What ‘Calibra’ mean for Marketers?

Facebook announced it is launching a financial subsidiary in 2020 called Calibra that will include a digital wallet offered as a standalone app and built into WhatsApp and Messenger. The digital wallet will enable global users to make financial transactions using Libra, the newly formed currency powered by Blockchain technology backed by Facebook and a number of leading financial, technology and venture capital organizations, including Mastercard, Uber, PayPal and Andreessen Horowitz. Libra will be governed by the Libra Association, formed to promote adoption of the currency and developer platform.

Facebook is still in the early stages of this effort. Addressing privacy concerns, the company has said it will not share user account information or financial data with a third party without a user’s consent. Facebook also said Calibra’s user data would not be used for ad targeting on Facebook’s platforms. That doesn’t mean there won’t be implications for an advertiser. Even without using Calibra’s data for ad targeting purposes, Facebook expects its move into the cryptocurrency market will have a positive impact on ad revenue.

Marketers are paying attention to the cross-border payment capabilities Facebook’s Calibra will offer. It’s a way for Facebook to bring e-commerce into developing countries, where they don’t have stable currencies or means to pay. Whether or not Facebook will be able to drive global e-commerce within its apps via Calibra depends entirely on the success of the Libra cryptocurrency it is helping to develop.

Data privacy issues, customer trust issues, regulatory uncertainty, the absence of China and many other strict Cryptocurrencies regulated countries, other competing but more mature ‘good enough’ technologies are all great barriers that Facebook needs to overcome. Creating a way for worldwide users to engage with brands — and purchase from them regardless of their geographic location — could dramatically impact Facebook’s business model and further cement its dominance as a social platform. But, it’s not going to be smooth sailing for Facebook in the coming months.

Much is riding on the success of the Libra cryptocurrency for Facebook. But, should it succeeds, marketers are ready for the added e-commerce and customer experience possibilities it could provide. It’s a way Facebook can keep users inside of its platforms — Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp — longer, while, at the same time, increasing conversion rates for e-commerce advertisers because of the expectation will be that consumers will be checking out using the Libra coins, and it will be all one seamless experience.

What is Lidar Technology?

Spacecraft use it to measure distance. Farmers use it to work out which fields need fertilizer. Archaeologists use it to map topography. And, crucially for Uber Technologies Inc. and Alphabet Inc. Waymo, self-driving cars use lidar to navigate.

As carmakers and technology entrants scramble to develop autonomous vehicles, lidar has become a highly coveted technology. And now it’s at the center of a lawsuit pitting Waymo against Uber, the ride hailing seeking to create its own autonomous vehicle empire. Waymo, the self-driving car business of Google parent Alphabet, accused Uber of stealing its lidar designs.

Lidar is a radar-like system that uses lasers instead of radio waves to build a 3-D image of the surrounding landscape. Since satellite navigation systems are only accurate to within a 16 Feet and can be easily flummoxed by high rise and glass fronted buildings, autonomous vehicles require an array of other sensors to position themselves precisely and maintain awareness of nearby pedestrians, vehicles and other objects.

Lidar comprises a series of rotating, stacked lasers that shoot out at different angles. Each layer is called a channel, and is made up of two laser beams. The signal from each individual channel creates one contour line, and together, those lines generate a 3-D image of the surrounding environment. That means that, the more lasers in each stack, the higher the resolution. Velodyne, for instance, manufactures products with 16, 32 and 64 laser channels.

The main hurdle to lidar becoming a widely adopted technology in mass-produced cars is cost. A 64-channel unit from Velodyne can cost more than $50,000, while the lower end 16-channel product sells for $7,999. Since a car might require several lidar units, it quickly makes the cost prohibitive for anything but the most expensive luxury cars. Velodyne and competitors such as Quanergy Systems Inc. are working to reduce the price. That would be accelerated by major orders for mass market cars.

The appeal of lidar has prompted a race for the technology. Automotive supplier Continental AG bought a lidar business from Advanced Scientific Concepts Inc. in 2016, while France’s Valeo SA has teamed up with Canada’s LeddarTech to supply the product.

After E-commerce, it’s time for Taxi in Internet Market

The next big thing in India’s Internet marketplace after online retailers Flipkart and Snapdeal will be on demand taxi hailing service. Companies such as Ola, TaxiForSure, Uber, and Meru are experiencing a boom in demand for their cab services in a country where the transport infrastructure is still creaky and safe public and private commuting options are few. This is because of shift in consumer habits towards convenience and on-demand services, and most crucially, low prices, have fuelled the boom.

In present scenario, a person wants a smartphone first rather than a car. Such shifts in consumer habits including use of smartphones for buying goods and services are helping the industry grow exponentially. Ola and Uber have grown explosively over the past year by offering car rides at prices lower than the fares charged by auto rickshaws. These companies spend massive amounts of capital on marketing, discounts, recruiting thousands of new drivers and expanding into new markets.

Earlier, cabs were used for airport rides. That has changed now because of unrivalled ease of access offered by mobile apps. All the large companies, including Ola and Meru, get a majority of their business from mobile apps, while Uber is entirely app-based. Similar to online marketplaces Flipkart, Snapdeal, and Amazon, all of which host product owned by third party sellers, Uber and its rivals have no ownership of the cars their customers use.

These firms don’t even employ drivers; they simply connect customers with drivers using technology and charge a commission varying 13-20% on each ride. All these taxi companies are funded by investors. Investors will pump in much more money this year to support the spending spree of the cab aggregators. Ola is also in talks to raise more funds. Ola, Meru, and Uber are rapidly expanding into new cities. Ola is planning to expand into 200 cities by March 2016.

While cab services are becoming increasingly popular with customers, Uber, Ola and others face significant regulatory hurdles. In upcoming time, Taxi companies will enter into Billion dollar business and some may open publicly. Third big thing in Internet market after E-commerce, and Taxi will be Food business online. We may see more businesses coming online and making needful impact in society.