How has coronavirus affected the tech firms?

Twenty years ago, dot com bubble happened where internet companies were considered risky. Some tech companies survived and excelled others diminished and probably vanished. It was an era people doubted the internet and thought it was over. Look at Napster and MySpace on one side and look at PayPal, Amazon, and Netflix on the other side. Fast forward to 2020, the world is in the midst of a pandemic that we have to isolate ourselves. The life of integrity and hegemony is taking a dramatic turn. 

 At first, corporations and universities didn’t know how to deal with their day to day functional operation being forced online. In the beginning, it looked like every aspects of life from government, non-profit organizations, corporations, and charities had to stop everything. Therefore, it took a drastic effect on every industry from manufacturing to retail and technology. However, from the beginning it looked like the companies and places that were dealing with their operations on the internet and technology were the winners. Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google (FAANG) had more traffic than before. Some tech firms made promotions and discounts; others collaborated with the government to stop the spread of the virus. Google and Apple joined forces with the White House to contact trace individuals with the virus. Amazon spent $4 billion alone on corporate social responsibility to keep their employees informed about the pandemic and how to contain it at their sites. Netflix had 10 million new subscribers last three month and is giving away 10 shows and movies with free trials CBC. Each company looked to show their strength and power by being involved in the pandemic. 

Fast forward few months later into the pandemic and, tech stocks are showing robust numbers in revenue and growth. These firms are carrying the stock market on their backs for the time being. Tesla’s stock rallied more than 230% in second quarter of 2020 and had its stock split in late August MarketWatch. In addition, tech companies are doing what they did before;make the late laggers to internet operation go out of business. This can be said about Brooks Brothers, Lord and Taylor, JC Penny, and Hertz all going bankrupt during the pandemic. Then, there are the trends, social cause, current events, and protests that are becoming a global scene on social media sites. As an example, these events are Black Lives Matter protests and the Lebanon  explosion that has rocked the world in shock. There are the activity challenges that sports professionals created for people to entertain themselves and get support, comment, and likes online during the pandemic. Also, there has been an outrage and fume about the concerts and parties at Wuhan that took place over the summer. What have the tech firms do to our lives that we are living close to a fast-paced environment while being far from the action? 

First of all, online interaction such as shopping, listening, and watching has increased across all ages around the world. A lot of people have been able to use internet and smartphones more during these times to stay connected and aware of their city and country. There has been a 37% increase in texting, 32% increase in video calling and 70% increase in group calls on Facebook messenger app NICCS. People are having a sufficient amount of money in their savings that are capable of spending on their home goods. Home Depot had a surge of 23% revenue last quarter based on spending from their customers MarketWatch.

Then, some companies such as DoorDash are coming out with their IPO due to seeing a beneficial opportunity. There are other functions such as Zoom or Google Hangout are being used for concerts, comedy clubs, or happy hours. As seen that people are joining virtual realities to meet other people or get a feel of what it’s like to be at a venue on a Saturday night listening to the DJ while taking a sip of their drink of  the choice. Artists such as Andrea Bocelli and Lady Gaga televised their performance on YouTube for people to see them live behind a screen. In a KFF Tracking Poll conducted in mid-July, 53% of adults in the United States reported that their mental health has been negatively impacted due to worry and stress over the coronavirus. 

It is better to say to keep our cool and anxiety on a low and not to lose anything or anyone that we are having at the moment. One thing to note is that hackers and thieves have become more malicious because they need to survive too. Therefore, raise for concern about cybersecurity have increased during these times due to people working remotely. Zoom was facing scrutiny over how vulnerable they are with their security back in March. It has been a hectic 2020 for us so far and we had to make plenty of adjustments to our daily routines. If grandparents were complaining about the smartphones and lack of socialization, now we can understand their pain. It can be said, karma has done it for our generation about this situation. 

However, not all can be said that every tech company is thriving. Certain companies such as Airbnb and Yelp are hurting due to lack of travels and tourism from people. Uber had to lay off 3000 employees due to 80% decrease in use of the app TheVerge. Draft Kings had loss revenue due to lack of sports playing. Staffing concerns ramped up for full-time employees, as well as gig workers, such as drivers, delivery workers and retail staff, who often work as contractors at tech firms PWC. Yes, some  tech firms are getting pinched at the moment too. It is better to say that we need to be aware what is best for us at the moment.

We are definitely in the never-ending situation of a global pandemic that health officials are awaiting a second wave in fall. Globally, when our power or internet goes out due to a natural disaster, frustration, agitation, and boredom arises at home being uncertain about the possibility of knowing what is going on with our friends and family. All is there to do is try to spend more time with family and friends to make us remember the good times that we are having being with them at the moment. If there wasn’t for the FaceTime feature to speak with your friends who knows how often you would have been speaking with them or see them on regular basis. These are the times we should cherish that we are spending time with our family and friends more than before the pandemic started. 

How are the big tech firms driving the economy at the moment?

The fab five tech which are Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Facebook are worth $7 Trillion at the moment and have reached their record highs. If you add Tesla and Netflix it would be over $7.7 Trillion economy. They have thrived under corona-economy for sure. The other 2000 companies are worth almost $2 Trillion. What’s the deal with them?

Apple and Tesla are splitting their stock options which is driving their prices higher than ever. Also, these seven companies have been the driving force for Nasdaq and S&P500 to do well and reach their all time highs. There are few factors to consider for the next bear market.

Facebook is facing antitrust issues and other tech giants are part of the theory that is dominating their C-level meetings before they had a meeting with Congress. In addition, if these companies break up, the economy will go into bear market. Although, it doesn’t make sense that these companies should be the only ones to follow when they are facing scrutiny but there is no other player in the industries as well.

Then, it’s the factor to consider that globally, these companies are getting pushed back as well which they have currently reach their goals of global domination at the moment. In addition, Google, Amazon, and Facebook have bought their competitors and there is barely any other major competitor against them except smaller margins!

These tech firms have been doing what is needed for them to do and it’s helping the political issues such as unemployment and climate change. They have been listening to politicians like a pet teacher and making their judgements known as a cornerstone factors. How can you stop them then?

Then, it’s the penalties and fees that they are facing such as settlements and legal battles. Although, these are like a glass of beer for an alcoholic in the afternoon without any troubling. It’s consideration should be how they are going to target the next industries or players.

It’s about to give them extra battle and run around the bush to make them pay for their boosters and stock kickers so they know what the price is for them from now on. Also, the legal issues should come with doing more than just taking over and having some more policies and issues to mandate on the new terms they come into play.

Overall, these tech firms are dominating on global terms that other companies are duplicating them and making profits by following their suits in their own country. If they run out of gas, well we shall say recession will look ugly without them!

How are the new tech mergers are concerns to the public?

Google is merging with Fitbit and Microsoft is merging with Tik Tok as they are the rumors in today’a tech world. Both acquisitions will commingle different types of data for more user predictions and understanding. What’s the problem with these two mergers?

Google is trying to compete with Apple and Microsoft is trying to compete with Facebook. In both sense it seems fair. However, the competitors of Tik Tok and Fitbit will have less chance to make a name for themselves. Google will try to make Fitbit more known on their search for smart watches. Therefore, these two mergers are similar to if Venmo and Bank of America merged together as an example.

The factors are that tech firms need to be more specialized in one factor rather than diversifying their research and development portfolio. This way there will be more competition and more creation of jobs in different areas of the world for people. More jobs means more individual firms being nationalized as well. However, the big tech firm don’t want this at all. It’s their reasoning to empower themselves and make other firms go out of business.

Another factor is based on data analysis and research the mergers will be able to have more knowledge and information on an individual than before. This means that the intelligence community is able to ask firms directly about the firms and such rather than channeling to other firms. It’s fair point which not every politician will be happy about their voters interests and rights. After all, tech has made us lose privacy and gain more transparency towards digital world.

For one thing tech is always looking to expand their niche market. When Facebook merged with WhatsApp and Instagram, their concept was that they are looking to expand their operation of messaging and encrypting them. Well, people realized it wasn’t true rather it’s the monopoly dominance over communication field. Facebook tried to make phones and due to not being a hardware or gadget company they failed.

Therefore, if Google tried to take over Bing or a smaller search query company that would make sense. However, moving into the smart watch industry it shows how they want to be like Apple and compete with them even though both firms have been working on Coronavirus contact tracing campaign.

Overall, it’s a strategy of big tech firms to channel out their niche market. Amazon is a prime example how they are making a name for themselves in every industry. Although Netflix have stuck with movies and shows and expanding their regions. It’s better to understand what is the priority for each firm rather than solving it with dumping cash on new mergers. Such mergers makes the world more united and create more gap between the society economic level!

How are tech firms effecting retailer bankruptcy and other aspects of society?

We got another one in the bankruptcy world of retailers, hold your tears for Lord&Taylor. The list keeps on piling this year and it is not going to get better for retailers or stores with physical locations anymore. How are the tech firms effecting this scenario?

One thing is as one kingdom falls another kingdom rises. The recession has hit with not being out in public. The places that were doing the best with physical locations are hurting big time. Location location location status for real estate is moving towards virtual world. That phrase is shifting digitally and the retailers that had tough time adopting to virtual settings before are losing the battle.

Certainly companies such as Amazon, Walmart, Shoptify, Jet, etc. are taking control of the retail destiny by being virtual and keeping their business open even when it’s off hours. Well, soon or later more physical stores will close down and become event spacing or gathering for people due to popularity of entertainment demand. What about other industries such as banking?

There is possibility that banks will become less attractive even a decade due to the rise of fintech too. PayPal just had their best quarter during the pandemic. This means more people will shift towards using online interactions as well. It’s not beautiful rather gut painful to see it happening.

The physical locations prosper on people walking in. Even before the pandemic, for comfortability, people used online methods of interaction including social media to speak with friends rather than calling or texting. The society is moving towards an isolated online community. People need to realize that city lifestyles around the world will change after this pandemic as well.

People are noticing a different scenarios and it’s only the beginning of a new trend. European and Middle Eastern countries thrive on social interaction with people which is turning around as religious sites are shut down as well.

It has come to notice that people are spreading out within countries and building their assets and savings differently than spending more on same materials. People have certainly spend more on home goods than fashion due to less events being taken into effect. It’s not that easy to adjust to new lifestyle for most people.

Tech firms that thrived on two distinct vision in their companies to attract traffic and sales have and will continue to prosper more. The old days of becoming a specialist in one area is gone as you need to adopt into other topics to master in. Tech has certainly thought many people a lesson that was hard to realize before facing no income!

What are the after effects of banning Tik Tok by the Trump administration?

The tension between the US and China was taking to new levels even before the shut down of consulates. Both countries have been playing cat and mouse with one another to get an edge on the other side. For unity it’s problematic and can drift us to new levels similar to Cold War except with China as the new edition. What are the cause of banning social media apps of one country in the other country?

This can lead to a halt to influencers of Tik Tok from US which will have to find a new platform to kick off their challenges and trends. For one thing, it can lead to a disconnect with the rest of the world using Tik Tok which there will be new influencers to show their moves and trends. It will have a similar fate to Vlogging which died down after its shutdown.

Another factor is the data sharing on your mobile with other nations intelligence will be put into stop. Social media started with MySpace and Facebook. Tik Tok is a replication of SnapChat and Vlog with Instagram futures. This shows that China wasn’t authentic with their creation rather reproduced an app with combining features.

As a Communist nation, the users are being monitored by the government and its pretty common that the trend creators could be from the government too to start new cause and other campaigns. If US bans Tik Tok for their citizens what would Eastern European countries that have ties to Russia think of Instagram and Facebook from their action?

This will lead to isolation of transparency of information being flown across other nations. Therefore, we will be going back to ages where we will be unaware of the situations in other nations and become careless for their problems. Tik Tok ban is from “America first” policy book of the current administration which will lead to other industries as well.

Therefore, China will have less trust in the US relation and become disgruntled due to being a good listener to the US when they are needed. Well, other US technology productions and factories will have to think twice about doing business in China due to follow of information, patents, communication, and others while being a guest in China!

If the flow of information is put to stop and not caring for their technology companies similar to Huawei, it will have a Doppler effect into US tech firms such as Apple in China! One thing you know, China will move toward spying even more because of curiosity and playing Battleship technology edition. Then, what will have the effects on sales, traffic, travels, and stock market? It won’t be comfortable rather the old scenario of “us vs. them” will kick in!

Tik Tok ban is not a cure to differences of policies rather a separation to more isolated and destructive future. The world is in need of unity and hegemony to deal with natural disasters and poverty. Old days of turning on a blind eye towards other countries is over and it proved that it didn’t work over the past few years as we are in a major crisis worldwide. Now it’s time to work together and collaborate to improve state of situations hands in hands.

Where can the world look past the break up of big technology firms?

Tim Bray, a former Vice President of Amazon who quit in May has been calling for break up of Amazon. He hasn’t been the only person looking for such action being taken by the federal court. Some people have been looking to unionize within Amazon and their employment became a jeopardy.

Few things to consider for the good and bad of monopoly breaking up of Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google, Uber, and others. First the stock market. Yes! They will be effected as if the world is going downhill because of power shakeup. Just like any sports team when they lose a player and the coach leaves, the team is in limbo as the new management tries to calm the waters.

On the outside fans are either happy or miserable! Same thing happens with separating each technology firm. People will wonder what will happen and how will it be managed in a new order.

The next thing is vision of the company. Once they are broken up into different divisions, then their vision will be niched and more directed towards detail oriented aspect of the society and policy issue which can be much more useful than currently. For example if Netflix was operating in shows and Hulu was doing only movies they could do more production with Hollywood on certain types of genres for people.

Another aspect is the communication of the companies to their external relations. When they are broken up new employees will follow the suit to line up for work at those roles or new assistants and CEOs will take place. This can be good for the economy and labor department. However, it doesn’t look well because a task that 10 people did now 40 people doing it for broken Facebook as example.

Then, it’s the creativity and innovation will look different as new departments will have to fill in those aspects. There won’t be much transparency with other aspect of the companies as it could be insider information rather it could be another form of hearing a buzz and words of the mouth about a new design or model website.

As you know the monopoly needs to bring more capitalism for greater people rather than to hand picked individuals. Therefore,- broken up of big tech firms is essential and possibly the best way to look forward to.

What can tech startups do to prevent from cyber attacks?

Two days ago, world leader’s accounts were taken over by hackers and asking to deposit money to receive double the amount. It worked well for their scheme since they took over $100k while dispersing the money in different accounts. Who are the major companies that are vulnerable to such attacks?

When a startup becomes hot such as Snapchat, TikTok, or other social media accounts the CEO needs to think about privacy and security. This means that when a startup gains more than certain threshold for traffic or followers they should consider this as a major tactic and force to crackdown.

Then there are other startups such as Robinhood, Public, Acorns, or other financial institutions that could effect the market if the clients place too much money in one stock or selling a lot of their portfolio at once. This means that fintech startups haven’t received much attention and notice besides Robinhood causing a young adult committing suicide. We understand that fintech startups are not scary to be major players in the movement of the market, although the Main Street makes 30% of the market and most of the young generations are moving into the stock and investments to start early.

Then there are the AI startups that are automating technology and removing human factors. If they get hacked, this could have an effect on speed, damage, turnover, and more factors. In addition, the technology information is something key that probably military wants to protect it for the better reasons of the world from other nations.

Then there are the database, research, and analysis firms in any industry which can be law, medical, or others. If the hackers change a slight information on the database and store the files on the startup drive, the employees will be following falsified information.

Generally speaking cyber security is a major force to be reckoned for any startup or industries target who are using any means of technology. The power of shifting the dynamic was noticeable during the 2016 election and NYSE attack. Now, it’s showing that the next wars are moving towards online and digital world.

This can have a huge consequences for the future if the funds and investments are not allocated towards cyber security due to the damage and cost it can put on our lives. We understand it’s not a human costs looking at it from hindsight. However, when automated selfless cars emerge then it can be a damaging to human factors as well. It’s better to start paying attention and approach it with a high alert about this concept for the future before its too late.

Can tech firms help cities with public policy?

As recently as this week, Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter said he will help cities with Universal Basic Income. This means that everyone will have an equal opportunity at their salary to minimize the wealth gap. What other policies can tech firm assist with the mayors office of big cities?

Tech firms are the leading growth of the economy during the corona time. They have pushed the stock to growth momentum and forcing their way into politics. Another thing they can jump into is using Uber and Tesla to drive more of their data for traffic and pollution of the cities to the department of transportation (DOT).

Uber is collaborating with the government on this aspect for the sake of their survival. This means that if they are releasing the information of when and where the drivers have the fastest distance to their destination or most accident road, the DOT can improve the situation of that road. With Tesla, they can release more information about how global warming can be reduced with their vehicles on roads based on small measurements of cars, heating, or other daily activities.

In addition, Google, Netflix, and Amazon can release the information about the health of individuals and their interests. Why? This can make the police and hospitals know what and when their suspects or patients are online or what they are doing with their free time to get certain thoughts in their minds.

Also, social media can use their efforts to open the doors for movements of campaigning and events for politicians and giving more information to them. At this moment, social media is being used for hatred, cancel culture, protests, and negative connotations by the users. People have not seen the power to rise up with their messages and make their words useful besides being fired or called out from the public. This has become a major backward move on social media.

Then we have the gadget tech firms that can be useful for medical reasons and creativity along with developing more jobs for the department of labor. If the gadgets come out and they need customer support, educator, or trainer then department of labor can hire people for the tech firms.

The problem is we are far off from collaborations of tech firms with governments because any tech firm can lose their international interest from European or other regions of governments if they partner with one particular country. However, it’s a major reason to create and drive more development and building the future after pandemic in our society. Tech firms can help the governments with public policy until the international affairs will play a hand in their decisions which a senator or leader will be forced to call out the tech corporation similar to FaceApp that came out by the Russians. Unfortunately our society is not close to such mergers with different industries at the moment!

How can tech firms stay competitive with their marketing strategy to the public?

Pornhub offered free membership to Italian users for a month. Quibi did the same thing and lost 92% of their users traffic from free membership. What’s the problem with this strategy?

This strategy is good until the customers have to pay. If there was a discount offer for the location, infected users, students, or unemployed then that could be a game changer.

Free option is similar to as giving food away at college events until the speaker has to make a speech which will be boring unless it’s Donald Trump the entertainer behind the microphone. The option of free is something that is good until it lasts and people walk away from after.

The other option for tech firms are using free shipping with discounted products or buying more than certain threshold to get 20% off. Strategy for subscribers utilizing a month free became a common practice since Netflix usage.

However, there is the options of using it for multiple members who want to join at once which can increase the rate. This is how Netflix is controlling their members sharing screens at once. What if Amazon Prime allowed variety of products to be on their two hour shipping as well which can make it interesting for people to shop and desire their product.

Then, another example is Spotify that allows people to share podcast or create their own along with tuning to music with multiple users. What if they changed their marketing to every member is $2 and the next one is $1 more plus $5 maintaining the account? It will be similar to Netflix approach basically.

Although there is other opportunities such as collaboration with social media companies that they can send a meme or clip of music that the user wants in a segment to their friends as a massage. This can be new era of meme to come where you can search for the perfect moment clip or art or anything from a movie or music to your friends. Facebook I said it first to collaborate with Amazon or Google!

Different approaches besides free option can be viable and resourceful. People don’t want to pay up after enjoying a free membership because it’s not the best cup of tea during these times. Cheaper, collaboration, or a campaign for end of a season or something would become enjoyable to see the dark horse firm in the industry win!

What are the benefits of AI usage?

As we know, in 2018, WHO warned us of possible pandemic and diseases that could paralyze our daily activities. Fast forward to 2020 and we are in one now! What can we do to predict the possibilities of a scenario?

Programming is a tool that automates comprehensive information and data for our jobs which makes it a lot easier to use a software and code in our jobs. These jobs can be example such as setting schedules for employees, pushing a bulk of stock trades, or even using voice recognition such as Siri or Alexa. Well it’s possible to predict scenarios as well.

Some companies are using algorithms to see the trend of political communication and economy along with stock market being correlated with the president’s tweets. Then, there are other scenarios that we can automate when we give the machine options and attributes such as health crisis, economy collapse, wars, and natural disasters are considered.

With this prediction, you can get a better sense what the future holds and allow us to prepare for the worst outcome. At the moment, when the economy goes up and down, the economists and analysts are prepared for a recession or an outcome.

Now imagine if we had a module that would tell us the exact situation with global warming, natural disaster, wars, or health crisis. It would be easier to predict the measures. Due to most of the understanding for Covid, the governments have given an estimate about what percentage of the population gets contracted with the disease and how much they can be saved.

With this module, it’s about measuring every in and outs of the human behavior how people can prevent the outcome. Therefore, giving people a module that says in the news “if 20% of the population wears mask, 15% will be saved. Those 5% are the active ones that took chances and didn’t wear it completely.”

In other words, the news that we get and predictions are very broad and with programming of technology it can be narrowed down to specific details of actions notice which will be micro managing our activities. This can be measured for pollution and trees cutting down. It will be hard and painful rather will make lives much more calculated based on our wrong actions.