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Video

How To Download YouTube Videos for PC, Mac and Mobile (2024)

YouTube is one of the most popular platforms for watching and sharing videos online. But sometimes you may want to download a video to watch it offline, or to save it for later. How can you do that?

There are many ways to download YouTube videos, but not all of them are legal or safe. Some methods may violate YouTube’s terms of service, or expose your device to malware or viruses. In this blog post, we will show you some of the best and safest ways to download YouTube videos without breaking any rules.

Method 1: Use YouTube Premium

The easiest and most official way to download YouTube videos is to use YouTube Premium. This is a paid subscription service that lets you watch videos ad-free, play them in the background, and download them for offline viewing. You can also download videos from YouTube Music and YouTube Kids.

To use YouTube Premium, you need to sign up for a monthly plan that costs $9.99 in the US, or equivalent in other countries. You can also get a free trial for one month if you are a new user.

Once you have YouTube Premium, you can download any video that is available for offline viewing. To do that, just follow these steps:

  • Open the YouTube app on your device and find the video you want to download.
  • Tap on the Download button below the video player. You can choose the quality of the video from low, medium, or high.
  • Wait for the video to finish downloading. You can see the progress on the Downloads tab in the Library section of the app.
  • To watch the downloaded video, go to the Downloads tab and tap on the video. You can watch it without an internet connection for up to 48 hours. After that, you need to reconnect to the internet to verify your subscription and renew the download.

Method 2: Use a Third-Party App or Website

Another way to download YouTube videos is to use a third-party app or website that allows you to do that. There are many such apps and websites available online, but you need to be careful when using them. Some of them may not be trustworthy, or may contain ads or malware that can harm your device. Also, some of them may violate YouTube’s terms of service, which prohibit downloading videos without permission from the owner.

If you decide to use a third-party app or website, make sure you do some research before downloading or installing anything. Check the reviews and ratings of the app or website, and look for any red flags or complaints from other users. Also, make sure you have a good antivirus software on your device to protect it from any potential threats.

One of the most popular and reliable third-party apps for downloading YouTube videos is 4K Video Downloader. This is a free software that works on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It allows you to download videos in various formats and resolutions, including 4K and 8K. It also supports downloading playlists, channels, subtitles, and 3D videos.

To use 4K Video Downloader, you need to follow these steps:

  • Download and install 4K Video Downloader from its official website: https://www.4kdownload.com/products/product-videodownloader
  • Open the YouTube app or website on your device and find the video you want to download.
  • Copy the URL of the video from the address bar or by tapping on the Share button.
  • Open 4K Video Downloader and click on the Paste Link button at the top left corner.
  • Choose the format and quality of the video from the pop-up window. You can also select whether you want to download subtitles or not.
  • Click on the Download button and wait for the video to finish downloading. You can see the progress on the main window of 4K Video Downloader.
  • To watch the downloaded video, go to the folder where you saved it and open it with your preferred media player.
YouTube Art

Alternatively, if you want to download a YouTube video for personal use or educational purposes, you can go to a YouTube video downloader website, such as Y2mate.com, SaveFrom.net, or ClipConverter and follow these steps:

  1. Find the video you want to download on YouTube.
  2. Copy the video’s URL from the address bar.
  3. Go to a YouTube video downloader website, as mentioned above.
  4. Paste the video’s URL into the downloader’s search bar.
  5. Select the desired video quality and format.
  6. Click the download button and wait for the video to finish downloading.

It’s important to note that downloading copyrighted material from YouTube without permission is illegal and may result in legal consequences. Additionally, some videos may have restrictions that prevent them from being downloaded.

Conclusion

Downloading YouTube videos can be useful for many reasons, but you need to be careful when doing so. Always respect the rights of the video owners and follow YouTube’s terms of service. Also, make sure you use a safe and reliable method to download videos without risking your device’s security.

We hope this blog post has helped you learn how to download YouTube videos in a legal and safe way. If you have any questions or feedback, please leave a comment below.

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Disclosure: Please note that we may receive affiliate compensation for some of the links below, at no expense to you, should you decide to purchase a paid plan. This blog does not provide financial advice, it is purely for entertainment and fun.

Marketing

The Ultimate Guide to Growing Your Business with Influencer Marketing

Today, the world’s most rising form of marketing is influencer marketing. About 40% of companies have started allotting a huge budget for influencer marketing and 80% believe that influencer marketing helps them achieve their company objectives. With the internet being accessible to almost everyone in the US, plus some of the biggest ISPs like Xfinity and Spectrum internet offering cheap internet, there are a lot of influencers with huge followers online. However, still, most of the people are unaware of how to take advantage of them.

What is Influencer Marketing?

The fusion of traditional and modern marketing methods is influencer marketing. It is a technique that corporations use by working with prominent bloggers, vloggers, or social media users to market their goods and services. These influencers hold a large following and a dedicated audience with which brands can gain recognition and even generate sales.

How does it work?

Influencer marketing is considered to successfully work with companies of all types and sizes, irrespective of whether you are a startup and want to create awareness, or a major company trying to promote a new line or push a particular product to offer. Brands would typically approach an influencer and pay them to make content regarding the products or services offered by a company. The influencer subsequently updates and shares the contents with their social network – typically Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, etc.

The price is traditionally negotiated and paid before the content has been produced to the influencer –generally based on the following size of the creator and surprisingly not on content quality.

Creating the Plan

Since 47% of users now use Adblock technology, influencer marketing is by all means the fastest and most efficient way of creating premium content for the consumers it is intended to attract. The strategic marketing approach can instantly boost brand awareness and supercharge sales.

Only ask yourself some crucial questions to get going first…

Why Use it?

In a survey carried out by the Keller Fay Party, 82 percent of respondents indicated that they were likely to obey an influencer ‘s advice. And, 70 percent of the young generation prefers goods promoted by non-celebrity influencers, according to a major Cultural Prejudice poll. Consumers are mostly attracted by micro-influencers because they are relevant, intriguing, and amiable – promoted by real people who themselves use and are satisfied by the brand and item. The engagement rates of micro-influencers have been shown to be higher than other big celebrities. Although major celebrities can set a massive network, it is highly likely that most of their followers won’t be in your brand – most of them being passive spectators instead of being active.

Micro-influencers, on the other hand, have devoted followers that are primarily engaged in their work. According to research, 3k to 10k is the ‘top pick’ for marketing, since, the engagement rate is inversely proportional to the audience size.

What is your Objective?

It is important to provide a specific campaign goal as it tells the content creator precisely what you expect of them. The first step towards creating exclusive, entertaining content for your brand is to prepare your approach and to identify your goals. It is all down to discovering out which technique best suits you.

Try to figure out what you want: is it boosting sales? Establish the image of your brand? You want to meet customers who are unaware of your company, or engage in the main target market?

For good quality material, a simple, succinct summary is important. This may be an inspiring vision across the board of your mood, a connection to a website, a discount code, and a submission that builds visibility and dedication.

How To Choose Suitable Influencers For Your Business?

After making a list of influencers, it is about time you find out who is worth talking to about partnering with you. You surely did some of this already while creating the list, but you ought to focus on discovering the right influencers for your company.

You have to deal with trustworthy and appreciable people. People who are effective and match your style and objectives. Therefore, observe their audience engagement, the audience must match well with the people you are targeting. Perhaps you should not spend time dealing with influencers that do not have a strong identity, your best option is to create a positive product experience – growing engagement levels and the impact of your potential relationship.

How To Sustain Healthy Influencer Relationships?

Influencers are smart enough to know how to best utilize their channels to boost the message of a brand in a way that works effectively for their followers. It is also very important to address the influencers with courtesy and compassion while choosing them – it is a partnership after all!

Final Thought

Most of influencer marketing lasts a couple of months only. However, taking the right approach with planning can prove to be extremely successful for your business, fulfilling all your goals be it creating brand awareness or generating profitable sales revenue.

software

Why It’s Important To Update Your Windows Drivers

What are Device Drivers?

Device Drivers are programs that help your PC to communicate with various hardware components connected to it. Along with your hardware devices like printer, webcam, etc, your software programs like Word, Excel, games also need a proper and updated driver for smooth functioning.

Outdated Drivers can make your system sluggish and result in noticeable performance degradation issues. Updating device drivers from time to time will solve most of the issues, but automatic updating is what we need.

This blog will help you in understanding the importance of updated drivers and when you should update them.

Why Do I Need To Update My Windows Drivers?

Broken or outdated drivers can prevent system programs and applications from working, result in error messages and can cause frequent system crashing issues or can simply degrade its overall performance.

If you want your system to work in good operating conditions, you should always ensure that your device drivers are updated, this will also save you from falling into any potential problems. Neglecting driver updates is something that should not be missed at any cost.

But do we need to update all our drivers?

Well, the answer is No. If your drivers are not outdated, don’t fix them. We always hear, regular updating is crucial to fill any stability and security voids, but there are few hidden exceptions to it.

The Golden Rule is: If particular hardware is functioning properly, then there is no need of updating as it might result in some compatibility issues.
Common Issues Caused by Broken Device Drivers:
Most system issues and complications are caused by broken drivers. The most prominent and annoying ones are:

1. Monitor Display and Screen Crashing Issues

There is nothing more frustrating than staring at a blank PC screen. One of the most common causes of the blue screen is device drivers that are severely broken and outdated.

2. Inability to Detect Your Windows USB Mouse

Outdated drivers can handicap the basic functionality of your PC, and mouse recognition is one of them. If your system is working on broken drivers it might not be able to recognize your mouse and display a “not detected” error.

3. Webcam Problems

The webcam is a crucial element that supports amazing video chat and video calling experience on various platforms. A dysfunctional webcam can result in highly annoying circumstances especially when you need it for some important work.

The best way to handle such issues is to ensure that all your webcam drivers are updated from time to time. Picking the Best Driver Updater Software will imperil your PC webcam and will also support its vital functioning.

4. Another Important Reason, Why is It Important to Update Device Drivers

Broken drivers can result in security loopholes making it vulnerable to malicious software and cybercriminals. Therefore, security updates are released from time to time to patch these voids.

A system running on updated device drivers is the safest to use. It saves you from disastrous levels of damages both at the business and personal front.

Reduced gaming speed can be another issue associated with broker Windows drivers.

So, now that we are well aware that updated drivers are important for your PC’s optimal functioning, let’s walk through some of the methods on how you can update and fix driver issues.

How to Update Windows Driver?

1. Check for Windows Update

Although Windows keeps updating most of the software regularly, there are many instances where you have to install and update the latest Driver manually. To do so, follow the simple steps as mentioned below.

  • Open the “Settings’ ‘ tab, and choose Select “Update & Security”. Next click on “ Windows Update”.
  • From the displayed window, click on the updates option.

2. Use Device Manager to Update Device Drivers

This is the following activity from point number 1, if you are unable to find any update requirements, then you can manually update your Windows driver using Device Manager.

  • Open Device Manager
  • Right, click on the driver you wish to upgrade and then choose “Update Driver Option”.
  • From the displayed options click on “ Search automatically for updated driver software”.
  • If the latest version is available, your Device Manager will automatically do it. However, if no results are found, you may directly download one from the Manufacturer’s website.

However, using the Manufacturer’s support website for checking driver updates can be a tedious and time-consuming activity. We would recommend you to use a good driver updater tool that will automatically check and update all your broken drivers

3. Use Driver Updater Software

Driver Updater tools offer the easiest and the most effective ways to enjoy optimal system performance. These tools will automatically scan and update all your broken Windows drivers within seconds.

Wrapping up

When it comes to maximizing system performance, choose wisely and smartly. Updating outdated drivers is always a good choice, but doing it manually may not be the smartest thing to do.

Choose a good Windows driver Updater for hassle-free working and enhanced PC performance.

Social Media

Facebook Privacy: 5 Settings Every User Needs to Know

Social media has caught up in mysterious ways! No matter how addicting it gets, we still can’t go for a day without using our social media accounts, especially Facebook. Yes, that’s right! Checking Facebook’s news feed is literally the first thing we do, and yes even before we get out of our bed. We somehow love to see what our friends have been up to, where they have partied this weekend or whether our favorite celebrity crush has uploaded any recent picture or not. Facebook is about everything!

But what about privacy? Don’t you think the over-dosage of social media accounts sabotage our privacy and increases the risk of being exposed online? We love uploading pictures and videos on our Facebook accounts and yes, we almost never forget to upload a status checking-in at our favorite restaurant or any place we visit. Well, the more you share, the more is the risk of exposing your privacy online. Wondering how can you secure your Facebook account while you can keep doing all the things we love ? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Here are some of the best Facebook tips and tricks that can make your social media experience a pleasant one while making a few tweaks in Facebook privacy settings.

Image Source: Abine

Let’s get started and explore a few Facebook tricks that can enhance the privacy and security of your account.

Facebook Tips and Tricks to Boost Privacy

Run a Privacy Checkup

Before we dig any deeper, first you should get an overview of your current Facebook privacy settings. As a responsible Facebook account user, one should be aware of all actively applied settings like who all can view your posts, which all third-party apps can access your basic account information, how does

your profile appear to someone who is not added in your contact list and so on. Well, what we do recommend you is to keep your posts restricted to minimum friends and followers who are a part of your inner circle. Don’t make all your posts public, unless if you’re a business page or a celebrity or social figure.

To review your privacy settings, log in to your Facebook account and open Settings. In the Settings window, select the “Privacy” section from the left-hand side menu pane. Here you can get a quick glance of your Facebook account setting and you can customize it to make your account more secure. You can choose who can see your future posts and also limit the audience of your previous posts.

Enable Two Factor Authentication

Talking of privacy, next on our list of Facebook tips and tricks comes enabling Two-Factor Authentication on your account. Enabling Two-Factor Authentication on your Facebook account will add an extra layer of protection where you’ll be prompted to enter a security code (via SMS) each time you wish to log in to your account.

To enable 2FA on Facebook, open Facebook Settings and switch to the “Security and Login” section. Scroll down until you find the Two-Factor Authentication option and tap on it. So, in case if you’ve not already opted for 2FA, tap on the “Get Started” button, follow the on-screen instructions and add an extra layer of security to your account.

View How Other People See your Profile

Well, this may sound obvious but if anyone wants to stalk you, checking your Facebook profile is one of the easiest things to do. Our Facebook account includes our entire history, from our birthday to places we visit, the music we like, family info, educational background, work info, and almost anything. Sharing all this info with your inner circle is fine, but not with strangers and stalkers, right?

Image Source: The Mac Observer

So, to make sure your Facebook account is secure one should be completely aware of how your Facebook profile appears to someone who is not added in your contact list. To check this, head on to your profile page, tap the three-dot icon on the bottom right corner of your cover picture and select “View as”. Here Facebook will tell you how your profile appears to public and you can review all your posts and content that is easily accessible on your account. Doing so can give you an upper-hand where you can customize who all can see your posts and info, and you can change the privacy of shared posts accordingly.

Third-Party App Settings

As Facebook has a gigantic user base that connects millions of people worldwide, it’s not just confined to connect with our friends and in fact, it has become a lot more than that! Facebook is also used as a promotional tool by marketers where they target us with advertisements and offers based on our interests and likes.

Image Source: CNET

So, to review which all third-party apps and services are associated with your Facebook account, here’s what you need to do. Head on to Facebook Settings> Apps and Websites to see which all third-party apps are being accessed through your Facebook account. If you wish to revoke the permission of any third-party app, tap the cross icon next to it!

Recover Deleted Messages on Messenger

Next on our list of Facebook tips and tricks is recovering accidentally deleted messages on Messenger. Yes, it does happen with all of us, right? So, let’s cut to the chase and explore one of the best Facebook Messenger tricks that will allow you to easily recover deleted messages within no time.

Well, all you have to do is open any active Facebook conversation on Messenger and tap on the gear icon placed on the top-right corner and select the “Archive” option. Yes, that’s right! Archiving your Facebook conversations is a great solution to keep all your conversations preserved. Even if you accidentally delete a text in a conversation, it will still stay preserved in Facebook data history.

Also, for more detailed information, tap on this link to know all about how to recover deleted messages on Facebook Messenger to keep your precious memories intact!

Wrap Up

So, fellas, this ends our quick list of Facebook tricks to ensure more privacy in your account. We would still recommend you limit the visibility and share restricted content on your Facebook account. Try to keep all your pictures, videos, and posts private, so that there’s a lesser risk in being exposed online. Privacy is a crucial concern and you should certainly not ignore it any cost especially while accessing social media accounts like Facebook and Instagram. Follow these above-mentioned Facebook tips and tricks to add an extra layer of security to your account.

Good luck and stay safe!

Summary: Checking Facebook’s news feed is literally the first thing we do to start off our day, right? But don’t you think the overdosage of social media accounts sabotage our privacy? Here are some of the best Facebook tips and tricks to protect your account.

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 Author Bio: – Chandra Shekhar Choudhary is working at Systweak Blogs, as an SEO analyst and technical Content Writer. His potential of writing is PC tips, Android and Mac tricks and he is anxious in writing other technical blogs. You can also find Chandra Shekhar on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

 

 

Cryptocurrency

The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Cryptocurrency Investment

References are made wherever possible. All statements are based on the author’s experiences. I take pride in informing the public and helping as many as I can through sharing my experiences with my readers. That said, no one except you can take responsibility for your Cryptocurrency Investing decisions, so do think it through before investing.

It would be appropriate to start this guide off with the premise that an increasing number of e-commerce stores are beginning to accept crypto currency payments. These stores range from e-commerce shops, recruitment sites, clothing stores, marketplaces and many others. This is a clear indicator that cryptocurrency is to stay and it is therefore important to start from the beginning.

When I first started taking an interest in cryptocurrency I thought I was so lost in this huge sea of unknowns. Where do I start? What are the useful keywords to look up and keep in mind? What are the available helpful resources? This cryptocurrency investing guide is written so that in just 20 minutes, you would have a sense of what to expect of your upcoming crypto journey, and how to best go about starting it. Enjoy it, it might just be the most exhilarating ride of your life.

Beginner’s Guide to Cryptocurrency Investing

Rise of the Cryptocurrencies

As the tech literacy of the population increases, acceptance of crypto as a legitimate store of value follows, and it boomed. Titles along the lines of ‘Bitcoin price hits new all-time high’ and ‘Ethereum price surges’ are starting to perforate the general public’s news feed. What we know for sure is that people who were once sceptical of Bitcoin and the technology behind it are slowly understanding and getting increasingly involved with crypto. As at the time of writing, the market cap of the entire crypto space is at 30.9 billion USD. It was 20 billion just four months ago. What would it be four months from now?

Current Makeup of the Cryptocurrency Space

You would have heard of Bitcoin and the ‘altcoins.’ How this naming convention started was because back in the days of 2011, forks of Bitcoin appeared in the markets. The forks, or clones, each aspire to serve a niche area, aiming to be ‘better’ than Bitcoin. Since then countless new crypto has emerged, eroding away Bitcoin’s crypto market cap dominance. These altcoins are gaining market share at an alarming speed. Ten times or more growth has been observed in a time span as short as six weeks (see PIVX, an altcoin).

Cryptocurrency, Stocks, and Fiat

The currencies we know are referred to as ‘fiat’ by the cryptocurrency community. Although having ‘currency’ in its name, cryptocurrencies share more similarities with stocks than currencies. When you purchase some cryptocurrency, you are in fact buying some tech stock, a part of the blockchain and a piece of the network.

Cryptocurrency Exchanges

The most common place where people buy and trade cryptocurrency is on the exchanges. Exchanges are places where you may buy and sell your crypto, using fiat. There are multiple measures to judge the reliability and quality of an exchange, such as liquidity, spread, fees, purchase and withdrawal limits, trading volume, security, insurance, user-friendliness. Out of all these, I find Coinbase as the best exchange hands down. It has a beginner-friendly user interface, and an unbeatable 100% crypto insurance.

After setting up an intermediary bank account and verifying your details with Coinbase, you are only five simple steps away from a Bitcoin purchase:

★ Access the ‘Buy/Sell Bitcoin’ tab

★ Select the payment method using the drop-down menu

★ Enter the desired amount

★ Click ‘Buy Bitcoin Instantly.’

★ View your credited Bitcoins on your dashboard

When you get acquainted with buying crypto and start to itch for some crypto trading (e.g. BTC/ETH), simply perform an instant transfer from Coinbase to GDAX free of charge and start trading. Think of Coinbase as the place to conveniently buy and store your crypto and GDAX as your margin trading platform. Transfers between the two are instant and free.

As you slowly get familiar with other currencies, you might want to have the option of investing in them. Bittrex and Polo are two exchanges that offer a wide selection range.

When signing up on these exchanges for the first time, do make it a point to verify your account with the required documents early, as you do not want to be caught in the middle of some tedious and slow admin work when the trading opportunity comes. Verification on these exchanges may take days, and purchase/withdraw limits may only increase gradually as you trade.

An additional point to note: if you are using a currency other than USD, do check out the exchange’s ease of funding and withdrawal. You do not want your exchange to come into fiat withdrawal problems like Bitfinex did recently.

Cryptocurrency Wallets

Exchanges have inbuilt online wallets to keep the cryptocurrency you purchased. However, for those who heard of the Mt. Gox hack, you might feel uneasy to put on an exchange. If you do not wish to keep your crypto holdings on the exchange, you have the option to either use a paper wallet service like myetherwallet.com or spend 99 USD on a hardware wallet like KeepKey. Both serve the purpose of removing platform risk, at the cost of taking up the responsibility of keeping your cryptocurrency safe.

To transfer your crypto from exchanges to your hardware wallet for long term storage, simply follow these steps, using Coinbase and KeepKey as an example:

★ Plug in your KeepKey USB cable

★ Open your KeepKey Client (on Google Chrome under Apps)

★ Find your wallet address on the KeepKey Client UI

★ Access Coinbase ‘Send/Request’ tab and input your KeepKey wallet address

★ Confirm amount and click ‘Send Funds’

Take note to first send a tiny amount (e.g. 0.0001 BTC) for testing before sending the bulk, lest an error occurred and the transfer amount is lost. A small network transfer fee might be charged.

Personally, I own a hardware wallet, as I love the feeling of a having around a tangible reminder of my crypto holdings. Also, the hardware wallet’s user interface makes it easy to keep multiple coins, which is especially handy when you participate in ICOs (Initial Coin Offering) in the future.

Cryptocurrency as a Percentage of Your Portfolio

This part will be wildly subjective. Crypto has the potential to realize many ‘rags to riches’ stories, but its volatility makes it unpredictable. As a precaution, the money you put in crypto should be money that you are fine with losing. I cannot emphasize the importance of this as we often underestimate how the volatility affects our emotional capacities. The upside is huge, but it comes with lots of risks and, if I may put it, emotional torment.

A conservative portfolio I would suggest is as follows:

★ < 30 years old (max) 30% Crypto, 50% Traditional Investments

★ 30 – 40 years old (max) 20% Crypto, 60% Traditional Investments

★ > 40 years old (max) 10% Crypto, 70% Traditional Investments

This is not meant to be age discriminatory but considers the fact that one takes up more financial responsibilities (mortgage, family) as he grows older.

Within the designated crypto share of your portfolio, you may diversify your coins based on your risk appetite.

Show Me the Money!  Cryptocurrency Investing

Now, this is where it gets exciting.

How do we pick the winner? How do we avoid picking the loser?

Note that crypto is now in a huge bull market and anything could rise over time. Also, do not dismiss the possibility that we may be in a bubble like the-dot-com boom back in 2000. Still, ask yourself these questions before you decide to invest in a coin:

Are my investments safe with the dev team? The first rule of investing should always be the preservation of capital. Can you trust the dev team with your money? Are you about to leave your money with founders who have been involved in previous scams? If you see these telling signs, back off immediately. The coin’s price might grow for all you care, but it is just not worth it to put your capital at such risk.

Does my coin of interest have a long-term plan? If you cannot understand their yellow paper, at least read their white paper. What are the team trying to achieve? Do they have the means, or have they already worked towards their goals? What are the timelines and milestones?

Does my coin of interest seem like a well-marketed plan with no backup? Lots of ICOs these days just have a pretty webpage, and then they’re shipped out to sell. Watch out for these: are they able to deliver?

How long should I stay in this? Do I have an exit plan? There will be coins where you do not want to hold forever, but wish to flip for some short-term gains. In this case, be sure to set a timeframe, or an exit price, to reduce to effect of emotions on your trades. Stick to your plan and watch your emotions.

Does it have a real-world use case? Some coins seem to keep increasing in value simply due to supply-demand factors. This trend might not be sustainable. For a coin to have long term supported value, it must have a real-world use case eventually. Look out for coins that look too much like a get-rich-quick scheme.

Short Term Trading with Margin

Once you get familiarized with crypto, you may want to trade on your ‘stash’ in hopes of increasing it. For the experienced forex traders, this is nothing new. But for the new crypto investor, you may want to brief up on how to make a leveraged trade.

Short-term trading takes advantages of incoming news to make a quick buck. If you foresee good news from an upcoming release of a coin, you may want to open a long and see how it goes. Remember, buy the rumor, sell the news; act fast and be daring if you wish to make a profit with short term trading.

Mining

For those who are more comfortable with a predictable form of reward, mining is the way. Mining involves setting up of a rig, consisting of GPUs or CPUs and an investment in the electricity. Mining is only possible on cryptocurrencies that follow the Proof of Work protocol. It takes some effort to setup and gets things running, but it is attractive as a long-term passive income as long as you frontload the work.

Staking

Staking is the Proof of Stake version of ‘mining.’ Think of this as making dividends on your stock. The reward rate and staking method differ greatly among Proof of Stake coins, but in general, it takes less effort as compared to mining.

Arbitraging

As you get a hand in multiple exchanges, you may wish to buy from one exchange and sell on another to make ‘arbitrage’ gains when you spot an arbitraging opportunity. Take note of two things if you wish to do so: remember to factor in fees, and remember that the price could change when you are transferring your coin between exchanges, especially during volatile times. USD tends to be liquid so this happens less for it, but for other currencies such as CAD (Canadian dollar) and SGD (Singapore dollar), there may exist more arbitraging opportunities to exploit.

Helpful Resources

Check out coinmarketcap for the tabulation of various coins’ market cap and price. Check out cryptowat for the prices of popular coins across different exchanges. Check out the respective coins’ subreddits for available news and market sentiments. Lastly, check out hypecoaster for how much more crypto you need for a Lamborghini Aventador 🙂

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That’s about all I have, for now, invest smart and most importantly, don’t forget to have fun!

General

Greenpeace Guide Marks The Greener Within Electronics Companies

Every year, Greenpeace releases the “Guide to Greener Electronics”, indicating the “green” level of electronic companies and placing them on a 0-10 analog meter scale. The guide, which rates performance based on policies and practices on toxic chemicals and electronic waste, shows that Asian companies like Samsung and Toshiba have won the highest score, gaining 7.7 points, while Nintendo has scored only 0.3 points, “earning” the most feckless e-waste company of 2008. Other 18 tech companies in the guide, include Microsoft, Sharp, Sony Ericsson, Philips, Acer, Hp, Motorola, and more. According to Greenpeace toxic waste campaigner, Iza Kruszewska, “The challenge is clear. To be truly green, the IT industry needs to commit to designing products that are free of toxic chemicals, are energy efficient, durable, and recyclable while taking full responsibility for them globally, including when they become waste“, and we say – Amen.

 Greenpeace-green-guide

[via slashgear]