Digital outsourcing contributes 5.6% to Indian economy.

There are three reasons why digital outsourcing will gain in momentum:

• accelerating digitalisation of all segments of economy during pandemics.
• migration of economy to cloud
• mainstreaming of remote work

Digital outsourcing will gain in importance because of crisis in Ukraine and Russia, an important software developer hubs as well geo-political tensions with China.

However, India faces a few problems with digital outsourcing:

• more and more push to have support in the region or at least in the same time-zone
• pressure from countries to reduce cross-border data flows especially in critical and confidential areas.
• protectionism and push for employing local workfoce.

This opens new possibilities, in particular, for countries in the Balkans and Eastern Europe when it comes to European market.

The most important points regarding influencers

Influencers are an integral part of the digital economy.

It's difficult to tell the difference between entertainment and e-commerce in an 'influencer economy.

Influencer could gain more importance in digital advertising, as traditional Google/Facebook ads may be more affected by privacy regulations and filtering.

China has started to regulate influencers. Global regulators will expect influencers to communicate clearly to followers that their work is commercial.

Main brands are increasingly relying on influencers to be their ambassadors.

China, where influencers became more prominent earlier than in Western countries, is estimated that influencers contribute 1.4% towards the country's GDP. The Economist explains how the rapid rise in economic importance of influencers opens many business, regulatory and policy issues.

Influencers are becoming a strong competitor for traditional brand ambassadors (actors and sportsmen, etc.). ).

Influencers have a greater impact on Gen-Z who will become the major consumers in coming years.

China will regulate influencers' economic and Internet roles. Others regulators have plans for influencers to indicate their posts in advertisements.

On the risk side, influencers could 'cheapen' some brands, such as Louis Vuitton.

For advertising companies, influencers are also more difficult than traditional brand ambassadors to manage and direct

Major brands will need more influencers to help them with their advertising campaigns, despite all possible difficulties.

Google and Apple may soon end their 30% cut on app sales in their stores.

This monopoly was challenged by app developers. However, the main challenge for app monopolies is coming from Brussels.

The EU's Digital Market Act is (DMA), which will be in force in 2023, will require mobile platforms to allow "sideloading" directly from the internet.

It is intended to eliminate monopoly and increase competition in the apps market. Google permits 'sideloading'. Apple does not. DMA will punish offenders with fines of up to 20% of their worldwide revenues.

The lobbying battle began. Apple's boss Tim Cook said sideloading would "destroy" the iPhone's security. Apple will likely have to make a trade with it.

||Pavlina||||StephanieBP||||sorina||

According to the Economist Silicon Valley has changed in post-Covid age in the following ways:

• The Silicon Valley spirit is spreading worldwide. To benefit from the funding, talent, and know-how, you don't need to physically be in Silicon Valley. New emerging digital hubs in the USA are Austin and New York.
• Europe is gaining digital momentum. Venture capital investment in Europe has risen from under $40 billion in 2019 to over $93 billion last year
• Fund-raising is getting easier and faster You can pitch venture capital via Zoom or recorded video."Promising startups can raise funds in days instead of weeks."

Real life is increasingly lived online, both at peace and at war is the conclusion of the Economist analysis of digital aspects of the Ukraine war.

More specifically this article higlightes the following points:

• it is the first war between two wired countries with population with solid digital culture.
• between 2014 and 2022, Ukraine shifted online towards west from moving from Russian platform VKontakt to Western tech platforms via digital workforce growing and working for western market.
• images, videos and media coverage triggers emotions and engagement. Social media and digital technology are used as major amplifier of multimedia content.
• Media and TV experience of President Zelensky (a former TV star) helped in communicating effectively online as oppositie to Russian very 'Soviet style' communication.
• Ukrainians organised in 'online guerilla' style by combining their skills and talents from designing to video production and online promotion.
• Ukrainian narrative gained a lot of traction in the west, which also triggered public pressure on politicians and fast action on sanctions by the Western leaders.
• Unlike Western socieities, Russian narrative gains more traction in developing countries by triggering existing anti-Western sentiments.
• Social media is used effectievely for military intelligence as citizens can share images, videos and other materials without any filtering.
• Researchers and analysists complain that there is a very little reliable data from tech platforms on the use of data and information during the Ukraine war.

Real life is increasingly lived online, both at peace and at war is the conclusion of the Economist analysis of digital aspects of the Ukraine war.

More specifically this article higlightes the following points:

• it is the first war between two wired countries with population with solid digital culture.
• between 2014 and 2022, Ukraine shifted online towards west from moving from Russian platform VKontakt to Western tech platforms via digital workforce growing and working for western market.
• images, videos and media coverage triggers emotions and engagement. Social media and digital technology are used as major amplifier of multimedia content.
• Media and TV experience of President Zelensky (a former TV star) helped in communicating effectively online as oppositie to Russian very 'Soviet style' communication.
• Ukrainians organised in 'online guerilla' style by combining their skills and talents from designing to video production and online promotion.
• Ukrainian narrative gained a lot of traction in the west, which also triggered public pressure on politicians and fast action on sanctions by the Western leaders.
• Unlike Western socieities, Russian narrative gains more traction in developing countries by triggering existing anti-Western sentiments.
• Social media is used effectievely for military intelligence as citizens can share images, videos and other materials without any filtering.
• Researchers and analysists complain that there is a very little reliable data from tech platforms on the use of data and information during the Ukraine war.

this is to be deleted

Title: Cyber-aggression on Russia will not go unpunished Content: The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs warns those who have unleashed ‘cyber aggression’ against Russia would face severe consequences. There has been an increase in cyberattacks on Russian government institutions, mass media, and critical infrastructure and such actions will not go unpunished. ‘The sources of the attacks will be detected, the attackers will inevitably bear responsibility for their deeds, in accordance with the requirements of the law,’ the foreign ministry statement said, reported Tass. The ministry further accused the United States and other NATO countries of training Ukrainian IT forces to conduct cyber attacks and claimed that anonymous hackers are 'acting on orders from the Western curators of the Kyiv regime.' Highlighting that the 'army of cyber-mercenaries' operations are often on the point of 'all-out terrorism'. Tags: Ukraine conflict, Cyberconflict and warfare, Network security source: https://interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/77552/

Test - to be deleted

TITLE: Youtube and Russia CONTENT:xyxyxyxyxy

TOPIC: information war

TITLE: China's fast move to Metaverse

CONTENT: The Chinese Academy of Governance, a key training school for government officials, started using Metaverse-based training for party officials.

The platform is develped by Chinese virtual reality company Mengke VR. It has typical features of virtual reality faciltiating avatars' moving around and interacting with each other.

It is definitely more interesting than as Megke VR stated 'rather boring' traditional buildings of the Party.

There are a few interesting aspects of this move:

• Chinese leadership is trying to connect via Metavrse to Chinese youth which is using online games a lot.
• It is also sign of cutting edge tech approach by China.
• A few security issues have been raised.

TOPICS: metaverse diplomacy, metavrse

SOURCE: https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3172135/communist-party-school-china-taps-metaverse-concept-train-cadres?utm_source=rss_feed

This text explains deeper roots of the ideology behind Russia's war against Ukraine. The key points are:

• Russia's shift from modernisation towards conservative priorities.
• Ideology is build around idea of 'Russian World' building on shared ethnicity, religion and heritage.
• 'Russian world' ideology is implemented by people from security aparatus who came from Putin's circle in intelegence and military communities.
• Putin's 'contract with Russian people' is built around idea of better life. It is not clear how strong will be national feelings in medium and long run.
• COVID-19 pandemics harden ideological stakes in Russia and most likely worldwide. It is an interesting topic for research on deeper cultural and societal impacts of pandemics.
• Putin is reverting to conservative thinkers from Russian history including Konstantin Leontyev.

TITLE: West does not understand how Russia funciton

CONTENT: Former head of the CNN bureaue in Moscow summarises the following misunderstandings about Russia and current crisis:

• lack of property rights and legal certainty makes the political power the main power in Russian society;
• oligarhs are much less important for Russia than it looks form outside.
• siloviki hold the most of power in Russia. They are part of Putin's inner circle originating from KGB and Military. They keep their money in Russia.

Pressure on Putin's regime can work via sanctions

• on oil as the main source of wealth in Russia;
• on high tech which is used by Russian military industry.

These sanctions can become effective only with support of China and Indi.

Source: New York Times

CEO of Black Rock, one of the biggest global investment fund, declared the end of globalisation we know as an impact of the Ukraine war.

On 24 March, Larry Fink wrote in his letter

'companies and governments will also be looking more broadly at their dependencies on other nations. This may lead companies to onshore or nearshore more of their operations, resulting in a faster pull back from some countries.'

He said that

“Mexico, Brazil, the United States, or manufacturing hubs in Southeast Asia could stand to benefit”

Black Rock will be focusing on digital currencies in the rapidly changing global economic environment.

After long negotiations, U.S. & EU agreed to establish Trans-Atlantic Data Security Framework. This framework is designed to facilitate data transfers across the Atlantic.

This Framework addresses EU concerns about surveillance of EU citizens' data by

• introducing principles of necessary and proportionate measures of surveillance.
• companies will have to adhere to the Privacy Shield Principles including 'the requirement to self-certify their adherence to the Principles through the U.S. Department of Commerce.
• oversight of signals intelligence activities (mainly NSA)
• an independent Data Protection Review Court that 'would consist of individuals chosen from outside the U.S. Government who would have full authority to adjudicate claims and direct remedial measures as needed;'

Next is the adoption of the Framework via legal mechanisms in U.S.A. or EU of the Framework. It will be done in the U.S. through an Executive Order.