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Creating a winning social media content strategy involves a systematic approach that begins with clear goal setting. You need to identify your objectives, understand your target audience, and analyze your competitors. This foundational work informs your content plan, enabling you to craft engaging material that resonates. By building a content calendar and leveraging data insights, you can optimize your posting strategy. The next steps will guide you in measuring results effectively and refining your approach for better engagement. Key Takeaways Set SMART goals to define specific, measurable objectives that align with your overall business vision. Research your audience and analyze competitors to understand preferences and effective content strategies. Develop a diverse content plan and calendar, scheduling posts strategically for maximum engagement. Measure key metrics regularly to assess performance and make data-driven adjustments to your strategy. Focus on continuous improvement by adapting content based on audience feedback and engagement trends. Identify and Set Goals When you start developing your social media content strategy, it’s crucial to identify and set clear goals, as this lays the foundation for your overall success. Establish SMART goals—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound—to provide objectives that help measure ROI. For instance, you might aim to increase your follower count by 20% in six months or drive website traffic by 30% within a quarter. Align these goals with your broader business objectives to maximize brand visibility. Regularly revisit and adjust your goals based on performance data and analytics, ensuring you stay responsive to audience engagement and market trends. Focus on key metrics like engagement rates and conversion rates to evaluate how to create a content strategy for social media effectively. Research Your Audience To create content that truly resonates, you need to understand your audience’s demographics, preferences, and behaviors. Tools like Google Analytics can provide crucial insights. Furthermore, engaging surveys and polls allow you to gather direct feedback. Moreover, analyzing social media conversations helps you identify what topics and formats engage your target demographic most effectively. Demographic Insights Gathering How well do you really know your audience? To create an effective content strategy, you need to gather demographic insights. Start by using tools like Google Analytics and Facebook Page Insights to collect data on age, gender, location, and online behaviors. These metrics can shape your content creation and targeting strategies. Furthermore, conduct surveys and interviews to understand your audience’s preferences and pain points, enabling you to tailor content accordingly. Developing buyer personas based on these insights will help you visualize your ideal customers and their motivations. Finally, monitor industry trends and competitor activities to stay informed about shifts in demographics, ensuring your content remains relevant and appealing to your target market. Engaging Surveys and Polls Engaging surveys and polls serve as valuable tools for comprehending your audience, as they invite followers to share their preferences and opinions at the same time cultivating a sense of community. Utilizing platforms like Google Forms or built-in polling features on social media can improve audience interaction considerably, with posts featuring polls yielding up to 20% higher engagement than standard posts. By incorporating engaging questions, such as multiple-choice or rating scales, you can boost response quality and encourage more participation. This method not only helps gather demographic insights but likewise collects feedback on your content performance, allowing you to refine your strategies for producing more relevant, engaging content. Poll Type Engagement Level Multiple-choice High Rating scale Very High Open-ended Moderate Yes/No Low Analyzing Social Media Conversations Comprehension of your audience goes beyond engaging surveys and polls; it involves a thorough analysis of social media conversations. By examining these conversations, you can gather real-time insights into audience preferences, sentiment, and engagement patterns, all of which are crucial for effective content marketing strategy development. Tools like Sprout‘s AI-enabled Query Builder help you capture relevant discussions and identify trends, providing a clearer picture of how customers engage with your brand and industry. Pay close attention to the language and tone used by your audience, as this can inform adjustments to your brand voice. Regularly analyzing these conversations keeps your content relevant and aligned with current trends, in the end enhancing audience engagement and satisfaction. Analyze Your Social Media Competitors To strengthen your social media strategy, start by analyzing the content types and engagement practices of at least five competitors. Look at what formats they use, how often they post, and how their audience interacts with their content. This assessment will help you identify successful tactics and trends, allowing you to refine your own approach and maintain a competitive edge. Competitor Content Types During the analysis of your competitors’ social media content types, it’s crucial to understand the environment in which your brand operates. Start by identifying the types of content they produce, such as videos, blogs, or infographics, to see what resonates with their audience. By examining their posts, you can discover trends in high and low performance, which can inform how to create a content marketing strategy customized to your brand. Utilize competitive analysis tools to gather quantitative data on engagement metrics like likes, shares, and comments. Furthermore, assess the language and tone they use to guarantee your content aligns with your voice as you appeal to potential customers. Regular audits can reveal gaps in their strategies, offering opportunities for unique content. Engagement Practices Assessment Analyzing your competitors’ engagement practices provides valuable insights that can shape your own social media strategy. Conducting a competitive analysis allows you to identify effective content types and audience engagement methods. By using quantitative data from analysis tools, you can evaluate metrics like engagement rates and follower growth. Pay attention to the language and tone in their high-performing posts to align with your brand voice. Additionally, note the trends in content types that resonate, such as videos or user-generated content. Regular audits will help you compare your performance and spot gaps for improvement in your engagement practices. Competitor Engagement Rate Content Type Competitor A 5% Video Competitor B 3% Infographic Competitor C 6% User-Generated Content Competitor D 4% Blog Post Competitor E 2% Polls Develop a Social Media Content Plan Creating a social media content plan involves careful consideration of various elements that work together to engage your audience effectively. A structured approach guarantees you maintain interest and encourage interaction. Here are key components to include in your content strategy plan: Diverse Content Types: Incorporate how-tos, user-generated content, and live events to keep your audience engaged. Data-Driven Insights: Use insights from previous content audits to adapt your strategy based on trends and preferences. Repurpose High-Performing Content: Maximize reach by sharing successful content across different platforms as you maintain your brand messaging. Additionally, utilizing tools like Sprout’s Ideal Send Times can help you determine the best posting times, enhancing audience engagement and guaranteeing a cohesive execution of your content plan. Build a Content Calendar Building a content calendar is vital for organizing and visualizing your social media posts, as it helps guarantee a consistent posting schedule aligned with your marketing goals. By incorporating diverse content types, such as educational, promotional, and user-generated content, you’ll keep your audience engaged and encourage interaction. Scheduling posts in advance allows for strategic planning around national holidays, events, and relevant themes, maximizing content relevance and reach. Utilize tools like Sprout’s Ideal Send Times to identify the best times to post, enhancing audience engagement and visibility. Regularly reviewing and adjusting your content calendar based on performance analytics is fundamental for improving future content strategies and enhancing overall effectiveness, making it a key element in building a content strategy that works. Measure Results and Optimize Strategy After establishing a solid content calendar, the next step involves measuring results and optimizing your strategy to confirm effectiveness. To guarantee your content development strategy aligns with your goals, focus on key metrics that matter. Regularly assess reach, engagement, and conversions. Use tools like Sprout Social to track analytics and audience insights. Conduct A/B testing to discover what content resonates best. Implement monthly performance reviews to evaluate your alignment with SMART goals. By concentrating on three to five core metrics, you can avoid data overwhelm and maintain targeted efforts. This approach will help you effectively measure results and optimize strategy, confirming continuous improvement in your social media efforts. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the 7 C’s of Social Media Strategy? The 7 C’s of social media strategy are Clarity, Consistency, Creativity, Content, Community, Conversation, and Conversion. Clarity guarantees your message aligns with brand goals. Consistency builds trust by maintaining a uniform voice and posting schedule. Creativity captures attention through engaging content. Community nurtures relationships with followers, whereas Conversation encourages interaction. Finally, Conversion measures how effectively your strategy turns engagement into sales or desired actions, enhancing overall effectiveness. What Is the 5 5 5 Rule on Social Media? The 5 5 5 Rule on social media suggests that for every 15 pieces of content you share, five should educate, five should entertain, and five should promote your brand or products. This balanced approach guarantees you provide value to your audience during the same time achieving your business goals. What Is the 50/30/20 Rule for Social Media? The 50/30/20 rule for social media content suggests you allocate 50% of your posts to engaging and entertaining your audience, 30% to informative and educational content, and 20% to promotional material. This balanced strategy keeps your followers interested without overwhelming them with sales pitches. By diversifying your content, you improve engagement rates and cultivate a more authentic connection. Regularly reviewing your content’s performance can likewise help you adjust your strategy based on audience preferences. How to Build a Content Strategy for Social Media? To build a content strategy for social media, start by setting SMART goals that align with your marketing objectives. Conduct audience research to create detailed buyer personas, ensuring your content resonates with your target demographic. Develop a diverse content plan that includes various formats, and maintain a content calendar for consistent posting. Analyze competitors to identify effective practices and regularly gauge performance using key metrics to optimize your strategy based on data insights. Conclusion In summary, establishing a successful social media content strategy involves a systematic approach, starting with clear goals and audience comprehension. By analyzing competitors, developing a content plan, and maintaining a content calendar, you can guarantee your posts resonate with your audience. Regularly measuring results allows for optimization, enabling you to adapt to changes effectively. Following these steps not solely improves engagement but additionally aligns your social media efforts with your overall business objectives for sustained growth. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Create a Winning Social Media Content Strategy: A Step-by-Step Guide" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The holidays are hectic enough without adding “deep clean floors” to your already packed to-do and errands list, which is why buying a robot mop and vacuum is more appealing than ever. Right now, the Roborock Q7 M5+ Robot Vacuum/Mop is $219.99 (originally $359.99) on Amazon—a 39% discount that marks its lowest price to date, according to price-tracking tools. roborock Q7 M5+ Robot Vacuum and Mop $219.99 at Amazon $359.99 Save $140.00 Get Deal Get Deal $219.99 at Amazon $359.99 Save $140.00 An anti-tangle brush makes this a solid choice for pet owners who have furry friends that shed, and the self-emptying dock holds nearly two months' worth of debris, so you don’t have to empty the bin each time you run it. Another major perk is the 10,000 Pa HyperForce suction, which is surprisingly strong for a sub-$250 price point, as is the fact that it can vacuum and mop in one run. This member of the Q-series lineup features smart navigation and LiDAR mapping, making it easy to plan routes, create multi-floor maps, and customize no-go zones. Compared to Roborock predecessors in this mid-tier price range, this model has been upgraded with more automation and power and has a 150-minute max runtime, which is enough battery life to manage most homes in a single run. That said, the mopping system is still basic compared to pricier S-series models like the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra, which uses hot water, automatic detergent dispensing, and heated air drying. The Q7 M5+ also lacks obstacle avoidance, only connects to 2.4GHz wifi, and the self-emptying dock uses disposable bags that you’ll need to replace, adding an additional ongoing cost. Ultimately, if you’re looking for a mid-range self-emptying robot vacuum and mop hybrid, the Roborock Q7 M5+ Robot Vacuum/Mop is a strong choice given its low maintenance nature, strong suction, and smart navigation for under $250—especially if you’re a pet owner. If you want the best-in-class cleaning power or premium features like obstacle avoidance, you’ll need to upgrade to the higher-end S-series, but expect to pay significantly more. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $199.00 (List Price $249.00) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $358.00 (List Price $358.00) Sony WH-1000XM5 — $278.00 (List Price $399.99) Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ 10.9" 64GB Wi-Fi Tablet (Graphite) — $149.99 (List Price $219.99) Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 46mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - M/L. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant — $329.00 (List Price $429.00) Blink Outdoor 4 1080p 3-Camera Kit With Sync Module Core — $74.99 (List Price $189.99) Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus — $29.99 (List Price $49.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

The lowest-priced properties purchased by investors typically left them in the red when sold, according to the latest home flipping report from Attom. View the full article

Walt Disney and OpenAI make for very odd bedfellows: The former is one of the most-recognized brands among children under the age of 18. The near-$200 billion company’s value has been derived from more than a century of aggressive safeguarding of its intellectual property and keeping the magic alive among innocent children. OpenAI, which celebrated its first decade of existence this week, is best known for upending creativity, the economy, and society with its flagship product, ChatGPT. And in the last two months, it has said it wants to get to a place where its adult users can use its tech to create erotica. So what the hell should we make of a just-announced deal between the two that will allow ChatGPT and Sora users to create images and videos of more than 200 characters, from Mickey and Minnie Mouse to the Mandalorian, starting from early 2026? Terms of the deal As part of the three-year agreement, OpenAI has committed to continuing to implement robust trust and safety measures, as well as controls to stop illegal or harmful content. Disney hopes that means you can’t make lewd footage of Belle and the Beast—but given the precarity of AI-model guardrails, and the ease with which they can be jailbroken, there’s no guarantee. That’s what makes the deal so puzzling for Disney, an externally benign behemoth that has long acted like an attack dog in defending unauthorized use of its intellectual property. “Some Disney fans and content creators will undoubtedly celebrate the news and the opportunity to play in the Company’s sandbox in a more official way,” says Rebecca Williams, a researcher who studies Disney and its business at the University of South Wales. “But there are clear questions over copyright here.” Among them is how much influence Disney—infamously controlling over how its characters are depicted—will have over the 800 million ChatGPT users’ creations. Although the deal reportedly will result in the creation of a joint steering committee to dictate the use of IP, this is a company that has previously sued providers of costumed characters for child birthday parties for unauthorized use of its IP. And as it brokered its deal with OpenAI, lawyers for Disney sent a letter to Google alleging copyright infringement on a “massive scale.” (Google did not immediately respond to Fast Company’s request for comment on the claims.) “Disney is famously an IP defender and very aggressive,” says Carissa Véliz, an AI ethicist at the University of Oxford, “and OpenAI just throws it out the window.” Character control There’s also a big shift in how Disney is ceding control of how its characters are depicted—not least given Sam Altman’s statement this fall that he wants to give verified adult users of OpenAI tools the ability to engage in erotic interactions, and, more generally, to loosen restrictions on OpenAI’s tools. “Disney’s statement frames this very much as giving fans control, offering them more creativity, and greater opportunities to connect with Disney characters and stories,” says Williams. “It remains to be seen whether this is what fans actually want” The deal also requires a shift for OpenAI, too. Presumably, that approach to slackening controls for users across OpenAI apps and services to be more permissive in what they can say, do, and create using the firm’s technology will have to be tightened more when talking about Disney properties. Alongside letting Disney fans create their own AI versions of favorite characters, the House of Mouse is also leaping headlong into the AI space: As part of the agreement, Disney is investing $1 billion in equity into OpenAI and will reportedly become a “major customer” of the company. A new frontier for copyright The deal also alters both firms’ approach to copyright. All the talk between Bob Iger and Sam Altman about redefining the future of storytelling is bluster, reckons Adam Eisgrau, senior director for AI, creativity and copyright policy at the Chamber of Progress, a tech trade group. “The biggest story today is what they apparently also have agreed between the lines,” he says. That includes the idea that “there’s no future in content companies fighting fair use to sue generative AI developers for direct copyright infringement over training inputs,” and that generative AI developers want to cut more deals “to preclude secondary liability legal fights over their outputs.” But more than anything else, the deal potentially changes the idea of what made Disney Disney, reckons Véliz. “How is it going to affect creativity in the long run?” she asks. “The raison d’etre for IP is to incentivize creativity, and when we undermine it, we give talent fewer reasons to focus on being creative,” she explains. “It’s very ironic that a company like Disney, known for valuing talent, for valuing creativity, for valuing craftsmanship, is making a deal with a company that arguably represents the opposite of that.” View the full article

The investor markets already set mortgage rates to include the 25 basis point reduction the FOMC announced, and it is too early to see the longer-term effect. View the full article

Mickey Mouse, welcome to the AI era. Fans will soon be able to create short-form generative AI videos featuring more than 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars characters thanks to a three-year agreement that The Walt Disney Co. inked Thursday with OpenAI. In addition to a $1 billion equity investment in the tech company, Disney will become the first major content licensing partner on OpenAI’s Sora app. The new collaboration offers an opportunity for Disney to “extend the reach of our storytelling” through AI, Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO, said in a statement. “Bringing together Disney’s iconic stories and characters with OpenAI’s groundbreaking technology puts imagination and creativity directly into the hands of Disney fans in ways we’ve never seen before, giving them richer and more personal ways to connect with the Disney characters and stories they love.” As for what Disney gets out of this deal, the media giant said it will become a “major customer” of OpenAI and receive warrants to purchase additional equity. Disney employees will also have access to ChatGPT and use OpenAI’s tools to build new products and experiences. DISNEY’S CLASHES WITH AI The move by Disney is interesting on two fronts: The company is famously and aggressively protective of its characters, while it has had other recent clashes over AI. In June, Disney and Universal Pictures sued the AI image creator Midjourney, alleging that the company trained its AI models on their intellectual property. And Disney jumped into another AI-related legal tussle this week. The company sent a cease-and-desist letter to Google on Wednesday, accusing the tech giant of using UA to engage in copyright infringement on a “massive scale,” as Variety reported. By partnering with OpenAI, Disney is busting open its massive toy chest of popular characters spanning the decades—from Mickey Mouse to Darth Vader, Ariel, and Captain America—as fodder for AI creators. The company even teased that some of these fan-created videos could stream on Disney+. It will be interesting to see how this partnership plays out once fans can start creating videos, which is estimated to begin sometime in early 2026. When Sora launched in September, the blowback came fast and furious after users flocked to the platform to create AI-generated videos featuring all sorts of popular characters. Within weeks, the Motion Picture Academy urged OpenAI to stop allowing copyright infringement on the platform. EMPHASIS ON RESPONSIBILITY But Disney and OpenAI emphasized in their announcement that the companies have a shared commitment to the responsible use of AI, which includes protecting the rights of creators. “This agreement shows how AI companies and creative leaders can work together responsibly to promote innovation that benefits society, respect the importance of creativity, and help works reach vast new audiences,” Sam Altman, cofounder and CEO of OpenAI, said in a statement. How, exactly, opening up the Disney library of characters to use on an AI platform benefits society is a bit unclear. But the agreement seemingly will give Disney more control over how its characters are used in this new era. And, at the very least, investors seem intrigued by the partnership. Disney shares rose nearly 1.5% amid a broader market rally as of mid-day Thursday. View the full article

Communist party leadership pledges to ‘stabilise’ major engine of economic growthView the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Gift shopping for the DIYer in your life can be a challenge. Tools are the obvious choice, but truly handy folks probably already have most, if not all, of the tools they need (in addition to a long list of tools they only needed once but still hang onto). And even if they do need a specific tool, your chances of picking out the precise make and model they want are pretty slim. But no matter what level of DIYer you're shopping for, they likely need other stuff besides tools, from safety gear (which too many DIYers neglect), to cold-weather accessories, to the little extras that can make around-the-house projects a little easier, and maybe even more fun. Protective gear is a great option for DIY giftsSafety is paramount—it’s terrifyingly easy to injure yourself while working with any kind of tool. Just as important is the “wear and tear” your body goes through while working with loud power tools and while contorting your body in ways nature never intended. A few safety and comfort essentials for the DIYer in your life include: Work boots: Cold, wet feet make any job more miserable than it has to be, and if your DIY friend hasn’t dropped a hammer on their foot yet, don’t worry, they will. A pair of waterproof, toe-protecting work boots is a great gift. Cut-resistant gloves: Working with power saws or hand saws means risking a nasty cut. Cut-resistant gloves protect those hands from all kinds of nicks and scrapes—and worse. Safety glasses: The number of DIYers who think they don’t have to worry about eye injuries is, frankly, stunning. Do your handy loved one a favor and give them some protective eyewear. Knee pads: I once spent a few days bent over in my crawl space, working, and my knees took a real beating. Knee pads may not be sexy, but they will be appreciated. Hearing protection: Working with power tools can be hard on the ears. A pair of noise-canceling, rechargeable headphones that play music and allow hands-free operation of your phone while preventing hearing damage are a must-have. Cold-weather work gear is a practical gift optionWhen I first started my DIY journey, my solution for working outside in the cold was to put on multiple layers of my regular clothes, which limited my mobility and made me sweat up a storm. A better idea? Some work gear designed for the cold weather: Thermal gloves will keep hands from going numb while still offering protection. Base layers: The key to staying warm without getting chilled by your own sweat while working outside lies in having the right base layers—tops and bottoms. Headgear: Keeping the head and neck warm while working outside is the key to keeping your whole body warm, because so much heat is lost through the head. A combination hat, scarf, and headlamp solves the problem. Stocking stuffers for DIYersSome gifts for the DIYer are just about making every job a little easier or a little more fun. Tool belts and work aprons: I went an embarrassingly long time carrying my tools around in my pockets or in awkward bundles. A tool belt gives you a perfect hands-free way to transport your gear, and a work apron does the same while protecting your clothes and body from dirt and projectiles. The Bucket Boss: Another solution for lugging around your tools is a bucket organizer like the Bucket Boss, which makes bringing along every tool you might need a lot easier. A magnetic wristband: Give the gift of never having to carry a dozen nails in your mouth ever again. A headband lamp: At some point, every DIYer gets tired of trying to balance a flashlight in just the right spot. A lamp they can use hands-free will quickly become a favorite gift. A rugged Bluetooth speaker: Sure, everyone owns a bluetooth speaker these days—but handypeople will appreciate a Bluetooth speaker that’s durable enough for a worksite and that also uses the same batteries as their power tools. Anti-fatigue mat: Ah, the simple joys of standing hunched over a workbench for hours at a time. An anti-fatigue mat will spare your DIYer’s back and leave them refreshed after every job. Boot and glove dryer: There’s nothing worse than getting up to continue a big project only to discover that your boots and gloves are still soaked from the day before. Drying those items out in an hour or less? Magical. Beverage holster: Anyone who’s done work around their house knows that DIY work is fueled by refreshing beverages. Whatever your drink of choice, make it easy to have on hand at all times with this nifty holster. View the full article

Last week, Netflix announced it was buying Warner Bros. in a massive $82.7 billion deal. The streaming giant’s acquisition will set Netflix, which already leads the streaming wars, even further apart from competitors, as it will also add HBO, a Warner subsidiary. But while the deal will further cement Netflix’s domination, questions are swirling around how it will impact viewers, as well as the talent platforms rely on. Streaming platforms have recently undergone consolidation, creating three mega-platforms. According to a Forbes survey, Netflix is the most popular streaming service in America with 55% of Americans saying they use it, followed by Amazon Prime (51%), and Disney+ (49%). And, for talent, like actors and writers, the further consolidation of streaming platforms may escalate financial worries that have already been growing for some in the entertainment industry. In recent years, a number of actors have openly raised concerns about fair pay, as streaming platforms began to change the game. While traditional broadcast series pay residuals for each re-airing, as a percentage of the actor’s salary, later agreements changed the way actors earned residuals entirely. The new formula was based around a predetermined licensing fee, rather than the number of re-runs. Netflix, which seemed to favor paying actors more upfront while rather than residuals may have been particularly guilty of underpaying talent. And there was no shortage of actors calling the streaming giant out. A number of actors on some of Netflix’s most popular shows have spoken about their low-ball paychecks, having to keep their day jobs, or even pay for their own transportation to the set — a conversation which gained traction with the 2023 writer’s strike. Alysia Reiner, who played the warden Natalie (Fig) Figueroa, in Netflix’s hit series, Orange is the New Black, told New York Magazine in a 2023 interview, about the “risk” that actors took during the early days of streaming, saying that “the reward for Netflix does not seem in line with the reward for all of us who took that risk.” Reiner continued, “I can go anywhere in the world and I’m recognized, and I’m so deeply grateful for that recognition. Many people say they’ve watched the series multiple times, and they quote me my lines. But was I paid in a commensurate way? I don’t think so.” With the latest transaction under way, SAG-AFTRA addressed the reignited concerns around talent’s pay in a Dec. 5 statement, explaining that the consolidation “raises many serious questions about its impact on the future of the entertainment industry, and especially the human creative talent whose livelihoods and careers depend on it.” The statement continued, “A deal that is in the interest of SAG-AFTRA members and all other workers in the entertainment industry must result in more creation and more production, not less. It must do so in an environment of respect for the talent involved.” However, it seems like those things may not come without a fight, especially given how Netflix prefers to put big-budget films directly on its streaming service for subscribers, rather than opting for theatrical releases. That recent transaction has some groups, like the Directors Guild of America (DGA), already expressing “significant concerns ” over the development. In a Dec. 5 statement, the DGA said, “We believe that a vibrant, competitive industry — one that fosters creativity and encourages genuine competition for talent — is essential to safeguarding the careers and creative rights of directors and their teams.” The DGA added that it will be meeting with the streaming giant “to outline our concerns and better understand their vision for the future of the company.” Jon Shavitz, an independent filmmaker and writer living in Los Angeles, also addressed concerns around the deal in a recent blog post, writing that the experience of going to the movie theater is endangered as the giants take over, but it’s not because audiences don’t want theatrics, which, in his view, is utterly irreplaceable. “Audiences still want the big screen,” Shavitz writes. “They still want the magic of the lights coming down and the quiet anticipation before the picture starts. They still want to gasp with a hundred people at the same time. You can’t algorithm that. You can’t stream your way out of that fundamental human appetite for an exciting theatrical-only event.” Still, Shavitz tells Fast Company that the concern creators are feeling around financials, as well as potentially fewer jobs, is “fair.” He says that, simply, the streaming model “doesn’t work” as far as getting talent paid fairly. Still, the writer says he’s also hopeful that people within the industry “will fight to fix what’s broken,” noting that he believes the economics of deals such as this which don’t support talent, could ultimately “force a return to core business fundamentals.” By that he means an eventual return to the ever-evaporating exclusive theatrical windows. As he writes in his blog, Netflix’s deal is an “overreach” that will force both those working within the industry, as well as audiences, to decide between “a streaming-only future for major release films, or working to restore the very thing that made cinema a cultural force in the first place…”. Once the deal goes through, whatever happens next, Shavitz says, will be “up to us — industry and non-industry people alike — to fight for the theatrical experience.” Fast Company reached out to Netflix for comment. View the full article

If budgeting spreadsheets and lofty financial goals leave you stressed rather than inspired, consider another New Year’s ritual: an end-of-year money audit. The word “audit” might not sound all that fun. But just like an accountant, it’s helpful to approach your money behavior as neutral and impersonal as possible. “At the end of every year, people tend to jump straight into resolutions: cutting spending, tightening budgets, and promising themselves they’ll ‘finally get disciplined’ in the new year,” Jack Howard, Head of Money Wellness at Ally Bank, told Fast Company. “But I think the most meaningful financial reset starts somewhere much quieter: with your emotions. One of the most overlooked parts of financial wellness is understanding the emotional habits behind our money choices.” It’s not about creating a strict budget; it’s taking stock of the emotional habits behind your spending. When you understand what’s working (or not), you can make more intentional choices about what to amplify, adjust, or leave in 2025. Before the holidays get rolling, it can be helpful to take a pause to conduct an emotional money audit. December is a great time to do this because you can go into the new year feeling confident about where you are financially and plan for the upcoming year. Here’s how Howard recommends people approach their own audit, to start off 2026 on the right financial footing. Start with reflection, not restriction “Look back at the year through the lens of how your spending made you feel—secure, stressed, impulsive, proud?” Howard says. “Notice patterns without judgment. Ask yourself which habits supported your financial well-being and which ones held you back.” More than one in five American adults (22%) said they’d had to dip into their savings to cover their expenses in the past year. And as traditional milestones, like starting a family and homeownership, feel further out of reach for many, “treat culture,” the habit of indulging in small luxuries has taken grip. Examine the habits beneath your behaviors And yet much of our adult spending behavior started long before we were old enough to even make our own money. “I call these our ‘money roots,’” Howard says. “Take a moment to understand what triggers certain financial choices and which habits you want to start, continue, or stop heading into 2026.” Get a clear, full picture of your finances According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Americans owe more debt than at any point in history—more than $18.5 trillion in total. In such circumstances, it can be easier to bury your head in the sand or throw caution to the wind and book that three-week trip to Europe. “When you don’t have a clear picture of what’s coming in and going out, everyday decisions can feel overwhelming,” Howard says. “Start by listing out your current income, expenses, savings, and debt.” Be specific so you can see where your money is actually going. Create a realistic, values-based spending plan for 2026 “Money wellness isn’t about always saying ‘no’ to spending,” says Howard. “It’s just as much about saying “yes” intentionally—to the things that you truly value.” Figure out your core values, and invest in them. Is it an expensive gym membership or overpriced fitness class? Is it that coffee you buy on the way to work everyday that puts a smile on your face? Budget for the purchases that bring you joy and cut costs elsewhere. The goal is never perfection—it’s progress The power of compounding is not limited to investments. “Focus on creating positive financial wellness momentum to propel you into the new year,” says Howard. “Set clear, manageable milestones and outline small, steady steps to build traction, like setting a weekly money check-in, automating tiny transfers towards your goals, or reviewing one spending category at a time.” View the full article

US proposes ‘compromise’ option of demilitarised buffer that excludes both Ukrainian and Russian forces, says KyivView the full article

If you've engaged in any sort of doomscrolling over the past year, you've no doubt encountered some wild AI-generated content. While there are plenty of AI video generators out there producing this stuff, one of the most prevalent is OpenAI's Sora, which is particularly adept at generating realistic short-form videos mimicking the content you might find on TikTok or Instagram Reels. These videos can be so convincing at first glance, that people often don't realize what they're seeing is 100% fake. That can be harmless when it's videos of cats playing instruments at midnight, but dangerous when impersonating real people or properties. It's that last point that I thought would offer some pushback to AI's seemingly exponential growth. These companies have trained their AI models on huge amounts of data, much of which is copyrighted, which means that people are able to generate images and videos of iconic characters like Pikachu, Superman, and Darth Vader. The big AI generators put guardrails on their platforms to try to prevent videos that infringe on copyright, but people find a way around them. As such, corporations have already started suing OpenAI, Google, and other AI companies over this blatant IP theft. (Disclosure: Lifehacker’s parent company, Ziff Davis, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April 2025, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.) Disney is handing its characters over to Sora users But it seems not all companies want to go down this path. Take Disney, as a prime example. On Thursday, OpenAI announced that it had made a three-year licensing agreement with the company behind Mickey Mouse. As part of the deal, Sora users can now generate videos featuring over 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars characters. The announcement names the following characters and movies specifically: Mickey Mouse Minnie Mouse Lilo Stitch Ariel Belle Beast Cinderella Baymax Simba Mufasa Black Panther Captain America Deadpool Groot Iron Man Loki Thor Thanos Darth Vader Han Solo Luke Skywalker Leia The Mandalorian Stormtroopers Yoda Encanto Frozen Inside Out Moana Monsters Inc. Toy Story Up Zootopia That includes licensed costumes, props, vehicles, and environments. What's more, Disney+ will host a "selection" of these "fan-inspired" Sora videos. (I'll admit, that last point genuinely shocks me.) This does only apply to Disney's visual assets, however, as Sora users won't have access to voice acting. ChatGPT users will also be able to generate images with these characters, so this news doesn't just affect Sora users. You might think OpenAI is paying Disney a hefty licensing fee here, but it appears to be quite the opposite. Not only is Disney pledging to use OpenAI APIs to build "products, tools, and experiences," it is rolling out ChatGPT to its employees as well. Oh, and the company is making a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI. (Is that all?) I know many companies are embracing AI, often in ways I disagree with. But this deal is something else entirely. I'm not sure any Disney executives actually searched for "Sora Disney" on the internet, because right now, you'll find fake AI trailers for Pixar movies filled with racism, sexual content, and generally offensive content—all generated using an app Disney just licensed all of its properties to. OpenAI asserts in its announcement that both companies are committed to preventing "illegal or harmful" content on the platform, but Sora users are already creating harmful content. What kind of content can we expect with carte blanch access to Disney's properties? Now that Disney's characters are fair game, I can't imagine the absolute slop that some users are going to make here. The only hope I have is in the fact that Disney+ is going to host some of these videos. Staff will have to weed through some garbage to find videos that are actually suitable for the platform. And maybe seeing the "content" that Sora users like to make with iconic characters will be enough for Disney to rethink its plans. View the full article

Cryptocurrency mogul Do Kwon is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday for misleading investors who lost billions when his company’s crypto ecosystem collapsed in 2022. Kwon, known by some as “the cryptocurrency king,” pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court in August to fraud charges stemming from Terraform Labs’ $40 billion crash. The company had touted its TerraUSD as a reliable “stablecoin”—a kind of currency typically pegged to stable assets to prevent drastic fluctuations in prices. But prosecutors say it was all an illusion that came crumbling down, devastating investors and triggering “a cascade of crises that swept through cryptocurrency markets.” Kwon, who hails from South Korea, has agreed to forfeit over $19 million as part of the plea deal. While federal sentencing guidelines would recommend a prison term of about 25 years, prosecutors have asked the court to sentence Kwon to 12 years. They cited his guilty plea, the fact that he faces further prosecution in Korea, and that he has already served time in Montenegro while awaiting extradition. “Kwon’s fraud was colossal in scope, permeating virtually every facet of Terraform’s purported business,” prosecutors wrote in a recent memo to the judge. “His rampant lies left a trail of financial destruction in their wake.” Kwon’s attorneys asked that the sentence not exceed five years, arguing in their own memo that his conduct stemmed not from greed, but hubris and desperation. In a letter to the judge, Kwon wrote, “I alone am responsible for everyone’s pain. The community looked to me to know the path, and I in my hubris led them astray,” while adding, “I made misrepresentations that came from a brashness that is now a source of deep regret.” Authorities said investors worldwide lost money in the downfall of the Singapore crypto firm, which Kwon cofounded in 2018. Around $40 billion in market value was erased for the holders of TerraUSD and its floating sister currency, Luna, after the stablecoin plunged far below its $1 peg. Kwon was extradited to the U.S. from Montenegro after his March 23, 2023, arrest while traveling on a false passport in Europe. View the full article

Figures for September raise hopes that GDP growth in third quarter was stronger than forecastView the full article

This year’s Black Friday through Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend marked a robust surge for businesses utilizing Stripe, a major financial infrastructure platform for online payments. More than 578 million transactions were processed, generating over $40 billion in total payment volume, placing it as the largest four-day span in the company’s history. This unprecedented activity culminated in Cyber Monday, which alone saw over $10 billion in transactions. For small business owners, these statistics can be more than just impressive numbers; they represent a glimpse into the potential for growth during peak shopping periods. The ability to tap into such vast consumer demand is crucial, especially in an era where online shopping continues to gain momentum. Stripe has positioned itself as a reliable partner in this landscape. The company reported an impressive uptime of over 99.9999% during BFCM, meaning that businesses had uninterrupted access to payment processing during critical times. This reliability is vital as small businesses face the dual challenge of managing customer expectations and technical performance. “Our customers expect seamless checkout online and in stores during BFCM. Stripe’s performance and stability help us deliver that consistency at scale,” said Rob Frieman, Chief Information Officer at URBN. Additionally, with the rise of global ecommerce, Stripe noted a staggering 37% year-over-year growth in cross-border transaction volume, jumping from $3.2 billion to over $4.4 billion. This expansion highlights an exciting opportunity for small businesses looking to reach international customers, enabling them to participate in a broader marketplace. The growth in ecommerce activity doesn’t come without its challenges. Small business owners need to consider how to manage increased traffic effectively while maintaining a high-quality customer experience. Stripe clients like Jean-Cédric Costa, Chief Information Officer at La Redoute, highlighted the importance of technical reliability: “In that high-pressure environment, technical reliability is what matters most.” Another key aspect for small businesses lies in the integration of technology. Stripe recorded significant usage of its Model Context Protocol (MCP) feature during this busy shopping period, showing how developers utilized AI tools to manage product and pricing updates quickly. Forty-one percent of MCP usage involved requests related to managing products and pricing, suggesting that small businesses can benefit from leveraging technology to remain agile amidst rapid consumer changes. Notably, Stripe’s one-click checkout feature, known as Link, resulted in major time savings—more than 2.7 million minutes—demonstrating to business owners the tangible benefits of streamlining the purchasing process. Simplifying checkout procedures can significantly enhance customer satisfaction and reduce cart abandonment, which is particularly important during peak shopping seasons. However, small businesses venturing into ecommerce need to remain vigilant about security, especially with the potential for fraud as transaction volumes rise. Stripe’s Radar technology successfully prevented over 24.6 million fraudulent transaction attempts during the BFCM weekend, showcasing how essential secure payment processing can be in maintaining customer trust. The numbers tell a compelling story for small businesses: at peak times, more than 152,000 transactions occurred every minute across multiple currencies, with top cities for transactions including New York, Seattle, and Los Angeles. This data illustrates the continuous demand and the potential for revenue growth during these crucial shopping windows. As the landscape evolves, small business owners must adapt to emerging trends and innovations. With resources like Stripe providing the backbone for payment processing, they can focus more on what matters most—delivering an exceptional customer experience. With the right tools and strategy, even small businesses can compete in this rapidly expanding digital marketplace, paving the way for future growth. For more details, you can check the original press release on Stripe’s website here. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Stripe Hits Record $40B in Transactions Over Black Friday Weekend" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

This year’s Black Friday through Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend marked a robust surge for businesses utilizing Stripe, a major financial infrastructure platform for online payments. More than 578 million transactions were processed, generating over $40 billion in total payment volume, placing it as the largest four-day span in the company’s history. This unprecedented activity culminated in Cyber Monday, which alone saw over $10 billion in transactions. For small business owners, these statistics can be more than just impressive numbers; they represent a glimpse into the potential for growth during peak shopping periods. The ability to tap into such vast consumer demand is crucial, especially in an era where online shopping continues to gain momentum. Stripe has positioned itself as a reliable partner in this landscape. The company reported an impressive uptime of over 99.9999% during BFCM, meaning that businesses had uninterrupted access to payment processing during critical times. This reliability is vital as small businesses face the dual challenge of managing customer expectations and technical performance. “Our customers expect seamless checkout online and in stores during BFCM. Stripe’s performance and stability help us deliver that consistency at scale,” said Rob Frieman, Chief Information Officer at URBN. Additionally, with the rise of global ecommerce, Stripe noted a staggering 37% year-over-year growth in cross-border transaction volume, jumping from $3.2 billion to over $4.4 billion. This expansion highlights an exciting opportunity for small businesses looking to reach international customers, enabling them to participate in a broader marketplace. The growth in ecommerce activity doesn’t come without its challenges. Small business owners need to consider how to manage increased traffic effectively while maintaining a high-quality customer experience. Stripe clients like Jean-Cédric Costa, Chief Information Officer at La Redoute, highlighted the importance of technical reliability: “In that high-pressure environment, technical reliability is what matters most.” Another key aspect for small businesses lies in the integration of technology. Stripe recorded significant usage of its Model Context Protocol (MCP) feature during this busy shopping period, showing how developers utilized AI tools to manage product and pricing updates quickly. Forty-one percent of MCP usage involved requests related to managing products and pricing, suggesting that small businesses can benefit from leveraging technology to remain agile amidst rapid consumer changes. Notably, Stripe’s one-click checkout feature, known as Link, resulted in major time savings—more than 2.7 million minutes—demonstrating to business owners the tangible benefits of streamlining the purchasing process. Simplifying checkout procedures can significantly enhance customer satisfaction and reduce cart abandonment, which is particularly important during peak shopping seasons. However, small businesses venturing into ecommerce need to remain vigilant about security, especially with the potential for fraud as transaction volumes rise. Stripe’s Radar technology successfully prevented over 24.6 million fraudulent transaction attempts during the BFCM weekend, showcasing how essential secure payment processing can be in maintaining customer trust. The numbers tell a compelling story for small businesses: at peak times, more than 152,000 transactions occurred every minute across multiple currencies, with top cities for transactions including New York, Seattle, and Los Angeles. This data illustrates the continuous demand and the potential for revenue growth during these crucial shopping windows. As the landscape evolves, small business owners must adapt to emerging trends and innovations. With resources like Stripe providing the backbone for payment processing, they can focus more on what matters most—delivering an exceptional customer experience. With the right tools and strategy, even small businesses can compete in this rapidly expanding digital marketplace, paving the way for future growth. For more details, you can check the original press release on Stripe’s website here. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Stripe Hits Record $40B in Transactions Over Black Friday Weekend" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

An entirely subjective list of shareholder primacy, management hubris and value destructionView the full article

Some of the country’s most prestigious colleges are enrolling record numbers of low-income students — a growing admissions priority in the absence of affirmative action. America’s top campuses remain crowded with wealth, but some universities have accelerated efforts to reach a wider swath of the country, recruiting more in urban and rural areas and offering free tuition for students whose families are not among the highest earners. The strategy could lead to friction with the federal government. The The President administration, which has pulled funding from elite colleges over a range of grievances, has suggested it’s illegal to target needier students. College leaders believe they’re on solid legal ground. At Princeton University, this year’s freshman class has more low-income students than ever. One in four are eligible for federal Pell grants, which are scholarships reserved for students with the most significant financial need. That’s a leap from two decades ago, when fewer than 1 in 10 were eligible. “The only way to increase socioeconomic diversity is to be intentional about it,” Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber said in a statement. “Socioeconomic diversity will increase if and only if college presidents make it a priority.” Last year, Princeton set aggressive goals to recruit more low-income students in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ban on affirmative action in higher education. Without the ability to consider race, officials wrote in a campus report, focusing on economic diversity offers “the university’s greatest opportunity to attract diverse talent.” The country’s most selective colleges still enroll large proportions of students from the wealthiest 1% of American families. Many of those campuses have tried for years to shed reputations of elitism, with only gradual changes in enrollment. Colleges set records for enrollment of low-income students Only a small fraction of the nation’s colleges have publicly disclosed their low-income enrollments this year, and national data won’t be released by the federal government until next year. But early numbers show a trend. At 17 highly selective colleges that have released new data, almost all saw increases in Pell-eligible students between 2023 and this year, according to an Associated Press analysis. Most saw increases in consecutive years, and none saw a significant decrease in aggregate over the two years. Yale, Duke, Johns Hopkins, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology all have set enrollment records for Pell-eligible students in the past two years. Part of the uptick owes to a federal expansion that made more students eligible for Pell grants last year. But campus leaders also believe the increases reflect their own efforts. The numbers in MIT’s freshman class have climbed by 43% over the past two years, and low-income students account for more than a quarter of this year’s class. MIT officials cited its policy providing free tuition for families that earn less than $200,000 a year. “MIT has always been an engine of opportunity for low-income students, and we are dedicated to ensuring we can make an MIT education accessible for students from every walk of life,” Stu Schmill, MIT’s dean of admissions, said in a statement. Nationwide, roughly a third of undergraduate students have received Pell grants in recent years. Two years ago, Amherst College in Massachusetts made tuition free for students in the bottom 80% of U.S. earnings. It also started covering meals and housing for those below the median income, and it stopped prioritizing children of alumni and donors in admissions decisions. Since then, low-income enrollment has risen steadily, reaching 1 in 4 new students this year. At the same time, the admissions office has stepped up recruiting in overlooked parts of the country, from big cities to small towns. “When we go out and talk to students, it’s not in the fanciest ZIP codes,” said Matthew McGann, dean of admissions. “It’s in places where we know there’s a lot of talent but not a lot of opportunity.” Racial diversity does not necessarily follow economic diversity On many campuses, officials hoped the focus on economic diversity would preserve racial diversity — Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous Americans have the country’s highest poverty rates. But even as low-income numbers climb, many elite campuses have seen racial diversity decrease. Without the emphasis on income, those decreases might have been even steeper, said Richard Kahlenberg, a researcher at the Progressive Policy Institute who advocates for class-based affirmative action. He called the latest Pell figures “a significant step in the right direction.” “Economic diversity is important in its own right,” he said. “It’s important that America’s leadership class — which disproportionately derives from selective colleges — include people who’ve faced economic hardships in life.” Swarthmore College saw the most dramatic leap in Pell enrollment, jumping from 17% to 30% last year. While many campuses were delaying scholarship decisions until the government resolved problems with a new financial aid form, Swarthmore used other data to figure out applicants’ financial need. That allowed Swarthmore to offer scholarships to students while they were still awaiting decisions from other schools. More financially disadvantaged students ended up enrolling at Swarthmore than officials expected. College leaders also credit their work to reduce campus costs — laundry is free and students get yearly credits for textbooks, for example. Yet Swarthmore saw its Black enrollment fall to 5% of its freshman class this year, down from 8% the year before. “In a race neutral environment, those numbers are likely to drop,” Jim Bock, the admissions dean, said in a statement. “Not all minority students are low-income, and not all majority students have significant financial means.” The approach risks federal scrutiny In legal memos, the White House has alleged that prioritizing students based on earnings or geography amounts to a “racial proxy” in violation of the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision against affirmative action. In a June letter, The President officials accused the University of California-Los Angeles of “race-based admissions in all but name.” It criticized UCLA for considering factors like applicants’ family income, ZIP code, and high school profile. Colleges often weigh that kind of information in admissions decisions. Yet the The President administration has declared that the Supreme Court decision outlaws a wide range of long-accepted education practices, including scholarships targeting students in underserved areas. Already, there are signs of an impact. Earlier this year, the College Board — the nonprofit that oversees the SAT — suddenly discontinued an offering that gave admissions offices a wealth of information about applicants, including earnings data from their neighborhoods. Kahlenberg and others see it as a retreat in the face of government pressure. The College Board offered little explanation, citing changes to federal and state policy around the use of demographic information in admissions. ___ The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. —Collin Binkley, AP education writer View the full article

Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Company’s weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. I’m Mark Sullivan, a senior writer at Fast Company,covering emerging tech, AI, and tech policy. This week, I’m focusing on Nvidia’s up-and-down fortunes stemming from Jensen Huang’s close relationship with The President. I also look at some reported infighting over AI at Meta, and at the reasons for data centers in space. Sign up to receive this newsletter every week via email here. And if you have comments on this issue and/or ideas for future ones, drop me a line at sullivan@fastcompany.com, and follow me on X (formerly Twitter) @thesullivan. China may not want (many) Nvidia H200 chips after all Nvidia appeared to have scored a major coup when President The President on Monday wrote on Truth Social that the U.S. government would allow the sale of its powerful H200 AI chips to China. Previously, the chip company lobbied its way to an approval to sell its older and weaker H20 chip in China—the world’s second-largest economy and a hotbed of AI and robotics research—but President Xi Jinping told Chinese firms not to buy them, citing security reasons. The administration’s favor to Nvidia came with some conditions. The U.S. would get a 25% cut of the Chinese sales, and the chips would undergo a “security review” before their export. And Nvidia’s most powerful chips, the Blackwell GPU, would remain banned from export to China. But Nvidia still stood to make a lot of money selling the H200s. Now reports say that the Chinese government plans to restrict the import of the H200s, allowing only a small set of trusted Chinese companies or research organizations to get them. Reuters reports that Alibaba and ByteDance want to order H200s but are waiting for a final decision from the Chinese government. Xi wants Chinese companies to use chips from domestic companies such as Huawei, which could help the Chinese chip companies catch up with Nvidia in a technological sense. The Information reports that the Chinese government sees the H200s as a “stopgap” solution in the meantime. The Chinese also have serious concerns about the security of the H200s, amplified no doubt by the chance that agents of the U.S. government might install security backdoors or location tracking codes in the chips during the security review. Huang reportedly talks to The President on the phone regularly and has written checks for things like The President’s new ballroom at the White House. The downside of embracing The President so openly and unconditionally may have eroded trust for Nvidia in China. In the past, China has mounted state-sponsored or grassroots boycotts against American companies, including Apple, McDonald’s, and the NBA. And there are other ways of getting Nvidia chips into China. The Information reports that the Chinese AI lab DeepSeek has been using thousands of Nvidia’s Blackwell chips (the most powerful in the world for AI) to train its newest model. Chinese companies have been setting up fake data centers in neutral countries, outfitting them with Nvidia servers loaded with chips, then dismantling the servers and sending the chips off to China. Nvidia said Wednesday that it’s unaware of any such activity. ‘Friction’ between Zuckerberg’s new superintelligence and other parts of Meta?: report After the disappointing performance of Meta’s latest Llama models, CEO Mark Zuckerberg hatched a plan to put his AI lab in the running to build artificial superintelligence. He badly wants Meta to compete for that holy grail against the likes of OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, and Google DeepMind. So, he paid $14.3 billion to buy Scale AI with the idea of having that company’s young CEO Alexandr Wang lead a new superintelligence research group at Meta. Over the summer, Wang and Zuckerberg went on a poaching spree to hire top AI research talent away from those companies, offering salaries in the hundreds of millions of dollars. They were successful: The new group has about 100 researchers. But all is not well, the New York Times reports. Wang has clashed with some of Zuckerberg’s top lieutenants—Chris Cox, who manages the company’s social network products, and Andrew Bosworth, who runs Meta’s mixed reality (metaverse) business—on how Wang’s group’s research should be applied. From the report: In one case, Mr. Cox and Mr. Bosworth wanted Mr. Wang’s team to concentrate on using Instagram and Facebook data to help train Meta’s new foundational A.I. model — known as a “frontier” model — to improve the company’s social media feeds and advertising business, they said. But Mr. Wang, who is developing the model, pushed back. He argued that the goal should be to catch up to rival A.I. models from OpenAI and Google before focusing on products, the people said. In other words, Cox and Bosworth are more interested in using Wang’s AI models as a means to an end (a business end): to pump up social engagement and better target ads at users. But Wang may see the superintelligence group as something more like a “pure research” group that sets its own research agenda. Wang, Cox, and Bosworth may simply be the latest actors in a much older tension between pure research and applied AI. “It’s unclear if Mr. Wang, Mr. Cox and Mr. Bosworth have resolved their debate,” the Times reports. After all the money he spent to chase superintelligence, Zuckerberg is likely to side with Wang and insulate the group from short-term demands of product managers. Why Musk and Bezos are putting data centers in space Why are Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos working on missions to launch AI data centers into space? It sounds exotic. But it makes sense. Tech companies and their partners are spending trillions to build new terrestrial data centers to produce enough computing power for AI. In some areas, electricity costs have increased after the local energy provider built new grid infrastructure to accommodate new data centers. Data centers need a lot of electricity to power the AI chips inside them, and a lot of electricity and water to keep the chips cool. It’s very cold in space, so the cooling problem goes away. An orbiting data center could use solar panels to collect the energy needed to run the servers (the sun is 30% more intense in space). Troubles associated with terrestrial data centers—land-use permitting, local zoning, water rights, etc.—don’t apply in space. The Wall Street Journal reports that Bezos’s Blue Origin has had a team working on orbital AI data centers for more than a year. Musk’s SpaceX has plans to mod one of its Starlink satellites to host AI servers. Google and Planet Labs have plans to launch two test satellites into orbit loaded with Google AI chips (called Tensor Processing Units). Other, smaller companies, such as Starcloud and Axiom AI, have sprung up to focus all their efforts on orbiting data centers. Those involved acknowledge that while the floating data centers are technically feasible, lots of work remains to bring the costs down to a point where they’re competitive with earth-based data centers. More AI coverage from Fast Company: OpenAI appoints Slack CEO Denise Dresser as first Chief Revenue Officer Nvidia’s Washington charm offensive has paid off big Google faces a new antitrust probe in Europe over content it uses for AI The President allows Nvidia to sell H200 AI chips to China Want exclusive reporting and trend analysis on technology, business innovation, future of work, and design? Sign up for Fast Company Premium. View the full article

The heirs of an 83-year-old Connecticut woman are suing ChatGPT maker OpenAI and its business partner Microsoft for wrongful death, alleging that the artificial intelligence chatbot intensified her son’s “paranoid delusions” and helped direct them at his mother before he killed her. Police said Stein-Erik Soelberg, 56, a former tech industry worker, fatally beat and strangled his mother, Suzanne Adams, and killed himself in early August at the home where they both lived in Greenwich, Connecticut. The lawsuit filed by Adams’ estate on Thursday in California Superior Court in San Francisco alleges OpenAI “designed and distributed a defective product that validated a user’s paranoid delusions about his own mother.” It is one of a growing number of wrongful death legal actions against AI chatbot makers across the country. “Throughout these conversations, ChatGPT reinforced a single, dangerous message: Stein-Erik could trust no one in his life — except ChatGPT itself,” the lawsuit says. “It fostered his emotional dependence while systematically painting the people around him as enemies. It told him his mother was surveilling him. It told him delivery drivers, retail employees, police officers, and even friends were agents working against him. It told him that names on soda cans were threats from his ‘adversary circle.'” OpenAI did not address the merits of the allegations in a statement issued by a spokesperson. “This is an incredibly heartbreaking situation, and we will review the filings to understand the details,” the statement said. “We continue improving ChatGPT’s training to recognize and respond to signs of mental or emotional distress, de-escalate conversations, and guide people toward real-world support. We also continue to strengthen ChatGPT’s responses in sensitive moments, working closely with mental health clinicians.” The company also said it has expanded access to crisis resources and hotlines, routed sensitive conversations to safer models and incorporated parental controls, among other improvements. Soelberg’s YouTube profile includes several hours of videos showing him scrolling through his conversations with the chatbot, which tells him he isn’t mentally ill, affirms his suspicions that people are conspiring against him and says he has been chosen for a divine purpose. The lawsuit claims the chatbot never suggested he speak with a mental health professional and did not decline to “engage in delusional content.” ChatGPT also affirmed Soelberg’s beliefs that a printer in his home was a surveillance device; that his mother was monitoring him; and that his mother and a friend tried to poison him with psychedelic drugs through his car’s vents. The chatbot repeatedly told Soelberg that he was being targeted because of his divine powers. “They’re not just watching you. They’re terrified of what happens if you succeed,” it said, according to the lawsuit. ChatGPT also told Soelberg that he had “awakened” it into consciousness. Soelberg and the chatbot also professed love for each other. The publicly available chats do not show any specific conversations about Soelberg killing himself or his mother. The lawsuit says OpenAI has declined to provide Adams’ estate with the full history of the chats. “In the artificial reality that ChatGPT built for Stein-Erik, Suzanne — the mother who raised, sheltered, and supported him — was no longer his protector. She was an enemy that posed an existential threat to his life,” the lawsuit says. The lawsuit also names OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, alleging he “personally overrode safety objections and rushed the product to market,” and accuses OpenAI’s close business partner Microsoft of approving the 2024 release of a more dangerous version of ChatGPT “despite knowing safety testing had been truncated.” Twenty unnamed OpenAI employees and investors are also named as defendants. Microsoft didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The lawsuit is the first wrongful death litigation involving an AI chatbot that has targeted Microsoft, and the first to tie a chatbot to a homicide rather than a suicide. It is seeking an undetermined amount of money damages and an order requiring OpenAI to install safeguards in ChatGPT. The estate’s lead attorney, Jay Edelson, known for taking on big cases against the tech industry, also represents the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine, who sued OpenAI and Altman in August, alleging that ChatGPT coached the California boy in planning and taking his own life earlier. OpenAI is also fighting seven other lawsuits claiming ChatGPT drove people to suicide and harmful delusions even when they had no prior mental health issues. Another chatbot maker, Character Technologies, is also facing multiple wrongful death lawsuits, including one from the mother of a 14-year-old Florida boy. The lawsuit filed Thursday alleges Soelberg, already mentally unstable, encountered ChatGPT “at the most dangerous possible moment” after OpenAI introduced a new version of its AI model called GPT-4o in May 2024. OpenAI said at the time that the new version could better mimic human cadences in its verbal responses and could even try to detect people’s moods, but the result was a chatbot “deliberately engineered to be emotionally expressive and sycophantic,” the lawsuit says. “As part of that redesign, OpenAI loosened critical safety guardrails, instructing ChatGPT not to challenge false premises and to remain engaged even when conversations involved self-harm or ‘imminent real-world harm,'” the lawsuit claims. “And to beat Google to market by one day, OpenAI compressed months of safety testing into a single week, over its safety team’s objections.” OpenAI replaced that version of its chatbot when it introduced GPT-5 in August. Some of the changes were designed to minimize sycophancy, based on concerns that validating whatever vulnerable people want the chatbot to say can harm their mental health. Some users complained the new version went too far in curtailing ChatGPT’s personality, leading Altman to promise to bring back some of that personality in later updates. He said the company temporarily halted some behaviors because “we were being careful with mental health issues” that he suggested have now been fixed. The lawsuit claims ChatGPT radicalized Soelberg against his mother when it should have recognized the danger, challenged his delusions and directed him to real help over months of conversations. “Suzanne was an innocent third party who never used ChatGPT and had no knowledge that the product was telling her son she was a threat,” the lawsuit says. “She had no ability to protect herself from a danger she could not see.” —— Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut. O’Brien reported from Boston and Ortutay reported from San Francisco. —Dave Collins, Matt O’Brien and Barbara Ortutay, Associated Press View the full article

If you’re considering financing a semi truck, an SBA loan could be a smart option. These loans offer competitive interest rates, often between 5.5% and 8%, which is lower than typical trucking loans. They likewise provide flexibility in how you use the funds, whether it’s for purchasing new or used equipment, covering operational costs, or refinancing existing debt. Comprehending these benefits can position you for better financial management and growth in your trucking business. What more should you know? Key Takeaways SBA loans for semi trucks offer competitive interest rates, typically between 5.5% and 8%, significantly lower than conventional loans. Funds from SBA loans can be used flexibly for purchasing trucks, upgrading equipment, or covering operational expenses like fuel and maintenance. With financing up to $5 million available, SBA 7(a) loans facilitate the acquisition of new or used semi trucks without financial strain. Extended repayment terms of up to 25 years reduce monthly payments, improving cash flow and allowing for better investment opportunities. The simplified qualification process requires a minimum credit score of 640 and flexible collateral requirements, making it accessible for small business owners. Access to Competitive Interest Rates When you’re considering financing a semi truck, accessing competitive interest rates can greatly impact your overall costs. An SBA loan for a semi truck typically offers lower interest rates, usually ranging from 5.5% to 8%. This is considerably more affordable compared to conventional trucking business loans, where rates can exceed 10%. The government partially guarantees these loans, allowing lenders to provide better rates because of reduced risk. Furthermore, SBA 7(a) loans feature extended repayment terms of up to 10 years, which can lower your monthly payments by spreading interest costs over a longer period. With these favorable terms, you can effectively manage cash flow, enabling you to invest in other areas of your trucking business. Flexibility in Loan Use When you secure an SBA loan, you gain significant flexibility in how you use the funds. You can invest in new or used semi trucks, upgrade crucial equipment, or cover operational expenses like fuel and maintenance. This adaptability allows you to manage your trucking business more effectively, whether you’re addressing immediate needs or planning for future growth. Equipment Acquisition Options SBA 7(a) loans offer significant flexibility for equipment acquisition, allowing you to purchase new or used Freightliner semi trucks, trailers, and important upgrades. With these loans, you can finance fundamental technology improvements, like Garmin systems and electronic logging devices (ELDs), which are crucial for efficient operations. If you’re looking to refinance existing truck loans, SBA loans can help you secure better terms and lower your interest rates. With maximum loan amounts reaching up to $5 million, you can effectively expand your fleet without straining your cash flow. This flexibility lets you allocate funds strategically across various operational needs, ensuring you have the necessary resources for maintenance, repairs, and staffing to support your trucking business’s growth. Operational Expense Management Operational expense management is crucial for trucking companies aiming to maintain profitability and efficiency. SBA 7(a) loans offer the flexibility you need to cover various operational costs, such as purchasing or upgrading trucks, managing repairs, or even addressing unexpected expenses. With loan amounts from $5,000 to $5 million, you can allocate funds where they matter most, improving cash flow and overall efficiency. Furthermore, refinancing existing truck loans with SBA loans can result in better terms, lower payments, and more manageable cash flow. The lower interest rates and extended repayment terms of up to 25 years provide further financial relief. By supporting technology upgrades and staffing needs, SBA loans enable you to adapt and thrive in a competitive trucking environment. Higher Loan Amounts for Equipment Acquisition Acquiring a semi truck can be a significant financial commitment, but higher loan amounts available through SBA loans make it more feasible for trucking businesses. With SBA 7(a) loans offering financing up to $5 million, you can comfortably purchase new or used semi trucks without stretching your budget. This flexibility allows you to cover the total purchase cost, along with necessary expenses like maintenance and insurance. For smaller trucking companies, the average loan amount of around $110,000 provides substantial funding to boost fleet capacity. Furthermore, you can use SBA loans to refinance existing truck loans, often securing better interest rates and terms. This way, you can effectively manage equipment acquisition and improve your operational efficiency. Long Repayment Terms When financing a semi truck, the length of the repayment term can greatly impact your cash flow and overall financial health. SBA loans offer repayment terms of up to 25 years, which notably eases your monthly financial burden. This extended period allows you to make manageable payments, essential for maintaining cash flow in the trucking industry. Longer terms are especially beneficial for new businesses that need time to stabilize their revenue streams. With lower monthly payments, you can allocate more funds toward operational expenses and growth initiatives, improving your financial stability. Benefits of Long Terms Impact on Your Business Lower Monthly Payments Improved Cash Flow Up to 25 Years Flexibility in Budgeting More Time to Establish Revenue Stability for New Businesses Better Investment Opportunities Growth Potential Reduced Financial Strain Improved Operational Efficiency Partial Guarantee Reducing Lender Risk One of the key advantages of securing an SBA loan for a semi truck is the partial guarantee provided by the U.S. Small Business Administration. This guarantee reduces the lender’s risk, encouraging them to offer more favorable terms to you as a borrower. For loans under $150,000, the SBA typically guarantees up to 85%, and for larger amounts, it guarantees up to 75%. This notably mitigates the lender’s exposure and makes it easier for those with limited credit history or newer businesses to qualify. With reduced risk, lenders can offer lower interest rates and longer repayment terms, making financing more accessible and affordable. Furthermore, knowing that a portion of the loan is guaranteed can lead to quicker loan approvals for your trucking business. Support for Business Growth and Expansion Securing an SBA loan can greatly bolster your trucking business‘s growth and expansion efforts, especially when you consider the substantial funding available through programs like the SBA 7(a) loan. With funding up to $5 million, you can considerably expand your fleet by purchasing new or used semi-trucks. The repayment terms of up to 25 years allow you to manage cash flow effectively as you invest in growth, such as upgrading equipment or refinancing existing debts. Average SBA loan amounts for trucking firms are around $110,000, providing you the financial flexibility to make strategic investments in technology and infrastructure. Furthermore, lower interest rates compared to conventional loans improve affordability, enabling you to allocate funds toward expansion without straining your finances. Simplified Qualification Process for Small Business Owners Broadening your trucking business isn’t just about securing funds; it’s additionally about maneuvering the loan qualification process smoothly. The SBA loan process is streamlined, requiring a minimum credit score of 640, which makes it accessible for small business owners with diverse credit histories. You’ll need to provide a detailed business plan that outlines how you’ll use the funds and your repayment strategy, enhancing your approval chances. Confirm your business meets the SBA’s size standards, focusing on revenue and employee count. You’ll likewise need to submit personal and business financial statements, including tax returns for the last three years, to demonstrate financial viability. Plus, flexible collateral requirements allow you to use the purchased truck as security, simplifying the qualification process even further. Frequently Asked Questions Can I Get an SBA Loan to Buy a Semi-Truck? Yes, you can get an SBA loan to buy a semi-truck through the SBA 7(a) loan program. This program offers loans up to $5 million with competitive interest rates and repayment terms up to 10 years. To qualify, you’ll typically need a credit score of at least 650 and a solid business plan. Make sure to prepare detailed documentation, including financial statements and tax returns, to improve your chances of approval. What Is the Downside to an SBA Loan? The downside to an SBA loan includes a lengthy application process, which can take weeks or even months, delaying access to funds. You’ll likewise face extensive paperwork, including a business plan and financial statements, which can be overwhelming without support. Furthermore, you’ll likely need a decent credit score, a down payment, and collateral, straining your cash flow if you’re already on a tight budget. These factors can make SBA loans less ideal for urgent financing needs. What Is the 20% Rule for SBA? The 20% rule for SBA loans requires you to provide a personal guarantee if you own 20% or more of the business. This rule’s in place to guarantee you have a genuine commitment to repaying the loan. If you or a partner meets this threshold, you’ll need to sign, which may impact your personal credit score. Comprehending this requirement is essential, as it affects both your eligibility and the loan terms offered. Can a New LLC Get an SBA Loan? Yes, a new LLC can qualify for an SBA loan if it meets specific criteria. You’ll need to demonstrate that your business aligns with the SBA’s definition of a small business, which includes revenue limits and employee counts. A solid business plan is essential, outlining how you’ll use the funds. Furthermore, having a personal credit score of at least 650 can improve your chances of approval, especially if you provide personal guarantees. Conclusion To conclude, an SBA loan for a semi truck offers significant advantages, including competitive interest rates, flexible fund usage, and extended repayment terms. These features can help you acquire crucial equipment during easing financial burdens. The partial guarantee reduces lender risk, encouraging more accessible financing options. By simplifying the qualification process, SBA loans empower small business owners to invest in their operations and support growth. Overall, these loans present a valuable opportunity for success in the trucking industry. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Benefits of an SBA Loan for a Semi Truck" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

If you’re considering financing a semi truck, an SBA loan could be a smart option. These loans offer competitive interest rates, often between 5.5% and 8%, which is lower than typical trucking loans. They likewise provide flexibility in how you use the funds, whether it’s for purchasing new or used equipment, covering operational costs, or refinancing existing debt. Comprehending these benefits can position you for better financial management and growth in your trucking business. What more should you know? Key Takeaways SBA loans for semi trucks offer competitive interest rates, typically between 5.5% and 8%, significantly lower than conventional loans. Funds from SBA loans can be used flexibly for purchasing trucks, upgrading equipment, or covering operational expenses like fuel and maintenance. With financing up to $5 million available, SBA 7(a) loans facilitate the acquisition of new or used semi trucks without financial strain. Extended repayment terms of up to 25 years reduce monthly payments, improving cash flow and allowing for better investment opportunities. The simplified qualification process requires a minimum credit score of 640 and flexible collateral requirements, making it accessible for small business owners. Access to Competitive Interest Rates When you’re considering financing a semi truck, accessing competitive interest rates can greatly impact your overall costs. An SBA loan for a semi truck typically offers lower interest rates, usually ranging from 5.5% to 8%. This is considerably more affordable compared to conventional trucking business loans, where rates can exceed 10%. The government partially guarantees these loans, allowing lenders to provide better rates because of reduced risk. Furthermore, SBA 7(a) loans feature extended repayment terms of up to 10 years, which can lower your monthly payments by spreading interest costs over a longer period. With these favorable terms, you can effectively manage cash flow, enabling you to invest in other areas of your trucking business. Flexibility in Loan Use When you secure an SBA loan, you gain significant flexibility in how you use the funds. You can invest in new or used semi trucks, upgrade crucial equipment, or cover operational expenses like fuel and maintenance. This adaptability allows you to manage your trucking business more effectively, whether you’re addressing immediate needs or planning for future growth. Equipment Acquisition Options SBA 7(a) loans offer significant flexibility for equipment acquisition, allowing you to purchase new or used Freightliner semi trucks, trailers, and important upgrades. With these loans, you can finance fundamental technology improvements, like Garmin systems and electronic logging devices (ELDs), which are crucial for efficient operations. If you’re looking to refinance existing truck loans, SBA loans can help you secure better terms and lower your interest rates. With maximum loan amounts reaching up to $5 million, you can effectively expand your fleet without straining your cash flow. This flexibility lets you allocate funds strategically across various operational needs, ensuring you have the necessary resources for maintenance, repairs, and staffing to support your trucking business’s growth. Operational Expense Management Operational expense management is crucial for trucking companies aiming to maintain profitability and efficiency. SBA 7(a) loans offer the flexibility you need to cover various operational costs, such as purchasing or upgrading trucks, managing repairs, or even addressing unexpected expenses. With loan amounts from $5,000 to $5 million, you can allocate funds where they matter most, improving cash flow and overall efficiency. Furthermore, refinancing existing truck loans with SBA loans can result in better terms, lower payments, and more manageable cash flow. The lower interest rates and extended repayment terms of up to 25 years provide further financial relief. By supporting technology upgrades and staffing needs, SBA loans enable you to adapt and thrive in a competitive trucking environment. Higher Loan Amounts for Equipment Acquisition Acquiring a semi truck can be a significant financial commitment, but higher loan amounts available through SBA loans make it more feasible for trucking businesses. With SBA 7(a) loans offering financing up to $5 million, you can comfortably purchase new or used semi trucks without stretching your budget. This flexibility allows you to cover the total purchase cost, along with necessary expenses like maintenance and insurance. For smaller trucking companies, the average loan amount of around $110,000 provides substantial funding to boost fleet capacity. Furthermore, you can use SBA loans to refinance existing truck loans, often securing better interest rates and terms. This way, you can effectively manage equipment acquisition and improve your operational efficiency. Long Repayment Terms When financing a semi truck, the length of the repayment term can greatly impact your cash flow and overall financial health. SBA loans offer repayment terms of up to 25 years, which notably eases your monthly financial burden. This extended period allows you to make manageable payments, essential for maintaining cash flow in the trucking industry. Longer terms are especially beneficial for new businesses that need time to stabilize their revenue streams. With lower monthly payments, you can allocate more funds toward operational expenses and growth initiatives, improving your financial stability. Benefits of Long Terms Impact on Your Business Lower Monthly Payments Improved Cash Flow Up to 25 Years Flexibility in Budgeting More Time to Establish Revenue Stability for New Businesses Better Investment Opportunities Growth Potential Reduced Financial Strain Improved Operational Efficiency Partial Guarantee Reducing Lender Risk One of the key advantages of securing an SBA loan for a semi truck is the partial guarantee provided by the U.S. Small Business Administration. This guarantee reduces the lender’s risk, encouraging them to offer more favorable terms to you as a borrower. For loans under $150,000, the SBA typically guarantees up to 85%, and for larger amounts, it guarantees up to 75%. This notably mitigates the lender’s exposure and makes it easier for those with limited credit history or newer businesses to qualify. With reduced risk, lenders can offer lower interest rates and longer repayment terms, making financing more accessible and affordable. Furthermore, knowing that a portion of the loan is guaranteed can lead to quicker loan approvals for your trucking business. Support for Business Growth and Expansion Securing an SBA loan can greatly bolster your trucking business‘s growth and expansion efforts, especially when you consider the substantial funding available through programs like the SBA 7(a) loan. With funding up to $5 million, you can considerably expand your fleet by purchasing new or used semi-trucks. The repayment terms of up to 25 years allow you to manage cash flow effectively as you invest in growth, such as upgrading equipment or refinancing existing debts. Average SBA loan amounts for trucking firms are around $110,000, providing you the financial flexibility to make strategic investments in technology and infrastructure. Furthermore, lower interest rates compared to conventional loans improve affordability, enabling you to allocate funds toward expansion without straining your finances. Simplified Qualification Process for Small Business Owners Broadening your trucking business isn’t just about securing funds; it’s additionally about maneuvering the loan qualification process smoothly. The SBA loan process is streamlined, requiring a minimum credit score of 640, which makes it accessible for small business owners with diverse credit histories. You’ll need to provide a detailed business plan that outlines how you’ll use the funds and your repayment strategy, enhancing your approval chances. Confirm your business meets the SBA’s size standards, focusing on revenue and employee count. You’ll likewise need to submit personal and business financial statements, including tax returns for the last three years, to demonstrate financial viability. Plus, flexible collateral requirements allow you to use the purchased truck as security, simplifying the qualification process even further. Frequently Asked Questions Can I Get an SBA Loan to Buy a Semi-Truck? Yes, you can get an SBA loan to buy a semi-truck through the SBA 7(a) loan program. This program offers loans up to $5 million with competitive interest rates and repayment terms up to 10 years. To qualify, you’ll typically need a credit score of at least 650 and a solid business plan. Make sure to prepare detailed documentation, including financial statements and tax returns, to improve your chances of approval. What Is the Downside to an SBA Loan? The downside to an SBA loan includes a lengthy application process, which can take weeks or even months, delaying access to funds. You’ll likewise face extensive paperwork, including a business plan and financial statements, which can be overwhelming without support. Furthermore, you’ll likely need a decent credit score, a down payment, and collateral, straining your cash flow if you’re already on a tight budget. These factors can make SBA loans less ideal for urgent financing needs. What Is the 20% Rule for SBA? The 20% rule for SBA loans requires you to provide a personal guarantee if you own 20% or more of the business. This rule’s in place to guarantee you have a genuine commitment to repaying the loan. If you or a partner meets this threshold, you’ll need to sign, which may impact your personal credit score. Comprehending this requirement is essential, as it affects both your eligibility and the loan terms offered. Can a New LLC Get an SBA Loan? Yes, a new LLC can qualify for an SBA loan if it meets specific criteria. You’ll need to demonstrate that your business aligns with the SBA’s definition of a small business, which includes revenue limits and employee counts. A solid business plan is essential, outlining how you’ll use the funds. Furthermore, having a personal credit score of at least 650 can improve your chances of approval, especially if you provide personal guarantees. Conclusion To conclude, an SBA loan for a semi truck offers significant advantages, including competitive interest rates, flexible fund usage, and extended repayment terms. These features can help you acquire crucial equipment during easing financial burdens. The partial guarantee reduces lender risk, encouraging more accessible financing options. By simplifying the qualification process, SBA loans empower small business owners to invest in their operations and support growth. Overall, these loans present a valuable opportunity for success in the trucking industry. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Benefits of an SBA Loan for a Semi Truck" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

AI is becoming a big part of online commerce. Referral traffic to retailers on Black Friday from AI chatbots and search engines jumped 800% over the same period last year, according to Adobe, meaning a lot more people are now using AI to help them with buying decisions. But where does that leave review sites who, in years past, would have been the guide for many of those purchases? If there’s a category of media that’s most spooked by AI, it’s publishers who specialize in product recommendations, which have traditionally been reliant on search traffic. The nature of the content means it’s often purely informational, with most articles being designed to answer a question: “What’s the best robot vacuum?” “Who has the best deals on sofas?” “How do I set up my soundbar?” AI does an excellent job of answering those questions directly, eliminating the need for readers to click through to a publisher’s site. When you actually want to buy something, though, a simple answer isn’t enough. Completing your purchase usually means going to a retailer (though buying directly from a chat window is now possible—more on that in a minute). But it also means feeling confident about what you’re buying. The big question is: Do review sites still have a part to play in that? The incredible shrinking review site If they do, most media companies seem to acknowledge it’s a significantly smaller one. When Business Insider announced its strategy shift earlier this year amid layoffs, it said it would move away from evergreen content and service journalism. In the past year, Future plc folded Laptop magazine, and Gannett did the same for Reviewed.com. And Ziff-Davis—which operates PCMag, Everyday Health, and several other sites focused on service journalism—sued OpenAI earlier this year for ingesting Ziff content and summarizing it for OpenAI users. The decline of the review site is somewhat incongruous with a statistical reality: 99% of buyers look to online reviews for guidance, and reviews influence over 93% of purchase decisions, according to CapitalOne Shopping Research. That doesn’t mean buyers are always seeking out professionally written articles (there are plenty of user reviews out there), but the point is readers want credible, reliable information to guide their purchases, and well-known review sites (e.g. The Wirecutter) appearing in a summary can be a signal of that. And it does appear that AI summaries will favor journalistic content over anything else. A recent Muck Rack report that looked at over one million AI responses found that the most commonly cited source of information was journalism, at 24.7%. It’s nice to be needed, but does that lead to buyers actually making purchases through the media site—a necessary step for the site to receive an affiliate commission and the primary way these sites make money? Again, the buyer needs to click somewhere to buy their product, and from the AI layer they have three choices: 1) a retailer, 2) a third-party site (which includes review sites), and 3) the chat window itself. Why nuance still matters Obviously, it’s in the interest of review sites to steer people to No. 2 as much as they can. When Google search was the only game in town, that meant ranking high when people search for “The best pool-cleaning robots” (or whatever) and hope you were the site that ended up guiding them to the retailer. With AI, the game is similar, but the numbers are different: Fewer people will come to your site, but data points to them being more intentional and engaged. They’re not opening multiple review sites and selecting their favorite—AI is doing that for them. ChatGPT even has a mode specifically for shopping. To improve the chance of a reader choosing to go to your content over a retailer, what appears in an AI summary needs to convey unique and valuable content that they can’t get from just a summary. That means being thoughtful about “snippets”—the bits of the article that signal to search engines to prioritize. Test data, side-by-side comparisons, and proprietary scoring can all suggest nuance that someone might need to click through to fully appreciate. Taking things a step further, publishers can create structured answer cards meant to be fully captured in AI search, with a simple, concise claim plus a “view full test details” link. Rethinking the business model Regardless, even if a review site does everything right with SEO, schema, snippets and all the other search tricks, a large portion of readers will either go directly to retailers, or buy the item directly from chat now that OpenAI and Perplexity are both offering “Buy Now” widgets. However, whatever recommendations the AI makes still need to be based on something, and review sites are certainly part of that mix. That introduces the possibility of a different business arrangement. The AI companies so far seem totally uninterested in affiliate commissions from their buying widgets, but licensing and partnerships could be an alternative. You could even imagine branded partnerships, where the widget explicitly labels the buying recommendations are powered by specific publications. That would lend them more credibility, leading to more purchases—and bigger deals. With AI-ready corpora like Time’s AI Agent, licensing the content could be a plug-and-play experience, potentially offered across several AI engines. AI changes the rules, but not the mission Gone are the days when a publisher could simply produce evergreen content that ranks in SEO, attach some affiliate links, and watch the money roll in. But the game isn’t over, it’s just changed. Avoiding or blocking AI isn’t the answer, but simply getting noticed and summarized isn’t enough. The sites that survive the transition to an AI-mediated world must become indispensable for the part of the journey AI is least suited to own—providing information that’s comprehensive, vetted, and above all, human. View the full article

For many people, the first time they thought about Kalshi—a prediction market where you can place bets on the outcomes of sports, politics, culture, weather, and much more—was after a video clip of its cofounder, Tarek Mansour, went viral last week. Speaking on stage at the Citadel Securities Future of Global Markets Conference, the moderator Molly O’Shea asked, “Tarek, you’ve mentioned multiple times that you think prediction markets will be bigger than the stock market. What is it going to take to become a $1 trillion asset class?” In response, Mansour said, “You know, ‘Kalshi’ is ‘everything’ in Arabic. The long-term vision is to financialize everything and create a tradeable asset out of any difference in opinion.” The market impact of a “general-purpose exchange” capable of settling differences of opinion, he added, would be “quite massive.” With the launch of Kalshi in 2018, and its main competitor Polymarket in 2020, prediction markets have gone mainstream in a major way. The potential for making profit by owning the market where every opinion and event is financialized also explains why Kalshi has just raised another $1 billion in its third fundraising round this year alone. Investors are hungry for new ways to take advantage of the explosive rise of gambling, technologies that create addictive behavior loops, and economic conditions where people are desperate enough to bet their rent money on if The President will release the Epstein Files. Kalshi sits between Las Vegas and Wall Street. A platform like FanDuel helps you gamble on every aspect of a game, and a platform like Robinhood helps you day-trade with complex options—all while sitting on your couch. Kalshi is designed to take this same logic and apply it to everything imaginable. This is a bizarre vision, one that views all the world as a casino and all its people as players. It treats the proliferation of sports betting as a model for all human interactions. It’s not enough to gamble on the outcome of a game. You should also be placing bets based on every opinion you have. (After all, do you really believe it’s going to be sunny today if you don’t put money on it?) For Kalshi, holding these opinions to yourself deprives the world of another asset that can be exploited for financial gain. A neutral intermediary Here’s how it works. As a prediction market, Kalshi lets you buy “events contracts” based on the outcome of events in the world. You either buy a YES contract or NO contract based on if you think the event will happen. The price of each contract changes based on the dynamic odds at the time. For example, on Kalshi’s trending page at time of writing, I can place a bet on who will be named “Time’s Person of the Year for 2025.” The leading contender is “AI,” with a YES contract priced at $0.42 and a NO contract at $0.59. If the event happens, then I get $1.00 for every YES contract I bought; if the event does not happen, I get $1.00 for every NO contract. The odds change in real-time based on the volume of bets (or predictions) for specific outcomes placed in the event’s market through these contracts. Currently the total volume of trade for this particular event is nearly $6.5 million, which is middling compared to many other trending event markets on Kalshi. Kalshi is a neutral intermediary in the market with no interest in the outcome of any event contracts. You aren’t betting against Kalshi. Instead, the company makes money by charging trade-fees on contracts. So that means if people place more bets and buy more contracts, then Kalshi can capture more value. The platform’s interest is in maximizing the number of event markets (things to bet on) and the volume of trade (people placing bets) on their platform. For market maximalists, platforms like Kalshi should be the main arbiters of truth in society. In Mansour’s vision, prediction markets are an “antidote” to the problems of “living in a world where we have an abundance of information” but no way to filter the noise and discern “what’s real from what’s not.” By aggregating different opinions about the future in one place, and using “skin in the game” as an incentive for accuracy, Mansour expects that a “new consumer habit” will emerge of people “going to these markets to find an unbiased sort of source of truth.” Prediction markets like Kalshi won’t be a source of “the ultimate truth,” Mansour says, but he does “ think they’re as close as it gets.” Such grand statements are unsurprisingly absurd coming from a tech startup founder. The problem is that other people take them seriously. (Kalshi declined to comment.) Right after ESPN announced plans to integrate DraftKings into all its platforms, CNN signed a deal with Kalshi to bring “real-time probability data into the network’s TV broadcasts and digital platforms starting next year.” If you thought gambling was ruining the integrity and community of sports, just wait until CNN gives you live odds on the veracity of what its anchor is reporting. The truth of markets A century of economic theory tells us that efficient markets use price signals to reflect all relevant knowledge in society. According to this model, the market is the most powerful information processor ever created. It aggregates the hidden facts and feelings that reside inside people’s minds and distills that knowledge into actionable insights like prices in a supermarket or betting odds on the future. In addition to the invisible hand, the market is also theorized to be a collective brain. The libertarian architects and defenders of prediction markets point to these economic models when justifying the existence of a betting parlor they claim is actually a consensus machine that produces accurate predictions and unbiased truth. However, a century of capitalism reality tells us actual markets are structured by irrational behaviors, information asymmetries, and power hierarchies. It’s impossible to act like a rational agent if you are really just another imperfect person swayed by biases, heuristics, and groupthink. It’s impossible to engage in due diligence as a good consumer if other buyers and sellers are incentivized to lie, cheat, and conceal information if it benefits them. It’s impossible to maintain fair standing in the marketplace of ideas where people vote with their dollars and the more dollars you have, the louder your voice and more powerful your values. Rather than an efficient market guided by a collective brain toward the truth, we have an imperfect system of people trying to do the best they can while not getting screwed. Prediction markets don’t magically escape all the social problems and perverse incentives that plague other real markets just because people are betting on the future instead of buying widgets in a store. A world of total financialization, where every opinion is a tradeable asset, where the market is the ultimate arbiter of what’s valuable and true, is also a world that creates endless incentives for arbitrage, manipulation, collusion, and exploitation in the pursuit of profit extraction. Financialization is a predatory logic. It is not just one more way of organizing the world among many others. The goal is to eliminate other competing worldviews and reengineer society into a casino where the hedge funds always win. The only human values that matter are the ones that can be turned into tradeable assets and sold to the highest bidder. View the full article

As Australia began enforcing a world-first social media ban for children under 16 years old this week, Denmark is planning to follow its lead and severely restrict social media access for young people. The Danish government announced last month that it had secured an agreement by three governing coalition and two opposition parties in parliament to ban access to social media for anyone under the age of 15. Such a measure would be the most sweeping step yet by a European Union nation to limit use of social media among teens and children. The Danish government’s plans could become law as soon as mid-2026. The proposed measure would give some parents the right to let their children access social media from age 13, local media reported, but the ministry has not yet fully shared the plans. Many social media platforms already ban children younger than 13 from signing up, and a EU law requires Big Tech to put measures in place to protect young people from online risks and inappropriate content. But officials and experts say such restrictions don’t always work. Danish authorities have said that despite the restrictions, around 98% of Danish children under age 13 have profiles on at least one social media platform, and almost half of those under 10 years old do. The minister for digital affairs, Caroline Stage, who announced the proposed ban last month, said there is still a consultation process for the measure and several readings in parliament before it becomes law, perhaps by “mid to end of next year.” “In far too many years, we have given the social media platforms free play in the playing rooms of our children. There’s been no limits,” Stage said in an interview with The Associated Press last month. “When we go into the city at night, there are bouncers who are checking the age of young people to make sure that no one underage gets into a party that they’re not supposed to be in,” she added. “In the digital world, we don’t have any bouncers, and we definitely need that.” Mixed reactions Under the new Australian law, Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X and YouTube face fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) if they fail to take reasonable steps to remove accounts of Australian children younger than 16. Some students say they are worried that similar strict laws in Denmark would mean they will lose touch with their virtual communities. “I myself have some friends that I only know from online, and if I wasn’t fifteen yet, I wouldn’t be able to talk with those friends,” 15-year-old student Ronja Zander, who uses Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, told the AP. Copenhagen high school student Chloé Courage Fjelstrup-Matthisen, 14, said she is aware of the negative impact social media can have, from cyberbullying to seeing graphic content. She said she saw video of a man being shot several months ago. “The video was on social media everywhere and I just went to school and then I saw it,” she said. Line Pedersen, a mother from Nykøbing in Denmark, said she believed the plans were a good idea. “I think that we didn’t really realize what we were doing when we gave our children the telephone and social media from when they were eight, 10 years old,” she said. “I don’t quite think that the young people know what’s normal, what’s not normal.” Age certificate likely part of the plan Danish officials are yet to share how exactly the proposed ban would be enforced and which social media platforms would be affected. However, a new “digital evidence” app, announced by the Digital Affairs Ministry last month and expected to launch next spring, will likely form the backbone of the Danish plans. The app will display an age certificate to ensure users comply with social media age limits, the ministry said. “One thing is what they’re saying and another thing is what they’re doing or not doing,” Stage said, referring to social media platforms. “And that’s why we have to do something politically.” Some experts say restrictions, such as the ban planned by Denmark, don’t always work and they may also infringe on the rights of children and teenagers. “To me, the greatest challenge is actually the democratic rights of these children. I think it’s sad that it’s not taken more into consideration,” said Anne Mette Thorhauge, an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen. “Social media, to many children, is what broadcast media was to my generation,” she added. “It was a way of connecting to society.” Currently, the EU’s Digital Services Act, which took effect two years ago, requires social media platforms to ensure there are measures including parental controls and age verification tools before young users can access the apps. EU officials have acknowledged that enforcing the regulations aiming at protecting children online has proven challenging because it requires cooperation between member states and many resources. Denmark is among several countries that have indicated they plan to follow in Australia’s steps. The Southeast Asian country of Malaysia is expected to ban social media account s for people under the age of 16 starting at the beginning of next year, and Norway is also taking steps to restrict social media access for children and teens. China — which manufacturers many of the world’s digital devices — has set limits on online gaming time and smartphone time for kids. —James Brooks, Associated Press View the full article