All Activity

Decision comes after scandal over use of group chat to discuss military attacks in YemenView the full article

A government-sponsored enterprise executive shared his take on the financial implications of Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte's initiatives. View the full article

Microsoft’s cloud computing and artificial intelligence business helped deliver $70.1 billion in sales and boosted profits by 18% for the January-March quarter, a dose of relief for investors during a turbulent time for the tech sector and U.S. economy. The company reported quarterly net income of $25.8 billion, or $3.46 per share, beating Wall Street expectations for earnings of $3.22 a share. The Redmond, Washington-based software maker posted revenue of $70.1 billion in the period, its third fiscal quarter, up 13% from the same period a year ago and also beating Wall Street expectations. Analysts polled by FactSet expected Microsoft to post revenue of $68.44 billion for the quarter. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella credited cloud growth for its strong quarter. The company’s cloud unit posted revenue of $26.8 billion, compared with expectations of $26.17 billion. “Cloud and AI are the essential inputs for every business to expand output, reduce costs, and accelerate growth,” Nadella said in a statement. The company also saw a 6% increase in revenue in its personal computing unit, which includes its laptop business and Xbox services. Nadella noted on a call with investors that demand for cloud and artificial intelligence remained strong. He said Microsoft is constantly tweaking its investments based on efficiency improvements in computing systems and what kind of services customers want. “We just want to make sure we are accounting for the latest and greatest information,” he said. Microsoft is among a group of the tech industry’s bellwether companies that have been through a period of uncertainty and turmoil since President Donald The President returned to the White House, with a see-sawing of stocks that has eviscerated trillions of dollars in shareholder wealth amid an onslaught of tariffs and other actions. Microsoft’s stock price has dropped nearly 8% since The President’s inauguration in January, to about $395 at the close of markets Wednesday. But investors appeared pleased moments later after Microsoft released its earnings report, sending stocks up more than 6% in after-hours trading. Revenue from Microsoft’s cloud computing business segment grew 21%, to $26.8 billion, also beating Wall Street projections. The company felt more tariff uncertainty in its personal computing business, which is centered around its Windows operating system and the fees it collects from computer makers that put it on the hardware they sell. Revenue from that business was $13.4 billion for the quarter, up 6% from the first three months of last year. —Associated Press View the full article

The generative AI revolution has seen more leaps forward than missteps—but one clear stumble was the sycophantic smothering of OpenAI’s 4o large language model (LLM), which the ChatGPT maker eventually had to withdraw after users began worrying it was too unfailingly flattering. The model became so eager to please, it lost authenticity. In their blog post explaining what went wrong, OpenAI described “ChatGPT’s default personality” and its “behavior”—terms typically reserved for humans, suggesting a degree of anthropomorphization. OpenAI isn’t alone in this: humans often describe AI as “understanding” or “knowing” things, largely because media coverage has consistently framed it that way—incorrectly. AI doesn’t possess knowledge or a brain, and some argue it never will (though that view is disputed). Still, talk of sentience, personality, and human-like qualities in AI appears to be growing. Last month, OpenAI competitor Anthropic—founded by former OpenAI employees—published a blog post expressing concern about developing AI that benefits human welfare. “But as we build those AI systems, and as they begin to approximate or surpass many human qualities, another question arises,” the firm wrote. “Should we also be concerned about the potential consciousness and experiences of the models themselves? Should we be concerned about model welfare, too?” Why is this kind of language on the rise? Are we witnessing a genuine shift toward AI sentience—or is it simply a strategy to juice a sector already flush with hype? In 2024 alone, private equity and venture capital poured $56 billion into generative AI startups. “Anthropomorphization, starting with the interface that presents as a person, using ‘I’, is part of the strategy here,” says Eerke Boiten, a professor at De Montfort University in Leicester, U.K. “It deflects from the moral and technical issues,” Boiten says. “When I complain that AI systems make mistakes in an unmanageable way, people tell me that humans do, too.” In this way, errors—like the misconfiguration of the core prompt that guided ChatGPT’s botched 4o model—can be framed as human-like mistakes by the model, rather than human errors by its creators. Whether this humanization is a deliberate choice is another question. “I think that people actually believe that sentience is possible and is starting to happen,” says Margaret Mitchell, a researcher and chief ethics scientist at Hugging Face. Mitchell sees less cynicism than some when it comes to how AI employees and companies talk about sentience and personality. “There’s a cognitive dissonance when what you believe as a person clashes with what your company needs you to say you believe,” she explains. “Within a few years of working at a company, your beliefs as an individual meld with the beliefs that would be useful for you to have for your company.” So it’s not that AI company employees are necessarily trying to overstate their systems’ capabilities—they may genuinely believe what they’re saying, shaped by industry incentives. “If sentience pumps up valuation, then the domino effect from that—if you don’t step out of the bubble enough—is believing that the systems are sentient,” Mitchell adds. But coding human-like qualities into AI systems doesn’t just exaggerate their abilities—it can also obscure scrutiny, says Boiten. “Dressing up AI systems as humans leads them to make the wrong analogy,” he explains. “We don’t want our tools or calculators to be systemically and unpredictably wrong.” To be fair, Anthropic’s blog post doesn’t declare sentient AI inevitable. The word “when” is balanced by “if” when considering the moral treatment of AI models. The company also notes, “There’s no scientific consensus on whether current or future AI systems could be conscious, or could have experiences that deserve consideration.” Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, in a January blog post reflecting on the past year, conceded that ubiquitous, superintelligent AI “sounds like science fiction right now, and somewhat crazy to talk about.” Still, by broaching the subject, AI companies are planting the idea of sentient AI in the public consciousness. The question—one we may never definitively answer unless AI actually becomes sentient—is whether this talk makes AI companies and their employees the boy who cried wolf, as former Google engineer Blake Lemoine learned after claiming in 2022 that a model he worked on was sentient. Or are they issuing an early warning? And while such talk may be a savvy fundraising tactic, it might also be worth tolerating—at least in part. Preparing mitigation strategies for AI’s future capabilities and fueling investor excitement may just be two sides of the same coin. As Boiten, a committed AI sentience skeptic, puts it: “The responsibility for a tool is with whoever employs it, and the buck also stops with them if they don’t fully know what the tool actually does.” View the full article

HERE'S A LOOK at some of the best leadership books to be released in May 2025 curated just for you. Be sure to check out the other great titles being offered this month. Another Way: Building Companies That Last…and Last…and Last by Dave Whorton with Bo Burlingham Dave Whorton went on a journey to find a better way to build companies, a way focused on long-term stability and steady growth, funded through profitability; a way in which leaders were committed to a purpose beyond personal wealth generation, to putting their people first, and to setting up their companies to endure. He calls these companies "Evergreen." Another Way combines Whorton's inspiring story with his Evergreen 7Ps framework, designed to guide more entrepreneurs and business leaders to follow his path. Full of revelations, practical advice, and real-world examples of companies going Evergreen, Another Way is as instructive as it is inspiring at showing capitalism at its best. The Power of Mattering: How Leaders Can Create a Culture of Significance by Zach Mercurio Increasingly, people report feeling overlooked, ignored, and underappreciated at work. Simply put, they don't feel like they matter to their leaders or organizations—and it's taking a toll. This hidden epidemic of insignificance is fueling a mental health crisis, intensifying loneliness, and, for organizations, driving disengagement, turnover, and low performance. Zach Mercurio reveals how mattering to others is a fundamental—yet often overlooked—requirement for thriving. He introduces a simple yet effective framework for making daily interactions with your people more meaningful: Noticing: the practice of seeing and hearing others, Affirming: the practice of showing people how their unique gifts make a difference, and Needing: the practice of showing people they're relied on and indispensable On Character: Choices That Define a Life by General Stanley McChrystal How to measure a life? After a career of service, retired four-star general Stanley McChrystal had much to contemplate. He pondered his successes and failures, his beliefs and aspirations, and asked himself, Who am I, really? And more importantly, who have I become? When I die, how will I be measured? In the end, McChrystal came to a conclusion as simple as it was profound: the reality of who we are cannot be recorded in dates or accomplishments. It is found in our character—the most accurate, and last full measure, of who we choose to be. On Character offers McChrystal’s blueprint for living with purpose and integrity, challenging us to examine not just our deeds but who we become through them. Reinventing the Leader: How to Change Yourself to Change Your Company by Gui Loureiro and Carlos E. Marin An inspiring, practical book by Gui Loureiro, Regional CEO overseeing Walmex, Walmart Canada, and Walmart Chile, and his executive leadership coach Carlos Marin that shows how even the most successful leaders must be open to personal change in order to transform their company. Reinventing the Leader is the turbulent story of how it happened that’s especially relevant in this age of globalization. Gui learns from Carlos that to change the company he must first transform his own leadership style. Written from the dual perspectives of a CEO and his leadership coach, this candid book provides an insightful blueprint for any organization’s success. Today’s leaders are expected to inspire by sharing a vision based on purpose, not just profits. Loureiro and Marin’s enlightening account of self-discovery and business reinvention defines a fresh new approach to leadership for the future. The 7 Commitments of a Great Team by Jon Gordon From Jon Gordon comes a powerful new fable on what it takes to build a truly great team. Through engaging storytelling, real-world lessons, and actionable insights, Gordon reveals the seven commitments that great teams must make to build trust, foster connection, overcome adversity, and achieve extraordinary success. Whether you're a business leader, coach, entrepreneur, or team member, this book will inspire you to commit, lead with purpose, and build a team that wins, thrives, and leaves a lasting impact. The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI, and the Race to Invent the Future Keach Hagey In The Optimist, the Wall Street Journal reporter Keach Hagey presents the most detailed account yet of Altman’s rise, from his precocious childhood in St. Louis to his first, failed startup experience; his time as legendary entrepreneur Paul Graham’s protégé and successor as head of Y Combinator, the start-up accelerator where Altman became the premier power broker in Silicon Valley; the founding of OpenAI and his recruitment of a small yet superior team; and his struggle to keep his company at the cutting edge while fending off determined rivals, including Elon Musk, a former friend and now Altman’s bitter opponent. Hagey delivers a nuanced, balanced, revelatory account of the individual who is leading us into what he himself has called “the intelligence age.” Altman is a figure out of Isaac Asimov or Neal Stephenson. Or he is the author himself: if it feels as though we have all collectively stepped into a science fiction short story, it is Altman who is writing it. For bulk orders call 1-626-441-2024 * * * “You can't think well without writing well, and you can't write well without reading well. And I mean that last "well" in both senses. You have to be good at reading, and read good things.” — Paul Graham, Y Combinator co-founder * * * Follow us on Instagram and X for additional leadership and personal development ideas. View the full article

Ideo—the global design firm famous for putting Design Thinking into the lexicon of corporate America—has vastly reduced its staff as appetite for its services have waned. But two years following the culling, the company has hired a new CEO. Michael Peng will take the role in June. Peng is a former Ideo partner who has spent the last five years leading the venture studio Moon Creative Lab, which was founded by the Japanese investment firm Mitsui & Co. “His leadership will bring a unique blend of human-centered creativity, multicultural fluency, thoughtful collaboration, and strong business acumen,” the company announced in a press release. Meanwhile, Derek Robson, Ideo’s CEO since 2023 who oversaw the largest staff cuts in the company’s history, will be moving into a “group-level role” at Kyu, the parent organization of Ideo. Before Moon, Peng studied neuroscience as an undergrad at Berkeley, and amassed considerable experience at IDeo, where he led the company’s human factors team and was key at shaping its expansion in Japan. During his 14 years with the company, he co-founded the company’s Tokyo office—a satellite that was profitable for Ideo even as the larger company was losing money in the 2020s. Robson closed Ideo Tokyo in what staffers considered a bungled move to “prioritize” its venture arm partnership in the region, D4V, which Peng also founded. While it would be premature to deconstruct too much of Ideo’s strategy with the hire, it is notable that Robson was the first non-designer Ideo had ever hired for the role of CEO. And in hiring Peng, Ideo has put a trained designer back at the helm of the company. View the full article

Raycast on the Mac is a powerful keyboard-based launcher. It's quite popular in Mac productivity circles, and you can think of it as a customizable version of Spotlight. You can add extensions to it, use it for math, create custom shortcuts with it, search for files, and now, of course, talk to AI, using a floating window on top of anything on your Mac. Apple users have requested an iPhone version of Raycast for a long time. But things that Raycast can do on the Mac, like access the clipboard, trigger extensions, and manage windows and files, just aren't possible on the iPhone and iPad. But Raycast for iPhone is finally here after all, and it's just the beginning. Raycast AI on iPhone Credit: Raycast Recently, Raycast has become kind of an all-in-one AI tool, providing you with access to the latest and greatest models from ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Deepseek, and more at one low monthly price. You get 50 messages for free, and the $10/month Raycast Pro plan provides you with access to smaller models like GPT mini and Claude 3.5 Haiku. The $20/month plan opens that up to the models like Claude 3.7 Sonnet, GPT-4.1, Gemini 2.5 Pro, and more. Credit: Khamosh Pathak Raycast on the iPhone carries the same design language as the Raycast app on the Mac. When you open the Raycast app on iPhone, you'll see a text box at the bottom, and a Voice button. On the top of the page, there are shortcuts to view all your AI conversations, Notes, Snippets, and Quicklinks. The middle part can be customized to add any AI or Raycast action shortcut that you wish. By default, you'll talk to Raycast AI using the app's own Ray model, which is based on GPT-4. But you can tap on the Model button to switch to any available model, including any custom AI models that you might have built on Mac. You can also add attachments, ask follow up questions, and more. Notes, Quicklinks and Snippets Credit: Raycast When it comes to productivity, the Raycast iPhone app brings over three Mac features: Notes, Quicklinks, and Snippets. If you're paying for the $10/month Raycast Pro subscription, you'll see that all your notes, Quicklinks and Snippets from your Mac will show up automatically on the iPhone (using the Cloud Sync feature). But even if you aren't, you can still use these features for free on the iPhone; they just won't sync to your Mac. You can create 5 notes for free using Raycast Notes. You'll also be able to export notes in HTML, Markdown and in rich text. Quicklinks and Snippets are let you do a bit more, though. Quicklinks let you create shortcuts for launching any URL with a tap. This URL can take you directly to a part of an app, or website. Snippets is Raycast's version of a text expansion tool, and is a more robust version of the built-in Text Replacement tool on iPhone and Mac. Here, you can create text-based shortcuts that expand into any saved text, like your address, or a work email template, easily. A ways to goAnd that's all there is so far. Currently, Raycast thinks of the iPhone app mostly as a companion to the more powerful Raycast utility on the Mac. According to an interview with Raycast co-founder Petr Nikolaev (via The Verge) the goal for the Raycast app was to put something in front of Raycast users and see how they respond. The developers plan to build on top of this foundation using the feedback from users. If the Raycast app on iPhone is successful, they also plan to build an Android app (a the Windows app is already in the works). Currently, Raycast supports the Shortcuts framework that makes it easy to open the AI chat and other features directly from Control Center, or the Lock screen. But it's not the same as replacing Siri or Spotlight Search. According to the co-founders, they would love to bring extensions support to the iPhone app, but Apple's sandboxed environment won't allow for it. Although, they are excited about a potential custom keyboard implementation that would let them bring some of the Raycast features into other apps using the system keyboard. View the full article

Instagram and Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. posted better-than-expected results Wednesday for the first quarter thanks to strong advertising revenue—boosted by artificial intelligence tools—on its social media platforms. Meta’s stock climbed in extended trading after the results came out. It was a “a good quarter for Meta, but it was before the economic turmoil really kicked in and before the seesaw of the tariffs began,” said Sonata Insights chief analyst Debra Aho Williamson. “It was also before we started to see pullbacks in ad spending from China-based advertisers like Temu and Shein.” Going forward, she added, Meta should be able to withstand any revenue shortfall from advertisers from China if it can continue to improve its AI-driven advertising tools. The company earned $16.64 billion, or $6.43 per share, in the January-March period, up 35% from $12.37 billion, or $4.71 per share, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose 16% to $42.31 billion from $36.46 billion a year earlier. Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $5.23 per share on revenue of $41.34 billion, according to a poll by FactSet. For the current quarter, Meta forecast revenue in the range of $42.5 billion to $45.5 billion. Analysts are expecting $43.84 billion. The Menlo Park, California-based company also raised its capital expenditures estimate for 2025 to $64 billion-$72 billion, up from its prior outlook of $60 billion-$65 billion. Meta said the new guidance “reflects additional data center investments to support our artificial intelligence efforts as well as an increase in the expected cost of infrastructure hardware.” “We’ve had a strong start to an important year, our community continues to grow and our business is performing very well,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement. “We’re making good progress on AI glasses and Meta AI, which now has almost 1 billion monthly actives.” He said in a conference call with analysts that the company is in a good position to navigate the ongoing economic “uncertainty.” Zacks Investment Research analyst Andrew Rocco said that while many companies have not been providing guidance amid tariff concerns and an uncertain economic environment, the fact that Meta did is a “bullish sign.” Meta said more than 3.4 billion people, on average, used at least one of its apps in March. That’s up 6% from a year earlier. On Tuesday, Meta released a standalone AI app, called Meta AI, that includes a “discover” feed that lets users see how others are interacting with AI. Meta shares jumped $24.20, or 4.4%, to $573.20 in after-hours trading. The stock is down about 8% year-to-date. —Barbara Ortutay, AP Technology Writer View the full article

Technologies like AI and Web3 could eventually unlock blockchain’s full potential. Accounting ARC With Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny Shimamoto Center for Accounting Transformation Go PRO for members-only access to more Center for Accounting Transformation. View the full article

Technologies like AI and Web3 could eventually unlock blockchain’s full potential. Accounting ARC With Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny Shimamoto Center for Accounting Transformation Go PRO for members-only access to more Center for Accounting Transformation. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Welcome to “Cookbook of the Week.” This is a series where I highlight cookbooks that are unique, easy to use, or just special to me. While finding a particular recipe online serves a quick purpose, flipping through a truly excellent cookbook has a magic all its own. Another Italian cookbook—I know. But trust me, you’ll want to be here for this one. Milk Street Backroads Italy is a cookbook that may make you question some of your “rules” about cooking Italian food. Constantly stirring polenta? Adding slabs of mozzarella to your eggplant parm? Loading Italian wedding soup with meatballs? While I will probably continue putting mini meatballs in everything, this latest volume from Milk Street has done something unexpected—it’s made Italian food new for me again. A bit about the bookThis absolutely packed cookbook by Christopher Kimball and J.M. Hirsch just published on April 15, and it’s fresh in more ways than that. You get a hint from the name, Backroads Italy, that you’re about to see a different side of the country's cuisine. This has been attempted by many, and why not? Italian food is usually easy to make, delicious, and relatively reliable to duplicate across regions. What this cookbook does differently is give you a host of dishes you probably aren’t familiar with (I wasn’t), and truly helpful tips at every turn. As for the dishes you thought you knew well, Milk Street Backroads Italy shows you a new way to make it. A new way that doesn’t make you grumpy about the change, but instead, intrigued by the possibility of an alternative favorite. It’s important to mention that these “new” methods aren’t actually new—they’ve been in use for generations. But they’re finally making their way to us from different regions in Italy—from Italian chefs that Kimball and Hirsch cooked with and learned from—occasionally with an adjustment in favor of science, or a spin on technique for the sake of ease in the American kitchen. A great cookbook for a different look at Italian foodI admit, I usually find an excess of stories in cookbooks a little tiresome—I like to get on with the recipes—but the stories in this cookbook drew my attention nearly every time. Instead of meandering anecdotes (which is when I usually flip), these excerpts are descriptive with a clear intention. They provide vital information about what you’re about to see on the next page, and why it’s going to be different from what you’re used to. I especially enjoyed reading about No-Fry Neapolitan Eggplant Parmesan (Parmigiana di Melanzane), classic polenta, and the Milanese technique for quick-cooking risotto. Each dish traditionally has an annoying but supposedly written in stone, must-do step. For example, the eggplant must be breaded in a coating of egg and bread crumbs. For polenta, it’s consistent stirring and boosting it with lots of cheese and butter. For risotto, much of the same slow and consistent stirring while slowly ladling in chicken broth. Well Milk Street Backroads Italy showed me that not only can you ditch the annoying steps, but the meal might actually be better for it. While Italian food is often known for hearty, tomato-sauce-laden pastas and, of course, pizza, the authors here relish in unearthing the little-known recipes of Italy—and the enthusiasm is contagious. I love the idea of making a soup that’s jam-packed with herbs instead of meat, swapping spaghetti with chickpeas for my vongole, or giving tomatoes a break and dousing rigatoni with a bright green broccoli sauce. Don’t get me wrong: There are familiar pasta dishes, risotto, focaccia, and pizza galore in this book. Just be open to the twists and turns on these backroads. You’ll be happy you did. The dish I made this week Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann I browsed the offerings in this cookbook for days, and I stopped often to gander at a gorgeous picture here or peruse the ingredient list there. But I kept coming back to page 179, Rigatoni con Salsa di Broccoli. Something about the creamy green sauce with big pasta tubes and even bigger broccoli florets was irresistible. Plus the ingredient list was a reasonable length of 10 ingredients, none of them difficult to source. Essentially, the sauce is made from the often-jettisoned broccoli stem with some key flavoring ingredients added. They all get blended into a furiously jade-hued sauce and tossed with the cooked rigatoni and blanched broccoli florets. It's a simple recipe, made even less busy by using a single pot of boiling water for all of the work. I appreciated not having multiple pots and pans going at once (and not having to clean them all later). Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann When I caught a whiff of the sauce out of the blender, I knew: There would be no hope for leftovers. I took one bite and was gobsmacked. This dish is upsettingly delicious. The broccoli flavor is to be expected—it’s the star—but the sauce is actually built on layers of flavor. Small, powerful ingredients—capers, garlic, and lemon zest specifically—get blended in at the perfect ratio to lift each other up without overwhelming the eater. This recipe is a problem. My neighborhood is about to run out of broccoli. Where to buy the bookYou can get 36% off if you buy the hardcover of Milk Street Backroads Italy from Milk Street’s online store, compared to the hardcover at other online retailers. But consider the more subtle ebook for an even lower price. Extra imaginary points from me if you solicit your local real-life bookstore too. Milk Street Backroads Italy: Finding Italy's Forgotten Recipes (A Cookbook) $19.99 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $19.99 at Amazon View the full article

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. Google AdSense ads are coming to third-party AI Chatbots. Apple Intelligence will soon make a deal to show Gemini results...View the full article

In the first quarter of 2025, I ran a data study to understand how often Google changes title tags – and why. While it’s well known that Google frequently rewrites titles, I wanted to dig deeper: What factors trigger these changes? Are some pages more prone to rewrites than others? Most SEO professionals develop their own title tag strategies based on a mix of Google’s guidance, industry advice, and personal experience. Yet, when I searched for actual data on how and why Google modifies title tags, I found only one notable case study – by Cyrus Shepard in 2023. That left me with more questions: Does search volume play a role? What about YMYL content? Could brand name usage make a difference? I decided to run my own study. What follows is a summary of my findings, highlighting some of the most interesting patterns I uncovered. Methodology For this case study, I conducted weeks’ worth of keyword research across different categories. YMYL vs. non-YMYL industries. High search volume vs. low search volume. Informational vs. commercial intent. The keyword set ended in the 30,000 range, which I had to pare down for cost reasons and because so many variations produced the same results for the same intent. Some argue that SEO data studies require millions of keywords for statistical significance, but that overlooks the reality that many of those keywords are low-quality or produce highly similar results. I’ve carefully curated this keyword list to ensure that we’re achieving a wide variety of intents and categories and that the quantity of keywords is balanced across categories. For tools, I used: Advanced Web Ranking to track rankings because it offers: An affordable pricing model. API access. Title tag data as returned by Google during fetch. Screaming Frog to crawl each result page on the same day, capturing the original title tags. Any errors in crawling were excluded from the data study results. Only the top 20 search results were included in the analysis. Key quantitative findings Google changes title tags 76% of the time. That’s a 25% increase from Shepard’s study just two years prior. Granted, we used a different dataset and methodology. However, the study is not that complicated, so I believe the comparison is still valid. Keyword usage Among the title tags that were changed, 77% didn’t include the page’s perceived focus keyword. This finding is surprising, as you’d expect pages ranking on the first two pages of search results to include focus keywords in their title tags. One possible explanation is that some of these titles were written with a more creative, reader-first approach rather than a traditional SEO strategy. As a caveat, I used AI to identify the focus keyword for each webpage and then manually reviewed the extracted keyword for accuracy. This presents a small margin of error but is still accurate. How much was changed? Of the title tags that were changed, only 35% of the original words were retained. This is expected, given the brevity of title tags. Analysis by search intent Commercial For commercial pages, keywords are definitely still a big deal. Almost a third (31.91%) of original commercial titles include the target keyword, and Google mostly respects this, keeping keywords at nearly the same rate (31.31%) in what they display. When Google does mess with keyword-containing titles, it keeps those keywords about 30% of the time. The cool part? Google hardly ever adds (1.44%) or removes (2.23%) keywords from commercial titles. This tells me they’re not trying to mess with our keyword strategy – they’re mostly just making titles clearer and better structured. Informational For informational content, it’s a whole different ball game. Only about 6% of original titles even contain target keywords – that’s five times less than commercial content. When Google changes these titles, they barely keep the keywords (just 5.35% of the time), and most (93.81%) of modified informational titles don’t have keywords in either version. This suggests that Google cares little about exact keyword matching for informational content and is way more focused on creating titles that clearly explain the content’s topic. Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. Business email address Sign me up! Processing... See terms. Analysis by YMYL status YMYL content: Google’s safety net in action When it comes to “Your Money, Your Life” (YMYL) content, Google appears to have trust issues – not that I blame them. Before analyzing any results, I suspected that Google would refrain from changing title tags from YMYL pages. But I couldn’t be more wrong. The data shows they’re modifying 76% of YMYL title tags, right in line with the global average. But here’s where it gets interesting: only about 21% of YMYL original titles include target keywords, and Google keeps keywords in just 19.63% of the titles it changes. Most telling? Up to 77.68% of changed YMYL titles don’t have keywords in either version. This makes perfect sense. For content that could impact someone’s health, finances, or legal situations, Google seems far more concerned with making sure titles are accurate and helpful rather than keyword-optimized. Non-YMYL content: A bit more keyword-friendly For non-YMYL content, Google’s still changing titles at the same rate (76.27%), but the keyword story differs. About 28% of original non-YMYL titles include target keywords, significantly higher than YMYL content. When Google changes these titles, it’s much more likely to preserve keywords intact, in 26.35% of cases. And while 71.64% of changed titles lack keywords in either version, that’s still lower than with YMYL content. It seems Google’s a bit more relaxed when the stakes are lower. For content about hobbies, entertainment, or other non-critical topics, they appear more willing to let keyword optimization strategies slide, perhaps because the potential harm from misleading content is less serious. YMYL vs. Non-YMYL: The trust factor The biggest difference between YMYL and non-YMYL handling isn’t how often Google changes titles – that’s remarkably consistent. It’s in how they treat keywords and optimization signals. For non-YMYL content, Google seems to give SEOs a longer leash, allowing for more keyword-focused title strategies. But for YMYL content, there’s a clear shift toward prioritizing accuracy, clarity, and user protection over SEO considerations. This makes sense from Google’s perspective. It can afford to be more lenient with your movie review blog. Still, when it comes to medical advice or financial guidance, it steps in more aggressively to ensure titles accurately represent content. The key takeaway? For YMYL sites, focus less on keyword-stuffing titles and more on creating clear, accurate headlines that reflect your content. Google will change your titles anyway, so you might as well work with their system rather than against it. Why Google changes your title tags (even though you worked so hard on them) The data study reveals several clear patterns in how and why Google modifies title tags in search results. Brand name removal: The title tag trimmer The most common change Google makes is simply removing your brand name. This happens in 63% of all modified titles. Google’s saying, “Thanks, but no thanks” to your carefully placed brand mentions, especially in health-related searches. They seem to prioritize the core content information over your brand, particularly when: Space is tight. They don’t think your brand adds substantial value to searchers. If the query isn’t specifically brand-focused, your brand name is often the first thing to go. Clarity makeover: Making titles make sense About 30% of Google’s title changes are about making your titles more readable or better aligned with user expectations. They’re converting vague statements into clear questions (which may drive higher CTR), making value propositions more obvious, and using more direct language. Google frequently rephrases titles to match how users actually think about topics rather than how you’ve framed them. It’s like Google is your editor, cleaning up your headlines to make them more user-friendly. Length control: Too long, too short, just right Google has no patience for title tag extremes. They’ll truncate overly long titles and expand super-short ones. About 8% of changes fall into this category. The most dramatic examples are those ridiculous SEO-stuffed titles (looking at you, dog bite attorneys with 500+ word titles listing every city and ZIP code) or those uninformative one-word titles that tell users nothing. Google doesn’t seem to care about length, but more about clarity. Dig deeper: What should the title tag length be in 2025? Intent matching: Giving users what they want Google frequently modifies titles to align with user search intent, particularly for commercial queries. They will: Emphasize commercial elements for shopping-related searches. Add qualifying terms that match user expectations. Remove unnecessary fluff that doesn’t serve the primary intent. It’s all about ensuring the title delivers what the searcher is looking for. YMYL: Handling with care For YMYL content, Google takes title accuracy very seriously. While my data didn’t show evidence of this being about content accuracy or potentially harmful information, there were clear patterns: Brand names get stripped. Complex titles get simplified. Unnecessary descriptive elements disappear. Google standardizes title structure particularly for commercial/transactional queries in sensitive categories like health, finance, and legal. Generic title rescue: Adding missing specificity When websites use vague titles like “Our products” or “Nutrition information,” Google adds specificity that helps users understand what they’ll find. This: Improves click-through rates by creating titles that align better with search intent. Sets appropriate expectations about page content. Helps pages compete against more descriptive competitor titles. It’s Google’s way of saying, “Let me fix that for you, since you couldn’t be bothered to write a proper title.” Understanding Google’s title tag rewrites With Google changing over 76% of title tags across the board, we need to accept that creating the perfect title tag is: Less about controlling exactly what shows up in the SERPs. More about guiding Google toward showing something that aligns with our content goals. What’s most striking is the consistency across different content types, industries, and search volumes. Whether you’re dealing with medical content, legal pages, commercial or informational intent, Google’s modification rate hovers remarkably close to that 76% mark. The differences lie not in how often Google changes titles, but in how they change them. For SEO practitioners, this means shifting our approach. Instead of fighting Google’s title modification system, we should work with it by: Creating concise, clear titles between 30-60 characters that Google will likely keep intact. Using different strategies for commercial vs. informational content (keyword-focused for commercial, clarity-focused for informational). Being extra vigilant with YMYL content titles, focusing on accuracy over keyword optimization. Avoiding unnecessary brand mentions in titles unless the query is specifically brand-focused. Testing formats that Google tends to preserve (like “How to” and list formats). The days of keyword-stuffed, brand-heavy titles designed purely for rankings are over. Google will do what it does, so our best strategy is to: Understand the patterns behind their modifications. Craft titles that guide them toward showing something that still achieves our goals, even after they’ve put their spin on it. For the full data study with additional insights, read my complete analysis here. View the full article

Elon Musk, preparing to step back from his work leading the Department of Government Efficiency, had a request of the reporters gathered at the White House to interview him: Before he would answer any questions, he wanted someone to tell him a joke. The tech billionaire’s request in the Roosevelt Room on Wednesday underscored the surreal and idiosyncratic presence of the world’s richest man at the highest echelons of American power. Over the past few months, his work of downsizing the workforce has sent shocks through the federal government and drawn intense pushback, including protests of his electric vehicle company, Tesla. Musing about his and DOGE’s incongruous role in the U.S. government, he said, “It is funny that we’ve got DOGE.” “Doesn’t the absurdity of that seem, like, like, are we in a simulation here or what’s going on? But, like, it was a meme coin at one point,” he said, laughing. “How did we get here?” Musk, clad in all black but missing the two hats he had worn at Wednesday’s earlier Cabinet meeting, defended DOGE’s work as he prepares to scale back his government role and spend more time at his businesses. But he gave hazy answers about the work he’d been doing and DOGE’s future, and he seemed taken aback by the intense backlash he’d encountered. “Being attacked relentlessly is not super fun,” he said. “Seeing cars burning is not fun,” he added, referring to the instances of Tesla cars being smashed or set on fire. “In the grand scheme of things, I think we’ve been effective. Not as effective as I’d like. I think we could be more effective,” Musk said. “But we’ve made progress.” DOGE’s large-scale slashings have been met with dozens of lawsuits. DOGE’s attempts to access sensitive government information, including Social Security data, has similarly met resistance in court. And Democrats this week unveiled an online tracker tallying the federal funds approved by Congress that DOGE has blocked, setting up a constitutional struggle between two branches of government. Musk wouldn’t offer examples of anything he’d do differently, though DOGE is nowhere near its original savings goal and has overstated its progress. DOGE had sought to cut spending by $1 trillion. Musk estimates he’s cut $160 billion so far and acknowledged it would be hard to get anywhere close to $1 trillion. “It’s sort of, how much pain is the Cabinet and the Congress willing to take?” Musk said. “It can be done, but it requires dealing with a lot of complaints.” Musk didn’t detail any of those complaints and said he has a good relationship with President Donald The President’s Cabinet. But when asked about clashes with certain members, particularly Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Musk said, “at times, there will be some disagreements with the Cabinet.” He defended DOGE’s attempts to access Americans’ personal data, dismissing concerns about a potential “surveillance state” by quipping, “Don’t we already have a surveillance state?” He said DOGE needs to access the systems in its hunt for fraud, and said, “There has to be some way to reconcile the improper payments.” He said DOGE has referred cases of suspected fraud to the Justice Department, though he offered few details, including how many referrals were made. Antonio Gracias, a Musk investor working for DOGE, pointed to the indictment last week of an Iraqi man living in New York on charges he illegally voted in the 2020 election. U.S. prosecutors said DOGE assisted in the investigation. Musk acknowledged there were some instances in which they had to restore the jobs of government workers who, in his words, were “accidently let go,” like “some people that were doing important regulatory work or taking care of national parks.” When asked if he’s found any areas where he’d recommended efficiencies beyond cuts, Musk veered into the nation’s military strategy and said he has repeatedly recommended to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that he should be spending more money on hypersonic missiles and long-range drones instead of on crewed systems. Musk said DOGE is also working on improving connectivity for the nation’s air traffic control system and reviewing plans to improve its software, but DOGE’s primary goal is “trying to stop wasteful and fraudulent spending.” But on other points, he was vague. Who will lead DOGE when he leaves? “DOGE is a way of life,” he said. “Like Buddhism.” Will he retain the title of senior adviser to the president? “I guess.” Will DOGE wrap up its work by July 2026, as originally stated? “If the president wants us to stick to that date, we’ll stick to that date.” How many of the roughly 100 DOGE employees will stay on the job while he winds down? “Some will stay on. Some will not. So it’s up to them. This is basically a volunteer organization.” Is DOGE winding down? “No, I think it will gain momentum.” Musk struck up a friendship with The President during the 2024 campaign and spent nearly $300 million on the election—the bulk of which went toward helping the Republican reclaim the White House. He has since become a constant presence with The President for much of the first 100 days of the administration, regularly traveling with the president to his home in Florida on the weekends. Musk said Wednesday that he was working on DOGE seven days a week during the first months of the administration, at times sleeping in the Lincoln Bedroom at The President’s invitation. He declined to say just how many times he had slept at the White House but said the president had implored him to try the caramel ice cream from the kitchen. “Don’t tell RFK,” Musk joked, referring to The President’s Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Musk described it as an “intense period” during which he was trying to understand and map out the federal government. “It’s a startup, effectively. A new administration is like a startup,” he said. But he said he is now scaling back his work on DOGE, spending one to two days a week on it, and he plans to be in Washington less. “Now we’re getting more of a rhythm so the amount of time that’s necessary for me to spend here is much less,” he said. He also pointed to the limitation on his status as a special government employee, which means he can only work 130 days in a 365-day time period. He said he will keep his “tiny” office on the second floor of the West Wing that he said has “a view of nothing”—a feature, he then remarked, that keeps him safe. “It’s harder to shoot me,” he said. “There’s not a good line of sight.” —Michelle L. Price Associated Press View the full article

Everything seems to be getting more expensive these days, and video games are no exception. Case in point: Microsoft, just jacked up the recommended prices on its video game products. Xbox consoles and games alike are seeing cost increases—all of which go into effect today, May 1. You can find the full list of price changes on Microsoft's official pricing update blog post. But for those of us in the United States, here are the new prices we can expect to pay for Xbox products going forward, in addition to the original prices provided by IGN when available: Xbox consolesXbox Series S 512: $379.99 (originally $299.99) Xbox Series S 1TB: $429.99 (originally $349.99) Xbox Series X Digital: $549.99 (originally $449.99) Xbox Series X: $599.99 (originally $499.99) Xbox Series X 2TB Galaxy Black Special Edition: $729.99 (originally $599.99) Xbox controllers and headsetsXbox Wireless Controller — Limited Edition: $89.99 (originally $79.99) Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 (Core): $149.99 (originally $139.99) Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 (Full): $199.99 (originally $179.99) Xbox Wireless Controller (Core): $64.99 Xbox Wireless Controller (Color): $69.99 Xbox Wireless Controller — Special Edition: $79.99 Xbox Stereo Headset: $64.99 Which Xbox games are now more expensive?Microsoft hasn't said yet, though no existing games will cost more than they currently do. The company noted that they will raise the cost of some new first-party games to $79.99 this holiday season. That puts the price in line with the Switch 2's most premiere titles, like Mario Kart World. It seems $80 is the new standard in AAA video game pricing. Note that Xbox Game Pass pricing is not changing at this time. Why is Microsoft raising prices?According to the company, these MSRP hikes are due to "market conditions and the rising cost of development." To those of us following the news, however, it seems a likely culprit is the The President administration and its widespread tariffs imposed on trading partners across the globe. Microsoft doesn't directly blame tariffs, so we can't say for sure, but these import duties are certainly impacting "market conditions" in a major way. Microsoft isn't alone in raising prices, even among video game manufacturers. Sony increased the MSRPs of PS5 consoles in markets around the world—though notably omitted the U.S. from that list. Nintendo also raised prices on Switch 2 accessories, though opted to keep the console's original $449.99 price tag intact. View the full article

Key Takeaways Delivery as a Necessity: Offering delivery services has become essential for restaurant owners to meet changing consumer preferences and boost sales. Expanded Revenue Opportunities: Partnering with third-party delivery platforms can significantly increase customer reach, often leading to higher average order values compared to in-house dining. Focus on Quality and Convenience: Ensuring high food quality during transit and providing a seamless ordering experience are crucial for customer satisfaction and loyalty. Challenges in Logistics: Managing delivery logistics and balancing in-house dining with delivery orders can strain restaurant operations, especially during peak hours. Selecting the Right Platform: Choose a delivery service that aligns with your restaurant’s needs, considering commission rates and features that enhance visibility and efficiency. Best Practices for Success: Optimize your delivery menu for items that travel well, use technology to streamline ordering processes, and automate order management for better efficiency. In today’s fast-paced world, convenience is king, especially when it comes to dining. As a restaurant owner, you know that offering delivery services can significantly boost your sales and expand your customer base. With more people opting to enjoy their favorite meals from the comfort of their homes, tapping into the delivery market isn’t just a trend—it’s a necessity. But navigating the world of delivery services can feel overwhelming. From choosing the right delivery partner to optimizing your menu for takeout, there’s a lot to consider. In this article, you’ll discover the key factors that can elevate your restaurant’s delivery game, ensuring you meet customer expectations while maximizing your profits. Embrace the future of dining and watch your business thrive. Overview of Delivery Service for Restaurants Delivery services play a vital role in enhancing your restaurant’s reach and customer satisfaction. As you navigate the increasingly digital marketplace, understanding the components of an effective delivery service becomes essential for your small business. Adopting a delivery model not only meets customer demands but also strengthens your market position. As the trend of dining at home continues, incorporating delivery into your business plan aligns with changing consumer preferences. This shift opens up additional revenue streams and expands your customer base. To start, assess your current logistics and explore potential partnerships with established delivery platforms. An effective delivery service relies on quality packaging, timely delivery, and clear communication with customers. You might consider optimizing your menu for takeout to ensure that the most popular items translate well in a delivery setting. Additionally, integrating technology can enhance your delivery operations. Utilizing a well-designed website or e-commerce platform simplifies the order process, while social media marketing boosts your visibility. Engaging content marketing strategies can attract your target audience, encouraging them to choose your restaurant over others in the area. As you implement these changes, monitor key performance indicators to adjust your growth strategy. Regularly evaluate your delivery service’s efficiency against competitors to ensure your business remains adaptable and innovative. Benefits of Delivery Service for Restaurants Delivery services offer significant advantages for restaurants, particularly in maximizing revenue and enhancing customer convenience. Increased Revenue Potential Delivery services can dramatically boost your restaurant’s revenue. By partnering with third-party platforms like Uber Eats, DoorDash, or GrubHub, you reach a broader audience. This expanded customer base includes potential diners who may not know about your restaurant, increasing your sales opportunities. Online orders often come with a higher average order value, typically 20% more than in-house dining. Customers frequently add extra items when ordering online, improving your profit margin. Moreover, delivery services enable sales during off-peak hours, allowing you to generate income even when your physical location experiences lower traffic. Enhanced Customer Convenience Customer convenience stands as a cornerstone of a successful delivery service. Many customers prefer dining at home, valuing the comfort it provides. By offering a seamless ordering experience through your website or partnering platforms, you increase your customer satisfaction and loyalty. Fast and efficient delivery options ensure that customers receive their meals promptly, meeting their expectations for quality and timing. Implementing a user-friendly interface on your website and utilizing social media for marketing can further enhance your visibility. Prioritizing customer service during the delivery process enhances repeat business, aligning with modern consumer preferences for convenience and quality. Challenges Faced by Restaurants in Delivery Restaurants encounter several challenges when integrating delivery services into their operations. These challenges affect efficiency, customer satisfaction, and profit margins. Managing Delivery Logistics Managing delivery logistics poses significant hurdles for restaurants, especially during peak hours. You’ll face difficulties balancing in-house dining and delivery orders. High volumes of requests can overwhelm your kitchen and staff, resulting in delays and reduced order accuracy. Establishing effective communication with delivery platforms can streamline operations. Furthermore, conducting market research on delivery demand trends might enhance your scheduling, minimizing pressure during busy times. Ensuring Food Quality During Transit Ensuring food quality during transit is crucial for maintaining customer satisfaction. Factors such as temperature control and secure packaging play a significant role in food quality upon delivery. Implementing robust packaging strategies can prevent spillage and preserve presentation. You can also optimize the menu to include items that maintain quality during transport. Establishing quality control measures helps assure customers your food remains delicious from restaurant to doorstep, enhancing brand loyalty. Popular Delivery Service Platforms for Restaurants Delivery service platforms have become essential for small businesses in the restaurant industry. They allow you to reach a broader audience and enhance your customer acquisition efforts. Here’s a closer look at three major players in the market. Uber Eats Availability: Uber Eats serves over 6,000 cities globally, making it a top choice for expanding your restaurant’s reach. Commission and Fees: You face a commission of around 30% on the pre-tax value of each order when utilizing Uber Eats’ delivery drivers. This fee reduces to 15% if you employ your own delivery personnel. Be aware of varying service fees that depend on your specific restaurant and service area. Features: Uber Eats boasts a user-friendly app with searchable menus, clear delivery fees, and estimated delivery times. It also offers the option to order groceries and pharmacy items, broadening your potential market. Drawbacks: The significant fees, especially for deliveries using Uber Eats’ drivers, can challenge your profit margins, particularly for small businesses. DoorDash Availability: DoorDash operates in many regions across the United States and Canada, providing vast opportunities for growth. Commission and Fees: The standard commission charged is typically around 20-30%. They can vary based on location and delivery demand. Features: DoorDash features a user-friendly platform that includes promotions and marketing tools to boost restaurant visibility. It also provides DashPass for frequent users, enhancing customer loyalty. Drawbacks: Fees can accumulate quickly, reducing profitability. Additionally, managing delivery schedules during peak times may require additional staffing. Grubhub Availability: Grubhub is well-established in the U.S., allowing for easy access to a large customer base. Commission and Fees: Expect commissions ranging from 10-30% of the order total, depending on your agreement and delivery preferences. Flexible pricing plans may ease cash flow concerns. Features: Grubhub offers unique features like Grubhub+ for subscriptions that can increase repeat business. Its marketing tools help you target audiences effectively. Drawbacks: Similar to others, the commission structure can impact your profit margins, and the competition among restaurants can be fierce. Selecting the right delivery service platform involves assessing your restaurant’s specific needs, existing market conditions, and long-term business goals. Prioritize efficient communication and maintain high food quality during delivery to foster customer loyalty. Best Practices for Implementing Delivery Service Menu Optimization Create a delivery-specific menu that includes items that travel well and have high profit margins. This optimizes your kitchen operations and ensures food arrives fresh and in good condition. Remove time- and labor-intensive items from the delivery menu to maintain kitchen efficiency. Streamlining your menu can enhance production speed and customer satisfaction. Digitization and Automation Implement digital ordering options to simplify the process for customers and automate order tracking and logging. You can achieve this through online ordering systems integrated with your restaurant’s POS system. Use automation technology to receive, process, and manage orders efficiently, particularly from multiple food-ordering apps and websites. This ensures timely service and reduces the chance of errors during busy times. By following these best practices, you enhance service quality and streamline your delivery operations, ultimately benefiting your small business’s growth strategy and customer acquisition efforts. Conclusion Embracing delivery services is no longer optional for restaurant owners looking to thrive in today’s market. By prioritizing convenience and quality, you can meet customer demands while boosting your revenue. Choosing the right delivery partner and optimizing your menu are essential steps in this process. Implementing best practices will not only streamline your operations but also enhance customer satisfaction. Stay adaptable and keep an eye on industry trends to ensure your delivery service remains competitive. With the right strategies in place, you can turn delivery into a powerful tool for growth and success in your restaurant business. Frequently Asked Questions Why are delivery services important for restaurants? Delivery services are vital for restaurants as they meet the growing demand for convenience and cater to customers who prefer eating at home. They enable restaurants to reach a broader audience, increase sales during off-peak hours, and improve customer satisfaction by providing a seamless dining experience. What challenges do restaurants face with delivery services? Restaurants face several challenges, including managing logistics during peak hours, ensuring food quality during delivery, and communicating effectively with delivery platforms. These issues can lead to delays, inaccuracies, and impact profit margins if not managed properly. How can restaurants improve their delivery operations? Restaurants can enhance their delivery operations by optimizing their menus for takeout, partnering with established delivery platforms, and ensuring quality packaging. Additionally, they should focus on clear communication with customers and monitor performance metrics to adapt and improve service. Which delivery platforms are popular for restaurants? Popular delivery platforms include Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub. Each platform has its features, commission structures, and availability, so restaurant owners should evaluate their specific needs and market conditions when choosing a delivery partner. What is a delivery-specific menu? A delivery-specific menu consists of items that travel well and have high profit margins. This strategy helps optimize kitchen operations and ensures customers receive fresh, high-quality food when ordering delivery. It may also involve removing time-consuming items from the menu to improve efficiency. How can technology assist in delivery services for restaurants? Technology can enhance delivery services by implementing digital ordering options, utilizing automation to manage orders from multiple platforms, and streamlining the customer experience. A well-designed website and social media marketing can also improve visibility and streamline the ordering process. What role does packaging play in food delivery? Quality packaging is critical for maintaining food temperature, ensuring safe transit, and preserving the overall food experience. Effective packaging solutions help restaurants deliver delicious meals while enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty. Image Via Envato This article, "Essential Tips for Boosting Your Delivery Service for Restaurants" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Originally launched by Microsoft last July, Windows Recall was swiftly pulled in response to a barrage of security and privacy complaints. Now it's back, with some tweaks to make it more palatable for users—but there remain plenty of concerns about what happens when it's enabled. If you're new to the story, Recall is an AI-powered feature that acts like a memory for your computer. It regularly snaps and analyzes screenshots of whatever you're doing. It's handy if you want to get back to a document or message you vaguely remember from three weeks ago, while at the same time sounding several alarm bells in terms of having all your past Windows activity stored on your system. I tested an early version of Windows Recall at the end of last year, and found it to be genuinely useful at times—for those prepared to put up with the security and privacy problems. Back then it was still in a rather unfinished form, with some basic features missing, such as the option to filter snapshots by app. Recall lets you search through captured images. Credit: Microsoft To get Recall today, you need to have a Copilot+ PC, with all the necessary AI processing power: If you have a compatible computer with the latest version of Windows, you'll find the Recall app on the Start menu. It won't be enabled by default; making the feature opt-in is one of the changes Microsoft has made after the wave of criticism directed towards Recall when it was first unveiled. Microsoft has made other changes, too. The data stored by Recall is now more securely encrypted; Windows Hello authentication is required each and every time you want to access it; and sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, and official IDs are filtered out—though it remains to be seen how effectively that works. Are the changes enough to win back trust for Windows Recall? It's certainly now much harder for someone else to get at the screenshots that Recall stores, but there remain questions about how well they're protected—not just on your own computer, but on the computers of anyone else you might be communicating with. Recall still has problemsSecurity researcher Kevin Beaumont has been digging into the latest version of Recall, and there are still some worrying problems here. The first is that someone else can access your PC and Recall using your computer PIN, if they can guess it or trick you into revealing it: While biometric authentication is required to set Recall up, you can fall back to using a PIN whenever you need to see or search through the screenshots. Now this isn't too different from someone hacking into your phone using your PIN, and you might be confident that no one else will even get hold of your set of digits. However, if they do, Recall gives these unauthorized visitors instant access to everything you've ever done on your PC since you set up the feature. Secondly, Beaumont found that the sensitive data filtering is hit and miss (something I noticed in my own testing too): You can't really rely on it to wipe out details of your credit cards or your medical histories. That's not a huge issue if you're the only one looking at this information, but that's difficult to guarantee. Recall can be accessed via facial recognition—or a simple PIN. Credit: Microsoft There's another problem here, highlighted by Ars Technica: If someone you know enables Recall, and is syncing photos and chats you've sent them to their computer, all that information then gets snapped and sorted on their PC (think Signal for Windows, for example). Your data is more likely to be exposed, and you've not even had any say in it. It seems as though insisting on biometric authentication every time Recall is accessed is an obvious fix Microsoft could apply here—making it much harder for someone else to get at your data, whether it's on your PC or the PC of someone you know. It still feels wrong that your emails, photos, or chats might be getting collected together in someone else's Recall library, though. More robust filtering tools would certainly help as well. Windows Recall already lets you exempt certain sites and apps from being screenshotted, but it's a rather clunky system, and better automatic censoring would be welcome. In the meantime, you not only need to decide if you're going to enable Recall, you need to check in with family and friends to see what they're doing as well. View the full article

Tesla has flouted some of directors’ most sacred tenets, and shareholders who vote have mostly approvedView the full article

The Hollywood powerbroker has created a global events company to acquire the fair and publishing groupView the full article

The cost of a multistep skincare routine can quickly add up. But have you ever wondered what would happen if you simply stopped? This weekend, a TikTok creator went viral for discussing her controversial “Caveman Method,” which she claims is helping restore her skin barrier after years of picking at her skin. In a video that has since racked up nearly 10 million views, Tia Zakher announced she had cut out everything from her beauty routine—even water. “What you are seeing is dead skin that’s going to flake off eventually while healthy skin forms underneath,” she posted in response to questions about the texture on her face. In a separate video, she explains that the look of her skin is due to “retention hyperkeratosis,” in which the skin holds onto dead cells instead of shedding them immediately, as a result of “years of overpicking and removing texture manually.” While some accused the creator of rage-baiting—pretending not to wash her face, or creating the look with a clay mask and powder just for views (she has since reintroduced water back into her routine)—others were curious about the validity of the so-called Caveman Method. Rather than rely on TikTok diagnosis, Fast Company reached out to aesthetician and skin specialist Dr. Ellie Sateei for her expert opinion. “Washing your face at night isn’t just a beauty ritual—it’s a fundamental part of skin health,” Sateei explains. “Cleansing your face at night is essential, and not just for removing makeup, sunscreen, and pollution, but for allowing your skin to properly repair itself overnight.” While the Caveman Method suggests skipping this step to reduce irritation and reset the skin without interference from products such as retinol and moisturizer—which didn’t exist back in the Stone Age—it’s not backed by science. Sateei warns that it can lead to congestion, dullness, and breakouts, “much like going to bed without brushing your teeth affects your oral health,” she adds. While some claim that a back-to-basics approach helps the skin barrier, the buildup of oil, dirt, and environmental pollutants can actually end up damaging it further. Most people’s skin also doesn’t benefit from a 14-step beauty routine before bed, as some skin-fluencers might suggest. Instead, Sateei recommends a minimal but balanced routine. “Use gentle products that support the skin’s natural processes without overwhelming it,” she says. “It’s about respecting your skin’s needs, not neglecting them.” View the full article

YouTube has long been a go-to advertising platform for B2C marketers, but it’s often still a question mark for B2B brands. I often see B2B professionals on LinkedIn asking, “Has anyone had success with YouTube ads?” or “What’s the best way to approach video advertising for a B2B audience?” YouTube can feel like unfamiliar territory if you’re only used to advertising on Google or social platforms. But that’s starting to change. More B2B brands are waking up to YouTube’s potential, and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve seen firsthand how YouTube can elevate brand visibility, drive engagement, and even accelerate the sales cycle for B2Bs. If you’re still deciding or need guidance on where to start, this article is for you. From video necessity to content strategy and production value – here are the YouTube ad questions B2B marketers ask most, answered. 1. Do we have to advertise with video? Technically, no – you don’t have to do anything. But if you’re ignoring YouTube as an advertising channel, you’re likely missing out on one of the most effective platforms for reaching your audience. Consider this: YouTube has over 2 billion monthly active users globally and is the second-largest search engine in the world. It’s not just for Millennials or Gen Z – Gen Xers alone account for 1.5 billion daily views, with 75% of people aged 35–53 watching at least monthly. If your audience is on YouTube (and they are), testing the platform should be a no-brainer. Dig deeper: 3 YouTube Ad formats you need to reach and engage viewers in 2025 2. Where should we start? Begin by aligning expectations. Even the best one-minute video cannot close a complex B2B deal on its own. What it can do is start a conversation, educate, and build trust – the things that actually move buyers through a long sales cycle. Think of YouTube as an opportunity to amplify your message. 3. What type of video content do we need? It’s tempting to default to “sales pitch” mode and talk at your potential customers instead of to them. But the most effective B2B video content does three things: Answers questions. Builds trust. Educates. Answer questions Use your sales team as a resource and ask them what questions prospects have – and then make short videos that address those questions directly. Better yet, attend sales calls or listen to conversations on the trade show floor to learn what potential customers are thinking. Build trust Do you have any existing customer video testimonials that you can use in your advertising? If not – and if you have written testimonials – ask the customer for the opportunity to update the written testimonial by shooting a short video testimonial interview. Educate Demo your product in action – and show real-world applications and benefits, not just features. Help your audience visualize how it improves their daily work life, simplifies tasks, or cuts costs. These practical insights often carry more weight with buying committees than a walk-through of features. Dig deeper: YouTube’s triple threat – Mastering Feed, Shorts and Skippable ads 4. How should we target our video ads? YouTube’s targeting capabilities are incredibly granular, but that also means it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Here are three targeting examples to illustrate what’s possible. Medical device company Create custom audience segments based on smaller, niche competitor websites that sell the same type of product as you. Avoid broad players like Medtronic, which may dilute targeting. You can also target visitors to specific medical journals or publications that publish content relevant to the type of medical device that you sell. Corporate events company Use in-market audiences like “Event Planning Services” or “Corporate Event Planning.” You can also build audiences around your top-converting keywords that are tied to purchase intent. Biosciences company Create customer audience segments that target websites where you’ve published research or articles, such as BioScience. If your product has frequent updates, consider remarketing or using customer match lists to re-engage existing contacts. Whatever your niche, the key is to test and refine your targeting continuously. Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. Business email address Sign me up! Processing... See terms. 5. How professional do our videos need to be? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer here. Some marketers suggest going for a more casual, “authentic” look, and that can work. But it’s not always the better option. One of our clients ran a less-polished video for an annual event. The video featured handwritten messages on tearaway sheets with an off-screen narrator. It felt authentic, but it also underperformed, with just a 6% view completion rate. In previous years, the completed view rate for this particular event ranged from 39% to 60%. Bottom line: Test it. Let performance – not assumptions – guide your production choices. Dig deeper: Top 6 B2B paid media platforms: Where and how to advertise effectively 6. How long should our videos be? This is the question I hear most – and the answer is: it depends. Your best approach is often to shoot longer videos that you can repurpose. Think of it like writing a blog post. You start with a long-form piece and then slice it into smaller social snippets. That same logic applies here. Don’t let longer videos scare you. I’d take a 5-minute video ad that provides value over a 30-second spot that says nothing meaningful any day of the week. 7. Is it worth having a celebrity spokesperson? Short answer: it can be. I’ve seen B2B clients dramatically boost engagement with the help of a celebrity – the credibility and name recognition can be powerful. But it’s not without risks. Pros More visibility, higher engagement, and an instant trust boost if the celebrity aligns well with your audience. One of our B2B clients recently partnered with a popular, well-known celebrity, and the engagement on our video ads has been transformational. Cons It can be costly. I don’t know how my client landed their celebrity spokesperson, but I imagine it would be cost-prohibitive for many brands. There’s also the reputational risk if the celeb says or does something off-brand. It’s also important to remember that celebrities rarely promote the content themselves. You’re still responsible for distribution. If you have the budget and it makes strategic sense to hire a celebrity spokesperson, go for it. Just go in with your eyes open. Dig deeper: How to overcome the top 3 objections to YouTube video ads 8. Is there anything else I should know? Yes, put your branding at the start of the video. It sounds obvious, but many B2Bs bury their logo or brand name at the end of their videos. That’s a missed opportunity. You’ve only got a few seconds to make an impression – don’t waste them. YouTube is more than a playground for B2C brands YouTube is a smart, scalable channel for B2B brands ready to meet their audience where they already spend time. That said, success doesn’t come from guesswork. It comes from testing. Try different formats, targeting strategies, and production styles. Review your metrics. Adjust. Repeat. Hit record – and see what YouTube can do for your B2B. Dig deeper: How to measure YouTube ad success with KPIs for every marketing goal View the full article

The past 12 months have been rough for many retail chains. Major names like Big Lots and Joann filed for bankruptcy, resulting in the closures of hundreds of locations. In Joann’s case, those locations are gone for good, while some Big Lots locations have been reopened under new ownership. Unfortunately for another retailer—the fast fashion chain Forever 21—it seems like none of its more than 350 stores in the United States will get a last-minute reprieve. Instead, it now appears likely that all Forever 21 stores in the U.S. will suffer the same fate as Joann’s stores. Here’s what you need to know about the Forever 21 store closings. What’s happened? Earlier this year, a company called F21 OpCo, LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. While you may not have heard of F21 OpCo, LLC, you’ve surely heard of the retailer it operates: Forever 21. F21 OpCo is the licensee of the Forever 21 brand inside the United States (international stores are operated by other entities). As part of its bankruptcy, F21 OpCo announced it would close its Forever 21 locations in the United States unless a buyer could be found. In a memo from F21 OpCo, LLC’s chief financial officer, Brad Sell, posted on the company’s website, Sell said the reasons for the company’s bankruptcy were “rising costs and increased competition from abroad” that has made the company’s “current business model unsustainable.” In a March press release announcing the bankruptcy, F21 OpCo also stated that while it was beginning wind-down procedures for its stores, it would at the same time continue to try to find a buyer. “In the event of a successful sale, the Company may pivot away from a full wind down of operations to facilitate a going-concern transaction,” it said at the time. In other words, Forever 21 could live on if another entity bought F21 OpCo’s operations. But it has not announced a new buyer since then, nor has it responded to requests for comment. More than 350 Forever 21 store closings Throughout April, F21 OpCo held store closing sales at all of its 356 Forever 21 stores in the United States. According to court documents, those sales would “conclude no later than April 30, 2025,” which the documents refer to as the “sale termination date.” That means that as of today, May 1, all Forever 21 stores in the United States are likely to have closed, although individual stores did have the option to extend the sales and stay open for longer. Fast Company reached out to F21 OpCo and Forever 21 for clarity on whether any U.S locations would continue to operate beyond this week, but we did not hear back. The only thing that could have kept any of these stores from shuttering was if F21 OpCo found a buyer, but the company has made no public announcement that it has done so. List of Forever 21 store closings According to its store locator tool, F21 OpCo operated 356 Forever 21 stores across 43 states and Puerto Rico. The states that had the most Forever 21 stores were California, with 57 locations, Texas, with 32 locations, and Florida, with 23 locations. The number of locations in each state is listed below. You can click on a state’s name to be taken to F21 OpCo’s online store locator tool to see each of the individual stores in those states. Currently, the listing for individual stores does not list any of the locations as permanently closed (although recent user reviews on Google and elsewhere have indicated that many have shuttered). Unless F21 OpCo found a last-minute buyer, or unless certain individual stores agreed to extend their sales, it is likely the below locations are now shuttered for good or soon will be. Alabama (3) Arizona (8) Arkansas (2) California (57) Colorado (5) Connecticut (6) Delaware (2) Florida (23) Georgia (18) Idaho (1) Illinois (15) Indiana (6) Iowa (2) Kansas (2) Kentucky (3) Louisiana (6) Maryland (6) Massachusetts (11) Michigan (9) Minnesota (1) Mississippi (1) Missouri (5) Nebraska (1) Nevada (6) New Hampshire (3) New Jersey (15) New Mexico (3) New York (21) North Carolina (10) North Dakota (1) Ohio (9) Oklahoma (2) Oregon (5) Pennsylvania (17) Puerto Rico (5) Rhode Island (1) South Carolina (3) South Dakota (1) Tennessee (6) Texas (32) Utah (3) Virginia (9) Washington (9) Wisconsin (2) Is Forever 21 closing globally? No. It’s important to note that the Forever 21 brand is not going away entirely. The Forever 21 chain will continue to operate in other countries. That’s because Forever 21 is licensed by other operators in those countries and not by F21 OpCo, LLC. In the memo posted on the Forever 21 website, F21 OpCo’s Brad Sell noted that “Forever 21 stores outside of the U.S. will continue to operate business as usual.” But unfortunately for its U.S.-based fans, Forever 21 is yet another American retailer that has succumbed to changing consumer habits and a shifting economic landscape. View the full article

After months of tense negotiations, the U.S. and Ukraine signed a deal that is expected to give Washington access to the country’s critical minerals and other natural resources, an agreement Kyiv hopes will secure long-term support for its defense against Russia. According to Ukrainian officials, the version of the deal signed Wednesday is far more beneficial to Ukraine than previous versions, which they said reduced Kyiv to a junior partner and gave Washington unprecedented rights to the country’s resources. The agreement—which the Ukrainian parliament must ratify—would establish a reconstruction fund for Ukraine that Ukrainian officials hope will be a vehicle to ensure future American military assistance. A previous agreement was nearly signed before being derailed in a tense Oval Office meeting involving U.S. President Donald The President, U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “We have formed a version of the agreement that provides mutually beneficial conditions for both countries. This is an agreement in which the United States notes its commitment to promoting long-term peace in Ukraine and recognizes the contribution that Ukraine has made to global security by giving up its nuclear arsenal,” Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who signed the deal for Ukraine, said in a post on Facebook. The signing comes during what U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said would be a “very critical” week for U.S.-led efforts to end the war that appear to have stalled. Ukraine sees the deal as a way to ensure that its biggest and most consequential ally stays engaged and doesn’t freeze military support, which has been key in its 3-year-old fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion. “This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the The President administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who signed for the U.S., said in a statement. Here is a look at the deal. What does the deal include? The deal covers minerals, including rare earth elements, but also other valuable resources, including oil and natural gas, according to the text released by Ukraine’s government. It does not include resources that are already a source of revenue for the Ukrainian state. In other words, any profits under the deal are dependent on the success of new investments. Ukrainian officials have also noted that it does not refer to any debt obligations for Kyiv, meaning profits from the fund will likely not go toward the paying the U.S. back for its previous support. Officials have also emphasized that the agreement ensures full ownership of the resources remains with Ukraine, and the state will determine what can be extracted and where. The text of the deal lists 55 minerals but says more can be agreed to. The President has repeatedly expressed interest in Ukraine’s rare earth elements, and some of them are included in the list, as are other critical minerals, such as titanium, lithium and uranium. What are rare earth elements? They are a group of 17 elements that are essential to many kinds of consumer technology, including cellphones, hard drives and electric and hybrid vehicles. China is the world’s largest producer of rare earth elements, and both the U.S and Europe have sought to reduce their dependence on Beijing, The President’s chief geopolitical adversary. They include elements such as lanthanum, cerium, and scandium, which are listed in the deal. How will the fund work? The agreement establishes a reconstruction investment fund, and both the U.S. and Ukraine will have an equal say in its management, according to Svyrydenko. The fund will be supported by the U.S. government through the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation agency, which Ukraine hopes will attract investment and technology from American and European countries. Ukraine is expected to contribute 50% of all future profits from government-owned natural resources into the fund. The United States will also contribute in the form of direct funds and equipment, including badly needed air defense systems and other military aid. Contributions to the fund will be reinvested in projects related to mining, oil, and gas as well as infrastructure. No profits will not be taken from the fund for the first 10 years, Svyrydenko said. The President administration officials initially pushed for a deal in which Washington would receive $500 billion in profits from exploited minerals as compensation for its wartime support. But Zelenskyy rejected the offer, saying he would not sign off on an agreement “that will be paid off by 10 generations of Ukrainians.” What is the state of Ukraine’s minerals industry? Ukraine’s rare earth elements are largely untapped because of state policies regulating the industry, a lack of good information about deposits, and the war. The industry’s potential is unclear since geological data is thin because mineral reserves are scattered across Ukraine, and existing studies are considered largely inadequate, according to businessmen and analysts. In general, however, the outlook for Ukrainian natural resources is promising. The country’s reserves of titanium, a key component for the aerospace, medical, and automotive industries, are believed to be among Europe’s largest. Ukraine also holds some of Europe’s largest known reserves of lithium, which is required to produce batteries, ceramics and glass. In 2021, the Ukrainian mineral industry accounted for 6.1% of the country’s gross domestic product and 30% of exports. An estimated 40% of Ukraine’s metallic mineral resources are inaccessible because of Russian occupation, according to data from We Build Ukraine, a Kyiv-based think tank. Ukraine has argued that it’s in The President’s interest to develop the remainder before Russian advances capture more. —Samya Kullab, Associated Press View the full article

Key Takeaways Algorithm Changes: Facebook’s algorithm favors personal connections over business content, significantly reducing organic reach for posts from brands and requiring higher engagement for visibility.Increased Competition: The surge in content shared on Facebook means that businesses must create standout, engaging posts to capture audience attention amidst saturation from ads and user-generated content.Shifts in User Behavior: Users are increasingly drawn to content from friends and family, emphasizing the importance of interactive campaigns and community engagement to maintain visibility.Enhanced Engagement Strategies: Incorporating interactive elements like polls, user-generated content, and visually appealing videos can boost engagement rates and foster deeper connections with followers.Content Optimization: Regularly analyzing performance metrics and optimizing posts with relevant hashtags will help improve visibility and engagement, aligning content with audience interests.Consider Paid Advertising: To counteract declining organic reach, integrating paid advertising and influencer partnerships can effectively expand your brand’s audience and enhance overall visibility. If you’ve noticed a drop in your Facebook post views, you’re not alone. Many users and businesses are grappling with this frustrating trend. As the platform evolves, changes in algorithms and user behavior can significantly impact how many people see your content. Understanding the reasons behind this decline is crucial for adapting your strategy and reclaiming your audience’s attention. Whether you’re a casual user or a brand looking to engage customers, recognizing these shifts can help you navigate the complexities of Facebook’s ever-changing landscape. Let’s explore the factors contributing to this decline and discover actionable steps to boost your post visibility. Overview of Facebook Post Views Facebook post views for small businesses have seen a notable decline recently. This decrease stems from algorithm changes and shifts in user behavior. Facebook’s algorithms now prioritize content that drives engagement, resulting in reduced organic reach for posts that lack interaction. For small businesses, tracking social media analytics becomes vital to understand these fluctuations and adjust strategies effectively. You might notice that posts with high engagement rates often perform better. Engaging content, such as video content and user-generated content, tends to attract more views. Implementing a strong social media strategy that includes community management and audience targeting can help enhance your brand’s visibility. Utilizing social media tools for scheduling and content sharing allows you to maintain consistency in your posting. Incorporating trending hashtags can also boost discoverability. While organic growth remains essential, consider integrating paid ads to expand your reach. Facebook marketing through ads can introduce your brand to new followers and increase brand awareness. Engaging storytelling and a defined brand voice are crucial for creating meaningful connections with your audience. You can optimize social media posts for better engagement by developing a content calendar that aligns with your marketing goals, ensuring that your messaging remains relevant. By staying informed about social media trends, you can adapt your approach to improve engagement and maximize your social media ROI. Reasons for Decline in Facebook Post Views Understanding the reasons behind the decline in Facebook post views is essential for small businesses navigating social media marketing. Key factors include algorithm changes, increased competition, and shifts in user behavior. Algorithm Changes Algorithm changes on Facebook significantly impact your post visibility. In 2018, Facebook modified its News Feed algorithm, prioritizing content from friends and family over business pages. This shift reduces your organic reach, making it harder for your posts to appear in user feeds. Moreover, Facebook now requires posts to be genuinely viewed by users to count as part of the reach metric. This adjustment lowers the perceived effectiveness of your content compared to previous years, making engagement rates critical for success. Increased Competition The rising volume of content on Facebook exacerbates the competition for visibility. With more businesses leveraging social media ads, the News Feed becomes a crowded space. Your posts must stand out among paid ads and user-generated content. Establishing a strong brand voice and implementing audience targeting strategies enhances your chances of engagement. To maximize visibility, consider using attention-grabbing visuals and impactful storytelling that resonates with your audience. User Behavior Shifts User behavior on Facebook has evolved, influencing how your posts perform. Many users engage more with content from family and friends rather than brand messages. This shift underscores the importance of community management and creating highly engaging social media campaigns. Using social media analytics tools can help you track trends and adapt your strategies accordingly. Focusing on content that encourages interaction, such as polls or questions, can enhance your engagement rates and foster stronger connections with your social media followers. Impact on Content Creators The decline in Facebook post views significantly affects content creators, particularly small businesses, by altering engagement dynamics and monetization strategies. Engagement Metrics Engagement metrics have changed drastically. With Facebook’s algorithm prioritizing posts from friends and family over business pages, you may notice a drop in your organic reach. Content that relied solely on follower counts no longer guarantees visibility. Implement more interactive elements, such as polls and questions, to boost your engagement rate. Focus on creating video content and utilizing Facebook groups to establish deeper connections with your audience. Monitoring your social media analytics helps in understanding what resonates with your followers and adapting your content strategy for better results. Monetization Challenges Monetization poses challenges in this new landscape. The decrease in organic reach means you’ll find it harder to generate revenue through traditional means. You might need to invest more in paid ads to maintain visibility among your target audience. Consider incorporating influencer marketing and user-generated content into your social media campaigns as cost-effective strategies for increasing brand awareness. Additionally, building a consistent brand voice and storytelling will resonate more with your followers, fostering community management and customer interaction. Align your content calendar with current social media trends, and track your progress to enhance your overall social media ROI. Strategies to Adapt to Declining Views You can implement targeted strategies to adapt to declining Facebook post views and enhance your small business’s social media presence effectively. Content Optimization Focus on creating visually appealing and engaging content. Use video content, as it currently garners higher engagement rates among users. Prioritize short-form videos and incorporate storytelling elements to convey your brand’s message. Optimize your social media posts with relevant hashtags to increase discoverability. Maintain brand consistency across platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter to reinforce your online presence. Regularly analyze your social media analytics to identify high-performing content types and adjust your content calendar accordingly. Audience Engagement Techniques Engage your audience through interactive elements. Use polls, surveys, or questions to encourage participation. Create Facebook groups where you can foster community management and customer interaction. Develop user-generated content campaigns to motivate your audience to share their experiences while using your products or services. Utilize social media ads to target specific audiences and increase brand awareness. Leverage influencer partnerships to tap into new user bases and expand your reach. Regularly monitor social media trends and adjust your strategies to resonate with your target demographic, ensuring your small business remains relevant in the competitive landscape. Conclusion Navigating the decline in Facebook post views can be challenging but it’s not insurmountable. By understanding the factors at play and adapting your strategies, you can reclaim your audience’s attention. Focus on creating engaging and visually appealing content that resonates with your followers. Utilize interactive elements and consider leveraging Facebook groups to foster community. Don’t hesitate to invest in targeted ads or influencer partnerships to broaden your reach. Regularly reviewing your analytics will keep you informed about what’s working and what needs adjustment. By staying proactive and innovative, you can enhance your social media presence and drive meaningful engagement. Frequently Asked Questions Why have Facebook post views declined recently? The decline in Facebook post views is mainly due to algorithm changes prioritizing content that generates engagement and interaction, along with increased competition from both ads and user-generated content. How do algorithm changes affect businesses on Facebook? Algorithm changes, particularly those favoring posts from friends and family, have significantly reduced the organic reach for business pages. This means businesses must adapt their strategies to capture audience attention. What can small businesses do to improve their Facebook engagement? Small businesses should focus on creating visually appealing, engaging content, such as videos and polls. Developing a content calendar, utilizing community management, and implementing targeted advertising can also enhance engagement. Are paid ads effective for increasing post visibility? Yes, paid ads can significantly boost post visibility. They enable businesses to reach a targeted audience and gain more engagement, making them an essential part of a comprehensive social media strategy. How important is social media analytics for businesses? Tracking social media analytics is crucial for businesses to understand their audience, adapt their strategies, and effectively navigate any fluctuations in post views and engagement. What role do interactive elements play in engagement? Interactive elements, like polls and questions, encourage audience participation and can greatly enhance engagement rates, making your posts more appealing to the Facebook algorithm. What type of content performs best on Facebook now? Content with high engagement, particularly videos and user-generated content, tends to perform better on Facebook due to current algorithm preferences that prioritize engagement over reach. How can storytelling benefit businesses on Facebook? Engaging storytelling helps brands connect with their audience on a deeper level, fostering loyalty and a sense of community, which is essential for improving engagement and visibility on social media. What should businesses consider when creating posts for Facebook? Businesses should ensure their posts are visually appealing, aligned with their brand voice, and include engaging elements. Regularly monitoring trends and adjusting content strategy is also vital for ongoing relevance. Image Via Envato This article, "Why Facebook Post Views Dropped: Understanding the Decline and How to Adapt" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Key Takeaways Algorithm Changes: Facebook’s algorithm favors personal connections over business content, significantly reducing organic reach for posts from brands and requiring higher engagement for visibility.Increased Competition: The surge in content shared on Facebook means that businesses must create standout, engaging posts to capture audience attention amidst saturation from ads and user-generated content.Shifts in User Behavior: Users are increasingly drawn to content from friends and family, emphasizing the importance of interactive campaigns and community engagement to maintain visibility.Enhanced Engagement Strategies: Incorporating interactive elements like polls, user-generated content, and visually appealing videos can boost engagement rates and foster deeper connections with followers.Content Optimization: Regularly analyzing performance metrics and optimizing posts with relevant hashtags will help improve visibility and engagement, aligning content with audience interests.Consider Paid Advertising: To counteract declining organic reach, integrating paid advertising and influencer partnerships can effectively expand your brand’s audience and enhance overall visibility. If you’ve noticed a drop in your Facebook post views, you’re not alone. Many users and businesses are grappling with this frustrating trend. As the platform evolves, changes in algorithms and user behavior can significantly impact how many people see your content. Understanding the reasons behind this decline is crucial for adapting your strategy and reclaiming your audience’s attention. Whether you’re a casual user or a brand looking to engage customers, recognizing these shifts can help you navigate the complexities of Facebook’s ever-changing landscape. Let’s explore the factors contributing to this decline and discover actionable steps to boost your post visibility. Overview of Facebook Post Views Facebook post views for small businesses have seen a notable decline recently. This decrease stems from algorithm changes and shifts in user behavior. Facebook’s algorithms now prioritize content that drives engagement, resulting in reduced organic reach for posts that lack interaction. For small businesses, tracking social media analytics becomes vital to understand these fluctuations and adjust strategies effectively. You might notice that posts with high engagement rates often perform better. Engaging content, such as video content and user-generated content, tends to attract more views. Implementing a strong social media strategy that includes community management and audience targeting can help enhance your brand’s visibility. Utilizing social media tools for scheduling and content sharing allows you to maintain consistency in your posting. Incorporating trending hashtags can also boost discoverability. While organic growth remains essential, consider integrating paid ads to expand your reach. Facebook marketing through ads can introduce your brand to new followers and increase brand awareness. Engaging storytelling and a defined brand voice are crucial for creating meaningful connections with your audience. You can optimize social media posts for better engagement by developing a content calendar that aligns with your marketing goals, ensuring that your messaging remains relevant. By staying informed about social media trends, you can adapt your approach to improve engagement and maximize your social media ROI. Reasons for Decline in Facebook Post Views Understanding the reasons behind the decline in Facebook post views is essential for small businesses navigating social media marketing. Key factors include algorithm changes, increased competition, and shifts in user behavior. Algorithm Changes Algorithm changes on Facebook significantly impact your post visibility. In 2018, Facebook modified its News Feed algorithm, prioritizing content from friends and family over business pages. This shift reduces your organic reach, making it harder for your posts to appear in user feeds. Moreover, Facebook now requires posts to be genuinely viewed by users to count as part of the reach metric. This adjustment lowers the perceived effectiveness of your content compared to previous years, making engagement rates critical for success. Increased Competition The rising volume of content on Facebook exacerbates the competition for visibility. With more businesses leveraging social media ads, the News Feed becomes a crowded space. Your posts must stand out among paid ads and user-generated content. Establishing a strong brand voice and implementing audience targeting strategies enhances your chances of engagement. To maximize visibility, consider using attention-grabbing visuals and impactful storytelling that resonates with your audience. User Behavior Shifts User behavior on Facebook has evolved, influencing how your posts perform. Many users engage more with content from family and friends rather than brand messages. This shift underscores the importance of community management and creating highly engaging social media campaigns. Using social media analytics tools can help you track trends and adapt your strategies accordingly. Focusing on content that encourages interaction, such as polls or questions, can enhance your engagement rates and foster stronger connections with your social media followers. Impact on Content Creators The decline in Facebook post views significantly affects content creators, particularly small businesses, by altering engagement dynamics and monetization strategies. Engagement Metrics Engagement metrics have changed drastically. With Facebook’s algorithm prioritizing posts from friends and family over business pages, you may notice a drop in your organic reach. Content that relied solely on follower counts no longer guarantees visibility. Implement more interactive elements, such as polls and questions, to boost your engagement rate. Focus on creating video content and utilizing Facebook groups to establish deeper connections with your audience. Monitoring your social media analytics helps in understanding what resonates with your followers and adapting your content strategy for better results. Monetization Challenges Monetization poses challenges in this new landscape. The decrease in organic reach means you’ll find it harder to generate revenue through traditional means. You might need to invest more in paid ads to maintain visibility among your target audience. Consider incorporating influencer marketing and user-generated content into your social media campaigns as cost-effective strategies for increasing brand awareness. Additionally, building a consistent brand voice and storytelling will resonate more with your followers, fostering community management and customer interaction. Align your content calendar with current social media trends, and track your progress to enhance your overall social media ROI. Strategies to Adapt to Declining Views You can implement targeted strategies to adapt to declining Facebook post views and enhance your small business’s social media presence effectively. Content Optimization Focus on creating visually appealing and engaging content. Use video content, as it currently garners higher engagement rates among users. Prioritize short-form videos and incorporate storytelling elements to convey your brand’s message. Optimize your social media posts with relevant hashtags to increase discoverability. Maintain brand consistency across platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter to reinforce your online presence. Regularly analyze your social media analytics to identify high-performing content types and adjust your content calendar accordingly. Audience Engagement Techniques Engage your audience through interactive elements. Use polls, surveys, or questions to encourage participation. Create Facebook groups where you can foster community management and customer interaction. Develop user-generated content campaigns to motivate your audience to share their experiences while using your products or services. Utilize social media ads to target specific audiences and increase brand awareness. Leverage influencer partnerships to tap into new user bases and expand your reach. Regularly monitor social media trends and adjust your strategies to resonate with your target demographic, ensuring your small business remains relevant in the competitive landscape. Conclusion Navigating the decline in Facebook post views can be challenging but it’s not insurmountable. By understanding the factors at play and adapting your strategies, you can reclaim your audience’s attention. Focus on creating engaging and visually appealing content that resonates with your followers. Utilize interactive elements and consider leveraging Facebook groups to foster community. Don’t hesitate to invest in targeted ads or influencer partnerships to broaden your reach. Regularly reviewing your analytics will keep you informed about what’s working and what needs adjustment. By staying proactive and innovative, you can enhance your social media presence and drive meaningful engagement. Frequently Asked Questions Why have Facebook post views declined recently? The decline in Facebook post views is mainly due to algorithm changes prioritizing content that generates engagement and interaction, along with increased competition from both ads and user-generated content. How do algorithm changes affect businesses on Facebook? Algorithm changes, particularly those favoring posts from friends and family, have significantly reduced the organic reach for business pages. This means businesses must adapt their strategies to capture audience attention. What can small businesses do to improve their Facebook engagement? Small businesses should focus on creating visually appealing, engaging content, such as videos and polls. Developing a content calendar, utilizing community management, and implementing targeted advertising can also enhance engagement. Are paid ads effective for increasing post visibility? Yes, paid ads can significantly boost post visibility. They enable businesses to reach a targeted audience and gain more engagement, making them an essential part of a comprehensive social media strategy. How important is social media analytics for businesses? Tracking social media analytics is crucial for businesses to understand their audience, adapt their strategies, and effectively navigate any fluctuations in post views and engagement. What role do interactive elements play in engagement? Interactive elements, like polls and questions, encourage audience participation and can greatly enhance engagement rates, making your posts more appealing to the Facebook algorithm. What type of content performs best on Facebook now? Content with high engagement, particularly videos and user-generated content, tends to perform better on Facebook due to current algorithm preferences that prioritize engagement over reach. How can storytelling benefit businesses on Facebook? Engaging storytelling helps brands connect with their audience on a deeper level, fostering loyalty and a sense of community, which is essential for improving engagement and visibility on social media. What should businesses consider when creating posts for Facebook? Businesses should ensure their posts are visually appealing, aligned with their brand voice, and include engaging elements. Regularly monitoring trends and adjusting content strategy is also vital for ongoing relevance. Image Via Envato This article, "Why Facebook Post Views Dropped: Understanding the Decline and How to Adapt" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article