Virtual Reality to Practical Confidence.

“People think every creative idea possible has already happened, unfortunately, technology is greedy, it wants more.”

In this hotchpotch of a world that we live in, sometimes some souls lack behind in certain basic skills such as communication and decision-making. It is either due to lack of exposure or hereditary to put it in simpler terms. Most of us are afraid of the stage or fear facing a huge crowd. And some of us live with that fear forever, protecting ourselves in a cocoon not realizing how it affects our overall growth. It is not just the basic skills that need confidence. It can be your professional skills as well. And it is time proven that confidence can only be harnessed through practice and gaining experience.

Virtual reality is capable of stimulating experiences in our mind that as of now no other tech can match up to. It can virtually make you face your worst fears and teach you to cope with them. VR can fool your mind that you’re already well versed with something which you may or may not have experienced in reality.

Let us discuss 7 possibilities on how VR can train the mind:

1. Medical Training: Medical students can now perform surgical procedures on live 3D models of the human body instead of corpses till they perfect the procedure. They will get a hands-on experience with virtual patients and emergency cases. This will result in medical professionals with experience and embedded with confidence.

2. Stage fear: There are already mobile apps that let you practice in front of a virtual audience in your choice of environment. From best man speeches, lectures and interactive talks, you can practice them beforehand and be more confident at delivering your words. Soon, there will be Tedx talk environments for the enlightened ones as well.

3. Meditation: Imagine meditating in the middle of a forest under a banyan tree sitting on a couch. Virtual reality can take you anywhere you want, with minimal noise and utmost peace. Stimulating the senses in such an environment can calm our emotional facade.

4.Therapy: Stress and mental fatigue can break down anyone. Virtual reality can provide relief to the affected by psychologically planned scenarios, creating a therapeutic environment or interacting with a long distanced loved one in a VR environment.

5. Military Training: A trainee soldier or a trainee pilot can now experience real-life attack scenarios and respond accordingly. The military will save tremendously on their training costs and in turn, will gain soldiers who are ready for the brunt of their profession.

6. Sports: Virtual Reality can entirely change the way a batsman, footballer, athlete or a race car driver practices. It can simulate different environments, difficulty and fatigue levels to keep the players geared up for the action by enhancing their confidence levels.

7. Surrealism: Sometimes, all we need is time by ourselves. It is a proven fact that solitude once in a while can do wonders. Virtual reality can set up an environment of your choice, on a beach, on the top of a hill or just floating in the outer space. This will immensely help you feel better and drive your productivity sky high.

Escaping reality is not a bad idea, in fact, it is one of the best ideas mankind has had. Right from books, media, and gaming, we have been constantly evolving ourselves to diverge from reality for a few moments. And when technology is in our hands, why not use it and improve our personality, stimulate our minds for an improved performance and in the overall process boost our confidence.

AR and VR – an emerging Marketing Tool for Brands

Virtual reality and augmented reality are the two most discussed technologies that are impressing users across the globe.The latest advents of the technological world are focusing on discovering newer ways to market brand objectives and their associated campaigns on a broad front.

While technical experts are busy in finding impactful ways to use VR for marketing, app developers and social media marketers are incorporating unique value propositions in their current branding campaigns. If you wish to know more about how the two technologies can impact the current marketing trends and social media branding activities, then read on.

Being Digital is the New Focus for Everyone

Since users are making a switch from traditional newspapers and media to the internet, it becomes highly imperative for marketers to understand the need of transforming their branding activities as per the changing trends. Being digital and accessible from anywhere and anytime is the prime focus for marketers in 2017 and this is where AR and VR can provide a practical solution.

Social Media Has Now Become the Mainstream Marketing Channel

In a recent research conducted by Pew Research Center, nearly eight-in-ten online Americans (79% approx) are now using Facebook. It automatically shows the global presence of users on social media networks, and marketers are making numerous efforts to improve their advertising, content, and promotional activities to target these audiences in fresh ways.

How AR and VR Will Revolutionize Global Marketing Trends?

One of the biggest advantages of these technologies is that it allows marketers to offer content and create rich, immersive and engaging experiences for consumers.  Since users are being addressed by traditional print and TV ads from past years, they wish to access something that not only excites them, but also helps them to connect emotionally.

Most of the top firms are adopting digital marketing initiatives to bring specific revenue outcomes. They are making a shift from their traditional branding approach to modern marketing techniques like AR and VR to engage better with users.

With AR and VR, a totally new (and highly effective) medium, it emerges to create an indelible impression on the user. Some of the ways in which AR and VR can help marketing campaigns on social media are how it –

• Can be used to demonstrate product features, functionalities, and USPs
• Helps organizations to communicate the brand’s mission with great ease
• Delivers branded entertainment experience and adds excitement to create hype about a particular brand or product/service
• Keeps consumers informed about varied products available in the same domain to provide utmost satisfaction
• Adds an immersive dimension to traditional print, web and video story-telling advertisements that makes for a memorable social media experience.

Will brands embrace this new technology?

Making a switch from traditional media channels to new age platforms like AR and VR has redrawn marketing budgets and strategies. This has, in turn, resulted in empowering the digital world with newer ads, content, and promotional stuff that can impress users at large and aid in creating favorable brand recall value.

We are hopeful that brands would embrace this new technology in 2017, but the level of success is something that we would need to closely watch as the year progresses.

Tech innovations have always revolutionized numerous sectors thus creating opportunities for numerous individuals, business entities, companies, and consumers. With the emergence of the Virtual Reality or VR technology, the tech world made huge promises to users. Enhanced experiences and incredible views enthrall audiences, thus providing them with a unique feeling.

Before delving deep into the discussion, let’s try to define VR.

What is VR?

According to conventional definitions, VR encompasses two crucial aspects. As the name suggests, VR technology talks about ‘virtual’ experiences in ‘real’ world. If we take a closer look at the technical definition, Virtual Reality describes a computer-generated, 3-dimensional environment that boosts human interactions. It’s an immersive experience that helps you become an integral part of the world you are in.

Over the last few months, VR technology has created a lot of buzz in the tech arena. From the gaming world to the business arena, VR seems to impart an entirely new connotation to innovation. Let’s find out how!

Identifying top VR trends          

If 2015 marked its inception, emergence, and popularity, 2016 would turn out to be a golden time for Virtual Reality. The following trends will help you find out where it’s headed for the future.

1.      VR experiences for free

Users won’t have to shell out a penny for their first VR experiences. Sponsored experiences and programs are shooting up the needs for VR devices alongside increasing their demand in the market. Other than techies, standard users are also planning to adopt VR technologies like never before! With market biggies such as ABC News and ‘Star Wars’ franchises embracing VR, entertainment and media will reach great heights.

2.      Content is the king- for VR too!

Without highly engaging and compelling contents, Virtual Reality is of no use to consumers. Stunning virtual experiences without proper content can give rise to frustration amongst users. As a result, device makers and marketers need to concentrate on creating exceptional and exciting contents for VR devices. Whether it is sports, media, entertainment, games, or shopping, latest VR trends herald the union of stunning visuals and engaging contents.

3.      Emergence of VR hardware

Since hardware has always been the talking point for Virtual Reality, 2016 promises to bring new releases to the market. With Facebook’s Oculus Rift, Microsoft Hololens, and HTC Vive making their presence felt in the tech world, VR hardware will bring great news for users.

Other affordable options such as Samsung GearVR will also be available, thus popularizing the VR technology even more.

4.      Hollywood calling

Some of the leading studios and production houses in Hollywood are warming up to the concept of Virtual Reality. By using VR technologies, these studios are striving hard to create larger-than-life experiences in the real world. From critics and audiences to numerous significant entities in the entertainment world will have unparalleled experiences.

Signing off

These trends show how the VR technology has already made a mark across various sectors. From the tech arena and gaming to media and entertainment, Virtual Reality can prove to be the next big thing for consumers across the globe.