Currently, fake news is becoming too much across different media outlets. Although you might not have been keen on them, these untrue stories are seriously toying with your thinking hence have very bad security effects. With more than half of the people in the world using Facebook and other streams, news moves at a very fast rate and at times, it’s only the bad news that gets spread. What about when it’s your most trusted media source? How can you know whether the information is real or not? If all of us continue to get cheated by this fake news then the world may become so bad.

Until recently, we could select our news sources with confidence based on its accuracy. But today with the advent of Facebook and other sources, both fake and trusted stories are turning out to be one. We must, therefore, decide what’s fake and what’s true. Many democracies, countries, and states now have to face the likelihood of the wrong news being spread through psychological tricks. It’s, therefore, no doubt that fake news (by Chris S. Burns) is a type of cyber attack that we are just about to see its true effects.

Lessons that we can learn from the fake news

Fear and the unknown leads to the fake news- Any event that causes unknown or fear is always the breeding ground for fake news. We live in a world where headlines are written so that they can be clicked. Due to this anyone can just write a fake story and present it as legitimate and true.

Some stories fool us- In the current world, some stories are so believable and so true that they fool us into believing in them. In fact, most of us are usually tricked by these stories since we never take our time to read past the headlines. When you read the headline of a fake story you get the wrong impression of what the story is all about.

How fake stories will lead to the next cyber war
Every day, attacks interfere with our way of life by filing our news sources with fake news, lure us and eventually affecting our actions. This news is not only dangerous but can also alter the outcomes of any decision that we make. Many countries must, therefore, concentrate on the challenges that are caused by the disruption by fake news. While most governments have increased their attention to cyber incidents, we are yet to see any transparency on these.

For instance, the latest attacks have led to stolen sensitive and personal details that have in turn influenced our collective decision making. But how do they carry out this? Botnet firms and troll factories usually steal personal information to ensure that our news sources are full of fake news that encourage us to participate and even get our friends and families to get involved. This way, our thinking, and actions come into play hence criminals take advantage of this to share wrong information with the people we trust. For more information read justwebworld.com.

Politics plays a huge role in the spread of fake news
There is no doubt that politics is very emotional. Thus, the emotions brought about politics usually helps make fake new believable. Since many people do not trust the mainstream media anymore they tend to seek news from other sources. However, these sources are not only trusted but extremely believable and fake. In the current environment anger, fear, and facts are being affected by emotions. This is why we easily believe the fake news.

Who should be blamed for cyber attacks?
Cyber attacks and fake news are not only crossing the borders but also replacing the trust we have on the real news with fake news. When an attack from a neighboring country affects our way of life or our democracy it should be considered a cyber war. Some of the main firms have found concrete evidence that criminal groups are connected to many states. However, without any concrete evidence, those countries have continued to deny this. This is expected to go on without the affected countries realizing.

What needs to be done?
Now, nation states and governments must all come together to prevent any major catastrophe from happening. They must be concerned about any activity carried out within their borders. Since fake news affects the trust it’s a major form of cyber attacks. Governments should act fast and prevent the spread of cyber attacks and fake news.

Your Ultimate Guide to Carnitine: What It Is, How It Works, and Why You Should Use It

Let’s talk about carnitine.

Carnitine, comes from an amino acid and is an element of nearly every cell in the body. It is part of various compounds that include L-carnitine, acetyl-L-carnitine, and propionyl-L-carnitine, and is important in energy production of the body.

For example, l-carnitine transfers fatty acids from the blood into the mitochondria, the energy producing “furnaces” in the cells, so that the fatty acids can be used as energy.

L-carnitine can improve stamina because it stops the collection of lactic acid in the muscles.

Normally, a healthy human body creates enough of its own carnitine to meet its needs. However, in some case, genetic or medical issues can create a deficiency (including premature babies).

It’s primarily used for patients with heart-related problems, with some research indicating that it can be used (in conjunction with conventional treatment) for angina. Used in combination with traditional therapies, carnitine may also lower mortality rates after a heart attack.

There is less evidence to suggest that carnitine may be helpful for intermittent claudication (pain in the legs after walking due to narrowing of the arteries), in addition to congestive heart failure and cardiomyopathy.

Carnitine might also be useful for better exercise tolerance in patients with chronic pulmonary obstruction disease (COPD).

Additionally, many athletes use l-carnitine supplements, believing that they improve overall performance and recovery.

What Is Carnitine Deficiency?

There are two carnitine deficiency states. The National Institutes Of Health notes, “Primary carnitine deficiency is a genetic disorder of the cellular carnitine-transporter system that usually manifests itself by five years of age with symptoms of cardiomyopathy, skeletal-muscle weakness, and hypoglycemia.”

Secondary carnitine deficiencies can be caused by disorders like chronic renal failure, or when medications or activities reduce carnitine absorption. Carnitine, as a prescription product, can treat these deficiencies, but should only be prescribed by a physician.

Signs and symptoms of primary carnitine deficiency occur during infancy and/or early childhood; such symptoms include “brain dysfunction (encephalopathy), a weakened and enlarged heart (cardiomyopathy), confusion, vomiting, muscle weakness, and low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).”

Some people with primary deficiency show no symptoms, but anyone with primary carnitine deficiency is at higher risk for liver problems, heart failure, coma, and sudden death.

The Benefits of Carnitines

Carnitine offers many benefits to our health. Our skin needs creatine to function normally, including the creation of connective tissue, metabolism, and cell renewal. Creatine comes from the amino acids arginine and methionine, which are part of carnitines.

Carnitines also heighten fat metabolism, making it a well-known “fat-burner”. Fatty acids transported into the cells are burned to release energy in the mitochondria, the “power stations” of the cells. The long-branched chain fatty acid molecules can only enter the mitochondria with the help of carnitine.

With regular exercise, carnitine can produce a higher rate of fat burn. This is beneficial for those trying to lose weight, and supplements and energy drinks with L-carnitine are said to boost metabolism, help people lose weight, and improve athletic performance. The verdict is still out on l-carnitine’s fat-burning capacity or its ability to improve athletic performance, but it does show promise.

According to the Office of Dietary Supplements, “studies confirm that cancer patients who took between 250 milligrams (mg) to 4 grams (g) of L-carnitine per day experienced less fatigue.”

Other studies suggest that L-carnitine supplementation can

·                improve insulin sensitivity and lessen nerve pain for type 2 diabetes patients

·                improve fertility (sperm mobility) in men

·                lower risk of death for those who have had one or more heart attacks

·                provide some cognitive improvements in the elderly

L-carnitine also may benefit brain function in healthy or cognitively impaired individuals. ALCAR (Acetyl-L-Carnitine) studies have suggested that it can contribute to increased learning capacity. Experiments using rats found that the ALCAR-treated subjects learned more and remembered more than those in a control group.

During human studies, taking ALCAR appeared to at least slow the decline in brain function for Alzheimer’s patients and those suffering from other degenerative brain diseases.

Another study found that Acetyl-L-carnitine showed signs that it may be able to protect the brain from cell degeneration. This particular study involved alcoholic individuals taking 2 grams of ALCAR every day for three months. These people demonstrated marked improvements in every measure of brain function.

In addition, anecdotal evidence suggests that there may be several other benefits to supplementing with L-carnitine:

Body Composition

·                increased muscle

·                loss of fat

·                increased energy

Physical Performance

·                stamina during exercise

·                reduction of leg cramps during exercise

·                increased blood flow to areas low in oxygen

Blood Glucose Control

·                improvement of pancreatic beta cell function

·                improved insulin sensitivity

·                enhanced exercise performance for blood sugar regulation

Sexual & Reproductive Performance

·                improvement in sperm quality (younger males)

·                increase of erectile function

Dosage of Carnitines

Healthy individuals generally do not need carnitine supplements because the kidneys and liver produce enough carnitines from the amino acids present in the body. The Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) of the National Academies (formerly National Academy of Sciences), after a review of studies on carnitines in 1989, concluded that it is not an essential nutrient. “The FNB has not established Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs)–including a recommended dietary allowance (RDA)–for carnitine.”

Carnitines are best ingested through red meat, fish, poultry, and milk. Scientists say, “the redder the meat, the higher its carnitine content.”

Should you desire supplementation, it is important that you check with your doctor for the correct dosage:

• For ALCAR, for brain health and function, doses can be from 600—2,500 mg daily.

• L-Carnitine L-Tartrate, for exercise performance, can be dosed from 1,000—4,000 mg daily.

• Glycine Propionyl-L-Carnitine (also called GPLC), for improving blood flow, is best in doses from 400—1,000 mg daily.

A thorough review of current research suggests that up to 2,000 mg (2 grams) daily appears safe for long-term use of L-carnitine.

Carnitine Supplements

Carnitine supplementation can be tricky. Those who experience diabetic neuropathy, cognitive decline, cancer treatments, or deficiency in L-carnitine for medical reasons can benefit from supplementation. However, they should do so only while under a doctor’s care.

Vegans and vegetarians often experience low L-carnitine levels because they restrict or avoid their intake of animal products. As such, it would be wise for vegans and vegetarians to take L-carnitine supplements. Currently, however, there are no studies on this particular population to support supplementation.

Levels of L-carnitine decline as we age. So, the elderly may benefit from a supplement. In one study, “2 grams of L-carnitine reduced fatigue and increased muscle function in elderly people.” Other research suggests that ALCAR can help improve brain health and function as the body ages.

Those with cirrhosis and kidney disease are at higher risk for carnitine deficiency. As such, they could benefit from a supplement.

Carnitine Side Effects  

When doses of carnitine supplements reach 3 grams/day, the supplements can cause vomiting, abdominal cramps, nausea, diarrhea, and a peculiar body odor. Other, more rare side effects include muscle weakness (in uremic patients) and seizures (in patients suffering from seizure disorders).

Some research that suggests that when intestinal bacteria metabolize carnitine, it forms something called TMAO, which can raise the risk of cardiovascular disease. These findings are not conclusive, and more research is required to clarify the risks.

Patients with long-term urinary tract infections or those who have seizure disorders that require certain medications are at risk for carnitine deficiency. When this occurs during the course of normal treatment, physicians may prescribe a carnitine supplement to reverse the effects of the deficiency and aid in maintaining patient health overall.

Research suggests that in healthy men, carnitine supplementation of 3000mg per day over the course of 3 weeks produced no changes in any blood or enzyme limits. Therefore, it can be supposed that oral carnitine supplementation is safe. However, patients have complained of irritating side effects like diarrhea, gastrointestinal pain, nausea, vomiting, headaches, and insomnia.

Some evidence reveals that carnitine supplementation can influence the regulation of thyroid hormones. Therefore, supplementation of carnitines is not recommended for people with hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid). Additionally, carnitine supplements have been known to increase the frequency and severity of seizures in those with seizure disorders. Patients on anticonvulsant therapy should not take carnitine supplements.

Carnitine: Yes or No?

The research clearly suggests that bodybuilders and athletes should be able to use carnitine supplements safely, along with those who suffer from carnitine deficiency. Those who have genetic or medical needs for carnitine supplementation should be under a doctor’s care.

However, for most healthy people, supplementation is unnecessary and potentially dangerous. In any case, it is vital that you talk with your doctor prior to beginning any fitness regimen that may include carnitine supplementation, or before supplementing for other purposes.

Article republished: www.vitamonk.com

Communication is critically important for advancing your career. Whether you are a public speaker or spend most of your workday interacting with a computer screen or a steering wheel, effective communication skills will serve you well.

From improving your customer service to creating better relationships with your boss and coworkers, the benefits of communication are both obvious and surprising. Good communication is essential to achieving your professional goals and to being heard and understood.

Of course, this raises an important question: how can you grow in communication? If it’s so important for your career, you need actionable steps you can implement immediately.

Here are eight methods for improving your communication.

1. Listen First

The art of effective listening is essential to clear communication, and clear communication is necessary to management success. – James Cash Penney

Have you ever worked with someone who is more than willing to share their opinion but isn’t interested in anyone else’s? It’s frustrating, right? They make you feel like nothing you say matters.

Communicating is a two-way street. Listening is the most important communication skill because it makes the other party feel heard and improves your understanding of the situation. This may seem a bit counter-intuitive, but it’s critically important. Two-way communication simply can’t happen if you’re not attentively listening to others.

By waiting to listen before talking, you create a positive dynamic between you and anyone else in the conversation. Listening also creates trust, and if you give someone your undivided attention and listen with your entire body, you can build trust and empathy far quicker than any other communication method.

You also give yourself an opportunity to compose your thoughts before delving into your desired message, which is a critical aspect of effective, results-oriented communication.

2. Ask Questions Second

I’m a very strong believer in listening and learning from others. – Ruth Bader Ginsburg

There is no more explicit way to make someone feel heard than to ask them questions and, when possible, to repeat some of their main ideas back to them.

Not only does this help you get to know them better (and help you form memories of important details), it makes it clear that you are an intentional listener who is committed to fully understanding people and their needs.

And by reiterating some of their main points, you ensure that you truly understand the points they make. This is what’s often called “active listening.” Active listening is not just hearing a person’s words but processing and incorporating them into your own response.

3. Think Before You Speak

There is a difference between listening and waiting for your turn to speak. – Simon Sinek

Preparing for a conversation can be very helpful. It allows you to structure your thoughts, anticipate objections and consider how your words will be received.

In the conversation itself, there may be times when someone says something you instinctively disagree with. In those moments, pause before you respond. Take time to consider what they’re saying. Speaking rashly can lead to painful consequences for both you and the person hearing you.

If something upsets you, it may be best to not respond at all in the moment. Let your emotions pass and come back to the subject when you can speak in a calm, clear and helpful manner. The last thing you want to do is lash out against the other person.

4. Be Yourself

Communication – the human connection – is the key to personal and career success. – Paul J. Meyer

Many people are so focused on communicating “professionally” that they forget to communicate personally. You’ve seen it and maybe you’ve even done it. It often involves a person using a lot of jargon words that don’t actually mean much. If you find yourself using words and phrases like synergy, incentivize, outside the box, ideate, or move the needle, you may be slipping into jargon talk.

Professionalism is important. But if you worry more about seeming professional than just being yourself, it’s easy to get overlooked in the hustle when people are forced to make decisions based on gut feelings.

In those situations, people turn to their subconscious, which bonds with personalities far more than with polished, impersonal jargon.

5. Brief is Best

Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and the emotions to affect other people. – Jim Rohn

This may seem counterintuitive after the encouragement to listen, ask questions and slow down before making your statement or request. But there are several good reasons why being brief is best.

Aiming to be brief prevents you from making potential mistakes, trims the filler around your main purpose and leaves the other party with the sense that you listened far more than you spoke. Even if you make a big request, do it in fewer, smaller words.

Ever notice how much more believable stories are when there aren’t too many seemingly-impossible details in it? The same is true of your communication. Be honest and forthcoming, but also be straight to the point. Even if you have a large chunk of time for a conversation, devote most of it to listening.

6. Be Assertive

Honest communication is built on truth and integrity and upon respect of the one for the other. – Benjamin E. Mays

This is a fine but very important line to walk.

Many people mistakenly believe that being assertive or having an opinion in the workplace is bad. They choose to remain silent in hopes that they will be perceived as more agreeable, only to find that the people with louder opinions get more attention.

This isn’t always because they are annoying or controversial. Oftentimes, being assertive about your opinions can show that you are confident and care about the work you’re doing.

You don’t have to be uncooperative to offer an opinion, and there is a fine line between caring and seeming selfish. But not inserting your thoughts or opinion may is far more likely to make you seem uninterested or forgettable than to help you achieve your goals.

Simply be respectful and humble in the way you share your opinions and you’ll be heard without coming across as overly aggressive.

7. Don’t Complain, Make Suggestions

Words – so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them. – Nathaniel Hawthorne

It is seemingly natural to complain when things are stressful, frustrating or not going according to plan. But instead of complaining, offer up helpful suggestions for what can be improved and how to do it.

Complaining is perceived as negative, while offering helpful feedback is perceived as being personally invested in the situation. Within reason, try to avoid complaining and instead offer positive, insightful suggestions.

You’re more likely to get results and leave a positive impression on those around you. Suggestions for improvement build teamwork, while complaints are perceived as selfish, even if everyone secretly agrees with you.

8. Offer Encouragement

Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble. – Yehuda Berg

Most of us think of encouragement as cheesy, awkward or simply hard to do. However, few things are more refreshing and motivating than simple compliments.

But you may notice that when someone does something well, and simply mentioning that from time to time is one of the most surefire ways to demonstrate that you are invested in other people and aren’t afraid of communicating that with them.

You Can Improve Your Communication Skills

The good news is that if you want to, you can improve your communication effectiveness by focusing on a few skills. A sincere desire to hear and be heard is a great place to start–after all, communication is a two-way street.

Start with listening and identifying a few areas that you could improve. Even if your primary goal is career advancement, you can’t fake good communication. So, slow down and commit to learning some of these valuable skills. There’s no limit to how much you can improve as a communicator, or how far that can take you.

Original text available here.

Blockchain Technology is a data infrastructure that is currently the backbone of a new type of internet that attracts the internet business community. Blockchain is an encrypted and decentralized ledger that is programmed to record all financial and digital transactions that has a value. This platform is used by Bitcoin, a decentralized, peer-to-peer system that has a digital currency known as crypto currency used to pay for goods and services. Bitcoin allows online users to process payments between parties through the exchange of Bitcoins that can be purchased with national money currencies or can be minted through mathematics, algorithms and cryptography. The blockchain is used to record all of these online transactions.

The blockchain is like a distributed database where spreadsheets of all financial transactions are duplicated across its network with thousands of computers. These networks are designed in such a way that they automatically update regularly. The records and transactions within the network are public accessible to anyone on the internet and easily verifiable. The advantage of having a blockchain technology is that there is no centralized version of the duplicated spreadsheets. It is completely automated with no human decision-making involved. Furthermore, it provides the benefit of eliminating an intermediary, such as bank, retailers or brokers in any type of financial transactions.

Benefits from Blockchain Applications:

Due to its cryptography base, it is ensured that no malware, hacks, illegal business practices or phishing attacks will occur. With the blockchain’s unsurpassed security and immutable program that is distributed and duplicated across multiple networks, it has the immense potential to stop a hacker from corrupting the data in any way possible.

Implementing the blockchain technology within financial industry has highly impacted the record-maintaining database systems. It has the ability to support self-enforcing, smart contracts that includes programmed conditional clauses for the participants. The transactions will be successful, and the funds will be transferred only when the conditions within the clauses have been met. Such contracts are currently being implemented and executed into decentralized platforms for crowdsourcing and voting where the results are completely transparent and publicly accessible.

What Blockchain Holds for the Future?

The use of blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize the field of law. Through the use of smart contracts, blockchain technology has the ability to have the smart contracts and the blockchain wills to take immediate effect after a person dies. The executor and intermediary would no longer be needed to carry out the wills. This blockchain technology would rather require a lawyer who has professional skills of a computer programmer.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TXBP1t2rUc&w=560&h=315]

Additionally, this technology would be beneficial for car rental agencies. With the usage of smart contracts, the agencies could automatically allow car rentals once the customers’ payments and insurance information have been approved.

This platform could potentially help the online music industry. Musicians often earn on sales due to recording in companies or third-party platforms. Blockchain could be used to eliminate the intermediaries and provide the artist with more control and ownership of the music which leads to keeping the large percentage of sales that the artists originally lost.

Blockchain platform may also change accounting based on the process of the verification of an organization’s audit. Instead of having a firm keep separate records of transactions blockchain technology can store all transactions into a joint register. This will create a system where all transactions are sealed into an interlocking system where changing the transactions, fraud or destroying them will not be possible.

Furthermore, blockchain technology has the potential to change the marketing and advertising industry. Firstly, it will remove the intermediaries in digital marketing and advertising creating cost efficiency and transparency for organizations. With the transparency, it will be easier for marketers and advertisers to identify the correct target markets. The marketers will no longer be in need to search for consumer information through different sources. All information will be easily found in the blockchain.

Summary:

Blockchain technology is a vital and useful asset for internet business communities. It can be used to strengthen and reinforce trust and transparency. Through this technology, all information is visible to the consumers, so they can trace and validate each product and party before successfully proceeding with an auditable and secure transaction. This leads to an end of the corruption of data. The traceable transactions will provide an efficient infrastructure to businesses which will massively reduce the costs for all participants within the blockchain. This will lead to an advanced and independent society with transparency, cost-efficiency, integrity, higher security and no intermediary.

To read more blogs, please visit  https://www.budventure.technology/blog/

Reclaimed wood is a popular design trend today. This versatile building material has quickly gained momentum with some of the top designers and architects, and you’ll see it  gracing commercial buildings across the globe. Fittingly, reclaimed wood has a long and storied past. The reclaiming of wood stretches back to the early twentieth century with methods evolving over time. Here’s an abridged history of reclaimed wood and a look into its impact on contemporary architecture and design.

The Growing Need for High-Quality Wood

Over the centuries, wood has nearly always been the building material of choice. Dating back to about 8,500 BC,  wood is the world’s second oldest building material, predated only by brick. Wood consumption was particularly high during the Industrial Revolution and  further increased  in the period following World War II. As a result, by the mid-twentieth century, old-growth wood, wood from trees that grew naturally for over a 100 years, became increasingly rare. Old-growth wood is still sought after today because it’s extremely durable. As a tree ages, its wood grows denser and stronger, which is ideal for building.

While it makes for a great building material, living old-growth wood is almost nonexistent in the United States. According to the United States Forest Service, there’s  only about 3 percent of old-growth forest left. However, old-growth wood still exists in many buildings, especially those built in the early twentieth century. Since this wood is so valuable, it’s often reclaimed from older buildings that have fallen or been demolished. When architects are in search of high-quality wood that will serve as a visual and load bearing component, they often seek to spec reclaimed old growth wood.

Reclaimed Wood and Sustainability

Reclaimed wood delivers on aesthetics, but there are two central reasons why reclaimed wood has surged in popularity, sustainability and depth of supply. Architects and designers are seeking to create buildings that contribute more than they consume from the earth. Choosing reclaimed wood utilizes an existing resource and eliminates the need to cut down living trees. When builders elect to use reclaimed wood, it is a sustainable option that further protects living old-growth trees from being unnecessarily cut down.

Over time, there has become more awareness of full impact cost for materials, and commercial architects and designers have become more tuned in to energy costs that come with sourcing new wood. During the cutting, processing, and transport of new wood, much energy is expended in various forms. Reclaimed wood requires fewer resources and thus, consumes less energy in the process.

There are  many approaches to sourcing reclaimed wood, but post-industrial and post-consumer are the most common. At TerraMai, we look for any instance where quality wood is considered a waste product and is slated for the landfill, wood chipper or firewood pile. Working with sourcing partners to salvage this discarded wood ensures our deep and continuous supply of beautiful reclaimed woods. We also like the idea of salvaging wood so it can be used for its highest use potential with the hope that reclaimed wood can have many lives and be repurposed again at some point.

Typically, the salvaged wood is dried, milled, and finished with stain, oil or poly to prepare the wood for its end application. When the character of reclaimed wood is preserved and the material is finished, it’s often the most beautiful it’s ever been in its lifetime. Reclaimed wood can be a utilitarian component as well as contribute charm and a timelessness to space. It’s a win-win; builders gain aesthetic and functional advantages while preserving trees and what remains of old-growth forests.

The use of green building materials like reclaimed wood is also helpful for buildings pursuing various certifications such as LEED, WELL, and Living Building Challenge. Since reclaimed wood is both sustainable and  biophilic, it positively impacts both humans and the natural environment. This, in turn, satisfies requirements of many building standards.

From Trend to Trailblazer

Like artisanal goods, reclaimed wood embodies the essence of craftsmanship and brings an authenticity reminiscent of simpler times. While it first enjoyed popularity as a niche product, reclaimed wood quickly became a standard material for commercial projects. At first, its use was common for businesses like coffee shops and restaurants that aimed to evoke an artisanal atmosphere. It swiftly crossed over to commercial buildings and has since become a favored choice for spaces like offices, restaurants, and hotels. As health and wellness benefit data surfaces, reclaimed wood is finding its way more and more into hospitals, schools, and retirement homes.

Appropriately, the rise of biophilic design bolstered the demand for reclaimed wood. All  14 patterns of biophilic design  center around a deeper connection to nature and reclaimed wood is a natural biophilic fit. It excels at fostering a material connection with nature, and its natural patina can connect occupants to natural systems, which creates an environment that is “relaxing, nostalgic, profound, or enlightening, and frequently anticipated” according to Jonce Walker in  Terrapin Bright Green. In other words, wood helps people feel better and look forward to being in a space.

This is scientifically backed by numerous studies that have analyzed the complex web of different types of relationships between humans and nature.  Reclaimed wood in particular has wellness-enhancing properties  that can improve how people feel, work, and interact in a space. The presence of wood lowers heart rates and stress responses, so occupants feel better physically, mentally, and emotionally. When used in conjunction with biophilic elements like natural light and greenery, or in spaces meant for refuge or collaboration, reclaimed woods’ effect intensifies, resulting in a built environment optimized for human well-being.

When architect & design experts realized the benefits of reclaimed wood in commercial projects, word began to spread and reclaimed wood use began to really grow. At this point, reclaimed wood ceased to be a mere trend and became something more significant. The broader adoption of reclaimed wood coincided with the new era of sustainability in A&D. Now, more than ever, the focus on environmental friendliness, biophilic design and occupant wellness encourages builders to seek out greener materials and methods. And, reclaimed wood, while providing an eco-friendly option, can hit a designer’s aesthetic vision.

Today, you can find all types of reclaimed wood in commercial buildings everywhere. From the floors of office lounges to the beams of a five-star hotel, reclaimed wood has cemented its spot in the contemporary design. Many designers  have gotten especially creative with reclaimed wood implementation.

Conclusion

Even though reclaimed wood began as a design trend, it has become much more than a fad. Its sustainable nature and scientifically backed benefits have made it consistently one of the best green building material choices for commercial projects. Reclaimed wood is also a major signifier of the future of the Architecture & Design industry. A building is greener and more health-centric than ever before, and reclaimed wood is one of the many vehicles that have allowed A&D to move forward in a more positive, sustainable direction.

To check out reclaimed wood dining tables, go here.

The article reused from terramai.com

Everything You Need to Know About Alzheimer’s Disease – CWEB.com

Alzheimer’s is a devastating disease that many people have encountered by know very little about. In this article, we unpack everything you need to know, including causes and potential preventative measures.

Alzheimer’s disease is a terrible, destructive disease that robs people of their memory, social abilities, and ultimately, their life. And while many people have to contend with the disease, most people don’t have a full understanding of it.

Let us help with that.

Alzheimer’s was first discovered in 1901 by Dr. Alois Alzheimer. Dr. Alzheimer had been working with a patient named Auguste D., who had experienced sleep issues, memory loss, mood swings, and general confusion.

After her death, he found that her brain had developed a peculiar atrophy, which included tangles and plaque in her brain that was especially strange due to her age. While the deterioration of the brain may have been somewhat expected among older patients, August D. was a younger patient. Today Auguste D. would be diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease, which affects about 10% of Alzheimer’s patients.

There are some alarming statistics regarding Alzheimer’s Disease that may not be commonly known. Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death, and in some studies, it is coming up third.

In America, almost two-thirds of people with Alzheimer’s are women. The cases are increasing, and by 2050 it is predicted that there will be triple the number of people suffering from the disease. Every 65 seconds, someone in the United States develops Alzheimer’s Disease, and it is currently affecting 44 million people worldwide.

Clearly, it’s a massive problem.

What is Alzheimer’s Disease?

Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia that causes a breakdown of memory and cognitive abilities. A gene known as APOE-e4, and other forms of the APOE gene, may be an indicator of future Alzheimer’s patients, although not all people with this gene will develop Alzheimer’s and not everyone with Alzheimer’s has this particular gene.

This disease usually attacks the hippocampus, which is the area responsible for forming memories, and is why Alzheimer’s patients will often experience short-term memory loss as an initial symptom.

In Alzheimer’s sufferers, a substance called beta-amyloid clumps into plaque that builds up between neurons, resulting in a deterioration of brain function. In addition, another substance known as “tau” creates “tangles” inside the neurons in the brain. Eventually, neurons are not able to communicate. They lose the ability to remember, make decisions, and function independently.

In addition to the plaque and tangles, there’s also research that indicates there is a problem with the way that the brain processes glucose in people with Alzheimer’s. The patients exhibited a break down in glycolysis, the process that breaks down glucose, which resulted in a more severe distribution of plaque and tangles.

There has been increased research into a link between a person’s cardiovascular system and their risk for Alzheimer’s. A healthy heart helps keep a brain healthy with good blood flow. People with a poor cardiovascular system are at a higher risk for Alzheimer’s.

OrganicGreek.com — VitaminBottles

What is Dementia?

Sometimes Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are used interchangeably, but this is not entirely accurate. The dementia definition is similar to Alzheimer’s disease — a loss of cognitive functioning and behavioral abilities — but dementia is not limited to Alzheimer patients. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, but other types of dementia include Vascular Dementia, Dementia with Lewy Bodies, and Parkinson’s disease.

What Are The Stages of Alzheimer’s disease?

Alzheimer’s is not a disease that overtakes the brain quickly. In fact, from the earliest signs of Alzheimer’s, it may take years before a person suffering from it will reach the final stages.

While there are multiple ways that people categorize Alzheimer’s disease, the most common is in seven stages.

Stage 1: No Impairment.

The initial stage of Alzheimer’s is usually not detected at all.

Stage 2: Very Mild Decline

The individual may experience instances of memory loss but it is difficult to distinguish between ordinary forgetfulness that may come with age.

Stage 3: Mild Decline

People who are associated with the individual with Alzheimer’s, like family or co-workers, may begin to notice that they have a difficult time with memory or concentration.

During this stage a person with Alzheimer’s may begin to forget the right words or names of things or people, have difficulty following even familiar routes of travel, or may struggle to pick up new skills or information.

Stage 4: Moderate Decline

Stage 4 is when it becomes much easier to diagnose a person with the disease. During this period a person with Alzheimer’s may begin to experience uncontrollable changes in mood, struggle to accomplish complex tasks like bill paying or cooking meals, and begin to forget personal information from their histories.

Stage 5: Moderately Severe Decline

During this stage, individuals with Alzheimer’s will exhibit large gaps in thinking and memory. They may begin to forget important information like their phone number or address. They may be confused about where they are, or what is happening in their lives, and they will most likely no longer be able to function without assistance.

They will still be able to do some tasks for themselves like getting dressed and using the bathroom, and they will still be able to recall significant details about themselves and the people that they are closest with.

Stage 6: Severe Decline

At this stage, the individual will need a great deal of assistance. At this point they may struggle to accomplish tasks appropriately like dressing or remembering to flush the toilet. They will also struggle to control bowel and bladder movements. They may experience feelings of suspicion or paranoia, and may feel alone. They may forget or confuse important people in their lives and their personality will probably be noticeably different.

Stage 7: Very Severe Decline

By the seventh stage of Alzheimer’s, a person will need full assistance to live. They will have severely limited speech, and will not be able to sit up, eat, or walking. Each of a person’s abilities will fade during this period and they may not be able to walk at all or may struggle to swallow.  Eventually, if they live long enough for it to happen, their organs will begin to shut down followed by death.

OrganicGreek.com — VitaminBottles

Prevention of Alzheimer’s

Due to Alzheimer’s devastating results, many hours and funds are being spent on discovering a cure. At this time, scientists are not entirely sure what causes Alzheimer’s disease or how to stop it.

A standard curve has not been found, but there are some studies that suggest that the disease may be delayed, prevented, or even reversed. Below are some examples of studies that offer some hope for Alzheimer’s patients.

MIND Diet and General Diet Changes

One of the main areas of focus for preventing or slowing down the effects of Alzheimer’s is a change in diet. The MIND diet is an acronym standing for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay, and some studies suggest that the MIND diet can help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s.

The MIND diet is the introduction of 10 important foods and the exemption of 5.

10 Foods to eat on the MIND diet:

Berries at least twice a week

Spinach and other green leafy greens at least six times a week

Nuts five servings a week

Fish at least once a week

Poultry twice a week

Wine – at least one glass a day

Vegetables at least once a day

Olive Oil as the main oil for cooking

Whole Grains 3 servings daily

Beans – at least four times a week

5 Foods to avoid:

Red Meat no more than 3 servings a week

Fast food/fried food less than once per week

Cheese less than once a week

Pastries and Sweets should be very limited

Butter and Margarine – less than one tablespoon daily

While it is not entirely known why this diet may help, scientists have their theories. Keith Pierson writes, “…scientists who created the diet think it may work by reducing  oxidative  stress and inflammation. Oxidative stress occurs when unstable molecules called free radicals to accumulate in the body in large quantities. This often causes damage to cells. The brain is especially vulnerable to this type of damage.”

High consumption of fats (especially from red meat) can cause inflammation and can create an excess of free radicals in the body. These free radicals can cause damage to brain cells which is even more concerning for a person suffering from dementia.

Diets rich in vitamins C and E can help reverse the number of free radicals in the body, thereby helping to protect brain cells. In addition, consumption of vegetables, fruit, and fish rich with omega-3 are helpful with general memory and brain function.

Supplements that are associated with general brain health may also be beneficial. Some of these supplements may include additional omega-3’s, ginkgo biloba, coenzyme Q10, and alpha lipoic acid.

Additional Steps

There are other healthy lifestyle options that may help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s. Due to the perceived link between a weak cardiovascular system and Alzheimer’s, exercise can be a helpful tool to promote a healthy brain. Scientists suggest a minimum of 30 minutes of moderately vigorous exercise three to four days a week for overall health.

Not smoking, reducing stress, and getting enough sleep are other suggestions that may reduce the risk. There is a small amount of evidence that also suggests that continuing to exercise the brain can be beneficial. Learning new skills, connecting with people, and practicing cognitive activity could help.

OrganicGreek.com — VitaminBottles

Synergistic Treatment

There was one small trial performed in 2014 at UCLA that used a comprehensive plan to treat Alzheimer’s patients. Of the 10 people in the study, there were 9 positive outcomes using this plan.

In this study, they likened typical Alzheimer’s treatment plans to using one very good method to fix one hole in a leaky house when there are 35 other holes. While the drugs prescribed may fix one problem associated with Alzheimer’s, there were 35 others that the drug could not compete with. Therefore the drug appeared to be ineffective.

In this comprehensive plan, they targeted issues with each particular patient. Treatment included things like exercising, dietary changes, increased sleep, meditation, supplements, and hormone replacement therapy.

Dr. Dale Bredesen who was responsible for the study, said, “…a broader-based therapeutic approach, rather than a single drug that aims at a single target, may be feasible and potentially more effective for the treatment of cognitive decline due to Alzheimer’s.”

However the scope of this study was very small, only including 10 participants. There is not enough research into this method to know if it would be effective en masse.

Conclusion

Alzheimer’s disease is a very sad and devastating disease. Scientists and researchers will continue to invest money, time, and energy to find a cure for this disease that affects millions.

One beneficial thing that all people can do is to raise awareness for this disease that could easily affect us or our loved ones. The more awareness of the disease, the more likely that we will come up with a cure.

The second thing people can do is to strive to live healthy lifestyles that will help lessen the risk of developing Alzheimer’s.

The brain is a beautiful thing. We’d be wise to do all we can to protect it.

Article republished. Original text available here.

But Seriously, Why Is Elon Musk Selling Flamethrowers? – CWEB.com

Elon Musk made headlines recently when he announced that his company would be selling flamethrowers. But what’s he really up to? Is this about publicity? Money? Ego? Yes…

Elon Musk is no stranger to media fanfare and making grandiose claims. The entire story of his underground tunnel operation, the cheekily-named Boring Company, stems from a day when Musk was sitting in Los Angeles traffic marveling at how bad the city’s infrastructure is.

The story goes that he surveyed the gridlock on the spider web of freeways surrounding downtown L.A. and decided that he could invent tunnel-boring machines and design an underground network of subways that would solve the city’s traffic problems.

And so far, The Boring Company actually has completed preliminary tunnel digging beneath the city.

Now he’s selling flamethrowers.

So how did we go from underground tunnels to flamethrowers? Why is the Tesla and SpaceX mad scientist offering flamethrowers for sale?

Here’s a look at what Musk is thinking.

All Press is Good Press

So, the idea of an egotistical tech billionaire–known for his impossibly big ideas that (mostly) come to fruition–declaring that he can solve a city’s infamous traffic problem is already absurd enough.

It’s hard to decide what makes it more absurd: the name or the fact that the company has actually secured permission to dig two miles of test tunnel under parts of the Los Angeles area. That alone should be headline-generating news. Digging a tunnel underneath a developed metropolitan area is a huge deal, especially for an upstart company looking to “disrupt” the infrastructure industry.

But Musk has done more than disrupt industry itself; he’s used his celebrity status to earn public favor and even crowdfund what are essentially kitschy and ambitious forays into uncharted territory. The first effort? Selling decidedly normcore hats with the project’s tongue-in-cheek name emblazoned on the front.

The hats, which sold for $20 each and were ‘capped’ at 50,000 units, raised $1 million dollars for The Boring Company, generating a bit of a self-fulfilling advertising and fundraising campaign, with Silicon Valley cognoscenti rocking the ridiculous headwear in various layers of irony and jocuseriousness.

Musk used his massive social media presence as further free advertising, occasionally chiming in on Twitter to create a sense of connectivity and fanfare around the hats. So imagine the internet’s reaction when the flamethrower debuted.

The reality is that most modern-day flamethrowers are used for decidedly less interesting (and violent) endeavors like invasive species control, controlled burns, and similar agricultural and industrial pursuits. Plenty of commercial equipment supply companies sell them.

But they weren’t on anybody’s radar until Mr. Musk himself announced that The Boring Company’s follow up limited edition product would be a flamethrower that the general public (read: internetty fanboys who think everything Musk touches turns to gold) began to froth over the prospect of buying a flame-spitting toy.

It’s not that flamethrowers have anything specific to do with boring underground tunnels (aside from a vague 1980’s industrial-chic thing that Musk is clearly a fan of) or that the buyers of the hats or flamethrowers will ever use their branded products to assist the creation of an ambitious underground tunnel system in Los Angeles (and Baltimore and Chicago, and anywhere else Musk has hinted at wanting to bore beneath).

Sure, the purchase of overpriced ironic products hawked by Musk funds these endeavors in some small way, but Elon Musk has never been shy to spend his ample fortunes on passion projects. Instead, there is something commoditized about the overall Boring Company brand that Musk is trying to perpetuate.

Is it marketing? Earning public favor for endeavors that are clearly mired in bureaucratic red tape and skepticism? Simply another ego-stroking semi-serious endeavor in a long list of them?

The answer is probably yes.

The Boring Company Flamethrower

The Boring Company sold out of all 20,000 flamethrowers it offered for sale at $500 each, generating a whopping $10 million dollars in revenue, which, according to Time, “will help bankroll the boring machines, lawyers and lobbyists Musk is relying on to execute his plan to build tunnels under parts of Los Angeles and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.”

In short, the plan is indeed to leverage the gimmicky-but-very-real devices to generate public interest and bankroll further lawyering and lobbying required to secure approval of the experimental tunnel digging The Boring Company is interested in. The Verge quickly discovered that The Boring Flamethrower is little more than a roof torch and an Airsoft gun chassis married in some sort of bizarre hybridization and branding exercise, appropriately marked up in a way befitting an Elon Musk product.

Roofing torches are typically used for applying bitumen products to roofs, but with some modification, they can shoot more Instagram-worthy streams of flames (up to, but no longer than 10 feet, to satisfy all states’ laws), especially when attached to an impressive sci-fi looking Airsoft gun stock and trigger system. Taken this way, the Boring flamethrowers are indeed little more than a creatively engineered branding exercise, but this shouldn’t surprise any of us.

The Boring Truth

The truth is that these flamethrowers are not going to slay dragons or dig tunnels underneath traffic congested cities.

Instead, they’re going to let a bunch of Silicon Valley types who can afford to spend half a thousand dollars on a brand exercise toy take a handful of funny videos for their social media before they never bother refueling their flamethrowers again and they end up collecting dust on their shelves next to their Juiceros and iPhone 8s.

But, $10 million is nothing to sneeze at, even if the dust that gathers all over the unused flamethrowers (and the foam emitted from the complimentary fire extinguishers that are inevitably needed for the myriad accidental fires started by these things) are.

Maybe Musk will need that purse of lawyer money to defend himself against flamethrower-related injuries. Or maybe it will make a dent in the battle for Los Angeles tunnel digging rights.

Original text available here.

 A 5G Cell Network Is Coming. Here’s What You Need to Know – CWEB.com

When we think cellular network connectivity, we generally think “4G LTE,” which is the current fastest signal available. Many people associate the ‘number’ of the service (ie: 3G, 4G, 4G LTE) as the speed, which isn’t entirely incorrect.

However, the numbers refer to the generation of the network, not the speed itself. Iterations of network speed require new hardware to distribute the signal–which means cell towers must be upgraded–and new hardware and software to receive the signal–which means new cell phones that can take full advantage of the new speeds.

A 5G Network is on the horizon, here’s what it means and how it works.

What is a 5G Network?

 Essentially, 5G is the fifth generation of the network technology that enables cell networks to distribute data.  The latest generation, which is in development and due to begin testing and release later in 2018, promises speeds that rival the fastest Wi-Fi performance: early reports indicate speeds ten to one hundred times faster than today’s 4G LTE networks.

In fact, 5G may be so fast that it outperforms home fiber optic internet in many metrics. For example, users will be able to download an entire season of a television show in mere seconds or wirelessly stream ultra-high-definition virtual reality apps across devices with no latency.

The network is also designed with the next generation of connected devices in mind, including semi-autonomous automobiles and ultra-advanced Internet of Things applications that constantly process more data than many of today’s computers.

5G networks will utilize an entirely new set of technologies, including small cells, millimeter waves, beamforming, massive multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO), and full duplex. Small cells are exactly what they sound like–smaller cell towers that can be placed more frequently and less conspicuously than traditional cell towers–and they are required for 5G’s shorter-range, higher-speed frequencies.

Millimeter waves are named for their smaller sizes and higher frequencies; while they have some tradeoffs and technical limitations, they also offer more tailored coverage options.

MIMO means using multiple frequencies and channels simultaneously to constantly deliver the cleanest signal, thus minimizing risk of interference and increasing theoretical range.

Speaking of MIMO tech, Robert Triggs writes:

It’s a similar idea to carrier aggregation, as this stream of data can be sent in parallel, across multiple antennas for each carrier band. As well as being used to increase throughput, the same data can also be sent across these parallel antennas to check for errors and prevent packet losses. When it comes to 5G radios using mmWave technology, massive MIMO becomes even more important. This is because very high-frequency mmWave technology is more dependent on line-of-sight, so MIMO is essential to ensure messages can reach the destination handset intact.

This is also the idea behind beamforming, which uses technology to create stronger ‘beams’ of millimeter waves, thus increasing their range beyond the theoretical limitations. And full duplex technology may enable cells to transmit and receive data at the same time, which effectively uploads their bandwidth.

How Does it Compare to Current Networks?

Like today’s networks, 5G networks will use airwaves to transmit data over the air, much like radio stations. Just as radio stations all operate on their own frequencies, cellular networks use their own frequencies to transmit data.

5G will use a higher band of frequency than today’s networks; similar to the idea that 5G means faster internet, higher frequency speeds generally offer higher data transfer speeds.

Just like radio stations, higher speeds mean shorter ranges. In order to deliver the high speeds promised by 5G, the network will use an extremely high frequency spectrum. This spectrum can transmit faster data than any existing network, but it will require hardware to work around the range limitations and intelligent software and hardware to minimize the interruptions and latency issues associated with high frequency networks.

What Are the Advantages?

In addition to much faster upload and download speeds, the 5G network will have a much larger overall capacity, meaning that crowded sporting events or concerts that typically ‘jam’ cell phone networks will no longer overwhelm the network and cause your texts to remain unsent for hours when you really need to find your one friend who can’t seem to reunite with the group.

The speeds promised by 5G networks may well render traditional fiber optic internet access (which is typically then routed through a home Wi-Fi network) irrelevant; 5G networks could be so fast that home internet is a significant downgrade in speed.

This faster internet and higher network capacity could revolutionize how we access the internet and how we perceive our internet access points. Today, we are desperate to connect to Wi-Fi as soon as possible so we can scroll our social media without worrying about data use.

In the future, we may well use our phones and laptops solely on 5G cell networks, which could change everything from the business models of coffee shops to how we select data providers.  

When Will it Be Here?

It’s easy to read about “five-second feature-length movie downloads” and either begin drooling immediately or dismiss it as a distant pipe dream that is so futuristic that we may never reap the benefits.

The reality is somewhere in between, but much closer to drool-worthy than to Jetsons-style flying cars. While it’s not quite close enough to put off that overdue replacement phone for the one in your pocket with a cracked screen, most major data providers indicate that we can expect 5G networks (and 5G-compatible smartphones) by 2020.

Speaking of whether you should get a new phone, Angus Kidman says:

I’m a tragic geek, I might upgrade to get onto 5G but I don’t think the average consumer is going to want to do that and I don’t think that should be the sole reason anyone should be holding off on buying another device, it would be just one more feature on the device to think about. I think after 2020, if you’re buying a new phone, you’d want to make sure it had 5G support, until we hit that point it’s not going to matter that much…”

10-Gigabyte-per-second downloads may sound like the stuff of fantasy, but they are not as much of a pipedream as they are a matter of rollout logistics and allowing major corporations to prepare for and keep up with the new connectivity standard.

What 5G Means for You

5G internet is going to be blazing-fast, but it is not going to replace 4G LTE coverage from sea to shining sea. Its frequencies and associated range limitations mean that it will act more like ultra-fast, long-range Wifi than traditional cellular networks.

With transponders placed across urban areas and strategic boosters in places that typically overload cell towers, the places that once had the worst cell network speeds will soon bost some of the best, while the likeliest secondary application will be a traditional broadband internet replacement in major urban areas where the population density can justify the expensive and complex rollout of new equipment.

Because the technology is still nascent and improving, it is quite feasible that the 5G network will someday fully eliminate previous generation coverage, thus allowing all 5G-enabled devices to access the internet at unimaginable speeds, no matter the location.

If you’ve ever taken a road trip across large chunks of the country, you likely noticed that your cell signal ranges from 4G LTE to 4G to occasionally 3G or even no service at all. This is due to the demand for signal and thus your network provider’s business case for installing latest-generation cell towers and infrastructure in less-populated or lower-demand regions.

Just as different network protocols exist for different jobs and require a sound business case in order to lead to upgrades, 5G networks are already here in limited capacities, but will take time to enjoy widespread debut across the country. In the meantime, we can only dream about the possibilities while planning for an era when broadband bills are obsolete.

From casual technology users to business owners to future entrepreneurs, the 5G-enabled future is coming quickly and it has implications for everyone. It’s worth learning about now and monitoring progress often, if not for planning your next smartphone upgrade (yet!) then certainly for understanding what the new cell network could mean for the way we connect to the internet.

Article republish. You can find original text here:  https://www.industrialpartswashers.com/a-5g-cell-network-is-coming-heres-what-you-need-to-know/

“Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves.” – Steve Jobs

Customer experience has evolved into a strong differentiator among businesses of all kinds and functions in today’s age. Going by a research conducted by the Walker Information, customer experience will overshadow price and product as the primary brand differentiator by the year 2020. There’s no doubt about it — delightful customer experiences are what brings them back, time and time again.

The modern businesses are not immune to the idea of customer experience either. And as more and more businesses compete to offer better experiences to their customers, an increase in customer expectations continue to see a meteoric growth. More and more customers today crave friendly, informed service from their service providers. And not acknowledging these customer expectations is a clear recipe for disaster — ignore your customers’ new expectations and your business reputation may end up getting tarnished as well.

Most customers expectations tend to revolve around:

1. Availability:  Your customers expect you to be present for them whenever the need arises, either virtually, or practically.

2. Advice:  Every customer who visits your website, expects you to advise them on the products or services they choose. In most cases, a customer will describe their requirement and expect you to provide a suggestion, a feasible solution.

3. Accuracy:  Accuracy, in terms of product and service details, is one of the most basic customer expectations.

4. Alternatives:  It’s hard to satisfy the modern customer, as they are spoilt with an abundance of choices and alternatives, and this makes one of the most significant elements of your customers’ basic expectations.

So how do you figure out your customers’ needs, fulfil their expectations, and deliver a delightful experience that continues to drive customer loyalty?

In this post, we’ll look at 3 SaaS tools that can help businesses connect better with their customers in this era of endless options.

Live Chat Software: Better Availability, Advice, and  Alternatives

A live support system allows businesses to be available 24/7 to your customers. Being there for your customers every time they need you, not only fulfils their primary expectations of availability, but also that of advice.

Imagine a customer stuck on the pricing page of your website, not able to decide the best plan for his business. Advice is merely a click away with a live chat solution available on the website. No more painfully long queues waiting for the phone support to pick up, or frustrating delays waiting for the email support to respond back. Not only is a chat agent able to help the customer decide on the right package, but can also help with alternatives based on his requirements.

And while the quality of service is important to your customers, so is the speed. Problems, errors, and bugs with various products and services are unavoidable. These glitches can often prove to be irritating and costly to consumers. But what makes matters worse is the delay in resolving these issues. Customers tend to get really upset if it takes longer than expected for their issues to be sorted out. Businesses, on the other hand, can manage customer service expectations by either providing these consumers with a speedy resolution, or at the very least, keeping them updated on the task progress. And since live chat allows businesses to address the customers’ immediate need for quick resolutions to problems, it’s an irreplaceable tool for fulfilling customer expectations.

Knowledge Base Software: Better Availability, Advice  and Accuracy

As the customers’ service expectations continue to evolve and the number of service request channels continue to grow, businesses are beginning to realize that their support executives are increasingly challenged to deliver accurate information in real time. By providing your support representatives with correct information in the form of a readily accessible knowledge base and, at the same time, offering your customers a searchable self-service portal, you’ll be right on the track to meet your consumers’ evolving needs and expectations.

A knowledge base is an online repository of information about a product, service, application, or department that is designed to provide self-serve help. As businesses all around the globe are witnessing a growing demand for self-service functionality, especially coming from their consumers, in addition to their primary support channels, knowledge bases have started to play a large part in helping them meet this demand.

A customer-facing knowledge base, when provided in addition to other core customer service channels, can lead to a significant boost in customer satisfaction. These knowledge bases provide extra help and choice to customers looking to self-serve, significantly improving perceptions of service quality, while potentially eliminating extraneous resource required in the form of support agents required to answer repetitive customer queries.

A report from Forrester  has found that the use of FAQ pages is on the rise, going up from 67% in 2012 to 76% in 2014. Not only this, the report also found that the phone call usage saw practically no growth, remaining stagnant at 73% – proving, beyond a plethora of doubt, and almost conclusively, that customers prefer to visit FAQ pages for help rather than they turning to live agents.

The same study clearly underlined the importance of meeting customer expectations continually. Self-service channels, either customer- or employee-facing, can provide an effective framework for consistency and positive differentiation of service.

Help Desk Software: Better Advice  and Accuracy

Quality customer service, available 24/7 is crucial for customer satisfaction. An efficient help desk ticketing system is a powerful and streamlined solution that allows your support agents to provide excellent customer support and assistance within reasonable SLAs (Service Level Agreements). A help desk software solution can efficiently automate the complete cycle of resolving your customer’s issues or service requests accurately and proactively.

A good help desk solution provides businesses with a one-stop solution for all customer support queries, service requests, complaints and assistance requirements. It enables your customer support team to handle all customer complaints and requests from a single place without any confusion, thus improving the quality of assistance and support provided to the customers — a key requirement for earning customer satisfaction.

A happy and loyal customer, whose expectations are always fulfilled, will have no qualms turning into an evangelist and recommending your brand to others. It would help you build a strong brand image and good reputation in the competitive market.

Conclusion and Next Steps

Businesses looking to handle customer expectations better while improving the experience they provide, can choose one or all of the tools we talked about in this article: live support chat, knowledge base, or a help desk. All of these tools are available as SaaS services and offer several benefits, some of which are outlined here. In order to ensure that you reap the most benefits from these tools:

Identify the problem areas in the way of your customers’ expectations: It’s best to begin by identifying the areas where you’re facing the most problems–the areas that trouble your customers the most. Start by digitizing this support channel and augment it with an appropriate SaaS tool.

Review: Review your current self-service tools and strategies. Are they helping or hurting your ability to connect with your customers and offer them with a delightful experience?

Shop for a suitable solution: Once you have identified which support channel needs to be added, or, improved, start looking for solutions that fit your requirements. You can start by checking out the top rated and reviewed SaaS based solutions online.

Get a demo: It won’t hurt to get a support agent take you through the application demo, especially when it’ll help you address your unique requirements. Most companies offering these tools have a free trial and a demo available that you can use to pick the best solution for your business.