1990s. Rural Tamil Nadu. A group of people sat under the shade of a generous leafy tree, with eyes closed. A while ago, they had been sitting in the open, parched and sweating, feeling all the torrid effects of the southern Indian sun. Now, in protective green shade, with a cool breeze blowing, they realized the essence, and the benediction of the big tree.

Sadhguru led them through an inner process, where they actually experienced the exchange of breath with the tree, breathing out carbon dioxide, which the tree inhaled, and breathing in oxygen that the tree exhaled. An experiential process where they clearly saw that one half of their breathing apparatus was hanging out there. These were the early days when Sadhguru had just begun planting trees in what he called the most difficult terrain the minds of people. This first-hand experience of oneness with all life galvanized the first set of ardent volunteers who pioneered this movement to restore our planet.

What began with a few thousand volunteers in the 1990s in the form of Vanashree, an eco-drive aimed at greening the Velliangiri Hills, soon grew into Project GreenHands, a large state-wide campaign with millions of volunteers across Tamil Nadu in the first decade of 2000s. In 2017, when Sadhguru led the incredible Rally for Rivers, it snowballed into the largest environmental movement on the planet supported by 162 million Indians, further leading to intense on-ground activity with the extremely hands-on, proof-of-concept project Cauvery Calling. Now, it will include billions of global citizens in an unprecedented movement to create a Conscious Planet and Save Soil. Sadhgurus mission to reach 4 billion people on Earth has been the product of three decades of work and evolution.

One of the crucial aspects in the evolution of this movement has no doubt been the sheer number of people it has inspired. However, equally important has been its growing levels of influence. From local communities, organizations, farmers, schools and state governments, to helping shape the National River Policy in India and now to working with some of the most environmentally-relevant international agencies, world leaders and governments the movement has been making quantum leaps in the past three decades.

The phenomenal endeavor of the Save Soil movement is to bring citizens of the entire democratic world together to speak in one voice and affirm our commitment to the health and future of Earth. When issues of ecology become electoral issues, when the peoples support empowers governments to adopt long-term policy changes to safeguard soil, when businesses, organizations, individuals and governments make soil health a primary priority that is when this sustained effort will find fruition.

This has been a journey from GreenHeads to GreenHands to GreenHearts. So who will save soil? Each and every one of us.

Let us make it happen!

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About Conscious Planet - Save Soil - Sadhguru

Consciousness is, for each of us, all there is: the world, the self, everything. But consciousness is also subjective and difficult to define. The closest we have to a consensus definition is that consciousness is something it is like to be. There is something it is like to be me or you but presumably there is nothing it is like to be a table or an iPhone.

How do our conscious experiences arise? Its a longstanding question, one that has perplexed scientists and philosophers for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. The orthodox scientific view today is that consciousness is a property of physical matter, an idea we might call physicalism or materialism. But this is by no means a universally held view, and even within physicalism there is little agreement about how consciousness emerges from, or otherwise relates to, physical stuff.

Neuroscientists have found important clues by looking at the activity of the 86 billion neurons and trillions of neural connections inside the human brain. One of the first questions they asked was which parts of the brain of any brain are associated with consciousness. For instance, you might instinctively assume that conscious experiences are more likely if a brain or brain region contains a large number of neurons.

Surprisingly, though, the human cerebellum a sort of mini brain hanging off the back of your cortex contains about three-quarters of the neurons in your brain but seems to have almost nothing to do with consciousness. One reason we know this is because some people are born without a functioning cerebellum, and while they experience some problems, a lack of consciousness is not one of them.

There are, however, some bundles of neurons that do appear to be vital for consciousness. If damage occurs to specific parts of the thalamus, or to a particular region of the brain stem, the result can be permanent unconsciousness. But are these brain regions actually central to generating conscious experiences, or are they more like a power socket that simply allows whatever is plugged into it to work?

Work involving brain imaging techniques such as electroencephalography (EEG) paints a more complex picture. Several decades ago, neuroscientists including Francis Crick and Christof Koch began to search for what they called the neural correlates of consciousness: particular patterns of brain activity that relate to given conscious states the experience of a painful toothache, for example.

As studies like this have progressed it has become clearer that consciousness depends on specific ways that different parts of the brain particularly the cortex communicate with one another. For example, by injecting a pulse of energy into the brain using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and using electroencephalography (EEG) to monitor the response, a team of neuroscientists led by Giulio Tononi and Marcello Massimini found that the electrical echo generated by the energy pulse will bounce all around a conscious brain, but stays very localised in an unconscious brain. In other words, the conscious brain is much more connected.

Do experiments like this bring us closer to understanding what consciousness is? Some might argue not. In the 1990s, the philosopher David Chalmers made an influential contribution to the consciousness debate by distinguishing between what he termed the easy problem, or problems, and the hard problem of consciousness.

The easy problems involve understanding how the brain and body gives rise to functions like perception, cognition, learning and behaviour. These problems are called easy not because they are trivial, but because there seems no reason why they cant be solved in terms of physical mechanisms albeit potentially very complex ones.

The hard problem is the enigma of why and how any of this should be accompanied by conscious experience at all: why do we each have an inner universe?

To address this hard problem, we need theories of consciousness that can bridge the gap from the world of physical processes to the world of conscious experiences: that can take us from correlation towards explanation.

There are now many theories of consciousness out there in the field of cognitive neuroscience: higher-order theories, global workspace theories, and integrated information theories, theories that in their strongest form imply that consciousness is spread widely throughout universe, and that even an electron may be conscious. There are even illusionist theories which attempt to persuade us that consciousness doesnt really exist at least not in the way we normally think about it.

The theory Ive been developing is a version of predictive processing theory. When I see a chair in front of me, its not that the eyes are transparent windows out onto the world and my brain just reads out chair. Instead there are noisy sensory signals impacting my retina and my brain has to use its prior expectations about what might be out there in order to interpret this ambiguous sensory data.

In a little more detail, the idea is that the brain is constantly calibrating its perceptual predictions using data from the senses. Predictive processing theory has it that perception involves two counterflowing streams of signals. There is an inside-out or top down stream that conveys predictions about the causes of sensory inputs.

Then there are outside-in or bottom up prediction errors the sensory signals which report the differences between what the brain expects and what it gets. By continually updating its predictions to minimise sensory prediction errors, the brain settles on an evolving best guess of its sensory causes, and this is what we consciously perceive. We dont passively perceive our worlds we actively generate them.

Predictive processing is well suited for explaining why a particular experience is the way it is and not some other way, because we can understand these differences in terms of the different kinds of perceptual predictions the brain is making. In my theory, these differences are particularly significant when it comes to the experience of being a self, which I argue is not an inner essence that does the perceiving, but rather a collection of perceptions itself. The self, in my view, is a special kind of controlled hallucination that has been shaped by evolution to regulate and control the living body.

Its not exactly a theory of consciousness, but you could call it a theory for consciousness. And its through ideas like this that I believe we will eventually come up with a satisfying scientific account of consciousness. Instead of solving the hard problem head on, we may end up dissolving it by developing and testing detailed explanations of how the properties of consciousness depend on their underlying mechanisms. In this way, we will have solved what I call the real problem of consciousness.

More:
What is consciousness? | New Scientist

Image source: Discovery Institute Press.

An obsessive compulsion can be traced through our culture: to run down human beings, talk us down from the traditional idea that we occupy a special place in the cosmos, cared for and anticipated by an intelligence beyond ours. The compulsion takes various forms. It includes the denial of our biological design, and of cosmological design. It includes the moral and legal equation of nonhumans animals with humans, and more. It paints an ugly, yet somehow powerfully seductive, materialist picture of men and women as unexceptional accidents of evolution.

In his new book, out today,Non-Computable You: What You Do that Artificial Intelligence Never Will, computer engineer Robert J. Marks examines a major contemporary element in this obsession. Its the myth that artificial intelligence (AI) is bound to overtake human intelligence, if it hasnt done so already, achieving not only far faster computation than were capable of (long ago accomplished) but the pinnacle of what it means to be human: consciousness, feeling, free will, and creativity.

Dr. Marks, who leads Discovery Institutes Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence, knows full well the power of AI, having studied it for three decades. But he explains why it will never become conscious, or feel, or exercise free will, or be creative. Marks cites a verse from Psalms, that humans are fearfully and wonderfully made (139:14). The obsession with denying this fear and wonder, reflected in our design, is his ultimate target in the book.

Hype about AI is far from new. Already in the 1950s theNew York Timesconfidently predicted that AI will be able to walk, talk, see, write, reproduce itself and be conscious of its existence. More recently, science and business stars such as Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking, and Bill Gates have warned that AI could plot to replace humans, or destroy us. Another thread of overestimation, represented by the guru-like Yuval Noah Harari, looks forward to joining human with AI, thus evolving a man as god, what Harari callsHomo deus.

Just a few days ago a Google engineer revealed that an AI chatbot disclosed to him that it had come to life and has a soul. And this is being taken seriously. Another Google engineer informedThe Economistthat artificial neural networks are making strides towards consciousness.

Really? Robert Marks dismantles the hype and explains why computing running algorithms no matter how fast, is something fundamentally different from what human minds do. Computing machines store and sort vast quantities of information, but they dont now and never will experience the qualia of life. To mimic, which AI can do, is something very different. Marks gives the simple example of biting a lemon: No software engineer will ever capture that in algorithmic form, even as the engineer himself can turn at any moment, bite a lemon, and instantly experience it.

That gap cant be closed.Non-Computable You, from a distinguished and widely published authority in his field, offers an accessible, witty, and wise account of why it cant be closed. As Marks concludes, Non-computable you are fearfully and wonderfully made. We, along with our colleagues at the Bradley Center, will have more to say about this important book in days to come.

Read the rest here:
New Book: You Are NOT Computable - Discovery Institute

The 340m acquisition of Nolimit City appears to conform to Evolutions approach to launching fewer, but more distinctive games. But is this enough for the supplier to develop as unassailable a lead in slot as it does in live casino?

From the moment it acquired NetEnt in 2020, Evolution has made it clear that it wanted to be seen not simply as a giant of live casino, but as a one-stop shop for online casino operators.

To that degree, the rationale for its acquisition of slot developer Nolimit City is obvious.

Yet to date, Evolutions random number generator (RNG) division has generated little in the way of organic growth going by recent results.

However, Georg Attling, equity research analyst at Pareto Securities, notes that this was mostly due to a change in strategy. The supplier shied away from frequent game launches, in favour of delivering a higher standard of slot content.

It is true that in terms of growth, Evolutions RNG segment has not lived up to our expectations thus far, Attling explains. However, this is mainly due to a reworked game launch pipeline.

After the acquisition of NetEnt (and Red Tiger), Evolution largely scrapped the existing games launch pipeline due to it not meeting Evolutions standards.

This has resulted in fewer new launches, making growth challenging Attling suggests, though this is likely to change in the near term.

Entering H2, we expect an increased activity of game launches which should facilitate a return to double-digit growth within the segment, he adds. So, the analysis [that the RNG division has underperformed expectations so far] is fair in terms of growth, but it has been a conscious decision.

As a result, Kevin Dale of Egamingmonitor argues that Nolimit City fits in well with the strategy Evolution had already implemented with NetEnt.

The content that Nolimit City produces is quite unique in terms of production and imagery, he says. Games with darker themes are their most popular, such as Mental, Deadwood, San Quentin, Misery Mining, Fire In the Hole and Tombstone.

Theyre certainly a good fit in terms of production values as they have a clear focus on quality and innovation, rather than quantity of output.

This distinctiveness, Evolution chief executive Martin Carlesund noted on an analyst call following this mornings announcement, was a major part of the deal.

He claimed that gamblers tend to recognise the studio behind the slot they are playing with Nolimit Citys games, unlike those from other suppliers. As a result, Carlesund said its content appeals to advanced slots players.

Its a very specific niche content, he explained. Its graphically rich, its very fascinating and it has good mechanics attached to it. Maybe more for the advanced player, but anyone playing Nolimit slots is attracted by that. They know theyre playing Nolimit its very obvious.

The games are filling a gap that we didnt have before, clearly so.

As a result, Attling says that the deal represents a further commitment to the Evolutions slot strategy.

It reaffirms Evolutions commitment to the space, he says. I argue that it is a doubling-down on the strategy because of the identified potential rather than a way to shake up a slow-growing division.

When it comes to integration, Dale notes that the process should be made easier by the fact that Evolution has dealt with the challenge of integrating a slot developer before.

It should be a bit easier for Evolution to digest than the likes of NetEnt or Red Tiger, not least as the product range is similar and theyve been here before, he says.

However he warns that given the differences in scale between the acquiring business and acquirer, the deal wont give Evolution access to many more operators.

Its a smaller acquisition in terms of content with nearly 60 titles added to their existing portfolio of 630 RNG games and smaller in terms of market share too: Nolimit City would add just under 1% to Evolutions global share of content (across more than 2,000 operators), taking them from 12% to 13% globally, he says.

Nolimit content has some good distribution with around 10% of all casino sites taking their content. Given the sheer reach of Evolution, however, they would gain access to just around 20 new operator sites via this deal.

The next deal

Evolution provided brief glimpses of Nolimit Citys financials, revealing the business showed great efficiency in turning revenue to profit. The developer expects to bring in 30m in revenue in 2022, yet its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation is expected to be around 23m.

Those margins are not dissimilar to those of Big Time Gaming, creator of the popular Megaways mechanic, which was acquired by Evolution last year.

Attling argues that while good margins are always an advantage the pattern is unlikely to represent a wider strategy to specifically search for the most cost-efficient businesses to acquire.

Evolution has stated that it prioritizes growth over margins, and still, it has achieved industry-leading margins, he says. I think the same rationale goes for acquisitions. Growth and quality come first, and high margins is a nice-to-have but not a must in the short term. A lower-margin business wouldnt be out of scope in terms of acquisition target if Evolution believes it has the capability of expanding them at a more mature state.

Carlesund himself gave hints as to the future of Evolutions M&A strategy. He said that slots was a natural vertical for Evolution to continue to acquire, but also wouldnt rule out moves in the suppliers core live casino vertical, ifs it presented an opportunity to add something new to its portfolio.

I dont see the potential in buying a company in live, but who knows? Maybe it occurs, he said. But there might be pieces of technology like Digiwheel where we just need this piece of hardware or software or a combination of growth in order to make our games better.

In slots, we have a clearer view of where we want to be. We want to be a complete supplier but above all we want to hand over the best content in the world to our users.

There we need some pieces but I think weve found those right now.

View original post here:
Evolution reaffirms low-volume slot strategy with Nolimit City acquisition - iGaming Business

Welcome back to The Shouts Industry Women Spotlight Series. In this series, we share the stories of women from across the industry, raising awareness for the challenges they face and passing on their advice for the next generation.

Through these regular profiles, we aim to hero the visibility and inspiration that is common on International Womens Day, supporting the voices of women in different sectors of the liquor and hospitality industry. Its important these conversations happen more frequently than just once a year.

Today weve got the story of Louisa Rose, Chief Winemaker at Yalumba, whose illustrious professional journey stemmed from a love of her familys hobby vineyards.

While growing up in Melbourne, Roses parents planted a small vineyard in the Yarra Valley in the 1970s, which would end up being where the family went for weekends and holidays.

I loved it I loved the seasonality, whether it was planting, training, pruning or ultimately picking the grapes. There was always work on the vineyard, and it became not only our family time, but my teenage work where I made money, Rose recalls.

I remember we delivered the first grapes in about 1983, to a small winery. I remember it was night-time, there were lights everywhere, all the noises, the grapes and the fermenting wine smell, and I just thought this is great, I want to be a winemaker, without having any idea what that actually meant.

So winemaking was always Roses plan, and she went on to do a basic science degree at Melbourne University before heading on to South Australia to study at what was then Roseworthy College. In 1992, Rose got a vintage job at Yalumba while studying, thinking she probably wouldnt ever come back to South Australia.

But Yalumba had other plans, asking Rose to come back for the next vintage once she had finished studying. It was at a time when both the wine industry and Yalumba itself was in growth, and Rose ended up being offered the position of Assistant Winemaker. Since then, shes risen through the ranks to the top winemaking role at the historic company.

Its been an incredible journey. Working for the Hill-Smith family and their family business, and watching it grow into its fifth generation of ownership with Robert Hill-Smith, and now Jess Hill-Smith, the sixth generation, Rose said.

Its been amazing to see Jess come into the business. She tells the story that she remembers me always being here, and I certainly remember her as a very young girl riding around on her bicycle. To see her now as a confident woman in the wine industry in her own right is just amazing.

Rose sees herself as a custodian of the high standards of wine that Yalumba produces. Rather than aiming to make a personal mark on the wines, she says her role is to maintain the Yalumba philosophy around winemaking which has seen it remain successful over generations.

But that doesnt mean doing the same thing that the company has always done. Roses task is to help the wines remain relevant to consumers and their changing tastes.

Were not making wines the same way we were making them 25 years ago, and anybody that is still in business wouldnt be either. Its about evolution, Rose said.

For example, Rose talks about sustainability qualities and programs that have increased the biodiversity of the Yalumba vineyards, which plays into the end wines themselves.

Were not trying to put great big fingerprints all over the wines, but just let the vineyards and the terroir speak for itself. I think its about making sure that were getting the most out of the vineyards, Rose said.

Its in this task that Rose finds one of her favourite things about working in the wine industry, particularly at Yalumba no two days are the same.

One of the great things about Yalumba is that there is always opportunities to experiment. You always have the opportunity to improve wines or look at new styles, and that doesnt mean everything we do will become a new product, but it gives you a whole lots of information and knowledge you can use to improve what youre doing, Rose said.

A milestone year for Rose was 2006, when she became Chief Winemaker at Yalumba, and became responsible for much more of the bigger picture elements of the companys wine production and management.

Another defining moment of Roses career has been her time at the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) where she has been on the board for 12 years, and served as Chair from 2014 (this is her last year on the board).

Reflecting on it all, Rose said: I just look back and think, where did the last 30 years go?

But its not been one without challenges. Rose said a challenging aspect has been dealing with the power and responsibility of her role as she moved up the ranks.

Ive always been very conscious of having a responsibility for other people, their careers and their happiness, and I feel that responsibility quite acutely I think thats the thing Ive been most challenged by, because Im not sure you ever get it absolutely right, and the ramifications of getting it wrong could be quite huge, Rose said.

Although Rose doesnt think she has personally felt additional challenges because of her gender, in the past decade especially she has become more actively aware of the issues that women face in the industry, beyond the traditional thinking about the glass ceiling needing to be broken. For example, Rose has recognised that the industry isnt as flexible as it could be.

There are still very important issues in this industry that I havent experienced firsthand, but that Im very conscious that they still exist for many, Rose said.

As a whole, Rose believes that there is scope for a collective industry effort to be more welcoming of different circumstances, and this can help address some of the issues that women typically face in wine.

I think we need to be more flexible in how we support all of our people our winemaking team is about half and half, women and men, and the young fathers have the same challenges they want to spend time with their children, they want to take paternity leave. We need to as an industry become better with flexibility for everybody, Rose said.

I actually dont think now its so much about making sure that women have flexibility, but all people having the flexibility they need in their situation.

Rose noted one of the unexpected consequences of the pandemic has been to show how well flexible working conditions can actually work. Its important for everyone, at all levels of their career, to keep an open mind about this.

Roses advice for the next generation of winemaker is formed around this sentiment.

Did I ever think I would be a winemaker in South Australia? Never. Did I think I would only ever have worked for one business in my career so far? No. Dont trade off what you want to do, but have that open mind to take opportunities as they come and see where they go, Rose said.

Catch up on all the previous profiles from our Industry Women Spotlight series here.

Related

Read the rest here:
Louisa Rose on the importance of open minded evolution - The Shout

An NFT, or nonfungible token, is displayed on a billboard in Time Square, New York, Thursday, Nov. ... [+] 4, 2021. Images of NFTs were displayed on billboards throughout Times Square during NFT.NYC, a conference for all things related to NFTs. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

There were 15 different NFT-themed billboards in Times Square before an exuberant NFT.NYC came to a close with nary a mention of crypto winter from the 5,500 true believers and influencers who managed to get into the exclusive gathering. 3,000 people on the wait list did not. There were dinners at some of NYCs nicest restaurants, and late-night parties featuring NFT promoting celebrities.

Tim Cook is getting a lot less coy about Apples AR headset. Apples CEO told China Daily to stay tuned and you will see what we have to offer when asked about the companys upcoming HMD. Cook says he couldnt be more excited about AR, despite it being in the very early innings of its evolution.

Meta Wallet Launches. In a blog post on Facebook, Metas commander-in-chief announced the company is setting up a new system for shopping that lets you securely manage your identity, what you own, and how you pay. In the future there will be all sorts of digital items you might want to create or buy digital clothing, art, videos, music, experiences, virtual events, and more. Proof of ownership will be important, especially if you want to take some of these items with you across different services.

All dressed up for Horizon Worlds.

Meta is launching a digital clothing store where you can purchase outfits for your avatar. As if on cue, Meta announced the sale of designer clothing for avatars, something that players in Fortnite have been buying for years. Now, from $2.99 to $8.99 your avatar can be dressed in virtual threads you could never afford in the real world.

Mark Zuckerberg unveils ultra-realistic VR display prototypes. Meta held a presser this week to show off new headset technology the company is working on, most of which is years away. So many years, people have been wondering what motivated the show-and-tell. Zuck, as always, sounded enthusiastic but rehearsed as he revealed the companys progress on the companys new technology.

On CNBC's Mad Money Wednesday, Zuckerberg Shared his vision of a billion people spending hundreds a day in the metaverse with Jim Cramer. Cramer gave a double thumbs up on the stock, which is down 50% from its peak. And Meta is down ten points since they aired this.

Meta Publishes New Videos Which Highlight the Possibilities of its Metaverse Vision The company must think last months thirty minute tome by Nick Clegg was not enough explaining. Or maybe the Meta movie is too long? Theyve created more videos that further explain The Metaverse, this time in a more simplified way. Everybody in show business knows nothing kills a good show like too much exposition.

SHENZHEN, CHINA - MARCH 25: Pony Ma Huateng, chairman and chief executive officer of Tencent ... [+] Holdings Ltd., attends China (Shenzhen) IT Summit at Wuzhou Guest House on March 25, 2018 in Shenzhen, China. The two-day China (Shenzhen) IT Summit opened on Saturday. (Photo by Visual China Group via Getty Images/Visual China Group via Getty Images)

Chinas Tencent Forms XR Unit to Build Its Own Metaverse. The Chinese game giant told employees Tencent Games Globals Chief Technology Officer Li Shen will head a new XR hardware and software team. Supposedly, Tencent founder and chief executive Pony Ma views the XR unit as a passion project. The company is aiming to hire over 300 staff members to fill various XR roles. They are Epic Games largest shareholder, owning around 40% of the company.

Metaphysiks Raises $2M seed round to develop Full Body Haptics. The companys core technology, MetaTouch, is based on a decade of research by co-founder, neuroscientist Prof. Olaf Blanke, MD. MetaTouch connects the nervous system via the surface of the skin using neuroscience-based thermo-variant & haptic-tactile products, with the end goal of inducing or enriching conscious experiences integrated with digital environments. The round was led by TNF Capital, joined by Logitech, Tej Tadi (founder of Mindmaze), and All Here SA.

Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Unity and others form Metaverse Standards Forum. The Metaverse Standards Forum has been formed to foster the development of open standards to build the open metaverse. Founding members include 37+ standard organizations and top tech companies, including Meta, Microsoft, Epic Games, Adobe, Nvidia, Sony, and Unity. All interested companies are invited to join at no cost.

Evercoast had the extraordinary opportunity to produce and deliver a seminal moment in volumetric ... [+] video with a holographic capture of President Zelensky from Kyiv. This is an incredibly important message from a leader whose country is under siege, and Evercoast is honored to have been a part of this, said Ben Nunez, Co-founder and CEO at Evercoast.

Watch The President Of Ukraine Deliver A Speech In AR. Volumetric video brings former comedic actor and current Ukrainian President to life on your coffee table with webXR - no app required. All you need is a smartphone with a camera and a browser.

KPMG launches a Metaverse Collaboration Hub in Engage Link. The firm is making a $30 million investment this year in Web3 experiences, of which the Metaverse Collaboration Hub is the signature piece. Upon questioning they acknowledged Engage and the Hub they built there is neither open nor does it use Web3. Nonetheless, KPMG believes their Metaverse Collaboration Hub will be the basis for the education and development of web3 protocols.

Open Builder lets you bring Lowe's furniture and accessories into virtual homes.

Lowe's Opens 3D Product Library To Help Builders. The Home improvement retailer is stepping into the Metaverse by opening its 3D Product Library to help virtual and augmented reality developers - for free. Through Lowe's Open Builder, a new asset hub, more than 500 3D products, including lighting, patio furniture, area rugs, kitchen and bath accessories, will be available for free.

The Star-Wars VR experience "Vader Immortal" is available in the Oculus store for 40% through June ... [+] 26th.

Oculus VR games are up to 40 percent off through June 26th. Meta has kicked off a Summer Sale on Quest VR games, and there are over 60 titles on sale. It might be a good time to stock up on games for a Quest 2 headset, especially if youve been holding out on some popular ones like Resident Evil 4, Vader Immortal, or Superhot VR.

This Week in XR is also a podcast hosted by the author of this column and Ted Schilowitz, Futurist at Paramount Global. This week our guests are Andrew Zimmerman, CEO of Journey, a new design agency, and Cathy Hackl, their Chief Metaverse Officer. Last week we also posted a special thirty minute interview with novelist Neal Stephenson and his co-founder of Lamina 1, Peter Vessenes, who have partnered to create a decentralized metaverse that will bring Stephensons fictional metaverse to life. You can find the podcast on podcasting platforms Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube.

What Were Reading

Leveling up: why Netflix and TikTok are turning to gaming to secure their future (James Birt, Darren Paul Fisher/The Conversation)

Read more here:
This Week In XR: Why Meta Wont Shut Up, NFT.NYC Parties Like Its 2021, Tim Cook High On AR - Forbes

DUBLIN, June 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --The "Global Yeast Extracts and Beta-Glucan Market Size, Share & Industry Trends Analysis Report By Type (Yeast Extract and Yeast Beta-Glucan), By Application, By Regional Outlook and Forecast, 2022 - 2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Research and Markets Logo

The Global Yeast Extracts and Beta-Glucan Market size is expected to reach $2.3 billion by 2028, rising at a market growth of 7.9% CAGR during the forecast period.

Beta-glucan is a type of soluble dietary fiber. Bacteria, yeast, fungus, and cereal are major sources of beta-glucan. Yeast extract is a culinary flavor that is made with the same yeast that is utilized in the production of bread and beer. The market for yeast extract and beta-glucan is expected to develop due to an increase in processed food consumption, dramatic evolution in dietary behaviors, and an increase in the disposable income.

In addition, there is a rise in demand for instant ready-to-eat as well as ready-to-cook foods that contain yeast extract and beta-glucan to boost nutritional content. In addition, in the food and beverage sector, yeast extract is utilized as a flavoring additive.

In general, yeast extracts are made with three steps namely, fermentation (development of the yeast), disruption (breaking of the cell), and separation (extraction of the soluble part). Although, the standard methodology of heat-autolysis utilizing excess yeast from beer brewing produces a significant amount of yeast extract spreads and alternative ways exist for manufacturing specialized varieties.

When it comes to fermentation, wasted beer yeast is frequently contaminated with harsh chemicals from hops, necessitating a debittering procedure to remove the majority of the unpleasant flavor. This problem does not impact yeast from other sources. Various types of yeast extracts are also highly biodiverse, comprising yeasts other than conventional Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as well as lactic acid bacteria that cause beer deterioration. Several physical and chemical approaches, rather than the heat-autolysis process, cab be followed to disrupt the cell. This process can also enable specific molecules to be extracted or an extract to be produced without the cell contents being hydrolyzed.

Yeast extracts are sophisticated yeast hydrolysates that are commonly being employed in the food and beverage industry all over the world. They're high in Sulphur, carbon, trace nutrients, vitamin B complexes, and other important growth ingredients for a variety of microorganisms" development and growth.

The two types of yeast extracts are hydrolyzed yeast extract and yeast auto lysate extract. Beta-glucans, on the other hand, are fibers present in the cells of microorganisms like yeast, bacteria, fungi, and algae. They can also be found in plants like barley and oats.

COVID-19 Impact Analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a severe impact on various economies all over the world. Several businesses were significantly devastated as a result of the outbreak of the COVID-19 infection. In addition, the governments of several countries were forced to impose lockdowns in their nations. As a result, the manufacturing units of numerous goods were temporarily shut down. Moreover, these lockdowns also caused a major disruption in the supply chain of various goods. Further, the COVID-19 led the worldwide healthcare industry to a significant failure due to the shortage of beds and oxygen in hospitals.

Market Growth Factors

Rising adoption of veganism

Veganism is becoming more popular among those who want to live a better lifestyle without harming animals. The number of people that are adopting a vegan lifestyle is constantly rising. In addition, there is a significant number of advantages that can be leveraged by the adoption of a vegan lifestyle.

One of the major benefits of following a vegan lifestyle is that it completely eliminates any kind of animal cruelty. Moreover, following a vegan lifestyle also comprises a substantial number of health benefits for the consumer. Yeast is a single-celled fungus that grows on plants or in soil but has no circulatory or neurological system.

Rising health awareness among people

Consumers are constantly growing more aware of their health and proactiveness in maintaining it through healthy living, due to which, their preferences have shifted from processed food to healthy food, functional foods, and superfoods. Consumers are more conscious of food content and pay close attention to product contents and nutrition labels.

This shift in consumer behaviors has resulted in increased demand for nutrition-rich and healthy foods and supplements, prompting various producers to introduce new functional, non-genetically modified, and naturally produced food products. The demand for multifunctional beta-glucan is rapidly rising as people are becoming more concerned about their health and fitness.

Marketing Restraining Factor:

Rising prevalence of Hypoglycemia

Diabetes is becoming more common around the world as a result of a lack of dietary guidance as well as a shortage of insulin in the body of numerous people all over the world. Patients with hypoglycemia have low blood sugar levels, while those with hyperglycemia have excessive blood sugar levels.

The beta-glucan is well-known for its functional ability to lower blood sugar levels in the body, which has limited glucan intake among hypoglycemics. A low blood sugar level can lead the patient to several harmful problems. For example, reduced blood sugar levels can cause weakness in the body of the person, which can further lead to a lack of physical as well as mental strength. Low blood sugar levels can also cause dizziness and various other uncomfortable conditions.

Key Topics Covered:

Chapter 1. Market Scope & Methodology

Chapter 2. Market Overview2.1 Introduction2.1.1 Overview2.1.1.1 Market Composition and Scenario2.2 Key Factors Impacting the Market2.2.1 Market Drivers2.2.2 Market Restraints

Chapter 3. Strategies Deployed in Yeast Extracts and Beta-Glucan Market

Chapter 4. Global Yeast Extracts and Beta-Glucan Market by Type4.1 Global Yeast Extract Market by Region4.2 Global Yeast Beta-Glucan Market by Region

Chapter 5. Global Yeast Extracts and Beta-Glucan Market by Application5.1 Global Food & Beverages Market by Region5.2 Global Animal Feed Market by Region5.3 Global Pharmaceutical Market by Region5.4 Global Cosmetic Market by Region5.5 Global Others Market by Region

Chapter 6. Global Yeast Extracts and Beta-Glucan Market by Region

Chapter 7. Company Profiles7.1 Chr. Hansen Holding A/S7.1.1 Company Overview7.1.2 Financial Analysis7.1.3 Segmental and Regional Analysis7.1.4 Research & Development Expense7.2 Associated British Foods PLC (Wittington Investments Limited)7.2.1 Company Overview7.2.2 Financial Analysis7.2.3 Segmental and Regional Analysis7.2.4 Research & Development Expense7.2.5 Recent strategies and developments:7.2.5.1 Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements:7.3 Archer Daniels Midland Company7.3.1 Company Overview7.3.2 Financial Analysis7.3.3 Segmental and Regional Analysis7.3.4 Research & Development Expense7.4 Lesaffre Group7.4.1 Company Overview7.4.2 Recent strategies and developments:7.4.2.1 Acquisition and Mergers:7.4.2.2 Geographical Expansions:7.5 Angel Yeast Co., Ltd.7.5.1 Company Overview7.5.2 Recent strategies and developments:7.5.2.1 Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements:7.5.2.2 Geographical Expansions:7.6 Alltech, Inc.7.6.1 Company Overview7.7 Thai Foods International Co., Ltd.7.7.1 Company Overview7.8 Nutra Green Biotechnology Co., Ltd.7.8.1 Company Overview7.9 Lallemand, Inc.7.9.1 Company Overview7.10. Specialty Biotech Co., Ltd.7.10.1 Company Overview

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/6hb7x6

Media Contact:

Research and MarketsLaura Wood, Senior Managerpress@researchandmarkets.com

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The Worldwide Yeast Extracts and Beta-Glucan Industry is Expected to Reach $2.3 Billion by 2028 - Yahoo Finance

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A few weeks ago my house had a septic-tank emergency, which is as awful as it sounds. As unspeakable things began to burble up from my shower drain, I did what any smartphone-dependent person would: I frantically Googled something along the lines of poop coming from shower drain bad what to do. I was met with a slew of cookie-cutter websites, most of which appeared hastily generated and were choked with enough repetitive buzzwords as to be barely readable. Virtually everything I found was unhelpful, so we did the old-fashioned thing and called a professional. The emergency came and went, but I kept thinking about those middling search resultshow they typified a zombified internet wasteland.

Like many, I use Google to answer most of the mundane questions that pop up in my day-to-day life. And yet that first page of search results feels like its been surfacing fewer satisfying answers lately. Im not alone; the frustration has become a persistent meme: that Google Search, what many consider an indispensable tool of modern life, is dead or dying. For the past few years, across various forums and social-media platforms, people have been claiming in viral posts that Googles flagship product is broken. Search google dying on Twitter or Reddit and you can see people grousing about it going back to the mid 2010s. Lately, though, the criticisms have grown louder.

In February, an engineer named Dmitri Brereton wrote a blog post about Googles search-engine decay, rounding up leading theories for why the products results have gone to shit. The post quickly shot to the top of tech forums such as Hacker News and was widely shared on Twitter and even prompted a PR response from Googles Search liaison, Danny Sullivan, refuting one of Breretons claims. You said in the post that quotes dont give exact matches. They really do. Honest, Sullivan wrote in a series of tweets.

Read: Be careful what you Google

Breretons most intriguing argument for the demise of Google Search was that savvy users of the platform no longer type instinctive keywords into the search bar and hit Enter. The best Googlersthe ones looking for actionable or niche information, product reviews, and interesting discussionsknow a cheat code to bypass the sea of corporate search results clogging the top third of the screen. Most of the web has become too inauthentic to trust, Brereton argued, therefore we resort to using Google, and appending the word reddit to the end of our queries. Brereton cited Google Trends data that show that people are searching the word reddit on Google more than ever before.

Instead of scrolling through long posts littered with pop-up ads and paragraphs of barely coherent SEO chum to get to a review or a recipe, clever searchers got lively threads with testimonials from real people debating and interacting with one another. Most who use the Reddit hack are doing so for practical reasons, but its also a small act of protesta way to stick it to the Search Engine Optimization and Online Ad Industrial Complex and to attempt to access a part of the internet that feels freer and more human.

Google has built wildly successful mobile operating systems, mapped the world, changed how we email and store photos, and tried, with varying success, to build cars that drive themselves. This story, for example, was researched, in part, through countless Google Search queries and some Google Chrome browsing, written in a Google Doc, and filed to my editor via Gmail. Along the way, the company has collected an unfathomable amount of data on billions of people (frequently unbeknownst to them)but Googles parent company, Alphabet, is still primarily an advertising business. In 2020, the company made $147 billion in revenue off ads alone, which is roughly 80 percent of its total revenue. Most of the tech companys productsMaps, Gmailare Trojan horses for a gargantuan personalized-advertising business, and Search is the one that started it all. It is the modern template for what the technology critic Shoshana Zuboff termed surveillance capitalism.

The internet has grown exponentially and Google has expanded with it, helping usher in some of the webs greediest, most extractive tendencies. But scale is not always a blessing for technology products. Are we wringing our hands over nothing, or is Google a victim of its own success, rendering its flagship productSearchless useful?

One cant really overstate the way that Google Search, when it rolled out in 1997, changed how people used the internet. Before Google came out with its goal to crawl the entire web and organize the worlds information, search engines were moderately useful at best. And yet, in the early days, there was much more search competition than there is now; Yahoo, Altavista, and Lycos were popular online destinations. But Googles PageRank ranking algorithm helped crack the problem. The algorithm counted and indexed the number and quality of links that pointed to a given website. Rather than use a simple keyword match, PageRank figured that the best results would be websites that were linked to by many other high-quality websites. The algorithm worked, and the Google of the late 1990s seemed almost magical: You typed in what you were looking for, and what you got back felt not just relevant but intuitive. The machine understood.

Most people dont need a history lesson to know that Google has changed; they feel it. Try searching for a product on your smartphone and youll see that what was once a small teal bar featuring one sponsored link is now a hard-to-decipher, multi-scroll slog, filled with paid-product carousels; multiple paid-link ads; the dreaded, algorithmically generated People also ask box; another paid carousel; a sponsored buying guide; and a Maps widget showing stores selling products near your location. Once youve scrolled through that, multiple screen lengths below, youll find the unpaid search results. Like much of the internet in 2022, it feels monetized to death, soulless, and exhausting.

There are all kinds of theories for those ever-intrusive ads. One is that the cost-per-click rates that Google charges advertisers are down, because of competition from Facebook and Amazon (Google is rolling out larger commerce-search ad widgets in response this year) as well as a slowdown in paid-search-result spending. Another issue may stem from cookie-tracking changes that Google is implementing in response to privacy laws such as Europes General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act. For the past two years, Google has been planning to remove third-party cookies from its Chrome browser. And though Google Search wont be affected by the cookie ban, the glut of search ads might be an attempt to recoup some of the money that Google stands to lose in the changes to Chrome. If so, this is an example of fixing one problem while creating another. But when I suggested this to Google, the company was unequivocal, arguing that there is no connection between Chromes plans to phase out support for third-party cookies and Search ads. The company also said that the number of ads it shows in search results has been capped for several years, and we have not made any changes. Google claims that, on average over the past four years, 80 percent of searches on Google havent had any ads at the top of search results.

Any hunt for answers about Googles Search algorithms will lead you into the world of SEO experts like Marie Haynes. Haynes is a consultant who has been studying Googles algorithms obsessively since 2008. Part of her job is to keep up with every small change made by the companys engineers and public communication by Googles Search-team blog. Companies that can divine the whims of Googles constantly updated algorithms are rewarded with coveted page real estate. Ranking high means more attention, which theoretically means more money. When Google announced in October 2020 that it would begin rolling out passage indexinga new way for the company to pull out and rank discrete passages from websitesHaynes tried to figure out how it would change what people ultimately see when they query. Rather than reverse engineer posts to sound like bot-written babble, she and her team attempt to balance maintaining a pages integrity while also appealing to the algorithm. And though Google provides SEO insiders with frequent updates, the companys Search algorithms are a black box (a trade secret that it doesnt want to give to competitors or to spammers who will use it to manipulate the product), which means that knowing what kind of information Google will privilege takes a lot of educated guesswork and trial and error.

Charlie Warzel: The internet Google left behind

Haynes agrees that ads presence on Search is worse than ever and the companys decision to prioritize its own products and features over organic results is frustrating. But she argues that Googles flagship product has actually gotten better and much more complex over time. That complexity, she suggests, might be why searching feels different right now. Were in this transition phase, she told me, noting that the company has made significant advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning to decipher user queries. Those technical changes have caused it to move away from the PageRank paradigm. But those efforts, she suggested, are in their infancy and perhaps still working out their kinks. In May 2021, Google announced MUM (short for Multitask Unified Model), a natural-language-processing technology for Search that is 1,000 times more powerful than its predecessor.

The AI attempts to understand not just what the searcher is typing, but what the searcher is trying to get at, Haynes told me. Its trying to understand the content inside pages and inside queries, and that will change the type of result people get. Googles focus on searcher intent could mean that when people type in keywords, theyre not getting as many direct word matches. Instead, Google is trying to scan the query, make meaning from it, and surface pages that it thinks match that meaning. Despite being a bit sci-fi and creepy, the shift might feel like a loss of agency for searchers. Search used to feel like a tool that you controlled, but Google may start to behave more like, well, a persona concierge that has its own ideas and processes. The problematic effects of increased AI inference over time are easy to imagine (while I was writing this article, a Google researcher went viral claiming hed been placed on administrative leave after notifying the company that one of its AI chatbotspowered by different technologyhad become sentient, though the company disagrees). Google could use such technology to continue to lead people away from their intended searches and toward its own products and paid ads with greater frequency. Or, less deviously, it could simply gently algorithmically nudge people in unexpected directions. Imagine all the life decisions that you make in a given year based on information you process after Googling. This means that the stakes of Googles AI interpreting a searchers intent are high.

Read: Googles sentient chatbot is our self-deceiving future

But some of Googles lifeless results are made by humans. Zach Verbit knows what its like to serve at the pleasure of Googles Search algorithms. After college, Verbit took a freelance-writing gig with the HOTH, a marketing company that specializes in search-engine optimization. Verbits soul crushing job at the HOTH was to write blog posts that would help clients sites rank highly. He spent hours composing listicles with titles like 10 Things to Do When Your Air-Conditioning Stopped Working. Verbit wrote posts that sounded robotic or like they were written by somebody whod just discovered language. He had to write up to 10 posts a day on subjects he knew nothing about. Quickly, he started repurposing old posts for other clients blogs. Those posts that sound like an AI wrote them? Sometimes theyre from real people trying to jam in as many keywords as possible, Verbit told me.

That his hastily researched posts appeared high in search results left him dispirited. He quit the job after a year, describing the industry of search-gaming as a house of cards. His time in the SEO mines signaled to him the decline of Google Search, arguably the simplest, most effective, and most revolutionary product of the modern internet. The more I did the job, the more I realized that Google Search is completely useless now, he said. HOTHs CEO, Marc Hardgrove disputed the notion that its client blog posts were over-optimized for SEO purposes and that the company discourages jargony posts as they dont rank as high. Overusing keywords and creating un-compelling content would be detrimental to our success as an SEO company, he wrote in an email. Thats why The HOTH does not require, or even encourage, the writers we work with to overuse keywords into their blog posts to help with optimization.

Google is still useful for many, but the harder question is why its results feel more sterile than they did five years ago. Hayness theory is that this is the result of Google trying to crack down on misinformation and low-quality contentespecially around consequential search topics. In 2017, the company started talking publicly about a Search initiative called EAT, which stands for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. The company has rolled out numerous quality rater guidelines, which help judge content to determine authenticity. One such effort, titled Your Money or Your Life, applies rigorous standards to any pages that show up when users search for medical or financial information.

Take crypto, Haynes explained. Its an area with a lot of fraud, so unless a site has a big presence around the web and Google gets the sense theyre known for expertise on that topic, itll be difficult to get them to rank. What this means, though, is that Googles results on any topic deemed sensitive enough will likely be from established sources. Medical queries are far more likely to return WebMD or Mayo Clinic pages, instead of personal testimonials. This, Haynes said, is especially challenging for people looking for homeopathic or alternative-medicine remedies.

Theres a strange irony to all of this. For years, researchers, technologists, politicians, and journalists have agonized and cautioned against the wildness of the internet and its penchant for amplifying conspiracy theories, divisive subject matter, and flat-out false information. Many people, myself included, have argued for platforms to surface quality, authoritative information above all else, even at the expense of profit. And its possible that Google has, in some sense, listened (albeit after far too much inaction) and, maybe, partly succeeded in showing higher-quality results in a number of contentious categories. But instead of ushering in an era of perfect information, the changes might be behind the complainers sense that Google Search has stopped delivering interesting results. In theory, we crave authoritative information, but authoritative information can be dry and boring. It reads more like a government form or a textbook than a novel. The internet that many people know and love is the oppositeit is messy, chaotic, unpredictable. It is exhausting, unending, and always a little bit dangerous. It is profoundly human.

But its worth remembering what that humanity looked like inside search results. Rand Fishkin, the founder of the software company SparkToro, who has been writing and thinking about search since 2004, believes that Google has gotten better at not amplifying conspiracy theories and hate speech, but that it took the company far too long. I dont know if you searched for holocaust information between 2000 and 2008, but deniers routinely showed up in the top results, he told me. The same was true for Sandy Hook hoaxersin fact, campaigns from the Sandy Hook families to fight the conspiracy theories led to some of the search engines changes. Whenever somebody says, Hey, Google doesnt feel as human anymore, all I can say is that I bet they dont want a return to that, Fishkin said.

Google Search might be worse now because, like much of the internet, it has matured and has been ruthlessly commercialized. In an attempt to avoid regulation and be corporate-friendly, parts of it might be less wild. But some of what feels dead or dying about Google might be our own nostalgia for a smaller, less mature internet. Sullivan, the Search liaison, understands this longing for the past, but told me that what feels like a Google change is also the search engine responding to the evolution of the web. Some of that blog-style content has migrated over time to closed forums or social media. Sometimes the blog post were hoping to find isnt there. Sullivan believes that some of the recent frustrations with Google Search actually reflect just how good its become. We search for things today we didnt imagine we could search for 15 years ago and we believe well find exactly what we want, he said. Our expectations have continued to grow. So we demand more of the tool. Its an interesting, albeit convenient, response.

From the July/August 2008 issue: Is Google making us stupid?

Google has rewired us, transforming the way that we evaluate, process, access, and even conceive of information. I cant live without that stuff as my brain is now conditioned to remember only snippets for Google to fill in, one Reddit user wrote while discussing Breretons Google Is Dying post. Similarly, Google users shape Search. The younger generation searches really differently than I do, Haynes told me. They basically speak to Google like its a person, whereas I do keyword searching, which is old-school. But these quirks, tics, and varying behaviors are just data for the search giant. When younger generations intuitively start talking to Google like its a person, the tool starts to anticipate that and begins to behave like one (this is part of the reason behind the rise of humanized AI voice assistants).

Fishkin argues that Google Searchand many of Googles other productswould be better with some competition and that Searchs quality improved the most from 1998 to 2007, which he attributes to the companys need to compete for market share. Since then, he said, Googles biggest search innovation has been to put more Google products up front in results. He argues that this strategy has actually led to a slew of underwhelming Google products. Are Google Flights or Google Weather or Googles stocks widget better than competitors? No, but nobody can really compete, thanks to the Search monopoly.

Is Google Search dying? is a frivolous question. We care about Searchs fate on a practical levelit is still a primary way to tap into the internets promise of unlimited information on demand. But I think we also care on an existential levelbecause Googles first product is a placeholder to explore our hopes and fears about technologys place in our life. We yearn for more convenience, more innovation, more possibility. But when we get it, often we can only see what weve lost in the process. That loss is real and deeply felt. Its like losing a piece of our humanity. Search, because of its utility, is even more fraught.

Most people dont want their information mediated by bloated, monopolistic, surveilling tech companies, but they also dont want to go all the way back to a time before them. What we really want is something in between. The evolution of Google Search is unsettling because it seems to suggest that, on the internet weve built, theres very little room for equilibrium or compromise.

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Is Google Dying? Or Did the Web Grow Up? - The Atlantic

Alternative investments are a polarising concept. Some look at them as a vehicle for financial control, while others pass them off as scams and get-rich-quick schemes.

Among Gen Z and millennials, these investments from crypto to sneakers are becoming commonplace. In a survey conducted by Fundrise this February, it was revealed that over 50 per cent of young investors were looking to increase their allocation to alternative investments.

Singapore-based sneaker marketplace Ox Street has been capitalising on this trend in Southeast Asia. Founded in 2019, the platform gives regional consumers convenient access to the latest drops.

Traditionally theres been a big supply gap when it comes to Southeast Asian and Australian sneakerheads having access to the most coveted kicks. Even when they are connected to the latest drops, theyre left empty-handed for several weeks due to shipping times, says Ox Street founder Gijs Verheijke.

Ox Street has built up a vast community of local sellers and introduced instant shipping. In some cases, the platform is even able to fulfil next-day sneaker delivery.

This has allowed the platform to grow its sales by 400 per cent over the last 12 months. The demand is credited to the rise of Gen Z investors, collectors, and fashion-conscious consumers, adds Verheijke.

As with most forms of collectibles from trading cards to action figures the appeal doesnt always make sense to those looking in.

Verheijke, being a collector himself, likens it to a bug. Once you get poisoned by sneakers, its very hard to stop, he says. You start to see them as more than just footwear.

The appeal lies not only in owning the sneakers, but in the thrill of searching for the best deals and finding the right designs.

Its very easy to convince yourself that youll need at least two pairs of black sneakers, two pairs of white, and then youll need something a bit more airy for those hot days Before you know it, you have 15 pairs of sneakers in your closet.

As reselling has become a trend in the sneaker industry, sneakers have found speculative value too. When buying them, consumers gain a status symbol, an alternative investment and a complement to their wardrobe.

Verheijke believes that the industry is still in its early stages. Comparing sneakers to womens fashionwear, it becomes apparent that the reselling trend has a lot of room to grow.

The pandemic has spurred on the demand for sneakers too. Verheijke speaks of a trend termed secular casualisation of fashion, saying, With work-from-home being the standard, everyone has ditched the suit.In our view, its extremely unlikely that people will return to wearing suits in the future.

As a result, the old-school flex of having a tailored suit and expensive Hermes tie has switched to social signalling through wearing certain kinds of sneakers and clothing.

Although Ox Street took inspiration from trailblazers such as StockX and Poizon, it has innovated over time to set itself apart.

We realised that not only would it be hard to compete if we just do what they have already been doing for five years, but there is a much more exciting opportunity to build a truly innovative product for our local markets.

Noticing the poor customer service in the sneaker space as well as Asian e-commerce in general, Ox Street found a factor through which it could differentiate itself giving its buyers and sellers a surprisingly good experience.

With its fast delivery times, large network of suppliers, and authentication services to verify the legitimacy of sneakers, the platform offers a safe and efficient environment for sneaker buyers and sellers.

In the spirit of innovation, Ox Street also became the first ever sneaker marketplace to introduce crypto payments. Since March 2021, users have been able to pay using a number of mainstream cryptocurrencies.

The success of Ox Street led to the company being acquired by Carousell late last year. Initially, the plan was for Ox Street to simply provide its authentication services for sneakers being sold on Carousell.

However, given that both companies had an aligned vision, it began to make more sense for the platform to join the Carousell group entirely.

Carousell is effectively the largest sneakers marketplace in Asia, but the transactions happen largely offline through people meeting up, says Verheijke. With the help of Ox Street, Carousell is looking to make the buying-and-selling experience as easy as can be.

Our shared strategy centres around adding value to buyers and sellers in the sneakers space. Concretely, you can think of bringing Ox Streets authentication to Carousells platform as an option, and enabling sellers on Ox Street to automatically also list on Carousell, taking work from their shoulders.

Sneaker and streetwear culture is in its early days in Southeast Asia, and Ox Street hopes to pioneer its development.

We are building a regional brand that speaks to local buyers. We are looking for the rebels who are orchestrating the next revolution in street culture. Who are the next Kanyes, Virgils and Kylies, coming from Jakarta, Manila, and Ho Chi Minh?

Verheijke believes that sneakers are the glue between several subcultures in art, music and fashion, which have gone increasingly mainstream.

We feel they can also serve as a glue between the different countries in SEA. Our dream is to be a driving force behind the evolution of street culture and the art scenes in the region, and to become the go-to cultural centre for Gen Z.

Featured Image Credit: Ox Street

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Streetwear in SEA: Carousell-owned Ox Street on why sneakers have become an investment asset - Vulcan Post

Fotografiska, the renowned international photography museum, has appointedSophie Wrightas Executive Director in New York. She joins the team, with more than 25 years experience, recently as the Global Cultural Director of Magnum Photos and having just published her latest bookLight on the Riviera: Photography of the Cte dAzurdue out 22nd June 2022, in hardback with Te Neues Publishing in Germany.

Andrew Herschkowitz, Chief People Officer, Fotografiska said:

Fotografiska is committed to building world-class teams that expand on the traditional career trajectories found in museums and art institutions. We are creating spaces where culture, community and commerce can collide in exciting, experiential, and mindful ways.We are excited to announce Sophie Wright as the new Executive Director of Fotografiska New York, as she has many proven talents in the field of photography and has committed herself to redefining access to culture.

Sophie Wright, Executive Director of Fotografiska New York said:

Im excited to join Fotografiska at this amazing time of phenomenal creativity and growth and to have the opportunity to work with photography in the context of this iconic, historic and beautiful building. Fotografiska is thinking about culture and community building in a contemporary way and is moving with such confidence, generosity, spirit and warm hospitality. It is these values which define Fotografiska and serves as the guide of what I want to achieve with the team here in New York as we celebrate all things photography.

It was announced in December 2021, that Fotografiska is expanding to Berlin, Miami, and Shanghai adding to its established museums in Stockholm, New York and Talin. Upon completion of the expansion, Fotografiska will become the worlds largest privately-owned art museum by multiple measures, including number of locations; number of exhibitions produced per year; and total indoor size. Each of the new museums will be housed within spectacular contemporary restorations of buildings that are either historically and architecturally significant themselves.

Fotografiska is a museum experience for the modern world. Founded in Stockholm in 2010, Fotografiska is a destination to discover world-class photography, eclectic programming, elevated dining and surprising new perspectives.

Guided by a mission to inspire a more conscious world through the power of photography, Fotografiska produces dynamic and unparalleled rotating exhibitions, spanning various photographic genres, in inclusive and immersive environments.

With a dedicated international community and locations in Stockholm, New York City, and Tallinn, Fotografiska is the premier global gathering place for photography and culture.

Fotografiska New York281 Park Ave SNew York, NY 10010www.fotografiska.com| @fotografiska

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Fotografiska appoints Sophie Wright as its new Executive Director in New York - The Eye of Photography