With the next update, as part of Microsoft’s 365 roadmap, Outlook users will soon be able to ‘react’ to Outlook emails without sending or receiving incremental emails.

Like Emojis 

The Microsoft ‘Reactions’ feature will enable Outlook users to choose a thumbs up, laugh, heart, celebrate, or shed a tear reaction to emails. As well as applying their own ‘sentiment’, users will soon be able to see the reaction of others to emails in Outlook. With the preview date scheduled for July and release for August, it appears that Mac users will be the first to be able to try the feature.

Competing With Social Media Platforms 

Being able to react to emails in this way is similar to how social media users have long been able to react to posts. Social media platforms such as Facebook’s WhatsApp and Snapchat have both recently announced the addition of reactions features with more emojis, and Microsoft’s reactions feature appears to be a way to compete with them. For example, on 5 May, Facebook announced the beginning of the rollout of its own ‘reactions feature’ – i.e. six different emojis. Also, back in January, Snapchat announced a major update (for iOS) which included Bitmoji Reactions (to allow for more expression), and Poll Stickers to enable emoji-powered polls in Snaps and Stories to survey friends.

Teams Emojis Expanded 

Back in January, Microsoft announced that it was increasing the number of emojis available to use as Reactions in Microsoft Teams to 800 emojis to allow users to express themselves when applying reaction to chat messages. The rollout was put back to March 2022.

Why Are Emojis So Popular? 

Some of the reasons why emojis have become so popular with web users, particularly with social media users and others involved in chats, is because they are a universal language, they save time (not always having to think of a verbal reply but still responding appropriately), there are now many of them (they offer flexibility), they can be fun, and they can quickly and clearly indicate popular opinion in responses.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

The introduction of ‘reactions’ to Outlook emails is both a competitive move by Microsoft (e.g. with WhatsApp, Facebook, Snapchat, and others who have introduced a similar feature recently) and simply to meet user needs and expectations. For example, many users involved in quickly evolving chats on collaborative working platforms and social media now value a fast, easy way to respond without having to waste time on an unnecessary, new written response. Using expanded reactions Outlook feels as though it may be a natural progression for emails and could save businesses valuable time.

The UK government’s MI5-run ‘Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure’ has launched a new app to help people spot approaches from foreign spies and organised criminals seeking sensitive information.

Really? How Big Is The Problem? 

According to MI5, it spotted 10,000 UK nationals across society being approached last year via fake social media profiles, e.g. on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Who Are The Targets? 

Although the new ‘Think Before You Link’ app can be downloaded by anybody, it is really aimed at people working in sensitive industries, those working in government (e.g. civil servants) plus those in high-tech business and in academia.

How?

According to the CPNI, hostile actors and criminals usually contact the target by posing as an interested ‘employer’ or recruitment consultant presenting a unique business opportunity. They then ask for further details about the target’s background, try to “sell” the business opportunity, insisting on discussing it privately, away from the initial website.

The CPNI says that this kind of engagement is an attempt to understand the level of access the individual has to sensitive information by drawing it out from them and then build a longer-term relationship. The idea is, of course, that the target remains unaware of the real purpose of the approach and, in some instances, they believe they are providing information to develop a legitimate business opportunity.

The Signs 

The CPNI says that some of the signs of an approach by hostile actors include offers that are ‘too good to be true’, a lack of any visible or checkable company information available online, the use of flattery, attempts to introduce urgency, selling an idea/opportunity as being scarce/ one-off or exclusive, and the imbalance of a disproportionate focus on the target’s company, rather than validating the target as a candidate.

How Can The App Stop This From Happening? 

The ‘Think Before You Link’ app, designed with the help of behavioural scientists, uses the following features to help protect the users from approaches by spies and scammers:

– Interactive learning to provide the user with the knowledge of how to spot malicious approaches. This includes tailored content and case studies with more relevance to the user’s sector and role.

– A social media profile reviewer which includes a built-in reverse image search to identify profile pictures which may be re-used from other sites and includes self-answer questions.

– A reporting mechanism to help the user to report a profile that might be malicious.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

With threats such as economic espionage, worries about how states such as China and Russia using social media to influence opinion, a proliferation of online scams (e.g. recent ones using the situation in Ukraine), and news of Pegasus spyware at 10 Downing Street, fears are running high. This app may be a useful way to educate, alert and remind those in sensitive professions of today’s threats as well as providing a fast and handy way for reporting which could help provide a more accurate picture of the type and range of security threats and help enable faster and better responses. Although most of us are unlikely to be targeted by spies, at least this app may stop and flag-up some of the many security compromises via fake social media profiles. It may also provide a way for the government to gather evidence that may be used to put more pressure on the major social media companies to do more to tackle the problem of fake profiles.

In this insight, we look at the development, applications, and issues relating to new ‘smart eye’ wearables such as smart glasses and contact lenses.

Smart Contact Lenses 

Smart contact lenses, such as those in development by health and technology company Mojo, use a tiny micro-LED display the size of a grain of sand to display information to the wearer (augmented reality). The lenses, which are still in development, also include smart sensors powered by solid-state batteries built into a scleral lens that can correct the wearer’s vision.

The company notes on its blog that there is now a broad acceptance of wearable technology, but other wearables have limitations, e.g. for those engaged in sport and workouts. For example, Mojo’s research found that 68 per cent of respondents find it often difficult to check a device during their workout.  Mojo’s smart contact lenses may, therefore, have an advantage over smart watches and fitness bands because users don’t have to interrupt their activity to check them, plus they can provide better access to data during performance. Although Mojo’s current focus appears to be using the lenses for sport, they could clearly have many other applications.

Other companies are also developing their own versions of smart contact lenses. For example, as far back as 2016, Samsung patented smart lenses with built-in cameras capable of recording video and taking pictures. Sony is also known to have been experimenting with smart contact lenses for many years.

UK company Specsavers notes on its website that smart contact lenses could help manage the five most common eye conditions in the future: cataracts, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and retinal detachment. The company says that smart contact lenses already offer a non-invasive way to monitor glucose and capture spontaneous changes in the eyes to help doctors treat glaucoma.

Smart Glasses 

There have been many developments in the smart glasses market in recent years.

Google ‘Glass’ is the tech giant’s smart glasses product. The ‘Glass’ that smart glasses incorporates cameras and provide the wearer with AR displays and information in their peripheral vision area. The Enterprise Edition glasses can be used in a wide variety of industries to give workers hands-free access to information while working and to enable them to share what they are seeing (via the camera). This can enable triaging and getting help and advice (real-time collaboration) leading to faster problem solving and improved productivity. The ‘Glass’ smart glasses have been used in includes healthcare, warehouse order picking, supply chain management and logistics. Google’s ‘Meet on Glass’ also allows meeting participants to experience a first-person view of the Glass wearer’s perspective and collaborate with the video meeting in real time.

American company Vuzix has developed smart AR binocular glasses that can enable business owners, operators, and workers access to ‘the metaverse’. Vuzix’s hands-free and voice-activated glasses (which also incorporate HD stereo cameras) can be used to access to AR tools in healthcare (surgeons while operating), warehousing (helping with stocking, order picking and real-time decision-making support), field service, and other industries. The company also says that its glasses can link up with collaborative working and communications platforms. Back in 2019, Vuzix also developed smart glasses that incorporated facial recognition algorithms from Dubai-based company NNTC that could be used by security and law enforcement for covert surveillance.

Meta / Facebook Ray-Ban ‘Stories’ smart sunglasses incorporate dual integrated 5MP cameras enabling the wearer to take photos and up to 30-second videos using a capture button or hands-free voice commands. Meta says that the glasses also allow the wearer to share their “adventures” and listen to music or take phone calls.

Challenges

There are, however, several challenges to the expansion and further development of wearables like smart contact lenses and glasses. These challenges include:

– Compliance with privacy laws such as GDPR. Glasses that take pictures and videos of people without their consent, along with how those pictures and videos are stored and shared are a matter for privacy regulations.

– The nanotechnology involved in smart contact lenses, along with how to link the different technologies together successfully is a significant challenge, which is one of the reasons why these types of smart wearables have taken years to develop.

– Getting approval for the use of smart optics in certain settings, such as in healthcare, is something that may take time in different countries.

– Marketing what are essentially new, high-price technical products such as smart glasses is a challenge in itself.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

The use of smart optics in many different industries has already proven itself to improve effectiveness and productivity, and to allow better real-time problem-solving and communication, all of which can add value and improve competitiveness for businesses. Smart contact lenses are a really interesting and exciting development in hands-free AR assistance for workers, athletes, and even as a way to monitor eye health and help catch potentially serious eye conditions early on. Also, the fact that they are not outwardly visible (like glasses) may make them particularly well-suited to professions where surveillance is required. There are, however, challenges both technical and legal (privacy) to overcome before the further development and wider use of these types of wearables can start to enter the mainstream with greater regulation expected along the way.

If you have a touchscreen PC, Windows 11 gives you the option to customise the touch keyboard with different colours and themes. Here’s how:

– To enable the touch keyboard in the first place, right-click the taskbar and select ‘Taskbar settings’.

– Click on ‘Touch keyboard’ to turn it on.

– To customise the touch keyboard, press the ‘Windows’ key to ‘|’ hotkey to launch ‘Settings’.

– Select the ‘Personalisation’ tab and double-click ‘Touch keyboard’.

– Choose a new touch keyboard colour theme.

– Alternatively, click the ‘Customized theme’ radio button and ‘Edit’ to set up a touch keyboard theme with your own colour choices.

– Click on the ‘Save’ button.

Following last month’s announcement, Meta’s WhatsApp is rolling-out emojis and the ability to share files within WhatsApp up to 2GB in size.

Communities 

The new features are being added as part of WhatsApp’s “vision for Communities” where the idea is to “help people have the next best thing to an in-person conversation when they want to talk to an individual or a group of friends or family”. The Communities vision is also being introduced to cater for organisations like schools, local clubs, and non-profit organisations which may now rely on WhatsApp, and need to send updates to the entire Community, and easily organise smaller discussion groups within them.

Reactions 

On 5 May, Mark Zuckerberg posted on his Facebook/Meta wall that “Reactions on WhatsApp start rolling out today”. This refers to the announcement last month that WhatsApp beta version 22.9.0.71 would include reactions, group polls, and the ability to make communities with an increase in the size of files that can be shared to from 100MB to 2GB.

Reactions are six different emojis – a red heart, thumbs up, laughter, a sad face, a surprised face/wow, and a “thanks” emoji. WhatsApp has also said that it will add support for more emojis and skin tones in the future.

How To Use Reactions 

After users have updated their WhatsApp to beta version 22.9.0.71, to react to a message (with one of the emojis), users just need to tap and hold a chat bubble.

Particularly Useful In Group Chats 

The reactions feature may prove to be particularly useful in busy group chats by allowing a simple emoji response rather than always requiring a reply. As WhatsApp says, “they reduce overload in groups”. 

There is also speculation that it may soon be possible to use GIFs or stickers in the response options for users.

More People Being Added To Chats 

WhatsApp has also announced that, in response to requests from users, it is giving the option to add more people to a chat, and so is slowly rolling out the ability to add up to 512 people to a group.

Voice Messaging 

Back In April, WhatsApp also announced that it would soon be improving its voice messaging with new features like ‘Out of Chat Playback’, ‘Pause/Resume Recording’, ‘Waveform Visualization’, ‘Draft Preview’, ‘Remember Playback’ (if interrupted), and ‘Fast Playback on Forwarded Messages’.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?   

These reactions, increased file sharing size, and many of the other new features added to WhatsApp (and promised to be added soon) are all part of a big push by Facebook/Meta to stay at the top of the free encrypted messaging app market and compete with rivals like Snapchat. For example, in January, Snapchat announced a major update (for iOS) which included improved calling, ‘Chat Replies’, Bitmoji Reactions (to allow for more expression), and Poll Stickers to enable emoji-powered polls in Snaps and Stories to survey friends. Meta also wants to consolidate and leverage the power of its other popular apps by integrating and making Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram interoperable.

Communities is also about Meta capitalising on the fact that many non-profit organisations, as well as businesses now use WhatsApp, and that building in more engagement and loyalty among these valuable segments could also deliver competitive advantage and benefits. This follows attempts dating back to 2018 to woo small businesses (of which there is a large number) with WhatsApp Business followed by its testing of a multi-device capability to appeal to multi-device owning (business) users. The reactions announcement is, therefore, part of a ‘drip, drip’ approach of value adding features that Meta hopes will help WhatsApp compete with the likes of Snapchat and other chat apps used by individuals, businesses and organisations (such a Slack), and aspects of other collaborative work and communications platforms (Teams, Google Workspace, and Zoom).

In this insight, we look what ereaders are, their strengths and weaknesses, and popular makes and models.

Ereaders 

Ereaders / e-book readers / e-book devices are mobile electronic devices that look similar to tablets and are designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital e-books, newspapers and magazines which the user downloads to the device. Ereaders mostly have ‘electronic paper’ screens to make them easy to read plus give them a long battery life. For most users, a Wi-Fi-only e-reader rather than having a connection is usually enough.

Users typically pay a monthly subscription to read the ebooks. Ereaders are useful as a relaxation or work tool.

The Two main companies who currently dominate the ereader market globally are Amazon (with its Kindle ereaders) and Kobo.

Brief History 

Following the development of electronic paper (by E Ink Corporation) in 1997, which allowed a display screen to reflect light like ordinary paper without the need for a backlight, the first commercial ereaders were introduced. These were Sony’s Data Discman and the Rocket eBook, followed by the Sony Librie (2004), Sony Reader (2006), and the highly popular Amazon Kindle, released 2007. Apple joined the market with its multi-function iPad which included an iBooks e-reading app linking to the iBookstore. Ereaders have been improved with added features and vast numbers of publications available ensuring sales of ebooks and ereaders have increased. For example, in the US in 2021, ebook revenue was $892.5 million. Physical books, however, still outsell ebooks. For example, in the US in 2021, only 23 percent of the population purchased an e-book, compared to 45 percent who bought a printed book (Statista’s Advertising & Media Outlook).

Advantages of Ereaders 

The main advantages of readers are:

– They’re portable like a book but can hold thousands of books while weighing less than a single book.

– There is a huge amount of choice and ebooks can be delivered to the ereader as soon as they’re purchased with no waiting, and no wasted journeys to find books that aren’t in stock.

– The cost of books can work out cheaper (no shipping and handling costs).

– Ereaders incorporate other features that books don’t have, e.g. the screen / text size is adjustable, and they contain multi-media elements (audio and video).

– It’s easier to mark passages, save pages and search text.

-It’s easier to use an ereader to read a book in the dark.

Some of the disadvantages of screen readers are:

– The cost of the ereader and the subscription, e.g. if the user is a light reader anyway.

– They rely on electronic charging and battery life to function.

– The wide choice of different ereaders available may make it difficult to choose the right one.

– Books from one type of ereader may not be compatible with another.

– Ebook files don’t last as long as physical books.

– Ereaders are harder to read in bright sunlight and may not be a good option to leave in the heat, e.g. reading them in the sun on holiday.

What To Look For When Choosing An Ereader 

Some of the factors to consider (in addition to the price) when choosing which ereader to buy could include:

– Screen type. Whether it has an unlit, paper-like display like E Ink (doesn’t drain much battery and reduces eye strain), or an LCD screen like a phone, or a hybrid version.

– Size and weight. Whether you need a big screen or pocket-sized portability, screen size and resolution.

– Which interface is preferable – buttons, a touchscreen, or a combination of both.

– The battery life.

– Which ebook stores they can directly access, which affects the choice available. For example, Kindle has access to Amazon’s online bookstore, but the Nook and Kobo have access to Barnes & Noble and Borders.

– Memory capability and capacity, i.e. how much media fits in the device / how many books they can hold at one time.

– Audiobook capability. Not every model offers audiobook capability.

– Compatibility of formats. For example, ebooks purchased via one platform may not be compatible with another.

Makes And Models

Popular makes/models of ereaders include:

– Kobo Libra 2. This touchscreen ereader has 32GB storage, a 7-inch screen, a battery life of up to 6 weeks, fast USB-C charging, and is priced at around £160. Kobo says it can take up to 24,000 eBooks, 150 Kobo Audiobooks, or a combination of both. Drawbacks include that its it won’t take Amazon purchases (for Kindle) because it uses its own proprietary format and trying to make it do so involves the use of different apps to convert them.

– Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2021). This touchscreen ereader has 8GB storage, a 6.8-inch, and a battery life of up to 10 weeks, and fast USB-C charging. Amazon says that it has up to 20 per cent faster page turns than its predecessor.

– Amazon’s Kindle Oasis (2019 version) is waterproof and is lighter than the Kobo Libra 2 and it comes with 8GB up to 23GB storage options.

– The Kobo Clara HD is regarded as being a budget ereader with 8GB, as 6-inch screen, and a battery life of up to 4 weeks

– The Kobo Elipsa has been described as expensive, has a 10.3-inch, a touchscreen, a battery life of up to 4 weeks, and comes with a stylus.

– The Onyx Boox Max Lumi 2 has a 13.3-inch screen, 128GB storage, and a battery life of up to 4 days.

– The Barnes & Noble Nook GlowLight Plus has a 7.8-inch screen, 8GB storage, and up to 2 weeks battery life.

– The Sony Digital Paper has a 10.3-inch screen, 16 GB storage, and a battery life of up to 3 weeks.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

The ereader market is dominated by Amazon’s Kindle models and Canadian company Rakuten Kobo Inc (Kobo) and as such their products are the most popular. Ereaders have the advantage of giving access to thousands of books through something that is lighter and thinner than a single book. Ereaders haven’t yet made ebooks more popular than physical books, but they have been growing in popularity since first Kindle arrived 15 years ago. Although purchasing the device is quite expensive, users appreciate the convenience and that simply being able to download and store multiple (cheaper) books is attractive. Of course, they have their disadvantages (battery life, incompatibilities between brands), and to some book consumers, they just don’t have the charm of the real thing. However, the sales speak for themselves and ereaders offer a convenient and flexible tech alternative to paper books.