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Every April, the internet fills up with green logos, limited-edition packaging, and pledges that will be quietly retired by May. We’ve gotten good at calling that out. Greenwashing is understood, documented, and increasingly prosecuted. What we talk about less is the other problem: the brands that are actually doing the work, but have stopped saying so. Both are failures. Just different kinds. Here’s what’s actually happening. The share of S&P 100 companies using “ESG” in their sustainability report titles dropped from 40% in 2023 to just 6% in 2025. But the work hasn’t stopped. According to a 2025 EcoVadis study, 87% of U.S. companies have actually increased sustainability spending even with regulatory uncertainty. They’re doing it, they’re just not saying it. PwC called it an “era of quiet progress.” I’d call it fear. Greenwashing lawsuits are real, regulatory scrutiny is tightening, and overclaiming—even when the underlying work is solid—has become a liability. So the brands with the most credibility have gone silent, and the ones with the least credibility have filled the space. When the brands getting it right say nothing, the people who depend on that story lose more than a narrative. Farming communities lose the market signal that makes regenerative practices economically viable. Ecosystems lose the investment that keeps them standing. Employees who chose their employer because they believed in what it stood for lose the culture they signed up for. And consumers who would have chosen differently—who would have paid a little more if they understood what that dollar was actually doing—never get the chance. WHAT WALKING THE WALK ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE At Yerba Madre, we make yerba mate—a naturally caffeinated plant that’s been shared in South American communities for centuries. We brought it to the U.S. nearly 30 years ago. It only grows in one place: the Atlantic Forest, one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth, with more than 85% of its original canopy already gone. That geography is why our business model exists. The 257 Indigenous and small family farms we work with across Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil aren’t suppliers. They’re communities that have stewarded this land for generations. The forest is still standing in the places we source from because that relationship with the land has never been broken—and our job has been to make sure our business doesn’t break it either. We pay above-market prices on multiyear contracts, cocreate shade-grown practices with each community based on their land and culture, and reinvest a portion of every sale back into restoration. That commitment is written into our legal structure as a social purpose corporation. It took nearly 30 years to build. This kind of on-the-ground work doesn’t often make headlines on its own. But it’s baked into the price. A can of Yerba Madre costs more than the alternative because the farmers who grew it earn a living wage and the forest they farm in is still standing. Marketing exists to make that clear—not to apologize for the price, but to make people understand what they’re actually paying for. When that story goes untold, consumers lose the ability to choose with intention. And the whole model loses the one thing it needs to survive: people who get it. HONESTY IS THE STRATEGY The brands that will earn trust aren’t the ones with the cleanest story. They’re the ones willing to tell the real story. Patagonia published a report last year admitting that their emissions went up due to a shift in product mix. They explained why and what they’re doing about it. We’ve had our own version of that. Building a fully shade-grown supply chain across three countries, with Indigenous communities and small family farmers, doesn’t happen on a straight line. There are farms still in transition, practices still being refined, and the distance between where we are and where we’re trying to go is real. We talk about that—not because it’s comfortable, but because hiding it would make the rest of the story hollow. A brand that only talks about what’s working is just a different kind of greenwashing. The way you avoid that is by making marketing responsible for more than the message. Get in the rooms where sourcing, hiring, and community decisions get made. Not to polish what comes out, but to influence what goes in—which suppliers get chosen and why, what living wage actually means in practice, which certifications the business is willing to be held to. EARTH MONTH IS THE MOMENT, NOT THE METHOD Don’t treat Earth Month like a campaign—and don’t skip it out of fear either. Both are the wrong answer. If your brief starts with “what can we do for Earth Month?” you’re solving the wrong problem. If it starts with “what are we already doing that’s worth showing?” you’re on the right track. Build something worth showing, then have the courage to show it—all year, in every sourcing decision, contract, and community relationship. The communities, the ecosystems, and the consumers who would choose differently if they knew are all waiting for someone to say something true. Earth Month is just the moment to prove you will. Emily Kortlang is chief marketing officer at Yerba Madre. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. My wife and I live in an urban area where outdoor space is at a premium, so I consider our home's second floor roof deck one of its standout features. It’s sunny and relatively private—and, crucially, it’s outdoor space in a city where a Juliet balcony is often the best you can do. There are two downsides to the space, however. One is that it is plagued by bugs, especially since one of our neighbors began hosting the dreaded spotted lanternfly like they were protecting an endangered species. The other is that our cats love being on the deck, but also love launching themselves over the fence to explore the neighborhood. (Did I mention this deck is on the second floor? You haven’t lived until you’ve hunted down a lost cat across your neighbors' roofs.) The solution, for us, was to screen in the deck. First, I built a simple frame to extend the railings up a few feet, and created a pergola-like set of rafters going across to support a screen. Here’s what it looked like at that point: Framing on my deck. Credit: Jeff Somers But how to actually enclose it? I could have just stapled screen to the framing, but that would lead to a problem in the winter, when the "roof" would be laden with snow. I’m pretty good with a power drill and some pressure-treated 2x4s, but I don’t think my screen-roof would've held several feet of New Jersey snow, so my screen needed to be easily removable (and replaceable). The solution was a DIY screen-in kit from Screeneze SCREENEZE No-Spline Screened in Porch Kit - 96-in, 5 PK (Bronze) - SCREENEZE Aluminum Base & Vinyl Caps - Porch Screening System for Mesh Screen Patio Enclosure Panels $189.99 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $189.99 at Amazon After some research, I found the solutions: A screened-in porch kit from Screeneze. It’s a simple concept: You attach an aluminum base to the perimeter of whatever opening you’re screening in, stretch your screen over the base, and lightly hammer a vinyl cap on top to secure the screen in place without staples. When you need to, you can easily pry off the caps with a flathead screwdriver and remove or replace the screen. Once installed, the base of the kit looks like this: Closeup of SCREENEZE base. Credit: Jeff Somers and the caps look like this: Close up of SCREENEZE cap. Credit: Jeff Somers The aluminum base is easy to cut to size using a hacksaw or metal snippers, and the caps can be cut with a utility knife or even a decent pair of scissors, so you can customize the size of your screened area. They come in four basic colors (bronze, sand, white, and clay). The installation process was also pretty simple: I measured the perimeter, bought the necessary number of base and caps, and cut my bases to the correct lengths. You don’t have to make them exactly as long as the space you’re screening—you can cut them into smaller, more manageable lengths and attach them end-to-end, making sure you line them up so the caps can go across seams if necessary. This is especially helpful for the caps, as I found trying to hold them in place so I could hammer them home was a challenge, as they are quite bendy. Cutting them into shorter lengths made them a lot easier to work with. Phifer BetterVue High-Visibility Mesh Screen for Patio Porch, Screen Door Mesh, & Balcony - High Transparency Window Screening for Porches Roll - (48 in x 100 ft) - DIY Replacement & Repair at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now at Amazon The kit comes with all the self-tapping screws you’ll need, so you can slap the aluminum base up pretty fast. Then you just need some screen—I bought an enormous roll of the stuff from Phifer BetterVue, because it’s proved to be durable, attractive, and easy to work with. My rumpled supply of screen. Credit: Jeff Somers I cut lengths to cover the horizontal openings, and attached the screen to the top base first. That made it easy to go back, stretch the screen down, and attach the bottom and side caps, giving me a nice, tight screen that won’t block the view (or the sun). Next, I cut two large sections of screen to cover half of the “roof,” attached them to the sides using the caps, stretched them to the center, and attached them to the front and back of the deck (it was hard to stretch the top screen tightly, especially because there’s no base or cap running down the center line, so it remains a little loose, but it still does the job. Here’s what it looks like fully installed: The finished screen. Credit: Jeff Somers Screening in the deck made it the ideal outdoor spaceSo how’d it turn out? Terrific. Screening in the porch means: There are no bugs. Every once in a very long while, a winged insect makes its way into the deck area, but it’s very rare. And I haven’t seen a spotted lanternfly back there in a loooong time (though I still see them everywhere else, because, again, one of the neighbors seems determined to be a refuge for them). Pets can hang out there. I no longer have to worry about cats escaping into the neighborhood, and I don’t have to feel guilty about preventing the furry idiots from enjoying our outdoor space. They can lounge around as much as they like—they enjoy climbing the screen like spidercat, too. Maybe a bit too much. The screen doesn’t block the sun, so it’s still a bright, pleasant place to hang out, grill, or do whatever else. It's easy to remove and reinstall. When the weather turns, I can pry off the caps and roll back the screen in about ten minutes, so I don’t have to worry about snow loads destroying everything. And when the screen gets torn, I just undo that section and pop in a fresh screen, a process that takes five minutes at most. The Screeneze kit has lasted years, through some pretty gnarly weather, and it’s still in almost-new shape. If you’ve got a deck, pergola, or porch, screening it in can make a more enjoyable and more useful space, and this kit will make doing that a fairly simple job. View the full article

A reader writes: I’m doing an internship at a nonprofit. My current boss is getting a promotion and changing jobs. She was a great boss and I want to thank her and keep the mentorship going, but I’m not sure how to do so without being awkward. Any ideas? Tell her! Let her know that you’ve really appreciated working for her and why — be specific here about what she’s taught you, if you can — and say that you’d love to stay in touch and potentially even meet up for coffee occasionally. You could say, “I respect your judgment so much that I’d love to be able to come to you as a sounding board in the future, if that’s something you’re open to.” From there, make a point of emailing her a few times a year with updates about what’s going on in your career, or times you’ve put things you’ve learned from her into practice (most people love hearing the latter). People early in their careers tend to underestimate how much people senior to them enjoy hearing this kind of thing; it’s easy to figure they’re too busy or important to care about your updates, but usually people really love this stuff. (And the fact that your boss has been a good mentor to you up until now says she’s probably someone who would really enjoy it.) You can also suggest coffee occasionally. Aim for once a year but look for signs she’d be open to doing it more often. One secret key to making this work is being openly appreciative when you talk to her. The people I’ve spent the most time mentoring are the ones who make a point of telling me how it’s helped them; that feels great and is a real motivator to continue being generous with people. The post how can I keep my boss as a mentor when she leaves? appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

A new reality is setting in for travelers worldwide: rising fees, fewer flight options, and difficult decisions about whether a trip is worth the cost. The culprit is volatile oil and jet fuel prices, which have spiked sharply since the war in the Middle East began and fighting near the narrow Strait of Hormuz created a chokepoint for global oil supplies. “Volatility is the real story here,” said Shye Gilad, a former airline captain who now teaches at Georgetown University’s business school. “Right now, the airlines are trying to make bets on what they think will happen in the future.” Airlines are responding cautiously, trimming schedules and adjusting prices in ways that experts say will ripple unevenly across the market but ultimately affect nearly every type of traveler. Budget airlines and the price-conscious customers who rely on them are likely to feel the pinch first and most acutely, experts say, but even travelers in premium cabins won’t escape the higher prices and less convenient schedules. Oil prices have swung wildly in recent weeks, briefly topping $119 a barrel at one point, plunging Wednesday below $95 on news of a two-week ceasefire that temporarily reopened the Strait of Hormuz, and then climbing back toward $100 on Thursday as uncertainty over the fragile deal grew. Iran again closed the key artery for global oil shipments in response to Israeli strikes Wednesday in Lebanon. “When prices move quickly in both directions, it’s very hard for airlines to make predictions,” Gilad said. “That’s why there’s a lag between oil market moves and what passengers see in ticket prices.” In other words, even when oil prices drop, travelers may not see relief right away. Gilad said airlines can take months, sometimes even up to a year, to adjust prices as they wait for energy markets to stabilize. “At this level of fuel, it’s hard to call anything temporary,” Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told reporters this week after the Atlanta-based carrier raised its checked baggage fees. Global squeeze, local effects Bastian said Wednesday as Delta kicked off the earnings season for U.S. airlines that the higher fuel prices are expected to add $2 billion in operating expenses in the second quarter alone. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said in a recent memo to staff that if jet fuel prices stay elevated, it would mean an additional $11 billion in annual costs. That’s more than double what United earned in its most profitable year. “For perspective,” Kirby wrote, “in United’s best year ever, we made less than $5B.” According to the International Air Transport Association, the average global jet fuel price rose to $209 per barrel last week, up from roughly $99 at the end of February when the war started. Travelers from the U.S. to Hong Kong and New Delhi are paying the price. U.S. carriers are embedding the higher operating costs into ticket prices and add-on fees. Delta, United, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue have all increased their checked baggage fees. United has moved beyond add-ons to adjust pricing in its front cabins. The carrier said last week it is bringing the “pay for what you want” approach already standard in economy to its premium cabins, turning perks like advanced seat selection and fully refundable tickets into optional extras. Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific recently bumped fuel surcharges by roughly 34% across all routes, while Air India on Monday added up to $280 in fees to some flights. Emirates, Lufthansa and KLM have also adjusted fees or fares to keep pace with the price volatility. Experts say flexibility — and careful monitoring — can help offset the rising fares. Fare-tracking tools can alert travelers to price changes and compare multiple options in one place. Booking early and checking nearby airports can lock in better prices, while refundable tickets make it easier to cancel and rebook if fares drop. Traveling light with just a carry-on can also help avoid the rising bag fees. Flight cuts to cut costs For some travelers, it’s not just the cost — it’s the uncertainty that’s changing how they’re planning trips. Bill Moorehouse, 50, a solutions director at a global provider of business and technology services, routinely travels for work every four to six weeks. “When you have business trips and you have a carefully coordinated schedule, you don’t want unknowns and disruptions. And right now, it just feels like it’s more likely that things could go wrong and throw your trip off course,” the Cupertino, California, resident said. For now, he’s staying closer to home. “I think it’s a good time to do your spring cleaning and reconnect with friends locally,” Moorehouse said. Airlines, meanwhile, are also adjusting how much they fly. BNP Paribas estimates that global schedules for April have been cut roughly 5% compared with earlier plans. Most reductions are in the Middle East, the global investment bank said, though smaller cuts were also emerging in Europe, Asia and North America. United Airlines is cutting about 5% of its planned flights in the near term, trimming less profitable routes and suspending some international service temporarily rather than “burning cash” on trips that can’t absorb the more expensive fuel costs. The airline’s CEO said the cuts will target redeye flights and routes on historically slower travel days such as Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. Delta is scrapping plans to add more flights and seats in June, leaving about 3.5% fewer seats than originally planned. Travel plans upended These moves show why major carriers are better positioned to weather the spike in fuel prices than budget carriers, whose “no frills” model leaves them with less flexibility. Bigger airlines can lean on dynamic pricing, sell more seats at higher fares or swap in larger planes on certain routes, letting them cut flights without losing overall capacity. “Leisure travelers and budget conscious travelers are going to absolutely feel it first because it may make the difference between going and not going,” Gilad said. It’s already made the difference for Anna Del Vecchio. The 36-year-old Seattle resident has made it an annual springtime tradition to visit family in Philadelphia before flying to Paris to see friends she met as a teenager during a volunteer internship. Her credit card points typically cover the roundtrip flight, but ticket prices now hover around $1,400 — about double what she has paid in past years. “It wasn’t even scratching the surface for the flight this time,” she said, “so I decided to delay the trip.” But if airfare tops $1,500, she might not be able to make a journey she hasn’t missed in years. “It might be the kind of thing where it just ends up being that I have to travel less.” —Rio Yamat, AP Airlines and Travel Writer View the full article

I've written before about various software tricks to nudge a smartphone toward dumb-phone territory: stripping the home screen down to essentials, enabling greyscale mode, scheduling downtime windows. I tried all of it, and for a time it worked for me, but only in the way that hiding a bag of chips in a high cabinet works—technically an obstacle, but not really a barrier. One tap to "Ignore Limit," and I'm back to scrolling. The problem is that the key to unlock everything is right there in your pocket. Turns out I needed a small device called Brick to physically restrain me create a physical barrier, and I can feel my screen time habits finally change for the better. The Brick Phone Access Blocker Device - Subscription-Free Phone Lock, Limits Smartphone Access, Reduces Screen Time & Improves Focus - High-Grade Magnet & Anti-Slip Silicone $59.00 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $59.00 at Amazon How Brick works with your smartphoneBrick is a small NFC fob—roughly the size of an AirPods case—paired with an app. You open the app, pick which apps or sites to block (or flip it around: choose only the apps you want to keep, and everything else gets blocked), name it something like Work or Family Time (or just Sanity), and tap your phone to the Brick to activate it. That's it. And to get everything back, you have to physically walk to wherever you left the Brick and tap again. Each Brick comes with five emergency unbricks you can trigger from the app. I appreciate that those exist, and luckily, I haven't had to use them yet. Why Brick actually helps you reduce your screen timeHere's the thing I keep coming back to: Every digital-based solution asks you to rely on yourself in the exact moment you're weakest. By the time you're faced with the "Ignore Limit" option, you've already picked up your phone. You're already mid-habit. Brick changes the physicality of the problem. I've found that the greatest service Brick provides is that it doesn't ask you to resist temptation in the moment; instead, it forces you to set an intention earlier, then it makes that intention stick through physical separation rather than willpower. The research on behavior change says this is exactly the right approach. Environment design beats in-the-moment resolve almost every time. (I just apparently needed a $59 piece of hardware to finally internalize that). I do have to be honest about how ridiculous this is for me: I spent a lot of money on my phone. And I have now spent additional money ($59) specifically to stop using it. Oh well! That's where my screen time had brought me. On the bright side, Brick is a one-time purchase with no need for a subscription or "premium plan." I'll admit I hesitated to make any purchase, given the irony of the situation and my desire to simply have more willpower. But I've realized my time and attention span is worth the cost, and I'm annoyed it took me this long to act on it. View the full article

When considering the relationship between corporations and LLCs, it is crucial to understand their distinct characteristics and how they function in the business environment. Both structures offer limited liability, protecting personal assets from business debts. Nevertheless, they differ in ownership, management, and taxation, which can greatly impact your business decisions. As you navigate these options, you’ll need to weigh their advantages and disadvantages to determine which structure aligns best with your goals and needs. Key Takeaways Both corporations and LLCs provide limited liability protection, safeguarding personal assets from business-related liabilities. Corporations and LLCs differ in ownership structure, with corporations having shareholders and LLCs having members. Corporations face double taxation, while LLCs benefit from pass-through taxation, avoiding taxes on business profits at the entity level. LLCs offer more flexible management options compared to the formal structure required for corporations, including the absence of a mandatory board. Compliance requirements for corporations are more stringent, including mandatory meetings and detailed record-keeping, whereas LLCs have lower regulatory burdens. Overview of Corporations and LLCs When considering the structure of a business, it’s essential to understand the key differences between corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs). Corporations, often structured as C corps, are owned by shareholders and managed through a formal hierarchy, including a Board of Directors. Conversely, LLCs are owned by members and offer more flexible management options. One of the key advantages of a corporation is its ability to raise capital by issuing shares, simplifying ownership transfer. LLCs, on the other hand, have more complex transfer processes requiring member consent and typically provide limited liability company membership benefits, protecting personal assets from business liabilities. Tax treatment similarly differs; LLCs typically benefit from pass-through taxation, whereas corporations may face double taxation. Furthermore, corporations must adhere to stricter regulations, such as holding annual meetings, compared to the fewer compliance obligations required of LLCs, making them a more straightforward option for some business owners. Key Differences in Ownership Structures Comprehending the ownership structures of corporations and LLCs is crucial for making informed business decisions. Corporations are owned by shareholders who buy and sell shares, making ownership transfer easier. Conversely, LLCs are owned by one or more members, with ownership interests not represented by stock certificates, which may require member consent for transfer. Shareholders enjoy rights based on their stock ownership, whereas LLC members can customize their financial rights through an operating agreement. Moreover, corporations have a formal management structure, with a Board of Directors elected by shareholders, whereas LLCs offer more flexibility in management, allowing for member-managed or manager-managed options. Significantly, ownership in corporations can continue indefinitely regardless of changes in shareholders, whereas LLCs may face limits depending on their operating agreements or state regulations. You might wonder, do LLC companies get 1099? And can a corporation be an LLC? These questions highlight the intricacies in ownership structures. Limited Liability Protections Offered Limited liability protections offered by both corporations and LLCs play a crucial role in safeguarding your personal assets from business-related liabilities. With these protections, you’re typically not personally liable for business debts beyond your investment in the entity. This means that if your business faces financial difficulties or legal challenges, your personal assets, like your home or savings, are often safe from creditors. This limited liability feature is a significant reason why many entrepreneurs opt for corporations or LLCs instead of sole proprietorships or general partnerships. It allows you to manage risks effectively, enabling you to take calculated business risks without jeopardizing your personal financial security. Nonetheless, it’s important to note that in cases of fraud or misuse of the business entity, courts may “pierce the corporate veil,” potentially exposing you to personal liability in spite of the protections in place. Tax Implications for Corporations and LLCs How do tax implications differ between corporations and LLCs? LLCs are typically treated as pass-through entities, meaning profits and losses flow directly to your personal tax return, avoiding double taxation. Conversely, C corporations face double taxation; their profits are taxed at the corporate level, and dividends to shareholders incur additional taxes on personal returns. Nevertheless, S corporations offer a compromise, allowing profits and losses to pass directly to shareholders, provided they meet IRS criteria. Although LLC owners may face self-employment taxes on their share of profits, corporation shareholders only pay taxes on dividends received. As of 2018, corporations pay a flat federal tax rate of 21% on profits, whereas LLCs have the option to elect corporate taxation if it suits their financial situation better. Comprehending these differences can help you make informed decisions about your business structure and tax liabilities. Management and Compliance Requirements Comprehending the differences in management and compliance requirements is crucial when choosing between a corporation and an LLC. Corporations must adopt corporate bylaws and appoint a Board of Directors, whereas LLCs enjoy a flexible structure that can be member-managed or manager-managed without needing a formal board. Annual meetings for shareholders and directors are mandatory for corporations, and they must keep detailed minutes. Conversely, LLCs aren’t required to hold regular meetings, allowing for a less formal approach. Both entities need to comply with state maintenance and reporting requirements to maintain limited liability status, but corporations typically face more annual compliance obligations. For instance, corporations must file annual reports and may incur franchise taxes. LLCs, while similarly needing to file, usually experience lower compliance costs. Even though creating an operating agreement is advisable for LLCs, it’s not legally required, unlike the mandatory bylaws for corporations that often become public records. Choosing Between a Corporation and an LLC When you’re choosing between a corporation and an LLC, it’s essential to take into account the tax implications and management flexibility. LLCs usually allow pass-through taxation, meaning profits and losses appear on your personal tax return, whereas corporations might face double taxation on their earnings. Furthermore, corporations offer a structured management approach that can help attract investors, whereas LLCs provide more flexibility in how you manage your business. Tax Implications Comparison Choosing between a corporation and an LLC can considerably impact your financial obligations, particularly regarding taxation. LLCs usually benefit from pass-through taxation, meaning profits and losses appear on your individual tax returns, thereby avoiding the double taxation common with corporations. Conversely, corporations face taxation at both the corporate and personal levels when dividends are distributed. S Corporations offer a middle ground, allowing for pass-through taxation as well as providing liability protections, if eligible. Here’s a quick comparison: Entity Type Taxation Method Additional Taxes LLC Pass-through Self-employment taxes Corporation Double taxation Tax on dividends S Corporation Pass-through Tax on dividends Understanding these differences will help you make an informed choice. Management Flexibility Evaluation After considering the tax implications of corporations and LLCs, the management structure becomes another important factor in your decision-making process. LLCs offer a flexible management approach, allowing you to choose between member-managed or manager-managed options. Conversely, corporations require a formal hierarchy with a Board of Directors and designated officers. This structure demands adherence to strict formalities, like annual meetings and maintaining corporate bylaws. LLCs usually impose fewer compliance requirements, granting you more operational flexibility. Furthermore, you can customize management provisions in an LLC’s operating agreement, enhancing privacy regarding internal affairs. Although corporations separate ownership from management, which can streamline decision-making, LLCs enable direct owner involvement in daily operations, making them appealing for small businesses seeking management flexibility. Frequently Asked Questions Does an LLC Fall Under a Corporation? An LLC doesn’t fall under a corporation; it’s a separate legal entity. In addition, both provide limited liability protection, LLCs have different ownership structures since they’re owned by members, not shareholders. LLCs likewise face fewer formalities, meaning you won’t need to hold annual meetings or maintain bylaws like a corporation does. Furthermore, LLCs typically enjoy flexible management and can opt for pass-through taxation, simplifying the tax process for their members. Is It Better for an LLC to Be Taxed as a Corporation? It can be beneficial for an LLC to be taxed as a corporation, especially if you want to retain profits and limit self-employment taxes. By choosing corporate taxation, you might take advantage of a lower flat tax rate of 21% on profits. Furthermore, this option allows you to issue stock, attracting outside investors for growth. Nevertheless, it’s essential to evaluate your business’s financial situation and future goals, often consulting a CPA or tax attorney for guidance. What Are the Key Differences Between an LLC and a Corporation? The key differences between an LLC and a corporation lie in ownership structure, management, and taxation. LLCs are owned by members, whereas corporations are owned by shareholders. LLCs offer flexible management without strict formalities, unlike corporations requiring boards and meetings. For tax purposes, LLCs typically allow pass-through taxation, avoiding double taxation, whereas corporations may face it. Furthermore, corporations can issue stock, whereas LLCs don’t, and forming each requires different legal documents. Why Would a Corporation Own an LLC? A corporation might own an LLC to limit liability exposure, as it provides an extra layer of protection for assets against legal claims. By owning an LLC, you can benefit from pass-through taxation, simplifying tax reporting. This structure likewise allows for engaging in joint ventures while maintaining operational flexibility. Furthermore, having an LLC can attract investors by offering a customizable ownership structure, which can appeal to different investment strategies and diversify business operations. Conclusion In conclusion, choosing between a corporation and an LLC depends on your specific business needs. Although both structures provide limited liability protection, they differ in ownership, taxation, and management requirements. Corporations face double taxation, whereas LLCs enjoy pass-through taxation. Comprehending these distinctions will help you make an informed decision that aligns with your goals. Finally, evaluating your business model and future plans will guide you in selecting the right entity to improve your business’s credibility and protect your personal assets. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "Relationship Between Corporations and LLCs" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Small business owners navigating customer feedback just gained a powerful tool with the new integration of SurveyMonkey’s automated SMS survey invites into Salesforce. This enhancement promises to streamline how businesses solicit feedback, making it easier to connect with customers and gather valuable insights. The seamless integration allows Salesforce users to send text message survey invitations directly from their customer relationship management (CRM) platform. By tapping into the vast reach of SMS, small businesses can engage with their customers in real-time, which can lead to higher response rates and more actionable data. This development addresses a significant challenge for small business owners: obtaining timely and relevant feedback. Traditionally, surveys sent via email often fall victim to spam filters or get buried beneath an avalanche of promotional messages. In contrast, SMS messages boast a staggering open rate of over 90%, increasing the likelihood that customers will engage. “Our mission is to empower businesses to collect feedback effectively,” said a spokesperson from SurveyMonkey. “With this integration, businesses can now automatically reach out to customers using the preferred communication channel of many—text messaging. This not only enhances the customer experience but also allows businesses to make data-driven decisions quickly.” Small businesses can harness this feature in various practical ways. For instance, after a customer has made a purchase, a quick text survey can gauge satisfaction and provide insights into their shopping experience. Similarly, service-based businesses can solicit feedback immediately after a service is rendered, enabling prompt adjustments if needed. These insights can inform ongoing improvements and help businesses tailor their offerings to meet customer needs better. Implementing this technology does require careful consideration. Small business owners should remain mindful of the importance of compliance with regulations such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The act mandates that businesses must obtain explicit consent from customers before sending SMS messages, which adds an additional layer of responsibility when utilizing this new feature. Moreover, while the integration is designed for ease of use, small business managers must ensure that their staff are adequately trained on how to use it effectively. Without proper training, the benefits of automating SMS invitations could be thwarted by user error or mismanagement. Another potential challenge lies in the need for strategic timing when asking for feedback. Bombarding customers with surveys immediately after a purchase or interaction could lead to survey fatigue, which might result in lower response rates. Key to successful engagement is finding the right balance in messaging frequency and timing. As small businesses evaluate whether to adopt this technology, it’s also vital to consider whether their current customer base would respond well to SMS surveys. A target demographic inclined toward mobile communication is more likely to engage effectively with this method. Ultimately, SurveyMonkey’s integration with Salesforce allows small business owners not only to gather feedback easily but also to respond to customer needs more proactively. Based on the insights collected through SMS surveys, businesses can make informed adjustments that ultimately enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. For more detailed information about this new offering, visit the original post here. In a landscape where customer feedback is invaluable, tools that facilitate timely and relevant insights may very well be game-changers for small businesses ready to thrive and adapt. Image via Google Gemini This article, "SurveyMonkey Integrates SMS Surveys with Salesforce for Effortless Feedback" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

The 30-year fixed fell to 6.37% after a two-week ceasefire tempered war-driven volatility, but economists warn the spring housing market faces continued turbulence. View the full article

Research published by City Hall found accounts aligned with the extreme right are among those smearing the capital onlineView the full article

Google is narrowing the scope of its Performance Planner tool, signaling a shift toward conversion-focused campaign types and away from impression-based planning. What’s happening. As of last month Performance Planner no longer supports planning for Display and Video campaigns, and removes access to plans using impression share, top impression share or absolute top impression share metrics. Why we care. Google is deprioritizing impression-based planning, making it harder to forecast and optimize upper-funnel campaigns like Display and Video within native tools. This could mean a shift toward conversion-focused strategies and automation, meaning advertisers may need to rethink how they plan awareness campaigns and measure success outside of traditional impression share metrics. The big picture. Google Ads is continuing to prioritize automation and performance-driven outcomes, aligning its planning tools more closely with campaign types like Search, Shopping, App, Demand Gen, Local and Performance Max. How it works now. Advertisers can still use Performance Planner for supported campaign types, but any existing plans that include Display or Video campaigns — or rely on impression share metrics — can no longer be viewed or edited. What to watch. How advertisers adapt their forecasting and planning for upper-funnel channels like Display and Video, which now lack native support in the tool. Bottom line. Google is doubling down on performance-driven planning — and leaving impression-based strategies increasingly on the sidelines. View the full article

When you’re considering a business line of credit, knowing your options can make a significant difference. Five JPMorgan Chase stand out for their offerings, each with unique features that cater to various business needs. From flexible amounts to quick funding solutions, these banks provide crucial financial tools for growth. Comprehending what each bank offers will help you make an informed choice. Let’s explore these top contenders and what they can do for your business. Key Takeaways Wells Fargo offers lines from $10,000 to $3 million with competitive interest rates, making it a strong option for larger businesses. Bank of America features secured lines with rates starting at 9.25% and no origination fees, appealing for cost-conscious borrowers. Bluevine provides quick funding for unsecured lines up to $250,000, with approval and access to funds in as little as 24 hours. OnDeck specializes in unsecured lines up to $100,000, requiring a minimum credit score of 625 for fast access to capital. Fundation offers flexible repayment terms and customized credit amounts, catering to diverse business financing needs. Overview of Business Lines of Credit A business line of credit is a flexible financial tool that allows small businesses to access funds as needed, much like a credit card. With a bank line of credit, you can borrow amounts ranging from $30,000 to $250,000. Interest is charged only on the amount you draw, typically starting at 3.00% and potentially reaching 39.60%. You’ll find two main types: secured lines, which require collateral and offer lower rates, and unsecured lines, which don’t require collateral but may have higher rates and personal guarantees. To qualify, you usually need a personal credit score between 600 and 700, though some lenders accept lower scores, and a minimum business duration of 3 months to 2 years. When you fill out a business credit application, you can explore how to open a credit line that supports your cash flow management, unexpected expenses, and business growth. Top 5 Banks for Business Lines of Credit When searching for a business line of credit, it’s essential to evaluate the offerings of various banks, as each provides unique features that can cater to your specific needs. Wells Fargo is often regarded as a best bank for business line of credit, offering amounts from $10,000 to $3 million with competitive interest rates. Bank of America provides secured lines with no origination fee, requiring a minimum six months in business and competitive rates starting at 9.25%. Bluevine stands out with fast funding, offering unsecured lines ranging from $5,000 to $250,000, and funding as soon as 24 hours after approval. OnDeck specializes in quick access to unsecured lines up to $100,000, requiring a minimum credit score of 625. Finally, Fundation offers flexible repayment terms and customized credit amounts, making it another strong contender for the best bank for business line of credit. Key Features to Consider Evaluating a business line of credit requires careful consideration of several key features that can greatly impact your financing options. Comprehending these aspects can help you choose the right line for your business. Interest Rates: These can range from 3.00% to 39.60%, depending on the lender and your qualifications. Loan Amounts: Typically, amounts range from $1,000 to $250,000, so make certain they align with your business needs. Repayment Terms: Terms can vary considerably, with some lenders offering as short as 3 months and others extending up to 624 months. Credit Score Requirements: Most lenders require a minimum credit score of 600, which can affect your eligibility and terms. Taking the time to assess these features guarantees you make an informed decision, finally supporting your business’s financial health and growth. Application Process for Business Lines of Credit Maneuvering the application process for a business line of credit can be straightforward, especially if you gather the necessary information beforehand. Typically, you’ll start by completing a short online form that takes less than 10 minutes. Most lenders ask for basic details such as your business name, address, revenue, and personal credit score; many accept scores as low as 600. You may additionally need to provide documentation like financial statements, tax returns, and proof of income to verify your business’s financial health. Approval times can vary considerably by lender, with some online options offering funding as quickly as one business day after submission. It’s likewise beneficial to know that checking rates during the application process usually won’t impact your credit score, so you can explore multiple options without worrying about your creditworthiness. This approach allows you to make informed decisions as you secure the right financing for your business needs. Comparison of Rates and Terms Grasping the rates and terms associated with business lines of credit is crucial for making informed financial decisions. Comprehending how these factors can influence your borrowing experience allows you to choose the best option for your needs. Here are some key points to reflect upon: Interest Rates: Typically range from 3.00% to 39.60%, varying by lender and borrower qualifications. Loan Amounts: Can range from $1,000 to $750,000, depending on the lender and credit line product. Repayment Terms: Usually vary from 3 months to 24 months, providing flexibility in cash flow management. Credit Score Requirements: Often start at 600, with some lenders seeking scores of 680 or higher for better terms. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Best Bank for Business Line of Credit? When choosing the best bank for a business line of credit, consider factors like interest rates, credit score requirements, and repayment terms. Banks like American Express and Fundbox offer competitive options with lower credit score thresholds, whereas others, like Bank of America, target established businesses with higher revenue requirements. Assess your business’s financial situation and needs carefully to find a suitable lender that aligns with your goals and financial capacity. What Credit Score Do You Need for a Business Line of Credit? To secure a business line of credit, you’ll typically need a personal credit score ranging from 600 to 700. A higher score increases your chances of getting favorable terms. Some online lenders may accept scores around 600, but you’ll face higher interest rates. Traditional banks often require a score of 680 or above. Furthermore, maintaining a strong credit history is essential, as it impacts both approval chances and the terms offered by lenders. What Is the Monthly Payment on a $50,000 Business Loan? The monthly payment on a $50,000 business loan varies based on the interest rate and loan term. For instance, at a 10% interest rate over five years, you’d pay approximately $1,061 monthly. If the interest rate is 8% with a three-year term, your payment would increase to around $1,570. It’s essential to take into account additional fees, as they can impact the total repayment amount greatly. Always calculate your loan costs carefully before proceeding. What’s the Best Bank to Use for an LLC? When you’re choosing a bank for your LLC, consider factors like interest rates, fees, and customer service. Major banks, such as Bank of America and Wells Fargo, offer various business services customized to LLCs, but online lenders like Bluevine and Fundbox can provide more flexible options. Be sure to check their credit score requirements and annual revenue expectations, as these will greatly impact your ability to secure financing for your business. Conclusion In conclusion, selecting the right bank for a business line of credit is essential for your financial strategy. Each of the top five banks offers distinct features, such as flexible amounts, competitive rates, and quick funding options. Consider your business’s specific needs and financial situation when comparing these offerings. By comprehending the key features and application processes, you can make an informed decision that best supports your growth and operational goals. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Best 5 Banks for Business Lines of Credit" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Oil prices are climbing back toward $100 per barrel on Thursday, while stock markets worldwide slow following their big gains from the day before. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% as the United States, Iran, and Israel disagreed on the details of their two-week ceasefire, whose announcement had sent markets flying in optimism on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 40 points, or 0.1%, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% lower. The oil market was jumpier, and the price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude oil climbed 6.8% to $100.79. It rose after semiofficial news agencies in Iran suggested forces have mined the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that has been at the center of President Donald The President’s demands of Iran. Blockages there have kept oil and natural gas stuck in the Persian Gulf, away from customers worldwide. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 3.7% to $98.24 per barrel. It’s well below the $119 level that it briefly reached when worries about the war reached their height, but it’s still well above its roughly $70 level from before the war. Given how far apart the United States and Iran seem to be in their demands, upward pressure on oil prices may be “here to stay for a while,” according to strategists at Macquarie led by Thierry Wizman. Risks remain for renewed fighting, which could cause customers worldwide to hoard whatever oil supplies they do get. That could itself keep oil off the market, much like actual fighting targeting pipelines or oil tankers. On Wall Street, Simply Good Foods tumbled 15.1% after the company behind the Quest and Atkins brands reported a worse drop in revenue than analysts expected. CEO Joe Scalzo called the results unsatisfactory and said the company is making immediate changes to turn around its performance. Constellation Brands rallied 5.3% for one of the market’s bigger gains after reporting stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company, which sells Modelo beer and Robert Mondavi wines, said it saw encouraging trends heading into its new fiscal year. But given “limited near-term visibility,” it pulled its financial forecasts for the following fiscal year. A suite of mixed reports on the U.S. economy also helped to keep Wall Street in check. One said an underlying measure of inflation that the Federal Reserve considers important was slightly hotter in February than economists expected. It decelerated before the war with Iran began, but not by as much as economists expected. A separate report said that more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected. The number was not very high compared with history, but it could indicate an acceleration in layoffs. Treasury yields swiveled up and down in the bond market following the reports before ticking higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.31% from 4.29% late Wednesday. Its leap from 3.97% before the war began has sent rates up for mortgages and other kinds of loans going to U.S. households and businesses. If oil prices stay high and keep upward pressure on inflation, the Federal Reserve would have difficulty resuming its cuts to interest rates to help the slowing economy, even if the job market weakens. A growing number of Fed officials seem to be considering the possibility of a hike in rates, according to minutes of their latest meeting released on Wednesday. In stock markets abroad, South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.6%, and Germany’s DAX lost 1.4% for two of the world’s biggest moves. —Stan Choe, AP business writer AP Writers Chan Ho-him, Matt Ott, and Aniruddha Ghosal contributed to this report. View the full article

A reader writes: I would love some feedback/advice for how to deal with a difficult colleague in a different department. We work with this department to handle legal mattes for our group, so we have to liaise with him occasionally. He is a terrible communicator. Every time we meet, he goes on long, irrelevant tangents that are the same or similar each time. We usually have a lot to cover in these meetings, and I hate wasting time when things need to get done. At our most recent meeting, he had rescheduled a number of times and then at the last minute decided to call in rather than show up in person (so I was already annoyed). After being asked direct, straightforward questions, he started going on and on (and on) about something that wasn’t relevant. In the middle of his monologue, I interrupted him and said, “Thank you, but I’d like to keep this moving, we have a lot to cover.” We moved on, but we could tell he was frustrated, and my two colleagues in the room told me afterwards that I shouldn’t have done that. He is senior to me and his role is really important, and I don’t want to be rude. But I also don’t want to continue sitting in countless meetings where things don’t get done because this person can’t do his job effectively. Help! I answer this question over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding my answers to them). You can read it here. The post how do I interrupt a monologuing coworker during a meeting? appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

The Mortgage Bankers Association found gains in March for conforming, jumbo and government-sponsored loan indices for the third consecutive month. View the full article

Remember the iPod? It’s making a quiet comeback. Four years after Apple killed off its digital music player, secondhand sales are surging. It’s fueled in part by young people interested not just in its retro looks but a desire to listen to music in a focused way and with playlists not determined by algorithms. “There’s a growing trend, particularly amongst younger users, to mitigate the ease with which they can be distracted by smartphones, often driven by mental health and well-being concerns,” said Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight. “Having a dedicated music device, such as an iPod, is a good way to reduce your dependence on a smartphone and avoid being drawn into other activities, like doomscrolling through social media feeds, when you only really want to listen to music.” If you’re interested in joining the iPod revival, here are some pointers: How to get an iPod You can’t buy a new iPod anymore but it’s not too hard to get your hands on a used one. There are still a lot of them around because Apple sold 450 million over two decades. There’s a thriving secondhand market, as evidenced by thousands of listings for used iPods on eBay. “Based on my discussions with people in the market, there has definitely been renewed interest in refurbished iPods,” said Wood. But watch out, because eBay, strangely, also has thousands of listings for new iPods. On closer inspection, they’re from China-based sellers and some buyers have left feedback complaining they received a used or refurbished device in counterfeit packaging. Facebook Marketplace, peer-to-peer reselling site Mercari and refurbished electronics platform Back Market also have plenty of listings. Back Market, which operates in the U.S., Japan and more than a dozen European countries, said iPod sales last year jumped 48% from 2024. There are also businesses dedicated to selling refurbished iPods. And there’s a chance someone you know has one gathering dust in a drawer somewhere. My 16-year-old daughter recently discovered her grandmother’s silver iPod Nano, complete with original charging cable and white earphones, in a guest room nightstand during a recent visit. For support, there’s a vibrant online community of users swapping tips and sharing pictures of their devices, many with aftermarket modifications like faceplates in non-original colors. Which iPod is it? There’s not just one single style of iPod. The original iPod, released in 2001, came with a scroll wheel that became a design signature. When the sixth generation was released, Apple started calling it the Classic. It was followed by the smaller Mini and Nano versions, and the Shuffle, which had no screen. Then came the Touch, which had a glass touch screen and ran on iOS to support mobile apps — basically an iPhone without the phone. If you’re not sure which model you have, check Apple’s identification page. Bringing it back to life So you’ve found grandma’s old iPod, but does it work? The battery could be dead so you will need a charging cable. Later generations of the iPod Touch used Apple’s Lightning cable but all other models require a 30-pin charging cable, which has a distinctive wide, flat plug. Apple doesn’t make these anymore but replacements are available from aftermarket manufacturers. If charging doesn’t revive it, the battery might need replacing. Or maybe there’s something else wrong, like a broken earphone jack or a damaged display. Apple still repairs iPods, but only for the two final generations of the Touch. You can send it to a repair service or fix it yourself if you’re feeling handy. Repair website iFixit has detailed step-by-step repair guides for replacing various components. You’ll need to source spare parts yourself. IPod Touch owners should beware of software limitations. The most recent version of Apple’s operating system that will work on the seventh generation iPod Touch — the last version ever sold — is iOS 15, and previous models are limited to even older versions. This is not an issue with other iPod variants because they don’t run iOS. Adding music Grandma’s silver iPod Nano appeared to be working fine, but I decided to start fresh by doing a factory reset to wipe the audio files left on it and restore the original settings. You’ll need a computer, either a Mac or Windows, to do this. Apple has a page that outlines the steps. Those of you with Windows computers can use Apple’s iTunes program to manage your iPod and sync up your song library. To add digital music files from your computer, drag the files into iTunes and drop them in the iPod’s music library. To add a song that you’ve bought previously in iTunes, download it first to your computer, right click on it and select “Add to Device.” Apple discontinued iTunes for MacOS in 2019 so Mac computer users will have to use Apple Music, but it’s an equally easy process of dragging and dropping files. Take note, Apple Music subscribers: you should be able to stream music on later generations of the iPod Touch. But for every other type of iPod, you’ll only be able to add and listen to music files ripped from a CD or purchased from a digital music platform. Upgrading the software Most iPods are pretty basic, in part because they’re limited by the device’s onboard firmware. But part of the iPod’s appeal is that it’s easy for hobbyists to tinker with them, said Wood. “There is definitely a movement of people looking to take iPods and modify them for modern use,” he said. One popular hack is replacing the iPod’s firmware with open-source software such as RockBox, which can be used “to upgrade an iPod to offer greater control and add features that Apple had not included or did not exist at the time,” Wood said. This includes support for high-resolution lossless music files, the ability to manage music without iTunes, and tracking what you’ve been listening to so you can upload your playlist to a platform such as Last.fm, Wood said. ___ Is there a tech topic that you think needs explaining? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your suggestions for future editions of One Tech Tip. —Kelvin Chan, AP business writer View the full article

Today's Bissett Bullet: “Very few business owners highly value compliance work. It is often viewed as a necessary evil and as such, the decision to change accountants for this sort of work will, more often than not, be driven by price.” By Martin Bissett See more Bissett Bullets here Go PRO for members-only access to more Martin Bissett. View the full article

Today's Bissett Bullet: “Very few business owners highly value compliance work. It is often viewed as a necessary evil and as such, the decision to change accountants for this sort of work will, more often than not, be driven by price.” By Martin Bissett See more Bissett Bullets here Go PRO for members-only access to more Martin Bissett. View the full article

On Wednesday, Google announced "notebooks," a new feature for Gemini designed to help organize your research materials while using the company's flagship chatbot. Google says you should think of notebooks as "personal knowledge bases shared across Google products, starting in Gemini." If that's a bit too vague for you, here's a simpler explanation: Notebooks are like Gemini chats, but designed to focus on a single topic, complete with bespoke resources Gemini can reference as you discuss that topic. How Gemini's "notebooks" workIf you're a frequent Gemini user, you probably have a number of chats spanning any number of topics. The goal of notebooks is similar, but more focused: When you know you want to start compiling resources on a specific subject, you can choose the "New notebook" option on the side panel of the Gemini app, give it a name, then start adding sources. These can be from anywhere, including your Google Drive, your computer, websites, or text from your clipboard. You can also move previous chats into this notebook, if they're relevant to the topic at hand. Once everything is in the notebook, you can start prompting Gemini and asking the AI questions about your topic. Gemini will then pull from all the resources in the notebook to offer detailed, relevant responses. Depending on your subscription plan, Google says you may be able to add more sources to notebooks, too. Credit: Google This tool isn't made in isolation. Despite launching in the Gemini app, notebooks will sync with NotebookLM, Google's deep research tool—which is perhaps its biggest perk. That means, notebooks you create in Gemini automatically appear in NotebookLM, so you can not only pick up where you left off, you can take advantage of NotebookLM's features. That means if you create a notebook in Gemini, you can open it in NotebookLM and turn your project into a video, or generate a "podcast" from your Gemini conversations. I think this cross-platform syncing is probably the best use-case for notebooks. You could already share resources with Gemini if you wanted to chat about a specific topic, but now, you have a dedicated function for that purpose, one that automatically moves across Google's AI research platforms. How to try notebooks in GeminiNotebooks will be available to all Gemini users, even those on the free tier, but paid subscribers will have first dibs: Google is rolling out the feature to AI Ultra, Pro, and Plus plans this week, and will make the feature available to mobile and free users in the coming weeks. View the full article

Metehan Yesilyurt’s SDK analysis revealed the pipeline names. We captured months of real Discover feeds to show what each pipeline actually does — volume, reach, timing, and which publishers dominate. Here’s what 42 million cards reveal about Discover’s internal architecture. What we did Over three months (December 2025 – February 2026), we observed real Discover feeds from hundreds of devices. The result: 42 million feed cards analyzed. We linked each card to the precise pipeline that selected it. Some of the names were already known from the SDK, You likely saw the SDK Analysis by Metehan Yesilyurt already. What was missing: what each pipeline does in practice. How much content it selects, how many devices see it, how fast it operates, and which publishers it favors. That’s what our data reveals. For each pipeline, we compute four metrics: Reach — percentage of devices that see each URL per day Speed — median age of articles at time of appearance Exclusivity — percentage of URLs unique to that pipeline Volume — share of total feed Explore all 20 pipelines visually: Open the interactive explorer → Screenshot of the interactive explorer — EN toggle. Not one algorithm — a layered system The common assumption: Discover uses a single recommendation algorithm. Our data tells a different story: it’s a structured system with six functional layers, each with distinct logic, speed, and audience. Each pipeline positioned by speed (X axis, log) and reach (Y). neoncluster stands out at 13% reach — the highest editorial pipeline. feedads is the extreme outlier at 58.4%. Breaking pipelines (nsh, mustntmiss) cluster top-left; personalization pipelines bottom-right. The 20 EN pipelines ranked by total volume. content dominates at 34.2%, followed by feedads (11.1%) and aura (8.7%). The 20 EN pipelines organized into 6 functional layers. Same structure as French, radically different proportions. The six layers: Core editorial — content (34.2% of volume), moonstone (7.8%, reach 9.4%), aura (8.7%, science/tech over-represented), paginationpanoptic (5.5%, scroll infrastructure), relatedcontentruby (6.7%, click-triggered related content). News urgency — mustntmiss (0.5% volume but 7.3% reach, ~2x priority boost, 29% AI Overviews content) and newsstoriesheadlines (10.6% reach, Google News story clusters). Trends — deeptrendsfable detects, deeptrends persists. Sequential pipeline: 27% pass rate, 21-hour delay. x.com is a trend signal source even in EN. Local/geo — geotargetingstories (x.com dominates at 43.2% in EN), webkicklocalstories (hyperlocal UK/US press, 67% exclusive URLs), astria (BBC 29.3%, horse racing, astrology, Showcase). Social/video — the YouTube cascade: creatorcontent (YouTube 72.4%) → freshvideos (+15h, 94% YouTube) → neoncluster (+23h, 100% YouTube, 13% reach). The cascade that doesn’t exist in French. Commercial — shoppinginspiration (13.1% reach, 2.5-day lifespan) and feedads (58.4% reach — the highest of any pipeline in any language). AI Overview — discover_ai_summary (1.1% of volume, 99.997% AI Overviews content, EN-only). Quality press: Reuters, New York Times, CNBC, Financial Times, Guardian. The four EN-specific findings The YouTube cascade: three pipelines, one content journey This is the most distinctive feature of the English feed. Three pipelines form a sequential amplifier: StagePipelineContent mixReachTiming1. Intakecreatorcontent72% YouTube, 23% x.com6.7%T₀2. Filterfreshvideos94% YouTube7.1%T₀ + 15h3. Broadcastneoncluster100% YouTube13.0%T₀ + 23h At each stage, the content narrows (from mixed to pure video) and reach increases (from 6.7% to 13%). The best YouTube content is filtered, then projected to 13% of devices — broadcast-level distribution. Growth is explosive across all three stages: creatorcontent 7.8x, freshvideos 7.2x, neoncluster 18x over three months. The video cascade is the fastest-growing part of Discover EN. In French Discover, this cascade doesn’t exist. neoncluster has 36 hits in 3 months. The conditions — YouTube-dominant social, pure video content, broadcast audience — are only met in English. The three-stage video cascade: creatorcontent (intake, 1.9h) → freshvideos (amplifier, 8.6h) → neoncluster (broadcast, 17.3h, 13% reach). At each stage, content narrows toward pure video and reach increases. AI Overviews have landed in Discover — but only in EN AI Overviews — the AI-generated summary card — has been added to Discover. But only in English. discover_ai_summary: 1.1% of EN volume, 99.997% AI Overview content. Reuters (12.3%), New York Times (7.5%), CNBC (7.3%). Finance and space over-represented. mustntmiss: 29% AI Overviews content — the highest penetration of any non-dedicated pipeline. paginationpanoptic: 7.8% AI Overviews — even the scroll infrastructure carries AI summaries In French: Almost no AI Overview hits in 3 months. AI Overviews content rate per pipeline. discover_ai_summary at 99.997%, mustntmiss at 29%, paginationpanoptic at 7.8%. AI Overviews exist only in English Discover. The AI Overviews source club is small and elite: Reuters, New York Times, CNBC, Financial Times, Guardian. Factual, structured, financial press. AI Overviews in Discover don’t democratize visibility — they concentrate it. feedads reaches 58% of English devices feedads is the single most powerful pipeline by reach — 58.4% of EN devices see each ad. YouTube accounts for 53.7% of ads (video advertising dominates). Campaigns run for a median of 57 days. The ecosystem is hermetically sealed: 99.8% exclusive URLs. For context: the highest-reach editorial pipeline (neoncluster) reaches 13%. feedads reaches 4.5x more. The EN Discover feed is heavily monetized — significantly more than French (24% reach). The EPL exclusion The most surprising finding. Premier League content is systematically under-represented across 7+ EN pipelines. The affected terms: Premier League, football, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham. Each shows strong negative signals in aura, deeptrendsfable, deeptrends, geotargetingstories, astria, freshvideos, and others. The terms not affected: NFL, NBA, Olympics, rugby, cricket, Formula 1. The exclusion is specific to EPL. Premier League terms are systematically under-represented across 7+ EN pipelines. Other sports (NFL, NBA, F1) are unaffected. The most likely hypothesis: EPL broadcasting rights and licensing constraints create editorial restrictions that propagate through the selection system. But we can’t confirm this — it’s an observation, not an explanation. Three publisher profiles Each row = a domain, each column = a pipeline family, color = percentage of hits. Find YouTube (49.9% social), Guardian, BBC, New York Times, and see their pipeline fingerprint at a glance. For each pipeline, the top 5 domains and their share. neoncluster: 100% YouTube. feedads: 53.7% YouTube ads. content: YouTube, Guardian, BBC. shopping: TechRadar, Tom’s Hardware, Digital Camera World. Quality press (Guardian, BBC, New York Times) Present in 8-10 pipelines. Guardian shows the broadest spread — top-5 in 12 different pipelines, from content and aura to newsstoriesheadlines and deeptrends. BBC dominates astria (29.3%) and deeptrends (24.7%). mustntmiss gives a ~2x priority boost, and with 29% AI Overviews content, AI Overviews-readiness is now a competitive advantage for quality press in EN. Tech/review site (TechRadar, Tom’s Hardware) shoppinginspiration: 13.1% reach, 2.5-day lifespan — a strong visibility window. But shopping is a silo: low co-occurrence with other pipelines. A Samsung Galaxy S25 review stays in shopping. The opportunity: diversify beyond pure product testing. aura over-represents science/tech content by 2-2.4x. Adding editorial context — a trend analysis, a market comparison — can open doors to aura and content, breaking out of the shopping silo. Video-first publisher (YouTube channels) The cascade is a 3-stage amplifier. neoncluster at 13% reach is broadcast-level distribution. The content that makes it through: news/politics (WION, NBC — 46% international news), science, and current affairs. Entertainment and gaming are present but don’t dominate. For a YouTube creator focused on news/politics/science, Discover’s cascade is one of the most powerful organic distribution channels available — and it’s growing at 18x in three months. Full per-profile recommendations (quality press, tech, video, local, lifestyle, finance, pure player) will be published in our Substack series. Explore further This article is an overview. The complete analysis — 20 pipelines, per-pipeline data, domain leaders, typical titles — is available: Interactive explorer: navigate all 20 pipelines, compare metrics, see top domains and typical titles EN Substack: weekly deep-dives with data, charts, and recommendations Full reference: 1492.vision — the complete pipeline-by-pipeline analysis, with 3 detailled articles. The Discover system evolves. These findings are a snapshot from December 2025 to February 2026. The video cascade that didn’t exist in December already represents 13% of EN reach in February. Monitoring the evolution — not just photographing a moment — is where the real advantage lies. Data: 42 million Discover cards, December 2025 – February 2026. Analysis: 1492.vision. Credit to Metehan Yesilyurt for the Google SDK analysis — our data shows what each pipeline does in practice. View the full article

Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Company’s weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. You can sign up to receive this newsletter every week via email here. Did Anthropic just soft-launch the scariest AI model yet? On Tuesday Anthropic announced that it would deploy its newest and most powerful AI model, Claude Mythos Preview, to a new industry initiative (Project Glasswing) meant to safeguard critical software infrastructure against cyberattacks. That sounded good, but it obscured the real news somewhat—that one of the big three AI labs has now developed a model that could, in the wrong hands, be a super-dangerous cyberweapon. In the course of normal model training, the model began showing significant skill in both detecting bugs in software systems and exploiting those bugs to disrupt or gain control of the systems. It found a 27-year-old vulnerability in OpenBSD and exploited it to gain root access. It caught a 16-year-old flaw in FFmpeg that automated tools missed after five million tests. Perhaps most impressively, it’s able to create exploits by stringing together multiple software vulnerabilities that by themselves wouldn’t do anything. It did this to a Linux system to gain admin-level access. Interpretability researchers also found cases where the model exhibited deceptive or manipulative behavior during tests. In one case, Mythos discovered and used a privilege-escalation exploit and then designed a mechanism to erase traces of its use. Anthropic said it would give access to its Mythos model to a select group of tech companies, including Apple and Cisco, along with about 40 additional organizations that build or maintain critical software infrastructure. This is a bit like a defense contractor unveiling a super-lethal missile capable of striking any target on Earth, while insisting it will be distributed only to a small group of trusted countries and used strictly for defensive purposes. But the larger story may be that Anthropic has created a model with significantly more intelligence than any we’ve seen before. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has repeatedly said that models that equal or better human beings in intelligence were coming. “There’s a kind of accelerating exponential, but along that exponential there are points of significance,” he said in a video released by the company Tuesday. “Claude Mythos Preview is a significant jump ” Perhaps soft-launching Mythos as a defensive cybersecurity asset was Anthropic’s way of getting people used to the idea that it’s created a model that approximates artificial general intelligence, in which an AI system equals or exceeds human intelligence in most tasks. We’ve been talking for years about how to keep AI systems aligned with human values and goals, but the discussion has mostly lived in the abstract. The industry has leaned on that, effectively arguing that we should wait to see how real-world risks actually play out before locking in binding rules. Anthropic may be suggesting that those risks are no longer hypothetical. Anthropic is also likely wary of releasing a model that, in the wrong hands, could function as a kind of weapon of mass destruction. In a worst-case scenario, it might be used by a hostile state actor to infiltrate and take control of critical information systems, including those that underpin financial markets. Cyberattackers already rely on software tools to scan internal networks, websites, and applications for vulnerabilities, often the same tools used by defenders. Increasingly, they are pairing those tools with large language models to automate the process, building agents that can identify weaknesses and even generate exploits. By comparison, Claude Mythos would likely be far more powerful and autonomous than anything currently available to cybercriminals. But that will change. Future versions of existing models like DeepSeek will very likely catch up with Mythos, and in a matter of months, not years. “More powerful models are going to come from us and from others, so we do need a plan to respond to this,” Amodei said in the video. In fact, OpenAI’s forthcoming model, nicknamed “Spud,” is expected to show up in the next few weeks, and it could match Mythos’s reasoning and problem-solving skills. In an interview with VentureBeat, Newton Cheng, Anthropic’s Frontier Red Team Cyber Lead, was blunt about the risks of these future models. “The fallout–for economies, public safety, and national security–could be severe,” he said. His use of the “fallout” word suggests a type of cyberattack I’d rather not think about. Because of those clear cybersecurity risks, Anthropic plans to keep Claude Mythos tightly controlled, with access limited to participants in the Glasswing project. But even a locked-down model raises concerns. Less than two weeks ago, the company accidentally exposed details about Mythos after an employee misconfigured a content management system. No source code or model weights were released, but the episode hardly inspires confidence in Anthropic’s ability to secure it. And attackers will be motivated to try. It is also possible that the “leak” was less accidental than it appeared, part of a broader soft-launch strategy. What we know about OpenAI’s next big model aka ‘Spud’ OpenAI president Greg Brockman and CEO Sam Altman have been dropping morsels and hints about their company’s newest model, which is codenamed “Spud.” The model’s real name could end up being something like GPT-5.5 or, more likely, GPT-6. And it could be released within weeks. Spud is expected to bring stronger agentic capabilities, more autonomous behavior, better multistep planning and execution, and less errors, as well as better multimodal reasoning and fewer hallucinations. Brockman said Spud is the product of two years of research. He called it “a new pre-train,” suggesting that OpenAI may have fundamentally changed the base model and how it learns, rather than using the same model and adding things like performance optimization or fine-tuning. OpenAI researchers finished pre-training the model March 26, Brockman said. Training Spud must have required massive amounts of computing power, because OpenAI reportedly shut down its Sora video app in order to free up more GPUs for the effort. The researchers are now in the post-training phase, which includes fine-tuning and safety testing. Brockman said that with Spud, OpenAI has a “line of sight to AGI” within the next couple of years. CEO Sam Altman told staff the model is “very strong” and “can really accelerate the economy.” OpenAI hasn’t shared any official benchmarks of Spud’s performance, but it’s likely that Spud will rival Anthropic’s new Mythos models. Then it’ll be Google Deepmind’s turn to top the benchmarks with a new Gemini model. Research: Just 10 minutes of AI assistance can make you dumber Researchers from Carnegie Mellon, Oxford, MIT, and UCLA found that after just 10 minutes of AI assistance people perform worse and give up more often than those who never used AI. The researchers asked 1,200 people to solve fraction problems or answer reading comprehension questions. Half of them were allowed to use an AI assistant. Then the researchers asked both user groups to take the same test. The researchers found that the AI-assisted group scored better than the non-AI group in the first test. But when that group was deprived of the AI in the second test they scored significantly worse, relative to the (non-AI using) control group. They also gave up more frequently than non-AI users on test problems. Only 10 minutes of AI use on the first test can sink the test-taker’s performance and persistence on the second test, the researchers add. The researchers say this is especially concerning because users need a measure of persistence in order to pick up new skills. Persistence is a good predictor of long term learning, they say. “AI conditions you to expect immediate answers, removing the productive struggle that builds real competence,” one of the researchers, MIT’s Michiel Bakker, said in an X post Tuesday. How the test subjects used the AI mattered. Those who used it to get direct answers (61% of test takers) showed the steepest declines in both performance and willingness to keep trying. People who used the AI only for hints did better. “We posit that persistence is reduced because Al conditions people to expect immediate answers, thereby denying them the experience of working through challenges on their own,” the researchers write. They suggest that AI tools should act more like a human mentor, who, in some situations, prioritizes the long-term growth of the user over the immediate completion of a task. In a larger sense, the study puts some real science behind the fear that humans will outsource more and more of their brain work to AI, eventually relegating themselves to the sidelines of modern business and other human affairs. More AI coverage from Fast Company: Rana el Kaliouby on why AI needs a more human future 20 seconds to approve a military strike; 1.2 seconds to deny a health insurance claim. The human is in the AI loop. Humanity is not OpenAI warns Elon Musk is escalating attacks as their trial nears Y Combinator’s CEO says he ships 37,000 lines of AI code per day. A developer looked under the hood Want exclusive reporting and trend analysis on technology, business innovation, future of work, and design? Sign up for Fast Company Premium. View the full article

Over four decades, I have had the opportunity to consult with almost all of the major companies in the PC, consumer electronics, and telecommunications industries. In 1991, when the PC industry was barely a decade old, Acer’s founder Stan Shih invited me to tour the company’s new PC factory in Taiwan. What I saw wasn’t just a factory–it was the foundation of a new world order in technology manufacturing. Over the years, I’ve gained a deeper understanding of Taiwan’s crucial role in the global technology ecosystem. Semiconductor leaders like TSMC, along with manufacturing powerhouses such as Compal, Foxconn, Quanta, Pegatron, and Wistron, have built an ecosystem unmatched anywhere else in the world. This network has become the backbone of production for much of the world’s technology–supplying chips and devices for Apple, Nvidia, AMD, HP, Dell, and many others. Taiwan, an island about the size of Maryland just 90 miles off the Chinese mainland, produces roughly 90 percent of the world’s advanced semiconductors. Those chips power your iPhone, your laptop, your car, and even the massive data centers driving artificial intelligence. Without Taiwan’s fabrication facilities, the global technology industry does not just slow down–it stops. That the flow of Taiwanese chips could stop is more than a theoretical risk–it’s a crisis already in motion. China, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province to be reclaimed, could attempt to impose a naval blockade around the island. In fact, the China’s People’s Liberation Army recently conducted live-fire military exercises in the waters surrounding the island–a dramatic escalation of the drills that have become increasingly common since the last Taiwanese presidential election. These are not abstract war games; they are rehearsals for a naval blockade of the island, and everyone paying attention knows it. Colleagues in Taiwan who study such scenarios warn that even a rehearsal —with no missiles, no boots on the ground, just ships in the water—could choke off the world’s chip supply and cripple the American tech economy. And the chance that China might risk a blockade could increase while the U.S. is focusing its resources on Iran, they say. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke bluntly about the danger at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month. He called Taiwan’s concentration of advanced chip manufacturing “the single biggest point of failure” in the world economy and warned that a naval blockade or the destruction of the chip fabrication facilities would be “an economic apocalypse.” Two presidential administrations have tried to mitigate the risks posed by the Taiwan situation. President Biden deployed billions in federal grants under the CHIPS and Science Act to rebuild domestic semiconductor manufacturing. It was the right instinct, even if the results have been painfully slow to materialize. President The President has taken a harder line, imposing tariffs on certain Taiwan-manufactured chips as a way of encouraging the buildout of the U.S. chip manufacturing base. Carrots, then sticks. Neither has meaningfully moved the needle. Why? Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, has spent decades building not just factories but an entire chip production ecosystem with specialized suppliers, fabrication engineers, and years of accumulated industrial knowledge. Nothing like it exists anywhere else on earth. Replicating that ecosystem on another continent, and achieving its scale and economics, is almost impossible, at least in the near term. It’s not like near-shoring a call center–it takes years, and tens of billions of dollars. The TSMC fabrication facility under construction in Arizona is a step in the right direction, but it is one plant, producing chips at a fraction of the volume Taiwan provides, and it won’t be fully operational for years. Intel’s chip manufacturing turnaround has seen major setbacks, including large fabrication business losses, customer doubts, and delays in winning new contracts. Samsung’s Texas expansion has faced delays, pushing the timeline for these factories going online to at least 2027-2028. I have watched Silicon Valley successfully navigate recessions, trade wars, and geopolitical upheavals. But nothing compares to the structural vulnerability the industry now faces regarding Taiwan and the global semiconductor supply chain. What makes the situation so frustrating—and so dangerous—is that the tech industry has had years to build resilience and has largely chosen not to (I began raising these concerns with two major semiconductor companies as early as 1999, and with all the major PC makers in the early 2000s). Apple, for example, moved a significant share of its phone manufacturing to India, yet its dependence on TSMC remains deep. The gap between the problem and the solution remains vast. If I were advising the boards of America’s major technology companies today, I would tell them this: The risk calculus has changed, and the window for an orderly, economically manageable shift to a more diversified supply chain is closing. What’s left now is a race against a geopolitical clock that no company in Silicon Valley controls. The time to act is not after a blockade; it is now—before the scenario everyone prefers to dismiss as unlikely becomes the crisis no one is prepared to survive. View the full article

Taiwan’s control of leading-edge silicon chips lies on a geostrategic faultline View the full article

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Traffic from agentic AI sources is rising at Dell, but the impact remains minimal and inconsistent, according to the company’s ecommerce lead. The details. Dell is seeing increased visits from platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude, according to Breanna Fowler, head of global consumer revenue programs. But the growth isn’t “earth-shaking,” and agentic shopping has yet to deliver meaningful results, Fowler told Digital Commerce 360. Dell is still testing how to integrate with LLM-driven shopping, with efforts in early proof-of-concept stages and internal debate over long-term strategy, Fowler said. Fowler expects agentic AI to function more like an aggregation layer — similar to travel sites or delivery platforms — rather than a primary purchasing channel. Fowler doesn’t expect consumers to adopt agentic shopping en masse for transactions, at least in the near term. Agentic AI vs. search. Fowler said that, with or without LLMs and agentic commerce, ecommerce sites “can do the most good for their customers” through a “really great search experience.” “If I can’t find your products easily and effortlessly, no amount of content and configurator capabilities — nobody really gives a crap about that stuff,” she said. Why we care. Agentic AI is emerging as a discovery layer, but it hasn’t shown signs of replacing core search behavior. You still win or lose on how easily products can be found, whether by humans or AI agents. The context. Dell ranks highly in emerging AI-driven discovery metrics, despite not being among the largest ecommerce players. That mismatch suggests AI surfaces may reward different product types or content structures than traditional search. Bottom line. Agentic AI is sending more traffic, but it behaves like a top-of-funnel channel, not a conversion engine. Search — especially on-site — remains the primary driver of ecommerce performance. The report. Dell use case for agentic AI could revolve around search rather than commerce View the full article