Ok back at the United Nations…

Web giants to cooperate on removal of extremist content

By Julia Fioretti | BRUSSELS

Web giants YouTube (GOOGL.O), Facebook (FB.O), Twitter (TWTR.N) and Microsoft (MSFT.O) will step up efforts to remove extremist content from their websites by creating a common database.

The companies will share ‘hashes’ – unique digital fingerprints they automatically assign to videos or photos – of extremist content they have removed from their websites to enable their peers to identify the same content on their platforms.

“We hope this collaboration will lead to greater efficiency as we continue to enforce our policies to help curb the pressing global issue of terrorist content online,” the companies said in a statement on Tuesday.

Tech companies have long resisted outside intervention in how their sites should be policed, but have come under increasing pressure from Western governments to do more to remove extremist content following a wave of militant attacks.

YouTube and Facebook have begun to use hashes to automatically remove extremist content.

But many providers have relied until now mainly on users to flag content that violates terms of service. Flagged material is then individually reviewed by human editors who delete postings found to be in violation.

Twitter suspended 235,000 accounts between February and August this year and has expanded the teams reviewing reports of extremist content.

Each company will decide what image and video hashes to add to the database and matching content will not be automatically removed, they said.

The database will be up and running in early 2017 and more companies could be brought into the partnership.

The European Union set up an EU Internet Forum last year bringing together the internet companies, interior ministers and the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator to find ways of removing extremist content.

Creative economy fair opens featuring latest technology products

SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Yonhap) — Nearly 2,400 government institutions and companies presented the latest technology and products that center on President Park Geun-hye’s “creative economy” drive on Thursday amid a widening influence-peddling scandal surrounding the president and her confidante.

The “2016 Creative Economy Exhibition” kicked off at the Convention and Exhibition Center (COEX) in southern Seoul for a four-day run. The event, the fourth of its kind, is hosted by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.

The ministry said this year’s event is the biggest of its kind as a record number of 1,687 government institutions gathered to promote the country’s creative economy policies. A total of 718 local firms, including startups, were also invited to share their achievements in the technology realm.

Since taking office in 2013, Park has pushed forward the “creative economy” policy by aiming to merge different industrial sectors, mostly with information and communications technologies, to generate new business opportunities and foster the growth of startups.

However, her centerpiece policy came under crisis due to the snowballing scandal involving Choi Soon-sil, as prosecutors allege that she had intervened in state affairs and personally benefited by using her friendship with President Park.

There have been mounting suspicions that Choi even spearheaded many of Park’s policies, including the creative economy policy. The ministry denies the allegations.

“The exhibition was prepared with more effort as there are mounting concerns,” said Koh Kyeong-mo, an ICT ministry official, adding that this event would actually help many local firms.

In an effort to present how far the paradigm has shifted in the past four years, 13 government ministries and agencies worked together to organize the event, the ministry said.

An exhibition hall was presented in five different themes, including the one where 40 startups presented their latest products and technology that show how the latest IT is now incorporated into everyday lives. The startup firms all got help from “creative economy innovation centers” in 17 locations across the country.

To push for the initiative, the central government, in cooperation with provincial governments, has established the centers to match up local startups and venture firms with conglomerates. The centers have also provided various kinds of support for aspiring entrepreneurs both at home and abroad.

Virtualive, which started with the help of the creative economy center in Gyoneggi Province, introduced a hair solution system called “Hair Fit.”

The application creates a virtual hairstyle customized to each person and displays a photo of the virtual hairstyle based on the customized data.

“The product was developed so that customers can experience a virtual hairstyle before actually getting a new style,” said Lee Jae-yoel, adding that the company used a technology called a live motion engine that creates virtual hairstyles looking very natural.

The company said it is currently in discussion with foreign firms to export its product, adding that it has inked partnerships with major hair salons in the country.

Another startup company, August 10, introduced a beauty mask based on Internet of Things (IoT) technology that greatly enhances cosmetics to be absorbed.

Noticeably, the Secret 810 Mask has an IoT interface and can be connected with existing information technology systems and other IT devices such as smartphones and PCs. It evaluates a person’s skin status based on Big Data.

The IoT is a network of physical objects, including vehicles, buildings and electronic devices, connected to the Internet to exchange data. It allows such objects to be sensed and controlled remotely.

The company, which aims to enter the global market with the help of the center in Sejong, said creative centers are crucial for startups which desperately need finance and guidance.

“It is a shame that there are rumors that the centers will be scrapped after this administration,” said an August 10 official surnamed Choi.

Earlier, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said it plans to withdraw the budget for one of the 17 centers located in Seoul. The city government injected 1 billion won (US$854,000) into the center last year but said it plans to withdraw the 2 billion won allocated for this year.

Also, there are moves in the National Assembly to cut back the budget for the creative centers next year.

Earlier, the government announced that the budget allocated for creative economy innovation centers will be increased by 8.5 percent on-year to 607.2 billion won in 2017.

The ministry in charge of the innovation centers argues that the centers have no connection to the current scandal and are essential for venture firms.

“Visitors can experience creative economy business models here and understand how products and technology based on the creative economy are incorporated into everyday life,” said Koh.

The ministry argues that the centers have offered various forms of support to 1,175 startups and 1,644 small and medium-sized enterprises, and have helped attract investments worth $256 million for these local firms.

Also, major conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics, set up their booths and presented the latest technology to catch up with the fast-paced industrial transformation dubbed the “fourth industrial revolution.”

Naver Corp., the operator of South Korea’s dominant Internet portal, set up a booth to introduce its latest translation application based on new artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

Naver said “pappago” has been switched to a new system called Neural Machine Translation (NMT), an end-to-end learning framework that learns from millions of examples.

“The NMT system interprets entire sentences by understanding factors within the sentences,” said Hong Kyong-pyo, a Naver official, adding that the system is much more accurate and smart.

The multilingual system is based on machine learning that provides computers with the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed, Naver said.

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea’s second-largest carmaker, unveiled an autonomous concept car for commuters, the Soul First Class.

The event is open to the public and free of charge, the ministry said.

Source : http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2016/12/01/0200000000AEN20161201010200320.html

Omar Todd Talking about a place far far away in another Galaxy! BB-8 !

My Presentation Via Slideshare.net

Omar Todd – Social Media and Business Metrics

Omar Todd has held the position of Global Technical Director of the Sea Shepherd Global since December 2012. He knows how to use social media to get tangible and specific results.

Even today a lot of business people, including C-level executives, VPs, and managing directors are afraid of social media. It is easy to understand why. Business people at this level are very busy. They are managing teams of people, making important decisions about strategy, reporting to investors.

This lack of familiarity and understanding often results in contempt. Such people don’t understand how social media can be used for business. They have a lot of fears. One of them is “people will say bad things about my company, and I won’t be able to do anything about it.”

Social media can be used to improve all three of the most important business metrics: revenue, cost savings, and customer satisfaction.

The smart approach is to figure out what social media can do for your business, and then focus on the metrics that matter most to you. In addition to improving sales and customer satisfaction, social media can help businesses build loyalty, improve brand image, conduct research, and more.

For example, if you have issued a recall notice and your product has been featured in the news from a negative angle, your goal could be to use social media to protect your brand’s reputation. Your measure of success in this scenario could be a decrease in negative searches on Google that include your company name and a reduction of the number of negative comments on certain websites and pages.

Omar Todd knows how to tackle business problems using social media. If you are interested in social media solutions that deliver results, you can seek him out for help.

Omar Todd – How to Develop Content for Your Social Media

Omar Todd is a world-class Cybersecurity expert and social media strategist. He has experience growing online following from zero to millions of followers.

Before you develop any content for your social media, you need to do some research.

You may know everything there is to know about your field. The reason for doing research is to collect as much information as possible about your target audience. What questions do they typically ask about your field? What are their main pain points, concerns, questions, objections, and frustrations? Once you know the answers to these questions, you can address them in your posts on social media, blogs, podcasts, and other communication.

You can do research using Quora, Reddit, Yahoo Answers! or other similar Q&A Networks that have a lot of users asking questions and discussing topics. Also, pay special attention to the links to other sources of information that you will find in the answers to the questions. Follow these links to see how other experts in your industry are distributing their content.

You may also want to conduct a survey with your existing customers or followers to find out more about their unmet needs and unanswered questions. Have those needs and questions in mind when creating new content for your target audience.

Some of the best strategies to use are storytelling, testimonials, and giveaways.

Omar Todd’s efforts in building the social media online presence for Sea Shepherd Conservation Society resulted in one of its TV shows becoming a number one hit on Animal Planet and receiving worldwide coverage.

Omar Todd – Things You Can Do To Help Save The Ocean

As the Global Technical Director for Sea Shepherd Global, Omar Todd is very interested in providing information and continued education to people who wish to do whatever they can to ensure the world’s oceans are conserved and stay as safe as possible for the marine life that call them home. The following are all things that the average person can do to help save the ocean.

Be Aware Of The Seafood You Eat

Many marine conservation organizations try to raise awareness of fishing practices that are actually harmful to the natural environments that the fish inhabit. Be aware of the products that you purchase from seafood companies and do some research to ensure they use sustainable fishing techniques before you offer them any of your hard-earned money for their products.

Take Care Of The Beach

If you live in a coastal area, or you just happen to be visiting, pay particular attention to the condition of any beaches that you encounter. Many people fail to clear up after themselves following trips to the beach, which can lead to plastics and other harmful trash finding its way into the ocean once the tide comes in. Spend a little bit of time clearing up the beach to prevent this from happening.

Use Less Plastic

On a related point, Omar Todd recognizes that plastic products wreak havoc amongst marine life. Discarded products often lead to animals becoming entangled and are responsible for thousands of deaths every year. Re-use what you can and recycle the products that you don’t need anymore.

Visit https://about.me/omartodd to know detailed information about Omar Todd.

Omar Todd – Building a Social Media Presence

As the Global Technical Director for Sea Shepherd Global, Omar Todd is responsible for managing the organization’s social media presence. Often working with limited resources, Todd has helped to enhance the reputation of the non-profit to the point where it now has millions of followers worldwide. He was able to do this because of his experience in building social media presences for other organizations, with the following tips likely to prove useful for anybody who wants to achieve similar goals.

Know Your Audience

Before you start providing regular updates on your social media accounts, it is important that you know the audience you aim to appeal to. This will dictate the type of content that you post and share. Failing to understand your audience will lead to them not engaging in the content on your social media profiles or, in worst case scenarios, actively avoiding the things that you post.

Be Human

Human interaction is key on social media, as implied by the term itself, so it is important that the things you post don’t come off as the words of a faceless corporation. Engage with people who send comments or posts and try to make use of a little humor every now and again.

Get Active

Omar Todd points out that inactivity can be the death knell for a social media page. After all, if you offer nothing to your existing followers, what incentive will they have to share your page or content with others? Be consistent with your updates and make sure you’re always looking to offer something new and interesting to followers.

 

Omar Todd – Cyber Security Tips For Small Businesses

Omar Todd has been involved in cyber security for more than thirty years, primarily in his role as the Chief Security Expert at Omar Todd Cyber Security. He is also a council member of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), which is a global organization dedicated to the subject of cyber security. He notes that many small businesses often underestimate their need for adequate security measures that will protect them from cyber-attacks, which can lead to them facing a range of issues. These pointers should help such businesses protect themselves, regardless of their budgets.

Use Anti-Virus Software

As basic a tip as it may be, there are still many companies that fail to protect their networks with suitable anti-virus software. There are many software vendors that provide anti-virus and anti-malware software, so make sure you do some research to see which would be most suitable for your network. Almost as important is ensuring that you install any patches or updates provided by your vendor, as an out of date software is vulnerable to attacks from those using the latest techniques.

Establish A Secure Workplace Culture

Staff at your company should be aware of the personal responsibility they assume whenever dealing with sensitive information. They should understand the importance of using passwords that are difficult to decipher, changing said passwords on a regular basis and not revealing such information to anybody. Make sure that you outline clear consequences for violating the policies that you put in place, which may extend as far as legal action in the worst cases, but also ensure that you provide adequate training so that staff members fully understand important security issues.

Back Up All Important Data

Any important data that your company handles should be backed up regularly and either stored off-site, in a secure location, or in a private and well-protected cloud. This will ensure your company is able to rebound quickly should a cyber-attack lead to the loss of important data. Ideally you should back up data automatically and at least once a week, though doing it more regularly is always going to be preferable.

Control Access

Omar Todd notes that many cyber security breaches occur when somebody who is not supposed to be able to access a business computer or network manages to do so. This is why it is important to control access to your building, particularly areas where sensitive data is stored. All employees should have ID, preferably of the kind that makes use of a unique identifying feature. Furthermore, security staff, receptionists and other front-desk employees should be vigilant in monitoring the company’s comings and goings. Even simple measures, such as having a sign-in sheet for visitors, will offer you more control.

Visit this link to know more about Omar todd.