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Digital Grog is Australia’s go‑to tech blog for sharp reviews, digital trends, AI tools, gadgets, cybersecurity updates, and practical how‑tos covering the latest in Aussie technology

Archives for August 2020

Digital marketing is at its most powerful state yet

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Marketing has always played an especially important role in the longevity and success of businesses across varying industries around the globe. This has never wavered and it never will. The role of marketing is important because marketing is the epicentre of how a business controls and idealises its image across not only the industry but with clients as well. The businesses that do the best today are businesses that have well and truly come to this realisation and that have chosen to prioritise that realisation for themselves and for the business’ future. Now, as the digital era begins to propel further and further into motion, how are businesses evolving to take on advertising and marketing in the digital era and how are they using it to their most distinct advantage?

The digital era powers evolution into motion

Today, as the digital era continues to go from strength to strength, becoming more powerful all the time, innovations of business such as marketing are becoming more and more digitally inclined. While traditional marketing is always going to have its place, there is the awareness and the understanding that modern consumers have more of an inclination towards digitalisation and technological advancement in every aspect – including, as it turns out, the businesses that they support. The digital era has powered this evolution into motion in terms of not only how marketing has evolved in recent years, but how it continues to unfold as time goes on.

The powerful rise of digital marketing

This is how, where, and why digital marketing has been becoming more prominent in recent years. The power of digital marketing is not a new concept by any means, however the innovation and the willingness that businesses and entire industries around the world have towards bringing digital marketing into their company as a core construct is still relatively fresh. Whether it is asking the question, “does SEO help attract visitors?” or doing the work to incorporate social media marketing into a business’ formal approach to consumer relationships, the powerful rise of digital marketing is not only proving that businesses are evolving to digital standards but that consumers are responding to it much more positively and openly than they are to traditional marketing these days.

The future of digital marketing

Ultimately, the future of digital marketing is only going to continue to go from strength to strength as time goes on. Digital marketing has found its footing in recent years and it only continues to become bolder and stronger as the interests and investment pools continue to rise. Throughout varying industries around the globe, the dedication towards digital marketing is becoming more powerful as businesses realise the full potential that digital marketing houses and the promising trajectory that it holds going forward well into the future and beyond. This is an exciting time for digital marketing and it is hopefully just the beginning. Ideally, the best is yet to come. And what we have seen in recent months is a strong indication that that is very much the case. Only time will tell.

4 Ways Technology Is Bringing Academia Out of the Stone Age

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It is the year 2020. We are at the start of a new decade, so shouldn’t our schools be loaded with technology by now? Shouldn’t our students be entering virtual classrooms, using floating white boards, and using replicators to generate their school meals? Despite classrooms not looking like a scene from Back to the Future, technology is nestled in a great many facets of modern education.

How to Incorporate Technology into Education in a Meaningful Way

The first step would be to stop trying to buy higher test scores. There is no piece of

equipment or computer software that is going to make a student perform better.

Just because a computer is faster, it doesn’t mean a student will work harder

or learn more. If you are going to incorporate technology into education, and

you plan for it to have a meaningful impact, then it should affect these

qualities within student life:

● Efficiency

● Security

● Convenience

● Availability

Affecting these factors may not push up grades, but it will remove the hindrances and

barriers students experience in order to achieve higher grades.

1. Affecting Efficiency with Technology

Starting simply, if colleges and universities are allowing the use ofcloud computing and data centers, then students who are taking highly technical classes need not worry about rendering times, compiling and decompiling. In fact, the whole idea of having to reserve a server for such jobs will be gone because all the work would happen off site. Students who are working on 3D animation can click to send their work to a cloud computing service, and then log off and

let the upload run itself while somebody else uses the computer. The same is true for people making apps, detailed CAD renders, making websites, computer programs and so forth.

There are also many otherefficiency elements that could be added. These include elevators in dorms, automatic doors and energy-efficient air conditioning. More expensive tools may also help students become more efficient. For example, a student working on something artistic will be able to draw and correct work more quickly on a fast-paced computer system with a pen and pad, rather than having to hide layers out of SVG files while using a stylus and drawing tablet.

2. Affecting Security

Guns are not the problem, nor is violence in the media, or the lack of safe spaces, or

even the liberal groups that convince students they are special. The problem with security in college is (and always has been) unpreparedness. Some of the USA’s biggest school-related shooting tragedies have been due to a lack of preparedness. This is both before and during the event, especially in cases where police procedure wouldn’t allow officers to rush into a scene to save screaming kids.

Technology is not a magic wand, but it is pretty effective when it comes to security. Imagine how many lives would have been saved in past tragedies if schools could electronically lock down doors at will rather than allowing bad people to stalk the halls with guns. Imagine the lives saved if metal detectors had been mandatory at all entrances, and how many crimes would have been resolved and prosecuted if car tracking devices and traffic control devices were installed on all college grounds. Plus, there are many facets tocyber security that may be installed to help slow the numbers of students being scammed without having their details stolen for use in various frauds and/or confidence scams.

3. Affecting Availability

Colleges and universities are spending massive amounts of money to cover what are actually

scandalous course fees. At the very least, an investment in technology should affect availability. Hopefully, the days of having to book time in computer rooms have gone. Hopefully, we are entering an era where only the most sophisticated and expensive technology has a waiting time, such as high powered telescopes and bio scanning machines.

4. Affecting Convenience

Again, things like elevators, automatic doors and efficient air condition systems are

going to help make life more convenient in colleges, but there are other ways that technology can make a student’s life more convenient. For example, the introduction of intranets has been a big help, as is the ability to submit essays from anywhere in the world. Students can write their own essays and then submit their essays from the other side of the world, without having to worry about being on campus on a certain day in order to hand in an essay.

Technology can also make university administration easier in countless ways. For starters, college administrators have been using predictive analytics to help them improve student retention numbers.As it turns out, there tend to be clear warning signs that university students are at risk of failing to complete their degrees. Predictive analytics can help administrators to identify these warning signs; they can then implement beneficial interventions with the goal of helping the at-risk students remain in school rather than dropping out.

Some universities maintain fleets of vehicles to facilitate campus operations. Technology is empowering the managers of university fleet services to reduce fraud, minimise accounting hours and better track the behaviours of each individual who is entrusted with vehicles from the fleet. These particular benefits are widely available to fleet managers who are using fuel cards whose providers are utilising these technologies. You can check out the Fuel Card Report website if you’re interested in comparing the benefits made available by card providers in Australia.

Support learning may also enjoy a boost from technology. We already have systems where students can shoot off a question on a public forum about essays and exams, and then have the correct professor reply to them. This could be improved further with support teaching via web chat and other online features.

Smartphone Oddities You Didn’t Know You Needed

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Smartphones have been a part of life for a long time, yet there are a few things that might surprise you. The following are a few accessories you can use with your smartphone.

Fun and Useful Cases

Having a case for your phone seems pretty common nowadays. It has probably prevented your phone from breaking when you’re walking on a trail in Australia, but cases can be more if you let them.

Yes, of course, they can still provide the layer of protection that phone cases have always been able to provide, but there are companies out there offering great oddities. For example, there are cases with a pop-up socket you can pop up when you need to stick your phone on certain surfaces to take pictures or record videos.

Portable and Cool Keyboard

Many people are working from all sorts of places, and some folks are using smartphones to complete their work. The problem is it can get a little difficult when the workload increases and all you’ve got is your texting fingers.

The good thing is you can get yourself a portable keyboard that’s compatible with your smartphone. There are many of these out there, and they are reasonably priced. What makes these pretty cool is they aren’t only lightweight but also foldable. They’ll fit in your pocket as easily as your smartphone. All you have to do is make sure you’re getting the keyboard that works with your operating system, be it Android or Apple.

UV Smartphone Sanitizer

The smartphone attracts all sorts of bacteria and viruses. There’s not much you can do about that, and that’s no good. The problem is you can’t just wash your phone with soap and water. You can’t really spray it with antibacterial spray. Thankfully, someone thought about that for you and created a UV sanitizer specifically for smartphones.

No need to worry about damaging your phone with moisture. All you have to do is turn this little device on, and place your phone inside. The UV lights get rid of viruses and bacteria in about a minute. Then, you can safely handle your phone again. The peace of mind this device can give you is priceless, especially since there are many sicknesses out there.

Great Mini Projector

You never know when you might want to watch something with others. You can kinda do it with a smartphone, but it can be uncomfortable, and your screen is small. There’s a solution to this little problem, and it’s a projector. You might be thinking a projector will be too much trouble.

No one would carry around those large devices, but that’s probably because you don’t know about mini projectors. These were made for smartphones and are quite small. You need one connector, and you can share what you are watching with everyone around you. You can watch movies, clips, and you can play games on a larger screen effortlessly, and that’s great.

Professional Stabilizer for Filming

Most people have seen that fluid and flawless way of filming. It’s in movies, shows, and some clips. The filmmaker can shoot all sorts of moving scenes, and the image looks perfect all of the time. One way this is possible is by using a stabilizer.

You might think this tool is only for professional filmmakers, but that’s not the case. There’s a growing number of stabilizers designed specifically for smartphones. This means you can film better videos using nothing but your smartphone. Those who love film or simply want to shoot better videos should consider investing in a stabilizer.

Charging Up Wirelessly

Everyone has to charge their phones, which seems pretty straight forward but not anymore. Those who want to take charging to the next level might want to consider wireless chargers. These are powerful devices that can charge a phone and other smart devices in a short period.

On top of that, these wireless chargers require you to place the device on the mat rather than connect it to cables. Most of the time, a cable gets messed up because of all the pulling, twisting, and bending. You won’t need to worry about any of that with a wireless charger. The prices for these chargers vary, so just find one that works with your budget.

These are just some interesting accessories you can consider, but there’s no telling what else is out there. Be willing to ask questions to find out what is possible with your smartphone.