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Every hour, the McDonald’s in Hong Kong’s crowded Admiralty Station sees more than 1,200 people bustle through its golden arches to grab a coffee or a burger. That’s one customer every three seconds. It’s the second-busiest McDonald’s in the world and the most-frequented restaurant in Asia—and now, it’s getting a makeover. To celebrate 50 years of McDonald’s in Hong Kong, the Admiralty Station has been renovated for the first time in 10 years. The design takes inspiration from the subway station itself, using a clever new installation to set a mood, evoke the excitement of travel, and, crucially, keep foot traffic moving through the bustling restaurant. It also takes a tentative step away from the millennial gray branding that’s dominated new McDonald’s locations over the past several years, embracing a slightly more nostalgia-powered look. The Millennial gray-ification of McDonald’sThe new Admiralty Station McDonald’s design was led by the Sydney-based design agency Landini Associates. Back in 2015, Landini Associates also spearheaded “Project Ray,” an all-encompassing McDonald’s rebrand named for Ray Kroc, the businessman widely credited with turning McDonald’s from a small hamburger stand into a fast-food corporation. Project Ray included rethinking the chain’s interiors, modernizing its graphic design, and even changing employees’ uniforms, all in a bid to “make McDonald’s cool again” and re-attract millennials to the brand. The first Project Ray redesign originally debuted at Admiralty Station, introducing a sleeker, more minimalist McDonald’s model accented with concrete, glass, and stainless steel—quite the contrast to the bright red-and-yellow stores customers might remember from the ’80s and ’90s. Landini Associates’ idea of a modern McDonald’s quickly caught on at other locations in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Beijing, and more. “The energetic environments that have been the signature for McDonald’s are now replaced with a simpler, calmer, and more classic feel,” Mark Landini, creative director of Landini Associates, told Architectural Products of Project Ray in 2023. Ten years on, Project Ray is still expanding to new McDonald’s restaurants. Still, the concept’s millennial gray-ification of McDonald’s has perhaps become a bit of a relic of the mid-2010s, when many fast-food restaurants began stepping back from expressive design for a more standardized fast-casual look. In contrast, over the past several months, McDonald’s has been more broadly embracing its fans’ nostalgia for its ’80s and ’90s marketing, bringing back brand characters like Grimace, CosMc, and Uncle O’Grimacey. Landini Associates’ updated Admiralty Station, which it’s calling a “Ray-Naissance,” seems to lean into this new tack by incorporating a bit more color, energy, and a few classic callbacks into its design. McDonald’s of the futureWhen visitors enter the new Admiralty Station McDonald’s, they’ll first be greeted with a gigantic, modernized version of the original golden arches, complete with a few subtle nods to the iconic branding of the very first McDonald’s restaurants. “As customers rise from the station below, they’re welcomed by a reflective double-canopy entrance—a contemporary homage to McDonald’s original roofline and a nod to Ray Kroc’s classic design,” a press release on the redesign reads. “Now framed by glowing feature walls in McDonald’s signature yellow, aimed at creating an unmissable beacon—just like the earliest restaurants once were.” Past this bright yellow entryway is the new restaurant’s defining feature: a 70-foot-long curving digital screen called the “Mood Engine.” Shape-wise, it’s a bit reminiscent of the subway trains themselves, and its moving images also build on the idea that it’s a fantastical continuation of the station’s transit. According to the press release, it “pulses with curated animations, dynamic color transitions, and playful bursts of McDonaldland characters,” bringing in a bit of the classic McDonald’s character that might’ve been missing in the previous design. To be clear, the new Admiralty Station McDonald’s is a far cry from the fast-food restaurants of the ’80s, when McDonaldland characters abounded. The concept is clearly intended for customers of the future, including a fast-service lobby filled with digital kiosks that can serve those 1,200 customers per hour; a first-of-its-kind McCafé Bar space made entirely from recycled plastic; tabletops made with 100% recycled laminate pulp and coffee grounds; and a fully LED lighting system intended for energy efficiency (that includes the Mood Engine wall.) Still, the design provides a sneak peek into what McDonald’s might look like several years from now: slightly brighter, more personalized, and tied to the company’s roots. “Our original design for Ray has proven its intent, to be a classically neutral and long-lasting space,” Landini said in the press release. “This ‘Ray-Naissance’ can now shift from calm to energetic, playfully branded to locally nuanced. . . . Like a chameleon, it responds to its environment.” View the full article

Efficiency standards for home appliances were once the conversational equivalent of beige—neutral, but aggressively uninteresting. But as political polarization has deepened, dishwashers, laundry machines, showerheads, and other household staples have begun to take on a new charge. With Republicans now in control of the White House and both houses of Congress, rules that quietly save Americans money on utility bills while conserving energy and water are suddenly at risk. Earlier this month, President Donald The President doubled down on his long-standing complaint about low-flow showerheads taking too long to clean his “beautiful hair.” He ordered his administration to repeal a rule, revived by the Biden administration, that aimed to save water by restricting flow from the fixtures. A White House fact sheet promised the order would undo “the left’s war on water pressure” and “make America’s showers great again.” It’s part of a growing movement targeting efficiency standards—last year, House Republicans passed bills including the “Refrigerator Freedom Act” and “Liberty in Laundry Act,” though neither succeeded in the Democratic-led Senate. Now in charge of both houses of Congress, Republicans have already passed a resolution to repeal a recent energy-efficiency standard for gas-powered tankless water heaters, which awaits The President’s signature. Efficiency standards used to have bipartisan support. But today, many Republican politicians see restrictions on gas stoves, refrigerators, and laundry machines as symbols of Democratic interference with people’s self-determination. That’s the idea The President advanced when he signed an executive order targeting efficiency standards for home goods and appliances “to safeguard the American people’s freedom to choose.” The message echoes talking points from industry groups that have an interest in keeping homes hooked up to natural gas for stoves and water heaters. “This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen efficiency standards thrust into the culture wars,” said Andrew deLaski, the executive director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, which advocates for stricter energy-efficiency legislation. “But President The President has put that into overdrive.” The push for more efficient appliances began in response to the fuel shortages sparked by the 1973 oil crisis. Republican President Gerald Ford signed the bipartisan Energy Policy and Conservation Act in 1975, laying the groundwork for the government to set standards on household appliances. But state laws for more efficient appliances came first, forcing manufacturers to navigate a patchwork of rules. So Congress set nationwide efficiency standards for water heaters, air conditioners, dishwashers, and many other household appliances with the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act in 1987, signed by another Republican president—Ronald Reagan. Congress continued to expand those standards with bipartisan support in 1992, 2005, and 2007. In total, the Department of Energy now oversees standards for about 60 categories of appliances and other equipment in homes and businesses, spanning toilets to commercial refrigerators. In January, the pre-The President Department of Energy estimated that these rules, taken together, saved the average U.S. household about $576 a year on their bills. They also cut national energy use by 6.5% and water consumption by 12%, making them a key tool for addressing climate change and drought. Voters are broadly supportive of energy-saving policies, with 87% of Americans polled by Consumer Reports in March agreeing that new home appliances should be required to meet a minimum level of efficiency—including 82% of Republicans. “People aren’t clamoring for products that needlessly waste energy and money,” deLaski said. Despite broad popularity, there have been flare-ups of pushback and public outrage against efficient appliances dating back to the 1980s. Reagan actually vetoed the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act, saying it restricted “the freedom of choice available to consumers who would be denied the opportunity to purchase low-cost appliances,” the year before he signed it. In a 1996 episode of Seinfeld, Jerry, Kramer, and Newman were so fed up with the new low-flow showerheads in their building, they resorted to buying black-market Yugoslavian models from the back of a truck. Another culture war brewed over energy-efficient LED light bulbs in the 2010s as older, incandescent models began to be phased out, with Tea Party Republicans declaring that light bulb choice was a matter of personal liberty. Matthew Burgess, an environmental economist at the University of Wyoming, said that efficiency rules are most likely to become a cultural flashpoint when people see them directly affecting their lives. “People do notice the flow of their showerheads,” he said. “People do notice whether their stove is gas or electric.” Some of the political tension over appliances resulted from ambitious changes, he said, such as when Berkeley, California, tried to ban gas connections in new buildings in 2019. “I think that there’s an impression on parts of the right, that’s not totally wrong, that elements in the climate community, and on the left, and in certain segments of the Democratic Party want to tell them what to do and what not to do in their households,” Burgess said. Yet the fossil fuel industry has also influenced the conversation: There’s been a coordinated campaign to highlight the narrative of “consumer choice” for gas appliances in particular, according to Emilia Piziak, a senior analyst at InfluenceMap, a climate think tank. Last year, for instance, the American Gas Association filed a court brief challenging Biden-era Department of Energy efficiency rules on furnaces and water heaters, arguing that Congress “wanted consumers to have the freedom to choose the energy type they prefer.” “These industry groups and gas utilities, they are working together,” Piziak said. “They’re very effective at showing up and driving that messaging home.” The “freedom to choose” narrative has also been echoed by The President officials. One of the top priorities of The President’s energy secretary, Chris Wright, is to “promote affordability and consumer choice in home appliances.” The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers told Grist that while it supports the efficiency standards process, it wants changes. “The rulemaking process and analysis should focus more on consumer impact, specifically regarding affordability and product choice,” the association said in a statement. “Any standard that is developed should have real, measurable benefits for the consumer.” Though high-efficiency appliances tend to be more expensive upfront, they can save households thousands of dollars on bills over the long term. And deLaski argued that efficiency standards also deliver other benefits to consumers. “Today’s high-efficiency products, whether we’re talking about light bulbs or clothes washers or showerheads, perform as well and in many cases better than the inefficient products that they’ve replaced,” he said. While the Energy Policy and Conservation Act prevents the government from weakening efficiency standards for appliances that have already been set, deLaski said he’s concerned that the The President administration is looking for a way around that. “I think all the standards are at risk of being undercut, circumvented, not enforced,” he said. Recently, Republicans have been targeting the efficiency rules set in place at the end of the Biden administration. Because of the Congressional Review Act, Congress can review and repeal a regulation issued in the last 60 legislative days—a period that extends back into last summer—with a simple majority vote. So far, Republicans have not only voted to repeal efficiency standards for gas water heaters under this rule, but also commercial refrigeration equipment and walk-in coolers for restaurants, convenience stores, and grocery stores. The efficiency rules passed under the Biden administration alone would save households $107 each year over the next two decades, according to an estimate from the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, and collectively save business owners $2 billion each year. These recent moves by Republicans show that what started as a battle over “consumer choice” has expanded into a larger attack on efficiency as an objective. “I don’t think walk-in coolers are in the culture war,” deLaski said. “The attempt to push to eliminate these commonsense standards is really broad, not just about showerheads or refrigerators or dishwashers.” This article originally appeared in Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Sign up for its newsletter here. View the full article

To most visitors, Hoboken’s ResilienCity Park might look like a normal (if rather upscale) park, complete with a large lawn for lounging, a playground, a basketball court, and an athletic field. But hidden in plain sight, the park has another purpose: keeping two million gallons of rainwater off of Hoboken’s streets by storing them in a giant underground tank. The park—and others like it—is one of the main ways that Hoboken has transformed from a city devastated by Hurricane Sandy to one that, today, tends to recover from major rain within a matter of hours. Now, experts think New York City could use parks to follow Hoboken’s lead as extreme weather continues to worsen the city’s flood risk. According to a study published today by Rebuild by Design, an organization dedicated to using design solutions to solve complex urban problems, 70% of NYC parks will be flooded by 2100. The report comes on top of another recent study from the Regional Plan Association (RPA), which found that, by 2070, as many as 82,000 housing units in and around NYC could be lost due to flooding by 2040, and the number could double to 160,000 by 2070. Amy Chester, director of Rebuild by Design, believes that Hoboken’s example could help NYC protect both its parks and its housing by turning green spaces into a form of storm management. How Hoboken’s parks keep its streets dry In 2012, Hurricane Sandy flooded 80% of Hoboken, took out its power grid for two weeks, and cost the city $110 million in damages. In a recent talk shared to Rebuild by Design’s YouTube, Caleb Stratton, the city’s chief resilience officer, said that it was “a wake-up call for the city of Hoboken.” The following year, Rebuild by Design was started as a design competition to promote resilience in regions that had been affected by Sandy. At the time, Chester says, cities were blindsided by both Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy: “We didn’t really understand resilient infrastructure as we do now,” she says. That was especially true for Hoboken—which, despite its coastal location and long history of flooding, had almost no flooding mitigation infrastructure in place, Chester says. Hoboken’s proposed rain resilience project was one of Rebuild by Design’s six winning submissions, and over the last decade or so, the city has used more than $660 million from various sources including the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the state of New Jersey, and FEMA to implement new flooding protection measures. Hoboken’s flooding resilience project includes several different levers. To keep floodwaters out, it’s building a 9,000-foot-long series of preventative seawalls, gates, and levies. It’s also updating its sewer system with more flood pumps to move water out of storage quicker during heavy rain. And, it’s keeping streets dry by increasing above and below ground water storage. That’s where resiliency parks come in. So far, Hoboken has completed construction of three resiliency parks and a series of waterfront parks, with several more parks currently under construction. Each of these parks uses green infrastructure on its surfaces—like pervious pavers and rain gardens—which funnel water underground into holding tanks, keeping it out of the crowded sewer system and preventing overflows. The ResilinCity Park, the largest of the existing parks, can hold two million gallons of water, enough to collect runoff from 20 surrounding blocks during a notable rain event (typically defined as more than a half inch of water falling in a 24-hour period), Chester says. A large chunk of that water is kept in the park’s underground tank, while some is held in other clever ways—like a sunken basketball court with a capacity to hold more than 100,000 gallons. In all, the existing parks can hold a total of 4.2 million gallons of water. “It’s different from green infrastructure, because green infrastructure is on top of the park, and that stops the park from flooding. This is pumps and storage that stops the entire neighborhood from flooding,” Chester says. “We’re really interested in doing this all over New York City and in any urban areas where there are neighborhood parks, because if you’re a couple blocks away from a park, that park could be the storage option for your community and keep the floodwaters out of your basements and out of your streets.” Rebuild by Design’s data shows that, in 2022 and 2023, Hoboken’s new rain resilient infrastructure led to an 88% reduction in flooding events. In practice, that meant that across 121 storms, noticeable flooding only occurred 14 times. In September 2023, when Hurricane Ophelia led to thigh-deep water in Brooklyn and flooded subway cars in NYC, Hoboken was noticeably dry. Projects like these—which plan not just for seawater flooding, but also for excessive rainfall—are increasingly important as climate change ushers in rising sea levels, and as record-warm ocean temperatures lead to more intense annual storm seasons. According to the RAP’s recent analysis, NYC’s existing infrastructure is not prepared to account for the coming decades of flooding damage, which is expected to impact as many as 1.6 million New Yorkers by 2040. Chester thinks resiliency parks could be the first step toward preparing the city for what’s ahead. Why NYC’s parks could help keep residents safe from flooding Rebuild by Design’s new NYC park analysis maps all of the city’s 2,385 parks based on their current and future flood risk. Users can search the interactive map to view the parks in their own neighborhood, or filter for today’s flood risk and flood risk by 2100. The map is also color-coded based on FEMA’s social vulnerability index (or the susceptibility of social groups to the adverse impacts of natural hazards) and the heat vulnerability index, as parks provide the added benefit of reducing urban heat. The tool shows that 38% of parks are currently in flood zones—a number that’s expected to surge to 70% by 2100. While these statistics may seem alarming, Chester sees them as an opportunity. “We’ve mapped all of the floodplain in New York City and parks to see where [resiliency parks] could potentially be a solution,” Chester says. “We were able to show that 38% or 900 parks in New York City are currently on top of a flood plain. Interesting. Then if you look to the 2100 flood plain, it’s 70% of parks. That’s when we were like, ‘Oh my goodness. This could be really incredible to be thinking about this on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis.’” Of all of NYC’s parks, Chester’s team has identified 177 sites that would benefit the most from a resilient makeover, based on both their flood risk and heat vulnerability. To make this happen, Chester says, the parks would have to be fully rebuilt to construct underground tanks that would pump water off of nearby streets, like the ResilienCity example—which “is why we need to start now,” she adds. “If every time the parks department upgraded a park, they rebuilt it this way, we could have a major headstart in addressing flooding across NYC neighborhoods,” Chester wrote in a follow-up email to Fast Company. “All of Hoboken’s flood infrastructure was built in the past decade (after Sandy.)” These parks are, admittedly, a major investment. ResilienCity, for example, cost $80 million, while the smaller Southwest Resiliency Park (which can hold about 200,000 gallons of water in its cistern) cost $12 million. However, Chester explains, pitching resiliency parks as flood protection can help to draw in new streams of federal and state funding. “Parks manage 14% of the City’s land, but only about 0.6% of the City budget over the past 40 years, far below the national standard of 1–2% allocation of a municipality’s budget,” the Rebuild by Design interactive map page reads. “Parks offer immense potential to draw down federal and state funds, including programs from FEMA, HUD, and state funding. If the City were to recognize parks as vital infrastructure—as it does highways—and properly invest in upgrading and maintaining its parks, these public spaces could protect and save lives and save billions of dollars.” For now, Rebuild by Design’s NYC proposal is just that. But Chester believes that, if Hoboken could implement successful resilient infrastructure in just a decade, there’s no reason that other cities can’t do it themselves. “We’ve been working on this for a little while now, but like, it’s such an incredible model for urban areas nationally, because a majority of urban areas have neighborhood parks, and they’re these smaller areas that can be doing a lot more things,” Chester says. “None of these parks existed in Hoboken before, and Hoboken is not a city with a lot of money.” View the full article

Google's updated guidance clarifies that Google-Extended does not affect search inclusion, nor is it a ranking signal The post Google Updates Gemini/Vertex AI User Agent Documentation appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Once upon a time, back in 1995, BYD was a little-known battery maker. Today, it is the world’s largest electric vehicle producer after surpassing Tesla in global sales in 2024. This rise reflects a relentless focus on automation and vertical integration. It controls every part of its supply chain. It makes its own batteries, with features unmatched in the industry, even mining raw materials like lithium. Its factories are robotic wonders that run about 97% on their own, building a never-ending stream of cars better than Western equivalents at lower price points. And it also transports its own cars across the world with its own fleet of ships specially designed to carry automobiles. The latest is also the biggest ship of its kind on the planet: The BYD Shenzhen, which just sailed to Brazil on its first assignment. This colossal ship was designed to carry just wheeled cargo, what is technically called a roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) vessel. Unlike typical container ships, where vehicles are packed into boxes and containers, Ro-Ro ships allow cars to be driven directly onto decks via ramps, making loading and unloading faster. They are way more efficient to operate than regular transport ships because each minute shaved from loading and unloading translates into big financial savings for the company. As BYD’s general manager, Wang Junbao, pointed out at the Shenzhen’s delivery ceremony, “Its efficient loading system and advanced protective technologies for stable and low-carbon logistics will be pivotal to [the company’s] globalization strategy.” What’s so special about BYD’s ship? At 721-feet long—nearly twice the length of a soccer field—the Shenzhen is the largest car carrier by capacity, holding 9,200 vehicles across 16 decks. According to the company, the ship’s design prioritizes efficiency and sustainability. It uses liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel engines, which burn LNG, a cleaner alternative to traditional marine diesel. LNG cuts sulfur oxide emissions by 99% and nitrogen oxides by 85%, aligning with stricter environmental regulations in markets like Europe. The Shenzhen also features anti-fouling paint, a coating that reduces drag by preventing marine organisms from sticking to the hull, improving fuel efficiency by up to 8%. It also employs shaft generators, devices that convert excess engine power into electricity, reducing reliance on polluting diesel generators. While BYD hasn’t fully detailed its proprietary box-type battery packs onboard, their inclusion hints at efforts to electrify auxiliary systems, further lowering emissions. Hefei Why BYD built this giant BYD’s decision to invest in ships stems from its explosive growth. The company sold about 455,000 vehicles in 2019, surging to approximately 740,000 units in 2021 and more than doubling in 2022 to 1.9 million. This growth strained existing logistics networks. Knowing where it’s heading, BYD announced it would invest $687 million to build its own seven-ship Ro-Ro fleet. Third-party shipping costs were skyrocketing, with daily charter rates hitting $150,000 per vessel in 2024. For context, leasing a single ship for a month could cost $4.5 million. The company estimates that per-vehicle shipping expenses drop 30% to 40% with its own fleet, saving up to $1.4 billion annually. “BYD plans to deploy seven car carriers over the next two years to address the shortage of shipping capacity for automobile exports,” Wang Chuanfu, the company’s founder and chairman, said last year. It has three more to go, including Shenzhen‘s twin, the BYD Changsha, which will be launched soon. No doubt the company will need it. Overseas shipments surged 124% year over year to 133,361 vehicles in Q1 2025, and the company is set to export 800,000 vehicles across the world this year. Such exponential growth—which analysts believe will continue in the double digits for years to come—is why the company plans to make even more vessels. By 2026, BYD’s seven-ship fleet aims to move more than one million vehicles yearly (or 83,300 per month, equivalent to nine Shenzhen trips). That’s one car shipped every 30 seconds, if you want an even more impressive figure. BYD is not the only company that does this, even while it has the biggest ship for now. Its strategy mirrors a broader shift among Chinese automakers. SAIC Motor, China’s second-largest automaker, operates 31 ships through its logistics arm, Anji Logistics, including the 7,600-vehicle SAIC Anji Sincerity. Unlike BYD, SAIC transports cars for multiple brands, including its rivals. But BYD’s fleet will be reserved mainly for its own vehicles, out of pure necessity. Globally, Hyundai Glovis—Hyundai’s logistics subsidiary—manages 60 ships and has just ordered a dozen 10,800-vehicle LNG-powered carriers. While larger, Glovis serves third parties like Toyota and Volkswagen. Legacy automakers rely on partnerships with shipping firms, a model BYD avoids, seeking instead to control every aspect of the production chain (the technology, the level of automation, the quality, and the price) to crush the competition. It’s hard to imagine the beleaguered Tesla or any other Western manufacturer matching this kind of vertical integration. The massive BYD Shenzhen is yet another reminder that the race for EV supremacy may already have a winner. View the full article

If you’re not on TikTok, you may not have heard of Aaron Parnas. But for many young people across the U.S., he’s a prominent political news source, with over 3.5 million followers on TikTok and just under one million on Instagram. Parnas isn’t the only TikToker Gen Z and Gen Alpha turn to for news. Between 2020 and 2024, the share of adults regularly getting news from TikTok nearly quintupled—with adults under 30 leading the surge. Who is Aaron Parnas? After starting college at 14, Aaron Parnas completed his degree at 18 and graduated from George Washington University Law School at 21 in 2020. That same year, Parnas transitioned from Republican to Democrat. He is the son of Lev Parnas and detailed both his family’s political experiences and his personal journey in the memoir The President First. Outside of TikTok, Parnas has worked as a securities litigation attorney and a Democratic digital strategist. He first gained traction online by posting legal content during the pandemic. In 2022, he pivoted to covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine, sharing pro-Ukrainian stories from his relatives living there. His account quickly blew up, gaining 1.2 million followers in just a few weeks. TikTok as a News Platform TikTok is increasingly becoming a news platform, where users watch influencers summarize news stories and topics—“giving you the TL;DR in a way,” Parnas said. Parnas and others are often able to post as soon as news breaks. “I’ll post 20 times a day if I have to,” he told the Daily Voice. For example, Parnas was among the first to report on President Zelenskyy’s March 5, 2022, call with U.S. lawmakers, during which Zelenskyy requested more resources and suggested it could be the last time they saw him alive. Gen Z and Gen Alpha’s Shift in Media Habits According to the Pew Research Center, 39% of adults under 30 regularly get news from TikTok. However, less than 1% of the accounts users follow are journalists or traditional news outlets. Instead, young people are turning to social media influencers like Parnas. “A lot of [his followers] say they don’t go to CNN, FOX or MSNBC,” he said. Parnas believes Gen Z and Gen Alpha are “disenchanted” with legacy news media. He argues that traditional journalism’s dedication to neutrality can be a turnoff, and that younger audiences are more open to editorializing and personal opinions from news sources. TikTok also makes space for diverse perspectives to be heard—such as those of Parnas’s Ukrainian relatives. Challenges of TikTok News Consumption Parnas credits his ability to post quickly to the fact that he operates solo and doesn’t need to go through multiple layers of approval. Still, his “goal is to spread accurate information.” “I would never consider myself an investigative journalist by any means,” Parnas said in an interview. Instead, he views himself as a news aggregator who shares information from verified sources with his followers. He acknowledges that legacy media remains important due to its superior sourcing and fact-checking. However, not all TikTok influencers prioritize accuracy. The platform lacks a system to prevent the spread of misinformation—whether it’s unverified claims, personal (and possibly uninformed) opinions, biased interpretations, or outright fabrications. Parnas describes the relationship between traditional journalists and TikTok creators as a “double-edged sword.” While creators help traditional reporting reach younger audiences by repackaging it for social platforms, the original journalists often don’t get the credit they deserve. As a result, many young users may struggle to recognize what trustworthy journalism actually looks like. View the full article

At around 8:40 a.m. on January 1, a disgruntled U.S. soldier blew up a rented Cybertruck in front of The President International Hotel in Las Vegas. Seven bystanders were injured in the blast, though nobody was killed except the driver, who died by self-inflicted gunshot wound. The charred rubble and twisted metal left behind invoked both the car’s creator, Tesla tycoon Elon Musk, and the hotel’s owner, returning president-elect Donald The President. It also telegraphed untold carnage on the horizon from the prospect of this dystopic duo running the government together. The year had just begun and 2025 already delivered its most prescient visual metaphor. Plenty of other striking images have since emerged during the first 100 days of The President’s second term, though, that perfectly capture how this sequel presidency has played out so far. Elon Musk elongates his armAlthough the sheer abundance of tech billionaires at The President’s inauguration raised some eyebrows, only one of those billionaires’ actions that day dropped jaws. During a speech about his then-gestating Department of Government Efficiency, Musk put his hand over his chest, said “My heart goes out to you,” and then, well, let’s just say he made a memorable gesture. Twice. What kind of gesture? Media outlets have dog-eared their thesauruses searching for a euphemism that won’t leave any legal exposure or get anyone fired. It was either a “stiff-arm,” “odd-looking,” or “Roman” salute, but it bore more than a passing resemblance to Sieg Heiling. Only Musk knows for sure whether he made the alarming gesture by mistake, on purpose in brazen earnestness, or on purpose but just to troll the left. Either way, he never apologized. Instead, he complained on X that all criticism of his gesture amounted to “dirty tricks.” No word yet on whether dirty tricks are why several people who mimicked Musk’s salute lost their jobs. Volodymyr Zelenskyy walks into a buzzsawThe President seems to delight in humiliating people he perceives as disloyal. Think of Mitt Romney looking medical-grade embarrassed to be photographed at dinner with The President after criticizing him throughout the 2016 election, or Robert Kennedy Jr. being force-fed a Big Mac last fall after badmouthing The President’s diet. Those incidents seem like a mere warmup, though, for the humiliation ritual The President put Volodymyr Zelenskyy through back in February. The Ukrainian president entered the Oval Office presumably expecting to reach an agreement about trading his country’s rare minerals in exchange for continued support from the U.S. Instead, Zelenskyy found himself ambushed. The President and VP JD Vance took turns berating him on live TV for not being sufficiently grateful for U.S. support throughout the Russian invasion. (Days earlier, The President falsely blamed Ukraine for starting the war.) Zelenskyy’s face during the disastrous meeting served as an apt avatar for leaders of other U.S. allies around the world, realizing in real time that a major geopolitical realignment may be currently underway. The President take eggJoe Biden’s entire presidency was haunted by the specter of grocery store sticker shock. Whether he could have actually done more to assuage it or not, pandemic-driven inflation and supply chain issues kept driving up prices. Consumers were furious. Many were also desperate for relief, which The President promised to deliver on day one of his second term. Instead, egg prices shot up further after The President took office, for a variety of reasons. (DOGE’s firing of the team assigned to study rampaging bird flu almost certainly didn’t help.) Grocery store signage about egg rationing quickly showed up all over social media, forcing even Fox News to acknowledge it. The egg crisis has since receded, but not entirely, and not before birthing a massive meme. Gretchen Whitmer can’t hideGretchen Whitmer temporarily shielded herself from the cameras when she was in The President’s Oval Office, per this photo from NYT’s @erjleehttps://t.co/TFDPPnci7Q pic.twitter.com/hnLnvuQvlX — bryan metzger (@metzgov) April 12, 2025After an election cycle spent warning Americans about the dire consequences of a second The President term, Democrats in power have had difficulty finding their footing with it underway. Opposition took the form of holding up tiny signs of resistance during a The President speech to congress, which GOP colleagues promptly snatched away. Although some Dems like Bernie Sanders, AOC, Cory Booker, and Chris Van Hollen have found meaningful forms of fighting back, the party’s initial awkwardness out of the gate is crystallized in an April photo of Gretchen Whitmer. When the Michigan governor went to speak with The President in the days after his “Liberation Day” tariff blitz, she had not been informed The President planned on making a photo op out of her visit. To avoid looking like she’d come crawling to The President’s bargaining table, Whitmer shielded her face with folders—which only made the resulting photo exponentially more embarrassing. It’s the image of a person who has been thoroughly outmaneuvered by someone who better understands the contours of visual manipulation. Heavy images tweeted lightlyThe White House’s X account has undergone a radical vibe shift under The President. Instead of serving up official dispatches from the government, most of its posts read like far-right shitposts from 4chan. Though many worthy contenders come to mind, the most egregious example is probably the photo of a woman crying while under arrest by ICE, which the White House social media manager then ran through an AI Studio Ghibli filter, rendering it paradoxically adorable. Regardless of her alleged past convictions, making fun of her pain on an official government channel is shameful behavior. It’s an image that announces to the rest of the world: America runs on casual cruelty. The Epstein files stunt was very [redacted]Although the White House has touted this administration as “the most transparent” in American history, that title hasn’t always proved out. When congressional Democrats tried to enter federal government offices in the midst of DOGE shredding their staff, for instance, they found police officers standing in their way. You know, somewhat non-transparently? The moment that best visually captured the opacity of history’s most transparent administration, though, was the release of the so-called Epstein files. In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi invited 15 far-right influencers to the White House to receive binders supposedly filled with declassified information about deceased human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein—and his suspected ties to powerful people. The binders contained scant new information; nothing approaching the realm of revelatory. If anything, the photo stunt invited further questions about just what might be missing from those binders and why. Not exactly an ideal outcome for an event (and an administration) so vocally proud of its historic transparency. These babies are priced to moveConsidering Tesla stock is down 71% year-over-year this quarter, it seems as if quite a few people are not very happy with Musk’s gleeful chainsawing of the federal government. In an effort to help his embattled colleague stem the tide, The President put on a White House-set version of a seasonal car sale—Teslathon on the White House lawn. The President gushed to the assembled press about how sleek and cool he found the phalanx of Teslas on the South Lawn. (“Everything’s computer!” he crowed at one point.) The spectacle ultimately didn’t help Musk’s fading fortunes one iota, but it did bring to life an image long lurking in certain corners of the public imagination: The President as an overzealous used car salesman. A crimson tide washes over the stock mapFinvizInternet ArchiveThe President’s red-light-green-light approach to imposing tariffs on more or less every country—not all of which are even populated—has created a lot of compelling images. Most of them, however, are stock brokers with their faces in their hands on some of the recent days when the Dow dropped by 1,000 points or more. The most lasting image from the post-Liberation Day stock free fall, though, is probably a stock market heatmap turning nearly all red—almost as if America’s economic security had bled out. Just say NoemSecretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is apparently a fan of cosplay. She’s donned tactical gear several times to tag along on ICE raids, seemingly with the sole purpose of making content. On one of these raids, she even brought along Chaya Raichik, the far-right influencer better known as LibsofTikTok. Noem’s largest contribution to the visual vocabulary of The President’s second term, though, was her late-March stunt at El Salvador’s Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) prison, where Noem filmed herself standing in front of a crowded cell full of mostly shirtless inmates, and threatened all “criminal illegal aliens” in the U.S. that they could soon be there, too. Using these men as props is already in poor taste, inviting painful memories of Abu Ghraib. That the administration admitted, just days later, to sending a man to CECOT by mistake made it even worse. Of course, for many viewers, the hardest part of looking back at any of these images from the past 100 days may be the shocking realization that it has only been 100 days. View the full article

One crucial factor helped keep Tesla profitable last quarter, and it wasn’t direct car sales. In its latest earnings report, the company said that it earned $595 million from selling regulatory credits to other automakers. The credits are issued by governments, including California, that require car companies to hit certain emissions goals by selling cleaner vehicles. If they don’t, they have to make up the gap by buying credits from companies like Tesla that make zero-emissions cars. Tesla’s sales tanked in the first quarter as Elon Musk’s dive into politics pushed away customers, both in the U.S. and internationally. The company reported that it earned $409 million in the first quarter of 2025, down 71% from the same quarter a year ago. Without the revenue from selling credits, Tesla would have posted a $186 million loss. Now, President The President is actively trying to dismantle the system that makes the credits possible. Republicans in Congress are helping that effort. The House is set to vote this week on a bill that aims to take away California’s right to have strict air quality standards—and the market for zero-emissions vehicle credits that exists in the state. A long history of relying on credits The credits have been important since Tesla’s beginning. In the early years, “it’s really what kept them out of bankruptcy,” says David Sperling, founding director of the Institute for Transportation Studies at UC Davis. Sperling previously helped set up the zero-emissions vehicle credit system in California. Multiple other states that follow California’s air quality standards, from Colorado to Virginia, also issue the credits. While Tesla also earns money from a credit system in Europe and a small amount through a federal program, most of the credits it sells are in California and other states. At points in the company’s history when it particularly struggled, credits kept it going. “The company was structurally unprofitable for a long, long time,” says Ed Niedermeyer, author of Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors. If the cushion of the credits hadn’t existed, the company might look very different now. Musk once considered a sale to Google at one of Tesla’s low points, for example. In theory, the company might not have even survived. The credits still matter Eventually, Tesla was selling enough cars that it became profitable without the credits (at least until now). But the credits continued playing an important role. “Especially given the economic uncertainty right now, it remains an important driver for a type of profit in pre-cash flows,” says Seth Goldstein, an equity analyst at Morningstar. Credits also helped it accrue around $37 billion in cash. “If we do have a long-term economic slowdown, Tesla should be able to withstand the slowdown because it does have such a strong balance sheet,” Goldstein says. “So I’ll attribute that to the credit allowing Tesla to put itself in a very strong position.” The credits weren’t designed to last forever, and Goldstein argues that Tesla is positioning itself not to need them. As more automakers make EVs, they’ll have to buy fewer credits from electric-first companies like Tesla. Eventually, if California can keep its plan in place, all new car sales in the state will be zero-emissions by 2035. But as the state ramps up its emissions requirements on the way to that goal, some brands may not be able to keep up the pace and credits will become more valuable. “The value of the credits is pretty low right now because the market is outpacing the regulatory requirements,” says Sperling. “But that’s going to change probably within a year or two. If the authority stays in place and the regulations stay in place, those credits are going to become more and more valuable.” As Tesla’s sales falter, the credits play a more important role. The drop in sales isn’t solely because of the damage that Musk has caused the brand. Other car companies now offer a suite of options for EVs that customers may find more appealing, especially as Tesla has been slow to roll out new models. Musk has touted Tesla’s work on robotics and automation, but neither are ready to immediately come to market. (Both may be the latest examples of Musk’s hype machine.) The company has promised a new, more affordable car, but it likely won’t be out until next year. The sales of its current lineup of cars are still critical, which means that credits are, too. No one knows what’s next The state credits are at risk in two ways. Right now they’re possible because of California’s long-standing right to regulate air pollution. When the Clean Air Act passed in 1970, California already had air quality laws, so it was given a waiver to continue setting its own strict emissions standards for cars. Other states also have the option to follow California. The President tried to eliminate that waiver in his first term, and California and other states sued. (Four automakers then agreed to voluntarily meet California’s standards.) When Biden took office, with the lawsuit still underway, he restored the waiver. But fuel producers and industry groups sued—saying the Environmental Protection Agency shouldn’t have put the waiver back in place—and the Supreme Court is now considering whether that lawsuit can proceed. Separately, Congressional Republicans are trying to reverse the EPA’s waivers for California’s plans to phase out new gas cars and trucks. The House will vote this week. In the Senate, the parliamentarian has said that Congress doesn’t have the authority to repeal the waivers. But Senate Republicans may try anyway. Whatever happens, more lawsuits will follow. That means that the regulatory credits won’t immediately disappear. And Tesla, for now, will be able to keep using them—even as Elon Musk continues to rant about government handouts. View the full article

Launched in September, Overdrive, has taken an unconventional approach to harm reduction. Founded by Brian Bordainick, who also started emergency contraception company Julie and acne patch company Starface, the company has used its playbook of taking a fun, edgier branding approach to drugstore products—in this case testing kits for fentanyl and for seeing if a drink has been spiked— to appeal to a newer generation of consumers. Unlike sterile, medical-looking drug testing kits, Overdrive’s are designed to stand out with industrial-themed packaging that resembles a cigarette carton. It’s all in the service of turning lifesaving testing into less of a buzzkill on a night out. The company’s branding helped make it one of Fast Company‘s 10 Most Innovative Companies in consumer goods this year. Beyond encouraging testing, Overdrive is also interested in demystifying just how fentanyl gets into drugs. This week, the company released The Plug, a YouTube documentary and collaboration with photographer and director Sam Hayes (a former opioid user himself), aimed at highlighting the dangers of fentanyl and the importance of testing drugs given the widespread use of fentanyl to augment them. Ryan Weaver, the company’s creative director and branding mastermind, talked to Most Innovative Companies host Yasmin Gagne about the documentary, the company’s messaging around drug safety, and his personal journey with drugs in his younger days. This interview has been edited and condensed. Before Overdrive, you had experience in working on creative and business development. What did you learn from working on digitally native brands and channels? After doing some independent production, I was at YouTube channels Full Send and Nelk Boys for a while and they were creator-driven channels that were doing banger numbers with prank stuff. These kids that were running it were supersmart and had no playbook for how YouTube channels are supposed to run. If somebody was trying to do a brand deal with them, they’d say, “Fuck off, we’re going to do our own product.” Everybody else in media, my whole life was like, well, there’s advertisers and there’s content creators. These guys did product development and put on a great show. They created this whole ecosystem where consumers could engage with both. In hindsight, it’s so obvious and smart. How did you connect with your cofounder, Brian Bordainick? I’ve been working with him for three years. He shared his vision for where content was heading that brands don’t need to do just advertisements, they can do storytelling with shared value sets around what the product stands for. Though that you can build an audience and fidelity. He also has really strong retail relationships and is really good at product development. You started working with Bordainick at his emergency contraception company Julie. What attracted you to the project? Julie was headed into launch and they wanted me to produce a hero asset. I came in to help produce their first commercial where two women were at a drugstore shelf shitting on their boyfriends and talking about how badly they needed the product. It did well and people were psyched about it. From there I got to understand how CPG worked. Why did you want to build a brand around testing recreational drugs? This inclination in the background to do something in the drug safety space had been percolating for Brian for some time and certain retailers had hit him up and said this is an important space. He has a grasp on how to tackle difficult topics. When he was ready to push play on this build, he brought me over from Julie to help spearhead the creative and design side of what the brand Overdrive would become. I wanted permission to be intense and gnarly; you have to be aggressive and you have to stand out. With Overdrive, the market didn’t really exist and social platforms aren’t especially stoked about us selling these products. So creatively you get to make different decisions because those platforms’ rules are so intense around what you’re doing. From a creative standpoint, you’re looking at a project that has real stakes. You’re selling an actually helpful product, and you’re also able to not really focus on the product and focus on ethos because the product is so policed. Then you get to be a bit of an instigator because the brand isn’t squeaky clean, you need a troublemaker attitude behind it. Why did you feel the need to approach the project with that kind of attitude? You’re appealing to people who might be in a situation where there is fentanyl. They’re trying to get into the mosh pit versus watching from the sidelines. I have an addictive personality. Previously, in my 20s, I did hard drugs, so for me there was a lived experience access point. I didn’t have to create a character to create the brand. I can speak to a version of myself and try to think of things I would have listened to or paid attention to from a safety perspective in my life. I wasn’t guessing or relying on a case study. Fentanyl wasn’t as much of a problem when you were doing drugs, right? No joke, I think about that all the time. I’m really lucky that in my 20s that wasn’t something I had to worry about because the reality is most people don’t when they’re trying to have a good time and get lit. It’s really scary. Tell me about the documentary Overdrive is releasing this month. It’s a YouTube video we made with this awesome guy, Sam Hayes. I had this interest in fentanyl being this kind of gray area and a bogeyman that you’re supposed to be scared of, but you don’t know what it is. So Sam meets with people in recovery centers, actual drug dealers, and actual users. It shows you where you get fentanyl and how the dark web comes into it. There’s this one shot of a drug dealer grinding stuff up in a Vitamix, and when you look at the Vitamix . . . it’s not clean. You get a look at the process of creating these unregulated things. Who is your target customer? I try to think more psychographic than demographic. What’s the psychographic of someone using hard drugs? We try to look at places where thrill and danger intersect. This can be gnarly or louder forms of music or extreme action sports like skating or motocross. And then the thing that happens if it doesn’t go is a life or death stakes. There’s a tendency for that to be more gender- or age- or location- specific, but for us, we felt pretty confident that if we just talk to that psychographic of people that are looking for an extreme release from a hostile world. How are you expanding your user base? We want to broaden so that we’re speaking to the people around the user as much as the user. Some current parts of the brand will go away and there will be an emphasis on education over the next year or so. I think it’s cool that the DNA of the brand is representative of the user, but we’re going to start broadening things out so that it will feel a little bit more classic CPG product shot or an Instagram ad. The ads will provide an access point to more white collar people or parents. We want to target people that are caretakers and live in certain parts of the country. How do you balance the edgier branding of Overdrive with a more education-first approach? Last year we indexed really high on the edgier branding. The logic was that if we can create something somebody’s comfortable carrying around in situations [where they might have access to drugs], we’re already winning because our competitors aren’t. They’re sterile and overly medical. An example of that could be the way our test strips come in packaging that looks like a pack of cigarettes. You’re not carrying a white box around. So you don’t look like a narc. Exactly, because then it’s like, get the fuck out of here. We don’t want to fuck with this person. I think we did a really good job at that. The education piece, it’s almost easier to do. It’s like, this is what the product looks like and here’s a stat about how many people this weekend will be exposed to fentanyl and a five-minute testing process can protect you or your loved ones. It’s taking a step back from the lifestyle aspect of the space and creating more of a billboard with a few key pieces of information. What inspired the design of the products? We looked at companies that behaved like media companies but that didn’t see themselves that way. Monster Energy is as much a media company as it is a product-driven company. When we were figuring out comps that made sense, a lot of it was power tools, action sports, cigarette companies, and beer ads. All of these companies have connective tissue to the partying and drug experience. Because the no-fly zones as fair as what they can claim and how they can advertise were kind of gnarly, those were the places we gravitated to really quickly. These are also areas that have higher fidelity. Some people’s favorite brand is Monster or Marlboro. We used a lot of higher contrast and bold designs. I think Ed Hardy’s cool. Minimal branding or this kind of flat design has been done. What was the messaging strategy behind your products? Something I would say to people was, someone about to go in a UFC fight knows they’re about to get the shit beat out of them. You don’t need to tell them, “This is dangerous.” Not only do they know that, but that’s the last thing they want going through their head before they go fight. What we can say is, “When you do this UFC fight, if you wear this mouth guard, you might not suffer serious brain damage.” My fundamental belief is that if you make the mouth guard look cool, like if it was chrome or had monster teeth or grills, that medical component can start to become aspirational and they might be excited to bring it with them. We can’t be a brand saying “Don’t do drugs.” You lose so many people out the gate telling them not to. We want Overdrive to feel like part of the experience—not a scary reminder of the things our customer is trying to escape, like mortality. View the full article

Because hiring staff is typically a time-consuming and costly process, many companies are now opting to interview multiple candidates at once. The Society for Human Resource Management reported that group interviews have become increasingly popular among employers. For applicants, this changes the interview experience significantly. Instead of fielding questions about your résumé in a one-on-one setting, you’ve now got to vie for a role alongside other applicants and take part in real-world workplace scenarios designed to showcase your leadership skills. Tech companies and brands such as Disney, Starbucks, and The Gap are choosing to adopt the trend. Not only can interviewers see how candidates work in high-pressure situations, but fewer interviewers need to be trained in the company. “By screening multiple candidates at once, this style of interview can save employers time, while also allowing them to observe candidates’ critical thinking and communication skills in action,” says Sarah Skelton, managing director of recruitment company Flourish. Skelton adds that this interview style can not only be a timesaver for companies, but it can also save applicants time, too. “For the candidates, this can give an opportunity to showcase their skills in one day.” But it can also be a stressful process, especially if you’re used to the traditional interview experience. The next time you’re asked to participate in a group interview, here’s what to keep in mind in order to make sure you stand out to the hiring managers: Practice your networking skills When taking part in a group interview, try networking to make you feel calm, grounded, and present. “It may be helpful to warm yourself up by having a couple of light touch questions you ask other interviewees before the interview starts, for example, ‘How was your journey?’” says leadership coach Keren Blackmore from Leap of Thought. Being interviewed alongside others might actually help reduce the amount of stress you feel, as you’re all in the same boat. You can also use the opportunity to increase your network. “The people you meet at the interview may be interesting contacts for the future, [so] why not, for example, connect on LinkedIn?” says Blackmore. Think about your body language While it may be more difficult to stand out in a group interview, you can still make your presence felt, even when you’re silent. Psychologist Albert Mehrabian said that 55% of our communication is through body language, rather than speaking. Beth Hope, an executive coach who specializes in resilience, says your body language in these group interview settings should reflect calm confidence. “Sit tall, ground your feet, keep your shoulders relaxed and open. This will help calm your nervous system and give you a boost of confidence,” says Hope. “Use purposeful gestures when speaking and avoid nervous habits like fidgeting or crossed arms. Confidence [is] about owning your space, staying grounded, and showing you’re comfortable being yourself.” Executive coach Joseph Ball adds that to “show engagement, you should nod, smile, [and] make eye contact with the speaker.” Know when not to talk Group interviews may be embraced by extroverts, but the key is knowing when not to talk. “The best way to stand out in any setting is not to be the loudest voice, but to be the clarifying voice,” says Mike Manoske, executive coach at The Wharton School. “The way to do that is through active listening and playback: replaying back what you’ve heard, followed by adding additional ideas to move things forward.” Make sure to keep your tone respectful. Leadership development trainer Andy Coley says you should avoid the word “but” when responding to someone else’s idea or perspective. “A ‘but’ can be seen as confrontational,” says Coley. “Instead say ‘yes, and this is my perspective.’ [This] implies you’ve acknowledged the other person’s point of view, whereas ‘but’ comes across as a disagreement, which can lead to egos getting hurt,” he says. You can also show support for others without affecting your chances, says Coley. “If someone shares a good idea, a simple comment like ‘That’s a great point,’ shows that you’re thoughtful and team-minded,” he says. “That kind of behavior stands out because it shows you care about the whole group, not just yourself—and that’s real leadership.” Treat other applicants as peers, not competition Another way to gain confidence in this group setting is to view the other people as peers, rather than competition, says Blackmore. “This helps frame them as equals rather than a threat. Don’t spend your time distracted by how the other candidates may or may not be a better fit. They are no better or worse, but they do have different skills and experiences. If you’re in the interview, you are there for a reason. How you show up in the group environment is likely to be just as important as your [credentials] and experience.” Work psychologist Dr. Marie-Hélène Pelletier says a group interview presents a good opportunity to work on your mental toughness. “Identify what may get you off track and prepare. If another candidate saying a [great] point puts you at risk of losing your confidence, prepare now to put this aside mentally.” If you don’t have the typical skills for the role, view this as a superpower. “A great way to stand out is to connect insights from your nontraditional background to help move the group forward,” says executive coach Kelly Ling. For example, if you are moving from a business development role into a product manager role, you can bring in your experience of understanding customer’s needs. Keep an eye on the time The whole idea of the group interview is to find someone who can do the job and even uncover a future leader. Skelton says that group interviews often include a timed component, so it’s important for candidates to demonstrate strong time management skills and help keep the group focused. “Successful participants will guide the team toward hitting key milestones throughout the session and ensure a clear conclusion is reached by the end,” says Skelton. View the full article

Hotel art has changed. In the last few years, generic photography and reproductions of works by Old Masters have given way to remarkable pieces of artwork befitting top-notch museums and the world’s best private galleries. Though it may feel like a 180-degree shift from the boring artwork that preceded these new and imaginative displays, hotels becoming cultural destinations unto themselves, by hanging up artwork ideal for the world’s top museums and private galleries, makes sense. “The standard used to be that you’d put a picture in a frame and call it a day—but hotels don’t cut it anymore with this,” says Spencer Bailey, editor-in-chief of a multivolume book series starting with Design: The Leading Hotels of the World and cofounder of the media company The Slowdown. “People expect more with the artwork, the furniture. People want to feel a sense of craftiness at every touch point at a hotel.” Millennial and Gen Z travelers in particular crave authentic, upscale, and culture-based experiences, a notion that has extended into the hotel’s branding itself through the use of artwork. “It’s something that still predominantly exists in the high-end, five-star hotel market,” Bailey says. Indeed, Denver’s luxury-focused Art Hotel showcases a 22,000-piece LED light installation by Leo Villareal. There’s also Damien Hirst’s outstanding art suite called the Empathy Suite at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas—where, for a whopping $100,000 a night, you too can gaze in disbelief at one of six original full-size pieces, like the one titled Winner/Loser, in which two taxidermied sharks float suspended in formaldehyde. Some big-brand hotels are now breaking into the art hotel concept, using carefully curated art collections as a way to help define their brand identity and sharpen their claims of authenticity. Hilton recently jumped on the bandwagon with the Curio Collection, a series of 180 individually distinct and decorated hotels. Competitor Marriott has its Autograph Collection, which has grown to 154 hotels since launching in 2010. Smaller operators are now also embracing an art-forward approach. Merging history and art at a Cincinnati boutique The Lytle Park Hotel in Cincinnati, Ohio—part of Marriott’s Autograph collection—quite literally sits at the intersection of art and hospitality. The property, opened in 2020, combines the hotel’s structure from 1909 and themes from the next-door Taft Museum of Art. The venue’s Lytle Park neighborhood is now a lovely residential area, but at the turn of the century, Cincinnati’s elite dwelled here and propagated the city’s cultural and artistic center. Artwork from the museum adorns some of the hotel’s walls, a gesture to the hotel’s link to this rich, storied past. To better connect guests to the area’s history and culture, the hotel in 2025 debuted its Taft Suite, which pays homage to the city’s illustrious Taft family, including its most famous member, William Howard Taft, the 27th president of the United States. “Museums play a crucial role in the economy of American cities, contributing over $50 billion annually to the U.S. economy,” says Rebekah Beaulieu, Ph.D, president and CEO of the Taft Art Museum. Hence Cincinnati, she hopes, will benefit from the hotel/museum cross-sector approach to cultural collaboration. “Today’s hotel guests really want to be transported into a hotel’s story,” says Colletta Conner, principal designer at ForrestPerkins, which designed the Taft Suite. Through its curated gallery experience, the suite offers hotel guests a glimpse into the Lytle Park of the early 20th century, when the Taft family lived there. Guests can peruse the space’s painted garden scenes and river valley motifs that feel vaguely reminiscent of the Ohio River Valley. For an added personal touch, there are even photographs of President Taft peppering the walls. “Creating a narrative is a very important part of the design process,” Conner explains. “Sometimes you could walk onto a property and not feel a story. Sure, the hotel might be beautiful—but there’s no story that pulls guests into the hotel experience.” Conner says ForrestPerkins works with a lot of different hotel brands—like Sheraton, Four Seasons, and Ritz Carlton—to craft a brand narrative for each hotel. “We provide local context to these properties, creating unique narratives for each that add up to unique, one-of-a-kind hotel experiences.” The design team wanted the suite to match the tone set by the gallery, which occupies a historic home that was built in 1820. “Some of these hotels that think about the gallery concept are more like white-box museum gallery types of spaces,” says Conner. “But our intention here was to have almost this home feeling, which is how the Taft Museum next door is set up.” And yet, there might be an inherent contradiction in art hotels. “Art requires taste, which can be a very controversial subject, and it requires lots of money,” Bailey says. Owners of what was once considered the most valuable art collection in the west, the Tafts were obviously among Cincinnati’s most privileged. Objects in the hotel, especially the Taft Suite, point to the Taft Museum’s Rembrandts and Turners, Italian majolica painted pottery, and Chinese porcelains, the latter a coveted collection both then and now. “In many ways, art is a luxury item, and great hotels will need to understand that,” Bailey says. “The art—and where it came from—chosen for each ‘art hotel’ becomes an embodiment of that hotel as much as the architecture or furniture is.” If visitors sense any air of elitism at the hotel, it’s quickly dispersed by the interior designs and friendly staff. An open concept layout in the main lobby, complete with a stunning skylight that lets in plenty of natural light, mirrors the welcome attitude the hotel and its staff emanate. While they didn’t plan these main areas, ForrestPerkins designers emphasize how convivial the spaces are meant to feel, and they sought to reflect this ambience in the Taft Suite. “The idea was to have museum quality displayed in a home environment, to be welcoming, approachable, and accessible,” Conner says. A new kind of art hotel As one-off hotels tailor their art offerings to their locales, boutique chain 21c Museum Hotels is scaling that approach. A chain of seven boutique hotels in the Midwest and South, the brand sees itself as a forward-thinking contemporary art museum first and a hotel second. “When you walk into a 21c, you’re walking into a hotel lobby, but you’re also walking into a museum gallery,” says Alice Gray Stites, chief curator for 21c Museum Hotels. Every 21c hotel lobby, hotel hallway, event space, and meeting room is treated like a museum gallery, where Stites installs a varied range of exhibitions. The brand got its start in 2006, at a time when revitalizing urban cores and building preservation weren’t part of many people’s lexicons. As 21c cofounders, preservationists, and contemporary art collectors, Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson imagined that contemporary art could be a catalyst for revitalizing their hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. In the end, the pair combined their art collection with the hotel concept because a research firm they had hired revealed that their city needed more hotel rooms to spur tourism. Laura and Steve wanted to take away the velvet rope that people sometimes perceive when walking into a museum. The result? A different kind of model for both the museum world and the hospitality industry. The hotel offers curated exhibitions that are open 24/7 and cover important topics of the day, and that cycle in and out every six months. “21c was a pioneer in this—they were an early driver in the ‘art hotel’ trend,” Bailey says. At first glance, there seems to be some tension between the 21c idea of making art more accessible and the fact that it’s only available in a boutique hotel, where rooms cost upward of $185 a night. Most hotels don’t invite anyone who hasn’t booked a room to wander their lobbies or hallways, whereas 21c allows anyone, free of charge, into the hotels to view its artwork on display. “[21c has] created this idea of living with art and not being intimidated by art, breaking down the formal boundaries that feel so imposing sometimes for outsiders when they walk into an art gallery or museum,” Bailey says. View the full article

Social media users have been having a field day with Waymo’s autonomous vehicles, sharing videos that poke fun at the driverless cars getting stuck, acting unpredictably, or simply navigating the world a little too awkwardly. The latest wave of posts follows Waymo’s recent expansion into Austin, where users are already documenting bizarre and frustrating experiences with the service. TikTok user Becky Levin Navarro posted a video on April 20 claiming a Waymo car trapped her and her fellow passengers on the side of a highway after heading in the wrong direction. “This is the most insane thing. We’re in a Waymo, here, under Mopac,” she said. “It was going the wrong way, we called customer support, it stopped us right here and wouldn’t let us out of the car.” The video shows passengers speaking to customer support through the car’s intercom. The agent explains the car can’t be moved manually, and asks for a physical address to relocate the vehicle. A Waymo spokesperson later responded: “Waymo riders always have the ability to pause their ride and exit the vehicle when desired. Passengers can exit the vehicle by pulling the handle twice—once to unlock and another to open the door.” From being called “drunk robots” to causing traffic jams in the middle of the night, Waymo has become a regular subject of online trolling. Viral clips include Waymos honking at each other in the early morning hours, jamming up intersections, and getting stuck in drive-throughs. Some show police and parking enforcement stepping in to deal with wayward vehicles. A video from San Francisco shows a Waymo going the wrong way during a Warriors game as officials try to redirect it. “It’s not funny. This is a very serious matter,” a police officer jokes to bystanders. The vehicle eventually backs up, awkwardly swerving to avoid a pickup truck. “See, it worked!” the officer says with a shrug. “Still a little weird. I wouldn’t have went that way, but . . .” Waymo’s fleet has more than tripled on California roads over the past year. A DMV report from April 11 cites 30 autonomous vehicle incidents in 2024. Still, Waymo reports 81% fewer injury-causing crashes and 64% fewer airbag deployments compared to human drivers in San Francisco and Phoenix. Despite its safety claims, the company remains a favorite online target. As Waymo expands into more cities—including a recent launch in Tokyo—the internet doesn’t seem ready to let the driverless cars off the hook. View the full article

Is your green my green? Probably not. What appears as pure green to me will likely look a bit yellowish or blueish to you. This is because visual systems vary from person to person. Moreover, an object’s color may appear differently against different backgrounds or under different lighting. These facts might naturally lead you to think that colors are subjective. That, unlike features such as length and temperature, colors are not objective features. Either nothing has a true color, or colors are relative to observers and their viewing conditions. But perceptual variation has misled you. We are philosophers who study colors, objectivity, and science, and we argue in our book The Metaphysics of Colors that colors are as objective as length and temperature. Perceptual variation There is a surprising amount of variation in how people perceive the world. If you offer a group of people a spectrum of color chips ranging from chartreuse to purple and asked them to pick the unique green chip—the chip with no yellow or blue in it—their choices would vary considerably. Indeed, there wouldn’t be a single chip that most observers would agree is unique green. Generally, an object’s background can result in dramatic changes in how you perceive its colors. If you place a gray object against a lighter background, it will appear darker than if you place it against a darker background. This variation in perception is perhaps most striking when viewing an object under different lighting, where a red apple could look green or blue. Of course, that you experience something differently does not prove that what is experienced is not objective. Water that feels cold to one person may not feel cold to another. And although we do not know who is feeling the water “correctly,” or whether that question even makes sense, we can know the temperature of the water and presume that this temperature is independent of your experience. Similarly, that you can change the appearance of something’s color is not the same as changing its color. You can make an apple look green or blue, but that is not evidence that the apple is not red. For comparison, the moon appears larger when it’s on the horizon than when it appears near its zenith. But the size of the moon has not changed, only its appearance. Hence, that the appearance of an object’s color or size varies is, by itself, no reason to think that its color and size are not objective features of the object. In other words, the properties of an object are independent of how they appear to you. That said, given that there is so much variation in how objects appear, how do you determine what color something actually is? Is there a way to determine the color of something despite the many different experiences you might have of it? Matching colors Perhaps determining the color of something is to determine whether it is red or blue. But we suggest a different approach. Notice that squares that appear to be the same shade of pink against different backgrounds look different against the same background. Shobdohin/Wikimedia CommonsCC BY-SA It’s easy to assume that to prove colors are objective would require knowing which observers, lighting conditions and backgrounds are the best, or “normal.” But determining the right observers and viewing conditions is not required for determining the very specific color of an object, regardless of its name. And it is not required to determine whether two objects have the same color. To determine whether two objects have the same color, an observer would need to view the objects side by side against the same background and under various lighting conditions. If you painted part of a room and find that you don’t have enough paint, for instance, finding a match might be very tricky. A color match requires that no observer under any lighting condition will see a difference between the new paint and the old. That two people can determine whether two objects have the same color even if they don’t agree on exactly what that color is—just as a pool of water can have a particular temperature without feeling the same to me and you—seems like compelling evidence to us that colors are objective features of our world. Colors, science, and indispensability Everyday interactions with colors—such as matching paint samples, determining whether your shirt and pants clash, and even your ability to interpret works of art—are hard to explain if colors are not objective features of objects. But if you turn to science and look at the many ways that researchers think about colors, it becomes harder still. For example, in the field of color science, scientific laws are used to explain how objects and light affect perception and the colors of other objects. Such laws, for instance, predict what happens when you mix colored pigments, when you view contrasting colors simultaneously or successively, and when you look at colored objects in various lighting conditions. The philosophers Hilary Putnam and Willard van Orman Quine made famous what is known as the indispensability argument. The basic idea is that if something is indispensable to science, then it must be real and objective—otherwise, science wouldn’t work as well as it does. For example, you may wonder whether unobservable entities such as electrons and electromagnetic fields really exist. But, so the argument goes, the best scientific explanations assume the existence of such entities and so they must exist. Similarly, because mathematics is indispensable to contemporary science, some philosophers argue that this means mathematical objects are objective and exist independently of a person’s mind. WikipediaCC BY-SA Likewise, we suggest that color plays an indispensable role in evolutionary biology. For example, researchers have argued that aposematism—the use of colors to signal a warning for predators—also benefits an animal’s ability to gather resources. Here, an animal’s coloration works directly to expand its food-gathering niche insofar as it informs potential predators that the animal is poisonous or venomous. In fact, animals can exploit the fact that the same color pattern can be perceived differently by different perceivers. For instance, some damselfish have ultraviolet face patterns that help them be recognized by other members of their species and communicate with potential mates while remaining largely hidden to predators unable to perceive ultraviolet colors. In sum, our ability to determine whether objects are colored the same or differently and the indispensable roles they play in science suggest that colors are as real and objective as length and temperature. Elay Shech is a professor of philosophy at Auburn University. Michael Watkins is a professor of philosophy at Auburn University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. View the full article

The use of AI to generate weird and wonderful imagery is definitely one of my favorite applications of the cutting-edge tech. I've tested out AI writing tools and AI productivity tools, but putting the host of AI image generator through their paces was hands-down the most fun I've had in testing tools in ages (and I love testing tools). As with other AI tools, there's no shortage of artificial intelligence image generators on the market. I'm sure by the time this article is published, about 35 more will have just launched. ❗Looking for Pablo? We've sunsetted Pablo, Remix, and Stories Creator (more on that here), but the AI tools on this list might help!By now, we all know that AI image generation tools can come up with all sorts of fantastical, eclectic imagery. But since you're reading the Buffer blog, I'm going to be presumptuous and assume you're either in marketing, a small business owner, or a creator — and you're probably looking for a generative AI tool that can do something you can actually use in your work. Which is a lot like mine. I write content about creators and influencers for this blog and spend a good chunk of my day hunting through free stock photo sites for photos to use as featured images for these articles. So, I compared every generative AI tool with the same text prompt for an image I often need to find: “Generate an image of a photo-realistic young, Gen-Z social media influencer filming a video with their phone in selfie mode.” In fairness, this is a tough prompt — AI image generation notoriously struggles with human fingers, teeth, and screens. But there's a reason the platforms on this list are the most popular and talked-about AI image generators of 2025. Of all the ones I tested, these consistently generated the highest-quality images. (I've included only the best in this article.) Here are my favorite AI image generators and how they stack up with one prompt in particular. ❗FYI: The waters are murky when it comes to using AI-generated images for commercial purposes. Read on for guidelines about using AI art for social media and marketing. Jump to a tool: Adobe Firefly — Best copyright-safe AI image generatorMidjourney — Best AI image generator for artistic imagesChatGPT — Best AI Image generator for refining results with promptsCanva — Best AI image generator for jazzing up other graphicsStable Assistant — Best AI Image generator for tweaking imagesGemini — Best free AI image generator for photo-quality imagesRecraft — Best AI image generator for designersReve Image — Best AI image generator for sticking to promptsMeta AI — Best AI image generator for complete beginnersAdobe Firefly — Best copyright-safe AI image generatorGenerated by Adobe FireflyAdobe's answer to generative AI, Adobe Firefly, is baked into its suite of tools, including Photoshop, but there is a free web version available. What's great about Firefly (aside from the quality of the tool) is that the images generated with it are safe for commercial use. “Trained on Adobe Stock images, openly licensed content, and public domain content, Firefly is designed to be safe for commercial use,” Adobe says. The free web version of the image generator, found at firefly.adobe.com, is remarkably easy to use. When you enter your prompt, you can choose aspect ratio, content type (art or photo), and one of hundreds of trending art style reference images (watercolor, studio photography, you name it). You can even specify the angle of the image and depth of field (close-ups, wide angles, macro photography, etc.), color and tone (pastel, monochrome, muted, and more), and some really fun special effects. After that, click ‘Generate,' and the generative AI will deliver four new images for you to choose from. Clicking a drop-down arrow on each AI-generated image will allow you to generate something similar, use it as an image style reference for a new prompt, or edit it in Adobe Express (Adobe's answer to Canva). Firefly consistently created high-quality images, with very few Edward Scissorhands fingers. I found that playing around with the various art styles and effects pre-generated really helped me fine-tune my ask. Another strong point in Firefly's favor was the realism in the human faces in my AI photo — there was none of that creepy Uncanny Valley effect I got with many of the other tools. Adobe Firefly pricing: Free for the web version (25 generative credits monthly, images with watermarks). Plans start at $9.99 monthly. Midjourney — Best AI image generator for artistic imagesMidjourney has long been one of my favorite text-to-image generators — you’ll even see some featured images on this blog created with the tool. Midjourney was originally housed in Discord (which took some getting used to), but the generative AI tool has moved over to a smooth new website. While I sometimes miss the chaos of the Discord server, where you could watch other users create images in real time in a group chat-like interface, the simplicity of the clean new website makes generating images tough to beat. You’ll input the prompts via the ‘Create’ tab, which features slider settings to specify AI image size and even ‘stylization’ and ‘weirdness.’ The image generator will churn out four options based on your prompt. You can choose to run it again, download one you like, or if you’ve generated AI images that you like but want to tweak, there are a host of editing options to experiment with. My results with Midjourney are consistently high quality, and the AI rarely has a problem generating images that really do look like photos. What makes Midjourney stand out is the artistic quality of its outputs. It really creates digital art, excelling at rich scenes and stylized portraits that feel more like digital concept art than AI renders. In all my various regenerations of my ‘influencer' prompt, there were no glitched fingers, and the people in the AI-generated artworks didn't have the creepy mannequin vibe that is often a result of asking AI to create images that look photorealistic. Midjourney pricing: Plans start at $8 per month (paid annually). ChatGPT — Best AI Image generator for refining results with promptsOpen AI’s ChatGPT has scrapped its old DALL-E AI image generator in favor of having it baked right into the main product. The model has come a long way since DALL-E, which tended to favor Uncanny Valley mannequins when creating humans. When it comes to realism — and humans that don’t look like reality TV stars — ChatGPT is really tough to beat. To use it, just describe what you want in plain language, just as you would a regular AI prompt — though you’ll need to specify that it’s an AI image and not text you’re after. Unlike some of the other tools on this list, ChatGPT will only generate one image from your prompt — but you can continue to prompt it to make tweaks to the results, like “make it more photorealistic” or “add a sunset in the background,” and it will re-render accordingly. Another fun feature is that you can also upload your own image and ask ChatGPT's image generator to edit it with specific changes. Think: remove the background, change colors, or (as you’ve no doubt seen on your social media feeds) transform it into a specific image style, like Studio Ghibli. While it’s one of the more expensive tools on this list, ChatGPT is the most versatile — the generative AI can do so much more than just create high-quality images. If you’re looking for an AI Swiss army knife, ChatGPT is it. ChatGPT pricing: Plans start at $20 per month. Canva — Best AI image generator for jazzing up other graphicsMany of Canva's best features are hidden behind its paid plans — but not its free online AI image generator. You can access the tool via canva.com/ai-image-generator (you'll be required to create or sign into an account before you get access, though). In the Canva editor, just search for the “Text to Image” app and enter your prompt. You’ll get a few results to start with, and from there, you can regenerate, resize, or drop the image directly into your design. Canva also offers basic image style options — like “photo,” “drawing,” or “painting” — and you can now use AI to expand images, remove backgrounds, and more. Seconds after you hit ‘enter,' Canva will generate AI images to choose from, which can then be pulled into your design. I was really impressed with how much the images generated for my influencer prompt looked like photographs — until I looked more closely at the fingers. That said, most of the images I generated were usable. Can you generate images that are as high-quality as Midjourney or Firefly? Not quite. But for content creators and marketers, the convenience factor is hard to overstate. Having this powerful AI image generator baked into Canva is a huge point in its favor, as many social media creators and marketers will likely already be using the image and video editing tool in some capacity. The power of Canva's vast library of templates, coupled with AI, makes this image generator a force to be reckoned with. Whether you’re creating a presentation or an Instagram carousel, having the ability to generate AI images is a really handy addition. While Canva's AI image generator tool is available on its free plan, users are limited to 50 AI credits. Each change of image style or regeneration costs one credit. Canva AI Image Generator pricing: 50 credits available on Canva's free plan. Stable Assistant — Best AI Image generator for tweaking imagesStable Diffusion is an open-source AI image generator that anyone with technical know-how can download and build on — but don’t worry, you don’t need to know how to do all that to use it. In 2025, they’ve made the image creator model even more accessible through Stable Assistant, a chat-style interface designed to simplify the image generation process. You can access Stable Assistant directly from Stability AI’s site to create images. Just type your prompt, and the assistant will spit out a series of AI-generated images based on Stable Image Ultra (the latest, most powerful version). You can refine your prompts in the image generator in real time and even ask the assistant to explain how to improve them — great for folks who want to level up their prompting. Stable Assistant has helpful features beyond generating AI Images. You can even upload your own image and ask it to remove the background, upscale, remove or replace certain objects, and even ‘inpaint’ (highlight a section of the image to be changed according to a prompt). I can imagine this functionality would be super powerful for photographers or creators who want to speed up some workflows with an image creator. (Remove other tourists from your epic travel shots, anyone?) That said, Stable Assistant is still evolving, and the results can vary more than tools like Firefly or Midjourney. But for tinkerers and those who want to customize every pixel, it’s a powerful option. Stable Assistant pricing: Plans start at $9 per month for 900 credits. Gemini — Best free AI image generatorGemini is Google’s newest multimodal AI model, and in early 2025, they rolled out its image generation features (replacing Bard). If you’re logged into a Google account, you can access it on gemini.google.com to create images, completely free. Using Gemini is a lot like ChatGPT, but within the Google ecosystem. You can add your image to an email or share it to a Google Doc, for example, with one click. It’s also similar to ChatGPT in that you can ask Gemini to make changes by prompting, but it will create entirely new AI-generated images based on your addition, rather than tweak the original, like ChatGPT does. Where some tools on this list are more geared toward art or illustration, Gemini perfects clean, web-friendly illustrations and lifestyle shots, with a focus on realism and accuracy. Given how comparatively “late” Google was to the generative AI game here, experimenting with Gemini really blew my mind — the results were consistently exceptional, stock-photo quality. After experimenting with Gemini's image generator for this article, you can bet the tool will be in my regular rotation. It’s not quite as hands-on as Midjourney, and doesn't quite deliver digital art but for fast, contextual results with a Google-level polish, Gemini is a solid bet. Gemini pricing: Free, with paid plans for advanced features starting at $19.99 per month. Recraft — Best AI image generator for designersRecraft is one of the newer generative AI kids on the block, but it’s already making waves for how it blends AI illustration, vector design, and brand assets in one sleek tool. With it, you can create anything from design mock-ups to company logos. You start with a blank screen and a space for your prompt. Once you have some AI-generated images to work with, the fun begins. You can play around with scores of styles (everything from hyper-realistic natural light to clay art), negative image prompts, and even add a color palette. Every image you generate will appear in a Figma board-like project, which designers will feel right at home within. Once you generate AI images you like, you can change or remove the background, upscale, or even turn an image into an editable vector. My results with requests for photorealism were mixed — but that’s not where Recraft really shines. To explore its potential, I flipped the script a bit and asked it to help me generate logos and illustrations, which it nailed. (I’m seriously considering adding some of these illustrations to my personal website.) What makes Recraft unique is its focus on brand-true output. It’s not about hyperrealism, eclectic art, or fantasy landscapes: it’s about getting on-brand AI-generated images, fast. Also, I can’t oversell the ability to generate editable vector files (SVGs), which makes it a dream for anyone working in web or product design. Recraft pricing: 50 credits daily on their free plan; paid plans start at $10 per month (paid annually). Reve Image — Best AI image generator for sticking to promptsReve (pronounced “rev”) is a lesser-known but surprisingly delightful tool that really, really listens when you prompt it. Using Reve is simple: sign up on their site, enter a prompt to create images, and choose from a few base styles like “Dream,” “Cinematic,” or “Minimal.” The tool then creates a grid of AI-generated images you can fine-tune by selecting elements you like, or adjusting mood sliders like “warmth” and “texture.” The generative AI results were excellent — no Uncanny Valley faces or extra fingers in sight. I’d read that Reve excelled in complicated image prompts, so I added more elements to my prompt, making it longer and more in-depth, but the tool rarely missed a trick — even the tabby cat on the edge of the bed that I asked for made it into every single results. What sets Reve apart most, though, is its prompt accuracy. If you’ve ever found yourself writing “highly detailed, ultra realistic, cinematic lighting” only to end up with a Pixar-style person in a field of blob flowers, you’ll appreciate how closely Reve sticks to your vision. It doesn’t hallucinate wildly or go off-script to generate images. You ask for a neon sign that says “subscribe” and a sleepy cat on the edge of the bed, and it delivers. Reve is another image creator that I’ll have in regular rotation as a marketer and creator. Reve pricing: 100 free credits to start, which get topped up to 20 per day when you get below 20. If you need more, you can buy 500 credits for $5. Meta AI — Best AI image generator for complete beginnersMeta (the company that owns Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp) launched its own AI chatbot in April 2024, which is accessible on all its platforms. It's really the company's answer to ChatGPT, with the added bonus that you can use it right in your favorite social media app to generate images (which makes it really easy to get to grips with if you’re comfortable on Instagram, Facebook, or Whatsapp). The generative AI can do everything that GPT can do — help you create a social media content calendar or plan dinner with whatever you have in your fridge. While most of the chatter I've seen about the tool concerns queries about how to grow your Instagram following (fair play), it features a completely free AI image generator. The downside: all the AI-generated images will have the Meta AI logo and a watermark that reads “imagined with AI.” Meta doesn't explicitly forbid the use of these images commercially, but the watermark suggests you might want to tread carefully here. To generate images with Meta AI, head over to Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp (you'll find Meta AI via the search bar) or navigate to meta.ai, then click Imagine. Type your prompt in, then hit enter. The AI will return one image, and from there, you'll have the option to edit (via text prompt), animate, and download your AI-generated art. While Meta AI didn't yield the best AI-generated images for my influencer prompt (it had some trouble with photorealism), the animated versions, seconds-long GIFs, were really impressive. They're particularly fun for social media posts. Meta AI pricing: Free. What are the rules around AI-generated images and copyright?According to the U.S. Copyright Office, AI-generated content isn't copyright-protected, but this doesn't mean that copyrighted works haven't been used to train the various models these tools use (and may result in a near-replica of another person's work) to generate AI images. Some of the tools on this list, Firefly,have been exclusively trained on copyright-free images, but most of them put the onus on the end-user when it comes to legal issues. “Users get full usage rights to commercialize the images they create, including the right to reprint, sell, and merchandise,” OpenAI says of their tool, and other platforms have similar guidelines. However, all of them absolve themselves of liability for what users create with their tools — so, should there be a legal issue with any AI artworks you use — any ramifications will likely fall on the you. For each of the tools in question, I'd recommend taking a close look at all the Ts&Cs and fine print that comes with the commercial use of AI-generated art. View the full article

Key Takeaways Burnout Risks: Constant work without breaks can lead to serious burnout, negatively affecting productivity and overall business health. Financial Constraints: Many small business owners feel they can’t afford to take holidays due to ongoing financial pressures and fear of income loss. Customer Retention Concerns: The worry of losing customers or disrupting service leads small business owners to prioritize work over personal time off. Workplace Culture Impact: A culture that emphasizes constant availability can make taking holidays seem like a weakness, perpetuating the cycle of overwork. Health Implications: Neglecting personal time can lead to both mental health issues like anxiety and stress, as well as physical health risks such as chronic fatigue and cardiovascular problems. Strategies for Time Off: Planning vacations during slow periods, delegating tasks, and setting clear boundaries can help business owners take necessary breaks without jeopardizing operations. In today’s fast-paced world, small business owners often find themselves caught in a relentless cycle of work. With the pressures of managing finances, meeting customer demands, and ensuring growth, taking a holiday can feel like a luxury they can’t afford. Yet, this constant grind can lead to burnout and decreased productivity, ultimately harming their business. You might wonder why so many entrepreneurs skip vacations despite the clear benefits of stepping away. The fear of losing momentum or falling behind competitors looms large, making it hard to prioritize personal time. However, understanding the importance of taking breaks could be the key to revitalizing your passion and creativity in your business. Understanding The Issue Many small business owners face significant challenges in taking holidays. The constant demands of managing operations often create an environment where personal time feels out of reach, leading to stress and burnout. The Stress of Ownership The stress of ownership can be overwhelming. You juggle many responsibilities, from financial management and marketing to customer service and team building. Each decision you make directly impacts your bottom line. The fear of falling behind competitors often leads you to prioritize work over personal well-being. This leads to relentless hours, preventing you from stepping away even for short breaks. Consequences of Overworking Overworking has serious consequences for both you and your business. Extended periods of no time off can harm your health, decrease productivity, and stifle innovation. As you neglect personal time, you risk burnout, which can lead to a decline in leadership effectiveness. A lack of proper breaks adversely affects your business model, making it harder to meet your growth strategy and customer acquisition goals. Prioritizing time off becomes essential not just for your well-being, but also for ensuring your business remains competitive and sustainable. Reasons Small Business Owners Are Not Taking Holidays Small business owners face various challenges that hinder their ability to take holidays. Understanding these reasons helps identify strategies for balancing work and personal time. Financial Concerns Financial pressures frequently dominate the lives of small business owners. Nearly half of you in a FreshBooks survey stated you can’t afford not to work during the holiday season. Financial reasons are a substantial barrier; 50% of you cite income loss as your most significant challenge when taking time off. Many small business owners, especially those aged 25-34, rely on personal savings, with 75% using their funds to support their ventures. Tight cash flow, expenses, and the fear of disrupting your business’s financial stability often dictate whether you can take a break. Fear of Losing Customers The concern over losing customers and disrupting continuous operations weighs heavily on your decision-making. The absence from your business could lead to significant repercussions, including potential loss of sales and client trust. This fear of losing your customer base keeps you tied to your work, as maintaining customer acquisition and managing relationships often take precedence. Ensuring consistent customer service and care can create an unsettling feeling that taking a holiday might jeopardize loyalty. Workplace Culture Workplace culture also plays a vital role in your decision regarding time off. Many of you feel pressured by an environment that values constant availability and productivity. In such cultures, stepping away for a holiday can feel like a weakness or an inability to lead effectively. You may fear judgment from peers or employees if you take time off, leading to a cycle of overworking and burnout. Additionally, small business owners often set the tone for their teams; if you prioritize work above rest, your employees may feel obligated to follow suit, further perpetuating a work-centric environment. The Impact on Well-Being Small business owners face mounting pressures, making it difficult to prioritize personal time. Both mental and physical health risks grow alongside relentless work cycles. Mental Health Implications Chronic overworking often leads to anxiety, depression, and burnout. The Kabbage survey shows that 75% of small business owners work during their holidays, underscoring the struggle to disconnect. Limited time for relaxation and rejuvenation diminishes creativity and reduces problem-solving abilities. Additionally, financial pressures contribute, as nearly half of respondents in the FreshBooks survey claim they can’t afford not to work. This stress can hinder effective leadership and innovative thinking, crucial for a thriving business. Physical Health Risks Health concerns escalate when small business owners neglect self-care. Long hours and constant stress contribute to fatigue and a decline in overall wellness. Lack of breaks increases the risk of cardiovascular issues, sleep disorders, and other chronic conditions. Additionally, extended periods of inactivity can lead to weight gain and associated health dangers. Prioritizing holidays can reverse this trend, enhancing focus and improving physical health, ultimately benefiting your business performance. Strategies for Taking Time Off Small business owners can implement effective strategies to take time off without jeopardizing their operations. Prioritizing regular breaks enhances productivity and overall well-being. Planning and Delegation Identify Slow Periods: Assess your business cycle to pinpoint slower times. Schedule vacations during these periods to minimize disruption. Delegate Tasks: Empower your team by entrusting them with essential responsibilities. Provide clear instructions and necessary resources to maintain productivity in your absence. Create Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs): Document processes for vital tasks. SOPs ensure consistency and allow employees to handle operations smoothly while you’re away. Setting Boundaries Communicate Your Availability: Notify clients and colleagues of your upcoming time off. Set expectations regarding your communication during your absence. Limit Work Communication: Establish a plan to disconnect from work emails and messages. Prioritize your time off by designating specific hours to check and respond to vital communications, if necessary. Encourage Team Autonomy: Foster a culture where your team feels confident making decisions. This minimizes reliance on your immediate input, allowing you to enjoy your break. Implementing these strategies ensures you can take well-deserved holidays while maintaining your business’s growth and stability. Conclusion Taking a holiday might seem impossible for you as a small business owner but it’s essential for your well-being and the health of your business. Embracing breaks can recharge your energy and spark creativity while preventing burnout. By implementing effective strategies like delegating tasks and planning vacations during slower periods, you can create a more balanced work-life dynamic. Remember that prioritizing your personal time isn’t just a luxury; it’s a necessity that can lead to better decision-making and improved productivity. Allowing yourself the space to step back can ultimately strengthen your business and keep you competitive in the long run. You deserve to enjoy the fruits of your labor, so make that holiday happen. Frequently Asked Questions Why do small business owners struggle to take vacations? Small business owners often struggle to take vacations due to financial concerns, fear of losing customers, and workplace culture that values constant availability. Additionally, the pressure to maintain operations and avoid falling behind competitors makes it challenging for owners to prioritize personal time. How does chronic overworking impact small business owners? Chronic overworking can lead to serious mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and burnout. This relentless work cycle also hampers creativity and problem-solving ability, impacting overall business productivity and innovation. What are some strategies for small business owners to take time off? Business owners can plan vacations during slow periods, delegate tasks to team members, and create standard operating procedures. Setting boundaries regarding availability and limiting work communication can also help owners disconnect and enjoy their time off. How can taking breaks benefit small business owners? Taking breaks can enhance focus, improve mental and physical health, and ultimately boost business performance. Regular time off can prevent burnout, fostering creativity and innovation, which are essential for long-term sustainability and competitiveness. What role does workplace culture play in taking vacations? Workplace culture significantly influences small business owners’ ability to take vacations. If the environment prioritizes constant availability, owners may feel pressured to work even during breaks, contributing to a cycle of overworking and stress. Image Via Envato This article, "Why Small Business Owners Are Not Taking Holidays and How to Break the Cycle" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Key Takeaways Burnout Risks: Constant work without breaks can lead to serious burnout, negatively affecting productivity and overall business health. Financial Constraints: Many small business owners feel they can’t afford to take holidays due to ongoing financial pressures and fear of income loss. Customer Retention Concerns: The worry of losing customers or disrupting service leads small business owners to prioritize work over personal time off. Workplace Culture Impact: A culture that emphasizes constant availability can make taking holidays seem like a weakness, perpetuating the cycle of overwork. Health Implications: Neglecting personal time can lead to both mental health issues like anxiety and stress, as well as physical health risks such as chronic fatigue and cardiovascular problems. Strategies for Time Off: Planning vacations during slow periods, delegating tasks, and setting clear boundaries can help business owners take necessary breaks without jeopardizing operations. In today’s fast-paced world, small business owners often find themselves caught in a relentless cycle of work. With the pressures of managing finances, meeting customer demands, and ensuring growth, taking a holiday can feel like a luxury they can’t afford. Yet, this constant grind can lead to burnout and decreased productivity, ultimately harming their business. You might wonder why so many entrepreneurs skip vacations despite the clear benefits of stepping away. The fear of losing momentum or falling behind competitors looms large, making it hard to prioritize personal time. However, understanding the importance of taking breaks could be the key to revitalizing your passion and creativity in your business. Understanding The Issue Many small business owners face significant challenges in taking holidays. The constant demands of managing operations often create an environment where personal time feels out of reach, leading to stress and burnout. The Stress of Ownership The stress of ownership can be overwhelming. You juggle many responsibilities, from financial management and marketing to customer service and team building. Each decision you make directly impacts your bottom line. The fear of falling behind competitors often leads you to prioritize work over personal well-being. This leads to relentless hours, preventing you from stepping away even for short breaks. Consequences of Overworking Overworking has serious consequences for both you and your business. Extended periods of no time off can harm your health, decrease productivity, and stifle innovation. As you neglect personal time, you risk burnout, which can lead to a decline in leadership effectiveness. A lack of proper breaks adversely affects your business model, making it harder to meet your growth strategy and customer acquisition goals. Prioritizing time off becomes essential not just for your well-being, but also for ensuring your business remains competitive and sustainable. Reasons Small Business Owners Are Not Taking Holidays Small business owners face various challenges that hinder their ability to take holidays. Understanding these reasons helps identify strategies for balancing work and personal time. Financial Concerns Financial pressures frequently dominate the lives of small business owners. Nearly half of you in a FreshBooks survey stated you can’t afford not to work during the holiday season. Financial reasons are a substantial barrier; 50% of you cite income loss as your most significant challenge when taking time off. Many small business owners, especially those aged 25-34, rely on personal savings, with 75% using their funds to support their ventures. Tight cash flow, expenses, and the fear of disrupting your business’s financial stability often dictate whether you can take a break. Fear of Losing Customers The concern over losing customers and disrupting continuous operations weighs heavily on your decision-making. The absence from your business could lead to significant repercussions, including potential loss of sales and client trust. This fear of losing your customer base keeps you tied to your work, as maintaining customer acquisition and managing relationships often take precedence. Ensuring consistent customer service and care can create an unsettling feeling that taking a holiday might jeopardize loyalty. Workplace Culture Workplace culture also plays a vital role in your decision regarding time off. Many of you feel pressured by an environment that values constant availability and productivity. In such cultures, stepping away for a holiday can feel like a weakness or an inability to lead effectively. You may fear judgment from peers or employees if you take time off, leading to a cycle of overworking and burnout. Additionally, small business owners often set the tone for their teams; if you prioritize work above rest, your employees may feel obligated to follow suit, further perpetuating a work-centric environment. The Impact on Well-Being Small business owners face mounting pressures, making it difficult to prioritize personal time. Both mental and physical health risks grow alongside relentless work cycles. Mental Health Implications Chronic overworking often leads to anxiety, depression, and burnout. The Kabbage survey shows that 75% of small business owners work during their holidays, underscoring the struggle to disconnect. Limited time for relaxation and rejuvenation diminishes creativity and reduces problem-solving abilities. Additionally, financial pressures contribute, as nearly half of respondents in the FreshBooks survey claim they can’t afford not to work. This stress can hinder effective leadership and innovative thinking, crucial for a thriving business. Physical Health Risks Health concerns escalate when small business owners neglect self-care. Long hours and constant stress contribute to fatigue and a decline in overall wellness. Lack of breaks increases the risk of cardiovascular issues, sleep disorders, and other chronic conditions. Additionally, extended periods of inactivity can lead to weight gain and associated health dangers. Prioritizing holidays can reverse this trend, enhancing focus and improving physical health, ultimately benefiting your business performance. Strategies for Taking Time Off Small business owners can implement effective strategies to take time off without jeopardizing their operations. Prioritizing regular breaks enhances productivity and overall well-being. Planning and Delegation Identify Slow Periods: Assess your business cycle to pinpoint slower times. Schedule vacations during these periods to minimize disruption. Delegate Tasks: Empower your team by entrusting them with essential responsibilities. Provide clear instructions and necessary resources to maintain productivity in your absence. Create Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs): Document processes for vital tasks. SOPs ensure consistency and allow employees to handle operations smoothly while you’re away. Setting Boundaries Communicate Your Availability: Notify clients and colleagues of your upcoming time off. Set expectations regarding your communication during your absence. Limit Work Communication: Establish a plan to disconnect from work emails and messages. Prioritize your time off by designating specific hours to check and respond to vital communications, if necessary. Encourage Team Autonomy: Foster a culture where your team feels confident making decisions. This minimizes reliance on your immediate input, allowing you to enjoy your break. Implementing these strategies ensures you can take well-deserved holidays while maintaining your business’s growth and stability. Conclusion Taking a holiday might seem impossible for you as a small business owner but it’s essential for your well-being and the health of your business. Embracing breaks can recharge your energy and spark creativity while preventing burnout. By implementing effective strategies like delegating tasks and planning vacations during slower periods, you can create a more balanced work-life dynamic. Remember that prioritizing your personal time isn’t just a luxury; it’s a necessity that can lead to better decision-making and improved productivity. Allowing yourself the space to step back can ultimately strengthen your business and keep you competitive in the long run. You deserve to enjoy the fruits of your labor, so make that holiday happen. Frequently Asked Questions Why do small business owners struggle to take vacations? Small business owners often struggle to take vacations due to financial concerns, fear of losing customers, and workplace culture that values constant availability. Additionally, the pressure to maintain operations and avoid falling behind competitors makes it challenging for owners to prioritize personal time. How does chronic overworking impact small business owners? Chronic overworking can lead to serious mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and burnout. This relentless work cycle also hampers creativity and problem-solving ability, impacting overall business productivity and innovation. What are some strategies for small business owners to take time off? Business owners can plan vacations during slow periods, delegate tasks to team members, and create standard operating procedures. Setting boundaries regarding availability and limiting work communication can also help owners disconnect and enjoy their time off. How can taking breaks benefit small business owners? Taking breaks can enhance focus, improve mental and physical health, and ultimately boost business performance. Regular time off can prevent burnout, fostering creativity and innovation, which are essential for long-term sustainability and competitiveness. What role does workplace culture play in taking vacations? Workplace culture significantly influences small business owners’ ability to take vacations. If the environment prioritizes constant availability, owners may feel pressured to work even during breaks, contributing to a cycle of overworking and stress. Image Via Envato This article, "Why Small Business Owners Are Not Taking Holidays and How to Break the Cycle" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Fun fact: The saying “work smarter, not harder” is coming up on its 100th birthday. Coined in the 1930s by industrial engineer Allen Morgenstern, this simple, pithy directive is arguably more achievable today than ever before. Thanks to generative AI chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude, it’s never been easier to quickly create text, images, code, and more. Here are few practical ways you can leverage them to power up your productivity. Create content If you spend any time crafting marketing copy, drafting emails, outlining blog posts, or even brainstorming ideas, generative AI tools can save you an incredible amount of time. Simply input a few keywords or a brief description, and watch as the AI generates initial drafts, outlines, or even complete pieces of content. Sample prompts: “Write a social media post announcing a new product feature for our accounting software. Keep it under 140 characters and include relevant hashtags.” “Generate three different subject lines for an email marketing campaign promoting our summer sale.” “Create an outline for a blog post titled ‘The Top 5 Benefits of Using AI for Project Management.’ ’’ Summarize information Drowning in readables? Generative AI can help you separate the wheat from the chaff far faster than even the speediest of human speed-readers. You can condense lengthy documents, emails, reports, and more into concise summaries, without spending hours reading. Sample prompts: “Summarize the key findings of this market research report into a few paragraphs.” “Extract the action items from this email thread.” “Synthesize the customer feedback from this collection of online reviews into an overview of common themes.” Generate ideas If you’re not quite ready to trust generative AI to reliably create content or summarize information for you, rest assured that it can act as a powerful brainstorming partner. You can leverage AI to generate a wide range of concepts, muscle through writer’s block, or help you think of new ways to solve problems. Sample prompts: “Brainstorm 10 different marketing campaign ideas for a sustainable fashion brand targeting Gen Z.” “Generate five unique names for a new coffee shop with a focus on local beans.” “Come up with three different approaches to improve customer engagement on our website.” View the full article

Social media is terrible for teens’ mental health—or is it? At the same time that rising rates of poor mental health among youth have been called a national crisis, and as parents and regulators call on social media companies to do more to keep young people safe online, a recent study by the Pew Research Center found that social media—while flawed—can sometimes be a positive influence on teenagers. In a survey of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17, 74% said social media makes them feel more connected to their friends, and 63% said online platforms give them a place to show off their creativity. There’s more good news: About half—52%—said social media makes them feel more accepted and supported through tough times. The bad news? That number is down from 67% in 2022. The survey found that parents, more than teens themselves, are likely to see social media as a threat to the mental health of teen users. Nearly half (44%) of parents blamed social media as the single greatest negative influence on teens’ mental health, followed by technology and bullying. Only 22% of teens agreed, citing a broader range of negative influences, including bullying and pressure to meet expectations. “Everyone expects teens to have it all figured out by the time we get out of high school,” one teenage girl said. “Sometimes we don’t know what we want to do. We are figuring life out too.” Still, social media ranked as the most negative influence according to both teens and parents. “The overuse of social media in our society seems to be the main cause of depression among those in my age group,” a teenage boy said. “People seem to let themselves be affected by the opinions of people they don’t know, and it wreaks havoc upon people’s states of mind.” Interestingly, teens seem more concerned about the effect of social media on their peers than on themselves. Roughly half (48%) said these sites have a mostly negative effect on teens their age—up from 32% in 2022—while just 14% said they believe social media negatively affects them personally. At the same time, the number of teens who said they think social media has a positive effect on their peers dropped from 24% in 2022 to just 11% in the current survey. As a result, many teens are trying to cut back: 44% said they have reduced the time they spend on social media and smartphones. That means more than half are still scrolling. View the full article

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This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Can I refuse to pray with my religious client? I am a militantly non-religious person and have worked with a religion-based nonprofit as a consultant for a couple of years now. I am somewhat new to the workforce, and this is my first consulting gig. They have always asked me to pray with them and for them at the beginning and end of every meeting. Because I really needed the work, I went along with this, and they have the idea that I support what they do and follow their beliefs. However, as time passes, it is becoming harder and harder for me to put a smile on and fake it, and we have multiple meetings per week. It is making me feel sick to do so, in fact. Is there any way you can see to walk back from the praying gracefully without raising their hackles or awareness so much that they fire me? The praying is just really pervasive and there isn’t really a chance for me to “have to run and thank you so much for the meeting” before the prayers, as they announce and list the prayers as we go. They are pretty obnoxious about it and it is all performative nonsense as I am aware of some of their activities outside the church. I am actively trying to replace them as a client but can’t afford to lose them right now. Yeah, if you’ve been praying with them for a couple of years, you’ve definitely allowed them to think you share their beliefs in a way you don’t. Ideally the first time it came up, you would have sat quietly and not participated — and if questioned about it, could have said, “I don’t pray at work, but please go ahead” or similar. That’s not to criticize you for not knowing what to do the first time it happened; this stuff if hard to field when you don’t know it’s coming! But letting it go on for two years is definitely making it more difficult now. Still, though, could you simply start sitting quietly while they pray and not participate yourself? If they ask why you’re not joining them, you could say, “I’ve realized I prefer to sit quietly during prayer, but please go ahead.” That said … this is clearly a very religious organization, and if they’re praying at the start and end of every meeting, it’s very, very woven into their culture. If you can’t afford to lose them as a client until you’ve replaced them and your sense is that it will be An Issue if you stop participating, you may need to fake it a while longer. (Personally, I’d argue that faking it is inherently disrespectful, but that would be The Presidented by their disrespect in objecting to you sitting quietly, if indeed they did.) Related: how do I handle questions about my religion at work meetings? 2. I was accused of bullying for not attending a coworker’s baby shower I work for a smaller company on an all-female team. We’ve had multiple employees have babies since I’ve been here; never once have we thrown them a baby shower as a team. Recently, a higher up’s daughter (Ella), who works in a different department, announced she is pregnant. I’ve never spoken to Ella. My team and Ella’s team decided to throw her a baby shower. They sent out an email and asked everyone to use their lunch break to go to this shower. Her registry link was sent out, a card went around, and we were asked to pitch in for a gift card if possible. I opted to sign the card but did not attend the shower or provide money for a gift and said I had a previous engagement I needed to go to during that time. As someone going through infertility, baby showers are triggering and, to be honest, I’m not going to put myself through that for someone I’ve never spoken to. I made my boss aware of this fake engagement ahead of time and apologized that I would miss out. I’ve been told by people who did go that my absence was mentioned multiple times by the higher-up’s and some felt it was my way of bullying Ella. My team is pretty toxic and I fully expect to be spoken to about this come next week. If I am pulled in, would it be appropriate to disclose my infertility to my boss as a way to say back off? I have a good relationship with her and I feel like this would immediately shut people up, but I don’t know if this is something people typically disclose to a boss. I feel like anyone with an ounce of empathy would realize that people would skip a baby shower for other reasons rather than “bullying,” but alas, here we are. They think you not attending a baby shower was bullying? And that you’d randomly decide to bully someone you’ve never even spoken to? This sounds like the tip of the iceberg with whatever’s going on in your office. On principle I’d like to tell you to just reiterate that you had a scheduling conflict, and look extremely confused about why they’d think you have a grudge against someone you don’t even know (since that would be a very natural reaction to have). But if you’re comfortable explaining that you avoid showers since they’re painful to you because of infertility struggles, that will almost certainly shut them up (and will hopefully make them feel foolish as well, although that might be too much to hope for with these weirdos). However, that is 100% dependent on what you’re comfortable with; you don’t have to disclose this. But if you’re wondering if it’s a thing people ever do disclose to explain why they’re avoiding a work shower: yes. It wouldn’t be inappropriate if you decide you want to. Related: my office canceled baby showers to protect people dealing with infertility 3. Contracting company wants me to slow-roll my work so it looks like it took longer I recently started a job as a contractor to a large well-known tech company. I am employed full-time by the contracting company, and working full-time at the contractee’s site. I’ve always considered myself a hard worker and am not a person who has ever intentionally held himself back to make projects take longer, or deliberately over quoted projects to make them “seem difficult.” I am very familiar with the tech stack and have more than 15 years working with it. There is so much low-hanging fruit! I’ve been told multiple times by my contracting team leadership to slow down and don’t make it look too easy. I was also told, “I know you could do it in a day, but wait for a few more to ship the change so it looks like it took a while.” They don’t want me setting “unreasonable expectations” in case they get asked to do something “unreasonable.” I’ve literally reverted a one-line change in a displayed string because things shouldn’t be fixed too fast! I feel dirty staying there any longer than I have to, and I am actively job hunting again. Do I have an obligation to mention any of this to the contractee company? I’ve thought about saying something to the company employee paying for my team on the way out, but I have a feeling there may be legal repercussions. I’ve also thought about mentioning this to my employer, but I’ve only been there for not quite three months, and the other two on my team have been there for years. Of course, all of this was said verbally too, so there is no record of it. Should I just quietly disappear when I land a new job, or is mentioning something the right thing to do? I don’t think you have an obligation to mention it, and I also think mentioning it would be the right thing to do … which doesn’t mean it would be the smart thing to do, if it gets tied back to you. This is one of those things where you can sometimes manage to drop hints to someone who you trust to pick up the hint and look at things more closely themselves, while still preserving plausible deniability for yourself, but there’s an art to doing that subtly rather than in one big blunt conversation on your way out. Ultimately, it really depends on your sense of the players, how much you care about how the contracting company feels about you, and how confident you feel about your ability to withstand badmouthing from them if it comes to that. 4. Should I give my notes to the new person? We have a new (early 20s) person starting in my office, and I’m pretty sure this is her first job out of college. She will be taking over doing some fieldwork, which also involves entering data into a big database. I do a smaller portion of this work, and the main guy who will be teaching her has written out directions on the (overly) difficult way to enter the data, while I’ve written out my own set of clearer, more detailed directions. Should I offer her my set of directions or let her write out her own? I don’t want to overstep since the main guy is the one who will train her, but I have an idea he won’t explain things very well. I wouldn’t hit her with yours the same day he shows her his way, because it can be overwhelming to get conflicting instructions at a new job, and you don’t want to set her up to directly circumvent the way he’s asking her to do it. But at some point fairly early on, it’s fine to say, “I figured out we can streamline the process a bit and wrote out my own instructions on how to do it. Want me to send them to you? For example, instead of going through five menus to get to X, you can use this shortcut to X and it’s a lot faster.” (Of course, this assumes that you’re confident your directions work well and are correct for her portion of the work. There are some situations where they might work for your smaller portion but not for her larger one. So just make sense you’re taking that into account first.) 5. I turned down a job and now I regret it I received a job offer that, at the time, I turned down as I did not think I would be interested in a mostly remote role, which it was not listed as in their job description. They wanted a fairly quick response — one week — which I feel like made me rush into deciding. However, a few weeks later, I regret turning it down and feel like I was just overthinking the job change. I see that they reposted the job to their website. Would it be inappropriate for me to reach out to the hiring manager and ask that I be reconsidered? You can. Typically if you turn down a job offer and then come back and say you changed your mind, the hiring manager will want to hear about what changed on your side. They don’t want you accepting an offer that’s really not right for you, so they’re likely to have questions before they feel confident moving forward (because they don’t want to hire and train you and then have you realize your initial instinct was correct and leave soon afterwards). So you’d want to be prepared to speak to what changed and why you’re confident about the job now. For what it’s worth, a week is a pretty standard period of time to think over an offer. Also, if they didn’t mention the job was remote until that point, that’s pretty odd, and a sign to think really critically about how much you know about how they operate: are there going to be other crucial details they handle cavalierly and last-minute? (Although if it just wasn’t in the ad but was explained clearly as soon as they moved you to an interview, that would concern me less.) View the full article

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