ResidentialBusiness

The most expensive bottle of American whiskey ever sold at auction is no longer a dusty pre-Prohibition relic or a museum-grade antique. It’s a 1982 bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle. This weekend at Sotheby’s New York, a bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle 20-Year-Old Single Barrel “Sam’s” (1982) sold for $162,500, setting a new record for the most valuable bottle of American whiskey ever sold at auction. Only 60 hand-numbered bottles of the legendary “Sam’s” release were ever produced, bottled at a staggering 133.4 proof, the highest proof Van Winkle expression ever released. The bottle hadn’t appeared at auction in more than a decade. And it wasn’t alone. That record-setting bottle headlined the Great American Whiskey Collection Saturday, which brought in $2.5 million, making it the most valuable single-owner American whiskey collection ever sold and the most valuable single-owner spirits auction ever held in New York. The total more than doubled Sotheby’s low pre-sale estimate of $1.17 million, and every single lot sold. For a category that, until recently, lagged far behind Scotch in the auction world, the sale marked a watershed moment. This wasn’t just a good night for Van Winkle. It was a signal that American whiskey has fully arrived as a serious, global collectible. A first for Sotheby’s and for bourbon The auction, held live at Sotheby’s new global headquarters in the Breuer Building on Madison Avenue, was the first live, single-owner American whiskey sale in history. Sotheby’s leaned into the moment, installing a pop-up bar inside the space so visitors could experience the 360-bottle collection up close before bidding began. The bottles read like a greatest-hits list of Kentucky and rye history: Old Rip Van Winkle, Old Fitzgerald, private bottlings for historic retailers, and ultra-rare single barrels that were never meant to leave a small circle of friends and insiders. And the buyers reflected how the market is shifting. Sotheby’s says 96% of the lots were purchased by North American collectors. Nearly a third of the buyers were new to Sotheby’s, and more than half were under 40. That last number matters. American whiskey collecting is no longer being driven by the same older Scotch-focused crowd that traditionally dominates auction houses. A younger generation of bourbon and rye obsessives is entering the secondary market with serious money and a deep knowledge of the category’s lore. Why private labels and store picks dominated the night What propelled the sale beyond expectations wasn’t just age statements or old glass. It was something uniquely American: private label bottlings and single barrels made for liquor stores, families, and insiders decades ago. These bottles were never widely distributed. Many were likely consumed long ago. Their survival is almost accidental. A few standouts: Van Winkle 18-Year-Old “Binny’s” (1985, 121.6 proof) sold for $106,250. Distilled at Stitzel-Weller and bottled at full cask strength for Chicago retailer Binny’s, fewer than 100 bottles were made. Very Very Old Fitzgerald “Blackhawk” 18-Year-Old (1950, 121 proof) realized $112,500, more than double its low estimate. This was a private bottling for the Wirtz family, owners of the Chicago Blackhawks, and was never available to the public. A companion Blackhawk 12-Year-Old from the same series sold for $60,000. Van Winkle 18-Year-Old Family Reserve “Park Avenue Liquor Shop” fetched $62,500. Originally retailing for $75, it is one of only three known 18-Year-Old Van Winkle bottlings ever produced. All three were in this auction. A 1909 O.F.C. Bourbon 115 Proof drove competitive bidding to $47,500, far above estimate. Time and again, bottles tied to specific retailers, families, or one-off selections outperformed expectations. These weren’t mass-market releases. They were whiskey folklore in liquid form. A night of records for Van Winkle and beyond Numerous lots set new records, especially for obscure Van Winkle private labels and long-forgotten rye bottlings: Old Rip Van Winkle “Blue Smoke” 18-Year-Old: $37,500 Twisted Spoke 16-Year-Old: $32,500 Old Rip Van Winkle “Delilah’s 10th Anniversary”: $30,000 Van Winkle 19-Year-Old Corti Brothers bottlings: $35,000 each J.W. Gottlieb Private Stock Rye 13-Year-Old (1984): $56,250 Old Rip Van Winkle Bottled in Bond 1917: $47,500 Pappy Van Winkle 20-Year-Old “City Grocery 20th Anniversary”: $30,000 Many of these bottles had never appeared at auction before. Others hadn’t surfaced in decades. What this says about the American whiskey market Zev Glesta, Sotheby’s Whiskey Specialist, called the sale “a defining moment for American whiskey at auction,” pointing to the “continued maturation of the global market for the rarest American whiskeys.” He’s right. These weren’t aristocratic estate bottles. They were store picks, family gifts, anniversary barrels, and retailer exclusives that accidentally became legends. A bottle meant for a Chicago liquor store. A gift for the owners of a hockey team. A Manhattan shop pick that sold for $75. Forty years later, they’re museum pieces. And at least one of them just became the most expensive American whiskey ever sold. View the full article

Duolingo, no matter how you feel about it, accomplishes one thing: It makes practicing a skill every day easy. The application focuses on language, but it also offers math, music, and even chess lessons if you dig around a bit. There are many other subjects worth learning, though, and many ways you can use gamification to learn new skills and generally improve your life. Here are five I found: Learn geography with Globo Credit: Justin Pot I love traveling and learning about the world, but I'll admit there are some regions I don't know well. Globo is an iOS and Android app that quizzes you on flags, capitals, and more, all while teaching you trivia along the way. There are courses for all the continents, if you want to focus on a specific region, or you can take the combined global course and work your way through the whole planet. I've been playing with this for about a week and enjoying it for the most part. I like the way questions I answered wrong show up in future quizzes. It does feel like I'm going to run out of content fairly quickly, which is disappointing, but given that the application is free with no in-app subscriptions, I think it's worth checking out. Learn art history with Learn Art Credit: Normand Martin Learn Art is a free iPhone and iPad application by developer Normand Martin. With it, you'll find a slideshow of classic art from European history. To learn the history of the piece, tap the screen. You can also take an interactive quiz on art history. I'm going to be honest: Art history is very much not my subject. In playing with this for a couple days, though, I find myself able to identify more artists than I did before, and if nothing else, it's nice to have access to high resolution scans of so many classic works of art right on my iPad. If you're at all curious about art history, I'd say give it a spin. The app is free but there is an in-game currency you can earn either by answering questions correctly or spending money. In my testing this wasn't too much of a burden. Learn instruments with Yousician Credit: Justin Pot I've been meaning to get back into playing guitar for a while, so I've been testing various apps. Yousician seems like a great starting point, assuming in-person instruction isn't an option. This application uses the microphone on your device so you can use a real instrument to learn actual songs. The guitar version, which I tried for a few days, combines video instruction with Guitar-Hero style practice sessions. There's even a backing track during the early lessons, which might help anyone who'd prefer to play along to an actual song. This makes the early stages of learning an instrument, which can be a drag, feel fun. There are also courses for piano, ukulele, bass, and singing. If you want to get a feel for it, there is a limited free version, but you might need to tap the "X" on the prompt to enter your credit card number if you don't want to pay. Plans start at $7.49 per month. Learn typing with TypingClub Credit: Justin Pot Wish your typing was faster, or more accurate? The free website TypingClub is perfect for this. It offers touch typing lessons starting from the very basics with tests to work your way up. Lessons unlock as you go. If the early lessons are too easy for you, you can always take a test to earn a higher placement. Memorize anything with Anki's flash cards Credit: Justin Pot I didn't grow up in the U.S., meaning I didn't learn the state capitols and locations as a kid. At one point I was tired of not knowing where anything is, so I downloaded Anki. This is an open source application for every platform that makes it easy to learn using flash cards. The system is all about self accountability: You report how easily you were able to come up with the right answer. The system is set up to keep exposing you to the things you find hard. You can design your own decks, if you want, or you can use any of the thousands of decks offered on the website. I, having mastered U.S. states, am moving on to learning the Mexican ones. I'm sure there's something you're interested in memorizing, too. View the full article

Leaders of law enforcement organizations expressed alarm Sunday over the latest deadly shooting by federal officers in Minneapolis while use-of-force experts criticized the The President administration’s justification of the killing, saying bystander footage contradicted its narrative of what prompted it. The federal government also faced criticism over the lack of a civil rights inquiry by the U.S. Justice Department and its efforts to block Minnesota authorities from conducting their own review of the killing of 37-year-old Alex Pretti. In a bid to ease tensions, the International Association of Chiefs of Police called on the White House to convene discussions “as soon as practicable” among federal, state and local law enforcement. “Every police chief in the country is watching Minneapolis very carefully,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a police research and policy organization. “If a police chief had three officer-involved shootings in three weeks, they would be stepping back and asking, ‘What does our training look like? What does our policy look like?'” Pretti’s death came on the heels of the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of Renee Good and another incident a week later in Minneapolis when a federal officer shot a man in the leg after being attacked with a shovel and broom handle while attempting to arrest a Venezuelan who was in the country illegally. “We’re dealing with a federal agency here,” Wexler said, referring to the Department of Homeland Security, “but its actions can have a ripple effect across the entire country.” Experts say video of shooting undermines federal claims While questions remained about the latest confrontation, use-of-force experts told The Associated Press that bystander video undermined federal authorities’ claim that Pretti “approached” a group of lawmen with a firearm and that a Border Patrol officer opened fire “defensively.” There has been no evidence made public, they said, that supports a claim by Border Patrol senior official Greg Bovino that Pretti, who had a permit to carry a concealed handgun, intended to “massacre law enforcement.” “It’s very baked into the culture of American policing to not criticize other law enforcement agencies,” said Seth Stoughton, a former police officer and use-of-force expert who testified for prosecutors in the trial of the Minneapolis officer convicted of murdering George Floyd. “But behind the scenes, there is nothing but professional scorn for the way that DHS is handling the aftermath of these incidents,” Stoughton said. Several government officials had essentially convicted Pretti on social media before the crime scene had been processed. Deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller generated outrage by describing Pretti as “a would-be assassin” in a post, while a top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli, drew the ire of the National Rifle Association for posting that “if you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you.” “In a country that has more guns than people, the mere possession of a weapon does not establish an imminent threat to officers — and neither does having a weapon and approaching officers,” Stoughton said. “I don’t think there’s any evidence to confirm the official narrative at all. It’s not unlawful for someone to carry a weapon in Minnesota.” Minnesota official says state investigators blocked from shooting scene In the hours after Pretti’s shooting, Minnesota authorities obtained a search warrant granting them access to the shooting scene. Drew Evans, superintendent for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said his team was blocked from the scene. Minnesota authorities also received an emergency court order from a federal judge barring officials “from destroying or altering evidence related to the fatal shooting involving federal officers.” Bovino sounded a less strident tone at a Sunday news conference, calling Pretti’s shooting a “tragedy that was preventable” even as he urged people not to “interfere, obstruct, delay or assault law enforcement.” He refused to comment on what he called the “freeze-frame concept,” referring to videos circulating on social media that raise doubts about the dangers Pretti posed to officers. “That, folks, is why we have something called an investigation,” Bovino said. “I wasn’t there wrestling him myself. So I’m not going to speculate. I’m going to wait for that investigation.” Policing experts said the irregularities in the federal response went beyond the government’s immediate defense. Before Pretti’s parents had even been notified of his death, DHS posted a photograph on X of a 9mm Sig Sauer semiautomatic handgun seized during the scuffle, portraying the weapon as justification for the killing. “The suspect also had 2 magazines and no ID,” the post said. “This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage.” However, the photo showed only one loaded magazine lying next to the pistol, which had apparently been emptied and displayed on the seat of a vehicle. Minnesota state officials said that, by removing the weapon from the scene, Border Patrol officers likely mishandled key evidence. Videos show Pretti holding a cellphone None of the half-dozen bystander videos shows Pretti brandishing his gun. Rather, the videos showed Pretti’s hands were only holding his mobile phone as a masked Border Patrol officer opened fire. In videos of the scuffle, “gun, gun” is heard, and an officer appears to pull a handgun from Pretti’s waist area and begins moving away. As that happens, a first shot is fired by a Border Patrol officer. There’s a slight pause, and then the same officer fires several more times into Pretti’s back. Several use-of-force experts said that unenhanced video clips alone would neither exonerate nor support prosecution of the officers, underscoring the need for a thorough investigation. A key piece of evidence will likely be the video from the phone Pretti was holding when he was killed. Federal officials have not yet released that footage or shared it with state investigators. “The evaluation of the reasonableness of this shooting will entirely depend on when the pistol became visible and how, if at all, it was being displayed or used,” said Charles “Joe” Key, a former police lieutenant and longtime use-of-force expert. Ian Adams, an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of South Carolina, described the federal government’s response as “amateur hour.” “Jumping to the end result of this investigation, or what’s supposed to be an investigation, is somewhat embarrassing for policing professionals nationwide,” Adams said. “It’s clear that professionals in policing are observing what’s going on and not liking what they’re seeing.” __ Associated Press reporter Hannah Fingerhut contributed reporting Des Moines, Iowa. —JIm Mustian and Michael Biesecker, Associated Press View the full article

If you’re looking to save money on your next shoe purchase, you’ll want to explore the latest coupons available. Brands like Nike and Foot Locker offer significant discounts, whereas Crocs and Coach Outlet likewise present enticing deals for both new and returning customers. Each option provides various benefits, which might help you decide where to shop next. To find out more about these offers and how to maximize your savings, keep going. Key Takeaways Nike: Get up to 40% off select orders with promo codes and 10% off for new members on their first purchase on their birthday. Foot Locker: Use a specific promo code for $20 off orders of $100 or more, ideal for bulk purchases. Crocs: Enjoy 25% off for verified students and $20 off orders of $100 or more with a promo code. Coach Outlet: Save up to 50% off products and receive $20 off your first order by signing up for the email list. Email Sign-Up Discounts: Get 10% off your first order by signing up for newsletters, plus access exclusive offers and seasonal promotions. Up to 40% off Orders With Nike Promo Codes & Coupons If you’re looking to save on your next footwear purchase, Nike offers up to 40% off on select orders through various promo codes and coupons. This discount is automatically applied at checkout, making it easy to enjoy significant savings on popular styles. New members can take advantage of an additional 10% off their first purchase by registering on their birthday, whereas students can verify their status for a straightforward 10% discount during checkout. For larger orders, unverified shoe discount coupons can provide an extra 10% off purchases of $100 or more. Don’t forget to check platforms like Groupon for limited-time Nike coupons that might release even more savings. 20 off $100+ With Foot Locker Promo Code Foot Locker makes it easy to save when you spend $100 or more with a promo code offering $20 off your purchase. To take advantage of this deal, simply enter the shoes promotion code at checkout. This offer is especially beneficial if you’re purchasing multiple items or higher-priced shoes, as it improves your overall savings. Before you finalize your order, be sure to check for any specific terms and conditions associated with the promo code, as there may be exclusions or limitations. Furthermore, you can combine this $20 off promo with other ongoing sales or discounts, maximizing your savings potential. This makes it one of the best shoe coupons available today. By using the promo code wisely, you can enjoy substantial discounts on your favorite footwear as you stay stylish and budget-friendly. Enjoy 10% off Your First Order With Email Sign-Up You can enjoy an instant 10% off your first order when you sign up for email newsletters from your favorite shoe retailer. To qualify, simply provide a valid email address during the sign-up process. This discount applies to a wide range of products, allowing you to save on various styles and brands. Once you sign up, you’ll receive promotional emails featuring exclusive offers, updates on new collections, and early access to shoe sales right now. Furthermore, opting into email communications keeps you informed about seasonal promotions and limited-time discounts, maximizing your savings potential. If you’re a member of the military, don’t forget to check for any dsw military discount that may stack with your sign-up offer. This is a smart way to save on your first purchase as you stay updated on future sales and exclusive deals customized just for you. 20% off Any Order With Crocs Discount Code When shopping for Crocs, taking advantage of discount codes can lead to significant savings on your order. Whether you’re a student seeking comfy footwear or looking to buy in bulk, Crocs has options for you. Here’s a handy table to illustrate some discounts you can access: Discount Type Requirements Savings Student Discount Verified students only 25% off Promo Code for Orders $100 or more $20 off Bulk Purchase Discount Buy three or more items 20% off Site-wide Promotions Check frequently Additional savings Email Sign-Up Subscribe for exclusive offers Access to more codes Using a Crocs shoes code can improve your shopping experience, especially when combining it with other deals. Keep an eye on their website for the latest discount sporting goods promotions. Save up to 50% off With Coach Outlet Promotions Shopping at Coach Outlet offers a fantastic opportunity to save up to 50% off on a variety of products, particularly if you’re in the market for stylish footwear. By signing up for their email list, you can snag an immediate $20 off your first order, which boosts your savings. Seasonal sales often bring extra markdowns on already discounted items, making this an excellent time to shop. Don’t forget to explore the clearance section for deeper discounts on select styles. Furthermore, if you’re using the Coach Outlet app, you might find exclusive promotions customized just for you. For those looking for more savings, keep an eye out for a sports store discount or a shoe show free shipping code, making your shopping experience even more budget-friendly. Frequently Asked Questions Which Is the Best Month to Buy Shoes? The best month to buy shoes is typically January, as retailers often offer significant discounts to clear out post-holiday inventory. Furthermore, July presents mid-year sales, allowing you to find deals on summer footwear. Late February and late August are likewise ideal for clearance events, whereas Black Friday and Cyber Monday in November provide some of the largest discounts. Don’t overlook Labor Day sales, which can similarly yield great savings on shoes. How to Get $20 Dollars off $100 at Dick’s? To get $20 off a $100 purchase at Dick’s Sporting Goods, start by using a specific promo code during checkout. You should likewise consider signing up for promotional emails or text alerts, as they often include exclusive discounts. Furthermore, check for seasonal sales or register for the ScoreCard rewards program, which may offer more savings. Finally, monitor their website and social media for limited-time offers that might feature this discount. Is Famous Footwear Buy One Get One Half Off? Yes, Famous Footwear does offer a “Buy One Get One Half Off” promotion. This deal allows you to purchase two pairs of shoes, with the second pair at 50% off. It applies to a variety of footwear for men, women, and kids. Just remember to check for any specific terms and conditions, as some exclusions may apply. You can access this promotion both in-store and online for your convenience. What Is the Most Trusted Website for Shoes? When looking for the most trusted website for shoes, Zappos, Foot Locker, and Nike stand out for their reliability. Zappos boasts a 365-day return policy, ensuring you can shop worry-free. Foot Locker offers exclusive discounts and a rewards program, enhancing your shopping experience. Nike’s official site guarantees authenticity and showcases the latest styles. Reviews on platforms like Trustpilot often highlight customer satisfaction, reinforcing these websites’ reputations as reliable sources for footwear. Conclusion In summary, taking advantage of these shoe coupons can lead to significant savings on your next purchase. Whether you’re shopping at Nike, Foot Locker, Crocs, or Coach Outlet, each offer presents an opportunity to reduce costs. Be sure to check eligibility requirements, like student status for Crocs or email sign-ups for Coach Outlet, to maximize your discounts. With the right coupon, you can enjoy stylish footwear at a fraction of the price, making your shopping experience more budget-friendly. Image via Google Gemini This article, "5 Best Shoe Coupons You Can Use Today" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

If you’re looking to save money on your next shoe purchase, you’ll want to explore the latest coupons available. Brands like Nike and Foot Locker offer significant discounts, whereas Crocs and Coach Outlet likewise present enticing deals for both new and returning customers. Each option provides various benefits, which might help you decide where to shop next. To find out more about these offers and how to maximize your savings, keep going. Key Takeaways Nike: Get up to 40% off select orders with promo codes and 10% off for new members on their first purchase on their birthday. Foot Locker: Use a specific promo code for $20 off orders of $100 or more, ideal for bulk purchases. Crocs: Enjoy 25% off for verified students and $20 off orders of $100 or more with a promo code. Coach Outlet: Save up to 50% off products and receive $20 off your first order by signing up for the email list. Email Sign-Up Discounts: Get 10% off your first order by signing up for newsletters, plus access exclusive offers and seasonal promotions. Up to 40% off Orders With Nike Promo Codes & Coupons If you’re looking to save on your next footwear purchase, Nike offers up to 40% off on select orders through various promo codes and coupons. This discount is automatically applied at checkout, making it easy to enjoy significant savings on popular styles. New members can take advantage of an additional 10% off their first purchase by registering on their birthday, whereas students can verify their status for a straightforward 10% discount during checkout. For larger orders, unverified shoe discount coupons can provide an extra 10% off purchases of $100 or more. Don’t forget to check platforms like Groupon for limited-time Nike coupons that might release even more savings. 20 off $100+ With Foot Locker Promo Code Foot Locker makes it easy to save when you spend $100 or more with a promo code offering $20 off your purchase. To take advantage of this deal, simply enter the shoes promotion code at checkout. This offer is especially beneficial if you’re purchasing multiple items or higher-priced shoes, as it improves your overall savings. Before you finalize your order, be sure to check for any specific terms and conditions associated with the promo code, as there may be exclusions or limitations. Furthermore, you can combine this $20 off promo with other ongoing sales or discounts, maximizing your savings potential. This makes it one of the best shoe coupons available today. By using the promo code wisely, you can enjoy substantial discounts on your favorite footwear as you stay stylish and budget-friendly. Enjoy 10% off Your First Order With Email Sign-Up You can enjoy an instant 10% off your first order when you sign up for email newsletters from your favorite shoe retailer. To qualify, simply provide a valid email address during the sign-up process. This discount applies to a wide range of products, allowing you to save on various styles and brands. Once you sign up, you’ll receive promotional emails featuring exclusive offers, updates on new collections, and early access to shoe sales right now. Furthermore, opting into email communications keeps you informed about seasonal promotions and limited-time discounts, maximizing your savings potential. If you’re a member of the military, don’t forget to check for any dsw military discount that may stack with your sign-up offer. This is a smart way to save on your first purchase as you stay updated on future sales and exclusive deals customized just for you. 20% off Any Order With Crocs Discount Code When shopping for Crocs, taking advantage of discount codes can lead to significant savings on your order. Whether you’re a student seeking comfy footwear or looking to buy in bulk, Crocs has options for you. Here’s a handy table to illustrate some discounts you can access: Discount Type Requirements Savings Student Discount Verified students only 25% off Promo Code for Orders $100 or more $20 off Bulk Purchase Discount Buy three or more items 20% off Site-wide Promotions Check frequently Additional savings Email Sign-Up Subscribe for exclusive offers Access to more codes Using a Crocs shoes code can improve your shopping experience, especially when combining it with other deals. Keep an eye on their website for the latest discount sporting goods promotions. Save up to 50% off With Coach Outlet Promotions Shopping at Coach Outlet offers a fantastic opportunity to save up to 50% off on a variety of products, particularly if you’re in the market for stylish footwear. By signing up for their email list, you can snag an immediate $20 off your first order, which boosts your savings. Seasonal sales often bring extra markdowns on already discounted items, making this an excellent time to shop. Don’t forget to explore the clearance section for deeper discounts on select styles. Furthermore, if you’re using the Coach Outlet app, you might find exclusive promotions customized just for you. For those looking for more savings, keep an eye out for a sports store discount or a shoe show free shipping code, making your shopping experience even more budget-friendly. Frequently Asked Questions Which Is the Best Month to Buy Shoes? The best month to buy shoes is typically January, as retailers often offer significant discounts to clear out post-holiday inventory. Furthermore, July presents mid-year sales, allowing you to find deals on summer footwear. Late February and late August are likewise ideal for clearance events, whereas Black Friday and Cyber Monday in November provide some of the largest discounts. Don’t overlook Labor Day sales, which can similarly yield great savings on shoes. How to Get $20 Dollars off $100 at Dick’s? To get $20 off a $100 purchase at Dick’s Sporting Goods, start by using a specific promo code during checkout. You should likewise consider signing up for promotional emails or text alerts, as they often include exclusive discounts. Furthermore, check for seasonal sales or register for the ScoreCard rewards program, which may offer more savings. Finally, monitor their website and social media for limited-time offers that might feature this discount. Is Famous Footwear Buy One Get One Half Off? Yes, Famous Footwear does offer a “Buy One Get One Half Off” promotion. This deal allows you to purchase two pairs of shoes, with the second pair at 50% off. It applies to a variety of footwear for men, women, and kids. Just remember to check for any specific terms and conditions, as some exclusions may apply. You can access this promotion both in-store and online for your convenience. What Is the Most Trusted Website for Shoes? When looking for the most trusted website for shoes, Zappos, Foot Locker, and Nike stand out for their reliability. Zappos boasts a 365-day return policy, ensuring you can shop worry-free. Foot Locker offers exclusive discounts and a rewards program, enhancing your shopping experience. Nike’s official site guarantees authenticity and showcases the latest styles. Reviews on platforms like Trustpilot often highlight customer satisfaction, reinforcing these websites’ reputations as reliable sources for footwear. Conclusion In summary, taking advantage of these shoe coupons can lead to significant savings on your next purchase. Whether you’re shopping at Nike, Foot Locker, Crocs, or Coach Outlet, each offer presents an opportunity to reduce costs. Be sure to check eligibility requirements, like student status for Crocs or email sign-ups for Coach Outlet, to maximize your discounts. With the right coupon, you can enjoy stylish footwear at a fraction of the price, making your shopping experience more budget-friendly. Image via Google Gemini This article, "5 Best Shoe Coupons You Can Use Today" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Deal tightens ties with fast-growing ‘neocloud’ group as competition in AI infrastructure intensifiesView the full article

This week, young people are looking at the recent past through rose-colored glasses, living their best lives by filming harmless classroom pranks, and, hopefully, protecting their futures by not swallowing too many chia seeds or roasting themselves with heating pads. What does 2016 nostalgia mean?A few weeks ago, I posted about the online trend of millennial optimism which was focused on the years around 2010, but things have gone further: Young people are nostalgic specifically for 2016. This probably sounds bizarre to you. 2016 saw the deaths of Muhammad Ali, David Bowie, and Prince, and levels of political and social upheaval many of us had never experienced, leading many to regard 2016 as the worst year ever (little did we know). So why are younger people nostalgic for it? First, because if you were a young person, the edges of societal breakdown weren't really on your radar. 2016 was the year of Pokemon Go, Snapchat, and the bottle-flipping trend. You were watching this awesome new show called Stranger Things and hanging out with your friends, on an internet that didn’t feel like an algorithm-driven hellscape. Nostalgia is a personal thing; if you're a young adult in 2026, 2016 is your childhood, and things went so far south afterwards with the pandemic and the continued erosion of "normal" civic life that 2016 would understandably feel like the last normal year. Coming of age during a collapse is not a picnic, and I don't begrudge anyone a little nostalgia; look at the world we left them. But don't take my word for it. Check out some of the 2.2 million nostalgia videos on TikTok's #2016 to draw your own conclusions. Viral videos of the week: absurdist classroom pranksI don't think there's a name for the kind of viral videos I'm featuring this week, so I'm calling them "absurdist classroom pranks." They're videos where kids/teens in a school do something absurd but harmless, while trying to keep themselves from cracking up. These documents of good-hearted acts of stealth rebellion are both hilarious and youth-affirming. Like this Instagram reel from @avamonpere with five million views of a couple dudes meticulously arranging a charcuterie board in the middle of a lecture: Or the ongoing series "bringing random items to school," in which Instagram's @eli6666k and his boys do just what the title says: pull the weirdest things they can from their backpacks, while trying to keep from laughing. I wasn't even able to do it while watching. Here's a couple: But check out the source. The series is ongoing so there's more to come. Dangers from the internetIn part 4,034 of my 36,321 part series, we have a trio of things that people online are doing that no one should actually do in real life, ever. The fire challenge: A Chicago-area mom offers a warning on behalf of her badly burned daughter: Do not participate in a "a viral social media trend" called "The Fire Challenge"; that is, covering your hands with rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer and setting them on fire. This is a tragic story, but like most media reports of injuries from online challenges, I can't actually find any evidence of any videos like this on social media, so People calling it a "viral social media trend" seems inaccurate. Maybe those videos are out there, but they're hardly viral or a trend. There's a "tiktokfirechallenge" hashtag, with 34 videos, none of which depict anything dangerous. While #firechallenge contains some videos warning against the fire challenge, but none that show it actually happening. Do not eat too many chia seeds: Chia seeds are a whole thing with young people. They make "chia water," mix 'em up with apples and make "pudding," and make super gross AI videos about the supposed health benefits of just raw-dogging a handful of seeds. That last one is a problem. Chia seeds are a good source of fiber, but according to nutritionists, you shouldn't eat them without soaking them in liquid first. They absorb fluids, and eating raw seeds could result in intestinal blockage and choking. Toasted skin syndrome: This one unlocked a phobia I never knew I had: If you routinely use a heating pad on its highest setting, you can literally slow roast your own flesh. It's called toasted skin syndrome or "erythema ab igne" in medical parlance, and it's caused by long-term exposure to personal heat sources like heating pads, electric blankets, space heaters, or even a laptop on your thighs. TikTok user @teezubal raised awareness by posting a video of her friend's alarmingly mottled back flesh that has been viewed over 50 million times in a week. Her friend insists, "it's fine, I promise" but it's not fine. Milder cases can take months to resolve, and if you keep it up, the discolored flesh can supposedly stay like that forever. The solution: If you use a heating pad, keep it set to "low." View the full article

Dmitrii Ovsiannikov was jailed last year for money laundering and breaching UK sanctionsView the full article

The 2026 tax filing season—for 2025 returns—begins on Jan. 26, which means scammers are ramping up efforts to steal taxpayers' information and money. These are a few of the tax-related schemes to watch out for this year. 'Tax resolution' scamsThe Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is alerting consumers to a phone scam currently circulating in which callers claim to be from the “Tax Resolution Oversight Department," “Tax Mediation and Resolution Agency,” or some similar official-sounding (but fake) government organization. They will claim that you owe back taxes and say they will help you apply for an “IRS liability reduction program” (also fake). The scammers' aim here is to collect your Social Security number (SSN) and possibly an upfront payment for their services. They will likely pressure you and create a sense of urgency with lines like “this may be our only attempt to reach you." Don't fall for it. If you do actually owe back taxes, the IRS will send you a notice via mail, and you'll have options to settle that debt directly with the agency. Tax-related phishing scamsA common type of tax scam is the fraudulent text or email that appears to be from the IRS but is actually a phishing campaign. The FTC's most recent alert reminds consumers that any message that asks you to verify your identity in order to receive your refund is a scam. You may get a text or email "from" the IRS or your state tax authority notifying you that they've processed your refund, and all you have to do is provide some information via the link provided in order to claim it. As with any phishing scam, doing so hands your information directly to bad actors. Neither the IRS nor your state tax office will contact you via text, email, or social media message, and you should never click links in unsolicited communication. IRS impersonation scamsNext, there's the general category of IRS impersonation scams. Both of the above could be included here, but there's also the fake IRS letter that—with great urgency—demands sensitive personal information or payment for taxes owed. Sometimes, these letters request said payment via gift card, which is always a red flag. Letters may also say something about an unclaimed refund and request photos of your identification. Scammers have also been known to call people about their tax bill or refund while claiming to represent the IRS or another agency that provides government benefits. They may also claim that your information is being used in some type of crime. If a caller threatens you or demands payment, hang up immediately. Tax prep scamsIf you're hiring a tax professional to help you with your return, you should vet them before handing over your information. At best, a tax preparer may lack the proper credentials and experience—at worst, they may falsify your return or pocket your refund. A "ghost" tax professional will scam you by not signing your return after they've prepared it. You are legally responsible for your taxes, so do your due diligence and review your return carefully before signing your own name. Don't pay for services in cash, and always get a receipt. Tax identity theft scamsThis scam typically involves a scammer filing a tax return using your name and SSN and pocketing the refund—and you may not realize that you're a victim until after you've filed your real return and received a notice from the IRS about the duplicate. To prevent this, set up an identity protection PIN with the IRS. This six-digit number changes every calendar year, and no one can file a return under your SSN or individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) without it. Note that the IRS will never ask for your IP PIN, so any communication requesting it is (also) a scam. IRS support scamsFinally, scammers may contact you and offer paid services for something you can do for free. For example, you can easily create an IRS account online and do not need to pay someone to do it for you or hand over your personal information to a third party in the process. Anyone who offers unsolicited help to set up your account, negotiate your tax debt, or otherwise manage your return or refund (especially for a fee) is a scammer. How to protect yourself from tax scamsAs we've mentioned, stay vigilant to common scam tactics, such as unsolicited communication, a sense of urgency, and a demand for money or information. The IRS has specific ways of contacting taxpayers, and you should know how to verify that mailed notices and other forms of communication are real. You can always call the IRS directly to confirm if what you're being told is legitimate. Don't click links in texts, emails, or social media messages—instead, go directly to the IRS.gov website and access your account there. When it comes to your return, if you're not taking the DIY route, choose a qualified tax professional, and request an IP PIN to protect your SSN against fraudulent filing. Consider filing early and electronically, which will also get your refund processed sooner. View the full article

A new year often starts with a simple question: How can we do better? For businesses, it’s a question that applies to almost everything, from product innovation to climate impact—an area of increasing urgency for many. The goal of achieving net-zero is now a staple of most businesses’ annual plans, however the journey there is often challenging. It can be fraught with hidden trade-offs, making it difficult for ESG leaders to know whether they are truly backing the right solutions in pursuit of their climate goals. Take aviation, for example. As one of the world’s most difficult sectors to decarbonize, its 2.5% share of global CO2 emissions represents a major challenge for nearly every corporate climate plan. To solve this, the industry developed a solution called Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Unlike traditional jet fuel made from crude oil, SAF is produced from renewable sources like used cooking oil, agricultural waste, and other plant-based materials. Crucially, it’s designed to work with existing aircraft engines, allowing airlines to dramatically reduce their carbon footprint without having to build new planes. While promising a dramatic reduction in air travel’s carbon footprint, the well-intentioned race to scale this “green” fuel has created a dangerous paradox, leading companies down a path that risks undermining the goals they are trying to achieve. THE HIDDEN FLAW IN GREEN JET FUEL SAF has quickly become the poster child for sustainable flight, as it cuts an aircraft’s lifecycle emissions by up to 80%. However, the way we scale SAF matters just as much as the volumes we achieve. Many of today’s biofuels rely on crops grown on arable land, creating direct competition with food production and increasing the risk of deforestation and biodiversity loss. This is the hidden flaw in the first wave of green jet fuel. When the same land that could grow food or support forests is converted for use in jet fuel, claims of sustainability become less convincing. This approach risks incentivizing solutions that reduce carbon emissions on spreadsheets while increasing the social and environmental risks in reality. At the same time, no one should underestimate the scale of aviation’s challenge. Industry roadmaps state that to align with net-zero targets by 2050, the sector will need hundreds of millions of tons of SAF per year, compared to only a few million tons produced per year today. We must choose the right path to close that gap over the next quarter-century. The world generates an enormous amount of waste every year, from used cooking oil and animal fats to agricultural residues such as corn cobs, straw, and empty fruit bunches. Much of this material is mismanaged, leading to open burning, water contamination, and methane emissions as organic waste decomposes. Turning this waste into fuel tackles two problems at once: it avoids methane and pollution from unmanaged waste, and it displaces fossil fuels in sectors like aviation. FROM PILOT TO SCALE: PROOF IN THE REAL WORLD The key question for any sustainability solution is simple: Can it scale? For waste-based SAF, the answer is increasingly yes. At EcoCeres, our first large-scale renewable fuels plant in Jiangsu, China—which launched in 2021—demonstrated that industrial-scale production of SAF from 100% waste oils is commercially viable, with a capacity of around 350,000 tons per year. Now, that model is scaling. In January 2026, we officially opened our new production facility in Johor, Malaysia. With 420,000 tons of annual renewable fuel capacity, it’s one of the country’s first dedicated SAF facilities and it effectively doubles EcoCeres’ SAF production capability. The plant utilizes 100% waste-based feedstocks, supported by a strategy that secures used cooking oil and other residues across Asia. Its circular model is demonstrated by facilities certified under leading industry bodies like ISCC (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) and CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation). It has moved beyond pilots and is now delivering at industrial scale, proving the viability of truly circular SAF. SAF AS A GATEWAY TO CREDIBLE NET-ZERO FOR BUSINESS For many global companies, business travel and air freight form a substantial share of their carbon emissions. Without a scalable, credible source of SAF, corporate net-zero pledges risk becoming aspirational rather than actionable. It’s clear that a more sophisticated standard for green fuel is needed. Three simple criteria can guide better decisions: Feedstock integrity: Does the fuel rely on 100% waste and residue-based feedstocks that do not compete with food or high-value ecosystems? Verified lifecycle impact: Does it achieve high lifecycle emissions reductions validated by robust, third-party certification schemes aligned with global standards? Circular and local co-benefits: Does the solution tangibly reduce local pollution and create sustainable economic opportunities in the regions where waste is collected? Applying these tests can differentiate between models that simply shift problems elsewhere and circular solutions that create compounded benefits. CLOSE THE LOOP ON GLOBAL MOBILITY The concept of a circular economy has successfully reshaped countless industries. For years, however, global aviation has remained a critical open loop. A truly circular, waste-based SAF model can help us finally close the loop on global mobility. This is not a distant dream. As we’ve demonstrated, the technology is already proven and operating at scale. Global studies confirm that underutilized waste streams can support the production of hundreds of millions of tons of sustainable fuel, more than enough to bridge the current supply gap. As more of the world’s waste is brought into productive use, the idea of flying on circular fuel moves from promising pilot to practical reality. For the business leaders and ESG teams asking, “How can we do better?” this presents a clear and actionable path. By championing a higher standard for the fuels they endorse, they can help transform one of the world’s most difficult climate challenges into a story of innovation and opportunity. If we can turn the world’s waste into the world’s jet fuel, then every business trip, shipment, and journey can be part of the solution, not the problem. Matti Lievonen is CEO of EcoCeres. View the full article

Trilateral peace talks seem promising, but territory remains a major obstacleView the full article

Twenty years ago, as the top digital and innovation executive for Citi’s credit card business, I led the team that spent months building what looked like a brilliant partnership. We’d found a startup with a disruptive payments platform—one that became the forerunner of what has become a new payment type used by millions of consumers today. The deal: strategic investment in exchange for access to the startup’s codebase as a sandbox for innovation pilots. No more waiting in the legacy systems queue. Just rapid prototyping with leading-edge developers. We built the entire partnership in a silo of supporters, treating resistance as something to avoid until absolutely necessary. Then came final deal approval day. The senior executives heading risk management, compliance, legal, finance, regulatory affairs, and profit and loss (P&L) weighed in: “The regulators won’t like this.” “Have we gotten corporate approvals?” “What’s the ROI?” “We’ve never done this kind of deal.” Deal torpedoed. Within a few years, that startup was acquired for close to $1 billion. The loss wasn’t just financial. It was a failure to recognize that resistance contains intelligence about reality that plans built-in echo chambers inevitably miss. Colleagues felt blindsided—asked to bless a final deal rather than shape an evolving strategy. The resistance wasn’t about the idea. It was about being excluded from the journey. I’ve spent the two decades since distinguishing the signal from the noise—and teaching leaders how to avoid the expensive mistakes we made. Why We Keep Making the Same Mistake Leaders faced with pushback default to a familiar playbook: build innovation in a protected silo, surround yourself with enthusiasts, keep resistors at arm’s length. The logic seems sound—protect the new thing from the “antibodies” of legacy thinking. But here’s what we discovered the hard way: unfamiliarity, fear of the unknown, turf protection—these weren’t just emotional reactions. They were signals. Risk and compliance leaders felt threatened because no one had involved them early enough to anticipate possible regulatory concerns. P&L managers pushed back because the project diverted resources from their quarterly targets. The resistance contained intelligence about implementation realities that an enthusiast-only team couldn’t see. When 70% of change initiatives fail despite massive investment, the problem isn’t that people don’t understand the plan. It’s that the plan doesn’t account for what people understand about reality. Learning to Translate Resistance Into Intelligence The shift starts with listening differently. When someone says, “We tried this before and it didn’t work,” leaders typically hear obstruction and respond: “This time is different—we have better technology.” But what if you asked instead: “What specifically failed last time, and how does this approach account for those lessons?” Suddenly you’re mining history for intelligence about why elegant pilots don’t scale. When a stakeholder says, “Our customers won’t understand this,” the dismissive response is “Of course they will—we have market research showing they favor this concept.” The intelligence-gathering response: “That’s an important observation. Where do you see the greatest failure points that we should account for?” Or consider: “This conflicts with our other priorities.” Many leaders hear bureaucratic gatekeeping and respond by promising to “make the case” at prioritization meetings. But that’s still trying to convince. The intelligence approach: “We have a full load of urgent priorities, you’re right. Where do you see the biggest stress points this project might create?” These aren’t just nicer ways of saying the same thing. They’re diagnostic questions that surface constraints the plan hasn’t addressed. When you ask, “Where do you see the biggest stress points?” instead of selling your solution, something shifts. You’re signaling genuine understanding, not persuasion. That act of listening—what former hostage negotiator Chris Voss calls “tactical empathy”—builds the trust that determines whether your initiative scales or stalls. Why This Matters More Now AI experimentation is amplifying every dysfunction in how organizations handle resistance. Consider a common pattern: A team builds an AI assistant for customer service reps. The tech enthusiasts love it at pilot stage—impressive accuracy, clean demo, excited exec sponsors. But they never involved actual service reps. So, they didn’t discover until scale that the assistant couldn’t handle the 20% of calls requiring human judgment, created more work documenting exceptions than it saved, and made reps feel surveilled rather than supported. Adoption stalled. The pilot became another “AI experiment that didn’t work.” The same dynamic plays out with creative teams resisting generative AI. The pattern sounds familiar: Our brand spends millions to sound like itself. The moment we start prompting a model trained on every competitor’s campaign, we’re paying to erase what makes us different. Beneath the pushback is stewardship of hard-won brand equity, not necessarily technophobia. The intelligence-gathering response: “What if we approach AI as rough-draft only? How might we develop explicit guardrails for tone and references to preserve what makes us distinctive?” From Stakeholder Management to Coalition Building Traditional stakeholder management maps who supports and who resists, then tries to convert resistors through better communication. Coalition building does something different: it engages across the spectrum from the start to build trust—the foundation that determines whether change scales. I’ve seen this work. When innovation leaders don’t own a P&L, they face scrutiny from business unit managers who question whether “the innovation people” truly care about quarterly targets. One way through: explicitly align early experiments to P&L managers’ top priorities—not to convince them your idea is right, but to demonstrate you’re invested in making them successful. Shared values become the bridge when you disagree on tactics. The Questions That Change the Conversation In my workshops with senior leaders across financial services and other sectors, I consistently hear the same story. As one CTO told me: “We built our gen AI strategy with only the innovation team. Now we’re stuck because compliance wasn’t engaged early.” Here’s where to start: “What do you see that we might be missing?” Assumes intelligence in the perspective, not obstruction. “What would need to be true for this to work in your world?” Surfaces constraints before they become deal-killers. “What shared outcomes matter most to both of us?” Finds the values bridge when tactics diverge. The fundamental shift: from “How do I overcome resistance?” to “What intelligence am I missing if I don’t engage this perspective early?” Twenty years later, companies are still building partnerships, AI pilots, and transformation initiatives in silos of supporters—the same mistake my Citi team made. Still treating resistance as friction to manage rather than intelligence to integrate: The billion-dollar missed opportunities keep piling up. What changes when you treat resistance as the intelligence it actually contains? You build coalitions instead of echo chambers. You gain insights that improve your plan and trust that enables scale. And you stop repeating the expensive mistakes we learned from the hard way. View the full article

Former Conservative home secretary announces move at rally for military veteransView the full article

Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning. The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos brings together an incongruous mix of celebrities (this year included Matt Damon, David Beckham, and Katy Perry, who was accompanying ex-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau), world leaders (President Donald The President), and nonprofit leaders. The event also reliably assembles an unrivaled group of global CEOs who offer a window into where business is heading. Some CEOs see sunny skies ahead This year, though, I found the window very foggy—and I wasn’t alone. According to PwC’s 29th Global CEO Survey, released at the start of the meeting, only about a third of CEOs (30%) say they are confident about revenue growth in the next 12 months, down from 38% in 2025 and 56% in 2022. Yet Paul Griggs, CEO of PwC U.S., says the American CEOs he spoke with in Davos are feeling much more optimistic than the survey would suggest. While they acknowledge that they’re dealing with high levels of uncertainty, they’re also more prepared to deal with complexity through new workflows and processes to keep them agile. “I met with 10 CEOs today, and it was a day of optimism,” Griggs says. Sharon Marcil, who leads Boston Consulting Group in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, is also seeing bright spots. A new report, BCG AI Radar 2026, finds that four out of five CEOs say they are more optimistic about the returns on their AI investments than they were a year ago. “I do think 2026 is going to be a growth year,” she says. Who’s feeling blue? Most consultants I spoke with say European and U.K. CEOs are less confident than their U.S.- and Asia-based counterparts. AI’s impact beyond the hype The impact of AI on jobs was also hotly debated at Davos. While most CEOs and executives continue to insist that AI will make work better by reducing mundane tasks, a few CEOs have started to talk—publicly and privately—about the roles AI will eliminate and the need to prepare workers for changes. “We’re focused on being completely honest with our workforce,” says Kate Johnson, CEO of Lumen Technologies, a digital network services provider. Johnson says the company is committed to training employees for new roles in the organization but adds, “We have to reimagine what the world will look like in the future, and [employees] need to imagine a world where their current job may not exist.” Conversations about AI have also shifted away from applications (think OpenAI’s ChatGPT) and agents (software that can make decisions and complete tasks) to infrastructure. Throughout the week, executives shared insights on the energy and networking capacity needed as data centers built specifically to support AI crop up. “The big question now has gone from the potential to operational reality,” says Aamir Paul, president of North America Operations at energy technology company Schneider Electric. (Fast Company partnered with Schneider Electric on a series of videos in Davos.) “How do we make it happen . . . getting data centers built, getting energy access, getting it in a way that it doesn’t affect retail costs and consumers don’t have to take the burden, and doing it in a way where we’re still meeting our sustainability goals?” These are daunting challenges that will require investment and inventiveness to solve. Luckily, one of BCG’s recent business surveys saw a 14% uptick in mentions of innovation versus a year ago. Perhaps that’s another reason for optimism in 2026. Your views on 2026 How are you feeling about the year ahead? Do you agree with the prevailing sentiment at Davos, or are you less optimistic about what’s coming? I’d like to hear your thoughts and why you feel that way. Please send them to me at stephaniemehta@mansueto.com. I may use your comments in a future newsletter. Read and watch more: Fast Company’s Brendan Vaughan offers his take on Davos CEO insularity threatens dialogue goal at Davos CEOs at Davos are buying the agentic AI hype​ View the full article

As an operative researcher for luxury retail companies, I spent my career grabbing onto one corporate contract after the next, like a tree-swinging retainer monkey. But in a tariff-distressed industry, those contract “branches” grew further and further apart until I was left hanging. Then a colleague experiencing a similar work gap said, “Well, I guess we’re retired.” I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, but nothing prepared me for the word “retired.” I’m a freelancer, so no one is coming to my house with a gold watch as a reward for loyal service; I have no desire to move south; and I don’t play golf. My equally self-employed friend Roland had a suggestion: Why not consider myself “situationally” retired—that is, retired until the phone rings. It’s funny how one word can make or break your spirit. I was crushed by “retired” because the concept is foreign and frightening. But adding “situational” made it comfortingly familiar. After all, for us freelancers every corporate contract is situational; you might even say that situational is my superpower. A friend who’s spent decades in a grueling C-suite position still can’t bring himself to retire, despite vested stock and a strong financial footing. Happy or not, he remains in the grip of his job, unable to let go of a role he believes defines (and so ultimately confines) him. I’ve been an outside observer of corporate America long enough to understand his struggle, although it is not my own. Redirecting your energy As an independent contractor working for different companies, each with its own ecosystem, I constantly adapted my work persona to fit each unique corporate culture. Fluidity is what stabilized my career and so the loss of a fixed identity was not my retirement problem. My issue was displaced energy. Whether writing a history of plaid for a fashion CEO or helping the VP of design at a boutique hotel chain find just the right urban neighborhoods for expansion, every project required a tremendous amount of advance work. From sleuthing out relevant reference resources to searching for subject-specific experts, my research work was as fascinating as it was fun. I rarely left my desk yet built a national network of specialists and accumulated wide-ranging knowledge that often dovetailed, making every project a little easier. When the work slowed—and then stopped—my detective skills had nowhere to go. I can’t remember how long I was in that uncomfortable standstill until Roland’s use of the word “situational” got me moving. To kick off “Project Retirement,” I went on my usual research prowl. Every day, about 11,400 Americans turn 65—the traditional retirement milestone—fueling a busy and lucrative media market spanning content, publishing, and podcasts. But the most valuable operative research is not about finding the most information. It requires you to find the right information—information that is directional, that you can build upon, that can help steer your project to a successful conclusion. Redefining retirement For me, the initial guiding principles came from the YouTube channel Small Retired Life and Raina Vitanov’s practical yet inspirational attitude. Her conversation about being rebellious enough to redefine and rebrand retirement broadened my understanding and freed me to choose my own norms and values. But the most significant contribution was her observation that in retirement, “Productivity is not the conversation.” Using the Roland method, I added a word and had a revelation: Transactional productivity is no longer my conversation. The time between contracts used to feel borrowed; now I own it. And all that research joie de vivre that I enjoyed over my corporate years is mine to use as I like. Sit next to me if you want to talk about the architecture of Shaker communities, art in ’80s New York, or the difference between Ivy style and preppy fashion. I also started a side gig in a small boutique where I once shopped whenever I needed to outfit myself for a rare visit into corporate America. Because I’ve never had a structured straight job, I find the work to be fresh and interesting. It’s also rewarding because I get to use decades of style research on real live women, many playing out their own life-shifting issues through the lens of their wardrobes. Although I’m not sure I can pull off being an introvert cosplaying as an extrovert for more than my customary two workdays a week, I might give it a shot. Because now that I’ve got the hang of it, situational retirement can be whatever I want it to be. View the full article

I’m always amazed at how easily we give our time to others without thinking, and then are mad later when it was wasted. What exactly did we think was going to happen? That everyone was going to be prepared, productive, and appreciative? Time has become the ultimate luxury—we never have enough of it, and are jealous of those that have it. For too many of us, endless meetings, back-to-back emails, and constant interruptions leave little room for focused, meaningful work. Additionally, in our effort to be nice or generous, we offer our time even when we’re running on empty. But what if I told you that much of this time theft could be prevented with a little more mindfulness, intent, and discipline? Warren Buffett is a great example: He once shared his calendar with Bill Gates, and it was practically empty, which Gates found shocking. But Buffett was making a point—that one of the key reasons for his success is that he fiercely guards his time, knowing that “people will take your time if you let them.” Time is a nonrenewable resource, and we should be stingier with it. You can lose money and get it back, but you can never get it back lost time. Yet every day, unnecessary meetings and unproductive engagements hijack our calendars, diminishing both our productivity and morale. So why do we let it happen? It’s time to rethink how we treat time: not just our own, but the time of our teams and colleagues. Time as a Strategic Resource Let me introduce you to the concept of “time crime” that is emerging in workplaces today. Time is now considered an asset, and too many people are wasting it. It’s misused through poorly planned meetings, rambling conversations, and vague scheduling. This has an impact not just on productivity but missed opportunity, and as a result orgs have made bold moves to create strict policies on things like meetings. They’ve made it part of their culture change to treat time with respect, with scheduling a meeting becoming a last resort. The idea is about mutually respecting time—yours, and others. In 2023, Shopify ruthlessly cut all recurring meetings with more than two people, resulting in 322,000 fewer hours spent in meetings in one year. Can you imagine that impact? What would you do with all that found time? For Shopify, it meant more focus and more time for deep work. Alan Rankin, chief procurement officer at Moderna, shared an aha moment he had around time management, and it changed how he operates: “I was invited to a monthly operations meeting where many senior leaders in the company attended. I was really struggling to make a meaningful contribution to the meeting. I started to put myself under pressure to contribute more and say intelligent things. Then I had the lightbulb moment: Is this what is best for the company or is this all about me? I decided to stop attending and see if anything in my universe changed. And guess what? Nothing did. And now I have more time.” Revelations like this are impactful—and essential. While there are many ways time gets stolen, meetings are usually the biggest culprit. NBCUniversal, for example, has learned that fewer participants in meetings often lead to more productive discussions. For many business units, meetings include only the minimum number of people necessary to achieve the objectives, resulting in faster decisions and more meaningful input from all attendees. The Power of Less: Fewer People = More Productivity The power of “less” applies to emails, reports, committees, and most certainly, to meetings. I’ve never heard an organization tell me they wished their teams had more of any of these. Have you? Less equals focus, especially during meetings. When too many people are involved, important voices get drowned out. By keeping meetings lean and mean, you create an environment where only people that can contribute meaningfully attend, resulting in less distractions and more deep work. Atlassian lets employees question the necessity of every meeting. To decrease meetings, they use tools like Slack to handle simple status updates, letting teams focus more on high-value work. The message is to use your time with intention, and to only hold meetings when absolutely necessary. Stealing time is unacceptable. When meetings are held less often, they become a valuable commodity, where teams become more focused and disciplined with people’s time. Even Google has developed guidelines to make meetings productive and purposeful. Because innovation depends on it. Their meetings are short, focused, and to-the-point, with strict rules about minimizing unnecessary participants. The goal is to protect employees’ time by stopping lengthy, irrelevant discussions that take away from deep work. These guidelines help teams be mindful of how they spend their time, as well as how they use the time of others. Respecting Time Equals Respecting People Employees who feel their time is valued are more likely to be committed to their work. Time is, after all, one of the most tangible forms of respect you can show someone. At my own company, FutureThink, we regularly “uninvite” people to meetings, emphasizing that they don’t need to attend the meeting and can use their time for more urgent work. People love being uninvited because it feels like a gift—and our culture emphasizes that you need to use your time wisely; if you waste it on the unnecessary—that’s on you. The goal is for people to understand that time is something worth protecting. Guard Time Like It’s Your Most Valuable Asset Stop letting your calendar be overrun with things you do need to really do, and start using your time with intent. The next time someone asks for your time, ask yourself: Is this meeting truly necessary? Is this the best use of my time, and their time? Doing this will not only protect your own productivity but also foster a culture where everyone’s time is treated as the invaluable resource it truly is. View the full article

Online reputation refers to how others perceive you or your business based on your digital footprint, which includes online reviews, social media interactions, and overall visibility. It’s vital since a positive reputation can greatly influence consumer trust and purchasing decisions. With 93% of consumers relying on online reviews, comprehension and managing your online presence becomes fundamental. So, what strategies can you implement to guarantee your reputation aligns with your goals? Key Takeaways Online reputation is the perception of a brand based on its digital presence, including reviews and social media interactions. 90% of consumers read reviews before making purchases, highlighting the importance of a positive online reputation. A strong online reputation can increase consumer trust by 74% and differentiate a business from its competitors. Negative feedback can lead to significant revenue declines, emphasizing the need for proactive reputation management. Engaging with customers and managing reviews effectively can foster long-term loyalty and financial benefits. Understanding Online Reputation Grasping online reputation is fundamental in today’s digital environment, where perceptions can shift quickly due to a single post or review. Online reputation refers to how consumers perceive a brand or individual based on their digital footprint, including social media interactions, reviews, and search engine results. Your reputation score can considerably impact consumer decisions, as approximately 90% of shoppers read reviews before purchasing. A positive online reputation can boost consumer trust by 74%, making it critical for attracting and retaining customers. Conversely, negative incidents can spread swiftly, potentially harming your business reputation score and leading to lost revenue opportunities. Regular assessment and management of your online presence are imperative, especially since 70% of employers check social media profiles before hiring. The Significance of Online Reputation In today’s marketplace, where consumers often rely on digital feedback to make informed choices, the significance of online reputation cannot be overstated. Your online reputation affects not just consumer decisions but also your financial success and career opportunities. Here’s a brief overview of its significance: Impact Area Details Consumer Decisions 93% say online reviews influence purchases. Financial Implications A one-star increase on Yelp can boost revenue by 5-9%. Job Opportunities 70% of employers check social media profiles. Maintaining a positive online image contributes to a favorable reputation scorecard, which helps differentiate you from competitors. When you focus on your online reputation, you attract higher-quality clients and cultivate long-term loyalty, key elements for success in any field. How Online Reputation Influences Consumer Behavior Your online reputation plays an essential role in shaping trustworthiness among consumers. Since many people turn to social media for opinions and experiences, a positive reputation can greatly influence their purchasing decisions. Conversely, negative feedback can lead potential customers to hesitate, ultimately impacting a business’s success. Impact on Trustworthiness As consumers navigate their purchasing decisions, they increasingly rely on online reviews and ratings to gauge a business’s trustworthiness. A solid online reputation can greatly influence your potential customers’ choices. Consider these key points: 93% of consumers state online reviews greatly impact their purchasing decisions, emphasizing their importance. A one-star increase in a Yelp rating can boost revenue by 5-9%, showcasing the financial implications of reputation. 75% of people read reviews before buying, highlighting the need for a strong online presence. 88% of consumers prefer brands that engage with reviews, underlining the importance of interaction to build trust. Neglecting your online reputation can deter 70% of consumers, illustrating the critical need for effective reputation management. Social Media Influence How does social media shape consumer behavior in today’s digital environment? Online reputation plays an essential role in how you make purchasing decisions. Approximately 75% of consumers read online reviews before buying, indicating that your reputation greatly impacts their choices. Furthermore, 71% of social media users have bought products they discovered on these platforms, showing how important a strong online presence is. When positive reviews are present, consumer trust can increase by 74%, directly enhancing conversion rates. In addition, 82% of consumers trust testimonials as much as personal recommendations, emphasizing the influence of online reputation. All these factors illustrate that a positive online reputation not only builds trust but also drives sales in today’s social media-driven market. The Role of Online Reviews and Customer Feedback Online reviews and customer feedback play a vital role in shaping a business’s reputation and influencing consumer choices. When potential customers look for services or products, they often rely on the experiences of others. Here are some key points to reflect on: Trust Factor: 74% of consumers trust businesses with positive reviews, which can boost your credibility. Review Volume: Average consumers read about 10 reviews before trusting a business, making a robust collection of feedback important. Social Proof: 82% of consumers trust testimonials as much as personal recommendations, highlighting their impact on decision-making. Financial Impact: A one-star increase in your Yelp rating can lead to a 5-9% increase in revenue, underlining the direct benefits of positive reviews. In today’s digital environment, managing your online reviews effectively can greatly influence consumer behavior and in the end drive your business success. Strategies for Managing Your Online Reputation Managing your online reputation is an ongoing process that requires active engagement and strategy. Start by regularly monitoring your online presence with tools like Google Alerts and Social Mention. This will help you stay informed about brand mentions and customer feedback, enabling timely responses. Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews, as 68% of consumers say they’d write a review if asked. Develop a strategy for responding to reviews; professional replies to negative feedback can improve trust, with 70% of consumers more likely to choose businesses that engage with reviews. Moreover, optimize positive content for search engines to guarantee it ranks higher than any negative information, as even a one-star increase in Yelp rating can boost revenue by 5-9%. Finally, engage with your audience across social media to build goodwill and transparency, since 88% of customers prefer brands that respond to all online reviews. Engaging With Customers to Enhance Reputation Engaging with customers is essential for enhancing your brand’s reputation, especially in today’s digital environment. To effectively connect with your audience, consider the following strategies: Respond to Reviews: Acknowledge all online reviews, as 88% of consumers prefer brands that do so, showing your commitment to customer satisfaction. Thank Customers: Express gratitude for feedback, which can boost consumer trust by 74%, making customers feel valued. Address Negative Feedback: Professionally responding to negative reviews can change 70% of consumers’ perceptions about your business, demonstrating your willingness to improve. Encourage Feedback: Actively seeking customer opinions can result in a 68% increase in satisfied customers leaving positive testimonials, further enhancing your online reputation. The Impact of Social Media on Online Reputation Social media plays a pivotal role in shaping your online reputation, as it directly influences how consumers perceive your brand. With the rapid spread of information, managing your reputation in real-time has never been more essential, especially considering that negative comments can quickly go viral. Comprehending these dynamics can help you engage effectively with your audience and protect your brand’s image in a digital environment where trust and authenticity matter. Social Media Influence Dynamics How does social media shape our perceptions of brands? It plays a vital role in influencing consumer behavior and shaping online reputation. Here are four key ways social media impacts your brand perception: Feedback Channel: 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Discovery: 71% of users purchase products they find on social media, demonstrating its influence. Negative Impact: 47% of consumers unfollow brands because of negative experiences, highlighting the need for vigilance. Research Tool: Approximately 93% of consumers use social media to research brands before buying. Engaging with customers on social media can boost loyalty by 20-40%, reinforcing the significance of maintaining a positive online presence. Real-Time Reputation Management The role of real-time reputation management has evolved markedly alongside the rise of social media, and it now stands as a fundamental aspect of maintaining a brand’s image. In the digital age, 90% of consumers read online reviews before making purchase decisions, often swayed by social media discussions. Customers expect brands to respond to 88% of online reviews, which directly influences satisfaction and loyalty. Swift responses to negative comments can prevent long-term damage, as issues can escalate swiftly. Engaging with customers improves credibility, with 82% of consumers trusting testimonials as much as personal recommendations. Viral Content Risks In today’s digital environment, where viral content can spread like wildfire, comprehending the risks associated with negative online perceptions is vital for businesses. A single negative incident can lead to significant consequences if not managed swiftly. Here are some important risks to take into account: Consumer Behavior: 90% of consumers read online reviews before purchasing, making reputation important. Hiring Impact: 70% of employers check social media profiles, so negative posts can hinder job prospects. Sales Decline: 93% of consumers’ purchasing decisions are influenced by online reviews, highlighting the weight of negative feedback. Revenue Loss: Businesses can face up to a 22% decline in revenue as a result of a poor online reputation. Understanding these risks can help you safeguard your brand’s image effectively. Seeking Professional Help for Reputation Management While managing your online reputation might seem straightforward, seeking professional help can greatly improve your efforts. With 93% of consumers stating that online reviews greatly impact their purchasing decisions, it’s essential to guarantee your online presence reflects a positive image. Professional online reputation management (ORM) services can monitor your digital footprint, enabling you to respond swiftly to negative feedback. This proactive approach not merely protects your brand but can likewise lead to substantial financial benefits; a mere one-star increase in Yelp ratings can result in a 5-9% revenue boost. Furthermore, with 70% of employers reviewing social media profiles before hiring, maintaining a strong online reputation can improve job prospects and attract top talent. Frequently Asked Questions What Is an Online Reputation and Why Is It Important? Your online reputation is how others perceive you based on your digital presence, including social media, reviews, and search results. It’s vital since it directly impacts consumer trust and purchasing decisions. Research shows that 93% of consumers consult reviews before buying, whereas 70% of employers check social media when hiring. A positive online reputation can improve your credibility and lead to increased sales, whereas a negative one can deter potential customers and job opportunities. What Is Your E-Reputation and Why Is It Important? Your e-reputation is the digital perception others have of you, shaped by your online activities, such as social media interactions and reviews. It’s important since it influences various aspects of your life, including job opportunities and personal relationships. Potential employers often check your online presence, affecting their hiring decisions. Moreover, a strong e-reputation can improve your credibility, whereas a poor one can lead to negative consequences, impacting trust and opportunities in both personal and professional settings. What Is Reputation and Why Is It Important? Reputation is the overall perception others have of you based on your actions, behavior, and interactions. It’s vital since it can impact personal and professional opportunities. A strong reputation builds trust, which is fundamental for relationships, whether in business or personal life. Conversely, a negative reputation can lead to mistrust and lost opportunities. Maintaining a positive reputation involves consistent, ethical behavior and effective communication, helping you navigate social and professional environments successfully. What Is an Example of Online Reputation? An example of online reputation is how businesses are rated on platforms like Yelp. When you see a company with a high average rating, it often leads to increased revenue, sometimes by 5-9% for each additional star. Additionally, customer reviews greatly influence purchasing decisions, with 93% of consumers stating they impact what they buy. Negative reviews can damage credibility, as 82% of people trust testimonials as much as personal recommendations. Conclusion In conclusion, online reputation is essential for both businesses and individuals, as it directly affects consumer trust and purchasing decisions. By comprehending its importance and actively managing your digital presence, you can cultivate positive interactions and improve customer loyalty. Engaging with feedback, utilizing social media effectively, and considering professional assistance can greatly enhance your online image. Ultimately, a strong online reputation not just differentiates you from competitors but likewise contributes to long-term success and revenue growth. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "What Is Online Reputation and Why Does It Matter?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Online reputation refers to how others perceive you or your business based on your digital footprint, which includes online reviews, social media interactions, and overall visibility. It’s vital since a positive reputation can greatly influence consumer trust and purchasing decisions. With 93% of consumers relying on online reviews, comprehension and managing your online presence becomes fundamental. So, what strategies can you implement to guarantee your reputation aligns with your goals? Key Takeaways Online reputation is the perception of a brand based on its digital presence, including reviews and social media interactions. 90% of consumers read reviews before making purchases, highlighting the importance of a positive online reputation. A strong online reputation can increase consumer trust by 74% and differentiate a business from its competitors. Negative feedback can lead to significant revenue declines, emphasizing the need for proactive reputation management. Engaging with customers and managing reviews effectively can foster long-term loyalty and financial benefits. Understanding Online Reputation Grasping online reputation is fundamental in today’s digital environment, where perceptions can shift quickly due to a single post or review. Online reputation refers to how consumers perceive a brand or individual based on their digital footprint, including social media interactions, reviews, and search engine results. Your reputation score can considerably impact consumer decisions, as approximately 90% of shoppers read reviews before purchasing. A positive online reputation can boost consumer trust by 74%, making it critical for attracting and retaining customers. Conversely, negative incidents can spread swiftly, potentially harming your business reputation score and leading to lost revenue opportunities. Regular assessment and management of your online presence are imperative, especially since 70% of employers check social media profiles before hiring. The Significance of Online Reputation In today’s marketplace, where consumers often rely on digital feedback to make informed choices, the significance of online reputation cannot be overstated. Your online reputation affects not just consumer decisions but also your financial success and career opportunities. Here’s a brief overview of its significance: Impact Area Details Consumer Decisions 93% say online reviews influence purchases. Financial Implications A one-star increase on Yelp can boost revenue by 5-9%. Job Opportunities 70% of employers check social media profiles. Maintaining a positive online image contributes to a favorable reputation scorecard, which helps differentiate you from competitors. When you focus on your online reputation, you attract higher-quality clients and cultivate long-term loyalty, key elements for success in any field. How Online Reputation Influences Consumer Behavior Your online reputation plays an essential role in shaping trustworthiness among consumers. Since many people turn to social media for opinions and experiences, a positive reputation can greatly influence their purchasing decisions. Conversely, negative feedback can lead potential customers to hesitate, ultimately impacting a business’s success. Impact on Trustworthiness As consumers navigate their purchasing decisions, they increasingly rely on online reviews and ratings to gauge a business’s trustworthiness. A solid online reputation can greatly influence your potential customers’ choices. Consider these key points: 93% of consumers state online reviews greatly impact their purchasing decisions, emphasizing their importance. A one-star increase in a Yelp rating can boost revenue by 5-9%, showcasing the financial implications of reputation. 75% of people read reviews before buying, highlighting the need for a strong online presence. 88% of consumers prefer brands that engage with reviews, underlining the importance of interaction to build trust. Neglecting your online reputation can deter 70% of consumers, illustrating the critical need for effective reputation management. Social Media Influence How does social media shape consumer behavior in today’s digital environment? Online reputation plays an essential role in how you make purchasing decisions. Approximately 75% of consumers read online reviews before buying, indicating that your reputation greatly impacts their choices. Furthermore, 71% of social media users have bought products they discovered on these platforms, showing how important a strong online presence is. When positive reviews are present, consumer trust can increase by 74%, directly enhancing conversion rates. In addition, 82% of consumers trust testimonials as much as personal recommendations, emphasizing the influence of online reputation. All these factors illustrate that a positive online reputation not only builds trust but also drives sales in today’s social media-driven market. The Role of Online Reviews and Customer Feedback Online reviews and customer feedback play a vital role in shaping a business’s reputation and influencing consumer choices. When potential customers look for services or products, they often rely on the experiences of others. Here are some key points to reflect on: Trust Factor: 74% of consumers trust businesses with positive reviews, which can boost your credibility. Review Volume: Average consumers read about 10 reviews before trusting a business, making a robust collection of feedback important. Social Proof: 82% of consumers trust testimonials as much as personal recommendations, highlighting their impact on decision-making. Financial Impact: A one-star increase in your Yelp rating can lead to a 5-9% increase in revenue, underlining the direct benefits of positive reviews. In today’s digital environment, managing your online reviews effectively can greatly influence consumer behavior and in the end drive your business success. Strategies for Managing Your Online Reputation Managing your online reputation is an ongoing process that requires active engagement and strategy. Start by regularly monitoring your online presence with tools like Google Alerts and Social Mention. This will help you stay informed about brand mentions and customer feedback, enabling timely responses. Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews, as 68% of consumers say they’d write a review if asked. Develop a strategy for responding to reviews; professional replies to negative feedback can improve trust, with 70% of consumers more likely to choose businesses that engage with reviews. Moreover, optimize positive content for search engines to guarantee it ranks higher than any negative information, as even a one-star increase in Yelp rating can boost revenue by 5-9%. Finally, engage with your audience across social media to build goodwill and transparency, since 88% of customers prefer brands that respond to all online reviews. Engaging With Customers to Enhance Reputation Engaging with customers is essential for enhancing your brand’s reputation, especially in today’s digital environment. To effectively connect with your audience, consider the following strategies: Respond to Reviews: Acknowledge all online reviews, as 88% of consumers prefer brands that do so, showing your commitment to customer satisfaction. Thank Customers: Express gratitude for feedback, which can boost consumer trust by 74%, making customers feel valued. Address Negative Feedback: Professionally responding to negative reviews can change 70% of consumers’ perceptions about your business, demonstrating your willingness to improve. Encourage Feedback: Actively seeking customer opinions can result in a 68% increase in satisfied customers leaving positive testimonials, further enhancing your online reputation. The Impact of Social Media on Online Reputation Social media plays a pivotal role in shaping your online reputation, as it directly influences how consumers perceive your brand. With the rapid spread of information, managing your reputation in real-time has never been more essential, especially considering that negative comments can quickly go viral. Comprehending these dynamics can help you engage effectively with your audience and protect your brand’s image in a digital environment where trust and authenticity matter. Social Media Influence Dynamics How does social media shape our perceptions of brands? It plays a vital role in influencing consumer behavior and shaping online reputation. Here are four key ways social media impacts your brand perception: Feedback Channel: 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Discovery: 71% of users purchase products they find on social media, demonstrating its influence. Negative Impact: 47% of consumers unfollow brands because of negative experiences, highlighting the need for vigilance. Research Tool: Approximately 93% of consumers use social media to research brands before buying. Engaging with customers on social media can boost loyalty by 20-40%, reinforcing the significance of maintaining a positive online presence. Real-Time Reputation Management The role of real-time reputation management has evolved markedly alongside the rise of social media, and it now stands as a fundamental aspect of maintaining a brand’s image. In the digital age, 90% of consumers read online reviews before making purchase decisions, often swayed by social media discussions. Customers expect brands to respond to 88% of online reviews, which directly influences satisfaction and loyalty. Swift responses to negative comments can prevent long-term damage, as issues can escalate swiftly. Engaging with customers improves credibility, with 82% of consumers trusting testimonials as much as personal recommendations. Viral Content Risks In today’s digital environment, where viral content can spread like wildfire, comprehending the risks associated with negative online perceptions is vital for businesses. A single negative incident can lead to significant consequences if not managed swiftly. Here are some important risks to take into account: Consumer Behavior: 90% of consumers read online reviews before purchasing, making reputation important. Hiring Impact: 70% of employers check social media profiles, so negative posts can hinder job prospects. Sales Decline: 93% of consumers’ purchasing decisions are influenced by online reviews, highlighting the weight of negative feedback. Revenue Loss: Businesses can face up to a 22% decline in revenue as a result of a poor online reputation. Understanding these risks can help you safeguard your brand’s image effectively. Seeking Professional Help for Reputation Management While managing your online reputation might seem straightforward, seeking professional help can greatly improve your efforts. With 93% of consumers stating that online reviews greatly impact their purchasing decisions, it’s essential to guarantee your online presence reflects a positive image. Professional online reputation management (ORM) services can monitor your digital footprint, enabling you to respond swiftly to negative feedback. This proactive approach not merely protects your brand but can likewise lead to substantial financial benefits; a mere one-star increase in Yelp ratings can result in a 5-9% revenue boost. Furthermore, with 70% of employers reviewing social media profiles before hiring, maintaining a strong online reputation can improve job prospects and attract top talent. Frequently Asked Questions What Is an Online Reputation and Why Is It Important? Your online reputation is how others perceive you based on your digital presence, including social media, reviews, and search results. It’s vital since it directly impacts consumer trust and purchasing decisions. Research shows that 93% of consumers consult reviews before buying, whereas 70% of employers check social media when hiring. A positive online reputation can improve your credibility and lead to increased sales, whereas a negative one can deter potential customers and job opportunities. What Is Your E-Reputation and Why Is It Important? Your e-reputation is the digital perception others have of you, shaped by your online activities, such as social media interactions and reviews. It’s important since it influences various aspects of your life, including job opportunities and personal relationships. Potential employers often check your online presence, affecting their hiring decisions. Moreover, a strong e-reputation can improve your credibility, whereas a poor one can lead to negative consequences, impacting trust and opportunities in both personal and professional settings. What Is Reputation and Why Is It Important? Reputation is the overall perception others have of you based on your actions, behavior, and interactions. It’s vital since it can impact personal and professional opportunities. A strong reputation builds trust, which is fundamental for relationships, whether in business or personal life. Conversely, a negative reputation can lead to mistrust and lost opportunities. Maintaining a positive reputation involves consistent, ethical behavior and effective communication, helping you navigate social and professional environments successfully. What Is an Example of Online Reputation? An example of online reputation is how businesses are rated on platforms like Yelp. When you see a company with a high average rating, it often leads to increased revenue, sometimes by 5-9% for each additional star. Additionally, customer reviews greatly influence purchasing decisions, with 93% of consumers stating they impact what they buy. Negative reviews can damage credibility, as 82% of people trust testimonials as much as personal recommendations. Conclusion In conclusion, online reputation is essential for both businesses and individuals, as it directly affects consumer trust and purchasing decisions. By comprehending its importance and actively managing your digital presence, you can cultivate positive interactions and improve customer loyalty. Engaging with feedback, utilizing social media effectively, and considering professional assistance can greatly enhance your online image. Ultimately, a strong online reputation not just differentiates you from competitors but likewise contributes to long-term success and revenue growth. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "What Is Online Reputation and Why Does It Matter?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

European regulators begin investigation into creation and spread of sexualised images of women and children View the full article

A lot of people chase bigger paychecks and fancier titles, convinced that their next role will finally make them happy. I know I did. That’s why I spent years stuck in a job that, on paper, many would consider glamorous. But deep down inside, I knew it was toxic. I took on more and more responsibilities, kept a chaotic schedule, and bent over backwards to please my demanding boss. All because I thought that’s what it took to be successful. Then I would get home and push myself more, scrolling job boards, tweaking my résumé, and submitting applications. I was working around the clock, and rest wasn’t an option. All because I was convinced that a new role would change everything. But my job was never the real problem. And, chances are, it isn’t yours either. Burnout is the real culprit The real issue? You work too hard, stress too much, and rest too little. Of course you’re struggling. As a certified health coach, I’ve learned that most people misunderstand what burnout actually is. They think they’re just tired and in need of a good sleep or a long weekend. But really, it’s chronic stress and exhaustion, and that doesn’t magically disappear after a few days off. Take Headway’s recent survey, 24% of people returned from the festive break feeling like they hadn’t rested at all. In the early stages, burnout causes low energy and constant fatigue. Then brain fog creeps in. Your concentration drops, you become forgetful, and your brain slows. So you work harder to compensate, yet get less done, and your workload piles up. You push through anyway, because you don’t want to fail, but that only makes things worse. And that little voice in the back of your head telling you to quit? That’s another clear sign. Burnout breeds cynicism, which fuels disillusionment and distrust towards your employer. When everything is awful, even your dream role can start to feel unbearable. But chances are, the grass won’t be any greener if you don’t first change the way you work. Why quitting your job won’t fix everything Headway’s recent survey found that 24% of people are looking for a new job or considering an entirely different career path. But handing in your resignation isn’t always the fix that you hope it to be. Starting a new role is a major life change, and 87% experience the “new job jitters.” You want to impress, and you’re terrified of failing, so you work harder than ever. You tell yourself you’ll rest once you’ve proven yourself. Then the thrill of quitting wears off, and you somehow feel just as drained (if you’re lucky). Feeling worse off, 30% end up wishing they had never left their old role. The thing is, the job was never the issue. As human beings, we’re just not meant to juggle everything and never switch off. Many of us try to do so anyway, and that is a recipe for burnout. If you’re thinking of jumping roles or changing careers, try going easier on yourself first. Give yourself time to recover, and you might just realize that your workplace isn’t toxic. You do, however, probably need to change how you’re working. More effort isn’t the answer And that doesn’t mean putting in more effort. What you really need is capacity, and you can’t magically increase your brain’s bandwidth by demanding more from yourself. That just drains your capacity further. This means working smarter with what you have. Start by setting boundaries and building healthier working habits. Log off at 5 p.m., take your whole lunch break, and stop trying to prove your worth through overworking. Saying “yes” to everything and taking on tasks that aren’t your responsibility doesn’t help anyone. It only wastes energy, and as a result, you don’t have as much energy for the work that you really need to do (and makes the most impact). Prioritizing yourself and setting boundaries doesn’t mean you care any less. It means you understand that you can’t work well unless you feel well. Research shows that burnout causes the hippocampus to shrink and damages the brain’s neuroplasticity. It literally reduces our mental capacity, harming everything from memory to focus, and impulse control to executive function. But once you stop overworking, you should feel your brain clear, and your mental capacity should grow. Don’t leave burnout in charge of your career Burnout has a way of convincing us that everything is awful and that only drastic measures, whether moving to Bali or changing careers, will help. But that’s just your stress response. After fighting for so long, it’s easy to see why flight feels like the only option. But you’ve been fighting the wrong thing. To do it, it’s important to address the cause and give your mind time to recover. Only then can you decide with any real clarity whether a career change will actually solve your problems. View the full article

Apple will turn its Siri assistant into a full-fledged chatbot by next year. The company is working on a personal AI device to compete with the one OpenAI is building with Jony Ive. And Apple is putting control over its AI strategy into new hands within the company. So say a flurry of new reports, all advancing the larger story that Apple is doing what it can to get itself back in the AI race. And it’s doing it in a way that may allow it, in classic Apple fashion, to lead from behind. That is, it may hang back and benefit from the hard lessons learned by others marketing a new technology, then arrive fashionably late with a more polished product. Apple and Google announced on January 12 that the (notoriously slow) Siri assistant will be powered, at least in part, by Gemini models developed by Google’s DeepMind division. Apple has in the past voiced concern about the privacy implications of sending user data to AI models outside its own infrastructure. Apple has said it plans to run its AI models either within a secure Apple cloud, or, even better, on chips inside Apple devices. Bringing in Gemini But that may be changing. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple is now in talks with Google to run the Gemini models powering Siri and Apple Intelligence features within the Google Cloud. Previous reports said Apple could be paying Google as much as $1 billion per year for access to the Gemini models. The “new” Siri is expected to show up with iOS 26.4 in March or April, the report states. The assistant will reportedly gain a better contextual understanding of the user by accessing some types of personal data stored on the user’s device. It may also have an awareness of what the user is viewing or working on on their screen, as well as better internet search. These are the same “Apple Intelligence” features the company promised to deliver in 2024, but later postponed, explaining that it wasn’t happy with the performance and reliability of the AI. Then, in 2027, another upgrade will make Siri feel more like a real chatbot, meaning that users will be able to have extended back-and-forths with the assistant (including via their voice), as is common with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini chatbots. Apple also plans to integrate the smarter Siri deeper into the operating system, which could make it a more functional intermediary between the user and the capabilities of the device. The Information reports that Apple is also in the early stages of developing a small personal AI device–about the size of an AirTag–that can clip to a lapel and contains two cameras, three microphones, a little speaker, a battery, and inductive charging tech. (A patent search yielded no Apple designs fitting this description.) OpenAI attracted a lot of attention last year after announcing that it was developing a personal AI device in collaboration with Apple’s former design guru Jony Ive. It’s worth noting, however, that other companies have tried selling such a product, notably Humane (founded by some ex-Applers), and none have found much success. A new AI leader inside Apple The Google Gemini deal and the AI device reports come in the wake of a pretty major power shift at Apple regarding the company’s AI strategy. Apple struggled for years to build its own AI models under the leadership of ex-Google AI chief John Giannandrea (while balancing its historical concern for data privacy), and failed to deliver models that performed like those from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. Now Apple has reportedly put its consumer AI problems in the lap of software chief Craig Fedherighi, who is known for his tall hair and utilitarian (and somewhat skeptical) views on the new technology. Fedherighi has viewed AI as an enabling technology that should work behind the scenes to make phone features work better. He’s also expressed concern over the predictability and reliability of the technology. Fedherighi is taking the reins at a pivotal moment. Apple is in a tough spot with AI. It fears the appearance of falling further behind OpenAI (and the punishment it might take from Wall Street), but it’s also traditionally hesitant to rush into an emerging technology that isn’t yet totally proven and reliable (AI chatbots still make mistakes and consumers don’t fully trust them). Apple is most comfortable taking a mature technology (like cell phones) and reinventing it for the mainstream with simplicity, utility, and artful design. So partnering with Google, talking about plans for new Gemini-powered features in the future, and preparing a personal AI device might be just the right moves for Apple right now. The deal with Google buys Apple time while its own researchers find ways to balance the twin needs of data privacy and high-performing models. (It might also shift some of the responsibility onto Google if the new Siri doesn’t work as promised.) Being late has worked out before There’s precedent for this. Apple relied on Intel processors in its computers while it built up the expertise and experience to make its own. Apple used Intel processors in its Mac computers for 15 years, before switching its lineup to Apple-designed chips. But planning the features of future Macs was difficult because it all depended on Intel’s roadmap for releasing new chips. Apple became acutely aware of the speed and efficiency gains to be had from designing custom chips that could be deeply integrated with its Mac operating system. Those improvements were first realised in the company’s first M-series Macs in late 2020. Apple also relied entirely on Qualcomm cellular modem chips for the iPhone before it was able to build its own. The first Apple-designed modem, the C1, shipped inside the iPhone 16e in 2025. While Qualcomm says it will continue to supply modems for iPhones in 2026, Apple’s intent is to build its own modem into the integrated silicon “system-on-a-chip” processor that powers iPhones, which could yield faster and more reliable cellular connections. However, in other cases, like internet search, Apple has been content to rely on Google as a partner. Who knows, Apple may believe generative AI will become a commodity in the future (models are indeed getting more efficient and cheaper to access), something it would rather buy than build. The news of an Apple AI device doesn’t hurt either. It shows an Apple that still has the appetite to mold emergent technologies into its own image and bring them to the mainstream, even without Ives. Apple’s relationship with generative AI is seen as rocky and mainly unsuccessful so far. That narrative may have seeped through the shell of Apple’s spaceship in Cupertino and caused a rush to ship a technology that wasn’t quite baked. The hype around generative AI is so thick now that we’re quick to judge any technology company that isn’t betting the farm on it. But it’s part of Apple’s culture to take the long view on new technology waves (notice that it didn’t change the company name when the “metaverse” was having its moment). Its hesitation, intentional or not, may give it more time to judge the real scale of the AI revolution, and more time to understand what it all should mean to Apple and its customers. View the full article

Federal immigration agents stationed in Minneapolis need not read polls or confront protesters to know how the city feels about their presence. Walking around just about any neighborhood in the area lately should provide a glimpse into the vast sprawl of graffiti and homemade yard signs expressing residents’ bone-deep aversion to ICE. One poster in particular, though, has been increasingly decorating the storefront windows of local restaurants, coffee shops, yarn stores, pubs, and bowling alleys, urging in no uncertain terms: “ICE out of Minneapolis.” This sign seems to have struck a chord within the community, not just because of its blunt message but the form it’s riffing on: a familiar red municipal sign highlighting snow emergency routes, already strewn throughout streets in the Twin Cities. While the original evokes the grill of a snowplow truck clearing out roads in the wake of a blizzard, the anti-ICE version includes helmets, rifles and handcuffs in the slushy waste. The new sign’s growing popularity suggests it’s tapping into residents’ regional identity as much as it is their love of creative protest art. Reimagining a local icon Burlesque of North America, a local design studio specializing in graphic arts and screenprinting, created the sign as a response to ICE’s incursion into Minneapolis. Owners Mike Davis and Wes Winship had previously created an anti-ICE enamel pin back in November when they first got the eerie sense something like Operation Metro Surge lay on the horizon. After their friends who run the nearby restaurant Hola Arepa were targeted by ICE in early December, the Burlesque team began playing with ideas for a protest poster. It didn’t take long for them to arrive at a concept rooted in the transportation department’s snow emergency sign. “We’ve been figuring out how to handle literal ice here for centuries,” Winship says. “And we’ve got this sign that’s pre-built, alerting people: There’s an emergency and we need to remove frozen precipitation from the streets.” It was clean, crisp iconography, on which to project a message of resistance. On top of that, it was instantly recognizable. “For the locals, everyone knows the sign. Everyone’s been living with it and responding to it,” says Davis. “But even people from out of town who don’t know the reference, they can still tell what it means and connect with it.” After working on a mockup, the two paused on the project as the holidays kicked into high gear. It remained set aside until January 7, the day an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good. That drastic escalation spurred the pair back into action on their poster. By the following night, Davis and Winship had completed all the design elements. The next day, they’d screenprinted the first of what would become over 5,000 copies to distribute around Minneapolis. They also offered free PDFs on their website, an open-source touch allowing out-of-towners to print signs and shirts of their own. The power of posters Although projects like concert posters are Burlesque’s bread and butter, the team has been rooted in socially conscious art for ages. Amid the Syrian refugee crisis, for instance, they created a Refugees Welcome image that went viral in 2015 when the Walker Art Center featured it and several news outlets ultimately wrote about it. After George Floyd was killed in 2020, Davis and Winship printed out several artists’ protest graphics for free and handed out copies from their delivery truck at the intersection quickly dubbed George Floyd Square. It’s in that very area where the city’s love of protest art is most evident—made manifest by the iconic raised fist of steel in Floyd’s memory, designed by artist Jerome Powell-Karis. The Burlesque team have now seen, once again, how much that love still radiates throughout the city during moments of upheaval. As they handed out their anti-ICE posters, restaurant and shop owners lit up at the sight of it. Davis brought 600 copies to a protest in Powderhorn Park the weekend after Good was killed, and his supply was picked clean within 15 minutes. When the team later asked for donations to cover their ink and paper costs, they hit their goal in three days. Meanwhile, the response on Instagram was unlike anything the pair had ever experienced. “We’re still being contacted almost hourly by someone who either wants one or wants an entire stack to give away at their bike shop or trivia night,” Davis says. The signs seem especially resonant at restaurants, where some owners are now opting to keep their doors locked during daytime hours to prevent ICE from entering. Local service workers seem haunted by recent reports of ICE agents eating at a restaurant in a town outside of Minneapolis, only to detain several employees afterward. The anti-ICE signs add some extra oomph to the locked doors, and let prospective diners know where the establishment stands. (Many restaurants without this particular sign have homemade anti-ICE signage of their own.) Although the snow emergency poster has started gaining a lot of traction, it feels perfectly at home among all the other protest art on display throughout the city—whether it’s the signs featuring Minnesota state bird, the loon, melting ice with laser eyes, an image with roots in local lore; all the inventive DIY anti-ICE entries at last weekend’s Art Sled Rally; or the ubiquitous stickers depicting melted ice. The Twin Cities community has clearly come together around its resistance to the current siege and Burlesque is happy to have helped play some small part in it. “I’m not going to be out there with a gas mask at the Federal Building, catching rubber bullets,” Davis says. “So, it feels good that I have something to contribute to the cause. Like, I’m a graphic designer. This is what I can do.” View the full article

Remember how much fun it was to shop on the internet a decade ago? If you visited the Goop website, Gwyneth Paltrow might introduce you to her favorite $75 candle or $95 vibrator. If you were looking for a lasagne recipe, you could find a good one on Food52—along with recommendations for a baking dish hand-selected by former New York Times food editor Amanda Hesser. Watch-lovers flocked to Hodinkee to see what founder Benjamin Clymer thought of the cool new Longines or Omega timepiece (with a handy link to buy it, in case you really liked it). At their peak, around five years ago, all of these media companies landed millions of dollars in venture capital and had valuations well into the nine figures. Legacy media ranging from the New Yorker to Vogue took a page from their book, too, linking to products you could buy directly from the pieces published on their websites. Gwyneth PaltrowKerry WashingtonGoop But over the last two years, this generation of content-to-commerce pioneers has fizzled out. Goop has gone through multiple rounds of layoffs and its website is a shell of what it used to be. In 2024, Hodinkee was sold at a fraction of its former valuation. And last month, Food52 declared bankruptcy and is headed towards a fire sale. It’s worth asking what happened to these startups—and what comes next, as AI transforms the way we shop online. The rise and fall of Food52 The rise and fall of Food52 offers insight into what went wrong with the content-to-commerce model. Founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs had come from the traditional food media. They saw a gap between legacy magazines like Bon Appétit and Food & Wine, which prioritized the perspectives of elite chefs, and amateur food blogs, which were flooding the internet. With Food52, they invited home cooks to submit recipes, which their team would test. The best ones would be featured on the site, alongside beautiful photography. The concept resonated and site traffic grew quickly. Initially, the company generated revenue from advertising and brand partnerships. But in 2013, the site launched a shop that sold kitchenware and artisanal ingredients that Food52 staffers recommended. This approach made sense says Dan Frommer, founder of The New Consumer. One of the biggest problems with shopping online is the overwhelming volume of products available. First generation content-to-commerce startups offered expertise and a point of view, which gave them the authority to recommend products. “They were offering curation, which was a valuable service at the time,” he says. Goop and Hodinkee followed similar trajectories. They began as blogs centered around a particular perspective and aspirational lifestyle, driven by their well-known founders. Over time, they built up enough trust with their readers to sell them products. (Food52 declined to comment on the story. We reached out to Goop and Hodinkee, but neither got back to us by the time of publication.) In 2019 and 2020, investors still believed this might be the future of retail. They pumped millions into their startups to grow their audiences, start new revenue streams like events, and start their own product lines. Food52, for instance, was valued at $300 million in 2021, after an $80 million investment from TCG (which also invested in Hodinkee). But this funding may have inadvertently led to their decline. With the influx of cash, these startups had a mandate to scale, but they all struggled to grow sustainably. By the start of this year, Food52 had declared bankruptcy. America’s Test Kitchen has reportedly agreed to buy it for $6.5 million, of which $3.42 million is Chapter 11 financing. Frommer argues that there were many idiosyncratic reasons why each of these companies failed. Food52, for instance, appeared to have bitten off more than it could chew. In 2019, it launched its own in-house kitchenware line; it also acquired two entirely new companies, the Danish cookware brand Dansk and the lighting brand Schoolhouse. “There was a lot wrong with the business,” Frommer says. “There were failures in strategy and execution.” But taking a step back, it’s clear that there were also broader issues with the content-to-commerce model that affected all of these businesses. What Didn’t Work—and What Did These early content-to-commerce platforms accurately identified that consumers were overwhelmed with the avalanche of products available on the internet—and they also knew that taste could be monetized. Still, there were flaws with their model. For one thing, consumers often didn’t come to these websites with the intent to shop. They were there to take in the content: the recipes, listicles of clean beauty products, or a conversation with Ed Sheeran about his favorite watches. Only a small proportion of consumers would feel compelled to buy a product. Often, when a publication’s famous founder recommended a product, it would sell better; but over time, as the sites grew to have teams of writers, the sites no longer conveyed the distinct sensibilities of Paltrow, Hesser, or Clymer. Then there were the economics. It is hard to make money by marketing other brand’s products. These sites generated small amounts of revenue by selling products at a markup on their online stores or by making a commission by driving the customer to another brand’s website. All of these companies realized that a more profitable route was to make their own products, which they all did, from Goop’s beauty and fashion lines to Hodinkee’s watch straps and limited edition collaborations with brands like Longines. But this meant building out teams with expertise in designing and sourcing products, which was also a major investment. Finally, there was all the competition. Other media sites quickly realized they, too, could create a new revenue stream by linking to products. And some began doing it much more effectively. In 2016, for instance, the New York Times acquired Wirecutter for $30 million. Unlike Food52, Goop, and Hodinkee, Wirecutter was designed to help consumers at the moment when they were ready to buy a product. New York Magazine built its own product recommendation site called The Strategist, which has a similar model. “Content that really drives commerce is not just ambient recommendations around fun articles,” says Frommer. “It’s really purpose-driven content designed to help the consumer solve a problem. The majority of traffic to Wirecutter and The Strategist happens at the moment of need—they promote their humidifier recommendations when the winter air is dry.” The content-to-commerce model hasn’t disappeared; it has shape shifted. There are now massive players like Wirecutter that dominate the landscape. And at the other end of the spectrum, there are armies of individual content creators who recommend products to their followers on Substack, Instagram, or TikTok. It’s just the middle of the market that has collapsed. But as with everything on the internet, change is constant. And everything we know about how to shop online is about to get transformed by AI, which is already where many people begin their shopping journey. In many ways, AI agents are the ultimate blending of content and commerce: They offers product recommendations, personalized to the user, presented within a conversation. But what’s missing from AI is a unique point of view or sensibility—which is what the early content-to-commerce players excelled in. In an AI-driven shopping future, the winners won’t be the smartest algorithms. It’ll be the ones that blend data with something that feels like taste. View the full article

Prepayment speeds approached recent highs last month, but distressed borrower data paints a mixed picture about the current housing market, according to ICE. View the full article

When a stranger smiles at you, you smile back. That is why, when Sir Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings, X-Men, Amadeus) walked on the stage in front of me, looked me straight in the eye, and smiled at me, I smiled back. It was the polite thing to do. It was also completely unnecessary, because McKellen was not actually on the stage in front of me. He smiled at me through a pair of special glasses. The reason for this unusual social interaction is called An Ark, which bills itself as the first play to be created in mixed-reality. Using Magic Leap glasses, the play blends the physical world with the digital realm, creating an unusually intimate theater experience. Opening January 21 at The Shed—the arts center in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards—An Ark tells a story of humanity through the perspective of four unnamed characters speaking to you from the afterlife. The characters—played by McKellen, Golda Rosheuvel of Bridgerton fame, Rosie Sheehy (a Welsh stage and screen actor, known for her work with the Royal Shakespeare Company,) and Arinzé Kene (a British actor and playwright who originated the lead role of Bob Marley in the West End musical Get Up, Stand Up!)—appear to sit in a semi-circle that you, a member of the audience, are part of. From the second they appear on stage, their eyes peer straight into your soul as they talk directly to you for the length of the play, which lasts 47 minutes. The illusion, which some might find disconcerting, is that each member of the audience is the center of the attention. In a purely physical world, this conceit would be impossible to realize unless the play were performed privately, one audience member at a time. But with the help of technology, it was convincing enough to elicit an unconscious smile from me—until my brain caught up to the trickery and the magic spell broke. The making of a mixed-reality play An Ark was written by British playwright Simon Stephens, who is perhaps most famous for his stage adaptation of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and directed by Sarah Frankcom, a British director known for her work at the Royal Exchange and National Theatre. The mastermind is Todd Eckert, who both conceived of and produced the play. Eckert built a decades-long career in music journalism, film, and dance before embracing technology for its ability to liberate storytelling. In 2012, he joined Magic Leap as director of content development, where he helped pioneer mixed-reality hardware. Four years later, in 2016, he founded a mixed-reality studio called Tin Drum, bought 400 Magic Leap headsets, which he owns to this day, and set out to change what theater could be. First came The Life, a mixed-reality project with his long-time partner, the artist Marina Abramović. Then came Kagami, an ethereal, mixed-reality concert by the Japanese composer and pianist Ryuichi Sakamoto, who collaborated with Eckert to create the show before he passed away. Kagami, which first premiered at The Shed in 2023, and has since toured globally, was so dazzling that I wept when I attended a performance in Manhattan. Eckert is immensely proud of the work, but he says An Ark was even more ambitious. “Nobody had ever captured four people simultaneously,” he says of the underlying technology. The team gathered in London, where they rehearsed An Ark like you would rehearse a traditional play, from beginning to end, with no interruption. Then, they flew to Grenoble, in southeastern France, where 4DViews, the company that designed the volumetric video system that can capture all four actors in full 3D, is headquartered. In Grenoble, they filmed the play under the scrutiny of 48 cameras, including a cluster of two cameras that stood in for the eventual audience members. “We ultimately got three full takes,” Eckert recalls of the shoot, which took place in an entirely green room he’s previously likened to “Kermit land.” After three months of data processing, the play was ready for opening night. What’s next for theater? Theater is becoming an increasingly endangered art form. Since the pandemic, audiences have been slower to return to in-person performances, production costs have climbed, and public funding has shrunk. Across the country, regional theaters have been cutting back seasons and are still struggling to recover, while Broadway budgets now routinely reach into the tens of millions. As a result, ticket prices have risen, often putting live theater out of reach for younger audiences and first-time attendees. “There is an entire community of people who feel art is not being made for them,” says Daniel Sherman, a San Francisco-based artist who has been producing theater since 2010, and who also recently finished a play in mixed-reality (though it hasn’t been staged yet.) “If we can add a tech component, and meet people where they are, maybe this could be the thing that brings in younger audiences,” he says. One of the obvious promises of the mixed-reality technology is it could make theater more accessible. With no actors to tour, no sets to build or transport, and far fewer recurring labor and logistics costs tied to global touring, a mixed-reality play should be a lot more affordable than a traditional production. (A ticket for An Ark costs around $45.) There are other benefits, too. As producers around the world continue to rethink the genre, technology is increasingly being used not as a cost-cutting tool, but as a way to stretch what theater can do. In the Broadway production of The Picture of Dorian Gray, director Kip Williams used live video capture to allow a single performer (Sarah Snook) to inhabit multiple characters at once in ways that would be difficult to achieve through traditional staging alone. And in Briar & Rose, an augmented-reality children’s play that ran across Europe, Glitch studio combined physical performance with augmented reality technology, placing audiences inside a layered narrative space rather than in front of a fixed stage. Still, some have been skeptical of technology’s potential for years. Sarah Frankcom, An Ark‘s very own director, used to be one of them. In fact, when Eckert first approached her, she refused the job, arguing, as Eckert recalls, that she was not interested in technology; she was interested in humans in a room. What made her change her mind? She experienced Kagami through the glasses. “I was intrigued by how it put an audience in a different relationship to a live experience and the possibilities of its intimacy,” she told me in an email. “I was excited by the way it could summon up a communal experience.” Frankcom says that working with this particular technology has reframed her ideas of what theater could be. “This feels like the beginning of a new form,” she wrote. “And whilst there is no live acting in a traditional sense, I’ve been very struck by how much an audience interact with the actors and how they laugh, cry and reach to hold their hands.” What do we gain and what do we lose with technology? Is a play still a play if there are no live actors on stage? Perhaps that’s a matter of semantics. Or perhaps it helps to consider a definition of theater that doesn’t focus on the physicality of the experience, but rather the emotions that it conjures up. The technology promises cinematic realism, and it mostly delivers. While some glitches made the actors’ arms and feet flicker and stretch into their surroundings (glitches Eckert says he could fix if he had unlimited funds) their faces looked as real as they could through a pair of eyeglasses. The team also fine-tuned the distance between the actors and audience members so the experience feels as intimate as it would in real life. (You can’t ever see all four actors at the same time, forcing you to turn your head to stay engaged.) But there is only so much realism to conjure when all it takes to break the spell is to peek underneath the glasses and see a room full of bespectacled people staring into nothing. I like to think I would have felt the story in my bones if only the actors had delivered it to me in real life. But I will never be able to put my theory to the test because this exact play, in this exact configuration, could never be performed without technology. “What can we do that’s not possible in any other way?” Eckert first wondered when brainstorming what the play could be with Simmons. The idea, he says, was never to supplant traditional theater but rather to broaden its potential and having actors of such great caliber address audience members in such an intimate setting accomplishes just that. “Art, I think, is ultimately a way of making sense of things that don’t make sense,” Eckert told me after the show. If Ian McKellen ushered me off stage to guide me into the afterlife, it would not make sense without a strong sense of suspended disbelief. But here, in the hazy world that only mixed-reality can afford, it does. View the full article