A trainee in the field of Archaeology with a specific interest in the study of Cultural Heritage, I am currently pursuing my M.Phil degree in Ancient Indian History, Culture, and Archaeology from Visva-Bharati University in India.

I have participated in a couple of archaeological excavations and explorations in India since 2016. These are some of the examples which helped me to gain practical knowledge in this field of study. I have also worked as a documentation assistant in the project of ‘National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities’, led by the Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India during 2016 – 17 season.

Apart from that, I have been associated with organizing events related to Gender-Equality during my Masters course. I also hold a keen interest in poetry writing and with the blessings of my well-wishers, I, somehow have managed to publish my first book on a small collection of poetry in Bengali language (my mother tongue) in October 2019.

Do you think that knowing our past is essential for the development of today’s society? Why?

Yes, definitely it is. Our culture is anyhow a major component of our own identity. Thus, it is not only essential to know about this but also, we should establish our belongingness to our culture.

The real reason for the emphasis on understanding the past culture is to understand the process behind our evolution, in terms of biological, cultural, social, and so on. Knowing this process can help us to understand our present position as a human being.

In this way, the study of our past culture is beneficial for us. Firstly, it helps to preserve our own identity. Secondly, it helps us to locate the trials and errors done in the past, which, somehow, definitely can lead us to make a better future for us and our successors.

In your opinion, are modern digital technologies helpful for archaeology? How?

Progressive developments in the field of modern digital technologies are a boon to the discipline of Archaeology. Digitization, as a part of this package, has been shaping archaeology through several innovative ways.

For example, I would like to quote a kind of exponential growth in the application of ‘Virtual Models’ by museums, educational institutions, private organizations, and so on. This concept of virtual models not only helps in disseminating the knowledge about our cultural heritage but also, it somehow democratizes our culture, which denotes to the easy and open accessibilities.

Apart from this, podcasts and blogging platforms are some of the digital realms working innovatively in the application of digital technologies in the study of archaeology and cultural heritage.

Here, one aspect must be noted. It is, keeping them as lively as they are in their physical form while initiating the digitization process. The belongingness or in other words, the emotional and psychological connections of us, the stakeholder of our culture must be fused in the digitization process. Then only, its optimum use can be possible. And, of course, it will also help in promoting the cause of archaeology and its need in today’s society.

What is the best way to make more people feel engaged on archaeology, culture, and preservation of historical monuments?

Well, it is the most crucial aspect of heritage studies. While we talk about engaging the people with the preservation of our culture, we must remind one thing – it is not all about just making them aware of big archaeological sites or historical monuments. We must consider the way they perceive the past.

Thus, emphasis on the study of ‘Local History’ as well as ‘Ethno-archaeology’ is very important, specifically for a country like India which has huge possibilities in these fields of study.

Apart from these, we must include the local people in the process of documentation of any cultural heritage. This helps in the inception of their belongingness towards cultural heritage.

How can blogging and social media presence increase the overall interest in heritage preservation? 

Let’s first consider the platform of blogging. I would like to mention that I, myself have been working as a part-time blogger at www.ancientegyptianfacts.com for more than two years. Here, I usually write short and simple blogs on the cultural heritage of ancient Egypt, particularly for school children centric audiences, and it has a fair good organic traffic on a regular basis.

Thus, based on my experience, I can say that, yes, blogging can really grow overall interest in heritage awareness and preservation. Although, there are some points that need some serious consideration such as the use of methodologies in writing the blogs, the use of primary resources, authenticity and reliability of the data, etc. These points should be seriously taken into consideration while blogging for heritage awareness.

Now, let’s talk about social media presence. Well, it has both positive and negative impacts on the study of archaeology and cultural heritage. Nowadays, every other person is a ‘Social Media Scholar’ and that’s a serious issue as it really makes the social media environment every chaotic.

Thus, using social media in a sensible manner is important in this regard. It should not be operated through a specific ideologically driven way. Because, in this era of ‘Post-Truth’, where truth is becoming what the majority believes to be the truth, there are serious consequences in using social media for any kind of heritage awareness as it may  be used as a shield for personal or organizational gain.

Lastly, I would like to say that we always should focus on the positive side of these platforms and try to enhance it to reach the optimum purpose of heritage awareness campaigns or activities.

The post Are Modern Digital Technologies Helpful for Archaeology? appeared first on DiTech Media.

I am a computer science engineer by background and have done a leadership course from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a blockchain strategy course from Oxford University. I have over 10+ years of IT consulting experience working with global teams. I am very passionate about inclusion, sustainability, and climate impact and am working towards fostering sustainable aquaculture practices.

I am currently heading operations at Government Blockchain Association UK.

GBA is a global non-profit organization focused on promoting blockchain technology. GBA has 120 chapters and 15K+ members worldwide.

I am also leading the ‘Sustainable and Environmental Stewardship’ working group.

Can you tell me more about agriculture in your country and how the sector is doing over there?

The UK is undoubtedly at the forefront of agri-tech, with British farmers, agri-tech companies, and research centers leading the way using technologies like data analytics, robotics, and AI to help create new solutions and herald innovations. I believe a similar amount of energy and drive is needed in the aquaculture space to embrace and encourage technological innovations that will lead to an even more prosperous and sustainable future.

Which are the most innovative agriculture practices that are changing the world in your opinion?

The agriculture industry has experienced a massive technological shift with precision agriculture powered by drones, sensors, and farm management software using AI & ML algorithms. Environmental controls, transgenic crops, smart packaging technology, and traceability of produce are some remarkably exciting developments. Blockchain is being used for supply chain traceability and resource management and driving social and financial inclusion for farmers.

What current and upcoming developments in your field are you most excited about?

I am excited about both production and post-harvest technologies, e.g., smart packaging and traceability in the supply chain. I am excited to see companies like IntelliAqua (www.intelliaqua.com) forging partnerships with industry bodies to bring positive change to the entire ecosystem. Within the aquaculture industry, I am excited about disease diagnosis and advisory technology. Every year, tonnes of produce gets wasted due to disease outbreak. Early detection or prevention advisory can help farmers take appropriate action, save a lot of money and effort, and ensure the ecological harmony.

Why do we need innovation in agriculture?

The human population is expected to grow to 8.3 billion by 2030, needing 35% more food than we produce today. We must understand ways of feeding the growing population without overwhelming the planet. The green revolution and the blue revolution have increased yields across countries using better crop/produce varieties, more fertilizers, pesticides, and machines but at tremendous environmental costs. As such, sustainably farmed food is becoming the solution to the world’s food problem.

How do you imagine the future of agriculture to look like?

True inclusion is when all people, at all times, have physical, economic, and social access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food. I envision companies and organizations taking cues from the lessons learnt thus far and progressing towards more sustainable farm and post-harvest operations.

The post Why do we need innovation in agriculture? appeared first on DiTech Media.

Ms. Busby, can you tell more about yourself to our readers?

I’ve spent 10 years working in global content marketing operations across very different sectors: real estate, publishing, SaaS, e-gaming, recruitment. In each case, the attitude towards marketing – and social media especially – was wildly different. For some companies, marketing influenced every aspect of the business, the products, the pricing, you name it. For other companies, the marketing team was a small group of people coming up with a “plan” to sell to the C-suite. It was an after-thought. It’s been important to experience both environments, and understand how to identify and drive value whether bootstrapping or working with significant budget.

How do you define the influence of social media channels over people’s private and professional life?

Well, social media has definitely changed since MySpace became a household name in the early 2000s!

Today, social media platforms are used by one in three people, and more than two thirds of all internet users. It’s an incredibly large number. Now whereas sites like Facebook used to be more about showcasing your personal life and connecting with friends, in 2020, each social media platform is a mix of personal and professional and news. One minute you’ll see a video of your relative’s baby, the next a photo of product that you were searching for yesterday, the next an interesting article about Kanye West’s morning routine.  The lines are totally blurred. And perhaps in part due to that, businesses are using social media more and more to cash in on the rich source of prospects that consume content there.

Do you think that the rapidly changing social media content has influence on people’s judgement of who they really are? Why is that?

For those of us who don’t log into social media and who’s life revolves around seeing people face-to-face all the time, social media is simply not a big deal. It’s probably more of an annoyance, if anything.

But for over half the world’s population, and I count myself as part of that demographic, we’re using our mobile devices in every spare moment we get, we’re documenting our daily experiences on Instagram, we are using LinkedIn to build online relationships, so yes, social media hugely influences who we think we are, and how we are perceived by others.

We have very edited lives. To look at someone’s social media account, you’d be forgiven for thinking that they’d ever had a bad day in their lives. There is a battle to remain authentic.

What are the main trends that shape social media content nowadays?

Businesses are now looking at social media channels as a place to build a growth or conversion strategy, rather than just a place to put content.

Local targeting is a hot topic, particularly multinational businesses who strive to find a balance between being globally and locally relevant.

There’s definitely been a rise of employee and customer advocacy, and perhaps related, a dip in companies using “influencers” simply because they produce nice content and have big followings.

In your opinion, what are the advantages of multi-format content?

Different formats create different effects. A photo is a snapshot that doesn’t tell you the whole story, it gives a taste and builds anticipation. A video is a relationship-builder, it’s an invitation to get “close” and test whether what you’re seeing is something you could grow to like, or even trust. An article is a pain reliever. If done well, it should feel like a world-class expert is giving you a one-on-on tutorial. The advantages of using all these formats as part of your content mix is that you are maximizing your chances of winning the engagement of a diverse group of people who have different needs, moods and wants in the moment they come into contact with the content.

What is the best advice you have ever received as a social media marketer?

Master the technical side of social media!

Social media is both technical and creative, although the technical part doesn’t get as much exposure. We see social media posts with copy, photos and videos and think that’s all there is to it.

One of my colleagues produces so much social media content across his multiple social media accounts I jokingly asked him if he did anything else – but of course he could achieve that, do his day job, be with his family and get a decent night’s sleep because he mastered social media automation.

The post What are the Main Trends That Shape Social Media Content Nowadays? appeared first on DiTech Media.

After the apartheid in South Africa was abolished in 1994 the new democratic government deemed the reconstruction of South African history vital to the revival of the diverse cultural groups that had been suppressed during the apartheid.  The process of rewriting the exclusionary history cultivated by the bias views of the apartheid supporters also meant that the reconstruction of anthropological education was a necessity. This task meant new curriculums for the education of South Africans; the dismantling of the biased history already in place, including the “Bushman” diorama and finally correcting the vile maltreatment of South African remains in academic institutions and museums both nationally and internationally. 

For South Africa to be able to show the world what it meant to be South African from a historical and anthropological sense, the newly democratic country had to be able to meet the international academic community on equal footing. This was a monumental task, especially when much of what the world saw as South African cultural history was tinted by the bias representations provided by colonialism, Eurocentric criticism and scientific racism. These interpretations had stripped South African remains of their humanity and depicted them as sub-human or animalistic savages. To combat this incorrect representation the South African government rewrote history, removing the false information with new curriculums that contained information about the rich and varied cultural histories of the peoples of South Africa. The goal was to instill “pride in African history and identity”. The target audience for the new programs and curriculums was “primary and secondary school students, strengthening the image of these initiatives as re-writing history from the bottom up”.

The “Bushman” diorama (figure 1) displayed in the Iziko South African Museum made by Margaret Shaw in 1959-1960 out of resin casts (created by James Drury) depicted the Khoisan of South Africa as savage hunter gathers, similar to depictions of prehistoric early humans. They were shown as being part of an obsolete world that had no chance at surviving in the “civilized” modern world. This view of the Khoisan peoples contributed to the colonial view that the peoples of South Africa were of a lesser status that those of European decent and reinforced the apartheid opinion that South African groups needed to be controlled by the Caucasian minority while being kept separate from other racial populations. To remedy this damning representation the South African government took the diorama, which had been on display “for over 40 years” and closed it in 2001. The Iziko Council debated what to do with the offensive diorama. In 2011 the council deemed the resin casts as “unethically collected human remains” the casts were removed from the diorama and replaced with wire figures. The diorama was reopened to the public in 2013 having been altered to show a more respectful and accurate representation of the Khoisan people.

The greatest change made to South African museum practices was their view and treatment of South African human remains. Instead of allowing the remains to continue on as nameless specimens that represented blanket interpretations of cultural groups the South African government strove to give the remains their humanity back. Allowing them to be see as individuals deserving of respect and their basic human rights. As individuals the remains deserved to be treated with dignity and their cultural traditions acknowledged and respected, including funeral practices. Quoting Jacob Zuma, Ciraj Rassool in  Re-storing the Skeletons of Empire: Return, Reburial and Rehumanisation in Southern Africa stated that when the remains’ human status was acknowledged it

“turned them not only into humans, but also into subjects of history. Their dead bodies, transformed from objects of race to those of subjects of history through cultural ceremony and political ritual, becoming significant to the nation”.

Rassool also quoted Zuma saying that

“no museum ‘must have a collection or material that depicts any section of the South African population as colonial objects”.

The desire to see South African remains housed in museums and educational institutions did not end at the borders of South Africa. The country joined an international effort to see all remains treated with the respect that their cultural groups demanded.

The case with Sarah Baartman was a perfect example. She was a Khoi Khoi woman who was on display at the Musee de L’homme after her death in 1816 until her return and internment in South Africa August 9th, 2002. During her life she suffered inexcusable hardships and abuse. She was taken in an attack during her wedding ceremony and she ended up working as a slave for the farmer Peter Cezar. She was then contracted by his brother Hendric Cezar to go to Europe and preform as the Hottentot Venus. Once in England she was subjected to grueling workloads and treated as an object of curiosity and sick fascination. Due to her large buttocks, she differed from the European ideal and this made her less than human in their eyes. Naturalists were fascinated by her genitalia and disregarded any sense of decorum or respect when regarding her. After she was moved to France and sold to Reaux, an animal trainer, she died at the age of twenty-six. Her body was further abused when it was given to the Museum of Natural History; a cast was made of her corpse, her reproductive organs were removed along with her brain, preserved in jars and finally her skeleton was de-fleshed and prepared for display. After close to 200 years after her death the South African government successful in gaining the return of Sarah Baartman’s remains. The French government passed a case-specific decision to release her remains for internment. She was shipped back it South African to be buried with the respect she was deprived of during her short life. The Hottentot Venus finally put to rest, not as a curiosity, not as a slave, but as a woman.

The changes to policy regarding the ownership of human remains created the opportunity for countries, like South Africa, to reclaim its people and give them back their dignity. This opportunity also created new problems for the museums and academic institutions which housed human remains, both ancient and modern. The reclaiming of remains created the worry that in returning the remains information could be lost regarding the evolution and structure of their specific lives and cultural groups. Once the remains were returned, they were expected to be subsequently interned, whether through simply burial or cremation. Requirements needed to be put in place to determine which individuals’ countries could reclaim and how countries and cultural groups could go about reclaiming their remains without hindering the research of archaeological and anthropological groups.

¹Rachel King, “Teaching Archaeological Pasts in South Africa: Historical and Contemporary Considerations of Archaeological Education,” Archaeologies: Journal of the World Archaeological Congress 8, no. 2 (September 12, 2012): p. 85, accessed December 21, 2016, doi:10.1007/s11759-012-9202-3.
²Rachel King, “Teaching Archaeological Pasts in South Africa,” p. 11.
³Rachel King, “Teaching Archaeological Pasts in South Africa,” p. 3.
4.Elizabeth Rankin, “Creating/Curating Cultural Capital: Monuments and Museums for Post-Apartheid South Africa,” Humanities 2, no. 1 (March 21, 2013): p. 80, doi:10.3390/h2010072.
5.Ciraj Rassool, “Re-storing the Skeletons of Empire: Return, Reburial and Rehumanisation in Southern Africa,” Journal of Southern African Studies 41, no. 3 (May 27, 2015): p. 12- 13, doi:10.1080/03057070.2015.1028002.
6.Ciraj Rassool, “Re-storing the Skeletons of Empire,” p. 12-17.
7.Ciraj Rassool, “Re-storing the Skeletons of Empire,” p. 12-17.
8.Ciraj Rassool, “Re-storing the Skeletons of Empire,” p. 17.
9.Ciraj Rassool, “Re-storing the Skeletons of Empire,” p. 29.
10.Ciraj Rassool, “Re-storing the Skeletons of Empire,” p. 28.
11.Chris Denton, “Sara Baartman and the Ethics of Representation,” Research in African Literatures 46, no. 2 (2015): p. 43, doi:10.2979/reseafrilite.46.2.32.
12.The Life and Times of Sarah Baartman The Hottentot Venus, dir. Zola Maseko (United States of America : First Run / Icarus Films, 1998), DVD, 5 minutes 16 seconds.
13.The Life and Times of Sarah Baartman The Hottentot Venus, dir. Zola Maseko, 10 minutes 16 seconds.
14.The Life and Times of Sarah Baartman The Hottentot Venus, dir. Zola Maseko, 29 minutes 41 seconds.
15.Chris Dunton, “Sara Baartman and the Ethics of Representation,” p. 2.
16.Chris Dunton, “Sara Baartman and the Ethics of Representation,” p. 2.
17.Chris Dunton, “Sara Baartman and the Ethics of Representation,” p. 1-2.

The post They Are Still Human: appeared first on DiTech Media.

Social Media has become an integral part of our lives. Social Media can provide you information about anything, be it news, what’s trending, any product, product reviews, competitor products, and likewise. Whether it be about finalizing a brand/product to purchase or finding the best way to use it optimally, Social Media has all the answers. If you wish to enhance your professional network, explore LinkedIn; if you wish to keep a tap on regular updates, check out Twitter; if you wish to explore the B2C world, Instagram is all set to provide you all kinds of experiences. Social Media, today, has become a ‘need’ instead of a ‘want’.

How do you think social media influences society? Do people have the right concept of who they really are in this online/offline world?

Social Media is a really important tool that is being used to influence perceptions. Causing such a significant paradigm shift in masses would have taken a lot more time & effort otherwise. But like any other technological advancements that create a significant impact on human life, Social Media comes with its own pros and cons. And while it provides a plethora of knowledge, opportunity, and skills; it also drives unnecessary competition. People hesitate to show their real selves for a multitude of reasons, for instance – their original self isn’t cool enough to get the likes, comments, or shares. People are telling manipulated, fabricated unauthentic stories that sound cool instead of real. There are usually authentic reasons behind not showing their real self as well, including online bullying, social unacceptance, and more.  

How can a content creator emotionally influence his audience?

A content creator plays a significant part in aiding the perception building among the masses. They have the power to drive their audience’s interest in a particular brand/product. Since content creators who are influencers carry the utmost trust of their audience, it becomes easier for them to be manipulative. Users, today, trust user-generated content the most when it comes to a product review, and mostly any purchases that are made are influenced by opinions of the user’s known ones and the influencers they follow on different platforms. Although influencers choose the products carefully so as to not harm their image in the long run still the products that they promote do not necessarily act as a solution, help, or bring joy to their audience, their audience just feels the ‘want/need’ to have that product.  

Do cultural values matter in order to build trust with your audience? Why?

Yes, absolutely! What you create with your audience must be a long term relationship if not life-long. If you are connecting with your user just once and leaving them out in your future campaigns or ignore their questions they are going to disconnect sooner than you can imagine. Everybody on Social Media is seeking some kind of acceptance or validation, all they want is to be heard and their presence to be acknowledged. So if you are able to provide that, you will be creating a bond with your users that is based on care, trust, and loyalty. 

Which are the best ways to humanize your brand in the age of social media and artificial intelligence?

If we talk about the marketing domain, I believe Cause Marketing and Escapism Marketing can help brands humanize in the most effective manner. The more you are connected with the actual problems that humans are facing, the better you will be able to come up with a solution for it. Promoting inclusiveness, diversity, unbiased faith, and empathy can help a brand stand out from the crowd instantly.

The post Do Cultural Values Matter in Order to Build Trust with Your Audience? appeared first on DiTech Media.

Our team is our power source. Everyone in the studio is a recognized highly-skilled expert in their own field and contributes to our common goal – delivering high-quality services that captivate the audience by turning ideas into realities.

And I am very happy I have this opportunity to share more about our activities from the last few months and to talk about digital trends that are shaping 2020 and the upcoming decade.

It has been a year that is going to go down in history with global events that showed us how technology can get us through difficult times and can help us build a resilient society. In the last months, we experienced working and studying from home and that showed us new ways of dealing with information and knowledge.

Let’s look at virtual reality.

Using a native headset and high-detail assets, this technology provides solutions for industrial enterprises, which were affected by the closing of international borders in the sense that their staff could not travel between offices, present new products and provide sufficient information.

Corporate training for new machines and engineer qualifications can be performed in this immersive environment with special tools which trace or navigate every action of the user. Using their hands to interact with the assets gives the users a vivid experience of practice and the tutor can be there with them to guide and explain in detail, even if actually they are miles apart. With such enhanced and accelerated experiential learning, corporate training can easily be completed way under budget and ahead of schedule.

Another example of additional visualisation for better sense stimulation and better engagement is augmented reality.

ImmerseFX and the Association of Student Explorers developed an augmented reality application, which shows human organs, cuts them by axis and reveals a digital microscope sample of the tissue at exact locations. Using a mobile device, the students can place a digital asset of a human organ beside them and physically walk around and explore it. This spatial representation facilitates the learning process and memorization when learning from home and not having access to a digital microscope or laboratory with samples.

Besides the education, medical and industrial sectors, immersive technologies are opening the doors to new markets and monetization opportunities helping to create value across economy and society:

E-commerce is very strongly affected where brands are now creating entire experiences around the product that lead to conversion and purchase through storytelling and interaction.

In the beauty industry instant make-up preview through augmented reality face filters is becoming a user favourite feature.

Art stakeholders and artists are discovering new platforms to showcase their work without constraints like space or risk of damage to artifacts. Cultural heritage is being recorded and shared digitally to online tourists who explore the world from a headset in their home.

Having said all this, it’s not a surprise that according to a report by Technavio published in March 2020 the extended reality market is expected to grow by USD 176.74 billion during 2020-2024.

And this doesn’t mean that machines will replace humans in the future of work. Instead this human-machine symbiotic collaboration will boost our productivity and make it easier for us to fast forward into the digital tomorrow.

We should not only step on the idea of digitalisation thinking about content. We should do our best to imagine a transformed world with new interface tools that better understand humans and provide a hands-free experience in an interconnected environment. Wearable devices are a reality right now and they will just keep going.

In conclusion, I would like to say that we are looking forward to many ambitious projects to create not only products, but also to train more people and share knowledge and expertise.

We are in a position where we can influence the future for ourselves and the generations to come. Hardware devices are becoming smaller, lighter and faster and we are starting to wear gadgets instead of holding them in our hands. This shift is going to create new interfaces, new habits and new lifestyles. Besides, many industries are begging for just a little push to complete their digital transformation. XR is just the tool to do it.

As a serial start-up entrepreneur and futurist with a passion for immersive technologies and innovation, I believe it is very important to speak out for what we stand for and sometimes amazing things can be achieved. I wish this to all the participants in the European Digital Week.

The post The Immersive Start of a New Digital Decade appeared first on DiTech Media.

Of course, I would be happy to. I am an image focused historical archaeologist. My freelance work largely involves illustrating artefacts and creating replica pottery for museums and private collections.

My current areas of interest involve; the use of illustrations in educational programs, analyzing symbolism in historical illustrations, creating archaeological and interpretive illustrations, and analyzing connections and similarities in global mythologies.

In addition, I create custom artwork. The mediums I work in are functional pottery, oil painting, watercolour, ink, graphite, and clothing. Recently I have also been working on a series of children’s books that center around introducing children to different mythologies from around the world. I am hoping to have the first three books done and ready to submit for publishing early in the new year.

In your opinion what makes archaeology so special? How did archaeology fascinate you?

Archaeology is special because it excavates the past and cultivates physical interactions with history. For me the fascination with archaeology is that I am able to excavate an object from the earth and not only place it within the context of the site but that I can place it within the context of the period of origin. Combining history with archaeology creates the unique experience to combine the textual with the tactile to inform the story attached to the artefact.

How would you describe the interaction between the traditional archaeology methods and the new digital technologies?

My experience with the interaction of traditional archaeological methodology with that of digital technology is one of a happy marriage. Digital technology lends itself well to an already precision focused discipline like archaeology without eliminating the need for the traditional methods. Simply put, the human element of archaeology is informed by the digital but not removed by it.

Why do you think is digitization essential for the development of archaeology and for the preservation of historical heritage?

I think digitization is essential for the development of archaeology and for the preservation of historical heritage because digitization increases accessibility to archaeology as well as historical heritage material. I firmly believe that for the heritage sector to survive there must be a maintained level of interest from the public and increased accessibility allows for this. Without that interest funding dwindles, foot traffic at heritage sites plummets, fewer students would take heritage courses and the opportunities to excavate will dry up. By being able to utilize digitization, however, we can reach more people than every before and not only cultivate interest in archaeology and historical heritage but also express the importance of exploring and preserving the past.

How do you think does historical and cultural heritage shape our values?

I think historical and cultural heritage shapes our values through us creating connections through studying them and whether we can create a relation between our findings, families, self, and our concepts of the past. I also think they serve to help us engage with other peoples’ different experiences. An example of this being learning the importance of being respectful and adapting our heritage analyzing practices to ensure we remain respectful to the culture whose artefacts are being handled.

The post Interaction Between the Traditional Archaeology Methods and the New Digital Technologies appeared first on DiTech Media.

Brand transparency, accessibility and authenticity build trust and visibility. With the right social media for business strategy you are able to continuously provide information and engage with your customers. Being authentic and transparent showcases the companies values and enables trust.

What are the best modern strategies to fuel the growth of a brand?

Step outside your comfort zone, get comfortable with presenting yourself and/or your company on social media in an authentic way and be creative. Try something new. Video and photos work best to add a visual aspect to your information. Maybe spice up your content a bit. But remember to always be mindful about what you post. You don’t have to be present on every social media channel, instead pick a few, which are important to reach your audience, know the channel you’re on and share the right information and engage on a regular basis. It’s not about who get’s the most followers and generating leads, it’s more about building trust and know your audience. Being honest, sharing your companies’ culture and engaging in a mindful way is key to a company’s success on social media.

How would you define the role of social media in our lives nowadays?

For the first time in history more than 50% of the world’s population uses social media channels with a total of number of 3.96 billion users. Social Media is essential in todays world. Not just for our personal lives, but also for businesses. It gives us the option to stay connected, increase our visibility and communicate on a new level. We are able to provide customer service, identify pain points, share information and build relationships.

What is the best way to build trust with your online audience?

Consistency, transparency and engagement. You want to make sure to engage with your audience at all times. Share information on a regular basis and use social media channels to build conversation. Be authentic when engaging and sharing information. There is no better way to improve and maintain your companies’ image then through authenticity.

Do you think that the rapidly changing social media content has an influence on people’s judgement of who they really are? Why is that?

Yes, when it comes to individuals, many people use social media as a platform to only share positive news about themselves, outlining their personal and professional achievements, using their profile to showcase themselves to gain the most followers in a short amount of time.

Recently people started to share more negatively impacted posts, like losing their job and how they’ve made their way back up to a new life. Those posts and engagements make us feel connected and we celebrate it through sharing, liking and commenting on those posts. Many of these posts are just storytelling, showcasing a situation as a strategy to gain visibility.

Users utilize social media to find a voice, distraction and measure their lives and opinions with others. Especially the Gen Z population is affected by this specific live style and we already measure an increased risk of depression and loneliness.

I think this trend can only decrease when getting back to living our lives outside of social media, while still enjoying the countless opportunities and benefitting from the great assets social media channels can provide.

The post What are the best modern strategies to fuel the growth of a brand? appeared first on DiTech Media.

This bias is often instilled due to the failures of people who they know, who have tested the channel and have not obtained satisfactory results. Most of them have basic knowledge of the platform and start a smart campaign or campaign to get maximum clicks.

But Google does not offer just that. It is no coincidence that the giant receives over 90% of its revenue thanks to the Ads platform. Google has developed many strategic channels, guidelines and methods for reaching potential customers. In this article, we will show you some of the most important reasons to use the amazing capabilities of Google Ads.

They goes hand in hand with SEO

Google’s organic results often provide 40% or more of a website’s revenue, but it takes time to reach those percentages. SEO optimization is a long-term strategy that is definitely worth investing in.

But on the other hand, while you wait for the result, you can immediately appear in the first paid results on Google. With our partners, we often choose to combine Google ads and SEO together in the long run to reach a higher percentage of searches on different keywords.

More and more advertising space in the Google search engine

Google increased the advertising space to 4 paid results before the organic ones. This means that when users search by keyword they will first see 4 ads before the unpaid organic results. This way, users are more likely to click on the ads and purchase the desired product.

Google ads have great reach

Google covers 90% of the web-surfers worldwide! How is that possible? The Google network is huge and includes, in addition to the search engine and partners, many different sites, applications, Gmail, Google Maps and one of the leading social media – YouTube. And the best part is that you can advertise in each of them and reach your customers.

You only pay when the user clicks on the ad

This is a huge advantage over other advertising methods. You will not pay if your ad has appeared to the user and he has scrolled down. This is the main payment method in the platform and most of the bidding strategies are based on it. Here it is very important to underline that you should not strive to get as many clicks as possible, but sales! To this purpose, conversions are set up, campaigns are optimized, and you should constantly working on achieving more revenue at lower cost.

Specific targeting

Keywords are just one way, but there are specific types of matches to tell Google that you want to appear on “women’s leather shoes” but not on “cheap women’s shoes”. There are many good targeting options that can narrow your ad to your target audience only. You can also target by demographics, device, whether they’ve recently moved, purchase intentions, and a specific day and time when your ads will appear.

An important part of the whole marketing funnel

We don’t just surf Facebook or Google. Every day we check the news on various sites, blogs, watch videos on YouTube and check our emails in Gmail. Each of them is a place where you can advertise through Google Ads. But for example, banner ads and YouTube ads often displayed to people who see the brand for the first time. That’s why it’s important to link Google ads to your overall marketing funnel. Different Google networks can be included at each stage, and the most interesting is the last one we will discuss.

Ads Google Ads Remarketing

What is remarketing? They are often called “chasing ads”. You search on Google for the “Samsung Galaxy S10” and browse the features on several websites. Then you watch a review of a famous influencer on YouTube, read an article with banners on the side reminding you of the the Samsung phone you viewed on one of the sites. After 2 days you have finally decided to take it and search again on Google for the best offer. There you again see the site with banner ads, which has been chasing you for 4 days. Since you already know the website, it is imprinted in your mind and gives a good offer, you decide to place an order.

It is this reminder of the website throughout this journey with specific calls for action towards the funnel stage that is called remarketing. You can use this strategy on YouTube, Google Display Network, in the search engine. We dare say that this is one of the most successful types of campaigns. This is due to the fact that they are “closing the deal” with users who know you.

But let’s give a few examples with our partners to see how Google advertising affects online stores:

Dafi-fashion is an online store for lingerie. Initially, we worked with them on Facebook ads, as they had prejudices about Google Ads – high selling price. After a while, they trusted us to test the platform for their business. The result has been that in recent times we have a higher Conversion Rate in Google Ads than in Facebook. See for yourself:

Find out more about the results in our Case Study: Facebook and Google ads for an online lingerie store.

Fragrances.bg is an online store for branded perfumes. We manage the overall performance of the online store, including Google ads. In the beginning, the search engine did not give such a good result, but after a good optimization you can see that the conversion rate is almost the same as Facebook Ads. The result is a 14-fold return on advertising investment:

You can read more about the presentation of the online store from our CASE STUDY: Complete Digital Service for Brand Perfumery Online Store fragrances.bg

Google Ads is also a very good channel for selling mattresses online. With our client in this area, we achieved a doubling of the Conversion Rate of the channel by optimizing the distribution of ads. The return on investment from advertising in Google Ads is on average 10 times. See here:

Do not give up the first month if you do not achieve satisfactory results. The key is in the proper planning, analysis and optimization of campaigns. If you need help Tendrik Digital Agency is here!

By Hristiyana Petkova

Lecturer in the Google Ads and Online Marketing
and SEO courses at IMG IT Academy.
Marketing manager at SEOMAX Digital Agency.

The post Why Google Ads is a must-have channel for any online business? appeared first on DiTech Media.

We spoke to Mike Shafro, xpate CEO & Founder to learn the tips and tricks of successful distributed team management and why free Netflix subscription for every team member is important.

Mutual loyalty is essential when managing distributed teams. It is crucial to start building loyalty up right from the job interview. A new team member should be highly interested in what he’s going to do and clearly understand the essentials of the project and the tasks he will need to do. Discuss the first steps, set the direction of work, introduce a newcomer to the team, and then give him time to absorb this information. Grant him a credit of trust as well, but always set specific measurable goals to understand how successful the collaboration is. This is why at xpate we create an affirmative action plan from day one. 

It hugely helps to agree on the maximum transparency with the newcomer from the very beginning. If you feel there’s a misunderstanding, ask straight away. Agree on the format of communication and make it regular. Even if you feel everything is going according to plan avoid making conclusions and check during the regular catch ups. The frequency can be amended based on the particular team member and task. 

Efficiency of the distributed team depends on individual qualifications, discipline, and physical resources. 

It’s very similar to traditional office work when it comes to qualifications. Make sure the team has a chance to learn and exchange experience, especially when it comes to developers. Anyone in the xpate team can take any Coursera courses to upgrade their expertise for free. Mutual help and interest in the results of your teammate’s work needs to become an integral part of your corporate culture. 

Keeping the team informed significantly contributes to efficiency, so arrange regular meetings. We do team lunches, team lead syncs, and product demos on a regular basis. Our goal is to make everyone understand what is going on inside the team and how the work they do creates value. When discussing tasks avoid speaking only about what needs to be done or implemented, explain the problem that requires a solution, give everyone an opportunity to think it over, and then discuss the specific solutions. 

The physical resources are something you can influence the least. Yet the proper rest is essential, avoid overloading the team and encourage taking vacations. At xpate we also give every team member unlimited access to Netflix and Bookmate. You can take your birthday off as well. This works wonders with loyalty. 

Distributed teams do work efficiently,  but face-to-face communications are still very important. Use every chance to arrange corporate catch ups or team outings in real life. You can arrange informal team buildings, birthday parties, meetups, conferences, or even hackathons and boot camps. Think which options fit best for your team in a particular situation. All of them provide a productivity boost and allow to take down communication barriers. Everyone will know each other better, you just need to create an occasion.  

The post An Integral Part of Your Corporate Culture appeared first on DiTech Media.