TikTok-ing Your World

With over 800 million monthly active users according to Hootsuite’s 2020 report, TikTok is taking the social-media world by storm. With the mission of inspiring creativity and bringing joy to users, TikTok has become the leading destination for short-form mobile videos.

With global offices all over the world, Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, Jakarta, Seoul, and Tokyo, the social platform is leaving its mark wherever it goes.

Catering fundamentally the digital cravings of Generation Z, the children of Generation X  and sometimes Millennials, the app offers meme enthusiasts the possibility to go viral thanks to their videos. Being user friendly and very straight forward, TikTok overpowers other apps such as Instagram and Snapchat when it comes to how easy it is to edit and upload videos.  Leveraging on how addictive and content oriented it is, the app doesn’t offer tutorials or sign-up option. It directs you directly to its content.

In a fast-paced world with an ever-shortening attention span, the creative and entertaining platform has everything to hook up users especially that it uses an algorithm to learn user preferences and then provide them with customized video feeds.

Gregory Galant, co-founder of Shorty Awards  attributes TikTok’s success to the fact that the majority of people love music and like goofing around. Therefore, the app’s steady stream of new dances, songs, and challenges, offers users the opportunity to express themselves in a creative way as well as connect with other talents.

In a strategically smart marketing bid, TikTok used Instagram to build its notoriety and audience. Offering users the possibility to share videos on Instagram stories,  it was able to use Influencers to market the platform.

While TV advertisers spend thousands to produce a 30sec video able to capture audience’s attention , TikTok users are having the same opportunity without cost.

TikTok, being a Chinese video-sharing social networking service owned by ByteDance, has faced its share of conspiracy theories, however it didn’t stop the app’s popularity from growing worldwide. If you are not yet a fan of the app, you might want to TikTok your way to it. It is worth checking-out to know what the buzz is all about.

 

The New World Post CoronaVirus

As Singer-songwriter John Lennon once said “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” This is precisely what happened to the world as it was struck by the CoronaVirus pandemic. With danger looming around with no imminent end and many speculative scenarios, the assumption that this devastating tragedy will forever change the world becomes very plausible.

The surge of Videoconferencing Applications
Zoom and other videoconferencing applications have proven to be extremely helpful and effective during the epidemic. Not only businesses were able to use these tools to conduct meetings, even news media has resorted to them. News agencies have been able to conduct interviews with doctors and experts via these mediums. Thus this will open up the door to many more similar apps to flood the app-stores.

Accelerated digital transformation
Thanks for the pandemic, businesses, schools, universities and restaurants have realized the importance to gearing up towards becoming digital.  Resorting to e-commerce websites , delivery applications , and online courses have become crucial to any business’ survival.

Live Streaming
The trend of live steaming witnessed a surge in usage. From doing concerts to cooking classes to cycling marathons to gym classes, everything you can think of has been turned into a live streaming opportunity. Thus businesses have realized the importance of live streaming as an effective marketing tool.

Working from Home
Having been forced to let employees work from home during the pandemic, business owners realized that outcome is more important than shifts. As long as the job is getting done, there is no need to keep tabs on employees. Post-CoronaVirus employers have realized that it is all about the bigger picture. In order to focus on what is important time is of the essence thus there is no need for long meetings and presentations.  However with the typical nine-hours workdays no longer existing and the need to be continuously online, bosses will learn to exercise self-control and not takeover their employees’ life, bearing in mind that they are not dealing with a robot whose sole purpose in life is to serve them and their interests. Employees need to allocate quality time for themselves and their family in order not to burnout.

Empowerment
During the pandemic certain employees have proven themselves to be independent and in no need of management, thus employers have realized  that employees handle the business far better than  newly hired managers and consultants.

Frontline Workers
The need to re-evaluate the importance of frontline employees becomes imminent as they proved themselves to be essential during the pandemic.

 Hygiene Practices
If Coronavirus has taught us anything, it is the power of good hygiene practices. With restaurants implementing rigorous hygiene practices, this will become a permanent part of their operations:
– Washing hands repeatedly.
– Wearing gloves and a mask when handling food.
– Giving sick-leave to any mildly sick employee.
– Disinfecting the kitchen and space.

Traveling
After Coronavirus, according to paper from Imperial College London  governments will need to turn lockdown measures on and off to keep thing in check. Furthermore, travelers will be needing more than only their passports to travel, some health certificates might be also required.

Automation
Long before the CoronaVirus pandemic hit, experts were speculating that sooner or later robots will replace humans in certain work areas. But with social distancing being demanded, which is suspected to continue, post CoronaVirus , certain businesses will accelerate their use of automation especially in the medical as well as well delivery field.

No matter what the future might bring, we need to go forth. As the poet Patrick Overton, once said, “When you walk to the edge of all the light you have and take that first step into the darkness of the unknown, you must believe that one of two things will happen. There will be something solid for you to stand upon or you will be taught to fly.”

 

The Centenarian Chocolatier

Chocolate-maker Borzeix-Besse has been a staple of the industry since 1909. Launched in Treignac by Pierre and Clémence Borzeix, it grew to become a renowned chocolatier, thanks to the efforts of four generations of craftsmen, who expanded Borzeix-Besse beyond  Treignac, by opening new stores in the Limoges and Brive-la-Gaillarde.

Borzeix-Besse  is a fierce rival of international brands. Since its inception, Borzeix-Besse strived to build its reputation as a creative chocolatier offering original design and inimitable taste. Each year marks the release of new blends, new flavors and blends of sweet and sour.

For its 110 years anniversary, Borzeix-Besse marked the occasion by creating an exceptional artwork made entirely of chocolate. The art-piece was showcased in the storefront of its Limoges store.

 The Beauty and the Beast display was made entirely from floor to ceiling from chocolate, no frame was used. The manager of Borzeix-Besse ’s Laboratory in Treignac, Rachid Makcharrade, directed the conceptualization and realization of the storefront with the help of a dozen people mobilized for the task. It took more than a year for Borzeix-Besse’s vision to be realized as it faced many challenges like  difficulty in making it resistant enough to be transported to Limoges and not crack once assembled. 600 kilos of chocolate were used in the process, scheduled to be re-melted and reused for a next art-piece.

The First of Its Kind: Forest City

Imagine having the best of both worlds, enjoying the perks of modern life without compromising your love of nature. It is the perfect blend between modernism and wild life. Imagine looking outside your window and gazing upon a marvelous forest view whilst enjoying all the comfort that urban life has to offer.

Architect and urban planner Stefano Boeri Architetti decided to make this fantasy a reality with his Liuzhou Forest City project. Inspired by his previous Vertical Forest project that he had executed in Milan in 2014, which received many international awards such as the International Highrise Award ( 2014) and the Best Tall Building Worldwide Award (2015) by CTBUH, he decided to take his pioneering concept of biodiversity in architecture, to the next level. He started off by presenting his project of Forest City in the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21), becoming one of the main actors in the debate on climate change in the field of international architecture. He got the chance to realize his vision when he was contracted to build a Forest City in north of Liuzhou, a Chinese city of about one and a half million inhabitants in the mountainous Southern province of Guangxi Liuzhou. The Liuzhou Forest City is the first prototype of its kind, an urban city in which offices, houses, hotels, hospitals and schools are almost entirely covered by plants and trees of a wide range of varieties and sizes.

The Liuzhou Forest City will be able to absorb about 10,000 tons of CO2 and 57 tons of micro-particles every year, producing about 900 tons of oxygen at the same time thereby combating the serious problem of air pollution in an effective and indepth way thanks to the multiplication of urban draining and plant surfaces. The distribution of plants not just along the avenues in parks and gardens but also on the facades of buildings means that a city already designed to be self-sufficient in terms of energy will also be able to improve air quality, reduce the average temperature of the urban heat island, generate a barrier against acoustic pollution. Completely connected, the new green city will be linked to the nearby centre of Liuzhou through a highly efficient fast railway infrastructure and a road network reserved exclusively for electrically powered cars. The Liuzhou Forest City is intended to house different types of residential areas and a full range of facilities, combining commercial and hospitality spaces and various public services including two schools and a hospital. The master plan developed by Stefano Boeri Architetti envisages a green city with all the characteristics of an urban settlement that is fully self-sufficient from an energy consumption point of view, starting with the use of geothermal energy for the interior spaces of buildings and the rooftop installation of high efficiency solar panels for the capture of renewable wind energy.

The Liuzhou Forest City construction which started in 2016 is expected to be completed by 2020. It will accommodate 30,000 residents spread over an area of ​​138.5 hectares. The community will include apartment buildings, schools, hotels, hospitals, shops and offices.

 

Thymtastic By AkelTech

Manoushe , a beloved Lebanese street food and a foreigners’ favorite, widely recognized and praised around the world. Manoushe is the Lebanese version of a pizza, it is generally eaten as a breakfast on-the-go, its crispy dough  topped with delicious zaatar (thyme) awakens all senses. It has been the talk-of-the-town and the center of many articles in renowned publications such as The Guardian, New York Times ..etc.

Engineer Abed Jawhar who spent his life providing automation solutions for the likes of PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Mars, Snickers and Procter & Gamble, decided to launch his own business: AkelTech, with food vending machines with customized features for high-quality food products.

As a ground-breaking new release, AkelTech launched a first of its kind “Manoushe ” Vending Machine called Thymtastic.

The Manoushe -producing vending machine, which was announced during the Arabnet Beirut 2019 conference last June, showed how  Manoushes  are baked inside the vending machine in only 2 minutes and enjoyed for the meager sum of $1.

Thymtastic offers all kinds of Manoushes: thyme, cheese, and kishk, with different kinds of dough: protein-based, gluten-free, brown bread, and multi-cereal.

Mirazur: the World’s Best Restaurant

The Mirazur restaurant has been bestowed the title of the best restaurant in the world.

Topping 2019’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.  This achievement doesn’t only mark a first for the restaurant but also for France, this is the first time that a French restaurant is crowned Best Restaurant in The World.

 

The Mirazur restaurant was able to dethrone Noma restaurant a two-Michelin-star restaurant run by chef René Redzepi, which had been a crowd favorite for several years. Noma restaurant had been ranked World’s Best Restaurants in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014.

The Mirazur restaurant located at the foot of the mountains overlooking the sea, near the Italian border, enjoys an idyllic setting, surrounded by lush vegetation that spreads across three levels on the hillside. Diners can relish themselves with fine dining whilst enjoying the panoramic view of the sea and the town of Menton through the large windows running all the way around.

 

The path of this three stars restaurant wasn’t easy. 2019 marks the first year that it tops the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. In 2017, it was only able to obtain the 4th place whilst in 2018 the 3rd place.

The restaurant stellar reputation, can be attributed to Chef Mauro Colagreco who had forged a style of his own.

By using his Italian-Argentinian cultural heritage. Inspired by the sea, the mountains and the fruit and vegetables grown in his own gardens, Mauro managed to invent colourful, pictorial dishes that play with textures and bold contrasts.

The Mirazur’s cuisine is a blend of three themes: Sea, garden and mountain. The combination of elements is what helped Chef Mauro Colagreco climb the lather of success and achieve first place.

 

 

The First Vegan Hotel

“Saorsa 1875”, first vegan hotel opens its doors in the Highland, United Kingdom. Jack McLaren-Stewart and his mother, Sandra, decided to tap into the veganism trend and open the first of its kind vegan hotel in Pitlochry, Perthshire. 

Ensconced by 2 acres of natural woodlands and gardens and overlooking the town of Pitlochry, Saorsa 1875 is a unique hotel dedicated to showcasing ethical luxury.

Designed for vegans, vegetarians and the plant-curious, Saorsa 1875 balances the building’s Victorian Gothic origins with modern amenities to offer a unique experience. More than a synthesis of tastes, the hotel offers the perfect antidote to the frantic pace of modern living.

The 19th-century baronial house has 11 bedrooms individually styled with a calming combination of luxurious linens, bohemian styling and antique furnishings.

Downstairs, the lounge and restaurant is a cozy all-day spot for relaxing by the fire. Our menu is completely plant-based and showcases local, seasonal and foraged produce – all washed down with craft beers, a unique wine list and cocktails inspired by the region.

The boutique vegan hotel in the gateway to the Highlands, promises their consciousness guests a uniquely luxurious experience.

3D Circus

In 1976, inspired by Austrian Peter Hajek, “Sarah Roncalli, Tochter des Mondes”, Bernhard Paul and André Heller teamed up and launched a German circus: Circus Roncalli.

The circus is one of the oldest and most successful circuses in Europe, it owns the largest circus collections in the world, including old costumes, circus books and posters, which they plan to display in a museum.

Bernhard Paul and André Heller have always been visionaries. It is thanks to their perseverance and trend-setting thinking that they managed to sustain their shows for decades. That is why, in order to follow current times and please conscientious clients, Circus Roncalli decided to replace live animals with holographic ones thus joining the fight against animal cruelty which circuses have been accused of for years.

Thanks to Bluebox and Optoma projectors , clients can see the 3D animals from their seat no matter where they are seated in the room.

The circus collaborated with Bluebox to create stunning visuals. Eleven ZU 850 laser projectors were used to create the holographic animals that include prancing horses and fierce lions.

Death Defying Swimming Pool

Compass Ceramic Pools is a UK company specialized in the professional installation of indoor and outdoor pools which has forged a solid reputation turning fantasy pools into reality.  In one of their most daring endeavor yet, Compass Ceramic decided to set-up a death defying swimming pool with a 360 degrees view of London.  The new architecture set in central London, will allow visitors to float over 200 meters above the capital’s skyline.

Pool designers at Compass Pools have developed Infinity London, the only building in the world to incorporate a 360-degree infinity pool. The concept, also referred to by the Greek lemniscate symbol (∞), features a 600,000-litre pool built right on top of a 55-storey building. The pool is made from cast acrylic rather than glass, as this material transmits light at a similar wavelength to water so that the pool will look perfectly clear.

The floor of the pool is also transparent, allowing visitors to see the swimmers and sky above. Swimmers will access the pool through a rotating spiral staircase based on the door of a submarine, rising from the pool floor when someone wants to get in or out.

Other advanced technical features include a built-in anemometer to monitor the wind speed. This is linked to a computer-controlled building management system to ensure the pool stays at the right temperature and water doesn’t get blown down to the streets below. Boasting an innovative twist on renewable energy, the pool’s heating system will use waste energy from the air condition system for the building. The hot gas that is produced as a by-product of creating cold air in the building will run through a heat exchanger to heat the water for the pool.

The pool is also fitted with a full spectrum of lights which will give the building the appearance of a sparkling jewel-topped torch at night.

Infinity London could kick off construction as early as 2020 if all the partners and contractors are confirmed. It will have a five-star international hotel on the top floors of the building with the pool used by the guests.

Infinity London’s exact location is yet to be confirmed.

 

 

Facebook Crypto-currency

Facebook, the American online social media platform, headed by founder Mark Zuckerberg, is planning to launch into the world of digital currency, a type of  currency available in electronic form, with Libra.

Libra, the newly founded entity powered by Facebook will launch in 2020. To date, 28 organizations from around the world announced plans to join the association.

Libra’s main goal is to reinvent money, transform the global economy, thus allowing people everywhere better lives. Libra will be accessible to anyone with an entry-level smartphone and data.

Facebook is also launching a subsidiary company, Calibra, which will be building financial services for Libra. Calibra’s first product will be a digital wallet for Libra, which will be available as: a standalone app and can be found in: Messenger and WhatsApp.

Libra presents several advantages:

• It’s quick and easy, no matter where you are sending, or spending, your money.
• It’s available around the world.
• It’s secure as it is built on a blockchain designed with security in mind.

With Libra, Facebook is planning to reshape the transform the global economy.