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If you receive an email about your Social Security statement, proceed with caution: According to a new report from Malwarebytes Labs, hackers are impersonating the Social Security Administration (SSA) to trick people into installing a remote access tool and handing over full control of their devices. The SSA is no stranger to phishing scams—the Office of the Inspector General put out an alert last month warning the public of fraudulent emails purporting to include Social Security statements that in reality led to fake websites. How the Social Security phishing scam worksThe current attack is the work of a phishing group known as Molatori. It begins with an email that appears to come from the SSA with the message, "Your Social Security Statement is now available" and a prompt to download an attached document. The supposed statement is actually a ScreenConnect client, which grants remote control of the affected device. ScreenConnect is a legitimate remote support platform for IT pros to help users configure systems and resolve technical issues by allowing the same access as if they had your device in hand. Once hackers have control of your computer via ScreenConnect, they can use it for anything from installing malware to transferring files to accessing sensitive data, like bank and financial account information, all without your knowledge. Financial fraud is believed to be the main objective for this campaign, but as always, stolen data can be used for identity theft or sold to other malicious groups. As Malwarebytes Labs describes, this scheme is hard to identify in part because the phishing emails originate from compromised WordPress sites with legitimate domains. The email body may also be sent as an image rather than text, making it harder for filters to detect it as malicious. How to protect yourselfAll of the common cautions for avoiding phishing scams apply here. Do not click on links or download or open files or attachments sent via email, especially if the message is unsolicited. Go directly to the company's or organization's website to locate important documents and verify communication. Attacks that come from compromised (but legitimate) domains can be trickier to catch, so be especially wary of anything you're instructed to download, click, or fill out from an email. If you are unsure whether an email or message is real and safe, Malwarebytes also suggests copying some of the text into a search engine to determine if it is part of a known phishing campaign. View the full article

Beleaguered pharmacy chain Rite Aid has officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after weeks of media reports suggesting that it was on the cusp of doing so. The bankruptcy is Rite Aid’s second in two years, and it leaves a lot of questions for both customers and employees, including whether stores will be closing, if there will be layoffs, and what happens to customers’ prescriptions. Here’s what you need to know about Rite Aid’s second bankruptcy. Why did Rite Aid file bankruptcy the first time? Rite Aid originally filed for bankruptcy in 2023. It emerged from the process less than a year ago, in 2024, with the hopes of being in a better financial position and on more resilient footing. But with its second bankruptcy filing yesterday, those hopes seem to have been dashed. To understand why Rite Aid is once again filing for bankruptcy, it helps to understand why the company originally filed for bankruptcy in 2023—something Rite Aid has laid out in detail in documents it filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court in the District of New Jersey today. Rite Aid cited multiple factors that necessitated its 2023 bankruptcy filing, including: “suboptimal lease portfolio” of underperforming stores elevated labor costs increased costs from “shrink” (theft) lower credit limits more restrictive payment terms from vendors reduced demand for its non-medication “front end” products “The lack of such inventory,” Rite Aid said, “gave rise to a vicious cycle: high-margin front-end sales declined due to insufficient inventory, and lagging sales depleted liquidity and caused vendors to tighten trade terms even further.” The company’s 2023 bankruptcy was meant to help the struggling pharmacy chain address the financial issues caused by these problems. But that’s not the way things have played out since, which has led to the company filing its second bankruptcy this week. Why is Rite Aid filing for bankruptcy again? In a court document, Rite Aid said that its “post-emergence business plan was based on data-driven projections (and extensive discussions with vendors) that Rite Aid’s front-end vendors would return to their less restrictive prepetition payment terms” as well as assurances from select capital providers that the company would be provided with the needed letter of credit facilities—all of which the company said “was crucial to Rite Aid’s recovery.” But the filing goes on to say that “Those assurances were broken.” Rite Aid said that the letters of credit it did obtain were “materially less than expected” and that many vendors didn’t end up relaxing the more restrictive payment terms to the anticipated levels. Pile on macroeconomic pressures to this and Rite Aid said that “The combined effect of lower-than-expected liquidity from the letter of credit facilities, inventory challenges, strained vendor relations, lower consumer spending, and competitive pressures has ultimately left the Company with insufficient liquidity to operate its business and service its debt obligations in the ordinary course.” Thus, it’s second bankruptcy filing this month. What’s happening with Rite Aid prescriptions? Of course, many customers will be concerned about what will happen to their prescriptions during the bankruptcy process. In a letter to customers dated May 5, Rite Aid said that one of its paramount priorities during the bankruptcy process is to ensure that customers’ pharmacy needs are not interrupted. Rite Aid says that a majority of its stores will remain open “for the next few months” and that during that time pharmacy services “including prescriptions and immunizations” will remain available. In other words, for a few months at least, most customers should be able to still get their prescriptions filled at their local Rite Aid store. However, the company also stated that it’s “working to facilitate a smooth transfer of customer prescriptions to other pharmacies.” This is most likely in preparation for inevitable Rite Aid store closures or sales. Are Rite Aid stores closing? Some already have, and more closures in the months ahead are almost a certainty. According to documents Rite Aid that filed with the court, these 11 locations have already closed or will close soon: Poughkeepsie, NY Redmond, WA Sunnyside, WA Craigsville, VA Costa Mesa, CA Harrisburg, PA Keene, NH Ridgewood, NY Kutztown, PA Neptune, NJ Halifax, PA Rite Aid also says that customers can keep an eye on which stores are open using its online store locator tool. The locator currently states that Rite Aid has 1,240 locations in the United States across 15 states. What’s happening to Rite Aid employees? It is thought that Rite Aid’s bankruptcy will see some store locations closed, while other stores will be sold to other entities that may seek to keep the stores running in some fashion. Indeed, in a press release confirming its bankruptcy plans, Rite Aid CEO Matt Schroeder said that he was “encouraged by meaningful interest from a number of potential national and regional strategic acquirors.” But inevitably, layoffs are to be expected, as Schroeder said that one of the company’s priorities was “preserving jobs for as many associates as possible.” Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that an internal letter was sent by Schroeder to employees that the company will begin cutting jobs at its corporate offices in Pennsylvania. What will shopping at Rite Aid be like while this is happening? Although the company says most stores will remain open for the next few months, expect to notice changes before then. In a letter to vendors, the pharmacy chain said, “At this time, Rite Aid has generally stopped purchasing goods and services, except for those that it believes are essential to supporting this process.” Customers should also be aware that Rite Aid has posted a banner on its website stating that as of June 5, the company will no longer honor Rite Aid gift cards and will no longer accept returns or exchanges. View the full article

If you’re sensing the world right now is becoming more and more unhinged, you’re not alone. Fortunately there’s a podcast poking holes in your subject of choice, whether that be diet culture, science journals, airport books, or Bill Maher specifically. With research and often a sense of humor, these shows break down some of the messages we are getting online, in the news, and across all sorts of media, explaining why you’re not crazy, it isn’t you, and why some of the systems we have right now (looking at you, capitalism) are broken. Normal Curves Credit: Normal Curves Normal Curves is kind of like a science book club—on every episode, stat-savvy friends (and professors) Regina Nuzzo and Kristin Sainani help make sense of academic journals that have made their way to mainstream and pop culture. Examples include The Sweaty T-Shirt Study, which said you could find a perfect mate by smelling their sweat, and the The Red Dress Effect, which said that women in red were sexier. They’re the ones you can count on to dissect the data, challenge the claims, and arm you with tools to assess scientific studies on your own. Diabolical Lies Credit: Diabolical Lies Is tradwife TikTok confusing the heck out of you? Wondering why capitalism feels like a scam wrapped in a vibe? Allow me to introduce you to Diabolical Lies, your new favorite rabbit hole. Hosted by Katie Gatti Tassin and Caro Claire Burke, this long-form (episodes are upwards of three hours long) podcast is part cultural critique, part political roast, and fully addictive. Katie and Caro named their show Diabolical Lies to poke fun at something Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker in a speech, that “it’s the women who have had the most diabolical lies told to you,” suggesting that feminism is the source of our unhappiness. Katie and Caro point their fingers at capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy, instead. They hold everything, from the yassification of Christian nationalism to the myth of the girl boss, all to the fire while making you laugh, think, and maybe (probably) get a little mad. Corporate Gossip Credit: Corporate Gossip If you think the best true-crime is white collar crime, you might want to tune into Corporate Gossip, which is all about the shady stuff that happens in board rooms and business deals. Hosts (and siblings) Becca and Adam Platsky use tons of research and storytelling to tell the truth behind eBay, the WWE and Vince McMahon, Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX, Enron, and more. The topics are serious, but the vibe is casual and often hilarious. Oddly Specific Credit: Oddly Specific Meredith Lynch (who you may recognize from TikTok) has one foot in pop culture and the other in politics—and her show represents that. Oddly Specific features a bit of everything, from the problem with dollar stores to the prison industrial complex. Experts come on to cover things they’re passionate about, and Meredith has a good way of explaining the basics of the subject at hand, exposing its problems, and helping you understand why it matters to you, your wallet, and your everyday life. Bad Therapist Credit: Bad Therapist If you’ve ever side-eyed an Instagram carousel telling you to “cut off anyone who drains your energy,” there’s a chance you’ve been served some therapy speak. Fortunately, the podcast Bad Therapist is here to help. Psychotherapist Ash Compton and journalist Rachel Monroe are pro-therapy, but they are also pro-skewering the bad actors who use pop psych cliches and weaponize wellness to make a living from it, usually taking advantage of people who actually need real help. Whether they’re dissecting therapeutic communes, conversion therapy, or life coaches, all roads lead to grifting. Along the way, you’re always in for some history, cultural analysis, and humor. If Books Could Kill Credit: If Books Could Kill You know those best-selling books—the ones that often promote miracle diets, pop psychology, pseudo-science, and reskinned versions of The Secret—sold at the airport that seem to take the country by storm, one book at a time? Michael Hobbes (original co-host of You’re Wrong About and co-host of Maintenance Phase) and Peter Shamshiri host If Books Could Kill, a podcast about those books and how they shape our culture and ruin our minds. (There is actually an entire episode dedicated to The Secret.) Together they point out the lack of citations, vague references, and fear-based marketing you find in every page. Episodes swing from hefty (the episode on Liberal Facism) to lighter and silly (there’s a great one on Who Moved My Cheese?). The Dream Credit: The Dream Seasons one and two of The Dream are about multilevel marketing schemes and fraud in the wellness industry, but the show has since been turned into a weekly interview show. Its episodes now focus on a myriad of subjects, but they're all generally about critiquing the people, industries, and concepts that make "the American Dream" unmanageable. Hosted by This American Life alum Jane Marie, episodes cover the MAHA movement, abortion bans, cults, divorce, and more. Jane Marie is a top-notch storyteller and interviewer—even episodes that feel heavy have a lightness to them. 5-4 Credit: 5-4 Hosted by Peter Routhier (If Books Could Kill), Rhiannon Brown, and Michael F. Vecchione, 5-4 provides a funny, liberal perspective on the rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court, often illustrating how much SCOTUS totally sucks. Always from a progressive point of view, each episode analyzes and discusses a single Supreme Court decision, providing an accessible and engaging way for listeners to learn about the high court’s biases surrounding hot-button issues like affirmative action, gun rights, and campaign finance. It clears the fog from our court system and clarifies how often the Supreme Court perpetuates unjust outcomes for marginalized groups. Knowledge Fight Credit: Knowledge Fight Dan Friesen and Jordan Holmes keep close tabs on Alex Jones so you don’t have to. Each week on Knowledge Fight they review recent clips from Jones’ Infowars programming and try to make sense of it all. They go deep (and some of the content is dark) but Dan and Jordan are funny enough to make it both a wild ride and an enjoyable listen. There’s no better way to learn about conspiracy theories than to study the people steeped in them, and this show is like Cliff’s Notes for the source of many of the wildest theories taking hold of America. Maintenance Phase Credit: Maintenance Phase When Michael Hobbes left You’re Wrong About, he put his energy into Maintenance Phase, a show he co-hosts with Aubrey Gordon that explores and critiques popular health and wellness trends and products. With tons of notes and a lot of rage-laughter, Michael and Aubrey run through the the worst diets, exercise trends, supplements and beauty products, and “nutrition” books, and evaluate whether they are actually effective or if they are based on misleading or harmful information. (It’s almost always the latter.) If you hate the BMI, were led astray by the food pyramid in the ‘90s, or roll your eyes every time your friend goes on and on about their latest cleanse, you’ll appreciate their myth-busting efforts. I Hate Bill Maher Credit: I Hate Bill Maher Comedian Will Weldon hates Bill Maher so much that he created an entire podcast about it. Every episode of his show, I Hate Bill Maher, is a takedown of Bill Maher in general, but specifically his TV show Real Time and his podcast Club Random, episode by episode. Will is dead set on pointing out some of the superficial, misogynistic, and transphobic things Bill has said, as well as how lazy some of his comedy can be. He’ll even dip back into old episodes of Real Time to prove how much Bill’s opinions have changed over the years. (Not much.) Some call it petty, some call it a public service. Listen to the Emma Arnold episode—Will interviews her about the time she got to tag along on Bill’s annual New Year trip to Hawaii. View the full article

Generative AI is changing how people search. The most effective SEO strategies aren’t just AI-enhanced – they’re AI-native. Many SEO teams are moving away from manual tasks and siloed tools toward intelligent, automated systems that learn from data and scale performance across every stage of the search journey. From content creation to site architecture and real-time monitoring, AI is now deeply embedded in many winning SEO strategies. Here are 10 cutting-edge ways to leverage AI for enterprise-level SEO success in 2025 – and stay ahead in a game that’s changing faster than ever. 1. Automating SEO tasks with AI agents AI in SEO is no longer just about writing prompts – it’s about training intelligent agents to run entire workflows on your behalf. AI agents act like digital assistants that can: Take action. Make decisions. Execute multi-step SEO tasks across your tech stack. All this without constant human oversight. This is especially powerful for large, complex websites where scalability and speed are essential. What these agents can do Connected to your browser, APIs, and SEO tools, these agents can be programmed to carry out recurring SEO processes, such as: Monitoring Google Search Console for indexing errors or drops in impressions. Generating schema markup for newly published pages. Crawling competitor sites and reporting on changes to structure, content, or keyword focus. Flagging performance anomalies (e.g., slow-loading pages or broken internal links). Running in the background, AI SEO agents save hours of manual work and alert you only when human input is needed. While there’s no single out-of-the-box solution today, the components are all available, ready to be adapted and integrated into your SEO workflow. An AI SEO workflow using LangChain LangChain allows you to orchestrate multiple AI agents across a single, end-to-end SEO system. Here’s how it might work: Prioritize URLs: Pull top-priority URLs from your sitemap, CMS, or GSC API, such as newly published pages or those with traffic drops. Agent 1 – Index checker: Uses the GSC URL Inspection API to check indexing status and log crawl outcomes (e.g., “Discovered – not indexed”). Agent 2 – Crawl log analyzer: Retrieves log or crawler data to identify crawl errors, response codes, or low-frequency crawling. Agent 3 – Pattern interpreter: Uses a model like GPT-4 or Claude to analyze crawl and index data, cluster similar issues, and suggest likely causes (e.g., thin content, blocked resources). Agent 4 – Fix generator: Suggests SEO fixes like updating canonical tags, adding internal links, adjusting robots.txt, or refreshing sitemaps. Agent 5 – Deployment layer: Pushes validated fixes to a GitHub staging branch or CMS via API, with optional human review. Agent 6 – Recheck and report: Re-evaluates impacted URLs after deployment, summarizes performance changes, and identifies what still needs attention. LangChain handles the orchestration, memory, and sequencing between agents – turning your AI tools into an intelligent, modular system. For large-scale SEO, that’s a game-changer. Dig deeper: 6 easy ways to adapt your SEO strategy for stronger AI visibility 2. Powering content hubs with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) RAG enables large language models (LLMs) to pull from your own data, instead of just relying on web-scale training, to generate brand-safe, deeply relevant content at scale. RAG combines: Retrieval: Pulls relevant information from your proprietary sources (e.g., customer reviews, support docs, search logs). Generation: Uses that data to create or enhance content that’s optimized for SEO and aligned with your brand voice. SEO applications Use RAG to build intelligent content hubs with sources like: Internal search queries. Sales enablement materials. Product data. Customer feedback. Support center documentation. For example: A SaaS company can convert help articles into long-tail landing pages. An ecommerce brand can generate conversion-optimized product content based on real customer language. RAG can also help you generate personalized content variants based on top-performing historical pages, user segments, or seasonal trends, keeping content relevant and high-performing. 3. Preparing your content for AI-powered search experiences With the rise of Google’s AI Overviews and other AI-powered SERP features, more users are finding answers without ever clicking a link. As brand demand and top-of-mind awareness (TOMA) remain as important as ever, this means that SEO strategies must evolve to account for zero-click search visibility – and AI can help. To remain visible, your content needs to be AI-readable – clear, complete, and optimized for selection by generative systems like AI Overviews. How to optimize for generative search Simulate AI summarization: Ask tools like GPT-4 or Claude: “How would you summarize this page for someone asking about [topic]?” Improve semantic clarity: Ensure your content is well-structured, answers common questions, and mirrors natural search language. Refine snippet-worthiness: Make your opening lines punchy and clear – perfect for excerpting in AI summaries or featured snippets. Use tools like Perplexity, Claude, or Bing Copilot: These tools can act as proxies for testing how AI systems interpret and present your content. Dig deeper: How to optimize your 2025 content strategy for AI-powered SERPs and LLMs 4. Optimizing images and text together with multimodal AI As search becomes more visual, image SEO is becoming just as important as text. New vision-language models (VLMs) – like GPT-4V and Claude 3 Opus – can analyze images and help optimize them alongside content. How VLMs enhance image SEO Assess image clarity (i.e., is the visual informative and on-brand?). Auto-generate alt text and captions. Align images with key topics, products, or entities. Create custom thumbnails or social previews. Generate image schema markup to enhance visibility in image search. Dig deeper: How to create images and visuals with generative AI 5. Building topical authority through entity mapping AI can now help you see your site the way Google does – as a network of topics and entities, not just pages and keywords. By analyzing your content with large language models, you can map: How well your site covers important entities (like people, places, categories, or concepts). Where you may be falling short. How to apply Identify core entities (e.g., authors, categories, brands). Audit coverage. (Are key subtopics underrepresented?) Compare against competitors. (Spot content gaps or authority weak points.) Build or refine topic clusters. (Add, update, or interlink pages to boost depth and relevance.) This strategy helps improve semantic coverage, which is essential for building topical authority in the age of E-E-A-T. Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. Business email address Sign me up! Processing... See terms. 6. Using AI to improve UX and conversion for SEO Great SEO doesn’t end with rankings – it hinges on how users engage with your content. Bounce rate, time on page, and conversion behavior all influence performance. How to scale UX analysis with AI Collect anonymized behavioral data: Use tools like Clarity or Hotjar to gather: Heatmaps. Scroll depth. Click patterns. Rage clicks and drop-offs. Feed data into an AI model: Upload screenshots, session summaries or logs to GPT-4V or other models to identify: Poor CTA placement. Navigation issues. Missing trust signals. Summarize by page type or device: Generate insights like, “Blog pages show high scroll drop-off before the internal links section. Consider moving related articles higher to improve engagement signals.” Automate monitoring Run this monthly, compare to SEO KPIs, and prioritize fixes that improve both UX and search performance. 7. Smarter internal linking with AI-powered clustering Internal linking is one of the most powerful – and most neglected – levers in SEO, especially for large, enterprise-level sites. AI can automate internal linking across large sites by grouping semantically related pages – not just matching keywords. Use AI to: Cluster related pages (e.g., all articles on Victorian literature or guides about rare books). Automatically suggest relevant internal links for each page based on topic similarity. Prioritize links to high-value pages to strengthen PageRank flow and authority signals. Enforce distribution rules (e.g., each pillar page should receive no fewer than 10 incoming links). This improves crawlability, semantic structure, and user navigation – all of which impact ranking and engagement. 8. Scaling schema markup with generative AI Structured data helps unlock rich SERP features – but managing schema at scale is time-consuming. Generative AI makes this process faster, smarter, and scalable. Use AI to: Generate JSON-LD for pages (e.g., FAQ, Product, Review, HowTo). Identify missing or broken schema through audits. Recommend schema types based on page content. Automate deployment via CMS or GitHub integration. 9. Creating microcontent with AI to maximize SERP visibility Not all SEO wins come from long-form content. Often, it’s the microcontent – like meta descriptions, FAQs, Q&A, or People Also Ask answers – that helps sites stand out in search results. AI can help generate this short-form content quickly and at scale. Use it to: Summarize long articles into clear, concise answers suitable for featured snippets. Generate multiple versions of title tags and meta descriptions to test and optimize. Preemptively answer People Also Ask questions that appear around your target queries. Refresh microcontent regularly to stay aligned with changing search behavior. Optimized for every clickable (and non-clickable) element on the SERP, microcontent is less about ranking and more about expanding visibility and presence across all key touchpoints. 10. Real-time SEO monitoring with AI SEO of 2025 is not a set-it-and-forget-it task, but a system that needs constant oversight. AI can now act as a 24/7 watchdog, alerting SEO teams to issues the moment they arise. AI monitoring can: Track changes in sitemaps or robots.txt that could affect crawlability. Watch for sudden drops in impressions, clicks, or key rankings. Spot trends like content cannibalization or unexpected deindexing. Flag page performance degradation (e.g., Core Web Vitals). Use AI not only to detect issues, but also to explain what’s wrong and help prioritize fixes. This kind of real-time monitoring can help respond faster, reduce risk, and maintain momentum, especially on large, complex sites where problems can go unnoticed for weeks. Dig deeper: How to track visibility across AI platforms Using generative AI to streamline your SEO efforts As AI transforms search into a more conversational, visual, and context-aware experience, SEO must evolve in step. From content creation to technical optimization, tasks once manual and reactive are now intelligent, adaptive, and ongoing. Staying ahead means embracing this shift, not just reacting to it. View the full article

Here is a weird one - doing a site command and Google presenting an AI Overview summary of the results. In this case, the AI Overview was dead wrong - which is not all that uncommon - but why show an AI Overview here? View the full article

Google is now sending emails to business owners when a Google Business Profile information edit was rejected. The email subject line says "A recent information edit was rejected," and then it tells you more details on why and allows you to read the policy and then appeal the decision.View the full article

For the past week or so, news publishers from Brazil have not been happy with Google. It seems that Google Discover is broken for a lot of Brazilians, showing irrelevant content to users and searchers, and not showing content from the typical publishers based in Brazil.View the full article

We've seen variations of Google's popular products section in the search results show both article and video content reviews. But now we are seeing another format for it, one that even links to laptop reviews from 55 years ago, a good ten years before the Osborne 1 hit shelves.View the full article

Faceted navigation enhances ecommerce UX but poses SEO risks. Learn how to manage filters without harming crawl efficiency or indexing strategy. The post Ask An SEO: How To Implement Faceted Navigation Without Hurting Crawl Efficiency appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Google is testing a new ad groups interface for the Google Ads Search campaigns console. This seems to be a simpler interface with fewer options than the current version.View the full article

Pinterest fans are nothing if not loyal. Many have spent years—sometimes decades—carefully curating boards filled with wedding inspiration, home decor ideas, fashion, and more. Now users are logging in only to find themselves locked out of their accounts without warning, with all their pins gone. Frustrated users have taken to platforms like X and r/Pinterest to vent. The comment sections on Pinterest’s official Instagram and TikTok pages are flooded with pleas from angry users demanding answers. “I had a beautiful Pinterest board with over 26,000 of the most beautiful images and my account was just permanently banned,” one user posted on X. “Pinterest you will be dealt with.” Another, who reportedly lost an account they had maintained for seven years, wrote, “I feel like my library of Alexandria has been burned down.” For creatives, Pinterest isn’t just for fun—it’s also a professional tool. “It’s the industry standard to present a moodboard before any project goes into action, and the sheer amount of valuable references I’ve lost out on since being banned is hard to describe,” wrote one Reddit user. “I’ve had to postpone shoots and scramble to reassemble projects. Years and years of curating down the drain and multiple projects stuck in limbo.” Those who’ve lost accounts claim they’ve done nothing wrong. “I made a new account, didn’t even add anything yet. Get an email saying I’m banned/suspended,” one user posted on X. “I try to dispute it and your typical bot responds saying there’s nothing it can do.” Others are now afraid to even open their accounts for fear of what they might find. Many are pointing the finger at AI. Pinterest’s Help Center states that it uses AI in “improving content moderation,” a system it has relied on for years to enforce its Community Guidelines. Like many platforms, Pinterest uses a mix of AI and human review. A Pinterest spokesperson tells Fast Company: “Pinterest has long-established public Community Guidelines that clearly outline what is and isn’t allowed on the platform. We’re committed to building a safer and more positive platform, and enforce these policies rigorously and continuously. Users who believe their account may have been deactivated mistakenly may submit an appeal.” For some, that response doesn’t cut it. Instead, they’re exploring legal action, seeking “recovery for the damages users have suffered, which may include financial compensation.” These damages include direct financial losses from Pinterest ad campaigns or traffic, as well as “emotional distress.” View the full article

Jerry Dischler, the almost 20 year Google executive, is reportedly leaving Google a year and a half after he stepped down from that position. Jerry Dischler was involved in a lot of the Department of Justice negativity around Google's ad business, which may or may not be related to him stepping down in 2023 and now reportedly leaving Google in 2025.View the full article

Six years ago, Google dropped some of its search tools date filters and then added new operators for before: and after: that let you filter content by specific dates. Well, six years later, that feature is still in beta.View the full article

TikTok hashtags aren’t a one-way ticket to virality — but they can absolutely help boost visibility. When done right, TikTok hashtags help categorize your content, enable the algorithm to understand what your content is about, and boost your discoverability through TikTok SEO. In this article, we’ll explore everything there is to know about TikTok hashtags: What are TikTok hashtags? Why you should use hashtagsHow to find the right TikTok hashtagsHow to use TikTok hashtags properlyPlus, I’ll share a curated list of 250 trending TikTok hashtags — organized by industry to help you reach the right audience and grow your presence. What are TikTok hashtags?TikTok hashtags are keywords or phrases preceded by a “#” symbol – usually in the video caption – that help categorize content on the platform. Examples of how hashtags appear in the TikTok app When you use hashtags for TikTok videos, you help the algorithm understand what your content is about and put it in front of the right community. Using relevant hashtags also makes your content searchable. Your video will pop up when someone searches for the keywords you used in your hashtag. Users interested in a topic will often even follow hashtags related to it — like #BookTok or #MomsofTikTok. This allows them to stay up-to-date on the latest conversation on the subject. 5 benefits of using hashtags on TikTokIncorporating TikTok hashtags in your marketing strategy has plenty of benefits. Here are a few: 1. Boost visibility of your videosAdding hashtags for TikTok videos helps the TikTok algorithm understand what your content is about and put it in front of the right people. This is especially true for trending hashtags — TikTok pushes content with the most trending TikTok hashtags in its video caption. The more you use them, the more you increase your chances of landing in the relevant audience’s For You Page (FYP). 2. Build a communityHashtags create communities around specific interests. Using hashtags for TikTok – esepcially niche ones — allows you to join the conversation and find your tribe. Hashtag challenges, for example, help you understand and participate in your industry's trends. #icebucketchallenge, anyone? 3. Improve TikTok SEOTikTok is a search engine too. Just like Google, it relies on certain pieces of information to place content into the most appropriate categories, better organizing and surfacing them for searchers. Hashtags are another helpful piece of the puzzle for the algorithm, a way to better optimize your videos for search (SEO). They can help you make sure your video gets in front of the right people. 4. Get content ideasWhen you search for specific hashtags, you can find other TikTok videos on the topic. This helps you understand what resonates with your target audience and find unique content ideas. 5. Increase your viral potentialTrending hashtags are often tied to a particular platform-wide trend, like hashtag challenges or trending formats. If you participate in these trends and challenges, using the right hashtags increases your chances of going viral on TikTok and reaching a broader audience. How to find the right TikTok hashtags for your posts?There are many ways to find the best TikTok hashtags for your posts. Here are three popular ones: 1. Use the TikTok Creative CenterThe TikTok Creative Center is one of the best free tools for finding trending hashtags for TikTok and in your industry. Navigate to "Trends" → "Hashtags" in the Creative Center, and you’ll see a list of popular TikTok hashtags on the platform. These are the trending hashtags of the last seven days. You can also see specific hashtags for TikTok related to your industry. Filter using the “Industry” option – TikTok has organized its content into 16 industries. You can also filter to view the trending hashtags of the last 30 or 120 days, too. My favorite feature is that you can dive deep into a specific hashtag’s performance by clicking “See analytics.” Here, you’ll find: How many posts are associated with the hashtagHow the user interest has evolved for the hashtag over timePopular video examples that use the hashtagAudience insights of TikTok users who use those hashtags (age, related interests, and regional popularity)Trending creators who have used the hashtagRelated hashtags that pair well with the current hashtag This lets you gain insights into using specific hashtags and forming a cohesive hashtag strategy. For example, you can monitor how interest in a hashtag fades or rises over time, spotting hashtags you can use for evergreen content. It can also help you spot whether tapping into a hashtag or trend will help you reach the right people. For example, if 18-24-year-olds are your ideal customer (or follower), creating content around #X is a great idea. If you’re looking to capture a slightly older crowd, it’s probably best to look elsewhere. 2. Use a hashtag generatorThere are various hashtag generators in the market that can help you find the best hashtags to go with your post. For example, the Ahrefs AI hashtag generator for TikTok asks you to share a snippet and shares hashtags that fit the bill. The problem with using a hashtag generator is its reliability: You have to verify if the hashtags the tool provides are actually popular on TikTok. These tools also rarely help you find trending hashtags or discover viral TikTok hashtags. Still, it can be a useful jumping-off point if you already have a video or post in mind. ⚡Looking for hashtags for Instagram? Buffer’s free Instagram hashtag generator has you covered. Get a curated list of hashtags tailored to your content, tone, and audience, all in seconds. →3. Manual searchThe last way to find the best hashtags for your strategy is a bit manual — it involves going on hashtag searches of your own. AKA, using TikTok like a search engine. Type something broad related to your industry in the search bar. For example, if you’re hunting for fashion hashtags, type “fashion ideas.” If you’re searching for niche fashion hashtags, search for something more specific, like “sustainable fashion.” Once you get the results, analyze the hashtags other creators use. Do many creators use the same hashtags? Note it down – using it might help boost your brand visibility, too. If a creator appears repeatedly for your relevant hashtags in your industry, study their hashtag use — which TikTok trends they participate in, which hashtags they use on TikTok the most frequently, and how many hashtags they use. Think of this like a mini competitor analysis. This will help you: Get a list of different hashtags you can useIdentify the top TikTok hashtags in your industryUnderstand your target audience’s expectationsThe manual method of finding the best hashtags for your strategy might be a bit tedious, but it’s the best way to ensure you use relevant hashtags that boost engagement. Top 250 TikTok hashtags of 2025 (so far)The above methods are handy when you have the time to jot down and organize your hashtag library. But for when you’re short on time, use this list to find popular hashtags for TikTok, specifically in your industry. 15 popular TikTok hashtagsThese are general hashtags for your video content. They aren’t tied to a niche or any specific subject, so use them when you’re just starting out or experimenting with your video content. 1. #fyp 2. #viral 3. #tiktok 4. #foryou 5. #funny 6. #viral 7. #duet 8. #smallbusiness 9. #trending 10. #explore 11. #foryoupage 12. #trendingvideo 13. #tiktokcreator 14. #contentcreator 15. #tiktokchallenge Top 20 hashtags for TikTok in apparel and accessoriesTikTok mixes retail hashtags under the umbrella of ‘apparel and accessories.’ Note that many popular hashtags are related to a season, such as spring or summer. If you’re reading this in winter or fall, find retail hashtags on TikTok that fit this new season. 1. #spring 2. #springfashion 3. #springtok 4. #summervibes 5. #summer2025 6. #prom 7. #promdress 8. #tiktokshoprestock 9. #ootdfashion 10. #ootdinspo 11. #lululemon 12. #tiktokfashion 13. #onlineshopping 14. #affordablefashion 15. #shoplocal 16. #gymoutfit 17. #womenfashion 18. #fashionfinds 19. #newarrivals 20. #activewear Top 10 TikTok hashtags for TikTok in kids and maternityThese are the best TikTok hashtags for parenting creators and small businesses who market to parents. 1. #babies 2. #boymomlife 3. #toddlers 4. #toddleractivities 5. #ivfjourney 6. #auntiesoftiktok 7. #granddaughter 8. #momoftwo 9. #pacifier 10. #newbornlife Top 25 beauty hashtags on TikTokTikTok often lumps together self-care hashtags and beauty hashtags on the social network. You’ll find a plethora of branded hashtags on this list, too. If you’re a creator, this means the products from these brands are a viral success and may be worth trying for your audience. 1. #pedicure 2. #hairinspo 3. #toothpaste 4. #ingrowntoenail 5. #tanning 6. #hydration 7. #springnails 8. #teethwhitening 9. #glam 10. #nailartist 11. #cosmetics 12. #viralproducts 13. #nighttimeroutine 14. #tartecosmetics 15. #tarte 16. #ultabeauty 17. #cosmetology 18. #pixiecut 19. #easyhairstyles 20. #menshair 21. #cream 22. #affordablemakeup 23. #products 24. #naturalmakeup 25. #nailsofinstagram 15 best TikTok hashtags in educationThese are impactful hashtags in the education industry. You’ll also notice a few ‘job’ and ‘writing’ related hashtags since they’re quite popular in the niche. 1. #jobs 2. #space 3. #graduation 4. #studytok 5. #factory 6. #elemantaryschool 7. #premed 8. #studytips 9. #studyhacks 10. #jobrating 11. #writingcommunity 12. #research 13. #preschoolteacher 14. #publicspeaking 15. #creativewriting 15 best TikTok hashtags in financeSome hashtags here are timely and news-related (like the tariffs one). Before using any hashtag, always check the latest results to ensure it isn't outdated. 1. #trading 2. #tariffs 3. #contentcreation 4. #stockmarket 5. #inflation 6. #daytrading 7. #businesstips 8. #workfromanywhere 9. #sidehustlejob 10. #innovation 11. #wealthbuilding 12. #management 13. #businesstips 14. #automation 15. #smallbusinesstips 30 best TikTok hashtags in food and beverageThere are more hashtags for the food and beverage industry than any other category on this list. New trends keep emerging on this list as the seasons change, too (like #margarita in the summer). You’ll also notice a few branded hashtags like Crumbl of Crumbl cookies. 1. #chicken 2. #crumbl 3. #banana 4. #goodfood 5. #foodphotography 6. #weeknightdinner 7. #watertok 8. #hiddengem 9. #pastry 10. #matcha 11. #icecream 12. #dubaichocolate 13. #cookies 14. #eggs 15. #brunch 16. #fastfood 17. #coffeetime 18. #traderjoes 19. #coffeelover 20. #cakes 21. #chocolatecoveredstrawberries 22. #lunchtime 23. #drinktok 24. #pancakes 25. #sweettreat 26. #dessert 27. #chips 28. #fruits 29. #margarita 30. #foodiefinds 15 best TikTok hashtags in gamingGaming hashtags are often related to specific games — like Minecraft. These TikTok viral hashtags update frequently as new games release, so keep an eye on that. 1. #minecraft 2. # invincible 3. #brainrot 4. #cookierunkingdom 5. #sololeveling 6. #textstory 7. #giveaway 8. #minecraftmemes 9. #gamingcommunity 10. #dungeonsanddragons 11. #idkwhatimdoing 12. #multiplayer 13. #peppapig 14. #indiegames 15. #narutoedit 10 top TikTok hashtags in health and fitnessThese are the best hashtags in the health niche. The list below contains evergreen hashtags, so you don’t have to worry about using outdated hashtags here. 1. #wellness 2. #gymtok 3. #fitness 4. #workout 5. #bodybuilding 6. #training 7. #health 8. #mentalhealth 9. #healthtips 10. #nutrition 15 best TikTok hashtags in home improvementThese are the best hashtags for any house-related content — whether that’s gardening, showing your home essentials, or furniture. 1. #gardening 2. #garden 3. #plants 4. #furniture 5. #mirror 6. #landscape 7. #gardentok 8. #plantsoftiktok 9. #springcleaning 10. #architecture 11. #mold 12. #clay 13. #backyard 14. #gardening101 15. #homeessentials 10 best TikTok hashtags in household productsHousehold products, while similar to home improvements, often contain time-sensitive hashtags of whatever’s popular at that moment. It also often has holiday-themed products, like #eastercrafts on this list. The most popular hashtags in this category keep shifting as new products gain popularity. 1. #paper 2. #ribbonrose 3. #kidscrafts 4. #moneybouquet 5. #eastercrafts 6. #crochetflowers 7. #favoriteflower 8. #craftwithme 9. #paperflowers 10. #junkcaseinspo 10 best TikTok hashtags in entertainmentTikTok viral hashtags in entertainment often include artist names who have released new music or any entertainment industry-related news that’s time-sensitive. Like with household products, you need to refresh the most popular hashtags more frequently than other categories. 1. #rapper 2. #undergroundmusic 3. #concerts 4. #viraledit 5. #popmusic 6. #tvseries 7. #soundcloud 8. #yellowjackets 9. #chrisbrown 10. #band 15 best TikTok hashtags in the pet industryPet-related hashtags are often about a specific animal, like dog lovers or cat lovers. But there are also often hashtag challenges going on that you could participate in with your pet. Find these trending hashtags on the TikTok Creative Center. 1. #dogsoftiktok 2. #bunny 3. #chickens 4. #catlovers 5. #doglovers 6. #pug 7. #daycare 8. #naptime 9. #treats 10. #poodle 11. #adoption 12. #blackcatsoftiktok 13. #sunbathing 14. #cattoys 15. #fosteringsaveslives Top 10 sports hashtags on TikTokSports hashtags are often dynamic depending on what’s going on in the sporting industry. For instance, many of the hashtags below are about a specific football league and match. If you’re practicing social listening — or you’re a sports fan — you’d already know about what games are on, and, by extension, the trending topics on TikTok. 1. #baseball 2. #voleyball 3. #golf 4. #mlb 5. #softball 6. #barcelona 7. #realmadrid 8. #track 9. #championsleague 10. #fishinglife 10 best TikTok hashtags in electronicsElectronics hashtags on TikTok are usually about specific gadgets and not that time-sensitive. But when there’s a new release of an electronic item, it might become a trending hashtag as everyone reviews/unpacks it. 1. #portable 2. #phonecharger 3. #magnetic 4. #bluetoothspeaker 5. #phoneaccessories 6. #phonemount 7. #magsafe 8. #wirelessheadphones 9. #techgadgets 10. #fastcharging 11. #comfyfit 15 best TikTok hashtags in travelTravel content is often about place hashtags — like Japan or Washington DC, but here are a few general ones about traveling. 1. #beach 2. #beachvibes 3. #vacationmode 4. #beachday 5. #waltdisneyworld 6. #epicuniverse 7. #sunsets 8. #cherryblossom 9. #hikingadventures 10. #park 11. #capri 12. #zoo 13. #beachlife 14. #poolparty 15. #kidssactivities 10 best TikTok hashtags in transportationHashtags relevant in this category often include names of vehicles or accessories related to vehicles. 1. #biketok 2. #surron 3. #ebike 4. #caraccessories 5. #cinematic 6. #jeeplife 7. #carshow 8. #sportscar 9. #carenthusiast 10. #dashcam How to use TikTok hashtags: 7 best practicesTikTok hashtags are often a missed opportunity. Here’s how to use them properly to maximize their potential: 1. Mix popular and niche hashtagsThere are popular hashtags with millions of posts, and then there are niche hashtags that aren’t that crowded. My advice? Use a mix of both. Famous hashtags will boost visibility and reach a broader audience; niche hashtags will ensure you establish authority in your niche and build a social media community. For example, if you’re a food creator, #foodie would be a popular hashtag, and #weeknightrecipes would be a niche one. 2. Don’t use more than five hashtags per postIt’s tempting to add hashtags to fill the caption character limit. But you don't need quantity when finding hashtags for TikTok. In fact, adding too many hashtags can appear spammy and put off your audience. Instead of adding as many hashtags as possible, add between three and five quality hashtags to your TikTok content. Mix popular hashtags with niche ones, as mentioned earlier. 3. Steer clear of irrelevant hashtagsDon’t use generic hashtags like #foryoupage too much. They dilute the authority of your TikTok profile. It’s better to use more relevant, niche-related hashtags that reflect the topics of your TikTok content. Using irrelevant hashtags can also hurt your overall performance as the algorithm gets confused about your niche. 4. Use a hashtag manager to store your hashtagsSaving, organizing, and using hashtags can be challenging. But you don’t have to create sections in your Notes app to copy-paste or remember them by heart. It’s time-consuming and clunky. What if you had a hashtag manager built into your social media management tool? In Buffer, the hashtag manager helps you store and organize your hashtags. For instance, if you want to create a new category of hashtags to promote a sale, you can create a new group for it. Or you can categorize hashtags into your content pillars. Now, when you’re scheduling your TikTok content, Buffer will open the hashtag manager and in one click, you can paste all the hashtags you have stored. Pro tip: You’re not limited to storing hashtags in this tool! You can use it to save essential links or common CTAs you use often. Make it easy for yourself to implement your hashtag strategy by signing up for Buffer. 5. Monitor trending TikTok hashtagsBy now, you know how TikTok hashtags work and how quickly their relevance can fade. Keep an eye on the TikTok Creative Center to monitor trending hashtag challenges and use them where relevant. The algorithm loves trending content, too, so this will boost your performance. 6. Create a branded hashtagCreating a branded hashtag gives you the opportunity to boost brand visibility and recall. You can even start using your own hashtags for sales, promotions, unique offers, or influencer partnerships. The only thing to remember is to ensure your own hashtags are easy to remember and catchy so more and more people get latched onto them. 7. Measure hashtag performanceMonitor your TikTok analytics to find which hashtags boost your reach the most and double down on them. If you have multiple sets of hashtags, notice which ones drive the most engagement. Hashtags can’t save a poor post, but they can increase the reach of an excellent oneHashtags aren’t the key to going viral. But if you create engaging content that your audience resonates with, they can increase the number of new people you reach. I hope the best practices and list of hashtags helped you understand which hashtags you can use and how. Do you have any favorite hashtags that I missed? Comment below! View the full article

The Tesla founder’s much-heralded war on government waste has had uncertain resultsView the full article

There we were: two experienced professionals, each standing on the iconic red dot of our own TEDx stages, ready to deliver what we hoped would be the most impactful talks of our careers. For Jamie, her meticulously rehearsed opening line—the one she practiced 327 times in the shower, in the mirror, and in front of a very patient partner—evaporated the moment the spotlight hit. Hundreds of expectant eyes waited as the silence stretched . . . and stretched. “Oh @*#%,” she whispered—into the mic. What was meant to be a private moment of panic turned into a public announcement. But instead of recoiling, the audience leaned in. Scott was one minute and fifty seconds into his carefully choreographed talk when he realized the slide clicker—his lifeline—wasn’t in his hand. It was backstage. As his partner began to talk, he edged off the red dot, sliding sideways like what he now calls “a nervous crab doing the walk of shame under a spotlight.” What could have been a disaster became an unexpected moment of relatability. What should have been our most cringeworthy professional moments instead became our most powerful points of connection. Who gets to make mistakes After Jamie’s talk, someone approached her saying, “That moment when you paused made your message so human. I was rooting for you!” “When you had to edge off the stage,” an executive told Scott afterward, “I immediately felt I could relate to you. It was like watching a high-stakes version of that dream where you show up to work without pants.” The revelation hit us both like a thunderbolt: Our supposed failures weren’t failures at all. They were our strongest connection points. All those hours spent practicing perfect delivery? Not wasted time at all, because we were able to recover. But the unplanned human moments? Pure gold. It’s worth acknowledging, however, that our positive experiences with vulnerability came from positions of established credibility. As seasoned professionals with certain privileges, we could afford these momentary lapses without severe consequences. But we also know that vulnerability’s impact varies dramatically depending on who you are and the context in which you’re operating. The Paradox of Leadership We’re often taught that leadership means projecting flawless competence, credibility, and charisma. However, what social psychologists call the “pratfall effect”—a phenomenon documented by Elliot Aronson in 1966—shows that competent people become more likable when they make small mistakes. In other words, the occasional face-plant makes you more relatable. But there’s a critical caveat that Aronson himself emphasized: This effect primarily works for those already perceived as highly competent. For those still establishing credibility—particularly women, people of color, and others from underrepresented groups—the same “charming” mistake can reinforce negative stereotypes and undermine authority. As TED speakers, we had the freedom to make mistakes, which actually increased our likability and connection with the audience without compromising our credibility. In our work with executives, we’ve seen this paradox play out repeatedly. We’ve seen repeatedly that established leaders who initially resist showing any vulnerability find their influence dramatically increases after sharing natural imperfections. Yet for emerging leaders or those from marginalized backgrounds, the calculus is far more complex. It’s essential to acknowledge that the luxury of vulnerability isn’t equally distributed. For women in male-dominated fields, research shows that displays of emotion or uncertainty can trigger harsher judgment than for their male counterparts. For people of color, vulnerability can collide with pernicious stereotypes, reinforcing biases rather than building connection. And for those earlier in their careers or from less privileged backgrounds, the margin for error is often vanishingly small. Alison Fragale’s recent research in her book Likable Badass reveals that leaders face a fundamental paradox: They need to be both respected for competence and liked for warmth. The most effective leaders—whom she calls “likable badasses”—strategically reveal vulnerabilities while maintaining clear boundaries, creating what she terms “approachable authority.” Yet Fragale also acknowledges that women and people of color often face a much narrower band of acceptable behavior, where too much warmth can undermine perceptions of competence, and too much assertiveness can trigger backlash. The path to becoming a “likable badass” is riddled with structural inequities that demand recognition. Which is why we believe vulnerability—tailored to context—has the potential to be a leadership superpower. The Vulnerability Sweet Spot: A Framework for the Perfectly Imperfect Leader Through trial, error, and sometimes painfully awkward experience, we’ve developed a framework for authentic, courageous leadership that we now share with executives who are tired of the exhausting perfectionism treadmill. But we emphasize that this framework must be applied with careful attention to context, power dynamics, and the unique challenges faced by those with marginalized identities: 1. Create intentional “vulnerability loops” Ed Catmull, Jamie’s former boss and cofounder and former president of Pixar Animation, would often say in meetings “I’m wrong more than half the time.” That simple phrase created what Harvard professor Jeff Polzer calls a “vulnerability loop”—inviting reciprocal openness that builds trust faster than a box of free donuts in the break room. By modeling approachable authority, he cultivated psychological safety that fueled Pixar’s creative engine. But we’ve observed that this same approach can backfire for leaders without Catmull’s established positional power and reputation. For a woman leading a male-dominated team or a person of color in a predominantly white organization, admitting uncertainty might inadvertently reinforce harmful stereotypes about competence. The lesson? Sometimes the most powerful thing a well-established leader can say is “I have no idea what I’m doing right now.” But for others, strategic vulnerability requires careful calibration. 2. Transform mistakes into growth narratives Scott had prepared meticulously for his courage workshop with a large government leadership team—but within minutes, he realized he’d misread the room. His agenda assumed participants would willingly engage, but the energy was brittle. The stress was high, morale was low, and the silence hung heavy. Then something unexpected—and unscripted—happened. The chief elected official chose to speak first. But instead of safe, ceremonial words, he paused, and shared a specific fear he was facing in that moment as a leader. The room shifted. Silence held for a beat. Then, one by one, others began to speak—naming real fears, deeper commitments, and the tensions they’d been carrying alone. That moment of unrehearsed vulnerability didn’t fix everything. But it disrupted the silence, reset the tone of leadership, and sparked the psychological safety needed for meaningful change to begin. 3. Create structural support for imperfection Pixar holds rigorous postproduction reviews that deliberately focus on uncovering mistakes—despite the very human tendency to celebrate victories and immediately start stressing about the next project. The process norms prevent individual blame, instead promoting shared responsibility for both successes and improvements. At its heart, the process embraces the principle that imperfection, continuous learning, and growth form the foundation of great filmmaking. By creating formal structures to examine what didn’t work, the studio transforms potential failures into catalysts for innovation. When failure analysis becomes collective rather than personal, it creates safer spaces for those who might otherwise face disproportionate consequences for acknowledging mistakes. 4. Create equitable spaces for vulnerability At Pixar, Jamie codesigned a Mutual Mentorship Program specifically designed to address power imbalances. Over six months, senior mentors and junior mentees built relationships by exchanging responses to questions like, “Share a pivotal time that created anxiety but informs who you are today.” This structured approach produced two remarkable outcomes. First, mentors gained genuine insight into the dramatically different experiences of those with less organizational power. Many left the program as vocal advocates for their mentees, having seen firsthand the additional barriers they navigated. Second, mentees formed a powerful coalition where they could practice speaking up authentically. Through monthly discussions about power dynamics and calculated risk-taking, they developed both individual confidence and collective strength—transforming vulnerability from a personal liability into a shared asset. 5. Know your audience Before revealing vulnerability, assess the terrain carefully. Do your colleagues and superiors already view you as competent? Do they genuinely care about your success? While it’s ultimately leaders’ responsibility to make workplaces safe for authenticity, we must acknowledge that not all environments offer this security. For those still establishing credibility—especially individuals from underrepresented backgrounds—the most courageous act might be a carefully timed truth or a question that invites others in. Even micro-moments, like asking a powerful question for honest feedback in a team setting or naming a challenge with curiosity rather than certainty, can plant the seeds of strategic vulnerability. These moments may not be headline-worthy, but over time, they build trust, credibility, and voice. If you determine that sharing vulnerably carries too much risk in your current position, remember that choosing to strategically present yourself isn’t “fake”—it’s a legitimate form of self-protection. The calculation is intensely personal: What are the costs of being real versus the costs of maintaining a more guarded professional persona? There’s no universal right answer, only the one that serves your well-being and advancement in your specific context. The Real Leadership Superpower Our TED experiences taught us that leadership impact doesn’t come from flawless performance, but from authentic human connection. The moments that feel most vulnerable—when your mind goes blank during a presentation or when you have to admit you have no idea how to solve a problem—are precisely where your most meaningful leadership happens. The next time you feel that urge to appear perfect, remember: Your most authentic moment might be waiting on the other side of what feels like failure. In a world increasingly dominated by curated personas and polished images, authentic vulnerability can be a powerful differentiator, but also a risk that varies dramatically depending on who you are. After all, nobody roots for the superhero who never breaks a sweat. We root for the one who gets knocked down, mutters something slightly inappropriate, and then gets back up again with a knowing smile. But we must also work toward a world where all leaders, regardless of their identity, have the freedom to be imperfectly human without disproportionate penalties. View the full article

Mortgage delinquencies were up in March, according to data from Intercontinental Exchange. View the full article

Outlining the details and defining factors is crucial at the start of any project. Explore how project scope management affects project success. The post What is Project Scope? | Best Project Scope Management appeared first on project-management.com. View the full article

Stakeholders are individuals or groups that have an interest in the project. Learn about the different key stakeholders and their roles. The post Understanding Different Types of Stakeholders and Their Roles appeared first on project-management.com. View the full article

On farms off the coast of Alaska and in Mexico, a company called Blue Evolution grows seaweed used in food and skincare products. But five years ago, while studying the potential for seaweed to be used in bioenergy, the company discovered something else: The algae also contains critical minerals. The research, conducted with Pacific Northwest National Labs, identified the presence of scandium, an expensive rare earth element that’s produced in tiny volumes globally. The seaweed also contains other rare earth elements and platinum group metals that can be used to make products ranging from EV batteries to motors for wind turbines. “That generated a lot of excitement,” says Beau Perry, CEO of Blue Evolution. “Everyone was like, ‘Can you mine with seaweed?’” The company undertook more research into the area, and today it launched a new initiative, Orca Minerals, that’s focused on the new form of mining. Instead of blasting rocks or the seabed, the process makes use of the fact that seaweed naturally absorbs minerals from seawater as it grows. At its lab in San Jose, the company is analyzing samples of seaweed that it grows in seawater tanks on the Mexican coast and in the ocean in Alaska. With the right location, and the right strain of seaweed, Perry says, it’s possible to harvest meaningful amounts of certain minerals. The team identifies and selectively breeds seaweed strains, and is currently analyzing one of those proprietary strains. “We’re starting to select the characteristics that should yield more, with faster growth, but also more solid content and more mineral content,” Perry says. The content of critical minerals like cobalt or palladium is small, but that’s also true in traditional mining. “When you’re mining rare earths, it’s just mostly wasted material. You need a huge amount of rock,” he says. “Rare earth elements are not that much more concentrated in those deposits than in some of the seaweed samples we’ve seen.” Some other startups are working on processes to extract minerals from land using plants, like a company called Metalplant that’s mining nickel with crops grown in Albania. Seaweed has some advantages: It grows much more quickly and can concentrate minerals at a higher proportion, so the yield can be greater. And while there’s a fixed stock of minerals in soil, currents in the ocean continually replenish supply. The rest of the seaweed also has value—as nutrients, pigments, or carbon that can be used to make seaweed-based textiles, plastic, and other materials; critical minerals are a side benefit. As the biomaterials market grows, that would simultaneously mean more potential to displace traditional mining on land. If the company grows seven-figure tons of dry seaweed in Alaska to meet demand for biomaterials, for example, Perry says it could also produce enough scandium to be a major player in the global market. (For some other minerals and elements that are produced at bigger scales, it would contribute a much smaller percentage.) Mining from seaweed, rather than rocks, could help avoid some of the environmental impact of getting components that are necessary in things like electronics and EV batteries. Traditional mining destroys wildlife habitats; pollutes water, soil, and the air; uses large amounts of energy; and creates piles of waste. The The President administration also wants to fast-track deep-sea mining—extracting minerals from the ocean floor—something scientists say could cause irreparable harm to marine ecosystems. Growing and harvesting seaweed doesn’t cause those problems. Refining minerals from seaweed also takes less energy and is a cleaner process than traditional refining, Perry says. The company is working on its own green-chemistry-based extraction techniques that could potentially bypass the need to use a secondary refinery. The work is still in progress, and the company wants to ensure it can predictably harvest a certain volume of critical minerals from its seaweed. But it expects to have an operational prototype by 2027. Commercial production could begin in 2028. View the full article

At a recent academic conference, I noticed a familiar unease ripple through conversations about “soft skills.” Many participants winced at the term. They recognized the inadequacy of the term, yet struggled to agree on a better alternative. People floated around suggestions like “human skills,” “essential skills,” or “power skills,” but none seemed to stick. This persistent terminology problem reflects a deeper tension in our educational system. There’s a long-standing bias that elevates “hard” technical competencies over the nuanced, deeply human capabilities that actually define long-term professional success. Historically, hard skills emerged from the natural sciences—quantitative, measurable, and increasingly automatable. Soft skills, on the other hand, draw from the liberal arts, humanities, and social sciences. These disciplines help us understand human behavior, expression, and interaction. These qualities are notoriously difficult to quantify and even harder to teach. In business analytics, the field I teach, technical fluency is the price of entry. But what propels careers isn’t just knowing which model to run. It’s being able to explain it to a client, manage a team under pressure, adapt when the data shifts, and negotiate conflicting priorities. The multiplier is the human element. If we want students—and professionals—to thrive in the age of artificial intelligence, we need to stop treating soft skills like fluff. They’re complex, teachable, and foundational to success. And they need a better framework. Reframing the spectrum of soft skills The term “soft skills” has served as a catchall for too long. It flattens a vast range of human capabilities into a vague, undervalued category. Let’s unpack what it typically refers to: Character traits: These are innate or deeply ingrained qualities—curiosity, empathy, resilience, integrity. They are difficult to measure and even harder to teach, but they can be reinforced through self-awareness and mentorship. Behavioral habits: This includes punctuality, follow-through, and active listening. These are habits that form the scaffolding of daily effectiveness. Unlike traits, habits are trainable through repetition, reflection, and reinforcement. Teachable skills: Think negotiation, critical thinking, presentation, and conflict resolution. These are skills that we can structure, improve, and break down. Contextual competencies Some soft skills shift with the situation, like cross-cultural communication, executive presence, or stakeholder management. Mastering these skills requires knowledge, as well as adaptability and emotional intelligence. This structure isn’t just an academic exercise. It provides a road map for how higher education can teach, assess, and elevate these skills with the rigor they deserve. Why the liberal arts are more relevant than ever This entire framework—traits, habits, teachable skills, and contextual competencies—rests on a liberal arts foundation. Yet many continue to undervalue liberal arts education in the race to produce technically skilled graduates. That’s a mistake. The liberal arts cultivate intellectual agility, ethical reasoning, and cultural literacy. Rhetoric and composition shape communication. Philosophy and history sharpen critical thinking. Literature and anthropology nurture empathy and emotional intelligence. Ethics and moral philosophy develop character. These are not “extras”—they are essential human capabilities, which humans have forged across centuries of thought and reflection. Even in the case of STEM education depends on these “soft” capacities for its practitioners to thrive in real-world scenarios. The traditional liberal arts saw this clearly. To build capable and thoughtful citizens, you need people who understand science and the humanities. The two disciplines complement one another. The technology paradox Enter artificial intelligence. As AI grows capable of executing routine cognitive tasks and even mimicking creative ones, the gap between human and machine narrows in some areas—but not in others. AI can analyze data, but it can’t coach a team through a moral crisis. It can summarize a policy, but it can’t build consensus across ideologically opposed stakeholders. It can write a headline, but it can’t lead a classroom, negotiate a truce, or inspire trust. The more technical our world becomes, the more vital our human capabilities become. The paradox of progress is that it puts a premium on precisely those soft skills many continue to dismiss. Reclaiming the term Perhaps the answer isn’t to replace the term “soft skills,” but reclaim it. Let’s reframe “soft” not as “easy” or “secondary,” but as “sophisticated,” “subtle,” and “distinctively human.” These are the skills that make teams functional, leaders inspiring, and organizations resilient. They’re not antithetical to technical skill, they’re actually the multiplier. We do our students a disservice when we teach them how to code but not how to communicate, or how to calculate but not how to collaborate. We handicap their potential when we separate technical and human education into silos. And we shortchange society when we undervalue the disciplines that teach us how to be human together. The future doesn’t belong to those who can merely execute technical tasks. It belongs to those who bring the full spectrum of human capability to our most complex challenges. So yes, “soft” skills may be the hardest to master. But they’re also the ones that matter most. View the full article

Across the United States, there is a long history of communities of color being underserved—if not outright oppressed—by the dominant modes of urban planning and development. But for the past 10 years, a collective of architects, designers, artists, and urban planners called BlackSpace has been rethinking how communities of color get designed and built. Now, the group is trying to build up the ranks of practitioners working alongside communities of color in the built environment to make sure their needs are no longer overlooked or ignored. To spread this work through young and emerging firms, BlackSpace has launched Studio KIN (Kinfolx Imagining Neighborhoods), a business accelerator focused on bringing resources, funding, and community to Black-founded ventures that produce services and products focused on the built environment. The incubator’s first cohort has just been announced. “When we think about spatial justice, we think a lot about how it’s realized through having the folks that are planning, designing, and building neighborhoods that reflect the places that they’re serving,” says Kenyatta McLean, co-managing director of BlackSpace. “We developed Studio KIN to be a home for those urbanists that are working to meet communities where they’re at.” Members of BlackSpace’s Studio KIN cohort include an urban planning studio in Indianapolis, a community design firm in Oklahoma City, and a bookstore and community space in Brooklyn. The focus of the accelerator is “interdisciplinary urbanist solutions that strengthen majority Black and majority multiracial neighborhoods,” says Emma Osore, co-managing director of BlackSpace. The hole to fill is wide. There are roughly 1,000 zip codes across the U.S. that have majority Black populations, but fewer than 2% of them are considered prosperous. Osore says the goal of the accelerator is to help support the growth of locally based organizations that use place-based practices to increase prosperity for Black communities, particularly within Oklahoma City, Chicago, Indianapolis, and New York City. “There’s rapid change in Black places in all of these cities, and there are very few people locally who understand urbanism from this people-centered, culturally rooted, and ethical point of view,” Osore says. Having locally based design firms, for example, can help ensure projects are developed in ways that serve their communities over the long term. McLean notes that it’s not uncommon for a big national firm to come in to work on a well-meaning project in a Black neighborhood, only to leave once the contract is over. “What does that mean for the sustainability of that project? What does it mean for the communities that surround that neighborhood?” she says. “That’s another reason why we’re so interested and continue to be interested in folks that are locally rooted, because they will stay through the storms and also be there for the moments of sunshine that are happening.” BlackSpace’s Studio KIN will operate like a typical business incubator, offering support and resources to organizations as they grow and mature. The first cohort is made up of small firms that are between three and five years old, and the accelerator will help them do things like build capacity for new work or help raise capital, as well as more mundane things like assisting with bookkeeping. Members of Studio KIN’s cohort reflect the need for this kind of hyper-specific business incubator. For example, Open Design Collective is the first and only Black woman-led nonprofit design firm in Oklahoma, with a focus on architecture, planning, and cultural preservation. In Indianapolis, Rokh Research & Design Studio focuses on cultural equity by partnering with researchers, practitioners, and community members to understand lived experiences and introduce new policies and strategies for urban design. The accelerator will run for 12 months, and BlackSpace’s program director Gabriella Malavé says the collective plans to have at least three cohorts over the next few years. The shape of the accelerator may shift as the organization gets to understand what members of its first cohort really need to grow and thrive. But the overall goal of the program is to help Black communities by establishing a wider network of urbanist practitioners focused specifically on their unique needs. “Our mission has always been to have opportunities for urbanists to co-create spatial change in partnership with Black communities and to strengthen Black communities,” Osore says. “So this is really a sort of a renaissance for BlackSpace.” View the full article

Getting older can be a time when declining vision, hearing, and cognitive abilities may mean it’s no longer safe to drive. It may even lead to giving up your driver’s license. In theory, those who age out of driving should be perfect new customers for ride-sharing apps. And yet, Lyft says only 5.6% of its U.S. riders are older than 65. The company sensed a disconnect. The app wasn’t meeting older riders’ needs, and it needed a redesign. Lyft Silver, now available nationwide, is designed specifically for older users, with a font that’s 1.4 times bigger than the standard app, and a simple interface. “Developing Lyft Silver was truly a labor of care and intention,” Audrey Liu, Lyft’s EVP of rider experience, tells Fast Company via email. “We started by listening—really listening—to the experiences and needs of older adults. We spoke with riders, caregivers, and organizations that serve this community to understand the specific challenges they face with transportation. Things like navigating complex apps, feeling unsure about who their driver will be, or needing a little extra time and assistance.” The new design represents a collaboration among experts on aging, as well as partners like AltaMed, Urban League, Self Help for the Elderly, and others. The specialized app leans on Lyft’s findings about how its older customers actually use the service, like matching riders with more accessible vehicles that are easier to get in and out of since Lyft data showed older adults were twice as likely to cancel rides when they got matched with a pickup truck. And because Lyft found older adults are 57% more likely to not show up for their rides, the app has a “Get Help” button that connects riders to a live agent during work hours. Lyft Silver profiles also have trusted contacts, so ride details can be shared with family and caregivers. “Personally, thinking about my own mom and aunt, and the desire I have for them to move through their day with ease and independence, was a huge motivator,” Liu says. “We focused on building features that directly address those paint points: things like a simpler app interface with larger buttons and clearer instructions, the option for drivers who have indicated a preference for assisting older riders, and a longer wait time to enter and exit the vehicle without feeling rushed. It was about creating a service that feels less transactional and more supportive, fostering a sense of comfort and trust.” It’s simple by design, and by basing the app on the needs and experiences of its actual users, Lyft Silver shows how tech companies can better adapt their services to an aging population. View the full article

The work-from-anywhere revolution has transformed the traditional 5-day in-office routine into a blend of on-site and off-site schedules, providing employees with more flexibility and freedom. In fact, according to Owl Labs' 2024 State of Hybrid Work, 38% of employees are not working in the office full time. View the full article

Chances are, if you’re not an Italian grandma or a skilled home chef from Rome, you’ve probably messed up while trying to make cacio e pepe. At least, that’s the thesis underpinning the scientific study “Phase behavior of Cacio e Pepe sauce,” published on April 29 in the journal Physics of Fluids. The study—conducted by a group of scientists from the University of Barcelona, the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems in Germany, the University of Padova in Italy, and the Institute of Science and Technology Austria—is pretty much what its title suggests: a full-on scientific investigation into the most “optimized recipe” for the creamy, peppery pasta dish. “We’re Italians living abroad, and we often get together for dinner to enjoy traditional recipes from home,” says Ivan Di Terlizzi, the study’s lead author and a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute. “Among the dishes we’ve cooked, cacio e pepe came up several times, and every time, we were struck by how hard it is to get the sauce right. That’s when we realized it might actually be an interesting physical system to study. And of course, there was also the very practical motivation of avoiding the heartbreak of wasting good pecorino!” A very brief history of pasta-based physics experiments This isn’t the first time that pasta has been used as inspiration for physicists. Probably the most famous example of “pasta as experiment,” Di Terlizzi says, is the observation that spaghetti almost never breaks cleanly in half, tending to snap into three or more fragments instead. This fact originally puzzled renowned physicist Richard Feynman (who died in 1988) and wasn’t fully explained until 2005, when a team of French physicists showed that it’s caused by cascading cracks traveling along the pasta. Another example, Di Terlizzi adds, is the physics of ring-shaped polymers, which are “notoriously hard to understand.” A study in 2014 used a type of circular pasta, which the researchers called “anelloni,” to explain why these looped polymers behave so strangely in experiments. With cacio e pepe, the physics question of interest has to do with the sauce’s unusual behavior under heat. “The main goal of our work wasn’t just culinary; it was to explore the physics of this system,” Di Terlizzi says. “The sauce’s behavior under heat shares features with many physical and biological phenomena, like phase transitions or the formation of membrane-less organelles inside cells. The recipe is, in a sense, the practical byproduct of everything we learned.” The most optimal cacio e pepe recipe, according to scientists Cacio e pepe traditionally only includes three ingredients: pasta, pecorino Romano cheese, and black pepper. While it seems like a simple enough concoction, the sauce’s creamy smoothness (the backbone of the dish) can be quite finicky to achieve. When the temperature gets too high or the mixing of cheese and pasta water isn’t done carefully, the cheese proteins will denature—essentially “unfolding” and losing their normal 3D structure. In the unfolded state, the proteins then stick together and the emulsion breaks. “Instead of a creamy consistency, you get a gooey mess, which we call salsa impazzita . . . that is, crazy sauce,” Di Terlizzi says. The physics-based solution to “crazy sauce”? It’s all about starch. It turns out that, by perfecting the ratio of starch in the pasta water to cheese mass, the cacio e pepe sauce becomes far more resistant to heat, which stabilizes the emulsion and prevents clumping. AIP Publishing “Without starch, the so-called “mozzarella phase” kicks in at around 65°C, where the proteins start forming large aggregates,” Di Terlizzi says. “But if the starch concentration is above 1% relative to the cheese mass, the clumps stay small, and temperature becomes much less critical, making it much easier to get a good result.” This is similar to using polymers to stabilize emulsions in soft matter physics, he adds. “Phase behavior of cacio e pepe sauce” contains ultra-detailed steps to a foolproof cacio e pepe, but here are the instructions in condensed terms: Step 1: For a pasta dish for “two hungry people,” start with 300 grams of the preferred tonnarelli pasta—or opt for spaghetti or rigatoni, if you must. From there, you’ll need 200 grams of cheese. “Traditionalists would insist on using only pecorino Romano DOP [protected designation of origin], but some argue that up to 30% parmigiano Reggiano DOP is acceptable; though this remains a point of debate,” the recipe notes. Proceed based on your own personally held cheese preferences. Step 2: To prepare the sauce, dissolve 5 grams of starch—like potato or corn starch—in 50 grams of water. Heat this mixture gently until it thickens and turns from cloudy to nearly clear. This is your starch gel. Step 3: Add 100 grams of water to the starch gel. Instead of manually grating the cheese into the resulting liquid, blend the two together to achieve a homogeneous sauce. Finish the sauce by adding black pepper to taste (for best results, toast the pepper in a pan before adding). Step 4: To prepare the pasta, cook in slightly salted water until it is al dente. Save some of the pasta cooking water before draining. Once the pasta has been drained, let it cool down for up to a minute to prevent the excessive heat from destabilizing the sauce. Finally, mix the pasta with the sauce, ensuring even coating, and adjust the consistency by gradually adding reserved pasta water as needed. Step 5: Garnish with grated cheese and pepper, and serve. View the full article