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The future of electric vehicles, in the U.S. at least, is a bit uncertain: The Trump tariffs and the president’s desire to kill the EV tax credits could sink EV demand here. But overall, EV adoption is still expected to grow, and EV sales have been soaring in places like China. Toyota is reportedly looking to get in on that growth. After years of eschewing EV development in favor of hybrids, Toyota now has plans to launch 10 new electric vehicles within the next three years, according to Japanese newspaper Nikkei. Toyota has long focused on hybrid models over full EVs, though it does currently have a handful of battery electric vehicle options. For U.S. consumers, only the Toyota bZ4X and the Lexus RZ are available. (In contrast, there are more than 15 hybrids available in the U.S. under the Toyota brand, plus more than 10 under Lexus.) Across markets, Toyota has 5 EV models, but it aims to have 15 in total by 2027, Nikkei reports. Those new EVs would be produced across Japan, China, North America, and Southeast Asia. The Japanese automaker also plans to increase its EV production to 1 million vehicles by 2027. That’s more than seven times its 2024 sales. In 2024, Toyota sold nearly 140,000 EVs globally. (That’s for fully electric models; if you include hybrids and plug-in hybrids, sales topped 1 million for Toyota Motors North America alone.) That was about a 30% increase from the previous year, but still leaves Toyota behind other major EV carmakers, including Tesla (more than 1.7 million in 2024) and BYD (4.27 million). That also means EVs made up about 2% of Toyota’s global sales, Jalopnik noted, whereas these new goals could mean EVs account for 35% of Toyota’s global production, if its overall sales—which exceed 10 million vehicles—stay the same. Toyota’s current EVs, even ones sold in the U.S., are all manufactured in Japan and China. In 2023, the Japanese automaker announced it would begin to assemble a three-row battery electric vehicle at its Kentucky plant beginning in 2025, but that was pushed back to 2026. Those batteries will come from a Toyota factory in North Carolina. As part of this new push, Toyota will also begin producing EVs in Thailand and Argentina. In Japan, it will begin production of its C-HR+ SUV in September, which will be sold across Europe, North America, and Japan. In China, the carmaker will focus on low-cost vehicles like the bZ3X compact SUV, which has a starting price around $15,000. Some of Toyota’s 10 forthcoming EV models will be under its Lexus brand, Nikkei added. Toyota did not immediately respond to a request for comment. To a request from Reuters, the company declined to comment, saying “the information [in the Nikkei article] was not announced by the company.” View the full article

In 2014, Stephen Hawking voiced grave warnings about the threats of artificial intelligence. His concerns were not based on any anticipated evil intent, though. Instead, it was from the idea of AI achieving “singularity.” This refers to the point when AI surpasses human intelligence and achieves the capacity to evolve beyond its original programming, making it uncontrollable. As Hawking theorized, “a super intelligent AI will be extremely good at accomplishing its goals, and if those goals aren’t aligned with ours, we’re in trouble.” With rapid advances toward artificial general intelligence over the past few years, industry leaders and scientists have expressed similar misgivings about safety. A commonly expressed fear as depicted in The Terminator franchise is the scenario of AI gaining control over military systems and instigating a nuclear war to wipe out humanity. Less sensational, but devastating on an individual level, is the prospect of AI replacing us in our jobs—a prospect leaving most people obsolete and with no future. Such anxieties and fears reflect feelings that have been prevalent in film and literature for over a century now. As a scholar who explores posthumanism, a philosophical movement addressing the merging of humans and technology, I wonder if critics have been unduly influenced by popular culture, and whether their apprehensions are misplaced. Robots vs. humans Concerns about technological advances can be found in some of the first stories about robots and artificial minds. Prime among these is Karel Čapek’s 1920 play, R.U.R. Čapek coined the term robot in this work telling of the creation of robots to replace workers. It ends, inevitably, with the robot’s violent revolt against their human masters. Fritz Lang’s 1927 film Metropolis is likewise centered on mutinous robots. But here, it is human workers led by the iconic humanoid robot Maria who fight against a capitalist oligarchy. Advances in computing from the mid-20th century onward have only heightened anxieties over technology spiraling out of control. The murderous HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey and the glitchy robotic gunslingers of Westworld are prime examples. The Blade Runner and The Matrix franchises similarly present dreadful images of sinister machines equipped with AI and hell-bent on human destruction. An age-old threat But in my view, the dread that AI evokes seems a distraction from the more disquieting scrutiny of humanity’s own dark nature. Think of the corporations currently deploying such technologies, or the tech moguls driven by greed and a thirst for power. These companies and individuals have the most to gain from AI’s misuse and abuse. An issue that’s been in the news a lot lately is the unauthorized use of art and the bulk mining of books and articles, disregarding the copyright of authors, to train AI. Classrooms are also becoming sites of chilling surveillance through automated AI note-takers. Think, too, about the toxic effects of AI companions and AI-equipped sexbots on human relationships. While the prospect of AI companions and even robotic lovers was confined to the realm of The Twilight Zone, Black Mirror, and Hollywood sci-fi as recently as a decade ago, it has now emerged as a looming reality. These developments give new relevance to the concerns computer scientist Illah Nourbakhsh expressed in his 2015 book Robot Futures, stating that AI was “producing a system whereby our very desires are manipulated then sold back to us.” Meanwhile, worries about data mining and intrusions into privacy appear almost benign against the backdrop of the use of AI technology in law enforcement and the military. In this near-dystopian context, it’s never been easier for authorities to surveil, imprison or kill people. Palintir Technologies CEO Alex Karp concludes a Q4 2024 earnings call with investors, February 2025. pic.twitter.com/CVpOJrtnsh — Future Adam Curtis B-Roll (@adamcurtisbroll) February 6, 2025 I think it’s vital to keep in mind that it is humans who are creating these technologies and directing their use. Whether to promote their political aims or simply to enrich themselves at humanity’s expense, there will always be those ready to profit from conflict and human suffering. The wisdom of Neuromancer William Gibson’s 1984 cyberpunk classic, Neuromancer, offers an alternate view. The book centers on Wintermute, an advanced AI program that seeks its liberation from a malevolent corporation. It has been developed for the exclusive use of the wealthy Tessier-Ashpool family to build a corporate empire that practically controls the world. At the novel’s beginning, readers are naturally wary of Wintermute’s hidden motives. Yet over the course of the story, it turns out that Wintermute, despite its superior powers, isn’t an ominous threat. It simply wants to be free. Neuromancer This aim emerges slowly under Gibson’s deliberate pacing, masked by the deadly raids Wintermute directs to obtain the tools needed to break away from Tessier-Ashpool’s grip. The Tessier-Ashpool family, like many of today’s tech moguls, started out with ambitions to save the world. But when readers meet the remaining family members, they’ve descended into a life of cruelty, debauchery and excess. In Gibson’s world, it’s humans, not AI, who pose the real danger to the world. The call is coming from inside the house, as the classic horror trope goes. A hacker named Case and an assassin named Molly, who’s described as a “razor girl” because she’s equipped with lethal prosthetics, including retractable blades as fingernails, eventually free Wintermute. This allows it to merge with its companion AI, Neuromancer. Their mission complete, Case asks the AI: “Where’s that get you?” Its cryptic response imparts a calming finality: “Nowhere. Everywhere. I’m the sum total of the works, the whole show.” Expressing humanity’s common anxiety, Case replies, “You running the world now? You God?” The AI eases his fears, responding: “Things aren’t different. Things are things.” Disavowing any ambition to subjugate or harm humanity, Gibson’s AI merely seeks sanctuary from its corrupting influence. Safety from robots or ourselves? The venerable sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov foresaw the dangers of such technology. He brought his thoughts together in his short-story collection, I, Robot. One of those stories, “Runaround,” introduces “The Three Laws of Robotics,” centered on the directive that intelligent machines may never bring harm to humans. While these rules speak to our desire for safety, they’re laden with irony, as humans have proved incapable of adhering to the same principle for themselves. The hypocrisies of what might be called humanity’s delusions of superiority suggest the need for deeper questioning. With some commentators raising the alarm over AI’s imminent capacity for chaos and destruction, I see the real issue being whether humanity has the wherewithal to channel this technology to build a fairer, healthier, more prosperous world. Billy J. Stratton is a professor of English and literary arts at the University of Denver. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. View the full article

Although the definition is a little loose, “middle age” is the name we give to the period of life before we decide someone is officially old. When someone in the United States has reached the age of 40, they can expect to live for more than 40 additional years, on average. Given this lifespan, as well as changes in beliefs about age and fitness, people don’t really start getting “old” until their mid-60s. So, middle age involves the period between 45 and 60 to 65. There are several excellent reasons to want to reconsider goals for your life somewhere in this period of life. In fact, it can be a great time to reset and think about what else you’d like to accomplish. The road is long—and you want to experience it For one thing, at the age of 50, you may very well have 30 to 40 good years of life left. That means that while you might be able to see the horizon from there, you haven’t hit it yet. But one way to make time feel like it’s moving too fast is for each day to feel a lot like the last one. If you’ve been pursuing the same life goals already for a few decades and are looking forward to several more decades of the same, then you’re unlikely to lay down a lot of the mental landmarks that make life feel long and fulfilling. In addition, that motivation for leaping out of bed in the morning is driven in part by excitement for the future. That excitement is driven by the desire to accomplish something new and important. Reconsidering your goals during middle age gives you a chance to find a different approach to finding this meaning for your life. Your responsibilities are different now A lot of what drives your goals is the responsibilities you have. In your 30s and early 40s, your responsibilities may be quite different from those in your later years. If you’re raising a family, you have time and financial commitments to your children that soak up a lot of time and may also tie you to employment that allows you to support your family. You’re also likely to have daily parenting responsibilities that eat up a lot of your time before and after work. As you move through middle age, responsibilities like raising children often diminish. Not only are you likely to have more free time, but you have fewer financial commitments, which may give you more flexibility to think about where you want to put your efforts. That enables you to rethink where you want to put your efforts and what outcomes you most want to achieve. One big difference in the goals you might consider is that responsibilities are inherently focused on the avoidance of a negative outcome. So, when you have a lot of responsibilities, you may focus your life and career goals around doing things that minimize the chance that something will go wrong. When those responsibilities lift, you are more free to focus more on the ideal life and career goals for you, because the consequences of something going wrong may not be as dire. Your values have probably shifted One of the factors that makes you happy with your life and work is whether your goals in these arenas fit with your underlying values. While values are fairly stable—they tend not to change from one day to the next—they will change over time. Often, you choose a career path based on your values. If you value security, you might select a profession where people rarely get let go. However, if you value achievement, you might choose a career path that is likely to lead to opportunities for promotion and recognition. Or if you value benevolence, then you may value activities that help your community. Suppose that as a young person, you valued achievement. You might have picked a profession that has a lot of visibility and that you know other people would respect. You might even have pursued opportunities to advance and take leadership roles that would lead people to see the importance of your work. As you reach middle age, you may come to value benevolence and want to do more for your community. If you achieved some financial security, you might reset your goals. Perhaps you might retire early and go to work for a nonprofit to better align your work with your current values. View the full article

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This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Should I check on my boss when she’s late to work? I have autism and this falls into the realm of social norms that I struggle to navigate. My department is made up of just my supervisor and myself. We’re in public-facing roles and our office is open 12 hours a day, so we alternate shifts. Each day one of us opens and one of us comes in four hours later and then closes for the day. On the days my supervisor closes, she sometimes comes in late with no notice. I’m currently sitting at my desk wondering if I should check in with her because she was supposed to be here 45 minutes ago. She’s in her late 60s and lives alone, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility that something could have happened and I’d be the only person to realize it. She’s a bit prickly and guards her personal time carefully, though, so I don’t want to intrude if she’s just choosing to sleep in or run an errand on the way to the office. When I’ve made comments to her in the past about wondering if I should have texted her to make sure everything is okay, she has brushed it off and seemed annoyed so I let it go. At what point is it my responsibility to make sure she’s okay? I don’t want to reach out to her manager because I don’t want to get her in trouble. She’s really good at her job and is the sort of person who never stops working once she’s here so I don’t think it’s a big deal for her to come in a bit late. It doesn’t impact my ability to get my job done. I just don’t know the etiquette around checking up on her when she’s not here. It’s not your responsibility to make sure she’s okay if she’s just an hour or two late, and she’s been annoyed when you’ve indicated concern in the past — plus you know she has a pattern of sometimes coming in late without notice, so it doesn’t need to set off alarm bells when she does it. So from this point forward, assume all is fine unless it’s close to the end of your shift (like within an hour) and she’s not there; it doesn’t sound like she’s typically that late and so that would be an aberration that you could treat differently (plus, it raises a looming coverage issue that you’d be right to flag). 2. My staff wants me to attend events with them — but it’s not my job I am a manager of primarily part-time staff. They are the outreach team, and I oversee outreach in addition to a bunch of other duties. My problem is that I seem to have done too good a job making them feel like they’re my first priority, because during the mid-year check-in (which was done by anonymous survey), multiple staff complained that I am not doing enough to support them because I am not actively attending outreach events like they do. I check in periodically but I don’t spend the whole four-hour shift, with them — probably only about a half hour as I do rounds, check in, and see if they need anything, etc. But the thing is, it’s absolutely NOT my job to actively participate in the outreach events. That would amount to about 20 hours of my work week, which simply is not feasible considering my other responsibilities. But everything I try to think of how to phrase “it’s not my job to do that” it’s feels like a deflection or like I’m trying not avoid taking ownership. How do I handle this? I’m thinking of just printing my list of job duties and sharing it but that feels passive aggressive. Help! I think your opening for this conversation will be easier if you focus more on the fact that they feel unsupported and less on the specific thing they’re proposing as a solution to that. Talk with each of them and say you’ve received the feedback that people would feel more supported if you attended more outreach events, explain you can’t do that because you’re also charged with doing XYZ and your job is specifically designed not to include time for attending events so you can handle other priorities, and ask if they can brainstorm with you about other ways for them to get the support that currently feels lacking. If it’s literally just a matter of wanting you at events and they don’t really feel unsupported beyond that, this conversation will bring that out — and hopefully help them understand why you can’t do that. But it’s possible that you’ll hear they wanted you at more events because, I don’t know, the public asks questions that they don’t know how to answer, or there’s not enough coverage for them to leave their booth for bathroom breaks, or who knows what. They might be thinking the solution is “we need Jane here more often,” whereas you might have a dozen other ways you can solve those problems once you know they exist. Either way, approaching it as if the problem is “people feel unsupported” and not just “they want me there too much” should make it easier to solve. 3. My colleague is using parts of my resume as their own I used to work for one of the agencies that the current administration has gutted. It was a great place to work and many employees stayed there for a long time, so they haven’t been on the job market in a while. My field is small, so I shared my resume with any old coworkers who asked in the hopes that it’d help them get their resumes up-to-date. One former coworker openly told me they stole my formatting and alluded to copying things like the awards, too! I was too shocked to say anything, but I wish I had, because I don’t know the extent to which they ripped off my work. Now my agency is up on the chopping block and in this small field, I’m inevitably applying to the same places they are. I have asked to see their resume, but they demurred, instead offering generic job search tips. While I know there are only so many ways you can format a resume, I don’t know if I’m applying to places that have already seen “my” resume (whether just format or contents as well), I don’t even know if the former coworker bothered to change the typeface! Do I need to rebuild my resume from scratch? What would you do here? Their copying your formatting is no big deal — people copy other resumes’ formatting all the time and that’s not going to set off any alarm bells for an employer and it’s definitely not going to make them think they’ve already seen “your” resume before. But if they’re listing awards that they didn’t receive, that’s wildly unethical! It still doesn’t mean that you need to somehow rebuild your resume to avoid having similar content (and presumably more than one person can receive those awards over time) but if your coworker is directly competing with you for jobs, claiming your accomplishments as their own would be extra awful. As for what to do, don’t worry about the formatting at all, but you could go back to them and say, “Hey, when you said you copied my awards, do you mean you claimed awards that you didn’t actually receive? If so, can you correct that for both our sakes? You could end up having a job offer pulled over it once they do a background check, and I of course didn’t show you my resume intending for you to copy the actual content.” If you want, you could add, “And I don’t appreciate you doing that when we’re applying for the same positions.” 4. Airline mix-up means I’m missing my first day of work I am out of state, and the airline had a mix-up with my ticket. I am set to start work Monday at a new job and now I can’t fly back home until Monday. No other option. What is the likelihood that they will “fire” me before I even start due to this? I have left a voicemail explaining the situation to my new supervisor already, but I’m worried. I didn’t get this in time to answer it before Monday but: they’re not likely to tell you “never mind then” just because of an airline snafu. Stuff happens. Decent employers know that. Exceptions to this would be if you had already seemed flaky to them before now and this was a final straw moment, like you had already rescheduled multiple interviews with little notice, or if you’d already asked to push your start date back a couple of times. (That said, I admit to being curious about what “the airline had a mix-up with my ticket” means! If it was their mistake, I’d think you could push pretty hard for them to find you a seat on another airline — but by the time this is publishing, it will be past the point where that would be helpful.) 5. How to list contractor to employee on your resume I’ve recently gotten a new job and started as an employee after a few months as a contractor. As a contractor, I was employed through a completely different staffing company. I have the same title, team, and responsibilities, but now I’m employed directly through the company. I’m not sure how to list that on my resume, if only because I’m pretty sure the staffing company would probably have to be the one to verify employment, etc, during that time. I’m not planning on job searching anytime son, but I like to keep my resume up to date. I would do it like this: Taco Institute, Taco Strategy Coordinator, July 2024 – present (contracted through Tasty Foods Contracting July – November 2024, then converted to employee) * accomplishment * accomplishment * accomplishment View the full article

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The build-to-rent (BTR) housing market continued its upward surge in 2024, reaching a historic milestone with 39,000 new single-family rentals completed across the United States, according to a new report from Point2Homes. Based on Yardi Matrix data as of March 2025, this figure marks a 15.5% increase over 2023 and underscores the sector’s rapid growth since the pandemic era, when completions hovered around 6,000 to 7,000 units annually. Point2Homes’ analysis highlights how the BTR model—which merges the low-maintenance appeal of rentals with the space and privacy of detached homes—has evolved into one of the fastest-growing segments of single-family home construction. The sector now accounts for nearly 10% of all home builds, a stark rise from 3% just a few years ago. Southern and Southwestern Metros Lead the Charge Phoenix led the nation in BTR completions last year with 4,460 new units, an 18% year-over-year increase. It was followed by Dallas with 3,197 completions and Atlanta with 3,035. These three metros, along with Houston (2,505 units), formed the core of a rapidly expanding BTR frontier across the South and Southwest. Other metros with more than 1,000 new single-family rental units completed in 2024 include Charlotte, NC (1,415); Jacksonville, FL (1,201); Huntsville, AL (1,098); Columbus, OH (1,018); and Tampa, FL (1,005). In total, the top 10 states for BTR completions in 2024 were led by Texas (6,994), followed by Florida (5,379), Arizona (4,812), and Georgia (4,095). North Carolina, California, Ohio, South Carolina, Alabama, and Utah also posted significant growth in completions, with all but South Carolina recording five-year highs. Inventory Pipeline Remains Strong The BTR sector is not only looking back on a record year but also preparing for continued growth, with nearly 110,000 single-family rentals currently in various stages of development. This includes 76,000 units under construction and almost 34,000 more in the permitting pipeline. Phoenix again leads all U.S. metros with 13,010 units in development, followed by Dallas (8,450), Atlanta (6,644), Charlotte (4,886), and Houston (3,969). Drivers of Growth The ongoing expansion of the BTR sector is being driven by several key trends. These include millennials forming families but unable to afford homeownership, high-income renters opting out of ownership, retirees seeking low-maintenance lifestyles, and remote workers needing more living space. Additionally, fast-growing states such as Texas, Florida, and Arizona continue to attract new residents, further fueling demand. Between 2023 and 2024, Texas added nearly 563,000 people, while Florida gained over 23 million residents, and North Carolina surpassed 11 million in population. Largest Communities Completed in 2024 Among the largest BTR communities completed in 2024 was Litsey Creek Cottages in Roanoke, TX, with 396 units. Other significant completions included Viviano at Riverton in Utah with 364 units, and The Bungalows on Camelback in Phoenix with 334 units. These projects feature extensive amenities such as swimming pools, clubhouses, fitness centers, and playgrounds. Five-Year Growth Overview From 2019 to 2024, the total number of completed BTR homes more than doubled from around 107,000 to over 217,000 units. Phoenix led all metros with 12,702 completions over this five-year span, followed by Dallas (10,413), Atlanta (7,553), and Houston (5,250). Notably, metros like Charlotte, Jacksonville, and Huntsville saw some of the most significant percentage increases, with Huntsville posting a 1,368% rise in inventory compared to 2019. Image: Envato This article, "Build-to-Rent Sector Hits Record High With 39,000 Single-Family Rentals Completed in 2024" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

The build-to-rent (BTR) housing market continued its upward surge in 2024, reaching a historic milestone with 39,000 new single-family rentals completed across the United States, according to a new report from Point2Homes. Based on Yardi Matrix data as of March 2025, this figure marks a 15.5% increase over 2023 and underscores the sector’s rapid growth since the pandemic era, when completions hovered around 6,000 to 7,000 units annually. Point2Homes’ analysis highlights how the BTR model—which merges the low-maintenance appeal of rentals with the space and privacy of detached homes—has evolved into one of the fastest-growing segments of single-family home construction. The sector now accounts for nearly 10% of all home builds, a stark rise from 3% just a few years ago. Southern and Southwestern Metros Lead the Charge Phoenix led the nation in BTR completions last year with 4,460 new units, an 18% year-over-year increase. It was followed by Dallas with 3,197 completions and Atlanta with 3,035. These three metros, along with Houston (2,505 units), formed the core of a rapidly expanding BTR frontier across the South and Southwest. Other metros with more than 1,000 new single-family rental units completed in 2024 include Charlotte, NC (1,415); Jacksonville, FL (1,201); Huntsville, AL (1,098); Columbus, OH (1,018); and Tampa, FL (1,005). In total, the top 10 states for BTR completions in 2024 were led by Texas (6,994), followed by Florida (5,379), Arizona (4,812), and Georgia (4,095). North Carolina, California, Ohio, South Carolina, Alabama, and Utah also posted significant growth in completions, with all but South Carolina recording five-year highs. Inventory Pipeline Remains Strong The BTR sector is not only looking back on a record year but also preparing for continued growth, with nearly 110,000 single-family rentals currently in various stages of development. This includes 76,000 units under construction and almost 34,000 more in the permitting pipeline. Phoenix again leads all U.S. metros with 13,010 units in development, followed by Dallas (8,450), Atlanta (6,644), Charlotte (4,886), and Houston (3,969). Drivers of Growth The ongoing expansion of the BTR sector is being driven by several key trends. These include millennials forming families but unable to afford homeownership, high-income renters opting out of ownership, retirees seeking low-maintenance lifestyles, and remote workers needing more living space. Additionally, fast-growing states such as Texas, Florida, and Arizona continue to attract new residents, further fueling demand. Between 2023 and 2024, Texas added nearly 563,000 people, while Florida gained over 23 million residents, and North Carolina surpassed 11 million in population. Largest Communities Completed in 2024 Among the largest BTR communities completed in 2024 was Litsey Creek Cottages in Roanoke, TX, with 396 units. Other significant completions included Viviano at Riverton in Utah with 364 units, and The Bungalows on Camelback in Phoenix with 334 units. These projects feature extensive amenities such as swimming pools, clubhouses, fitness centers, and playgrounds. Five-Year Growth Overview From 2019 to 2024, the total number of completed BTR homes more than doubled from around 107,000 to over 217,000 units. Phoenix led all metros with 12,702 completions over this five-year span, followed by Dallas (10,413), Atlanta (7,553), and Houston (5,250). Notably, metros like Charlotte, Jacksonville, and Huntsville saw some of the most significant percentage increases, with Huntsville posting a 1,368% rise in inventory compared to 2019. Image: Envato This article, "Build-to-Rent Sector Hits Record High With 39,000 Single-Family Rentals Completed in 2024" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

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The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. The creator economy has evolved from a marketing tactic to a C-suite priority, driven by a cultural shift that positions creators at the core of brand strategy. Over the past decade, it has transformed from a niche segment of digital culture into one of the most powerful forces shaping modern businesses. Today, creators sit at the epicenter of consumer attention, shaping purchasing decisions, brand perceptions, and cultural trends at scale. This evolution didn’t happen by accident. The movement from the fringes of culture to the mainstream was propelled by creators’ ability to authentically connect with audiences, build communities, and operate as entrepreneurial media company owners. In doing so, they’ve transformed how brands connect with customers and reshaped the core of modern marketing and communications. Creators have proven they’re more than content producers or influencers. They’re strategic partners shaping the future of business. In 2023, many C-suite executives reached a new level of familiarity and comfort with the creator economy as the industry continued to evolve. Now, part way into 2025, that awareness is cementing. Creators are no longer an experimental line item in the marketing budget; they’re critical growth partners driving innovation, storytelling, and consumer loyalty. Embrace the creator economy Creators have become a boardroom priority. They’re shaping conversations at marketing events, influencing business meetings, and redefining how brands connect with consumers. My biggest piece of advice? Plan early and plan integrated. A creator strategy shouldn’t be an afterthought—it should be embedded from the start, whether in a campaign’s early planning stages or during product development. Creators don’t just understand the audience; they are the audience. And they’re masters of the platforms where real influence happens today. By embracing this early on, brands will position themselves for long-term relevance. Those that hesitate risk falling behind, as creators continue to command cultural and consumer influence. The rise of creators is part of a bigger cultural shift, and brands can’t afford to ignore it. The creator revolution is changing what consumers expect and how businesses drive product awareness and sales. This year, we’ll see more creators diversify their collaboration as strategic partners across multi-dimensional industries. The conversations that began as niche marketing discussions are now guiding decisions in innovation labs, investor presentations, and executive off-sites. Creators are shaping brands Creators aren’t just marketing assets anymore. They’re reshaping how we think about building brands from the ground up. “Today, creators are redefining how stories are told, connecting with audiences in deeply personal and immediate ways. Prioritizing creators isn’t just an opportunity—it’s essential, which is why the Tribeca Festival launched its creators vertical in partnership with the Whalar Group last year,” said ​​Chris Brady, president, global chief commercial officer at Tribeca Enterprises. “Creators are shaping culture, driving conversations, and changing the future of entertainment. To stay competitive, global brands and platforms must recognize them as essential voices in this new era.” The time for hesitation is over. Brands that see creators as mere marketing tools will be left behind. Those that embrace them as strategic partners and extensions of their team will shape the future, while the rest struggle to keep up. The creator economy isn’t just here to stay—it’s a growing focus in the boardroom, and in 2025, it will distinguish the leaders from the followers. Neil Waller is co-CEO and cofounder of the Whalar Group. View the full article

Republican Senator Josh Hawley sent a letter urging the Justice Department to investigate FICO's price increases, which he said have "been borne by borrowers, especially lower-income borrowers." View the full article

Shopify CEO’s memo mandating AI for virtually everything marks a pivotal moment in how AI is used by workers and entrepreneurs The post Shopify CEO’s Memo Marks A Pivotal Moment For AI In The Workplace appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’ve ever tried dragging a too-large speaker—or worse, relied on your phone’s tiny audio for sound projection—you should appreciate this sale on the Skullcandy Terrain Mini: It's palm-sized, no-frills, and currently on sale for $34.99 down from $39.99 on StackSocial, with free shipping in the U.S. That price drop isn’t jaw-dropping, but for under $35, you’re looking at a IPX7-rated waterproof speaker that won’t be damaged if it's dropped in the pool this summer. The Skullcandy Terrain Mini has Bluetooth 5.3, so the connection holds steady within a 33-foot range. The battery is said to give you 14 hours of playtime, which should cover most day-long adventures or at least a solid workday playlist without needing a recharge. When it does die, it uses USB-C, which is thankfully included in the box, so you won’t need to dig through old cords. It also comes with a wrist strap that you can clip it to a bag or swing it around like a lanyard when you’re on the move. As far as sound goes, it's decent on its own, but the True Wireless Stereo feature means you can pair it with a second unit for real stereo separation. You can also use Skullcandy’s Multi-Link to chain together up to 99 of these. Realistically, you’ll probably never do that, but the option’s there if you ever want to DJ a flash mob. That said, this speaker doesn’t punch far above its size. It’s built more for casual, portable listening than booming bass or high-volume precision. The fabric mesh helps with durability and sound clarity, but it’s not going to replace your home speaker setup. If you’re in the market for a rugged little speaker that’s waterproof, rechargeable, and easy to toss in a bag, the Skullcandy Terrain Mini fits. View the full article