptocurrency and virtual swag. "We've seen evidence of predators targeting children in open worlds like Roblox. Parental oversight, education and control on who children can engage with and what they can see will be key." An investigation as part of Tomorrow Unlocked's hacker:HUNTER video series found rife hacking in children's games like Roblox, for example stealing hard-won digital items. These hacks had considerable impact on the child gamers. It's harder for parents to monitor children consuming content using VR headsets because they can't look over kids' shoulders as with a computer or phone. That gives brands launching metaverse experiences a greater responsibility to protect users. Protecting business in the metaverse For teams responsible for metaverse experiences, security experts like Pascual emphasize the need for moderation. He sees danger for brands in platforms ineffectively moderated. "Brand trust will be critical, so there's a need for moderation, including monitoring to ensure brands aren't easily imitated," he says. Moderation may not be easy. Tech giant Meta's chief technical officer said moderating user behavior "at any meaningful scale is practically impossible." Still, some experts think self-scrutiny by brands, alongside industry collaboration, will be a business imperative in the metaverse. The good news is security concepts are roughly the same in the metaverse, according to Donarski of ORE Systems. "The fundamental security practices carry over because the architecture is the same. It still runs on a server, you have databases on the backend, user and password management, and so on." It may take a while, but the metaverse will likely become a reality. Companies must consider security and privacy before that reality takes shape – whichever version of the metaverse unfolds.
disinformation technology

Can AI help mend trust in business damaged by trolling and fakes?

  • min read
    • In 2021, artificial intelligence (AI) might have finally become better than humans at being human. A study found people trust AI-made fake faces more than real people's faces. The researchers warn their findings show widespread use of AI poses a threat to the public. They recommend stronger safeguards restricting code to those with good reason to use it. As deepfakes and manipulated imagery increase, we've seen a counter-balance in businesses wanting to communicate with customers in a more authentic voice. This also means rooting out manipulated sentiment and trolling, so we see governments and brands contracting tech firms to reveal those spreading disinformation on social media. Could we get better at spotting fakes? In a world where four in ten teens can't tell the difference between fake and real news, rebuilding trust must be a business priority. But how AI technology has advanced makes it complex. It's now easy to create many synthetic images and videos using AI systems that analyze thousands of real images to learn how to make fakes. In the past, that workload would've needed many trained people. The FBI recently alerted that HR managers have spotted people using deepfakes to apply for remote jobs. But why? "Fake employment applicants may be hoping to access and hack the hiring company's IT systems," says Kaspersky senior data scientist Dmitry Anikin. "It's happening, but today, it's hard to do well. Making a high-quality deepfake needs much data and computing power, especially for online meetings. We should prepare for the threat to grow, because technology doesn't stand still." Fighting to maintain online credibility All business relies on trust. So how can business operate with the albatross of fakery hovering above? Luckily, companies like Truepic offer solutions. Truepic's software development kit (SDK) integrates with apps that rely on images, verifying media in real time. It checks image metadata – like when, where and on which device it was created – then cryptographically signs it, embedding validation in the file. This lets businesses on the back end know if content is real or synthetic. Truepic's clients include credit reporting company Equifax and car manufacturer Ford. When Ford pays out on a warranty claim, they need to know if car parts or damage photographs are legitimate or have been manipulated or pulled from the web. Brown says tagging tools like Truepic come at a time of brand and consumer frustration with social media companies doing little to stem disinformation. "We're in that sea change now. A consumer push for authenticity is starting to pressure social media platforms to take notice." But firms like Truepic aren't sitting on their hands waiting for Facebook, Twitter and TikTok to act differently. Truepic belongs to Adobe's Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI), a community of tech companies, media, non-government organizations (NGOs) and others promoting an open industry standard for proving content authenticity. This year, Adobe released a three-part open-source toolkit to help get trust-building technology into developers' hands faster. Rooting out social media trolls ZeroFox, Astroscreen and Cyabra use AI to identify disinformation disseminators and 'sock puppets' – fake profiles creating an illusion of wider support for (or opposition to) an idea or company. Cyabra calls itself a "social media search engine designed to track and measure the impact of fake accounts." Companies like Cyabra recognize social media platforms aren't doing this enough. Rafi Mendelsohn, vice president of marketing at Cyabra, says, "We look at the 'breadcrumbs' to find out if an account is real or not." Breadcrumbs might be, for example, a user posting 23 hours a day or multiple users Tweeting the same text. Brands using Cyabra include Warner Media, which faced a deluge of Twitter trolling when they announced the first female-led superhero film, Wonder Woman, in 2017. "We helped Warner recognize authentic enthusiasm for the film and what was false," says Mendelsohn. Cyabra works with Brazilian, Colombian and US state governments to track fake narratives leading up to major elections. Mendelsohn notes, "Human analysts have done this work for years, but we can do it at scale with AI." In the highly publicized battle between Elon Musk and Twitter, Musk contracted Cyabra to find out how many Twitter users were fake before confirming purchase – their analysis found about 11 percent. Towards a more authentic internet Those studying distrust online have found language is important in identifying disinformation. Victoria Rubin, associate professor of information and media studies at University of Western Ontario, has tracked disinformation spreaders for several years and noticed some hallmarks. "Those who lie don't often reference themselves in posts and prefer to use 'they' in language." She says fake news and election lies spread fast when people don't look critically at what they see. It's common – haven't we all reacted to a news item after just reading the headline? Disinformation isn't going anywhere soon, so to attack it requires greater vigilance. Those I interviewed said education and company responsibility must be part of confronting it. They agree we must teach people how bad actors use new technologies to fool us something's real when it's not. Platforms like Twitter and Facebook must also do as much as possible to rebuild trust, says Truepic's Brown. "Our big-picture goal is an internet with built-in authenticity infrastructure, so everyone has the right data to make decisions that affect their lives."
tale two metaverses

The Metaverse’s history shows we’re not quite ready for it

  • min read
    • In October 2021, Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg changed his company's brand name to Meta to reflect what he sees as the importance of the metaverse to their business strategy. Experienced using a virtual reality (VR) headset, the three-dimensional virtual environment lets characters (called avatars) engage in social and commercial activities much like real life. Many global business giants see the Metaverse as a huge commercial opportunity that will change how we live and work. Should your business get involved? I believe the Metaverse's history shows while it's an environment you should get familiar with, it may not be the time to invest big. Here's why. Origins of the Metaverse The video games industry has long driven demand for engaging immersive experiences and technologies to deliver them. Content expert Amica Graber says the word 'Metaverse' first appears in Neal Stephenson's 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash. Snow Crash's imaginary Metaverse is a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) – a game where all players are logged into the same game space, competing or collaborating on missions. MMOGs have been around since the 1990s. Their popularity has risen fast worldwide with improved internet connectivity, computer power and immersive graphics. One such game, space simulator EVE Online, has seen over 60,000 players simultaneously playing. And like in the Metaverse, trading virtual items for real-world money in MMOGs has become big business. What's the Metaverse's attraction? The Metaverse has business potential because of our willingness to invest so much time and money in playing games online. In a 2022 virtual conference on the Metaverse, Datin Lorela Chia, CEO of Haus of Stylo, Malaysia, gave examples of the fashion and games industry collaborating, like creating and selling virtual garments for avatars. But it's not just about buying and selling things – the Metaverse offers a way to meet, discuss or learn that's more immersive than other online communication tools. Bill Gates said in 2021, "Within two to three years, I predict most virtual meetings will move from 2D camera image grids… to the Metaverse – a 3D space with digital avatars." Metaverse follows in Second Life's footsteps In almost every way except the VR headsets, there was a Metaverse from 2003, when Linden Labs launched virtual world Second Life. Second Life is a virtual world that lets users create avatars and settings, and teleport from one place to another in seconds. Second Life has an estimated 800,000 users and many of the characteristics of a real-world civilization – rules, citizen rights, homes, shops, universities and events. It has many business applications like hybrid conferences, virtual project meetings and data visualization for education and collaboration. IBM has used Second Life for internal meetings. BP for graduate recruitment and Imperial College London for virtual hospital tours. But with all its functionality and experience, Second Life hasn't gained mainstream commercial success. So why does Mark Zuckerberg believe his Metaverse has massive disruptive potential? What's enabling today's Metaverse? The answer lies in how the internet evolved since its birth in 1983. The power of 5G and fibre, smartphones and social media have all played a role. Today's advanced internet technologies make the Metaverse possible, but the devices and applications we use daily will determine whether it has significant commercial potential. Second Life runs on a desktop computer and connects to a network of Linden Lab servers. It's a security risk for businesses with network firewalls. Second Life is also 'synchronous:' users only get value from being online at the same time as other users. So there are no users in most Second Life locations most of the time. To use a real-world retail analogy, there's a lack of footfall. This is also true for the Metaverse. Its commercial potential will depend on user numbers and where they spend time. It's critical there's on-demand universal access across computers, laptops and mobile devices. Perhaps 'Web 3.0' will be the technology that delivers on making Metaverse experiences securely accessible to a global marketplace across different devices, but especially mobile devices like smartphones. What is Web 3.0 and why does it matter? IT industry analyst Robin Bloor recently said, "Web 3.0 is the third generation of the internet — a global network that permits intelligent interactions between all its users and devices." Web 3.0 is a theoretical new blockchain-based iteration of the web. It could provide increased data security, scalability and privacy for users. It would let users publish rich media content to a global audience and make a Metaverse more commercially viable than Second Life. By making the web more powerful, intuitive and secure, Web 3.0 could mean the volume of online users accessing and creating content grows faster. One major difference, most relevant to the Metaverse, is better handling of the 3D graphics needed for virtual worlds. Blockchain important to Metaverse commerce Metaverse settings are computer-generated environments or 360-degree photos and videos captured by consumer or professional cameras. These digital images and videos are now traded on the internet. Blockchain can validate ownership of these digital assets, enabling the fashion industry to sell digital garments. In Second Life from 2005, you could create digital assets and trade them for the digital currency Linden dollars. Today, the same thing is happening in the Metaverse using blockchain and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. These latest developments, alongside artificial intelligence that connects buyers with sellers, will add to the growth of the Metaverse. How will the Metaverse affect business? The future shape and commercial potential of the Metaverse go beyond numbers of users. It also depends on how often they visit, for how long, where and why. With pandemics and climate change restricting face-to-face contact and travel, applications that enable remote communication and collaboration have grown fast. Online meeting app Zoom saw daily meeting participants grow from 10 million to 300 million between 2019 and 2020, mostly from small business and personal use. Will the Metaverse become the new virtual meeting space Bill Gates predicted? It seems unlikely for now, with the convenience and ease of use of Zoom and other online meeting platforms. More likely, the commercial potential of the Metaverse will be unlocked by applications that benefit more from immersive experiences. It could also be useful in mental and physical health therapies that use virtual reality and for complex 3D data visualization. Facebook (Meta) has invested hugely in strategy based on VR headsets as the gateway to their Metaverse platform. Unlike the browsers found on every smartphone and laptop, few own or have access to a VR headset. At the moment, Metaverse suffers from the same problem that restricted Second Life – a limited marketplace, until the technology evolves to the point where VR headsets or glasses are affordable and ubiquitous. Unlike recent disruptions like cryptocurrency, the Metaverse relies on mass adoption to be profitable for business. Several factors in the market today make mass Metaverse adoption unlikely, like low VR headset ownership and lack of systems to access the Metaverse with commonly owned devices. While businesses should closely follow the Metaverse's development, it may be premature to invest heavily at this time. In any case, watch this space.
trust global business

New research on how to build trusted business relationships worldwide

  • min read
    • Trust is the building block of all relationships, but the way we build trust in business isn't the same the world over. Tyree Mitchell is assistant professor at Louisiana State University School of Leadership and Human Resource Development. His latest book with Jeanne Brett, Searching for Trust in the Global Economy, shares findings from studying managers in 33 countries, revealing differences in how they nurture trust relationships. It also asks if the pandemic has changed how we make decisions about trust. I spoke with Tyree about his research and ideas to improve relationships in virtual and global tech teams. Susi O'Neill: Why did you focus on international differences in trust for your research? Tyree Mitchell: Global economic development needs new business relationships. Negotiating them is tricky – there's much uncertainty, vulnerability and unmet expectations. Trust is critical. When negotiators trust each other, businesses use fewer resources to prevent exploitation and have better economic outcomes. Most research and theories on trust are from a Western perspective. Data from the World Values Survey shows different responses. For example, the US is higher on trust than Brazil. To build relationships, you must understand how trust varies between cultures. We wanted to explore what that means when negotiating business relationships and understand from managers and executives how trust happens. How do we decide if we'll trust a business partner? We learned from the 82 managers we interviewed four key actions they use to make trust decisions. First, due diligence – searching for information about the new partner, including financial status, ratings and reviews and data gathering on social platforms like LinkedIn. Second, brokering – a special introduction where a third party puts their reputation on the line. We particularly see this in East Asia. Third, goodwill building – interacting socially to get to know the partner, like grabbing a coffee or going to a sports event together. Finally, testing – getting the partner to act or react, like asking a question when you already know the answer. We want to know if they will be upfront about company difficulties or cover up problems. In the West, we use testing to check if you're forthcoming and honest, as the assumption is you can be trusted. In East Asia, testing is about checking competency, as people tend to embellish things, so partners want to know if you can deliver what you promise. From these actions, we found four standards for determining if someone is trustworthy -- competence, openness, respect and rapport (CORR.) Competence means, are they capable with the knowledge and skills to deliver on their promise? Openness means are you honest and forthcoming? Respect means showing regard for one another, even if you don't have shared values. Rapport refers to building affinity around shared values. What were the main differences you saw between research participants? We analyzed the 82 manager interviews using a framework based on regional differences in trust and the tightness of social norms. There is a cultural difference in how people answer the question, can most people be trusted? For example, in India, the answer is more often 'no' and in Sweden, more often 'yes,' so we call India' low-trust' and Sweden' high-trust.' There are also differences in tightness and looseness of social norms and consequences for deviating. For example, China is high-trust and tight, the US is high-trust and loose, India is low-trust and tight, and Mexico is low-trust and loose. To understand cultural differences in trust decisions, you must understand these differences. There are also differences in how different cultures decide to trust. East Asians emphasize testing more than Middle Easterners or Latin Americans. Latin Americans and Middle Easterners emphasize goodwill building more than East Asians. Latin America, the Middle East and South Asia are lower trust. But in Latin America, rapport and establishing shared values are more important. Respect for cultural differences is vital in the Middle East and South Asia. This may be because the institutions that monitor and sanction deviance from norms in 'tight,' but more diverse cultures don't cross ethnic boundaries. What were the most surprising research findings? East Asia and the West focus primarily on the business relationship. If there's a business relationship, the personal connection follows. China and UK's behavior was similar, but social norms are different. On brokering a relationship through a third party, one US manager asked, "What's in it for the person making the introduction?" That's not considered in the 'tight' East Asian culture – if the third party puts their reputation on the line, they're good to deal with. In this culture, someone can be outcast if they bring embarrassment on themselves or their family – the stakes are higher. How can transparency be improved between partners? Share information openly and honestly. Anticipate being asked questions about past performance and how you see the future relationship. Your potential partner may interpret reluctance to share as hiding, so when you can't share information, explain why. Signal you're engaged and want to learn more by asking questions. Trust is a two-way street. Are there differences in how people build rapport and trust in person versus online? During the pandemic (in the fall of 2020), we went back to the same managers we spoke to before to ask how they developed new relationships and made trust decisions virtually. A manager from Brazil said they found ways of keeping the spirit of face-to-face using technology, as talking to someone online is the same way to make a connection. Could virtual reality (VR) and the virtual office help bridge the geographic divide? Engineers and scientists I've interviewed for other research reacted negatively to the idea that VR could replace or substitute for face time. Personally, I'm comfortable using video conferencing, but I've found using a video game character awkward. I like the possibilities, but our ability as humans to get up to speed and be open to it can be a challenge. The reluctance to use virtual technology could be partly generational. When we re-interviewed managers during the pandemic, one manager from Palestine mentioned that his father initially felt the business could survive without using technology. However, when it was time to make a serious business decision, his father would ask: "Can you send an email or do something?" What advice can you share for managers of international tech teams? Other research shows challenges in inter-cultural teams include violations of respect or hierarchy, prejudice and lack of common ground. Communication styles vary – in East Asia, it's more indirect, but in Latin America and the Middle East, it's more direct. Don't leave anything to chance. While putting together this charter, your conversations will help define how you'll deliver. If someone doesn't show up to a meeting, what happens next? A shared team mental model about what to expect reduces uncertainty. Nothing is perfect, but the charter negates some pitfalls by getting collective agreement.
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