ResidentialBusiness

You don't need to do much digging online to find complaints about the iPhone keyboard: From typos and spelling mistakes to lag and missed keystrokes, there are multiple issues being reported by users, across multiple versions of iOS. While the root causes of these problems tend to vary, there are some broad fixes you can try that should go some way to giving you an iPhone keyboard experience you can rely on—besides waiting for the next bug-squashing iOS update from Apple. Reset the keyboard dictionary on your iPhone Resetting the keyboard on iOS. Credit: Lifehacker Over time, the iOS keyboard tries to build up smarter autocorrect suggestions for you, but these aren't always helpful: The further away these suggestions get from the defaults, the worse they can get, which risks turning your sentences into gibberish. To clean the slate and go back to the beginning, open up Settings, then tap General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Keyboard Dictionary. Type in your handset's unlock code, then choose Reset Dictionary. Add custom words and shortcuts to your iPhone's dictionaryThis may seem to contradict the previous tip, but by explicitly teaching your iPhone the words it often gets wrong, you can reduce the likelihood of those frustrating moments where iOS suddenly replaces the word you were typing with something else (e.g. "he'll yeah" or "what the duck"). From Settings, tap General > Keyboard > Text Replacement. Tap on the + (plus) button in the top right corner, then enter your word or phrase—you can add a shortcut for it too to help you type it more quickly, but it's optional. Tap Save to confirm. Adjust other iPhone keyboard settings If a keyboard setting isn't helping, turn it off. Credit: Lifehacker There are more keyboard settings that are worth taking a look at under General > Keyboard in iOS Settings. You can turn Auto-Correction off completely, for example, and disable Slide to Type if your fingers have a tendency to slip across the keyboard. There are additional tweaks you can make through the Accessibility menu in Settings: Under Touch > Touch Accommodations, you can change the sensitivity of double-taps and press-and-holds, among other settings, which may help improve typing accuracy. Change your iPhone's keyboard layoutThere's not a lot you can do with the iPhone keyboard layout to improve your typing experience and eliminate bugs, but there is a one-handed mode you can try in order to minimize glitches and ensure your keypresses match up with what's on screen. To switch to the one-handed layout, tap and hold on the globe icon in the lower left corner of the keyboard, then tap one of the icons at the bottom of the pop-up menu: You can move the keyboard to the left, or the right, or put it back to normal. Switch to a different keyboard on the iPhone You've got several options for iOS keyboards. Credit: Lifehacker If you're still struggling with the vagaries of the keyboard on iOS, you can always opt to install a third-party alternative: We've covered a bunch here, including Gboard and SwiftKey, and they typically offer more customization options than the Apple default. Once you've installed an alternative keyboard or two, you can manage them from iOS Settings by choosing General > Keyboard > Keyboards. To actually switch between keyboards when typing, press and hold on the globe icon (lower left). Or avoid a keyboard altogetherThere are also some more extreme measures you can take that maybe haven't crossed your mind. The first is to use a Bluetooth keyboard (via Bluetooth in Settings), which will give you a more convenient (if less portable) way of typing text into your iPhone. The second is to ensure dictation is enabled in General > Keyboard in Settings, then tap the mic icon in the lower right corner of the keyboard, and speak out your text. You can handle emojis, line breaks, text editing, and more, using your voice. View the full article

A phrase from the 1990s altered America’s sense of itself — and its political trajectoryView the full article

Collapse follows revelations about former peer’s relationship with Jeffrey EpsteinView the full article

New data highlights spiralling import costs as president seeks to quell growing backlash over his flagship policiesView the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The 75-inch LG evo AI Mini LED 4K Smart TV (75QNED85AUA) is down to $896.99 from $1,396.99 on Amazon, which is the lowest price it has hit so far, according to price trackers. It lands in the middle of LG’s QNED range, sitting above the QNED82A and below the QNED92A. In practical terms, that means you’re getting a big 75-inch screen with Mini LED backlighting and local dimming, plus LG’s latest α8 AI Processor Gen2 handling the picture. LG 75-Inch Class QNED evo AI QNED85A Series Mini LED 4K Smart TV $896.99 at Amazon $1,396.99 Save $500.00 Get Deal Get Deal $896.99 at Amazon $1,396.99 Save $500.00 There are four HDMI ports, and all of them can do 4K at 120Hz, so it pairs well with a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. It supports common HDR formats like HDR10 and HLG, and it has Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, and eARC if you want to hook up a soundbar. LG’s 2025 version of webOS runs the interface, and the company says it will provide software updates for five years through its Re:New program. In day-to-day use, this TV does a lot right. Regular HD channels and cable broadcasts look solid once you tweak the basic settings. Colors in standard viewing modes look natural instead of overly saturated. Older or lower-resolution content, like DVDs or heavily compressed streams, looks cleaner than you might expect on a screen this large. Motion is handled well for most shows and sports. Slow camera pans in movies look smooth, without that distracting stutter. For gaming, having four HDMI ports that all support 4K at 120Hz is convenient, especially if you have more than one console. Plus, variable refresh rate (VRR) helps cut down on screen tearing during fast gameplay. Where it falls short is in contrast and brightness. Because it is edge-lit, the black levels are not especially deep, and you can sometimes see a faint glow around bright objects on dark backgrounds. HDR movies do not have the same pop you’d get from a brighter or more advanced panel. And fast, dark action scenes may show a bit of blur. It can also struggle in a very sunny room, where glare becomes noticeable. Still, at under $900 for 75 inches, this is a lot of screen for the money. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods 4 Active Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds — $139.99 (List Price $179.00) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $329.00 (List Price $349.00) Google Pixel 10a 128GB 6.3" Unlocked Smartphone + $100 Gift Card — $499.00 (List Price $599.00) Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 46mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - M/L. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant — $329.00 (List Price $429.00) Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus — $29.99 (List Price $49.99) Bose QuietComfort Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones — $229.99 (List Price $349.00) Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ 64GB Wi-Fi 11" Tablet (Silver) — $159.99 (List Price $219.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

Can AI help neurodivergent adults connect with each other? That’s the bet of a new social network called Synchrony, which believes AI and a well-designed social network with the right safeguards can reduce social atomization and calm the overwhelming cacophony of socializing online. Launching February 19, the social network debuts during a moment when social media, chatbots, and doomscrolling has made digital communications a hot button topic for parents. “No other app for the neurodiverse is focusing primarily on reducing social anxiety and encouraging friendship,” says cofounder Jamie Pastrano. “I think that’s the biggest piece of it, and no other app is focusing on building an authentic community.” Synchrony also has support from Starry Foundation and Autism Speaks, two large U.S. advocacy groups, and approval from the Apple App Store. “I was really blown away about what they’re trying to do,” says Bobby Vossoughi, president of the Starry Foundation. “These kids are isolated and their social cues are off. They’re creating something that could really change this community’s lives for the long term.” A parenting challenge without a solution The idea for Synchrony came from Pastrano, a former management consultant and executive sales leader, whose son, Jesse, 21, is autistic. As Jesse experienced teenagerhood, Pastrano became frustrated with the challenges she saw her son facing around the friendship gap; she saw him as a social kid, but planning, timing, even saying the appropriate thing often tripped him up. Unlike other challenges she’d faced as a mother of a neurodivergent child, this one didn’t seem to have a solution. Research shows that people with autism or neuro developmental differences—roughly 1 in 5 people according to the Neurodiversity Alliance—face increasing loneliness as they transition between adolescence and adulthood. New social responsibilities and expectations for life after school, combined with the loss of support systems that may have been embedded in secondary and university education, can lead to isolation. One of the cofounders, Brittany Moser, an autism specialist who teaches at Park University in Missouri, says that she’s held crying students who, forced to operate in a world that’s not built for them, are desperate for social connection. She hopes this network can foster it. “Autism doesn’t end at 18,” Pastrano says. “There was this huge gap in services to support social, emotional, and community needs.” Pastrano sold her company in 2024 and devoted herself to solving the issue with what would become Synchrony. Part of Pastrano’s inspiration came from reality television. The dating show Love on the Spectrum piqued her interest, causing her to think not about romance, but about connection, friendship, and community. She even contacted a coach on the show, who suggested she get certified at the PEERS program at UCLA, which teaches social and dating skills to young adults on the spectrum. Broadly speaking, Synchrony is built with the same digital infrastructure as a dating site, but is meant for fostering friendships amid a unique population. A big part of the design challenge was making sure it was suitable for the audience, and wasn’t too distracting or loud. Profiles focus much more on interests, Pastrano says, since interests weigh much more heavily as a reason to communicate among this population. There’s also a space to list neurodiversity classifications and communication style and preferences (“I prefer text to phone calls,” or “I take a few days to reply,” etc.) as part of the effort to front-load key details. Simplified menus and colors and no ads help reduce distractions. Pastrano also wants to respect the community and focus on healthy experiences and not push for rapid growth; users pay a monthly fee of $44.99 after a free 30-day trial, allowing the network to avoid advertisements. Part of the registration process includes two-step verification—both the user and a trusted person, either a teacher, doctor, or parent needs to input personal details and a photo ID—to make sure bad actors outside the community aren’t given access. Social Coach, or ‘Seductive Cul-de-sac’ Part of Synchrony’s strategy is the use of Jesse (named after Pastrano’s son), marketed as an “AI-powered social support tool that goes far beyond chat assist technology.” By providing real-time conversation support, the chatbot aims to overcome social anxiety and a lack of confidence around socialization. Talking with Jesse online, developers claim, will bolster user self-assurance and communication skills, eventually manifesting in real life. When Synchrony users get stuck in an online conversation, they can tap an icon to summon Jesse, who will provide editable solutions to advance or end an interaction. The AI coach offers three main options: a tool to help express yourself, that will offer solutions to continuing the conversation; a button that can help parse through the conversation to help better understand what happened, and whether something might have been meant as flirty or friendly; and a final option to protect, and offer suggestions to set boundaries and exit a conversation quietly. Built using the Amazon Bedrock large language model and trained by Synchrony staff, Jesse is scanning conversations constantly to provide social coaching when asked. The use of AI among the neurodivergent population has sparked the same debates as the technology’s use among the population at large. Research by a team at Stanford found that an AI chatbot they developed called Noora, designed to improve communication skills, can improve empathy among users with autism. Some members of the community have claimed AI coaches have helped them with relationships and “transformed” their lives. At the same time, some advocacy groups have warned that chatbot’s emotional manipulation can be more severe for the neurodiverse, and some researchers are concerned AI might reinforce bad communication habits. British researcher Chris Papadopoulos sums up the state of play in a recent paper, concluding that while “the technology holds the potential to democratize companionship… left unchecked, AI companions could become a seductive cul-de-sac, capturing autistic people in artificial relationships that stunt their growth or even lead them into harm’s way.” Amid awareness of the sometimes destructive and even deadly consequences of chatbot use, there are significant guardrails built into Jesse, says Moser, including a long list of activities and actions to avoid, like not sharing personal addresses. Jesse is also told not to dispense medical advice. Jesse is not a therapist, and as the founders are clear to note, this isn’t a clinical app. If users start asking Jesse about off-topic concepts, Moser says it will be programmed to reply something to the effect of, “Hmm, I don’t know if that’s really going to help you connect with the other members.” There will also be warnings if someone is spending too much time just talking with Jesse. Synchrony is launching with human moderation to provide extra safeguards. Lynn Koegel, a professor and researcher at Stanford University who has studied autism and technology, says her team has spent time updating and changing their models of Noora, to make sure it’s not too harsh, such as not reinforcing communication attempts or being too strict around grammar issues. She says it’s very important to do more in-depth studies and clinical research to make sure these tools do work well and as intended (she has not seen or tested Synchrony). “My gut feeling is these tools can be very good support,” she says. “The jury is out about whether individual programs that haven’t been tested can be assistive.” As the Synchrony team works out bugs and final design issues before launch, the challenge becomes building a robust enough community to drive more organic growth. Early user testing that started in December, both an alpha test of 14 users, and closed beta tests among university support groups for autistic students, helped them refine the model and layout. The marketing strategy at launch doesn’t focus on the users themselves, but rather neurodiverse employer groups, universities that have neurodiverse programs (who can create their own closed-loop, campus versions of the app), advocates, and relevant podcast hosts. “Success is about awareness and attention,” says Pastrano. “It’s not a numbers game for me. It’s a really personal game.” View the full article

Military build-up and fraught rhetoric leave a narrow path to securing a deal that would allow both sides to save faceView the full article

If the thought of AI smart glasses annoys you, you’re not alone. This week, the judge presiding over a historic social media addiction trial took a harsh stance on the AI-powered gadgets, which many bystanders find invasive of their privacy: Stop recording or face contempt of court. Here’s what you need to know. What’s happened? Yesterday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stand in a trial that many industry watchers say could have severe ramifications for social media giants, depending on how it turns out. At the heart of the trial is the question of whether social media companies like Meta, via its Facebook and Instagram platforms, purposely designed said platforms to be addictive. Since the trial began, many Big Tech execs have taken the stand to give testimony, and yesterday it was Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s turn. But while Zuckerberg was there to talk about his legacy products—Facebook and Instagram, particularly—for a brief moment, the presiding judge in the case, Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl, turned her attention to a newer Meta product: the company’s Ray-Ban Meta AI Glasses. Judge warns AI smart glasses wearers According to multiple reports, at one point during yesterday’s trial, Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl took a moment to issue a stark warning to anyone wearing AI glasses in the courtroom: stop recording with them and delete the footage, or face contempt. Many courts generally forbid recording during trials, though there are exceptions. However, while the judge did seem to be worried about recording in general, she also had another concern: the privacy of the jury. “If your glasses are recording, you must take them off,” the judge said, per the Los Angeles Times. “It is the order of this court that there must be no facial recognition of the jury. If you have done that, you must delete it. This is very serious.” Currently, Meta’s AI glasses do not include the ability to identify the names of the people a wearer views through them, but that’s not likely what the judge meant in her concerns about “facial recognition.” Instead, it is likely the judge was concerned that the video recorded by the AI glasses could then be later viewed and run through external facial recognition software to identify the jury in the video. Some of Meta’s AI glasses can record video clips up to three minutes long. From reports, it does not appear as if the judge singled out any specific individuals in the courtroom, but CNBC reports that ahead of Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony, members of his team, escorting him into the building, were spotted wearing Meta Ray-Ban artificial intelligence glasses. As the LA Times reported, the judge’s “admonition was met with silence in the courtroom.” Broader social concerns over AI glasses The privacy of jurors is critical for fair and impartial trials, as well as their own safety. Given that, it’s no surprise that the judge did not mince words when warning about AI glasses recording. But the judge’s courtroom concerns also mirror many people’s broader concerns over AI glasses: People are worried about wearers of the glasses violating their privacy, either by recording them or using facial recognition to identify them. This concern first became evident more than a decade ago after Google introduced its now-failed smart glasses called Google Glass. Wearers of the device soon became known as “glassholes” due to what many bystanders felt was their intrusive nature. When talking to a person wearing smart glasses, you can never be sure you aren’t being recorded—and that freaks people out. That apprehension about smart glasses has not gone away in the years since Google Glass’s demise. Modern smart glasses are much more capable and concealed. At the same time, everyday consumers are more concerned about their privacy than ever. These privacy concerns will continue to be a major hurdle to AI smart glasses adoption—especially as AI smart glasses manufacturers, including Meta, reportedly plan to add facial recognition features in the future. The judge’s admonishment of AI glasses wearers in the courtroom yesterday won’t help the devices’ already strained reputation. View the full article

To effectively boost customer loyalty, it’s vital to adopt best practices that improve retention rates. Start by prioritizing exceptional customer service, which sets a solid foundation for positive experiences. Next, actively seek and value customer feedback, allowing you to comprehend their needs better. Personalizing interactions can make customers feel valued, whereas implementing loyalty programs rewards their continued support. Finally, nurturing a culture of continuous improvement guarantees your strategies remain relevant. Recognizing these fundamentals is key to long-term success. Key Takeaways Prioritize exceptional customer service to enhance satisfaction and retention, as 70% of consumers make purchases based on service quality. Actively seek and value customer feedback to foster a sense of community and improve loyalty through systematic analysis. Personalize customer interactions by offering tailored recommendations and understanding generational preferences to boost engagement and satisfaction. Implement effective loyalty programs with immediate rewards and exclusive perks to encourage repeat purchases and brand loyalty. Foster a culture of continuous improvement by using customer insights to refine strategies and ensure consistent service across all channels. Prioritize Exceptional Customer Service In today’s competitive market, prioritizing exceptional customer service is vital for retaining customers and nurturing loyalty. Studies show that 70% of consumers have made purchases based on the quality of service they received. By focusing on customer service, businesses can achieve a 90% increase in customer retention, emphasizing its direct correlation with loyalty. Empowering and training your staff improves their ability to provide knowledgeable service, as 63% of customers prefer returning to businesses that exhibit expertise. Furthermore, timely responses to inquiries boost satisfaction rates by 87%, highlighting the need for quick resolutions. In the end, implementing these customer retention best practices can greatly increase customer lifetime value, with loyal customers generating ten times more revenue than one-time buyers, reinforcing the importance of exceptional service. Actively Seek and Value Customer Feedback Exceptional customer service creates a strong foundation for customer loyalty, but actively seeking and valuing feedback can take that loyalty to the next level. To effectively learn how to retain customers, implement regular feedback collection through surveys and direct communication. Research shows that 96% of professionals prioritize gathering customer insights to identify improvement areas. By systematically analyzing this feedback, you can adapt your offerings, leading to higher satisfaction and loyalty. When customers see their opinions valued, they feel appreciated and are more likely to stay engaged with your brand. Furthermore, involving customers in the feedback process cultivates a sense of community, which improves loyalty and encourages positive word-of-mouth referrals, ultimately increasing your retention rates and strengthening your brand. Personalize Customer Interactions When businesses prioritize personalization in customer interactions, they greatly improve their chances of retaining customers. With 71% of consumers expecting customized experiences, it’s vital to integrate customer retention marketing strategies that focus on individual preferences. For instance, sending personalized recommendations based on past purchases can greatly improve customer satisfaction. Nonetheless, less than 50% of businesses currently provide such customized suggestions in their loyalty programs, revealing a considerable opportunity for improvement. Furthermore, comprehending generational communication preferences allows you to engage effectively; younger customers may prefer digital interactions, whereas older customers may favor in-store experiences. Implement Loyalty Programs Implementing effective loyalty programs can greatly improve customer retention and drive repeat purchases for your business. To improve your program, consider these strategies on how to increase customer retention: Offer Immediate Rewards: Consumers love discounts and points. Providing instant benefits encourages repeat visits and purchases. Create Tiered Programs: By implementing levels of rewards, you incentivize higher spending and cultivate brand loyalty through exclusive perks and recognition. Personalize Marketing Efforts: Use customer data to offer customized recommendations, which can markedly improve satisfaction and engagement. Foster a Culture of Continuous Improvement Nurturing a culture of continuous improvement is vital for businesses aiming to boost customer retention and satisfaction. By regularly gathering customer feedback, you can identify areas for refinement that directly impact loyalty. For instance, 96% of Voice of Customer professionals use surveys to analyze customer input. Implementing changes based on this feedback, like hardware stores adjusting inventory according to contractor needs, can lead to increased satisfaction. Additionally, since 87% of customers seek service consistency across channels, engaging in a continuous improvement cycle helps you adapt swiftly to their expectations. By leveraging insights from unstructured feedback, you can refine your customer service retention strategies, ensuring long-term growth and higher retention rates through consistently meeting customer needs. Frequently Asked Questions How Can Small Businesses Implement Customer Retention Strategies Effectively? To implement customer retention strategies effectively, you should focus on comprehending your customers’ needs. Start by collecting feedback through surveys or direct communication to identify areas for improvement. Next, personalize your services or products based on this feedback to improve customer experience. Furthermore, create loyalty programs that reward repeat purchases, and guarantee your customer service is responsive and helpful. Regularly engaging with customers through newsletters or social media can likewise strengthen relationships. What Role Does Social Media Play in Customer Retention? Social media plays an essential role in customer retention by facilitating direct communication between you and your customers. It allows you to share updates, respond to inquiries, and gather feedback quickly. For instance, you can use platforms like Facebook or Instagram to post engaging content that keeps customers informed about promotions or new products. Furthermore, showcasing customer testimonials on these platforms can improve trust and encourage loyalty, making customers feel valued and connected to your brand. How Can Data Analytics Improve Customer Retention Efforts? Data analytics can greatly improve your customer retention efforts by identifying trends and behaviors. By analyzing purchase history, you can tailor marketing strategies to meet customer preferences. For instance, segmenting customers based on their buying patterns allows you to create personalized offers. Furthermore, tracking customer feedback through surveys helps pinpoint areas for improvement. Implementing these insights guarantees you address customer needs effectively, leading to increased satisfaction and loyalty over time. What Are Common Mistakes to Avoid in Customer Retention Strategies? When developing customer retention strategies, avoid common mistakes like neglecting feedback, failing to personalize communication, and ignoring data analytics. If you don’t listen to customer concerns, you miss opportunities for improvement. Personalization helps customers feel valued, so generic messages can alienate them. Furthermore, not leveraging data analytics means you might overlook trends and behaviors that indicate when a customer is likely to disengage. Prioritizing these aspects can improve your retention efforts greatly. How Often Should We Review Our Customer Retention Practices? You should review your customer retention practices at least quarterly. This frequency allows you to assess the effectiveness of your strategies and make timely adjustments. For instance, if you notice a drop in engagement, you can quickly analyze customer feedback and adapt your approach. Furthermore, annual reviews can help you evaluate long-term trends. Regular assessments guarantee you stay aligned with customer needs and market changes, ultimately improving retention and loyalty. Conclusion Incorporating these five best practices can greatly improve your customer retention efforts. By prioritizing exceptional service, valuing feedback, personalizing interactions, implementing effective loyalty programs, and promoting continuous improvement, you create a more engaging experience for your customers. These strategies not merely strengthen loyalty but also encourage long-term relationships. When customers feel valued and understood, they are more likely to return and recommend your business to others, finally driving sustained growth and success. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "5 Essential Best Practices for Customer Retention to Boost Loyalty" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

To effectively boost customer loyalty, it’s vital to adopt best practices that improve retention rates. Start by prioritizing exceptional customer service, which sets a solid foundation for positive experiences. Next, actively seek and value customer feedback, allowing you to comprehend their needs better. Personalizing interactions can make customers feel valued, whereas implementing loyalty programs rewards their continued support. Finally, nurturing a culture of continuous improvement guarantees your strategies remain relevant. Recognizing these fundamentals is key to long-term success. Key Takeaways Prioritize exceptional customer service to enhance satisfaction and retention, as 70% of consumers make purchases based on service quality. Actively seek and value customer feedback to foster a sense of community and improve loyalty through systematic analysis. Personalize customer interactions by offering tailored recommendations and understanding generational preferences to boost engagement and satisfaction. Implement effective loyalty programs with immediate rewards and exclusive perks to encourage repeat purchases and brand loyalty. Foster a culture of continuous improvement by using customer insights to refine strategies and ensure consistent service across all channels. Prioritize Exceptional Customer Service In today’s competitive market, prioritizing exceptional customer service is vital for retaining customers and nurturing loyalty. Studies show that 70% of consumers have made purchases based on the quality of service they received. By focusing on customer service, businesses can achieve a 90% increase in customer retention, emphasizing its direct correlation with loyalty. Empowering and training your staff improves their ability to provide knowledgeable service, as 63% of customers prefer returning to businesses that exhibit expertise. Furthermore, timely responses to inquiries boost satisfaction rates by 87%, highlighting the need for quick resolutions. In the end, implementing these customer retention best practices can greatly increase customer lifetime value, with loyal customers generating ten times more revenue than one-time buyers, reinforcing the importance of exceptional service. Actively Seek and Value Customer Feedback Exceptional customer service creates a strong foundation for customer loyalty, but actively seeking and valuing feedback can take that loyalty to the next level. To effectively learn how to retain customers, implement regular feedback collection through surveys and direct communication. Research shows that 96% of professionals prioritize gathering customer insights to identify improvement areas. By systematically analyzing this feedback, you can adapt your offerings, leading to higher satisfaction and loyalty. When customers see their opinions valued, they feel appreciated and are more likely to stay engaged with your brand. Furthermore, involving customers in the feedback process cultivates a sense of community, which improves loyalty and encourages positive word-of-mouth referrals, ultimately increasing your retention rates and strengthening your brand. Personalize Customer Interactions When businesses prioritize personalization in customer interactions, they greatly improve their chances of retaining customers. With 71% of consumers expecting customized experiences, it’s vital to integrate customer retention marketing strategies that focus on individual preferences. For instance, sending personalized recommendations based on past purchases can greatly improve customer satisfaction. Nonetheless, less than 50% of businesses currently provide such customized suggestions in their loyalty programs, revealing a considerable opportunity for improvement. Furthermore, comprehending generational communication preferences allows you to engage effectively; younger customers may prefer digital interactions, whereas older customers may favor in-store experiences. Implement Loyalty Programs Implementing effective loyalty programs can greatly improve customer retention and drive repeat purchases for your business. To improve your program, consider these strategies on how to increase customer retention: Offer Immediate Rewards: Consumers love discounts and points. Providing instant benefits encourages repeat visits and purchases. Create Tiered Programs: By implementing levels of rewards, you incentivize higher spending and cultivate brand loyalty through exclusive perks and recognition. Personalize Marketing Efforts: Use customer data to offer customized recommendations, which can markedly improve satisfaction and engagement. Foster a Culture of Continuous Improvement Nurturing a culture of continuous improvement is vital for businesses aiming to boost customer retention and satisfaction. By regularly gathering customer feedback, you can identify areas for refinement that directly impact loyalty. For instance, 96% of Voice of Customer professionals use surveys to analyze customer input. Implementing changes based on this feedback, like hardware stores adjusting inventory according to contractor needs, can lead to increased satisfaction. Additionally, since 87% of customers seek service consistency across channels, engaging in a continuous improvement cycle helps you adapt swiftly to their expectations. By leveraging insights from unstructured feedback, you can refine your customer service retention strategies, ensuring long-term growth and higher retention rates through consistently meeting customer needs. Frequently Asked Questions How Can Small Businesses Implement Customer Retention Strategies Effectively? To implement customer retention strategies effectively, you should focus on comprehending your customers’ needs. Start by collecting feedback through surveys or direct communication to identify areas for improvement. Next, personalize your services or products based on this feedback to improve customer experience. Furthermore, create loyalty programs that reward repeat purchases, and guarantee your customer service is responsive and helpful. Regularly engaging with customers through newsletters or social media can likewise strengthen relationships. What Role Does Social Media Play in Customer Retention? Social media plays an essential role in customer retention by facilitating direct communication between you and your customers. It allows you to share updates, respond to inquiries, and gather feedback quickly. For instance, you can use platforms like Facebook or Instagram to post engaging content that keeps customers informed about promotions or new products. Furthermore, showcasing customer testimonials on these platforms can improve trust and encourage loyalty, making customers feel valued and connected to your brand. How Can Data Analytics Improve Customer Retention Efforts? Data analytics can greatly improve your customer retention efforts by identifying trends and behaviors. By analyzing purchase history, you can tailor marketing strategies to meet customer preferences. For instance, segmenting customers based on their buying patterns allows you to create personalized offers. Furthermore, tracking customer feedback through surveys helps pinpoint areas for improvement. Implementing these insights guarantees you address customer needs effectively, leading to increased satisfaction and loyalty over time. What Are Common Mistakes to Avoid in Customer Retention Strategies? When developing customer retention strategies, avoid common mistakes like neglecting feedback, failing to personalize communication, and ignoring data analytics. If you don’t listen to customer concerns, you miss opportunities for improvement. Personalization helps customers feel valued, so generic messages can alienate them. Furthermore, not leveraging data analytics means you might overlook trends and behaviors that indicate when a customer is likely to disengage. Prioritizing these aspects can improve your retention efforts greatly. How Often Should We Review Our Customer Retention Practices? You should review your customer retention practices at least quarterly. This frequency allows you to assess the effectiveness of your strategies and make timely adjustments. For instance, if you notice a drop in engagement, you can quickly analyze customer feedback and adapt your approach. Furthermore, annual reviews can help you evaluate long-term trends. Regular assessments guarantee you stay aligned with customer needs and market changes, ultimately improving retention and loyalty. Conclusion Incorporating these five best practices can greatly improve your customer retention efforts. By prioritizing exceptional service, valuing feedback, personalizing interactions, implementing effective loyalty programs, and promoting continuous improvement, you create a more engaging experience for your customers. These strategies not merely strengthen loyalty but also encourage long-term relationships. When customers feel valued and understood, they are more likely to return and recommend your business to others, finally driving sustained growth and success. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "5 Essential Best Practices for Customer Retention to Boost Loyalty" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

A party that once mocked the ‘magic money tree’ appears to have built its own house in the branchesView the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The OnePlus Buds Pro 3 are down to $129.99 on Amazon, from their usual $179.99. That is their lowest price so far, according to price trackers. PCMag gave them an “excellent” rating, largely because they deliver strong sound and active noise cancellation without pushing into premium pricing. At this price, they sit in the crowded midrange category, but they offer a feature set that competes with more expensive earbuds. OnePlus Buds Pro 3 Wireless ANC Earbuds (Midnight Opus) $129.99 at Amazon $179.99 Save $50.00 Get Deal Get Deal $129.99 at Amazon $179.99 Save $50.00 These IP55-rated earbuds use a dual-driver setup, with 11mm and 6mm drivers working together to produce a wide 10Hz–40kHz range. In practice, that means deep bass that feels full but not bloated, and highs that stay clear instead of sounding harsh. The Buds Pro 3 support Bluetooth 5.4, multipoint connectivity, and codecs like AAC, SBC, and LHDC 5.0 for compatible devices. If you own a recent OnePlus phone, you can access high-res audio and most settings directly through the Bluetooth menu. On other Android or iOS devices, the HeyMelody app unlocks nearly everything, including five EQ presets, a six-band custom EQ, and features like a fit test and Golden Sound tuning (which adjusts the audio profile to match the unique shape of your ear canal). As for its ANC performance, it holds up well for the price. It cuts down low engine rumble on planes and buses and reduces background chatter in busy cafes. That said, its transparency mode (while serviceable) sounds slightly artificial, notes this PCMag review. Battery life is solid but not class-leading. With noise cancellation on, you get up to six hours per charge, plus another 19 hours from the case. Turn ANC off and that jumps to about 10 hours, with 33 more from the case. It charges via USB-C and also supports wireless charging. At $129.99, these are not flawless, but they cover the essentials well. You get strong sound and noise cancellation, and a long list of features that are often reserved for pricier models. te View the full article

Rapid Support Forces sought to eliminate non-Arab communities in and around El Fasher, report findsView the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Claire Danes is grieving mother and author Aggie Wiggs; struggling with her next book, she decides to focus it on her neighbor—which is obviously a good idea, even more so because he was accused of murdering his first wife. What could go wrong? Matthew Rhys plays Nile Jarvis, the maybe-murderer neighbor, who gets caught up in the mix when Abbie's story becomes about way more than just one death. You can stream The Beast in Me on Netflix, and then check out some of these other shows about deadly secrets, vicious lies, and phenomenally bad decisions. The Girlfriend (2025 – ) In a similar "am I just being paranoid?" vein, The Girlfriend stars Robin Wright as Laura Sanderson, a wealthy art gallery owner in London. Her son (Laurie Davidson) brings home a new, working-class girlfriend, Cherry Laine (Olivia Cooke) who immediately strikes Laura as not-our-kind. But is there more to it? Can someone with the name "Cherry Laine" truly be trusted? There's definitely something off, and we're kept guessing as to whether or not this is the story of a dangerous con artist or an overbearing mom—or maybe a little of each. It was released as a miniseries, but there's some interest in continuing the story, so TBD on a second season. Stream The Girlfriend on Prime Video. The Girlfriend (2025 – ) at Prime Video Learn More Learn More at Prime Video Surface (2022 – ) There's a theme in these shows about the extent to which women can trust their own instincts—this one cuts to the heart of that in the story of Sophie Ellis (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), who survives an (apparent) attempt at death by suicide to find that she's lost huge chunks of memory. She settles back into life with her husband, but learns that she'd been having an affair. And that her husband might have been embezzling money, among other things, though it all turns on how much she can trust the men in her life and her own fragmented memories, questions which lead her to take on an entirely new identity and sort it all out. Stream Surface on Apple TV+. Surface (2022 – ) at Apple TV+ Learn More Learn More at Apple TV+ Fool Me Once (2024) Based on a Harlan Coben novel, Fool Me Once is a bit more on the political-thriller end of whatever spectrum we're on here, but the vibes aren't dissimilar: Michelle Keegan plays Maya Stern, a former special ops pilot dealing with the murder of her husband—whom she then catches playing with their daughter on a nanny cam. The resulting mystery ties into the earlier death of her sister, and leads to a web of conspiracy involving her husband's family and a shady pharmaceutical company. Stream Fool Me Once on Netflix. Fool Me Once (2024) at Netflix Learn More Learn More at Netflix Disclaimer (2024) Created, written, and directed by four-time Oscar winner Alfonso Cuarón, Disclaimer has as impressive a pedigree as you could hope for on streaming TV. Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline (both, incidentally, Oscar winners) star alongside Sacha Baron Cohen and Leila George. Blanchett plays Catherine Ravenscroft, an award-winning journalist who receives a mysterious manuscript—a novel in which she, herself, appears to be the main character, and which reveals secrets of her past that she thought were long buried. Stream Disclaimer on Apple TV+. Disclaimer (2024) at Apple TV+ Learn More Learn More at Apple TV+ Sharp Objects (2018) Author on the hunt for a new story that leads her into danger and treachery? Check. In this adaptation of the Gillian Flynn novel, Amy Adams stars as Camille Preaker, a troubled reporter with substance abuse issues who's only recently been released from a psychiatric hospital. I'm not sure what step of recovery involves returning to her hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri in order to investigate the murder of one girl and the apparently related disappearance of another—all under the watchful, critical eye of her socialite mother Adora (Patricia Clarkson). Stream Sharp Objects on HBO Max. Sharp Objects (2018) at HBO Max Learn More Learn More at HBO Max His & Hers (2026) The first of at least three Alice Feeney thrillers getting streaming series adaptations, His & Hers is a glossy and appropriately twisty mystery starring Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal. Thompson plays Annie Andrews, a has-been news reporter who decides to get back on the horse when she learns of a murder in her Georgia hometown. Bernthal is the local detective on the case and—surprise!—he's also her ex. Can she trust him? Things are definitely going to get personal. Stream His & Hers on Netflix. His & Hers (2026) at Netflix Learn More Learn More at Netflix Down Cemetery Road (2025 – ) The genre here isn't quite the same as that of The Beast in Me—this one's more of a detective story with some spy stuff thrown in. Where there's overlap, though, is in its protagonist: a woman who dives into a mystery without understanding quite how deep and dark and personal things are going to get. Ruth Wilson plays Sarah Trafford, a married art restorer who nobody takes very seriously (including her husband), even after she becomes invested in the fate of a young girl whose family is killed in an (allegedly) accidental gas explosion down the street. Emma Thompson co-stars as hard-living, hard-drinking private investigator Zoë Boehm, who gets involved, rather against her will. The orphaned girl disappears into the system, and no one really seems to care until Sarah hires Zoë and her husband to look into it. Both women soon find they are in way over their heads, as the missing girl points to a much broader conspiracy. Stream Down Cemetery Road on Apple TV+. Down Cemetery Road (2025 – ) at Apple TV+ Learn More Learn More at Apple TV+ Behind Her Eyes (2021) Any psychological thriller worth your time is going to swing for the fences—big twists are the essential ingredients in all of these shows. And then there's Behind Her Eyes, which builds to a climax so cuckoo bananas that you'll either applaud its audacity or cackle at its outrageousness. Louise (Simona Brown) is a single mother who starts an affair with her boss—and his wife. And then gets involved with his former mistress following a mysterious death. It all turns on the increasingly complicated set of relationships before it gets really wild. Stream Behind Her Eyes on Netflix. Behind Her Eyes (2021) at Netflix Learn More Learn More at Netflix The Undoing (2020) David E. Kelley brought us this twisty psychodrama (adapted from the Jean Hanff Korelitz bestseller You Should Have Known) starring Nicole Kidman as Grace Fraser, a Manhattan psychologist married to oncologist Jonathan (Hugh Grant). She keeps running into a woman named Elena whose increasingly strange behavior disturbs Grace, more so when the woman is murdered. Things get really alarming, though, when she tries to contact Jonathan, who's disappeared, leading her into a web of secrets in lies that are entirely too close to home. Stream The Undoing on HBO Max. The Undoing (2020) Learn More Learn More Smother (2021 – 2023) Smart and addictive, Smother starts with a body on a beach and then flashes back to a 50th birthday party for Val (Dervla Kirwan) hosted by her husband, Denis. That celebration takes a turn when Denis announces, in front of their kids and assorted guests, that he and Val are getting a divorce and that she's going to live with her rather much younger boyfriend, who Denis tacitly threatens. Naturally, it's Denis whose body we saw earlier, and, while there a lot of people with motives, Val is determined to get to the bottom of it. Stream Smother on Peacock. Smother (2021 – 2023) at Peacock Learn More Learn More at Peacock Agatha Christie's Seven Dials (2026 – ) A bit of counter-programming here, perhaps, in that we're traveling back to the Jazz Age for an explicitly Agatha Christie-style detective story. And yet! Mia McKenna-Bruce's Bundle Brent has a lot in common with the modern-era women in the rest of these shows: She's smart, curious, and surrounded by men (mostly) looking to gaslight the hell out of her. Bundle lives with her mother (Helena Bonham-Carter) in a decaying manor house that they rent out to pay the bills. A party hosted by a steel magnate ends with one of the guests dead—a friend who'd been hinting all night that he planned to propose to Bundle but, according to the police and pretty much everyone else, he died by suicide. Nothing to do but move on. She doesn't, of course, and manages to convince Christie mainstay Superintendent Battle (Martin Freeman) that there might be more to it, especially when things start to tie back to the death of her father years earlier. Stream Agatha Christie's Seven Dials on Netflix. Agatha Christie's Seven Dials (2026 – ) at Netflix Learn More Learn More at Netflix The Last Thing He Told Me (2023 – ) Jennifer Garner stars as Hannah Hall, a successful woodturner (which, I've learned, is a thing) trying to forge a bond with her stepdaughter—in order to help solve the mystery of her missing husband. The standalone first season ranked as Apple's most watched limited series ever, so we're getting a second based on another bestseller from Laura Dave. Stream The Last Thing He Told Me on Apple TV+. The Last Thing He Told Me at Apple TV+ Get Deal Get Deal at Apple TV+ View the full article

Generative AI has rapidly become core infrastructure, embedded across enterprise software, cloud platforms, and internal workflows. But that shift is also forcing a structural rethink of cybersecurity. The same systems driving productivity and growth are emerging as points of vulnerability. Google Cloud’s latest AI Threat Tracker report suggests the tech industry has entered a new phase of cyber risk, one in which AI systems themselves are high-value targets. Researchers from Google DeepMind and the Google Threat Intelligence Group have identified a steady rise in model extraction, or “distillation,” attacks, in which actors repeatedly prompt generative AI systems in an attempt to copy their proprietary capabilities. In some cases, attackers flood models with carefully designed prompts to force them to reveal how they think and make decisions. Unlike traditional cyberattacks that involve breaching networks, many of these efforts rely on legitimate access, making them harder to detect and shifting cybersecurity toward protecting intellectual property rather than perimeter defenses. Researchers say model extraction could allow competitors, state actors, or academic groups to replicate valuable AI capabilities without triggering breach alerts. For companies building large language models, the competitive moat now extends to the proprietary logic inside the models themselves. The report also found that state-backed and financially motivated actors from China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia are using AI across the attack cycle. Threat groups are deploying generative models to improve malware, research targets, mimic internal communications, and craft more convincing phishing messages. Some are experimenting with AI agents to assist with vulnerability discovery, code review, and multi-step attacks. John Hultquist, chief analyst at Google Threat Intelligence Group, says the implications extend beyond traditional breach scenarios. Foundation models represent billions in projected enterprise value, and distillation attacks could allow adversaries to copy key capabilities without breaking into systems. The result, he argues, is an emerging cyber arms race, with attackers using AI to operate at machine speed while defenders race to deploy AI that can identify and respond to threats in real time. Hultquist, a former U.S. Army intelligence specialist who helped expose the Russian threat actor known as Sandworm and now teaches at Johns Hopkins University, tells Fast Company how AI has become both a weapon and a target, and what cybersecurity looks like in a machine-versus-machine future. AI is shifting from being merely a tool used by attackers to a strategic asset worth replicating. What has changed over the past year to make this escalation structurally and qualitatively different from earlier waves of AI-enabled threats? AI isn’t just an enabler for threat actors. It’s a new, unique attack surface, and it’s a target in itself. The biggest movements we will see in the immediate future will be actors adopting AI into their existing routines, but as we adopt AI into the stack, they will develop entirely new routines focused on the new opportunity. AI is also an extremely valuable capability, and we can expect the technology itself to be targeted by states and commercial interests looking to replicate it. The report highlights a rise in model extraction, or “distillation,” attacks aimed at proprietary systems. How do these attacks work? Distillation attacks are when someone bombards a model with prompts to systematically replicate a model’s capabilities. In Google’s case, someone sent Gemini more than 100,000 prompts to probe its reasoning capabilities in an apparent attempt to reverse-engineer its decision-making structure. Think of it like when you’re training an analyst, and you’re trying to understand how they came to a conclusion. You might ask them a whole series of questions in an effort to reveal their thought process. Where are state-sponsored and financially motivated threat groups seeing the most immediate operational gains from AI, and how is it changing the speed and sophistication of their day-to-day attack workflows? We believe adversaries see the value of AI in day-to-day productivity across the full spectrum of their attack operations. Attackers are increasingly using AI platforms for targeting research, reconnaissance, and social engineering. For instance, an attacker who is targeting a particular sector might research an upcoming conference and use AI to interpret and highlight themes and interest areas that can then be integrated into phishing emails for a specific targeted organization. This type of adversarial research would usually take a long time to gather data, translate content, and understand localized context for a particular region or sector. But using AI, an adversary can accomplish hours worth of work in just a few minutes. Government-backed actors from Iran, North Korea, China, and Russia are integrating AI across the intrusion lifecycle. Where is AI delivering the greatest operational advantage today, and how is it accelerating the timeline from initial compromise to real-world impact? Generative AI has been used in social engineering for eight years now, and it has gone from making fake photos for profiles to orchestrating complex interactions and deepfaking colleagues. But there are so many other advantages to adversary—speed, scale, and sophistication. Even a less experienced hacker becomes more effective with tools that help troubleshoot operations, while more advanced actors may gain faster access to zero-day vulnerabilities. With these gains in speed and scale, attackers can operate inside traditional patch cycles and overwhelm human-driven defenses. It is also important not to underestimate the criminal impact of this technology. In many applications, speed is actually a liability to espionage actors who are working very hard to stay low and slow, but it is a major asset for criminals, especially since they expect to alert their victims when they launch ransomware or threaten leaks. We’re beginning to see early experimentation with agentic AI systems capable of planning and executing multi-step campaigns with limited human intervention. How close are we to truly autonomous adversaries operating at scale, and what early signals suggest threat velocity is accelerating? Threat actors are already using AI to gain scale advantages. We see them using AI to automate reconnaissance operations and social engineering. They are using agentic solutions to scan targets with multiple tools and we have seen some actors reduce the laborious process of developing tailored social engineering. From our own work with tools such as BigSleep, we know that AI agents can be extremely effective at identifying software vulnerabilities and expect adversaries to be exploring similar capabilities. At a strategic level, are we moving toward a default machine-versus-machine era in cybersecurity? Can defensive AI evolve fast enough to keep pace with offensive capabilities, or has cyber resilience now become inseparable from overall AI strategy? We are certainly going to lean more on the machines than we ever have, or risk falling behind others that do. In the end, though, security is about risk management, which means human judgment will have to be involved at some level. I’m afraid that attackers may have some advantages when it comes to adapting quickly. They won’t have the same bureaucracies to manage or have the same risks. If they take a chance on some new technique and it fails, that won’t significantly cost them. That will give them greater freedom to experiment. We are going to have to work hard to keep up with them. But if we don’t try and don’t adopt AI-based solutions ourselves, we will certainly lose. I don’t think there is any future for defenders without AI; it’s simply too impactful to be avoided. View the full article

United Parcel Service (UPS) is planning to close dozens of packaging facilities this year, the shipping giant revealed in a court filing this week. The plans include shuttering facilities in Texas, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, and several other states. It includes locations that have union employees, according to a docket made public as part of a lawsuit between UPS and the Teamsters Union. UPS revealed in January that it will cut 30,000 jobs over the coming year. The move was announced as its partnership with Amazon was winding down and amid a broader push toward automation. At the time, it also revealed plans to close 24 total facilities, though it did not reveal the locations. Now the locations of 22 of those facilities have been made public. In the court filings, UPS said “the applicable Local Unions have been notified of these closures and informed of the anticipated impacts.” Which UPS package facilities are closing? The facilities marked for closure are spread across more than 18 states. They appear below: Jamieson Park facility in Spokane, Washington Chalk Hill facility in Dallas, Texas Jacksonville, Illinois Rockdale, Illinois Devils Lake, North Dakota Laramie, Wyoming Pendleton, Oregon North Hills, California Las Vegas North in Las Vegas, Nevada Quad Avenue in Baltimore, Maryland Wilmington, Massachusetts Ashland, Massachusetts Sagamore Beach, Massachusetts Miami Downtown Air in Miami, Florida Camden, Arkansas Blytheville, Arkansas Kosciusko, Mississippi Atlanta Hub in Atlanta, Georgia Columbia Hub in West Columbia, South Carolina Kinston, North Carolina Austinburg, Ohio Cadillac, Michigan What has UPS said about the closures? “We’re well into the largest U.S. network reconfiguration in UPS history, creating a nimbler, more efficient operation by modernizing our facilities and matching our size and resources to support growth initiatives,” a UPS spokesperson told Fast Company when reached for comment. “Some positions will be affected, though most changes are expected to occur through attrition. We’re committed to supporting our people throughout this process.” The facility closures were reported earlier by Freight Waves. Last year, UPS also shed 48,000 workers. The primary drivers for the closures are a broader rightsizing effort, outlined back in 2024. Shares of United Parcel Service Inc (NYSE: UPS) are up almost 15% so far in 2026. But the stock is down significantly from highs it had seen during the early pandemic years. However, the impact of the closures will affect members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. In response, the Teamsters filed a lawsuit over a planned voluntary buyout program for union drivers, called the Driver Choice Program, or DCP, saying it violates its contract. The Teamsters have asked the court for an injunction pending the two sides’ initiation of the grievance process outlined in their contract. In a statement, the Teamsters have said that they have “detailed at least six violations of its National Master Agreement by UPS in the rollout of the buyout program, including direct dealing of new contracts with workers, elimination of union jobs when UPS contractually agreed to establish more positions, and erosion of the rights and privileges of union shop stewards, among other charges.” “For the second time in six months, UPS has proven it doesn’t care about the law, has no respect for its contract with the Teamsters, and is determined to try to screw our members out of their hard-earned money,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien, in comments included in the statement. UPS’s spokesperson tells Fast Company that the company is “disappointed” in the response. “The world is changing, and the rate of change is accelerating,” UPS says. “As we navigate these changes and continue to reshape our network, our drivers appreciate having choices, including the option to make a career change or retire earlier than planned.” This story is developing… View the full article

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential campaign is remembered a decade on for the exclamation point in its “Jeb!” logo, but Jesse Jackson’s campaign actually used the punctuation 28 years before him. Jackson, the civil rights activist who died Tuesday at the age of 84, ran for president twice, in 1984 and 1988. At the 1988 Democratic National Convention, his supporters held red signs that said “Jesse!” in white. Jackson came in second in the 1988 primary with nearly 30% of the vote against the party’s nominee Michael Dukakis, and since then, candidates from Bush to 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and former U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, have used the punctuation mark in their logos to give their names some added emphasis. Though Jackson never held political office, the visual brand of his historic campaigns still resonates today for standing out in a sea of sameness. A protege of Martin Luther King Jr., Jackson was the founder of the civil rights nonprofit Operation PUSH (People United to Serve Humanity) when he announced his campaign in 1983 without any experience in elected office and became the first Black presidential candidate for a major party since Shirley Chisholm. Jackson’s exclamation mark logo was far from the only logo used in support of his presidential campaigns in a time before standardized, consistent branding was expected for political campaigns. He campaigned in serifs and sans serifs, and sometimes in bright yellow, a color that signaled a break from the standard red, white, and blue color palette of U.S. politics at the time. His campaign used slogans like “Now is the Time” and “Keep Hope Alive.” During a speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention, Jackson explained his idea of the nation as a rainbow, a symbol that became associated with his candidacy and advocacy. “Our flag is red, white, and blue, but our nation is a rainbow—red, yellow, brown, black, and white—and we’re all precious in God’s sight,” he said. That message, along with Jackson’s push to build a “rainbow coalition” that transcended racial and class lines, inspired rainbow-themed buttons and ephemera. Buttons depicted rainbows that were red, white, and blue or the full ROYGBIV spectrum. In the window after designer Gilbert Baker designed the Pride flag in 1978 but before the rainbow became as closely associated with the LGBTQ movement as it is now, Jackson’s political brand made the symbol its own. Jackson’s political branding remains an inspiration today for candidates and designers looking for a more unconventional political aesthetic, from added punctuation or color schemes that break from tradition. The Jackson political brand has also proven strangely popular overseas. A K-pop star wore a shirt in a 2018 music video showing Jackson’s 1988 campaign logo, and Jackson ’88 tees for a time became a trend in Asia. It wasn’t about Jackson, specifically, but about the generic look of a nostalgic American political logo. A candidate unlike any other, Jackson had a visual brand that stood apart at the time. Today, it just looks all-American. View the full article

Jailing of couple on motorcycle trip for alleged spying ‘totally unjustifiable’, foreign secretary Yvette Cooper saysView the full article

A new 3D-printed construction technique turns corn into a novel building material. Corncretl is a biocomposite made from corn waste known as nejayote that’s rich in calcium. It’s dried, pulverized, and mixed with minerals, and the resulting material is applied using a 3D printer. This corn-based construction material was made by Manufactura, a Mexican sustainable materials company, and it imagines a second life for waste from the most widely produced grain in the world. The project started as an invitation by chef Jorge Armando, the founder of catering brand Taco Kween Berlin, to find ways he could reintegrate waste generated by his taqueria into architecture. A team led by designer Dinorah Schulte created corncretl during a residency last year in Massa Lombarda, Italy. “The material combines recycled nejayote derivatives with limestone and Carrara marble powder, connecting pre-Hispanic construction knowledge from Mexico with material traditions from northern Italy,” Schulte tells Fast Company. Growing momentum for clean cement alternatives Many sustainable materials studios are researching concrete alternatives. And while corncretl is just in the prototyping stage, food waste has been tested as a potential building material more broadly. Researchers at the University of Tokyo made a construction material it said was harder than cement in 2022 out of raw materials like coffee grounds, powered fruit and vegetable waste, and seaweed. Last year, researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology developed a rammed earth material encased in cardboard, which eliminated the need for cement completely, and Manufactura experimented with building materials made from coffee too. Designers have turned to 3D printers to build everything from train shelters to houses, and developing alternative materials to print with could lead to cheaper, more durable, and more sustainable construction methods. After Schulte’s team developed corncretl, they then moved to practical application, prototyping three panels for modular construction using a Kuka robotic arm. “The project employs an internal infill structure that allows the 3D-printed wall to be self-supporting, eliminating the need for external scaffolding during fabrication,” Schulte says, and the geometry of the system was inspired by terrazzo patterns found in the Roman Empire, particularly Rimini, Italy, where the team visited. “During a visit to the city museum, we were struck by the expressive curved terrazzo motifs, which became a starting point for translating historical geometries into a contemporary, computationally designed 3D-printed wall, culturally rooted yet forward-looking,” she says. Corn, or maize, is native to Mexico, and the country produces 27 million metric tons of it annually, according to the Wilson Center, a think tank. Finding an alternative use for nejayote, then, could then turn a waste stream from a popular food into the basis for building physical structures. If the byproduct from cooking tortillas proves to be one such source, taquerias could one day find themselves in the restaurant and construction businesses. View the full article

The President’s latest plans for a White House annex could subtly reshape the path around the South Lawn, and its resulting irregularity says a lot about the Administration’s capacity for design nuance. The latest renderings for a new proposed building on the site of the demolished East Wing were briefly posted to the National Capital Planning Commission website on February 13, and then deleted. The plans call for a ballroom much bigger than the rest of the White House. So big, in fact, that it ruins the shape of the South Lawn driveway. Under the proposal, a new garden would cover the site of the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, which was demolished alongside the East Wing last year, while a roughly 22,000-square-foot ballroom would jut out ever so slightly into the path of the looping driveway that encircles the most famous backyard in the U.S. The elongated oval drive would then have to be pushed in on one side to accommodate the footprint of the enlarged ballroom, like the side view of an spherical exercise ball under pressure. Rather than maintain the intentional harmony of the current drive, the proposed path turns the South Lawn into a deferential design afterthought that makes way for The President’s dream ballroom. In the grand scheme of The President’s presidency—and the White House’s overall facade—a rerouted driveway is a minor thing. But the effect on this subtle element reflects the lengths his team will go to shoehorn his design ideas into reality, even if it means upsetting core design principles like balance elsewhere. Gold-obsessed, unless it’s the golden ratio Of course, nothing about The President’s proposed ballroom has ever been symmetrical, nor have any of his other White House design projects been particularly subtle. He started by tearing out the Rose Garden and putting a car lot-sized flag poll on the North Lawn and then got to work tearing down portions of the White House before anyone could okay it or say no. The President replaced the original architect for the ballroom in December after clashes over its size. A National Park Service report last year found the plans would “disrupt the historical continuity of the White House grounds and alter the architectural integrity of the east side of the property.” The latest proposed elevations for the ballroom, which were designed by Shalom Baranes Associates, a Washington, D.C., architectural firm, are more than twice the size of the since-demolished East Wing. The drafted design gives the White House complex the look of a male fiddler crab, which has one claw that’s bigger than the other. The planned ballroom dwarfs the West Wing in sheer footprint, which would make the overall visual balance of the White House grossly asymmetrical upon its completion. Heightwise, however, the building appears in the renderings to rise about as tall as the Executive Mansion itself, and the proposal takes great pains to show that it won’t be visible from various vantage points in Washington, D.C., like from the Jefferson Memorial or from the U.S. Capitol steps facing northwest. The building is designed with a neoclassical facade, Corinthian columns, and a wide staircase entrance, matching the call for classical architecture The President asked for in an executive order. Fine arts fueled by cash, but not the arts Construction of the ballroom will be paid for by corporate donors, raising thorny ethical questions for a president who once claimed to “drain the swamp.” Two-thirds of known corporate donors to the ballroom have received $279 billion in government contracts over the past five years. Some donors, including Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and T-Mobile are facing federal enforcement actions, according to a review from Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group. Earlier this month, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) found that many donors failed to disclose their contributions in lobbying disclosure filings. The President has taken steps to remove friction or opposition to his plans to build the new building. Last October, he fired every member of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts board, the agency that would have reviewed his construction plans. Now, his 26-year-old executive assistant Chamberlain Harris, who has no background in the arts, is set to be named to commission Thursday, according to The Washington Post. View the full article

Microsoft co-founder cancels plans to deliver keynote speech at high-profile event on ThursdayView the full article

The pressure to adopt AI is relentless. Boards, investors, and the market tell us that if we don’t, we’ll be left behind. The result is a frantic gold rush to implement AI for AI’s sake, leading to expensive pilots, frustrated teams, and disappointing ROI. The problem is that we’re treating AI like a magic wand—a one-size-fits-all solution for any problem. But true transformation comes from strategically applying it where it can make the most impact. This is the “AI sweet spot,” where the real competitive advantage lies. It’s not about having the most advanced AI, but about having the right AI, applied to the right problems, with the right people. Here are five ways to find it. 1. Start with Your Biggest Bottleneck, Not Your Biggest Budget Many organizations fall into the trap of allocating their AI budget to the department that shouts the loudest. It’s a recipe for wasted resources. Instead of asking, “Where can we spend our AI budget?” ask, “Where is our biggest organizational bottleneck?” Identify the most time-consuming, repetitive processes in your company. Is it the hours your marketing team spends on pre-meeting research? The manual data entry bogging down your finance department? These pain points are your starting line. For example, one company I worked with found their sales team was spending over five hours preparing for a single client meeting. By implementing an AI agent to handle the research and data compilation, they reduced that prep time by 87%, saving nearly $300,000 a year in productivity costs. The AI wasn’t flashy, but it solved a real, costly problem. That’s a sweet spot. 2. Ask ‘Will This Enhance or Replace?’ The quickest way to kill an AI initiative is to make your employees feel threatened by it. When people hear “AI,” they often think “job replacement.” This fear breeds resistance and undermines adoption. As a leader, your job is to reframe the conversation from replacement to augmentation. Before implementing any AI tool, ask a simple question: Will this technology enhance our team’s capabilities, or simply replace a human function? The sweet spot is almost always in enhancement. Think of AI not as a new employee, but as a tireless intern or a brilliant colleague for every member of your team. It can handle the grunt work, analyze massive datasets, and surface key insights, freeing up your people to do what they do best: think critically and make strategic decisions. When your team sees AI as a partner that makes their jobs better, they will champion its adoption. 3. Build Trust Before You Build the Tech We don’t use tools we don’t trust. If your team doesn’t understand how an AI system works or why it makes certain recommendations, they will find workarounds to avoid using it. Trust isn’t a feature you can add later; it has to be the foundation of your implementation strategy. This starts with creating a culture of psychological safety, where employees feel safe to ask questions and even challenge the AI. Be transparent. Explain what the AI does, what data it uses, and where its limitations are. Appoint human oversights for critical processes, ensuring that a person is always in the loop for high-stakes decisions. In my work, I use the framework “13 Behaviors of Trust,” and it applies as much to AI as it does to people. An AI system earns trust when it is competent (delivers results) and has character (operates with integrity). Without that trust, even the most powerful AI is just expensive code. 4. Tie Every AI Initiative to a Business Goal “Exploring AI capabilities” is not a business strategy. Too many AI projects exist in a vacuum, disconnected from the company’s core objectives. If you can’t draw a straight line from your AI initiative to a specific goal—like increasing customer retention or reducing operational costs—you shouldn’t be doing it. Before you approve any AI project, map it directly to your company’s OKRs or strategic pillars. How will this tool help us achieve our vision? How does it support our mission? This forces a level of discipline that prevents you from chasing shiny objects. It ensures that your AI strategy is not an isolated IT function, but an integral part of your overall business strategy. AI that doesn’t align with your core purpose will always be a cost center. AI that does becomes a powerful engine for value creation. 5. Create Space for Learning, Not Just Execution Leaders often expect an immediate, seamless return on their AI investment. But there is no magic switch. Successful adoption requires moving your team from a zone of comfort, through the uncertainty of fear, and into zones of learning and growth. This takes time and patience. Don’t just budget for the technology; budget for the learning curve. Create sandboxes where teams can experiment with new AI tools without fear of failure. Celebrate the small wins and the lessons learned from missteps. The organizations that are truly winning with AI aren’t the ones that got it perfect on day one. They are the ones that fostered a culture of continuous learning, empowering their employees to adapt and grow. The long-term ROI from an empowered, AI-fluent workforce will far exceed any short-term gains from a rushed implementation. Finding your AI sweet spot is less about technology and more about psychology, strategy, and culture. It’s about shifting your focus from what AI can do to what it should do for your organization and your people. Stop chasing the AI hype and start solving your real-world business problems. That’s where you’ll find the lasting advantage. View the full article

Three individuals contacted Whitehall over past conduct after former consul emerged as cabinet secretary frontrunner View the full article

The credit reporting agency must revise its customer agreements because a judge disagreed with its attempt to end the case through an arbitration clause. View the full article

The 2026 Milan-Cortino Winter Olympics is set to debut a new sport: ski mountaineering, also known as skimo. Over the course of two days at the Stelvio Ski Centre located in Bormio, Italy, 36 athletes will compete in three main events: men’s sprints, women’s sprints, and mixed relay. The race is part endurance and speed, as typical skimo competitions feature athletes racing against each other as they ascend uphill with support of climbing skins before skiing downhill. The Winter Olympics version, however, differs in format. This version compresses the competition into a roughly three-minute race. Each leg of a skimo race requires its own specialized equipment. And that equipment matters. Who wins and loses in skimo is often a matter of milliseconds, determined during the transitions between the three distinct moments of the race: ascent, boot-packing (mountaineering), and descent. That’s where a 76 year-old German company comes in. Dynafit created the DNA Sprint Collection, a six-product line engineered specifically for the Olympic stage that 11 out of 36 athletes will use during the competition. The remaining athletes will use similar equipment provided by different brands in line with the International Ski Mountaineering Federation’s (ISMF) requirements. Dynafit’s Design Philosophy A typical skimo competition features rough, high alpine terrain and harsh, snowy conditions that are physically demanding on athletes. To maneuver this challenging terrain, athletes rely on gear such as skis, boots, poles, gloves, backpacks (to hold equipment while transitioning from one part of the race to the other), crampons (a spike attachment for athletes boots to grip onto ice while on foot), and avalanche gear. All of this gear is specifically designed to be lightweight to assist athletes in navigating the challenging, mountainous terrain. Historically, Dynafit is known for pioneering the boots and tech binding (a mechanism that lets athletes lift their heel while climbing uphill and lock into place to descend downhill) critical for performing the sport. Now, as the dominant brand in the $1.24 billion skimo equipment market, the company produces a range of products, including helmets, race suits, boots, skis, and skins, for the casual and elite skier. “ The biggest challenge in our development [is] to find the balance between weight and safety,” says Manuel Aumann, Dynafit’s Operations and R&D Director Bindings. Aumann explains that the company has an abundance of testing experience to ensure their products’ durability and safety. “We have to save every gram . . . but also [deliver] high safety products,” explains Aumann. “[For] every 100 grams you save on your boot or the ski, or on the binding, you could carry seven times more weight on the backpack. For our customers and for the athletes, [that] pushes them to the next level.” Re-Thinking Skimo Designs This will not be the first time that skimo qualifies as a Winter Olympic sport. Between 1924 and 1936, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) included skimo in the Winter Games but later discontinued it in part due to its dangerous nature. Then in July 2021, the IOC unanimously approved skimo’s inclusion in the 2026 Winter Olympics. For the occasion, Dynafit developed a unique line specific for the Olympics, including skis, bindings, poles, gloves, and backpacks. Creating a line of products to help elevate athletes’ performance involved a two-step process. First, in 2022, Dynafit hosted an international summit with 25 of its sponsored athletes to curate their feedback on equipment constraints. That input served as the foundation for the company’s four-year process from the redesign to market availability of its specialty product line. Aumann and his team dissected the Olympic format to inform their design process. The Olympic race focuses on sprint races. Athletes will be required to complete an uphill ascent on skis, transition into a short bootpacking section, then transition again for a downhill descent. This race format requires fast transitions between each phase. “The two minutes 30, you can split [in] time slots,” says Aumann. The rough estimation [is] two minutes for the uphill and 30 seconds for the downhill. We got into the analysis of where we can have the most benefit if we change something.” The team determined that the first half of the race, involving the ascent with skis and the transition where athletes remove their skis and place them into their backpacks just before continuing onto bootpacking (a foot race on skis with the assistance of poles), would yield the most benefit. The Dynafit team learned that while most of the new product line required minimal adjustments, their skis and bindings would require significant design alterations. “The handling operations, they’re quite important on this high level,” explains Aumann. “It’s really about the second[s] they can save during [these] transitions.” The rough alpine terrain of a standard skimo competition requires skis to have increased “skiability,” meaning they are carved and built for those conditions in order for athletes to make safe turns. Since the Olympics course will have smoother slopes with fewer steep curves and banked turns to help athletes, it allows skis to have less “skiability.” In other words, the skis do not need to be optimized for tough terrains, allowing Aumann and his team to focus on narrowing the ski-waist from 64 mm to 61 mm. “With this [slimmer] ski, we could save weight,” says Aumann. While a traditional race touring ski weighs 690 grams, the altered ski weighs only 650 grams. Another benefit of this slimmer version of the ski, particularly its narrower tail, is that it allows athletes to better handle transitions. For instance, when athletes move from skiing uphill to bootpacking, they must quickly loop their skis onto their backpack for the foot race and then later unhook them for the descent downhill. Ultimately, this design change is intended to help athletes shave off incremental seconds, which is critical in a sprint where every tenth of a second counts. Further, during the uphill transition from skis to bootpacking (the foot race), athletes will need to release themselves from their ski bindings, where steel pins meet the boot inserts to secure the boots within the binding. Then on the descent portion of the course, athletes need to step back into their ski bindings. The act of stepping in and out of skis presented additional time-saving opportunities and speed optimization. Aumann and his team made three key design changes to their fully aluminum, binding product. “What we did is to really make [the grip zone], where the athlete can grab, wider,” explains Aumann. [The athletes] don’t have to look down, but can grab it in a very easy way without looking.” The team widened the grip zone for the heel piece as well as the locking lever of the binding. Providing athletes with a larger grip zone surface allows athletes to use one hand to release their boots from the binding, saving at least a few tenths of a second. Lastly, the team redesigned its ski race stoppers, a safety feature required by the ISMF. Generally, standard ski touring stoppers deploy a small metal arm, or wire, into the snow to slow the ski if an athlete loses it or releases from the binding. According to Aumann, each stopper includes a plastic cap at the end to help it grip and fix into the snow. While a traditional alpine ski touring stopper features sharp contours and edges that can easily snag on a loop in an athletes’ backpack, Dynafit’s re-designed stopper lacks these features. Rather, the team modified the transition point where the plastic cap meets a metal wire by creating a smooth, rounded curve surface. By rounding out the curve, the updated design reduces the risk of catching onto other surfaces while improving overall reliability, all without adding weight. The modified race stopper alone weighs just 30 grams, compared to the 70 to 100 grams typical of standard touring models. Another important aspect of the redesign is that the stopper automatically retracts when athletes switch to the descend/downhill model, eliminating an additional step for manual adjustment. Aumann acknowledges that this design process helped accelerate a trend already happening across the industry. As the sport has grown in the past couple of years, manufacturers have increasingly considered tradeoffs rather than focusing solely on making lighter products. “Within the last two years that [has] changed,” says Aumann. “Perfect handling of the products [is] a very high priority. So, it is [acceptable] to have a product with a few [more] grams if the handling is better and can save time.” Dynafit has already begun incorporating these design tweaks into its commercial products. View the full article