Valentine’s day: When talking cognitive and blockchain will make your loved one’s eyes sparkle!

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Why Valentine is excellent inspiration for Fintechs

Today is Valentine’s day, the day people around the world celebrate love.   Doesn’t matter if relation wise, you are just a start-up or, like me, in a more mature position, today couples surprise their significant others with little tokens of their affection: a card, flowers, dining out, or just staying at home, on the couch, binge watching TV shows on your favourite streamer.  And by infusing your date with cognitive and blockchain, you are set to impress.

Valentine is big business.  In 2016 people in the US spent a record  19,7 billion USD on Valentine’s gifts.

Although it is expected that Valentine’s Day spending will fall in 2017 (according to MarketWatch, citing an National Retail Foundation survey ), they still spend an average of 136 USD a person.   Now, you can choose to spent money on your honey, or bring in some tech and make quality time for you and your significant other.   Dear youngsters, take it from an experienced guy, quality time always works! Infusing your date with Cognitive, is a good Recipe for Love !

Staying Home, the smart way

Light the candles, put some nice flowers on the table and whip out your culinary talents.   Cook your partners favourite dish!  Visit ChefWatson first, and – based on ingredients, dish or style, let him make some twisted suggestions for you. Imagine how impressed he/she will be if you present a Valentine’s Day Truffle Burger.

source : ibmchefwatson.com

After this copious meal, lead your partner to the couch, fluff the pillows, tuck in the blankets, make yourself comfortable and then…  pop the question:

“Watson, what should we watch tonight?”

Looking at the popularity of Netflix and consorts, the average person’s appetite for streaming video content is tremendous. (By 2021, the research firm MarketsandMarkets expects the market to reach $70 billion.) Making the right choice isn’t always easy.  Streaming platforms do suggest films and series to watch, but with the help of IBM Watson, you discover options you might nog have even considered.

Watson can find patterns in the way people interact with video content, from the selections they make, to how often they rewind or pause, to which videos they have abandoned midstream or watched repeatedly. By identifying and analyzing commonalities between the types of programming a viewer enjoys, Watson makes you discover new things.   And after a night of romance, have a breakfast in bed: glass of fresh juice, tea or coffee and a bowl of your own customized blend of healthy cognitive granola.

Protecting your girl’s best friend

Last year, people spent 4,5 billion USD on jewellery in the US alone.   Before you fork out a hefty sum to “put a ring on it”, you better want to make sure that your rock is rock-solid trustable. To kindle your love, enter blockchain.

The diamond industry is prone for fraud and black market trade. Provenance (the so-called blood diamonds), fraud and document tampering are regular issues in an industry where transactional trust is at the very core of the business.

Leanne Kemp, CEO of EverLedger, pointed out in a recent interview with SiliconANGEL magazine that “due to holes in the value chain, (…) counterfeiting in luxury goods are a $1.7 trillion problem — and the diamond market makes up $50 billion of the latter in the insurance industry alone.”

Based on IBM Blockchain High Security Business Network, EverLedger built a global, digital ledger that tracks and protects diamonds throughout their lifetime journey. They collect the cut and uncut diamonds defining characteristics, history, and ownership to create a permanent record on the blockchain. This record is used by the different stakeholders across the supply chain to form provenance and verify authenticity. Today, 1 million diamonds are uploaded in EverLedger, tracking 320 carats of rough diamonds across 80 countries around the world.

It shows that blockchain can be used for all kind of marketplaces, from diamonds, over valuable assets to other financial products. Blockchain limits fraud in open marketplaces and reduces the risk for banks and insurance companies.  The technology is a base element of the rising Fintech industry.  If blockchain can protect your girl’s assets, it can protect your assets and the assets of others.

Admit, you never imagined that Valentine is such an excellent inspiration for Fintech.