All Activity

You’ve tried it all before. Waking up at 5:30 a.m. Journaling first thing in the morning. The exercises you’re supposed to do before work. But do your morning habits stick? Are you still practicing them? We all want to “win the morning,” to be productive and intentional. The trouble with morning routines is that they don’t work as they should if you don’t fix your evening habits. People are obsessed with morning routines. But they forget that winning in the morning starts the night before. Every single choice you make after dinner is either setting you up for a great morning or sabotaging tomorrow before it begins. That late-night binge doesn’t just keep you up. It’s changing your entire sleep-wake cycle. That work email you answered at 10 p.m. stays on your mind and makes you think about all the many responses you’re expecting. Doing work or dealing with issues right before bed keeps your brain thinking, figuring out options. And the worst part is that you pick it all up again when you wake up. You’re not just losing sleep. You’re training your brain to wake up in stress mode. The quality of your evening routine determines the success of your morning habits. Every time you miss out on a better evening ritual, your morning routine will suffer. Your willpower will be lower. The decision fatigue trap most people overlook By the end of your day, you’ve already made thousands of decisions: what to wear, what to eat, which emails to answer, which tasks to tackle first. Each decision demands mental energy. The more decisions you make in the morning, the less energy you have left for your tasks. The bigger problem? If you wait until morning to decide what you’re going to do first, you’re not starting your day right. Make your morning decisions at night instead. In just 10 to 15 minutes the night before, eliminate the decisions that stop you from taking action on your ideal morning routine. Write down a list of things you want to get right in the morning. You’ll sleep better and feel more prepared when you wake up. By creating a good plan the night before, you set yourself up to be productive. I’ve been using this pre-decision method to make my writing habit stick for years. And it’s working for me. I decide what to write the night before. I even write down the introduction. And then I pick up where I left off. You could start by prioritizing three tasks for the morning. By reducing the number of decisions you have to make, you free up time to actually make your morning habit, whatever you intend it to be, stick. I think of an evening routine as a system—a series of small dominoes you set up for the results you want. Start with your sleep. Everything flows from this. Your brain begins winding down for sleep a few hours before bedtime as part of your natural sleep-wake cycle. Work with this, not against it. That means two hours before bed, start dimming lights. Put away work. No more emails. Your body needs time to transition into a good morning. You could even take it further—30 minutes before bed is your clarity window. Journal if you want. Read a good book. The goal is to empty your brain so you’re not lying awake thinking about all the things you need to remember. Now try to go to bed at the same time each night. An inconsistent sleep routine prevents your body from releasing hormones at the right time, which can throw off your sleep cycle. Give your brain the right evening routine to shut down. When you prepare the night before, you’re not relying on willpower in the morning. You’re just following the plan you already made. Self-control is highest in the morning and steadily deteriorates over the course of the day. Use your evening brain, which is tired but still functional, to set up your morning brain for success. Establishing a Routine Takes Time You’re not going to nail this immediately. You’re going to forget something in the evening. You’ll most likely stay up late watching just one more episode. If you break the chain, don’t stress yourself about it. The goal is to make your defaults a little bit better—to remove some of the friction between you and the person you want to be in the morning. Start small. Pick one thing you’re going to decide the night before. Just one. Maybe it’s writing down three things you need to do in the morning. Do that for a week. Then add another thing. Aim to add one or two changes at a time, slowly building a routine. What you want is sustainable change. “Morning people” are not more disciplined than you. They just figured out that mornings are won the night before. Do the boring work the night before. And go to bed on time. Tonight, before you go to bed, do three things. Decide what time you’re waking up tomorrow. Be specific. Write down what you’re doing first when you wake up. Prep whatever you need to make that happen. Make it visible. That’s the system and the setup to give your morning a chance to be successful. Everything else can come later. Your morning routine is failing because you’re trying to build a routine without systems, and making decisions when you should be doing things. Fix the night habits, and the mornings will be better. View the full article

In 2015, in Gallup’s “State of the American Manager” report, then CEO and Chairman Jim Clifton made an assertion that startled many and quietly confirmed what others already suspected: “Most CEOs I know honestly don’t care about employees or take an interest in human resources. Sure, they know who their stars are and love them—but it ends there. Since CEOs don’t care, they put little to no pressure on their HR departments to get their cultures right . . .” Given the unique vantage point Clifton had into American business at the time, he offered a rather harsh and honest assessment. And, more than a decade later, the obvious question worth asking isn’t whether Clifton was right then. It’s whether top leaders are still operating as if he is right today. If you ask the average American worker whether they feel their employer genuinely cares about them and their well-being, the majority will say no. Recent research shows that fewer than one-in-four strongly agree—a level roughly similar to pre-pandemic lows—and perceptions of care have steadily declined even as leaders insist they prioritize their employee experience. In my new book, The Power of Employee Well-Being, and in articles I’ve recently written for Fast Company, I’ve argued that companies—and their leaders—must make a transformational pivot by prioritizing employee well-being as a core driver of performance. Sadly, I’ve received many messages from readers suggesting I’m fighting a lost cause—that despite mountains of evidence, the leaders they work have no inclination to change. More often than not, they treat employee well-being as a complete and utter distraction from the “real work” of hitting goals and meeting targets. I’ve heard this lament so many times that I had to ask myself why my message hasn’t gotten through. And my conclusion is that deep down, many leaders continue to fear that any support they give to their people will come at direct expense of productivity. Consciously or unconsciously, they’re convinced supporting well-being is a fool’s game. Rarely stated outright, this belief system influences leaders’ decisions every day—how workloads are structured, how feedback is delivered, and how much time and energy are devoted to supporting employees in ways that make a difference. The problem is there’s a mountain of evidence that refutes this very fear. We now have irrefutable proof that well-being is one of the primary conditions that makes achieving goals possible. Evidence Leaders Can’t Ignore Well-Being Drives Key Performance Metrics: Drawing on 339 studies covering 1.8 million employees, a meta-analysis from the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre found a consistent and direct relationship between employee well-being and key business metrics—ones most leaders are directly on the line for: productivity, customer loyalty, employee retention, and profitability. Well-Being Predicts Performance: As separate reinforcement, a study in Population Health Management found that high employee well-being is a predictor of future productivity, lower absenteeism, reduced disability leave and lower turnover—even when controlling for other variables. Said another way, well-being doesn’t merely coexist with strong performance, it precedes it. Investment Boosts Profitability: New research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) shows that organizations which meaningfully invest in employee well-being are four times more profitable than those that don’t—and are viewed far more positively by employees and job candidates. Well-Being Fuels Stock Growth Irrational Capital analyzed S&P 500 companies over 11 years and found firms in the top 20% for employee well-being outperformed the bottom 20% in stock performance by nearly six percentage points annually. Companies that intentionally offered competitively better pay and benefits alone outperformed by just two points. Why Resistant Leaders Are Wrong Leading a team of people, and being accountable for its results, can feel formidable at times—and it’s a common response for managers to believe that pushing harder and demanding longer hours is a justified action. But humans are not machines who can work endlessly without meaningful separation from work and adequate rest. When workdays feel endless, and people feel a lack of empathy and support, their capacity to focus, solve complex problems, and collaborate effectively nose-dives. Creativity stalls, mistakes increase, and high-level goals become harder to achieve. In short, neglecting well-being directly undermines the very outcomes leaders need to achieve. The High Cost of the Status Quo Despite many leaders’ vows to prioritize their employee’s well-being, the current reality in our workplaces is stark. Recent surveys show burnout has reached epidemic levels, nearly 60% of American workers report feeling stressed “very often”—or “always” —on the job. And burnout is the leading reason employees quit. Consequently, mental health struggles are widespread with one in five workers reporting symptoms of depression directly linked to their workplace conditions. And the stakes aren’t just emotional—ignoring well-being hits the bottom line. Replacing a burned-out employee can cost 1.5 to 2 times their annual salary, while disengaged or over-stressed workers lower productivity, slow innovation, and increase errors. In short, neglecting employee well-being isn’t just bad for people—it’s bad for business. Leaders Won’t Fix This Overnight, But Must Take The First Steps As the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, leaders must be realistic that they cannot solve all these conditions overnight. What they should do first is initiate support for their team’s well-being by addressing the specific things people crave most: Emotional and Psychological Safety: Across multiple workforce studies, roughly 60% of employees say they want a culture where they can speak up without fear of negative consequences. Belonging: Around 55% report that feeling part of a cohesive, collaborative team that values them personally is their top need. Meaningful Work: About 50% prioritize having work they know connects to a larger purpose or makes a tangible impact. Growth and autonomy: Neary half of employees—48%—seek support for skill development and more control over how they accomplish tasks. More than a decade later, Jim Clifton’s jarring observation still resonates: many leaders have never cared because they’ve never thought they had to. But, ignoring employee well-being today puts leaders in direct peril. Well-being—something 84% of all U.S. workers now say is their number-one priority in life— isn’t a reward for hitting goals; it’s a condition for attaining them. Organizations (and leaders) that invest in it see higher performance, retention, innovation, profitability, and market value. Those that don’t will fall behind, no matter how competitive their pay or perks. The leaders who succeed in the next decade won’t choose between results and care. They’ll see this as a false dichotomy and embrace the new reality that thriving people sustainably produce uncommon results. If this resonates, share it with a leader who needs to hear it. Lead with care, and your organization will follow. Ignore it, and performance suffers. It’s really an easy choice. View the full article

“AI;DR” is new internet speak for AI-generated slop posts have just dropped. It is a riff on the initialism “TL;DR” (“too long; didn’t read”), which is often wielded as a criticism of a piece of writing simply too long or confusing to be worth the time it takes to read. The AI slopification of LinkedIn, X, and other social media platforms has been much discussed. A 2024 study found that more than 50% of long-form LinkedIn posts are likely AI-assisted—a surprise to exactly no one who has spent more than a few minutes scrolling the feed. That number has likely only increased in recent years, as AI becomes more embedded in our daily processes. We’re now entering the era of “AI unless proven otherwise.” Often the intent behind these AI-slop posts is metrics and engagement at the expense of quality writing. LinkedIn’s algorithm slurps it up, so everyone keeps churning out more of it. Now, internet users are refusing to give the slop machines what they want, calling out clearly AI-generated posts with the declaration “ai;dr” (“artificial intelligence; didn’t read”). Because why bother reading something someone else couldn’t be bothered to write? This is not the first anti-AI term to enter the lexicon. Google Trends data showed a spike in searches for “clanker” (a Star Wars-inspired insult used to mock robots and AI systems) in mid-2025. On an X thread, suggestions for what to call users of X’s AI chatbot Grok included “Grokkers,” “Groklins,” and “Grocksuckers.” Meanwhile, on TikTok, someone came up with “sloppers” to describe people who are becoming increasingly overreliant on ChatGPT. The actual word of the year for 2025, as crowned by Merriam-Webster, was “slop”—summing up the general mood. AI;DR was coined on Threads by developer David Minnigerode in response to AI safety researcher Mrinank Sharma’s resignation letter from Anthropic. “Sorry, that is definitely tl;dr. But also kinda ai;dr. Some of those sentences…yeesh,” Minnigerode wrote. The new term was taken up with enthusiasm in the replies. “You just coined something bro, one of those “now that I see it I can’t believe it took this long to come up with,” which is the best kind of discovery,” one Threads user responded. “We all need to adopt that right quick,” another user on Bluesky said. The call to arms is at a time when anti-AI sentiment is growing. Concerns about AI among U.S. adults have escalated since 2021, according to the Pew Research Center. More than half (51%) say they are more concerned than excited about the technology’s rise. From the SaaSpocalypse to Hollywood’s freak-out over Seedance-generated blockbusters, AI is moving in fast on a range of industries, leaving a trail of “workslop” in its wake. Next time you come across a clearly AI-generated chunk of text, instead of, “Grok, what is this about?,” hit them with an “AI;DR”—it’s a small victory in clawing back our shared humanity. View the full article

The hottest AI tool on the market today isn’t a powerful frontier model from the likes of OpenAI or Anthropic. Rather, it’s a kludgey, wildly complex, open-source platform that’s already provoked a trademark dispute, multiple corporate bans—and fawning praise from developers around the world. It’s OpenClaw, and it’s specifically designed to build AI agents. I set it up, built an agent of my own, and promptly trained it to do my job for me. Here’s what happened. Beware the Claw For more than a year now, Big AI companies have promised us an “agentic AI” future. AI wouldn’t simply answer our queries or help us shop for a toaster, companies like OpenAI and Anthropic assured us—it would actually do useful things. Turns out, the AI giants are generally too squeamish and cost-sensitive to actually release such a tool. Because AI agents can take actions on behalf of a user, they can easily cause harm or make mistakes at scale. As we’ll see, they’re also blindingly expensive. Both those things scare Big AI firms with reputations and valuations to protect. Therefore, they’ve largely given users neutered versions of agentic AI. Today’s agents come with strict guardrails and perform very specific, bounded functions (like writing code or performing research). They’re engineered to be unlikely to escape their cages or run up the compute bill. OpenClaw is different. The system is open source and model agnostic. That means it can leverage the best LLMs from OpenAI, Anthropic, Grok, or any other company. Developers install OpenClaw on their local server or computer, giving it broad permissions. This combination of unfettered access to hardware and tie-ins to the world’s most powerful LLMs is a potent one. It allows OpenClaw to do things that other agents can’t, spending minutes or hours acting on its users’ behalf, crawling the web, signing into external platforms, and even controlling cameras and local hardware. The developers behind OpenClaw originally named it Clawdbot, a clear shot at Anthropic’s Claude system. Anthropic didn’t take kindly to that provocation, and threatened a trademark lawsuit. OpenClaw’s creators briefly named their tool MoltBot, before pivoting to the current, lobster-themed moniker. And that’s not the only trouble OpenClaw has gotten into during its brief tenure on the planet. Because the bot has such broad access to users’ hardware and data, multiple security experts have warned that it’s a potential data security disaster. Meta and multiple other Big Tech companies have already banned their own developers from using the bot, ostensibly on privacy and security grounds. Those bans just made me want to try OpenClaw even more. So I went to my hosting provider, found a reasonably safe way to install the bot, and set about training its agentic AI to make me obsolete. A Steep Curve To begin experimenting with OpenClaw, I used a Virtual Private Server from Hostinger to create a new OpenClaw instance. Basically, this keeps the bot contained within its own dedicated pretend computer, where it can do minimal damage. I immediately discovered that OpenClaw’s learning curve, especially for nonprogrammers, is extremely steep. I know my way around a Linux terminal, but it still took me several hours—and lots of back and forth with ChatGPT as my guide—to get OpenClaw successfully set up and ready to use. Once it was active, I paired it with my OpenAI credentials, set it up to use OpenAI’s flagship models, and set about building an agent. My goal was simple: I wanted an agent that I could unleash on the open internet, and that would do my job as a Fast Company contributing writer for me. Specifically, I wanted my agent to research everything happening in the world of AI, find a compelling news story, hunt down all the relevant details, write up a snappy and blindingly clever (but factual) piece in my writing style, add inline citations, craft a strong headline, and deliver the whole thing back to me. Unlike traditional chatbots, OpenClaw allows users to configure the system deeply. To build my agent, I gave OpenClaw specific instructions about my research process, as well as multiple samples of my prior Fast Company stories. That allowed the system to learn the nuances of my writing style and determine exactly what I wanted. After several hours of maddeningly complex configuration work, I had my OpenClaw doppelgänger ready to go. I named it “AI News Desk.” Then, I set it to work. Replace Me! Although configuring OpenClaw is—to put it in technical terms—a pain in the ass, using my “AI News Desk” agent is extremely easy. All I need to do is fire up a Linux terminal connected to my OpenClaw instance and tell my agent to work its magic. The first thing that struck me was how long OpenClaw spends doing its work. OpenAI users pay the company a flat monthly fee. That gives the company an incentive to do as little work as possible in responding to user queries—the more work and thinking ChatGPT does on a given query, the more OpenAI has to spend on computing power, and the less profit it makes from the user’s fixed monthly fee. OpenClaw, in contrast, doesn’t care about costs or profit. It’s content to blithely burn through tokens to do the best possible job fielding your request. When I asked my agent to research and write an article for me, it often took as long as 20 minutes to produce a response, blowing though $2 to $3 worth of OpenAI API credits in the process. That’s not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things, but it’s way more than even a Blitz-scaling OpenAI or Anthropic would devote to a single query. With all that work and thinking, though, OpenClaw’s responses were quite good. In one test, the system successfully found a relevant piece of juicy AI news (Anthropic’s decision to give free users access to its powerful new Sonnet 4.6 model), researched more than 50 sources, chose a solid headline (“Anthropic just moved its best everyday Claude into the cheap seats”), and wrote a piece that’s factually accurate and quite polished. “Functionally, the Sonnet tier just cannibalized a lot of work that used to force teams onto Opus,” OpenClaw opined in the article. I could see writing that. Human sacrifice metaphors in a business story? That’s my jam! OpenClaw even captured my propensity for including data and stats in my articles. “Internal evals show developers prefer Sonnet 4.6 over 4.5 about 70% of the time and even choose it over last fall’s Opus 4.5 in nearly six out of ten trials,” the bot wrote, citing a blog post from Anthropic. Overall, OpenClaw did a surprisingly good job following journalistic best practices. It has a strong sense of what’s newsworthy, cites a mixture of sources (including company announcements and external analysis pieces), and keeps things compelling without embellishing facts or hallucinating. Sometimes it drones on about technical things. But then, so do I! In short, it’s a decent journalist—if not, I’d like to think, a real replacement for yours truly. Agents for the Win? To be clear, I would never use OpenClaw to actually write a Fast Company article for me. But based on my experiments, the system is a compelling and powerful tool. I spent most of my time on the basics. But with more time spent tweaking and improving its instructions and training data, I could likely improve its output even more. I could also give the bot more capabilities beyond just writing. Because OpenClaw allows deep integrations with other tools, I could train the bot to put its articles into a Google Doc, fact-check them, and even send them directly to my Fast Company editor. Other developers have trained the system to create videos for them, control their smart home devices, build entire iPhone apps, and clear their inboxes by responding to hundreds of emails on their behalf. Beyond the specifics of my experiment, using OpenClaw showed me the real potential of agentic AI–as well as its drawbacks. OpenClaw bills itself as “The AI that actually does things.” That’s true, and refreshing. It’s also expensive. In a day of using OpenClaw, I can easily spend $10 to $15. Companies like OpenAI are already burning through hundreds of billions just fielding basic ChatGPT queries. There’s no way they’d let everyday users access such a pricey technology. That means until frontier AI models get far cheaper, agentic AI will be the purview of big enterprises that can build their own bespoke agents, and the crazy few who are devoted (and deep-pocketed) enough to implement tools like OpenClaw for themselves. In short, based on price alone, you can ignore promises of powerful AI agents for the masses. Model prices will come down, though. And when they do, even consumer-friendly tools will be able to pull the same magic as OpenClaw. The agentic future will arrive. But not until it’s profitable. View the full article

Most workplace frustration doesn’t come from a lack of effort or commitment. It comes from expectations that weren’t met—not because people failed to try, but because those expectations were never clearly stated or truly understood. In our organizational research over the past 30 years, we’ve seen this pattern repeatedly: when expectations are unclear, trust in leadership and collaboration begins to drop. When this happens, the frustration that follows is real. But the deeper cost is often invisible—trust begins to erode. This dynamic is increasingly common. Roles evolve, priorities shift, and teams are asked to move faster with less certainty. People continue to work in good faith, investing energy and time into what they believe is needed. They solve problems based on experience and what has worked before. When they’re later told the outcome fell short, the issue is more than disappointment. It’s disorientation. People begin to question their judgment and whether they can reliably meet expectations going forward. Over time, that uncertainty weakens collaboration and trust—the sense that people are truly working with one another toward a shared outcome. Consider a common scenario. A leader asks a team member to “move this forward quickly.” The work gets done on time, but when it’s delivered, the leader is disappointed. What they needed wasn’t just speed, but alignment with a broader strategy—or more collaboration with another team before finalizing decisions. The expectation wasn’t ignored; it was incomplete. The leader never named the strategy, nor the need. In the absence of clarity, effort went in one direction while expectations lived in another. Over time, moments like this teach people to hesitate, over-check, or disengage because trust in their understanding has been shaken. Here’s how to break that cycle. Set expectations explicitly This means being clear not just about tasks or deadlines, but about what success looks like, along with what constraints or tradeoffs are in play. It also means being realistic—considering current priorities and what support may be required to do the work well. Rather than assuming clarity, make it visible. Instead of saying, “Can you move this forward?” try something more specific: “I’d like to review my expectations with you for clarity. What I’m trying to accomplish is [outcome], and what matters most here is [speed, quality, alignment, or collaboration]. I need this delivered by [timeframe], and I want to make sure that’s realistic given everything else you’re managing.” Setting expectations this way signals partnership, not control. It shows consideration for others and consistency in how expectations are applied. It also opens the door to an essential question: “What do you need from me?” Asking that upfront helps leaders provide the right support and ensure people are set up to succeed. Confirm understanding before work begins Shared history and good intentions can create the illusion of alignment. Leaders may believe expectations are obvious, that others understand what matters most, or that capable people will speak up if something is unclear. In effect, clarity is assumed—and there’s often an unspoken expectation that people will initiate their own understanding. In reality, many people hesitate to ask clarifying questions, especially in environments shaped by urgency or rapid change. They don’t want to slow things down, appear uninformed, or challenge direction. Trust is strengthened when leaders treat clarity as something to be created together, not something to be inferred. Rather than assuming alignment, invite it. That might mean asking someone to reflect back what they heard or encouraging them to surface concerns. For example, instead of asking, “Any questions?”—which often shuts conversation down—try something more specific: “Before you get started, I’d like to make sure we’re aligned. What are you hearing matters most here?” or “What concerns or constraints do you see?” And if you’re the person receiving the instruction, this is a moment to step into ownership. Asking a clarifying question doesn’t signal uncertainty: it signals engagement. Questions like, “Can I confirm my understanding of what success looks like?” or “What would be most helpful from you as I work on this?” both clarify expectations and demonstrate initiative. Managers notice this. It builds confidence on both sides and reduces the risk of misalignment later. Renegotiate expectations when reality changes Because it always does. Expectations can grow larger than anticipated, take longer than expected, or become more complex as work unfolds. New priorities emerge. Constraints surface. Resources shift. When these changes go unaddressed, people continue operating on outdated assumptions, drifting further out of alignment. Renegotiation isn’t a failure of planning; it’s a leadership and partnership responsibility. If you’re receiving an expectation and recognize that something has changed, bring it up immediately. Share what you’re seeing, explain what’s different, and be explicit about the support that would help you succeed. That might sound like: “As I’ve been working on this, I’m realizing the scope is larger than expected because [reason]. I’m concerned I won’t be able to meet the original expectation as defined. I’d like to talk about what support—or what adjustment to scope or timing—would help me complete this successfully.” Asking for support isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of ownership. If you’re the one who set the expectation, make support visible. Ask questions like: “Are you running into any challenges?” “Is there anything I need to be aware of that’s creating a barrier to progress?” or “What support would help you get back on track?” These questions normalize course correction and reinforce that success is shared. Renegotiation replaces disappointment with dialogue. It keeps people aligned to what matters now, not what mattered when the expectation was first set. And it reinforces a critical truth: trust isn’t built by pushing through in silence, but by adapting together when reality changes. Managing expectations is one of the most overlooked ways trust is built at work. When managers make expectations visible, confirm understanding, and adapt together as needs change, they create more than alignment—they create confidence. People know what’s expected, why it matters, and where to ask for support when reality shifts. In a world defined by constant change, that kind of partnership isn’t a luxury. It’s a management responsibility. View the full article

When social psychologist Jonathan Haidt published The Anxious Generation in March 2024, his core proposal—that children should be kept off social media until at least age 16, with tech companies bearing the burden of enforcement—was treated by many as aspirational, even quixotic. The tech industry dismissed it. Libertarian critics called it paternalistic overreach. Skeptics questioned the evidence base. That was then. In barely two years, Haidt’s “radical” idea has become something close to a global consensus—a textbook example of what political scientists call the “Overton Window”—one that’s shifted at extraordinary speed. The Overton Window describes the range of ideas that are considered politically acceptable at any given time, ranging from unthinkable to popular and eventually to policy. Ideas outside the window—no matter how sensible—get dismissed as too extreme, too impractical, or too politically risky to touch. But when conditions change, the window can move, sometimes gradually and sometimes with startling speed, pulling yesterday’s fringe idea into today’s mainstream. That is exactly what has happened with children and social media. Politicians everywhere are now racing to get on the right side of a window that has moved decisively. The Floodgates Have Opened Consider what has happened just since late 2025. Australia led the charge, enacting an outright ban on social media for children under 16 that took effect in December 2025, with monetary penalties falling squarely on the platforms—not on parents or kids. France has passed a bill banning social media for children under 15. Denmark secured cross-party support for a similar ban, expected to become law by mid-2026. Spain, Germany, Malaysia, Slovenia, Italy, and Greece are all moving in the same direction. In the United States, where bipartisan agreement on anything feels miraculous, the Kids Off Social Media Act has attracted co-sponsors from both parties—Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) alongside Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Chris Murphy (D-CT) alongside Katie Britt (R-AL). Virginia enacted a law effective January 2026 limiting under-16 social media use to one hour per day unless parents opt in. Over 45 states have pending legislation. And in the U.K., a January 2026 government consultation is explicitly considering a social media ban for children, after the House of Lords defeated the government to insert an under-16 ban into the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. This is no longer a debate about whether to act. It’s a debate about the details. Why the Window Moved So Fast Several forces converged to make this shift possible. First, mounting evidence. Haidt marshaled data showing that since the early 2010s—precisely when smartphones and social media became ubiquitous among teens—rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide among young people have surged across the developed world. The patterns are strikingly consistent across countries and cultures. As Haidt puts it: We “over-protected children in the real world and under-protected them online.” Second, personal stories that broke through the noise. Australia’s ban originated partly from a mother’s letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about her 12-year-old daughter’s suicide following social media bullying. At the U.N. General Assembly in September 2025, a mother’s speech about her daughter’s “death by bullying, enabled by social media” won support from world leaders across continents. Data persuades policymakers; stories move publics. Third, the collective action problem became too painful to ignore. Haidt nailed this insight: Individual parents feel powerless against platforms engineered by billions of dollars of design expertise to maximize engagement. No single family can opt out without socially isolating their child. This is precisely why governments need to shift the responsibility to the platforms. When enforcement becomes the tech companies’ problem—not the parents’ problem—the collective action trap breaks. Fourth, early results from related interventions are encouraging. Arkansas’ phone-free-school pilot program showed a 51% drop in drug-related offenses and a 57% decline in verbal and physical aggression among students within the first year. Results like these give politicians the cover they need to act boldly. The Strategic Lesson For those of us who study how change happens, this is a master class. An idea that seemed politically impossible in early 2024 has become politically inevitable by early 2026. That’s the speed at which Overton Windows can move when lived experience, accumulating evidence, moral urgency, and a clear articulation of the problem all align. Note, too, where the burden of proof has shifted. Two years ago, advocates for restricting children’s social media access had to justify intervention. Today, it is the tech companies and their defenders who must explain why children should continue to have unrestricted access to platforms designed to be addictive. That reversal—the shift in who must justify what—is the surest signal that an Overton Window has decisively moved. It is further set against the backdrop of the first set of legal challenges to the platform’s business models, arguing that their designers have deliberately designed their products to be harmful to maximize their profits. What Comes Next Haidt, a professor of ethical leadership at New York University, didn’t create this movement alone—millions of anxious parents, grieving families, and alarmed educators did. But he gave it a framework, a language, and a set of actionable proposals. And now, politicians everywhere are scrambling to catch up with what parents already knew in their bones: that we handed our children’s attention, self-worth, and mental health to companies that optimize for engagement, not well-being—and that better guardrails, uniformly enforced, are essential. View the full article

For decades, we’ve been told that the smartest organizations are “data-driven.” The phrase carries moral weight. To be guided by data is to be serious, rational, modern. If you’re not, you’re seen as ideological or sentimental. In the workplace, quantification has become synonymous with credibility and competence. And yet, the more data we accumulate, the less certain we seem to be that we are making better decisions. There’s a paradox. Organizations are drowning in dashboards, KPIs, performance metrics, behavioral traces, biometric indicators, predictive scores, engagement rates, and AI-generated forecasts. We have more data than we know what to do with. We pretend that the mere presence of data guarantees clarity. It does not. That’s data hubris—the arrogant belief that because something can be measured, it can be mastered. The Illusion of Objectivity In executive meetings, a slide filled with graphs and percentages signals authority. Numbers appear to silence dissent and create the impression of neutrality. But behind every dataset lies a series of human decisions: what to measure, how to measure it, what to ignore, and how to interpret it. Metrics are never neutral; they are constructed within particular frameworks, assumptions, and interests. Too often, data is used not to inform decisions but to justify them after the fact. It lends post-hoc legitimacy to strategies already chosen, wrapping subjective choices in the language of objectivity. Take creative industries, for example, where algorithms supposedly predict success. Netflix built part of its reputation on data sophistication, claiming to understand viewers better than traditional studios ever could. Yet insiders have described how metrics shift, interpretations vary, and executives selectively highlight numbers that support their preferred projects. The result can be content engineered to be “watchable” but forgettable—optimized for fragmented attention rather than lasting cultural impact. Also, the problem is that data reflects the past. It captures what has already worked, not what might resonate tomorrow. It struggles to grasp the emerging mood of a society—the intangible zeitgeist that makes a story, product, or idea feel timely. Focusing on backward-looking indicators institutionalizes mediocrity. When Data Confirms What We Already Know The same pattern appears in corporate HR, where the rise of people analytics promised revolutionary insight into engagement and performance. Sensors track badge swipes, algorithms map collaboration networks, and predictive models estimate attrition risk. After enormous investment, companies often discover that good managers matter, that employees dislike micromanagement, and that people leave when they feel undervalued. These findings are hardly revolutionary. Some of the most celebrated “data-driven” insights simply confirm what experienced people already suspected. There is a widening gap between the sophistication of measurement tools and the banality of many of the conclusions they generate. In open, messy environments, organizations often produce vast quantities of noise and mistake it for knowledge. Healthcare offers another revealing example. Radiology once seemed perfectly suited for AI transformation: millions of standardized images and clear diagnostic categories. Early systems performed impressively on routine cases. However, real-world practice quickly exposed limitations. Radiology reports are filled with cautious phrases—“cannot rule out,” “clinical correlation recommended”—the product of decades of medico-legal prudence. Algorithms struggle with this ambiguity and may flag excessive urgencies because they cannot distinguish legal caution from genuine clinical risk. More fundamentally, medicine is defined by exceptions. AI may handle 90% of common cases effectively, but it is the rare and atypical cases that truly test expertise. A seasoned radiologist can reason through an unprecedented situation; an algorithm remains confined to its training data. Abundant historical data does not eliminate the variability of reality. The Blind Spots of Overconfidence One of the most dangerous effects of data hubris is overconfidence. When decisions are backed by numbers, leaders may lose caution. Digital traces capture clicks and transactions but not informal conversations. Not everything meaningful leaves a digital record, and dashboards rarely display their own blind spots. We face what we don’t know we don’t know. In his work on uncertainty, Vaughn Tan distinguishes between risk—where probabilities are calculable—and deeper forms of not-knowing where probabilities themselves are unknown. Treating all uncertainty as if it were calculable risk is a category error. Mathematics cannot resolve questions about emerging values and unprecedented events. The COVID-19 crisis illustrated this confusion vividly. Some leaders relied heavily on models built from previous diseases, assuming that all unknowns were simply risk variables awaiting calculation. In reality, many were genuine uncertainties that required experimentation, humility, and adaptive learning. From Data Mastery to Uncertainty Literacy Data hubris can also extend into one’s personal life through the quantified self movement. Wearables measure sleep cycles, heart rate variability, step counts, and glucose levels, promising unprecedented self-knowledge. But more information does not always mean better well-being. In medicine, excessive testing increases the risk of false positives, detecting anomalies that may never cause harm but may trigger anxiety and invasive follow-ups. Constant self-tracking can fuel obsession. Instead of asking whether we feel rested or hungry, we defer to numerical indicators, thus ignoring more intuitive signals (feeling hungry, rested . . .). None of this means we should reject data. Of course not. Data is invaluable. But it must sit within a broader understanding of how knowledge is actually produced—through field observations, expert judgment, and lived experience. Data demands interpretation. It requires humility and open conversations. What is missing here? What assumptions shaped these metrics? Who decided what to measure—and why? In genuinely uncertain environments, small, reversible experiments often outperform grand predictive models. Instead of pretending to know, organizations can probe, learn, and adapt. Intuition—far from being irrational—represents compressed experience accumulated over time. Above all, leaders must remain humble in the face of unknown unknowns. The most sophisticated analytics cannot absolve decision-makers of responsibility. As sensors multiply and AI systems proliferate, the temptation to equate measurement with mastery will only intensify. Beware of data hubris. Knowing that we do not fully know is the foundation of sound judgment in a world that remains irreducibly complex. View the full article

This coverage is made possible through a partnership between Grist and BPR, a public radio station serving western North Carolina. The Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) quarterly meeting in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, opened with a triumphant video homage to its work during Winter Storm Fern. Energy had come through, yet again, to defeat extreme cold. The montage credited this to the utility’s “coal workhorses,” then noted that nuclear provided “uninterrupted power” and “hydro responded instantly.” The list ended there, despite years of promises that the agency would bolster renewables and battery storage. The message was clear: Solar had been unceremoniously dropped from the mix, and coal, which the agency had been phasing out, was back. What the video hinted at, the board made official. Its seven members unanimously dropped renewable energy as a priority, ended diversity programs, and granted two of the agency’s four remaining coal plants a reprieve. The decision followed the seating of four members selected by President The President, breaking months of paralysis that followed the termination of three Biden appointees. The changes, made during the February 11 board meeting, signal more than a routine policy reset for the nation’s largest public power provider. They will slow the TVA’s shift away from fossil fuels just as electricity demand is spiking, raising questions about future costs, pollution, and the role of federally-owned utilities in the country’s energy transition. For years, TVA planners had mapped out a future without coal. That is now on hold. The Kingston Fossil Plant in Roane County, Tennessee, was scheduled for retirement in 2027, with all nine of its units slated for demolition and replacement with an “energy complex” of gas generation and battery storage. All of them will remain online alongside the gas plant, but renewables are no longer part of the picture. The board also shelved plans to scuttle the Cumberland Fossil Plant in Stewart County, Tennessee, in 2028. These moves come despite the agency’s 2025 Integrated Resource Plan, which called for retiring the two facilities because of Kingston’s “high cost and challenged condition” and Cumberland’s “lack of flexibility.” The Kingston coal plant was also the site of a devastating 2010 coal ash disaster, the largest industrial spill in U.S. history. The board defended its decision by citing energy affordability for the Tennessee Valley. “As power demand grows, TVA is looking at every option to bolster our generating fleet to continue providing affordable, reliable electricity to our 10 million customers, create jobs, and help communities thrive,” agency spokesperson Scott Brooks said in a statement. Left unsaid was the fact that a coal-fired power generation unit at the Cumberland Fossil Plant failed during last month’s storm. Much of TVA’s load growth comes from the rise of artificial intelligence, said CEO Don Moul, and data centers account for 18% of its industrial load. During the same meeting, the board allowed the company xAI, owned by Elon Musk, to double the amount of power it draws from the grid. For former board member Michelle Moore, one of the Biden-era appointees President The President fired in March, the shift aligns squarely with the administration’s priorities. It also signals, she said, that the utility is no longer fulfilling its mission to provide affordable power, economic development, and environmental stewardship across the seven-state Tennessee Valley. “The politics in Washington may change,” she said. “But the TVA’s mission does not.” That independence has at times put the Tennessee Valley Authority at odds with presidents of both parties. The utility resisted The President administration pressure to keep coal plants open, continuing to retire facilities based on economic reasons. But it also fell short of President Biden’s decarbonization goals. Moore worries ordinary ratepayers are no longer an active part of TVA’s decision-making. Typically, a shift as monumental as turning away from renewable energy would have been subject to a lengthy review with input from communities throughout the region, something that simply will not occur now. “This is one more indicator that the public power model is being eroded and is at risk,” Moore said. Last month, the TVA said it would streamline how it reviews the ecological impacts of its projects, allowing some to move ahead with far less, if any, scrutiny. The move follows a broader rollback of the National Environmental Policy Act under President The President that grants greater discretion over such considerations to entities like the TVA. For nearly 60 years, the law required an assessment of the environmental impacts of federal projects. “Over the past several years, the TVA board has faced pressure to make decisions based on stringent environmental regulations,” said board member Wade White. The TVA’s willingness to join the The President administration’s push to revive the coal industry has rankled locals and environmentalists. In the first year of his second term, President The President lifted Environmental Protection Agency restrictions on the industry, used emergency executive orders to keep aging coal plants open, expanded mining, and ordered the Pentagon to buy electricity from power plants that use coal. The president has since received an award from industry executives dubbing him the “Undisputed Champion of Clean, Beautiful Coal.” From a public health standpoint, it’s a nightmare. “Coal is one of the worst things you can imagine for the environment,” said Avner Vengosh, a professor of environmental quality at Duke University who leads a coal and coal ash research group. Mining destroys ecosystems and poisons groundwater, polluting rivers and streams with sulfuric acid. Burning the fossil fuel releases fine particulate matter, impacting the health of nearby residents. A 2023 study in the journal Science found that coal plants caused nearly half a million excess deaths between 1999 and 2020, and a Sierra Club report notes that TVA coal-fired plants were the nation’s deadliest. “People are upset, they feel like we’re going backwards,” said Amy Kelly, a Sierra Club campaign manager. “The fact that these plants are from the ’50s and ’60s, and we’re just going to prop them up with Band-Aid solutions to appease the current administration is going to cost people.” Even some coal plant operators agree. A Colorado utility is suing to close a facility, calling a federal emergency order to keep it online “unconstitutional.” For those who live near the two plants the TVA just saved, the decision is, in Joe Schiller’s words, “a betrayal.” Schiller, a retired college professor, has lived near the Cumberland plant for 30 years. “It contradicts everything they’ve told us about the plants in the past,” he said. Even so, he added, it’s a beautiful area. Moments before, his wife had called him outside to admire the sandhill cranes flying by. “It’s not like you look around every day and say, ‘Yep, that Cumberland plant is slowly killing me,’” Schiller said with a laugh. “Although it probably is.” View the full article

A culture of fear makes it easy to cloud our judgment For thousands of years, walking and horseback riding were the fundamental modes of transport, and settlement patterns were a direct reflection of transport options. Compact, low-rise villages and cities made sense based on how far people could reasonably travel on foot or by horse. This was true all the way up until the late 1800s. Then came an invention that let people travel incredible distances in seconds, entirely reshaping cities with dense population clusters. The technology was a sturdy box designed to transport multiple people at once, but often carried just one. I’m talking, of course, about the elevator. Elevators transformed city planning in remarkable ways, long before automobiles sprawled life horizontally. Before elevators, buildings stayed squat because stairs limited height. Walking up two or three flights isn’t terrible. Carrying a briefcase up 10 flights of steep, dark stairs to the office is, pardon the pun, another story. It didn’t take long for skylines to change following the invention of the elevator. Each early elevator had its own operator who mastered the timing and touch of hand-crank controls. These operators wore their Sunday best as a psychological reminder: “We will safely get you to your destination.” Brilliant minds innovated on the elevator, adding safety technology like automatic brakes, but it was the human touch that eased public nerves. It’s hard now to imagine feeling completely helpless in an elevator, but such was life in the early 20th century. Zero chance ordinary people like you and me were going to attempt to operate an elevator without rigorous training first. Full automation That changed dramatically with the September 1945 New York City elevator operators’ strike. Around 15,000 operators, doormen, porters, and maintenance workers walked off, halting service in over 2,000 buildings. About 1.5 million people avoided elevators, opting for stairs or staying home rather than risk operating the cars themselves. But “self-service” features like electric power, emergency phones, and push buttons were already spreading, so the strike helped open the doors to full automation. Self-driving elevators! You can practically hear the traveling public gasp. Walk into a box, let the doors close and lock you in, and trust that this thing would take you quickly—but not too quickly—the proper distance. Otis gets credit for installing the first fully automated elevator in 1950 in Dallas. But the transition took time, both for technology to improve and for a skeptical population to trust it. Operators were still employed in some cities 30 years later. Today, you can casually scan your hotel room key in a lobby that summons a box to whisk you to your precise destination without even pressing buttons inside. A public health crisis You and I will never have the time, energy, or need to read the thousands of opinion pieces about the dangers of autonomous technology as it relates to cars. And as robotaxis accelerate deployments in 2026, there will be no shortage of fear-based stories. There’s no scenario, with or without technology, that results in a danger-free life. The challenge for us is to identify and analyze trade-offs without being clouded by ideology or thwarted by lazy straw man arguments. I’m not a technology expert, so I don’t get too deep on what a particular shiny new object can or can’t do. I am a traffic safety expert, though, and I can tell you motor vehicle deaths remain a public health crisis. Every day, more than 100 people are killed in traffic crashes, and thousands more experience life-altering injuries. That’s the track record of human drivers for decades. Software can save lives by preventing people from driving too fast, running red lights, passing school buses, tailgating in bad weather, or committing other dangerous antisocial acts. If only 50 people are killed each day because of autonomous technology, isn’t that worth celebrating? What if the technology could bring traffic fatalities down to nearly zero? It’s natural to be scared by emerging tech. Early elevator riders felt helpless stepping into a closing box with no operator to guide them. But people adapted because the status quo (stairs limiting how we could build and live) was worse, and incremental safety features built confidence over time. There are absolutely valid concerns about autonomous vehicles, like software hacking, or failure to recognize a one-way street. But remember that humans are not the safest operators, that our current state of mobility is a public health crisis killing tens of thousands every year. Autonomous vehicles programmed to operate safely are part of the quest to design for human flourishing. If we’ve entrusted machines to carry us sky-high without hesitation, we can approach transportation systems the same way: cautiously optimistic, evidence-driven, and open to progress that saves lives. View the full article

Reading or sending emails may seem like an innocuous task, but sometimes, this simple act can trigger a dramatic bodily response. Like forgetting to literally breathe. “Many of us have heard of sleep apnea: the condition where breathing gets interrupted during sleep.” Dora Kamau, Lead Mindfulness and Meditation Teacher at mental health app Headspace, told Fast Company. “Email apnea is a similar idea—just happening in the middle of your workday,” When we’re intensely focused on a task, the brain will “switch off” certain unconscious functions to redirect its processing power to the task at hand. In that state, a lot of people unknowingly alter their breathing, taking short sips of breath, or sometimes holding it altogether. The term for this phenomenon was first coined by Linda Stone in the late 2000s in an article published by HuffPost. After noticing her own breathing became shallow when sat at her computer checking her emails, she decided to invite 200 participants to take part in a study at her home. She found that 80% of the participants also breathed more shallowly when stationed in front of a screen. Those who didn’t had received some kind of formal training in breathing as either athletes, dancers or musicians. “When we open an inbox, scroll through a feed, or get pulled into something on a screen, our nervous system shifts into low-grade alert mode,” explains Kamau. “In these moments, the body is doing what has been designed to do: to protect us. It’s a human, biological response to perceived uncertainty, threat or danger, which in the modern world, an overflowing inbox can feel like.” If you don’t think you do this, the tricky thing about email apnea is that it’s easy to miss, “because it happens in the background of something else you’re doing,” says Kamau. Do you reach the end of a work session feeling inexplicably tired, even if you haven’t done anything physically demanding? Do you suffer from tension headaches or a tight feeling across the shoulders and chest? Do you find yourself taking a big, involuntary sigh or deep breathing without really knowing why? These are all signs of email apnea. “That sigh is your body self-correcting, trying to restore balance after a period of shallow or held breath,” says Kamau. When we hold our breath or breathe shallowly for extended periods, carbon dioxide builds up in the bloodstream, signaling to the body to stay on high alert. Even after you’ve closed the email, that stress response keeps running, holding on to that tension long after your laptop is shut. “It also negatively impacts cognitive function,” Kamau explains. “When we’re not breathing fully, we’re not getting optimal oxygen to the brain, which means decision-making, creativity, and focus all take a hit. Ironically, the very things we need most at work.” Next time you’re racing to hit inbox zero, take a beat and notice your breath. Slow diaphragmatic breathing, expanding the lungs fully and breathing into the stomach, signals to the body it can relax. It reduces the heart rate, lowers blood pressure and can even help us make better decisions. It’s also important to designate mini-breaks to keep email apnea at bay. “At Headspace, we just created and launched a Pomodoro timer specifically designed with this in mind,” says Kamau. Making micro-adjustments to the way you sit can help, too. “Hunching over a screen compresses the lungs and makes full breathing physically harder,” she says. “Simply sitting up slightly, rolling the shoulders back, and dropping them away from the ears creates more space for the breath to move in our bodies.” View the full article

This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. More than 600,000 podcasts released 27 million episodes in 2025. Keeping up with even a tiny fraction of those 70,000-plus daily releases is impossible. So I’ve been exploring new ways to keep up with audio: podcast summaries, audio digests, and cool new tools for finding and saving audio highlights. Podsnacks: Get podcast summaries by email Get podcast summaries delivered to your email with Podsnacks. Catch up on shows you don’t have time to listen to. The free digest includes AI-generated summaries drawn from 25 of the most popular news, business, and tech podcasts. For $5/month, you can get a daily digest of any five podcasts you want. Snipcast is an alternative that offers 2 summaries a month for free or 50 episode summaries for $8/month. TL;DL by Headliner: Listen to podcast digests If you want to listen to podcast summaries, try TL;DL. Pick up to five podcasts to summarize in 5, 10, 15, or 20 minutes. I like that it’s not just an AI-voiced synthesis, but includes excerpted audio clips. You can always click through to hear the full episode. Caveat: Expect to wait at least five minutes for each summary, and it’s still in beta. I run into occasional errors. Examples: Listen to this summary from my recent podcast interview with Azeem Azhar. Or try this summary of an episode of Shankar Vedantam’s terrific Hidden Brain podcast. Snipd: My favorite podcast app Snipd keeps improving. I rely on it mainly because it lets me save highlights from podcasts I’m listening to by tapping my AirPods. The app also provides detailed podcast summaries so I can decide what to listen to. Among the new features I like most: Skip intros and outros that clutter up many podcasts. AI chat with any episode to ask for best quotes, must-listen moments, key takeaways, clarification of a complex idea, or whatever else you want. I love the new “mentioned books” tab. It shows all the books discussed on a particular podcast. Click on a cover to learn more about the author and to see a list of podcasts where that book was discussed. Search by guest. Find and listen to all the podcasts where your favorite author/musician/guru has been interviewed. Listen and highlight audiobooks. Connect a Libro.fm audiobook account and import books with one click to listen to and highlight on Snipd. (Libro supports your local bookstore.) Alternatively, find free public domain audiobooks at LibriVox. You can manually upload your own audiobooks. Podcast Magic: Save a key audio moment When you’re listening to a podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts and want to save a highlight, take a screenshot and email it to podcastmagic@sublime.app. Podcast Magic will email you back an audio clip and transcript of the key moment to save or share. It’s a clever way to easily save and share a quote or anecdote. Example: One show I highlighted recently was Audio Flux, which The New Yorker picked as one of the 10 best podcasts of 2025. The all-star audio duo commissions and spotlights bold short-form audio stories. (You can also follow Team Audio Flux on Substack.) Listen Notes: Search for podcast mentions With Listen Notes, you can find podcast episodes where you’re mentioned. Type in your name or the name of your organization and search. Or look for interviews with a favorite author or musician. Other useful features: Curated Lists: See recommendations from publications, like the 6 healthcare podcasts or 7 podcasts for bookworms the NYTimes recommended. Listen Later: Make and share a curated podcast playlist. The playlist has an RSS feed that you can add to any major podcast player. Here’s a playlist of a few shows I like. Here’s a longer list of my favorites. Podchaser is a good alternative when you’re looking by topic. I discovered new podcasts about tennis and classical music. Also try the new advanced search by combining terms. EarBuds Podcast Collective, founded by podcast guru Arielle Nissenblatt, shares well-curated podcast recommendations. Each week a guest picks five shows to recommend. Example: 5 podcasts about bodies and how we see ourselves. Also: CBC’s Podcast Playlist (RIP) was a great show featuring highlights from all sorts of podcasts. The archive is full of great episodes. Perplexity Voice Mode for Web, iOS, and Android When I don’t have my computer, I prefer searching with my voice over thumb typing on my phone. Querying Perplexity verbally when I’m walking or when my fingers are freezing is convenient because it answers with audio quickly and accurately. I can ask follow-ups for clarification or elaboration. These iterative search conversations let me steer the exploration toward what’s most useful. (iOS and Android) Example: Here’s a screenshot of Perplexity’s short reply when I asked what voice search is useful for. Tip: Ask Perplexity for its sources to verify its results; voice searches don’t surface those unless you ask. Voicebox: Collect audio feedback Create your own inbox for voice input. Give anyone your Voicebox link or QR code, and they can leave you an audio message. No typing, no downloads, no forms to fill out. They just share their thoughts in a simple voice memo. It’s like an answering machine for the digital era. Voicebox is marketed as a B2B tool, but anyone can use it as an individual. Try it: Leave me a voice message about one thing you do that AI will never be able to replicate. Optionally, include your name and email. Send an audio note: Tuttu is a super simple free site where you can record and share a voice note. Then email a link to that audio or embed it. Here’s a quick example I recorded about 3 ways you can use Tuttu. Alternative: VideoAsk is a slick tool for collecting video or audio feedback instead of a dull form. You can gather 20 minutes of input each month for free. Collecting 100 monthly minutes costs $24/month billed annually. Rover AI: Get audio briefs to answer questions Rover is an early-stage app that answers your questions with AI-generated audio briefs. Type in a query, wait a few minutes, then listen to your 2-3 minute audio conversation between two AI hosts. Unique feature: Choose from three alternative responses to your query. Example: Listen to a short audio debate about whether Jonathan Franzen is overrated or a genius. Alternatives: NotebookLM, which I’ve written about, does a fantastic job of creating audio summaries—or even debates—exploring complex topics. And Huxe, which I wrote about last week, creates useful personalized audio updates. Rover is an earlier-stage experiment, by contrast, focused on brief audio answers to eclectic queries. Become a tester to try it out. This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. View the full article

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. I saw my coworker’s pregnancy announcement on TikTok I was just scrolling TikTok, and a video from “someone you may know” popped up. It is a coworker of mine, whose number is in my phone because we sit near each other and sometimes need to coordinate watering plants and such. It turns out she’s a somewhat well-known content creator in a pretty wholesome and innocuous genre. The video I landed on was especially well liked, because she used it to announce her pregnancy. I’m very happy for her and would like to congratulate her! However, I don’t know if she would think it’s weird that I watched her video. I’m a man who she knows a little bit through work, and I’m aware that this might not be a topic she would want to discuss with me. Do you think I can say something, or should I wait until she brings it up? Wait for her to bring it up. It’s true that by putting in on social media, she’s giving up the ability to control who knows — and maybe she wouldn’t care at all that you saw the announcement and are bringing it up at work — but it’s better to err on the side of discretion when it comes to colleagues (and also when it comes to pregnancy). Related: our coworker is obviously pregnant but hasn’t told us and we want to be cool 2. Should you still try to get a bonus when your boss knows you’re leaving? Many years ago, my husband worked as the only IT person for a small business (~75 people). He managed servers, desktops, and IT purchases/implementations. During the great recession, the company also farmed him out to another company, about the same size and in the same field. They bumped his salary a bit but essentially doubled his workload and he had to clean up a huge mess left by that company’s former IT person He was already working close to 60 hours a week and this was going to add more time and stress. A position in my company (different division) opened and the hiring manager, who knew husband through me, wanted to hire him. My husband was coming up to his 10th anniversary at his company and was due to get a large bonus. My company’s hiring process takes a long time, so we were certain he would get his bonus before he had to put in his notice. He felt a little uncomfortable about doing this because he loved his company, but he was burning out fast and needed to move on. Coincidentally, his big boss was friendly with my big boss. Their wives were best friends, so they frequently saw each other. My big boss was old school and really hated the idea of people “poaching” employees. He did what he thought was the right thing to do for his relationship with my husband’s boss and called before the hiring process was complete to let him know they were considering hiring my husband. The bonus never happened, and here is where I think we messed up. My husband didn’t pursue it because in his mind, it was a bonus for loyalty and, since he was leaving, he was no longer loyal. My husband actually had to continue to work part-time for old company to help them transition to another IT solution while working at my company. My big boss arranged it. He didn’t have to work extra hours; he was permitted to help them during regular work hours, so it was on my company’s dime. I encouraged my husband not to pursue the bonus, even though it would have been close to $10,000. He agreed because he felt guilty for leaving them. Were we absolute fools? It doesn’t matter now, of course. But I have always wondered. First and foremost, your boss was out of line. If he felt he couldn’t in good conscience hire your husband without letting his current boss know, he should have told your husband that and let him decide if he wanted to remain in consideration or not. In some companies, what he did could have gotten your husband fired. But as for the bonus, it’s pretty common for people to lose their eligibility for bonuses once it’s known that they’re leaving (unless the bonus is contractually required, which doesn’t sound like the case here). Bonuses are usually a retention strategy, so when someone is known to be in the process of leaving, the company no longer has an incentive to offer them. That said, in this case, your husband was going to continue to work part-time for them, which gave him some leverage — and yes, that arrangement was made on his behalf by his new boss (!) but it still gave him some leverage that in theory he could have tried to use. It might not have gone anywhere, but it wouldn’t have been outrageous to try. 3. Expecting candidates to relocate and start work in less than a week I work in higher education, so it’s not unusual to have to fly to another state to interview and then move several hours away if you get the job. While I was living in Texas, I interviewed for a job in Georgia. At the time I applied, they listed their estimated start date being June 1. However, as with all higher ed job searches, things took time, so I didn’t visit the campus for my final interview until the week before Memorial Day weekend. I was the first candidate to come for their on-campus interview, and I knew the other interview dates offered were for the following week. In my end-of-day wrap-up meeting with the director, I asked if there was an updated timeline given how close we were to June 1. The director looked me straight in the face and said that June 1 was still the expected start date, and that anyone who wanted this job would make it work. He explained that when he was hired for his current job, he packed a bag and moved into a dorm room temporarily while his wife stayed home with their child to pack up and sell their home. I politely mentioned how nice it was to have a support system like that to help with the move, but not everyone has one. He then reaffirmed that his expectation was a June 1 start date, and I quickly moved on to another topic. Was I wrong to feel that this was completely unrealistic? To me, this was a huge red flag about unrealistic expectations, and as soon as I received my flight reimbursement check, I withdrew my application. I also know that he had to repost the position by mid-June and start his search all over again. My colleague pointed out that, knowing how slow higher education moves, I shouldn’t have said anything because a June 1 date was never going to happen, and I should have waited until an offer was made to negotiate a start date that worked for me. Yes, that’s ridiculous. Memorial Day is, at most, eight days away from June 1. Some years it’s two days from June 1. Expecting people to interview, get an offer, consider it, accept it, move, and be ready to begin work in less than a week is absurd — in all cases, but especially in a situation where the employer could have moved faster but was already dragging their feet. 4. Job applicants don’t follow up with their driving records I work at a small business that makes deliveries. For the most part, I have good employees but unfortunately this job does not pay well so I do have some turnover. Most of the employees who leave are my drivers, usually due to relocation or a better paying job. Before I can hire a driver, they have to be added to our insurance so they can drive the company van and for that I have to have a copy of their license and driving record (either a hard copy or a screenshot). In my state, that is something they have to pay for, and I’m afraid that is scaring away applicants. I often give them the application and they fill it out on the spot but won’t stop back in with their driving record. What can I do to try and get more applicants to follow through? It’s understandable that people don’t want to pay to get a copy of their driving record before they’ve been offered the job or at least gone through some initial screening — particularly when they can apply for other jobs that don’t require them to shell out cash up-front. Can you move that part of the process to the end, make the offer contingent on a good driving record, and let them know you’ll reimburse the cost of obtaining it? 5. My job made me take an unpaid break at the very end of my shift I recently took a short-term part-time retail job to make a little extra money. This is my first retail job since college, which was the late ‘90s. At this gig, we’re scheduled for 6.5 hour shifts, during which we get a 15-minute paid break and a 30-minute unpaid break. We have a designated “breaker” who takes over our station so we can step away. During a shift this weekend, the breaker came for my 15-minute break, but never showed up for the 30-minute break. When I finally saw the supervisor at closing time, I asked her about the missing breaker — I figured something went amiss. It turned out the breaker told the supervisor she had given everyone their breaks and went home for the day. But she skipped my 30-minute. To my surprise, I was told I had to take my 30-minute unpaid break immediately — even though we were literally in the final 31 minutes of my shift. I was taken aback, so I offered two alternatives that seemed pretty reasonable to me: (1) I could to stay and help with closing procedures since I wasn’t anywhere near the overtime danger zone or (2) I could call it a day and leave. I kid you not. I was required to sit in a chair for my unpaid break while everyone washed dishes and did closing procedures. Then I would be allowed to punch out. So I was stuck taking a break that served zero purpose other than to inconvenience me. Am I out of touch with retail norms? Would it have been so unreasonable to let me leave and adjust my time card later? Nope, they broke the law. On unpaid breaks, you must be able to do what you want with that time; being required to sit in a chair doing nothing doesn’t qualify. (In most states they can require you to remain on the premises — although not in all — but in no state I’m aware of would “sit in this chair and don’t move for half an hour” meet the legal requirements for an unpaid break.) Also, many state laws require that breaks happen a certain number of hours after the start of a shift and before its final hours, not at the very end. You can google the name of your state and “break laws” to see if yours is one of them. The post I saw my coworker’s pregnancy announcement on TikTok, expecting candidates to relocate in a week, and more appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

Tight by-election result expected in former Labour stronghold of Gorton and DentonView the full article

Big banks forecast £247bn of gilt issuance in coming fiscal year amid chancellor’s drive to rein in borrowing View the full article

Guess which group of remote workers pays more?View the full article

Profits are set to recover this year, but a focus on large, high-margin vehicles could create a gap for Chinese rivals to exploitView the full article

Fees for non-executive directors increased even as shareholders criticise succession processView the full article

Silicon Valley rivals in spending blitz for control of Congress and state capitolsView the full article

So much that once struck investors as ungodly suddenly looks redeemedView the full article

In today’s competitive environment, enhancing customer loyalty is essential for business success. The right loyalty rewards program can greatly impact customer retention and engagement. By partnering with leading companies like Clavaa, FiveStars, and TapMango, you can create customized programs that reflect your brand. These platforms offer intuitive features, robust analytics, and adaptable strategies to help build lasting relationships with your customers. Discover how these top seven companies can transform your approach to loyalty and drive profitability. Key Takeaways User-friendly features allow easy management and integration for businesses without technical expertise, enhancing loyalty program effectiveness. Customization options enable branding alignment and tailored loyalty structures to meet diverse customer needs and preferences. Performance analytics provide data-driven insights for optimizing loyalty strategies and measuring the effectiveness of initiatives. Engagement strategies such as referral incentives and tiered rewards encourage repeat visits and foster stronger customer relationships. Suitable for small to medium-sized enterprises, these platforms focus on improving customer retention and long-term profitability. Clavaa Loyalty Program The Clavaa Loyalty Program offers a straightforward and effective way for local retail businesses to improve customer loyalty and engagement. As a rewards company designed particularly for your needs, Clavaa provides a standard cashback of 3% on purchases, which can increase to 5% for VIP tier members. This tiered system promotes greater customer retention and encourages repeat visits. Setting up Clavaa takes just five minutes, allowing for seamless integration with existing PoS systems. It requires minimal staff training, making the implementation process efficient. The program tracks customer visit frequency and spending patterns, giving you valuable insights into customer behavior. This data allows you to optimize your marketing strategies effectively. In addition, Clavaa encourages community building by offering personalized demos, helping you tailor the loyalty experience to your customer base. With Clavaa, local retail businesses can improve customer engagement and promote loyalty within their communities, making it a top choice among loyalty rewards companies. FiveStars Loyalty Platform Boosting customer loyalty and retention is a key goal for many businesses, and the FiveStars Loyalty Platform offers a robust solution personalized to meet that need. This cloud-based platform improves customer engagement through automated marketing and loyalty management, making it easy for you to connect with your customers. With AutoPilot, you can send customized promotions across various channels, including phone numbers, apps, and payment systems, ensuring your message reaches customers where they’re most active. FiveStars provides detailed insights into customer behavior and campaign performance, allowing you to make informed decisions that drive sales. The platform also supports multi-channel rewards tracking, so customers can earn rewards using their preferred methods, increasing convenience. Furthermore, automated messaging capabilities enable you to promote offers and updates via text, email, and push notifications, keeping your brand top-of-mind and encouraging ongoing customer engagement. TapMango Loyalty Features For businesses seeking to improve customer loyalty, TapMango offers an extensive suite of features that facilitate meaningful engagement through a custom-branded loyalty app available on both iOS and Android devices. The platform includes a flexible points system, allowing customers to earn rewards not just through purchases, but as well by leaving reviews and referring friends, which drives repeat business effectively. With built-in online ordering capabilities, TapMango simplifies reward tracking and redemption, ensuring customers can easily access their benefits when they shop. In addition, the marketing suite is equipped with tools for SMS, email, and push notifications, enabling you to communicate promotions and engage customers across multiple channels. Designed to boost customer retention, TapMango’s features help you create a customized loyalty experience that encourages ongoing customer interaction and repeat purchases, in the end enhancing your business’s bottom line. Square Loyalty Square Loyalty offers a streamlined solution for businesses looking to improve customer engagement without the hassle of apps or physical cards. By integrating seamlessly with existing Point of Sale systems, it automatically tracks rewards through customers’ phone numbers, providing SMS updates for easy access to reward statuses. Furthermore, real-time analytics give you insights into customer behavior and sales, making it a strong tool for effective loyalty strategies. Seamless PoS Integration Integrating loyalty programs into your existing Point of Sale (PoS) system can considerably improve customer engagement without the hassle of overhauling your current setup. Square Loyalty seamlessly integrates with your PoS, making implementation straightforward and efficient. Enrolling customers is a breeze; they only need to provide their phone number, eliminating the need for physical cards or apps. Once enrolled, the program simplifies reward collection with a one-tap redemption process at checkout, benefiting both customers and staff. Furthermore, Square Loyalty sends SMS updates to keep customers informed about their reward status. The real-time analytics feature allows you to monitor the program’s effectiveness, offering insights into customer behavior and helping you refine your loyalty strategy for peak results. Automatic Rewards Tracking Automatic rewards tracking is a game-changer for businesses looking to improve customer loyalty without complicating their operations. With Square Loyalty, you can seamlessly integrate the system into your existing PoS, eliminating the need for extra apps or cards. Customers can enroll quickly using just their phone numbers, simplifying the signup process and enhancing their experience. The platform additionally sends SMS updates, keeping customers informed about their loyalty rewards and redemption options. At checkout, reward collection is straightforward, thanks to a one-tap redemption process that allows customers to use their rewards immediately. This efficiency not only boosts customer satisfaction but similarly encourages repeat visits, ultimately benefiting your business’s bottom line. Real-Time Analytics Insights Using real-time analytics insights can greatly improve your comprehension of customer behavior and loyalty program effectiveness. Square Loyalty offers an analytics dashboard that tracks customer visit frequency, spending patterns, and reward redemption rates. This data allows you to make informed, data-driven decisions to optimize your loyalty strategies. You can monitor the effectiveness of promotions and campaigns through real-time reporting, enabling you to adjust your tactics quickly for better customer engagement. Furthermore, the platform helps identify trends and customer preferences, allowing you to tailor your loyalty offerings more effectively. Smile.io Smile.io offers robust e-commerce integration features that allow you to easily implement and manage loyalty programs within your online store. With its advanced program customization options, you can tailor the rewards system to fit your brand’s unique needs, whether it’s through points for purchases or referral incentives. This flexibility not only improves customer engagement but additionally provides valuable insights through analytics, helping you refine your loyalty strategies. E-commerce Integration Features When integrating a loyalty program into your e-commerce site, it’s essential to choose a platform that streamlines the process and improves the customer experience. Smile.io offers seamless integration with popular platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce, making it easy for you to elevate customer interactions. With its user-friendly dashboard, you can track performance metrics and optimize your loyalty strategies in real-time. Consider these features: Customizable loyalty programs rewarding points for purchases, referrals, and social media engagements A freemium model allowing you to start without upfront investment Advanced options like tiered rewards and exclusive promotions to increase customer retention These integrations can greatly improve your e-commerce operations, nurturing a loyal customer base. Advanced Program Customization Advanced customization options in loyalty programs can greatly improve how businesses engage with their customers. Smile.io allows you to tailor your branding and rewards to fit your unique audience. Its user-friendly dashboard offers insights into program performance, helping you optimize strategies effectively. The platform integrates seamlessly with popular e-commerce systems, so you don’t need extensive technical knowledge to implement loyalty features. You can choose from multiple loyalty structures, including points, referrals, and VIP tiers, providing flexibility for diverse engagement strategies. Plus, with a freemium model, you can access advanced features without upfront investment, making it ideal for small to medium-sized enterprises. Feature Benefit Target Users Branding Customization Aligns loyalty program with identity All businesses Performance Insights Data-driven strategy optimization Data-focused businesses Loyalty Structures Flexible engagement options Various customer bases Kangaroo Rewards Kangaroo Rewards stands out as a versatile loyalty platform customized for small and medium businesses, aiming to improve customer engagement through custom-branded mobile apps. This platform offers a user-friendly interface, making it easy for you to manage your loyalty programs effectively. With its automated marketing tools, you can drive customer engagement and analyze the impact of your strategies. You can implement various loyalty strategies designed to your customers’ needs, such as: Points accumulation that keeps customers coming back Referral incentives encouraging your existing customers to spread the word Tiered rewards that motivate customers to reach higher levels of engagement Moreover, Kangaroo Rewards provides extensive analytics that help you measure the effectiveness of your loyalty initiatives, enabling you to refine your approach. Loyalzoo Loyalzoo transforms traditional loyalty programs by digitizing the punch card experience, allowing customers to earn points or stamps automatically through their phone numbers. This innovative approach modernizes how businesses track customer loyalty, making it convenient for both customers and owners. With customizable rewards based on accumulated points or visits, you can customize incentives to meet your customer base’s needs effectively. Additionally, Loyalzoo offers basic marketing capabilities that help you engage customers through monthly promotions and targeted communications. Its user-friendly interface simplifies loyalty program management, ensuring even those without technical expertise can navigate it easily. By digitizing loyalty efforts, Loyalzoo improves customer retention and encourages repeat visits, eventually driving your sales growth. Feature Benefit Impact Automatic Tracking Effortless earning Increased customer engagement Custom Rewards Customized incentives Improved customer satisfaction Marketing Capabilities Direct communication Improved customer relationships User-Friendly Interface Easy management Accessible for all businesses Growth Potential Increased sales Long-term profitability Frequently Asked Questions Which Company Has the Best Loyalty Program? Determining which company has the best loyalty program depends on your personal preferences. Starbucks Rewards offers personalized perks like birthday rewards and free refills, whereas Sephora‘s Beauty Insider provides tiered benefits and exclusive event access. Amazon Prime, with its extensive shipping and entertainment perks, attracts many. Nike Membership focuses on community and exclusive products, and IKEA Family incentivizes retention with discounts and rewards. Each has unique features, making your choice subjective. What Are the 4 C’s of Customer Loyalty? The 4 C’s of customer loyalty are Communication, Convenience, Consistency, and Community. You need effective Communication to keep customers informed about rewards and promotions, making them feel valued. Convenience simplifies participation in loyalty programs, ensuring user-friendly experiences. Consistency builds trust by delivering reliable service across various touchpoints. Finally, nurturing a sense of Community encourages engagement among customers, enhancing their loyalty and prompting positive word-of-mouth referrals, ultimately benefiting your business. What Is the Largest Loyalty Program? The largest loyalty program in the world is Amazon Prime, with over 200 million members since its 2005 launch. This program offers numerous benefits, including fast, free shipping, access to exclusive deals, and streaming services. These features greatly improve customer satisfaction and retention. What Is the World’s Most Generous Rewards Program? The world’s most generous rewards program is often considered to be American Express Membership Rewards. You earn points on every purchase, and these points never expire. This flexibility allows you to redeem them for travel, merchandise, or gift cards, providing a wide range of options. Furthermore, programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards and Starbucks Rewards likewise offer enticing benefits, but American Express stands out for its overall value and versatility in rewards accumulation and redemption. Conclusion Incorporating a loyalty rewards program can greatly improve your business’s customer retention and engagement. By partnering with companies like Clavaa, FiveStars, TapMango, Square, Smile.io, Kangaroo, and Loyalzoo, you can leverage user-friendly tools and customizable features. These platforms offer crucial analytics and engagement strategies, enabling you to create programs that resonate with your brand. Investing in a loyalty rewards strategy not just encourages customer loyalty but additionally contributes to long-term profitability, making it a smart decision for any business. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Top 7 Loyalty Rewards Companies to Enhance Business" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

In today’s competitive environment, enhancing customer loyalty is essential for business success. The right loyalty rewards program can greatly impact customer retention and engagement. By partnering with leading companies like Clavaa, FiveStars, and TapMango, you can create customized programs that reflect your brand. These platforms offer intuitive features, robust analytics, and adaptable strategies to help build lasting relationships with your customers. Discover how these top seven companies can transform your approach to loyalty and drive profitability. Key Takeaways User-friendly features allow easy management and integration for businesses without technical expertise, enhancing loyalty program effectiveness. Customization options enable branding alignment and tailored loyalty structures to meet diverse customer needs and preferences. Performance analytics provide data-driven insights for optimizing loyalty strategies and measuring the effectiveness of initiatives. Engagement strategies such as referral incentives and tiered rewards encourage repeat visits and foster stronger customer relationships. Suitable for small to medium-sized enterprises, these platforms focus on improving customer retention and long-term profitability. Clavaa Loyalty Program The Clavaa Loyalty Program offers a straightforward and effective way for local retail businesses to improve customer loyalty and engagement. As a rewards company designed particularly for your needs, Clavaa provides a standard cashback of 3% on purchases, which can increase to 5% for VIP tier members. This tiered system promotes greater customer retention and encourages repeat visits. Setting up Clavaa takes just five minutes, allowing for seamless integration with existing PoS systems. It requires minimal staff training, making the implementation process efficient. The program tracks customer visit frequency and spending patterns, giving you valuable insights into customer behavior. This data allows you to optimize your marketing strategies effectively. In addition, Clavaa encourages community building by offering personalized demos, helping you tailor the loyalty experience to your customer base. With Clavaa, local retail businesses can improve customer engagement and promote loyalty within their communities, making it a top choice among loyalty rewards companies. FiveStars Loyalty Platform Boosting customer loyalty and retention is a key goal for many businesses, and the FiveStars Loyalty Platform offers a robust solution personalized to meet that need. This cloud-based platform improves customer engagement through automated marketing and loyalty management, making it easy for you to connect with your customers. With AutoPilot, you can send customized promotions across various channels, including phone numbers, apps, and payment systems, ensuring your message reaches customers where they’re most active. FiveStars provides detailed insights into customer behavior and campaign performance, allowing you to make informed decisions that drive sales. The platform also supports multi-channel rewards tracking, so customers can earn rewards using their preferred methods, increasing convenience. Furthermore, automated messaging capabilities enable you to promote offers and updates via text, email, and push notifications, keeping your brand top-of-mind and encouraging ongoing customer engagement. TapMango Loyalty Features For businesses seeking to improve customer loyalty, TapMango offers an extensive suite of features that facilitate meaningful engagement through a custom-branded loyalty app available on both iOS and Android devices. The platform includes a flexible points system, allowing customers to earn rewards not just through purchases, but as well by leaving reviews and referring friends, which drives repeat business effectively. With built-in online ordering capabilities, TapMango simplifies reward tracking and redemption, ensuring customers can easily access their benefits when they shop. In addition, the marketing suite is equipped with tools for SMS, email, and push notifications, enabling you to communicate promotions and engage customers across multiple channels. Designed to boost customer retention, TapMango’s features help you create a customized loyalty experience that encourages ongoing customer interaction and repeat purchases, in the end enhancing your business’s bottom line. Square Loyalty Square Loyalty offers a streamlined solution for businesses looking to improve customer engagement without the hassle of apps or physical cards. By integrating seamlessly with existing Point of Sale systems, it automatically tracks rewards through customers’ phone numbers, providing SMS updates for easy access to reward statuses. Furthermore, real-time analytics give you insights into customer behavior and sales, making it a strong tool for effective loyalty strategies. Seamless PoS Integration Integrating loyalty programs into your existing Point of Sale (PoS) system can considerably improve customer engagement without the hassle of overhauling your current setup. Square Loyalty seamlessly integrates with your PoS, making implementation straightforward and efficient. Enrolling customers is a breeze; they only need to provide their phone number, eliminating the need for physical cards or apps. Once enrolled, the program simplifies reward collection with a one-tap redemption process at checkout, benefiting both customers and staff. Furthermore, Square Loyalty sends SMS updates to keep customers informed about their reward status. The real-time analytics feature allows you to monitor the program’s effectiveness, offering insights into customer behavior and helping you refine your loyalty strategy for peak results. Automatic Rewards Tracking Automatic rewards tracking is a game-changer for businesses looking to improve customer loyalty without complicating their operations. With Square Loyalty, you can seamlessly integrate the system into your existing PoS, eliminating the need for extra apps or cards. Customers can enroll quickly using just their phone numbers, simplifying the signup process and enhancing their experience. The platform additionally sends SMS updates, keeping customers informed about their loyalty rewards and redemption options. At checkout, reward collection is straightforward, thanks to a one-tap redemption process that allows customers to use their rewards immediately. This efficiency not only boosts customer satisfaction but similarly encourages repeat visits, ultimately benefiting your business’s bottom line. Real-Time Analytics Insights Using real-time analytics insights can greatly improve your comprehension of customer behavior and loyalty program effectiveness. Square Loyalty offers an analytics dashboard that tracks customer visit frequency, spending patterns, and reward redemption rates. This data allows you to make informed, data-driven decisions to optimize your loyalty strategies. You can monitor the effectiveness of promotions and campaigns through real-time reporting, enabling you to adjust your tactics quickly for better customer engagement. Furthermore, the platform helps identify trends and customer preferences, allowing you to tailor your loyalty offerings more effectively. Smile.io Smile.io offers robust e-commerce integration features that allow you to easily implement and manage loyalty programs within your online store. With its advanced program customization options, you can tailor the rewards system to fit your brand’s unique needs, whether it’s through points for purchases or referral incentives. This flexibility not only improves customer engagement but additionally provides valuable insights through analytics, helping you refine your loyalty strategies. E-commerce Integration Features When integrating a loyalty program into your e-commerce site, it’s essential to choose a platform that streamlines the process and improves the customer experience. Smile.io offers seamless integration with popular platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce, making it easy for you to elevate customer interactions. With its user-friendly dashboard, you can track performance metrics and optimize your loyalty strategies in real-time. Consider these features: Customizable loyalty programs rewarding points for purchases, referrals, and social media engagements A freemium model allowing you to start without upfront investment Advanced options like tiered rewards and exclusive promotions to increase customer retention These integrations can greatly improve your e-commerce operations, nurturing a loyal customer base. Advanced Program Customization Advanced customization options in loyalty programs can greatly improve how businesses engage with their customers. Smile.io allows you to tailor your branding and rewards to fit your unique audience. Its user-friendly dashboard offers insights into program performance, helping you optimize strategies effectively. The platform integrates seamlessly with popular e-commerce systems, so you don’t need extensive technical knowledge to implement loyalty features. You can choose from multiple loyalty structures, including points, referrals, and VIP tiers, providing flexibility for diverse engagement strategies. Plus, with a freemium model, you can access advanced features without upfront investment, making it ideal for small to medium-sized enterprises. Feature Benefit Target Users Branding Customization Aligns loyalty program with identity All businesses Performance Insights Data-driven strategy optimization Data-focused businesses Loyalty Structures Flexible engagement options Various customer bases Kangaroo Rewards Kangaroo Rewards stands out as a versatile loyalty platform customized for small and medium businesses, aiming to improve customer engagement through custom-branded mobile apps. This platform offers a user-friendly interface, making it easy for you to manage your loyalty programs effectively. With its automated marketing tools, you can drive customer engagement and analyze the impact of your strategies. You can implement various loyalty strategies designed to your customers’ needs, such as: Points accumulation that keeps customers coming back Referral incentives encouraging your existing customers to spread the word Tiered rewards that motivate customers to reach higher levels of engagement Moreover, Kangaroo Rewards provides extensive analytics that help you measure the effectiveness of your loyalty initiatives, enabling you to refine your approach. Loyalzoo Loyalzoo transforms traditional loyalty programs by digitizing the punch card experience, allowing customers to earn points or stamps automatically through their phone numbers. This innovative approach modernizes how businesses track customer loyalty, making it convenient for both customers and owners. With customizable rewards based on accumulated points or visits, you can customize incentives to meet your customer base’s needs effectively. Additionally, Loyalzoo offers basic marketing capabilities that help you engage customers through monthly promotions and targeted communications. Its user-friendly interface simplifies loyalty program management, ensuring even those without technical expertise can navigate it easily. By digitizing loyalty efforts, Loyalzoo improves customer retention and encourages repeat visits, eventually driving your sales growth. Feature Benefit Impact Automatic Tracking Effortless earning Increased customer engagement Custom Rewards Customized incentives Improved customer satisfaction Marketing Capabilities Direct communication Improved customer relationships User-Friendly Interface Easy management Accessible for all businesses Growth Potential Increased sales Long-term profitability Frequently Asked Questions Which Company Has the Best Loyalty Program? Determining which company has the best loyalty program depends on your personal preferences. Starbucks Rewards offers personalized perks like birthday rewards and free refills, whereas Sephora‘s Beauty Insider provides tiered benefits and exclusive event access. Amazon Prime, with its extensive shipping and entertainment perks, attracts many. Nike Membership focuses on community and exclusive products, and IKEA Family incentivizes retention with discounts and rewards. Each has unique features, making your choice subjective. What Are the 4 C’s of Customer Loyalty? The 4 C’s of customer loyalty are Communication, Convenience, Consistency, and Community. You need effective Communication to keep customers informed about rewards and promotions, making them feel valued. Convenience simplifies participation in loyalty programs, ensuring user-friendly experiences. Consistency builds trust by delivering reliable service across various touchpoints. Finally, nurturing a sense of Community encourages engagement among customers, enhancing their loyalty and prompting positive word-of-mouth referrals, ultimately benefiting your business. What Is the Largest Loyalty Program? The largest loyalty program in the world is Amazon Prime, with over 200 million members since its 2005 launch. This program offers numerous benefits, including fast, free shipping, access to exclusive deals, and streaming services. These features greatly improve customer satisfaction and retention. What Is the World’s Most Generous Rewards Program? The world’s most generous rewards program is often considered to be American Express Membership Rewards. You earn points on every purchase, and these points never expire. This flexibility allows you to redeem them for travel, merchandise, or gift cards, providing a wide range of options. Furthermore, programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards and Starbucks Rewards likewise offer enticing benefits, but American Express stands out for its overall value and versatility in rewards accumulation and redemption. Conclusion Incorporating a loyalty rewards program can greatly improve your business’s customer retention and engagement. By partnering with companies like Clavaa, FiveStars, TapMango, Square, Smile.io, Kangaroo, and Loyalzoo, you can leverage user-friendly tools and customizable features. These platforms offer crucial analytics and engagement strategies, enabling you to create programs that resonate with your brand. Investing in a loyalty rewards strategy not just encourages customer loyalty but additionally contributes to long-term profitability, making it a smart decision for any business. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Top 7 Loyalty Rewards Companies to Enhance Business" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

US top diplomat says Tehran’s reluctance to discuss the weapons a ‘big problem’View the full article

If you’re looking to improve your online presence, free social media schedulers can be invaluable tools. They help you manage multiple accounts, schedule posts, and analyze performance metrics without any cost. With user-friendly interfaces like drag-and-drop scheduling and engagement tracking, these platforms simplify your content management. In this discussion, we’ll explore seven of the best options available, each offering unique features that can boost your social media strategy effectively. Key Takeaways Buffer allows scheduling for three accounts with ten posts each, providing essential analytics and an easy-to-use interface for effective content management. Later features a drag-and-drop calendar, supporting four profiles and 30 posts per profile monthly, ideal for visually managing social media. Hootsuite’s free plan includes three accounts and ten posts each, with hashtag suggestions to enhance engagement and a user-friendly experience. Metricool offers scheduling for up to 50 posts across major networks without a credit card, along with performance analytics for informed strategies. Zoho Social integrates with CRM tools, allowing for post scheduling and engagement tracking across multiple accounts, all within a user-friendly interface. Buffer Buffer is a popular social media scheduling tool that streamlines the management of your online presence. With its free plan, you can connect up to three social media accounts, allowing you to post on multiple social media at once free. You can schedule up to ten posts per account, which aids in organizing your content effectively. The browser extension simplifies content sharing directly from the web, enhancing your posting experience. Buffer additionally offers valuable analytics to track post engagement, helping you refine your content strategies based on performance data. Its simple and intuitive interface is ideal for individuals and small businesses aiming to maintain a robust social media presence, making it a top choice as a free social media scheduler. Later If you’re looking for a visually appealing way to manage your social media, Later is an excellent option. This tool allows you to drag-and-drop your posts into a scheduling calendar, making it especially effective for Instagram users. With Later’s free plan, you can manage up to four social profiles and schedule up to 30 posts per profile each month. The platform likewise offers valuable analytics tools to track your post performance and engagement metrics, which helps optimize your content strategy. Plus, Later supports multiple platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Key features include: A visually intuitive scheduling interface The linkin.bio feature for driving traffic from Instagram Access to post performance analytics for better strategy development Hootsuite When you need a straightforward solution for managing your social media presence, Hootsuite stands out as a robust choice. It offers a free version that lets you manage up to three social media accounts and schedule up to ten posts per account. This makes it ideal for individuals or small businesses starting their social media expedition. Hootsuite likewise provides a 30-day free trial for premium features, allowing access to advanced tools. Notable free features include hashtag suggestions and content discovery streams, enhancing user engagement. Here’s a quick overview of Hootsuite’s key offerings: Feature Free Version Premium Version Accounts Managed Up to 3 Unlimited Posts Scheduled Up to 10 Bulk Scheduling Interface Rating 5/5 5/5 Hashtag Suggestions Yes Yes Content Discovery Yes Yes Planoly Planoly offers a user-friendly visual content planning tool customized for Instagram and Pinterest, allowing you to easily organize and schedule your posts with its drag-and-drop interface. With its free plan, you can schedule up to 10 media uploads each month, making it a great choice if you’re just starting out. Moreover, Planoly provides valuable analytics and insights to help you track post performance and adjust your social media strategy effectively. Visual Content Planning Visual content planning plays a crucial role in enhancing engagement on platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, where visual appeal is key. Using Planoly, you can effectively manage your visual content strategy with ease. Its drag-and-drop interface simplifies scheduling and organizing your posts, allowing you to create a visually appealing feed ahead of time. Preview mode lets you see how your content will appear in your feed before it goes live. The link management tool optimizes your Instagram bio with clickable links to drive traffic. The free plan allows for up to 10 media uploads per month, enabling basic visual planning without cost. This makes Planoly an excellent choice for those looking to uplift their visual content strategy. Analytics and Insights Effective visual content planning sets the stage for grasping how well your posts perform, and that’s where analytics and insights come into play. Planoly provides intuitive analytics that let you track engagement metrics like likes and comments, helping you assess content performance effectively. You can furthermore gain insights into ideal posting times based on historical engagement data, allowing you to maximize visibility. Monitoring account growth is straightforward with Planoly’s analytics dashboard, which shows follower trends and overall reach over time. In addition, performance reports highlight your top-performing content, enabling you to refine your social media strategy. Engagement rates and follower demographics give you a clearer perception of your audience, helping you tailor content to meet their preferences. Pricing and Features In regards to pricing and features, Planoly offers a compelling free plan that allows you to schedule up to 50 posts each month across a single social media set for platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. This free version includes vital content management tools such as: Auto-post functionality for seamless scheduling A visual grid for effective content planning Basic analytics to monitor engagement levels For those looking for more, paid plans start at $11.25/month, providing additional features like unlimited media uploads and advanced analytics. If you’re uncertain, you can likewise access a seven-day free trial for paid plans to explore these improved features before making a commitment. This makes Planoly a great choice for beginners or small businesses aiming to grow their online presence. Agorapulse Agorapulse stands out as an affordable all-in-one solution for social media management, especially with its free trial plan that lets you schedule posts for up to three profiles. Its user-friendly interface makes efficient scheduling a breeze, whether you’re managing your own accounts or handling multiple clients. With robust analytics tools and a social inbox feature, Agorapulse helps you streamline interactions and track engagement effectively. Affordable All-in-One Solution When managing multiple clients or campaigns, finding an affordable all-in-one social media scheduling solution can be challenging, yet Agorapulse rises to the occasion. Starting at just $79 per month, it’s accessible for agencies and small businesses. The platform offers extensive scheduling capabilities, allowing you to automate posts across various platforms as you track performance with robust analytics. Key features include: A user-friendly interface that simplifies social media engagement Social listening tools to monitor brand mentions and conversations An approval workflow for efficient team collaboration With these capabilities, Agorapulse improves client interaction and supports effective content creation. It’s a solid choice for anyone looking to boost their online presence without breaking the bank. Efficient Scheduling Features Efficient social media scheduling is essential for maximizing your online presence and managing multiple accounts effectively. Agorapulse improves your efficiency with batch scheduling, letting you plan and schedule multiple posts across various platforms simultaneously. This feature saves you time and effort during consistent content delivery. The platform likewise offers customizable scheduling options, allowing you to select ideal posting times based on audience behavior. In addition, Agorapulse’s social inbox consolidates all comments and messages, making it easier to engage with your audience and track responses. You can access detailed analytics to monitor post performance and audience insights, which inform your future scheduling strategies. These efficient scheduling features make Agorapulse a strong tool for social media management. User-Friendly Interface Design A user-friendly interface can greatly improve your experience during managing social media accounts, making it easier to navigate and execute tasks efficiently. Agorapulse stands out with its straightforward design, allowing you to manage multiple accounts from one dashboard without feeling overwhelmed. Key features include: A clean layout that simplifies scheduling, monitoring, and audience engagement. Customizable reports and analytics presented intuitively, making performance tracking effortless. Drag-and-drop functionality, enhancing usability and enabling you to visually organize your content. With these aspects, Agorapulse supports a streamlined workflow, combining content scheduling and inbox management, so you can handle posts and interactions seamlessly. This design approach guarantees you focus on growing your online presence rather than struggling with the tool itself. Metricool For those looking to streamline their social media management, Metricool stands out as a practical option. It offers a free plan that allows you to schedule up to 50 posts without needing credit card details, making it accessible for individuals and small businesses. This platform supports major social networks, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, so you can manage multiple accounts from one dashboard. Metricool likewise provides analytics to track your post performance, enabling you to monitor engagement metrics and optimize your social media strategies effectively. Its user-friendly interface simplifies the scheduling process and allows you to view performance insights at a glance. Furthermore, affordable paid plans with generous limits make it a cost-effective solution for enhancing your online presence. Zoho Social Zoho Social serves as a robust platform for managing your social media presence, particularly beneficial for startups and small businesses. With its free plan, you can manage multiple accounts without any financial commitment. The platform integrates seamlessly with Zoho CRM, enhancing your ability to track customer interactions alongside social media efforts. Key features include: Post Scheduling: Easily schedule posts to maintain a consistent online presence. Engagement Tracking: Monitor metrics to evaluate your social media campaign performance effectively. Team Collaboration: Work with team members to plan and execute content, ensuring a unified brand voice. The user-friendly interface simplifies the scheduling process, making it accessible even for those with limited social media management experience. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Best Free Social Media Scheduler? Choosing the best free social media scheduler depends on your specific needs. Buffer’s free plan lets you manage three accounts and schedule ten posts per account, which is great for small-scale operations. Crowdfire offers content curation tools with a similar limit. If you focus on visuals, Planoly’s drag-and-drop interface supports fifty posts monthly. On the other hand, Odoo allows for unlimited accounts, whereas Hootsuite‘s 30-day trial helps you explore advanced features before deciding. What Is the Best Free App for Scheduling? When you’re looking for the best free app for scheduling, consider options like Buffer, which lets you connect three accounts and schedule ten posts per account. Crowdfire additionally allows ten posts, focusing on content curation. If you prioritize visual content, Planoly is great for Instagram and Pinterest, offering fifty posts monthly. Odoo supports unlimited accounts and engagement tracking, whereas Hootsuite provides a 30-day trial to explore its thorough features before committing. What Is the Best Content Planner for Social Media? The best content planner for social media should have a user-friendly interface, allowing you to easily schedule and organize posts across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Look for tools that offer visual calendars and collaboration features, which are essential for teams needing input before publishing. Moreover, integrated analytics will help you track post performance and adjust your strategy based on audience engagement, ensuring you remain relevant and effective in your outreach efforts. Which Social Media Platform Is Best for Promoting Destinations? To promote destinations effectively, consider platforms like Instagram and TikTok, which excel in visual storytelling. Instagram’s over 1 billion users share stunning travel content, whereas TikTok engages younger audiences with short, trendy videos. Facebook remains valuable for targeted advertising, reaching a diverse demographic with its vast user base. Pinterest is likewise effective, as many users seek travel inspiration through visually appealing pins. Each platform offers unique advantages, so choose based on your target audience. Conclusion In summary, leveraging free social media schedulers like Buffer, Later, Hootsuite, Planoly, Agorapulse, Metricool, and Zoho Social can greatly improve your online presence. These tools provide straightforward ways to manage multiple accounts, schedule posts, and analyze engagement metrics, all without any financial investment. By utilizing these platforms, you can streamline your content strategy, improve audience interaction, and in the end, boost your brand’s visibility in a competitive digital environment. Choose the one that fits your needs best and start optimizing today. Image via Google Gemini This article, "7 Best Free Social Media Schedulers to Boost Online Presence" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

If you’re looking to improve your online presence, free social media schedulers can be invaluable tools. They help you manage multiple accounts, schedule posts, and analyze performance metrics without any cost. With user-friendly interfaces like drag-and-drop scheduling and engagement tracking, these platforms simplify your content management. In this discussion, we’ll explore seven of the best options available, each offering unique features that can boost your social media strategy effectively. Key Takeaways Buffer allows scheduling for three accounts with ten posts each, providing essential analytics and an easy-to-use interface for effective content management. Later features a drag-and-drop calendar, supporting four profiles and 30 posts per profile monthly, ideal for visually managing social media. Hootsuite’s free plan includes three accounts and ten posts each, with hashtag suggestions to enhance engagement and a user-friendly experience. Metricool offers scheduling for up to 50 posts across major networks without a credit card, along with performance analytics for informed strategies. Zoho Social integrates with CRM tools, allowing for post scheduling and engagement tracking across multiple accounts, all within a user-friendly interface. Buffer Buffer is a popular social media scheduling tool that streamlines the management of your online presence. With its free plan, you can connect up to three social media accounts, allowing you to post on multiple social media at once free. You can schedule up to ten posts per account, which aids in organizing your content effectively. The browser extension simplifies content sharing directly from the web, enhancing your posting experience. Buffer additionally offers valuable analytics to track post engagement, helping you refine your content strategies based on performance data. Its simple and intuitive interface is ideal for individuals and small businesses aiming to maintain a robust social media presence, making it a top choice as a free social media scheduler. Later If you’re looking for a visually appealing way to manage your social media, Later is an excellent option. This tool allows you to drag-and-drop your posts into a scheduling calendar, making it especially effective for Instagram users. With Later’s free plan, you can manage up to four social profiles and schedule up to 30 posts per profile each month. The platform likewise offers valuable analytics tools to track your post performance and engagement metrics, which helps optimize your content strategy. Plus, Later supports multiple platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Key features include: A visually intuitive scheduling interface The linkin.bio feature for driving traffic from Instagram Access to post performance analytics for better strategy development Hootsuite When you need a straightforward solution for managing your social media presence, Hootsuite stands out as a robust choice. It offers a free version that lets you manage up to three social media accounts and schedule up to ten posts per account. This makes it ideal for individuals or small businesses starting their social media expedition. Hootsuite likewise provides a 30-day free trial for premium features, allowing access to advanced tools. Notable free features include hashtag suggestions and content discovery streams, enhancing user engagement. Here’s a quick overview of Hootsuite’s key offerings: Feature Free Version Premium Version Accounts Managed Up to 3 Unlimited Posts Scheduled Up to 10 Bulk Scheduling Interface Rating 5/5 5/5 Hashtag Suggestions Yes Yes Content Discovery Yes Yes Planoly Planoly offers a user-friendly visual content planning tool customized for Instagram and Pinterest, allowing you to easily organize and schedule your posts with its drag-and-drop interface. With its free plan, you can schedule up to 10 media uploads each month, making it a great choice if you’re just starting out. Moreover, Planoly provides valuable analytics and insights to help you track post performance and adjust your social media strategy effectively. Visual Content Planning Visual content planning plays a crucial role in enhancing engagement on platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, where visual appeal is key. Using Planoly, you can effectively manage your visual content strategy with ease. Its drag-and-drop interface simplifies scheduling and organizing your posts, allowing you to create a visually appealing feed ahead of time. Preview mode lets you see how your content will appear in your feed before it goes live. The link management tool optimizes your Instagram bio with clickable links to drive traffic. The free plan allows for up to 10 media uploads per month, enabling basic visual planning without cost. This makes Planoly an excellent choice for those looking to uplift their visual content strategy. Analytics and Insights Effective visual content planning sets the stage for grasping how well your posts perform, and that’s where analytics and insights come into play. Planoly provides intuitive analytics that let you track engagement metrics like likes and comments, helping you assess content performance effectively. You can furthermore gain insights into ideal posting times based on historical engagement data, allowing you to maximize visibility. Monitoring account growth is straightforward with Planoly’s analytics dashboard, which shows follower trends and overall reach over time. In addition, performance reports highlight your top-performing content, enabling you to refine your social media strategy. Engagement rates and follower demographics give you a clearer perception of your audience, helping you tailor content to meet their preferences. Pricing and Features In regards to pricing and features, Planoly offers a compelling free plan that allows you to schedule up to 50 posts each month across a single social media set for platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. This free version includes vital content management tools such as: Auto-post functionality for seamless scheduling A visual grid for effective content planning Basic analytics to monitor engagement levels For those looking for more, paid plans start at $11.25/month, providing additional features like unlimited media uploads and advanced analytics. If you’re uncertain, you can likewise access a seven-day free trial for paid plans to explore these improved features before making a commitment. This makes Planoly a great choice for beginners or small businesses aiming to grow their online presence. Agorapulse Agorapulse stands out as an affordable all-in-one solution for social media management, especially with its free trial plan that lets you schedule posts for up to three profiles. Its user-friendly interface makes efficient scheduling a breeze, whether you’re managing your own accounts or handling multiple clients. With robust analytics tools and a social inbox feature, Agorapulse helps you streamline interactions and track engagement effectively. Affordable All-in-One Solution When managing multiple clients or campaigns, finding an affordable all-in-one social media scheduling solution can be challenging, yet Agorapulse rises to the occasion. Starting at just $79 per month, it’s accessible for agencies and small businesses. The platform offers extensive scheduling capabilities, allowing you to automate posts across various platforms as you track performance with robust analytics. Key features include: A user-friendly interface that simplifies social media engagement Social listening tools to monitor brand mentions and conversations An approval workflow for efficient team collaboration With these capabilities, Agorapulse improves client interaction and supports effective content creation. It’s a solid choice for anyone looking to boost their online presence without breaking the bank. Efficient Scheduling Features Efficient social media scheduling is essential for maximizing your online presence and managing multiple accounts effectively. Agorapulse improves your efficiency with batch scheduling, letting you plan and schedule multiple posts across various platforms simultaneously. This feature saves you time and effort during consistent content delivery. The platform likewise offers customizable scheduling options, allowing you to select ideal posting times based on audience behavior. In addition, Agorapulse’s social inbox consolidates all comments and messages, making it easier to engage with your audience and track responses. You can access detailed analytics to monitor post performance and audience insights, which inform your future scheduling strategies. These efficient scheduling features make Agorapulse a strong tool for social media management. User-Friendly Interface Design A user-friendly interface can greatly improve your experience during managing social media accounts, making it easier to navigate and execute tasks efficiently. Agorapulse stands out with its straightforward design, allowing you to manage multiple accounts from one dashboard without feeling overwhelmed. Key features include: A clean layout that simplifies scheduling, monitoring, and audience engagement. Customizable reports and analytics presented intuitively, making performance tracking effortless. Drag-and-drop functionality, enhancing usability and enabling you to visually organize your content. With these aspects, Agorapulse supports a streamlined workflow, combining content scheduling and inbox management, so you can handle posts and interactions seamlessly. This design approach guarantees you focus on growing your online presence rather than struggling with the tool itself. Metricool For those looking to streamline their social media management, Metricool stands out as a practical option. It offers a free plan that allows you to schedule up to 50 posts without needing credit card details, making it accessible for individuals and small businesses. This platform supports major social networks, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, so you can manage multiple accounts from one dashboard. Metricool likewise provides analytics to track your post performance, enabling you to monitor engagement metrics and optimize your social media strategies effectively. Its user-friendly interface simplifies the scheduling process and allows you to view performance insights at a glance. Furthermore, affordable paid plans with generous limits make it a cost-effective solution for enhancing your online presence. Zoho Social Zoho Social serves as a robust platform for managing your social media presence, particularly beneficial for startups and small businesses. With its free plan, you can manage multiple accounts without any financial commitment. The platform integrates seamlessly with Zoho CRM, enhancing your ability to track customer interactions alongside social media efforts. Key features include: Post Scheduling: Easily schedule posts to maintain a consistent online presence. Engagement Tracking: Monitor metrics to evaluate your social media campaign performance effectively. Team Collaboration: Work with team members to plan and execute content, ensuring a unified brand voice. The user-friendly interface simplifies the scheduling process, making it accessible even for those with limited social media management experience. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Best Free Social Media Scheduler? Choosing the best free social media scheduler depends on your specific needs. Buffer’s free plan lets you manage three accounts and schedule ten posts per account, which is great for small-scale operations. Crowdfire offers content curation tools with a similar limit. If you focus on visuals, Planoly’s drag-and-drop interface supports fifty posts monthly. On the other hand, Odoo allows for unlimited accounts, whereas Hootsuite‘s 30-day trial helps you explore advanced features before deciding. What Is the Best Free App for Scheduling? When you’re looking for the best free app for scheduling, consider options like Buffer, which lets you connect three accounts and schedule ten posts per account. Crowdfire additionally allows ten posts, focusing on content curation. If you prioritize visual content, Planoly is great for Instagram and Pinterest, offering fifty posts monthly. Odoo supports unlimited accounts and engagement tracking, whereas Hootsuite provides a 30-day trial to explore its thorough features before committing. What Is the Best Content Planner for Social Media? The best content planner for social media should have a user-friendly interface, allowing you to easily schedule and organize posts across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Look for tools that offer visual calendars and collaboration features, which are essential for teams needing input before publishing. Moreover, integrated analytics will help you track post performance and adjust your strategy based on audience engagement, ensuring you remain relevant and effective in your outreach efforts. Which Social Media Platform Is Best for Promoting Destinations? To promote destinations effectively, consider platforms like Instagram and TikTok, which excel in visual storytelling. Instagram’s over 1 billion users share stunning travel content, whereas TikTok engages younger audiences with short, trendy videos. Facebook remains valuable for targeted advertising, reaching a diverse demographic with its vast user base. Pinterest is likewise effective, as many users seek travel inspiration through visually appealing pins. Each platform offers unique advantages, so choose based on your target audience. Conclusion In summary, leveraging free social media schedulers like Buffer, Later, Hootsuite, Planoly, Agorapulse, Metricool, and Zoho Social can greatly improve your online presence. These tools provide straightforward ways to manage multiple accounts, schedule posts, and analyze engagement metrics, all without any financial investment. By utilizing these platforms, you can streamline your content strategy, improve audience interaction, and in the end, boost your brand’s visibility in a competitive digital environment. Choose the one that fits your needs best and start optimizing today. Image via Google Gemini This article, "7 Best Free Social Media Schedulers to Boost Online Presence" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Accessibility is often treated as a technical problem. Does it meet standards? Is it ergonomic? Is it safe? Those questions matter, but they are incomplete. Many products fail not because they don’t function, but because they make the user feel singled out. Shame is one of the most powerful barriers to product adoption, and it is rarely discussed in design reviews. People delay using canes, grab bars, hearing aids, or mobility supports even when they would meaningfully improve daily life. Why? Because many products still communicate something the user does not want to say out loud: Something is wrong with me. If we want accessible design to succeed, and we want people to get the utility of these products, we have to design beyond function. We have to design for dignity, and we have to recognize that design has the power to remove stigma. ADOPTION IS EMOTIONAL A product can meet every ergonomic benchmark and still sit unused. Emotional adoption determines real adoption. When design feels institutional, clinical, or stigmatizing, it does not matter how useful it is. The user experiences a cost that is not in the price tag. The cost is identity. Great design reduces that cost. It normalizes support. It invites pride. It says, “You belong here,” not “You are an exception.” We have seen this shift before. Years ago, eyeglasses were considered medical devices. Kids were teased as “four eyes.” Glasses signaled something was wrong. Then design and culture evolved. Frames became expressive and stylish. Today, glasses are fashion accessories, and many people wear them without prescription lenses because they like how they look. A stigmatized object became a form of self-expression. The same pattern played out with bicycle helmets. They used to be awkward Styrofoam “brain buckets,” worn only by the most concerned riders, who were often teased for their appearance. Over time, design improved and so did perception. Helmets became lighter, sleeker, and more personal. Colors got bolder. Styles emerged, including playful options for kids like watermelon themes, mohawks, and distinctive graphics. Today, many children and young adults would never consider biking without a helmet. What was once stigmatized became normal, even a point of pride. This is what design can do. It can shift the cultural meaning of an object. WHAT SHAME LOOKS LIKE IN DESIGN Shame shows up in visual language and cues: Products that look medical, cold, or utilitarian Aesthetic choices that communicate “equipment” instead of “object” Forms that feel like warnings rather than invitations Branding that talks down to the user or overexplains This is not about hiding disability. It is about refusing to equate disability with ugliness, awkwardness, or compromise. We have found that most people do not reject support, but many reject what the support implies about them. DESIGN FOR PRIDE Design that reduces shame does a few things consistently. It respects the home. Accessible products should feel like they belong in a thoughtfully designed environment, not like they were borrowed from a hospital. It respects identity. People want tools that fit their aesthetic, their personality, and their sense of self. Options matter. And since no single brand can ever create the perfect widget for every body, real options only become possible when accessible design becomes “cost of entry” across categories, not a special edition for a small audience. It respects emotion. The experience should feel affirming. A product should make someone feel capable, not corrected. This is the heart of emotional accessibility. When people feel good using a product, they use it earlier, more often, and for longer. That improves independence, safety, and quality of life. REDUCING SHAME IS A BUSINESS STRATEGY There is a direct business consequence to stigma. If people delay adoption, they are not only losing out on joyful life experiences and often putting themselves in danger, but brands lose demand. If products are purchased reluctantly, loyalty erodes. If the category feels embarrassing, growth slows. Design that reduces shame expands markets. It turns an avoided purchase into a desired one. It transforms “I need this” into “I want this.” That shift changes everything. It also creates a new kind of brand equity. Companies that design with dignity earn trust, and trust is the rarest currency in consumer experience today. THE NEW GOAL FOR ACCESSIBLE DESIGN The future of accessibility is not compliance. It is cultural. It is designing products that support human vulnerability without amplifying it. Design is on the verge of destigmatizing aging and disability across our activities of daily living. When we get this right, we do more than make products usable. We make them desirable. We make them typical. We make them something people are proud to bring into their lives. The real test is not whether a product can be used. It is whether people want to use it, openly, confidently, and without shame. Ben Wintner is CEO of Michael Graves Design. View the full article