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AI has made publishing faster and easier than ever. And the result is saturation. As AI lowers the barrier to production, the web is filling with content that is technically sound, reasonably optimized, and increasingly indistinguishable. When everything looks polished and competent, standing out becomes harder. AI has changed content output, but users still arrive with intent. They scan headlines, page titles, and descriptions before choosing what to click. They reward clarity, relevance, and usefulness. On a saturated results page, those fundamentals matter more than ever. Keeping content fresh in the age of AI isn’t about chasing novelty or abandoning proven practices. It’s about returning to what makes content distinct: clear messaging, thoughtful structure, and a strong understanding of what your audience wants. The real problem with AI content The biggest issue with AI-generated content isn’t accuracy. It’s sameness. Because AI models train on vast amounts of existing material, they reproduce familiar patterns: similar phrasing, predictable structures, and safe conclusions. On their own, these outputs read as competent and coherent. In aggregate, they become indistinguishable. This is why so much content today feels interchangeable. Even when the topic is relevant, the experience of reading it rarely is. Search engines and users are reacting accordingly. When every result looks and sounds the same, differentiation matters. Freshness still ensures relevance and credibility, but it’s no longer a competitive advantage in itself. What separates one result from another is voice, perspective, and lived experience. Ironically, AI has made originality more valuable, not less. As automated content floods the web, signals like specificity, usefulness, and intent alignment become stronger indicators of quality. Content that communicates clearly and answers people’s real questions rises above, regardless of whether AI assisted in its creation. This is where many teams go wrong. In an attempt to compete with AI, they focus on output volume or trendy formats instead of fixing the fundamentals. Freshness isn’t created by novelty alone. It’s created when content feels unmistakably helpful and unmistakably human. Your customers search everywhere. Make sure your brand shows up. The SEO toolkit you know, plus the AI visibility data you need. Start Free Trial Get started with Fresh, unique content is still built on classic SEO principles Despite the evolution of content creation tools, the way people use search engines has remained remarkably consistent. Users still arrive with a problem to solve, scan results quickly, and choose the option that feels most relevant to them. That behavior hasn’t changed because AI exists. Page titles, headings, and meta descriptions continue to act as the first point of contact between a piece of content and its audience. In search results, they function less like technical fields and more like ad copy. Yet many organizations assume these elements are outdated or that AI-generated content will somehow compensate for vague or generic positioning. In reality, the opposite is true. As more content competes for attention, clarity becomes a differentiator. Classic SEO principles still underpin freshness: Clear alignment with search intent. Descriptive, specific language. A logical structure that helps users scan. Messaging that sets accurate expectations before the click. None of these concepts is new. What’s changed is their importance. When search results are crowded with similar-looking pages, small improvements in clarity can produce incremental gains. A more descriptive title doesn’t just help search engines understand a page. It helps users recognize that it answers their question. AI may assist in generating drafts or variations, but it doesn’t replace the need for human judgment in deciding what information matters most or how it should be framed. Fresh content still starts with understanding intent and communicating clearly. Small SEO changes can lead to a strong impact To understand why traditional SEO still matters, consider a recent experiment conducted on our website focused on service-based search terms. The hypothesis was straightforward: If page titles were more descriptive and more clearly aligned with search intent or user pain points, would users be more likely to click? Could visibility and engagement improve without rewriting content or making technical changes? Before this test, titles followed a familiar format: the service name followed by the company name. While accurate, these titles were vague and did little to communicate value or differentiate the page in search results. After the update, titles were rewritten to be more specific and benefit-oriented. Instead of simply naming a service, the new titles clarified what the service helped users achieve and reflected the intent behind the search. One page, for example, shifted from a generic service title to a more descriptive version focused on optimization and lead generation. The result was a 247% increase in clicks on that page alone. Encouraged by this early signal, similar title updates were rolled out across multiple service pages and allowed to run for approximately one month. The aggregated results were as follows. As the table above shows, average position didn’t improve on every page. But several key services moved closer to the top of the results, reflected in a lower average position, while earning more clicks and impressions. This suggests clearer, intent-aligned titles helped the right pages surface more prominently and perform better once they did. Not every page saw improvements, which is precisely the point of testing. There were no dramatic rewrites and no reliance on AI-driven optimization tactics. The improvement came from clearer communication. The takeaway is simple: This wasn’t an example of AI SEO outperforming traditional methods. It demonstrated that when content aligns more closely with human intent, performance follows. Strategies for keeping content fresh in an AI-saturated world Staying fresh in the age of AI doesn’t require abandoning proven practices or chasing every new tool. It requires greater intentionality in how content is created, positioned, and maintained. The strategies below focus on what works, even as the volume of content online continues to grow. 1. Treat intent at the strategy Traditional SEO is often mischaracterized as keyword stuffing or mechanical optimization. In reality, its foundation has always been search intent. Before creating or updating content, ask: What problem is the searcher trying to solve? What does a “good” answer look like in their context? What would make this page immediately feel relevant? AI tools can suggest keywords, but they can’t fully interpret intent. That requires understanding audience behavior, industry nuance, and real-world constraints. When content is shaped around intent first, optimization becomes a byproduct, not the goal. Freshness emerges when a page answers the right question clearly, not when it targets more variations of the same term. 2. Use page titles and headlines as tools In an AI-driven content environment, page titles still matter. Search results are crowded with pages that look nearly identical at a quick glance in the SERP. A well-written title is often the deciding factor in whether a user clicks or scrolls past. This is where traditional SEO fundamentals quietly outperform more complex tactics. Effective titles: Clearly state what the page offers. Reflect the language users search with. Set accurate expectations instead of teasing vague benefits. Small improvements in specificity can produce meaningful gains. 3. Refresh before you create One of the most overlooked ways to keep content fresh is to improve what already exists. In many cases, underperforming content doesn’t fail because it’s outdated or incorrect. It fails because it’s unclear. Updating introductions, tightening headlines, improving structure, and clarifying takeaways can have a greater impact than publishing something new. A practical approach: Identify pages with impressions but low click-through rates. Review whether titles and descriptions match intent. Adjust framing before expanding content. This strategy is particularly effective in an AI-heavy environment, where new content is abundant but thoughtful updates can deliver stronger results. 4. Lean into specificity and constraints AI excels at general advice. Humans excel at context. Content becomes fresh when it reflects specific scenarios, limitations, or trade-offs. Rather than aiming for universal coverage, focus on clearly defined use cases, audiences, or situations. Specificity might include: Addressing common misconceptions. Explaining why a tactic works in one context but not another. Acknowledging constraints like budget, time, or expertise. This level of nuance signals credibility and separates genuinely helpful content from generic summaries. 5. Use AI as an accelerator AI is most effective when it accelerates tasks that don’t require decision-making. Drafting outlines, summarizing research, or generating alternative phrasing can save time. Choosing the angle, defining the message, and interpreting results remain human responsibilities. A healthy AI-assisted workflow includes: Editorial oversight. Performance review and iteration. Clear ownership of voice and perspective. When AI is used as a support tool rather than a substitute, content remains intentional and aligned with business goals. 6. Measure freshness by behavior Publishing more content doesn’t make it fresher… engagement does. Instead of tracking success by volume, pay attention to signals that reflect real interest: Click-through rates Time on page Scroll depth Return visits These metrics reveal whether content resonates. Fresh content earns attention because it feels useful. 7. Accept that ‘traditional’ doesn’t mean outdated The temptation in any technological shift is to assume that what came before no longer applies. But AI hasn’t replaced the need for clarity, structure, and relevance. It has made those qualities more valuable. Traditional SEO works because it aligns with how people search, decide, and engage. When those fundamentals are executed well, they break through regardless of how content is produced. See the complete picture of your search visibility. Track, optimize, and win in Google and AI search from one platform. Start Free Trial Get started with Why fresh content actually wins AI has changed how some content is produced. It has increased speed, lowered costs, and removed many of the barriers that once limited who could publish and how often. What hasn’t changed is how people decide what to read, click, and ultimately trust. Fresh content wins because it is clear and relevant when someone is looking for an answer — not just because it was generated faster. The growing presence of AI has exposed a hard truth: Much of what passes for fresh content was never truly differentiated. When similar ideas are repeated at scale, fundamentals like intent alignment, descriptive titles, thoughtful structure, and honest messaging become the strongest signals of quality. So what’s the path forward? Being more disciplined about how content is framed, maintained, and measured. Successful brands and publishers will treat freshness as a function of usefulness, not output. View the full article

Construction costs are one of many metrics that a construction firm has to keep an eye on when executing projects. There are others, of course, such as the schedule, quality, safety and much more. But if the construction cost goes over budget, that’s coming out of the contractor’s pocket, putting profitability margins at risk. That’s why construction cost management is so important. Knowing exactly what construction cost management means and what construction costs are there can be the difference between project success or failure. We’ll go over those definitions and explain the construction cost management process so you can manage projects better. What Is a Construction Cost? A construction cost is any expense required to plan, build and deliver a construction project. It includes direct costs such as labor, materials and equipment, along with subcontractor fees and contractor overhead. Construction costs also cover systems and components like structural work, interior finishes, plumbing, electrical and mechanical installations. In practice, construction costs represent the total financial resources needed to complete the physical scope of work. ProjectManager is award-winning construction project management software that gives construction companies the tools they need to ensure that the projects are completed on time, under budget and within scope. Get all construction costs accounted for when planning with our powerful Gantt chart. You can allocate project resources, estimate costs, set a cost baseline and then track your planned costs against your actual costs with real-time dashboards and reports to quickly catch any overspending. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. /wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Construction-Gantt-Costs-Resources-CTA-BUTTON-2.jpgLearn more What Is Construction Cost Management? Construction cost management is the process of keeping projects on budget by estimating construction costs, establishing a cost baseline and a construction budget, monitoring and forecasting costs as projects unfold and reporting on spending to internal and external project stakeholders. In addition to these core construction cost management steps, ensuring the project is executed as planned is also a way of controlling costs for construction firms, because in the vast majority of cases delays cause overcosts from resource utilization and also from contractual dispute fees. Why Is Construction Cost Management Important? For both the general contractor and the project owner, construction cost management directly determines whether a project becomes financially successful or painfully over budget. Contractors rely on construction cost management to protect profit margins, control cost overruns, manage cash flow and keep subcontractor spending aligned with the project budget. At the same time, owners depend on construction cost management to safeguard their capital investment, validate funding decisions and ensure that total construction costs remain consistent with the approved scope and financial expectations. From the earliest concept sketches to final closeout, construction cost management influences every phase of a construction project. During preconstruction, it shapes value engineering decisions and aligns the design with the available budget. As procurement begins, it guides subcontractor selection and contract negotiation. Once work starts, it drives cost tracking, change order evaluation and cost forecasting. Even material specifications and sequencing decisions affect construction costs, making construction cost management a continuous discipline rather than a single budgeting exercise. On top of all of that, good construction cost management will give your company a positive reputation in the industry. Property owners without exception prefer to work with general contractors who are proactive, efficient and accurate with construction cost management. /wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2026_construction_ebook_banner-ad.jpg Who Is Responsible for Construction Cost Management? On the contractor’s side, the project manager is ultimately responsible for construction cost management during execution. While estimators may prepare the initial pricing, the project manager owns the project budget once work begins. This role is accountable for cost tracking, cost forecasting, change order evaluation and protecting profit margins. If construction costs exceed the approved budget, the project manager is the person expected to explain why and implement corrective action. On the owner’s side, responsibility typically rests with the owner’s representative, development manager or commercial manager overseeing the capital investment. This role ensures that construction cost management aligns with funding approvals and financial objectives. The owner’s representative reviews cost reports, evaluates change orders and monitors cost forecasts to protect overall return on investment and ensure total construction costs remain consistent with the approved scope and funding structure. Besides those two key roles who are held accountable on both the contractor’s and the property owner’s sides, there are other roles that also participate in the construction cost management process. Here’s how they’re involved. Estimator: The estimator plays a central role during construction takeoff and construction estimating by quantifying scope, applying unit pricing and developing the initial cost estimate that forms the basis of the construction budget. Quantity Surveyor (QS): The quantity surveyor supports construction cost management by preparing bills of quantities, validating cost breakdown structures, reviewing subcontractor pricing and assisting with cost forecasting and interim payment evaluations. Project Controls Manager: The project controls manager integrates cost tracking, cost forecasting and schedule performance data, ensuring that construction cost reporting reflects accurate projections and measurable financial performance trends. Superintendent: The superintendent influences construction cost management during execution by managing labor productivity, sequencing activities efficiently and controlling field decisions that directly affect construction costs and cost variances. Procurement Manager: The procurement manager contributes to construction budgeting and cost control by negotiating subcontractor agreements, issuing purchase orders and managing committed costs before they become actual expenditures. Controller or Cost Accountant: The controller supports construction cost tracking and reporting by recording actual construction costs, reconciling invoices, maintaining financial records and preparing formal cost reports for stakeholders. Architect or Design Engineer: The architect or design engineer influences construction cost management during preconstruction through value engineering decisions, material specifications and scope clarification that directly impact projected construction costs. Construction Cost Management Process: How to Manage Construction Costs Now that we’ve defined the concept of construction cost management, let’s dive deeper into each of its major stages for a thorough understanding of this process. 1. Value Engineering During the development of architectural drawings, blueprints and CAD models, architects and engineers begin influencing construction costs through value engineering. This process evaluates materials, systems and design alternatives to achieve the required performance at the lowest reasonable cost. Within construction cost management, value engineering ensures that design decisions align with the project budget before procurement and construction begin. 2. Construction Takeoff Construction takeoff is the systematic process of reviewing drawings and specifications to measure and quantify the full project scope. It generates the detailed quantity data used to support pricing, budgeting and cost control. Within construction cost management, construction takeoff ensures that projected construction costs are grounded in verified scope measurements rather than assumptions. Key construction takeoff tools and deliverables Quantity Takeoff: Quantity takeoff is the detailed measurement of all work items shown in the drawings, organized by trade and scope section. By establishing precise counts, areas and volumes, it creates the measurable basis required for reliable pricing and prevents scope gaps in the construction takeoff process. Material Takeoff: Material takeoff focuses specifically on calculating the quantities of construction materials required to execute the project as designed. It supports construction takeoff by translating scope measurements into procurement-ready data that improves cost accuracy and reduces waste during purchasing. Takeoff Summary Sheet: A takeoff summary sheet consolidates all quantified work items and material quantities into a structured, organized overview. It strengthens construction takeoff by centralizing measured data, enabling estimators to review totals quickly and validate that no scope elements have been overlooked. 3. Construction Estimating Construction estimating converts quantified scope into projected construction costs using current market pricing, labor productivity assumptions and construction methods. It builds the financial model that defines how much the project is expected to cost before execution begins. Within construction cost management, construction estimating transforms measured data into a structured cost estimate that supports bidding, budgeting and financial approval. /wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Construction-Estimate-Template-600x331.jpgProjectManager’s free construction estimate template for Excel Key construction estimating tools and deliverables Detailed Cost Estimate: A detailed cost estimate itemizes projected construction costs by trade, activity or cost code based on quantified scope and pricing assumptions. It contributes to construction estimating by organizing all cost components into a transparent structure that can be reviewed, validated and adjusted before final approval. Construction Cost Breakdown Structure (CBS): A construction cost breakdown structure organizes estimated construction costs into hierarchical categories aligned with project scope and cost control requirements. It strengthens construction estimating by structuring data in a way that supports comparison, analysis and future cost tracking during project execution. Subcontractor Bid Tabulation: Subcontractor bid tabulation is the structured comparison of submitted trade bids against defined scope requirements and pricing criteria. It supports construction estimating by identifying competitive pricing, scope gaps and qualification differences before contracts are awarded and costs are committed. Unit Pricing: Unit pricing assigns a cost per measurable unit of work, such as per square foot, cubic yard or linear foot, based on labor, materials and productivity. It contributes to construction estimating by enabling consistent cost calculations and simplifying adjustments when quantities change. Pricing Worksheet: A pricing worksheet is a structured calculation document used to compile labor, material, equipment and subcontractor costs into a consolidated estimate. It enhances construction estimating by documenting assumptions, markups and calculations in a clear format that supports review and verification. 4. Construction Budgeting Construction budgeting translates the approved cost estimate into an actionable financial plan structured around cost codes, project phases and the project timeline. It allocates projected construction costs to specific trades and activities so spending can be controlled during execution. Within construction cost management, construction budgeting establishes the financial boundaries that guide cost tracking, cost forecasting and overall cost control. /wp-content/uploads/2024/02/construction-budget-for-excel-screenshot-600x160.pngProjectManager’s free construction budget template for Excel Key construction budgeting tools and deliverables Cost Baseline: A cost baseline is the formally approved version of the construction budget that defines planned construction costs across the project timeline. It supports construction budgeting by providing the fixed reference point used to measure cost variances and evaluate financial performance during execution. Construction Budget: A construction budget is the structured allocation of projected construction costs across cost codes, trades and phases of work. It contributes to construction budgeting by defining authorized spending limits and aligning financial resources with the approved project scope and schedule. Schedule of Values (SOV): A schedule of values is a detailed breakdown of the contract sum into line items that correspond to defined portions of the work. It strengthens construction budgeting by linking budgeted amounts to progress billing, enabling controlled cash flow and accurate payment applications. Contingency Allocation: Contingency allocation is the planned distribution of reserved funds set aside to address unforeseen conditions or scope changes. It supports construction budgeting by protecting the project budget from unexpected cost impacts while maintaining financial flexibility. Cash Flow Forecast: A cash flow forecast projects when construction costs will be incurred and paid throughout the project timeline. It enhances construction budgeting by aligning spending patterns with funding availability and ensuring liquidity during project execution. 5. Construction Cost Tracking Construction cost tracking records and monitors actual construction costs as work progresses, comparing them against the approved budget and cost baseline. It captures labor, materials, subcontractor invoices and other project expenses at the cost code level. Within construction cost management, construction cost tracking provides the financial data needed to identify cost variances, protect profit margins and maintain control over total construction costs. /wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Timesheet-Screenshot-600x261.jpgProjectManager’s free timesheet template for Excel Key construction cost tracking tools and deliverables Timesheets: Construction timesheets document labor hours worked by employees and crews on specific cost codes and activities. They support construction cost tracking by linking payroll expenses to defined scope items, enabling accurate labor cost allocation and productivity analysis. Construction Retainage: Construction retainage is a portion of contract payments withheld until defined project milestones or completion requirements are met. It contributes to construction cost tracking by managing cash flow, documenting withheld amounts and reflecting accurate payable balances throughout execution. Cost Variance Analysis: Cost variance analysis compares actual construction costs to budgeted amounts at the cost code or phase level. It strengthens construction cost tracking by identifying deviations, quantifying overruns or savings and supporting corrective financial decision-making. Change Order Log: A change order log is a centralized record of all approved and pending scope modifications that impact construction costs. It enhances construction cost tracking by documenting cost adjustments, tracking financial exposure and maintaining alignment between scope changes and budget revisions. Purchase Orders: Purchase orders are formal commitments issued to suppliers or subcontractors specifying scope, pricing and delivery terms. They support construction cost tracking by recording committed construction costs and providing documentation for invoice verification and budget control. 6. Construction Cost Forecasting Construction cost forecasting projects the expected final construction costs of a project using actual cost data, committed expenditures and the value of remaining work. It analyzes performance trends, cost variances and identified risks to determine the projected cost at completion. Within construction cost management, construction cost forecasting provides forward-looking financial visibility that supports strategic adjustments before cost overruns materialize. Key construction cost forecasting tools and deliverables Earned Value Management Metrics: Earned value management metrics integrate scope, schedule and cost data to measure project performance against the approved cost baseline. They contribute to construction cost forecasting by quantifying cost efficiency and performance trends that inform projections of final construction costs. Estimate at Completion (EAC): Estimate at completion represents the projected total construction costs of a project based on current performance and remaining scope. It supports construction cost forecasting by providing a calculated prediction of the final cost outcome used for financial planning and corrective action. Cost to Complete (CTC): Cost to complete calculates the remaining construction costs required to finish all outstanding work at current performance rates. It strengthens construction cost forecasting by isolating future spending expectations and refining projections of total cost at completion. Trend Analysis: Trend analysis evaluates historical cost performance data to identify patterns in cost growth, productivity or budget variance. It enhances construction cost forecasting by revealing recurring financial behaviors that influence projected construction costs and overall cost stability. Margin Forecast: A margin forecast projects the expected profit or loss on a construction project based on forecasted final construction costs and contract value. It contributes to construction cost forecasting by linking cost performance to profitability and informing executive financial decisions. 7. Construction Cost Reporting Construction cost reporting organizes and presents financial performance data related to construction costs in a structured, consistent format. It compiles budget figures, actual expenditures, cost variances and forecasted outcomes for review by project teams and stakeholders. Within construction cost management, construction cost reporting formalizes financial oversight and ensures that decision-makers understand both current cost performance and projected financial results. Key construction cost reporting tools and deliverables Monthly Cost Report: A monthly cost report summarizes budget status, actual construction costs, cost variances and forecasted totals for a defined reporting period. It supports construction cost reporting by providing recurring financial visibility and documenting performance trends over the project timeline. Job Cost Report: A job cost report details construction costs incurred by cost code, trade or work package throughout project execution. It contributes to construction cost reporting by offering granular financial insight that supports variance analysis and cost control decisions. Budget vs Actual Report: A budget vs actual report compares planned construction costs against recorded expenditures at the cost code or project level. It strengthens construction cost reporting by clearly identifying deviations and quantifying financial performance against the approved budget. Cash Flow Report: A cash flow report tracks the timing of incoming and outgoing project funds relative to construction costs and billing cycles. It enhances construction cost reporting by aligning financial performance with liquidity management and funding requirements. Types of Construction Costs Construction projects generate multiple categories of construction costs, each affecting budgeting, cost estimating and overall construction cost management performance in different ways. The primary types are outlined below. Construction Hard Costs Construction hard costs represent the expenditures required to physically build the project as defined in the construction drawings and specifications. These costs are directly tied to transforming design documents into a completed structure. In construction cost management, hard costs form the core of the project budget because they reflect the measurable work installed in the field and the tangible progress achieved on the jobsite. Construction Soft Costs Unlike hard costs, construction soft costs relate to the planning, coordination and compliance activities necessary to deliver the project but not to physically construct it. They arise from professional services, regulatory requirements and financial arrangements that enable the work to proceed. Within construction cost management, soft costs must be forecasted carefully because they accumulate across the project lifecycle and significantly influence total construction costs. Claims and Delay Costs Claims and delay costs arise when a construction project experiences disruptions that extend the project timeline or alter the agreed scope of work, triggering contractual compensation mechanisms. These costs are typically tied to schedule impacts, lost productivity or disputed responsibilities between parties. Within construction cost management, claims and delay costs must be documented, analyzed and evaluated carefully, as they can significantly increase total construction costs and affect project profitability. Direct Construction Costs Direct construction costs are expenses that can be clearly assigned to a specific construction activity, work package or cost code within the project budget. They are incurred solely because a defined portion of the scope of work is being executed. Effective construction cost management relies on accurately identifying direct construction costs, since they drive cost tracking, earned value calculations and precise cost control at the task level. Here are some examples of direct construction costs: Labor costs Material costs Equipment operating costs Subcontractor costs Specialty contractor services Indirect Construction Costs Indirect construction costs support overall project execution but cannot be traced to a single unit of work or specific activity. They enable the jobsite to function as an integrated operation rather than as isolated tasks. From a construction cost management perspective, indirect construction costs require disciplined cost allocation methods to ensure that shared project resources are properly accounted for within total construction costs. Here are some examples of indirect construction costs: Superintendent salary Site office trailer costs Temporary utilities Safety program costs Site security Fixed Construction Costs Fixed construction costs are expenditures that remain constant over a defined period regardless of production output or work volume. Their value does not fluctuate based on installed quantities or daily progress. In construction cost management, understanding fixed construction costs is essential for accurate cash flow forecasting, since these obligations continue even when productivity slows or project timelines shift. Here are some examples of fixed construction costs: Equipment lease payments Builder’s risk insurance Performance bond premiums Salaried project management staff Software subscription costs Variable Construction Costs Variable construction costs change in direct relationship to the level of construction activity performed. As project production increases or decreases, these costs rise or fall proportionally. Managing variable construction costs is a central function of construction cost management because they directly impact unit rates, cost forecasting accuracy and the financial outcome of the project as scope quantities evolve. Here are some examples of variable construction costs: Hourly craft labor Concrete quantities Structural steel tonnage Fuel consumption Equipment rental by usage Overhead Construction Costs Overhead construction costs represent the ongoing operational expenses required to run a construction business that are not attributable to a specific project task. They exist independently of individual contracts but must ultimately be recovered through project pricing. In construction cost management, properly accounting for overhead construction costs ensures that bid estimates, markups and profit margins reflect the full cost structure of the organization. Here are some examples of overhead construction costs: Corporate office rent Executive salaries Accounting services Marketing and business development IT infrastructure costs Construction Cost Management Templates We’ve created dozens of free construction project management templates for Excel, Word and Google Sheets. Here are some of them that can help with construction cost management. Cost Breakdown Template A cost breakdown template organizes project scope, resources and budgeted costs into structured categories, allowing teams to compare estimated and actual expenses, calculate cost variance and maintain clear financial visibility throughout construction cost management. Schedule of Values Template A schedule of values template breaks the total contract value into detailed work items, tracking progress, percent complete, retainage and stored materials to support payment applications, cash flow control and accurate construction cost management. Budget Dashboard Template A budget dashboard template consolidates material, labor, equipment and overhead construction costs into visual charts and summaries, enabling real-time budget tracking, variance analysis and improved financial decision-making within construction cost management. ProjectManager Has Construction Cost Management Tools ProjectManager is award-winning construction project management software that helps you plan, manage and track your construction costs in real time. When you create a project in our software, you can set the budget or set it anytime you want. There are two types of costs, resource costs and general costs, both can be tracked as planned and actual costs. General contractors can plan out their projects on Gantt charts that track costs and resources, setting a baseline to monitor project variance in real time. Track Construction Costs With Real-Time Project Dashboards Once you’ve set a baseline on the Gantt chart, you can track live costs throughout the software. If you want to get a high-level view of the project, just toggle over to the dashboard, which automatically collects real-time data and displays it on easy-to-read graphs and charts. Besides a cost chart that shows live actual and planned costs, there are time, workload and other metrics to keep you updated on progress and performance. Unlike lightweight tools, you don’t have to waste time setting up our dashboard. It’s ready to go when you are. /wp-content/uploads/2022/11/project-management-dashboard.webp Use Multiple Reports to Manage Construction Costs We offer several reports available that help you manage and track construction costs. If you’re managing more than one project, use our portfolio status report, which has a color-coded cost column to see if you’re over or under budget at a glance. Use our project status report for the same cost details for one project. If you want to see tasks about your work breakdown structure (WBS), generate a project plan report to see the budget and costs spent to date. Drill down into specific tasks with our task report and track planned and actual costs and resource costs. There are more reports, and all are customizable to show only the data you want to see. They can be easily shared across platforms and even printed for stakeholder presentations. /wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Reports_Wide_Zoom-150_Project-Status-Report.jpg Construction cost management is only one part of construction project management. Our software covers all those bases, from task and resource management to keep your crew working at capacity to risk management that identifies and tracks issues until they’re mitigated. We’ll help you deal with project cost, cost planning and project cost control and everything else you need to deliver a successful project. Related Content Best Construction Estimating Software for Construction Projects 10 Free Construction Expense Tracker Templates Contractor Estimate Template Top 12 Costing Methods for Construction and Manufacturing Projects How to Make a Construction Quote: Example & Free Template Construction Quote Template Gestión de Costos de Construcción: Guía Rápida Gestion des coûts de construction : guide complet Baukosten verstehen: Baukostenmanagement in der Praxis ProjectManager is online construction project management software that empowers teams to plan, manage and track their projects in real time. We connect architects and engineers in the office with your work crew on the job site so they can share files and comments to foster better collaboration. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. The post Construction Cost Management & Construction Costs Explained appeared first on ProjectManager. View the full article

A reader writes: I work for a company of about 40 employees that says they “don’t give raises.” It’s in a field that is traditionally freelance, so having a full-time salaried position with benefits while doing this work is slightly unusual, but not unheard of. When asked, management says explicitly that because of how well we’re compensated, they don’t do raises. The salary range is $80-95K — on the high-ish end for our field but not wildly above what freelancers in our field can earn. The hourly rates of freelancers tend to increase $5 every 2-3 years. My question is how bananas is this and do you have any suggestions for how we can push back? I was shocked when I heard this line from management about simply “not doing raises” after I was hired. I would have negotiated much harder for my starting salary if I knew there was no chance of it increasing when I’d like to stay here for years. Incidentally, the no raises thing seems to only be partially true. From lots of chatting with colleagues, it seems many long-time (highly qualified, respected) employees have indeed never received a raise, meaning in many cases newer less qualified employees earn more because they asked for more when they got hired. A very few employees have received raises. Unfortunately, the only two we can identify who received it unprompted were men. Others were very long-time employees who had to really fight for it and go through a lot of back and forth individually with management. They don’t “do” raises means that they’re actually cutting your pay in real dollars every year, because of inflation. They’re also saying that you’re no more valuable to them after five years than you were on your first day. And it’s particularly galling that they don’t warn people that the salary they come in at will be their salary forever. So yes, it’s bananas. It’s also terrible management. It’s also quite possibly illegal, if they’re paying men and women differently for the same work because the men negotiated more and the women didn’t. To be illegal, you don’t need to prove that your employer intended to discriminate against women; just the fact that men and women are being paid differently for the same work violates the law. To push back, make all those points — particularly that you’re being paid less in real dollars now than when you were brought on, despite your experience making you more valuable to them now. That said, when you’re doing your calculations, make sure you’re accounting for the financial differences between freelancers and employees. Freelancers need to pay their own payroll taxes (and health insurance and other benefits) so typically charge around twice what a salaried employee would charge in order to break even. So if you and your coworkers are earning $80,000 – $95,000, a freelancer earning $5 or even $10 an hour more that than that (so around $90,000 – $116,000) is actually coming away with less after-tax income. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still advocate for raises that at a minimum keep up with the cost of living — you should — but don’t lean on the freelancer comparison. The post my company doesn’t “do” raises, ever appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

“I want a space odyssey. I wanted Star Wars. I got close to that once.” That’s production designer Hannah Beachler, talking about the grand filmic world she wants to build next. For our February episode of By Design, we spoke to Beachler (Creed, Black Panther) about her latest work with director Ryan Coogler on Sinners—the most Oscar-nominated film of all time. We caught up with her last time before she bagged an Oscar on Black Panther and then designed the sequel. https://statics.teams.cdn.office.net/evergreen-assets/safelinks/2/atp-safelinks.html She’s up for her second Academy Award for production design on Sinners next month, and she shared the painstaking process she takes to build historically authentic and thematically rich sets, even when that means investing in details that the audience will never see. Oh, and for the first time, we put that entire interview up on YouTube, if you prefer to watch the interview rather than just listen. We also got into a lot of hot topics: saying farewell to the best and worst designs of the Olympics, breaking down what it means now that ads are on ChatGPT, and exploring the ins and outs of LoveFrom’s new collaboration on Ferrari’s Luce EV. And to cap things off? We pick a long-overdue fight with Microsoft Teams in a segment called Fix Your Shit. Have you ever met a single other human who liked that software? Neither have we. Listen to our latest episode on Apple Music or Spotify, and catch the video interview on YouTube. View the full article

Meatball fans beware: A nationwide recall is underway for a popular brand of frozen meatballs sold at Aldi. The recall is due to the possibility that the product may contain metal fragments, which could cause serious injury if consumed. Here’s what you need to know. What’s happened? On Sunday, the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) posted a safety alert about a Class 1 recall—the highest possible designation the agency assigns to recalled products. A Class 1 recall means that there is “a health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death,” according to the agency. The Class 1 recall covers a Bremer-branded ready-to-eat frozen meatball product sold at Aldi stores. The recalled meatballs were produced by Rosina Food Products, Inc., a West Seneca, N.Y., company, which initiated the recall. Approximately 9,462 pounds of the frozen meatball product are being recalled. The issue at hand is that the recalled meatballs may contain metal fragments, which could harm individuals who consume them. What meatball product is being recalled? The recall covers only one meatball product sold under the Bremer brand. That product is: 32-oz. printed poly film bag packages of fully cooked frozen “Bremer FAMILY SIZE ITALIAN STYLE MEATBALLS” containing “about 64 meatballs per package” with “BEST BY” date of “10/30/26” with timestamps between 17:08 through 18:20 printed on the back of the label. According to the recall notice, the recalled product has an establishment number of “EST. 4286B” inside the USDA mark of inspection. The products were produced on July 30, 2025. Images of the recalled product’s packaging can be found here. Where were the recalled meatballs sold? According to the FSIS notice, the recalled product was “shipped to Aldi supermarket locations nationwide.” Has anyone been harmed from eating the recalled meatballs? As of the recall notice’s posting date, no one is known to have been injured due to the consumption of the recalled product. However, the issue was discovered after a consumer reported to the FSIS that they found metal fragments in the meatballs. What should I do if I have the recalled meatballs? Given that the recalled product has a 15-month shelf life, the FSIS is concerned that consumers may have purchased the meatballs a while ago, yet might still have them in their freezers or refrigerators. If you think you may have purchased the recalled meatballs, you should check your freezers and refrigerators for them. If you have the recalled products, the FSIS says you should not consume them. Instead, you should throw the product away or return it to its place of purchase. Full details about the meatball recall can be found on the FSIS’s website here. View the full article

If you’re considering entering the franchise world in 2025, it’s essential to comprehend the current market environment. Franchises in health and wellness, pet care, and eco-friendly sectors are gaining traction. Some established options, like Tropical Smoothie Cafe, offer strong growth potential, whereas budget-friendly choices like Aire Serv cater to new entrepreneurs. Grasping the key characteristics of successful franchises can help you make informed decisions. So, what should you look for in a franchise opportunity? Key Takeaways Research popular low-cost franchises like Tropical Smoothie Cafe and Aire Serv, which require initial investments starting around $50,000 to $175,000. Evaluate franchise opportunities in high-demand sectors such as health and wellness, pet care, and home improvement for growth potential. Consider franchises with strong marketing and operational support to enhance your chances of success and sustain long-term profitability. Review the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) for insights on financial performance, including initial fees and ongoing royalties. Engage with existing franchise owners to gain firsthand knowledge about operations, satisfaction, and potential challenges in the franchise model. Overview of Franchising Franchising can be an appealing option if you’re looking to start a business, as it combines the independence of entrepreneurship with the support of an established brand. With an impressive success rate of 80-90%, franchising is often considered a safer business model than starting from scratch. Approximately 1 in every 10 businesses in the U.S. operates as a franchise, showcasing its popularity. The International Franchise Association projects a steady growth rate of 2.5% by 2025, indicating that the market for the best franchise opportunities is developing. As a franchise owner, you’ll benefit from marketing assistance, training, and operational guidance from franchisors, all of which contribute to higher satisfaction and profitability. This makes franchising one of the best franchises to start. Top Franchise Opportunities in 2025 As you consider franchise opportunities in 2025, it’s crucial to recognize emerging industry trends, particularly in sectors like food, retail, and pet care. Many franchises, such as Aire Serv, offer low-cost investment options, making them accessible for new investors. Furthermore, strong franchisee support and community engagement will be key factors that determine which franchises thrive in the coming years. Emerging Industry Trends With the franchise industry projected to grow at a rate of 2.5% by 2025, several emerging trends indicate where the most promising opportunities lie. Health and wellness franchises are gaining traction because of increased consumer focus on fitness and personal well-being. Technology integration is becoming crucial, with franchises adopting innovative solutions to improve customer experiences. Eco-friendly franchises are on the rise, reflecting a preference for sustainable practices among consumers. Pet care services are broadening remarkably, driven by the high rates of pet ownership. Home improvement franchises are thriving as homeowners prioritize renovations and upgrades. These trends highlight the diverse avenues available for potential franchise owners, emphasizing the need to align with consumer preferences and market demands. Low-Cost Investment Options The franchise terrain isn’t just evolving with trends that cater to health, technology, and sustainability but furthermore offering appealing low-cost investment options for aspiring business owners. For instance, Tropical Smoothie Cafe requires a minimum cash investment of $175,000 and has over 1,500 locations, showcasing its market presence. Vocelli Pizza, with a cash requirement of $100,000, serves as a neighborhood favorite with high sales volume. Aire Serv, focusing on HVAC services, has a low investment of $50,000, tapping into vital home services. Camp Run-A-Mutt, a dog daycare franchise, likewise demands $100,000, providing a cage-free environment for pets. Finally, Real Property Management requires only $50,000, making it an attractive option in the growing real estate sector. Franchisee Support Importance Effective franchisee support is crucial for anyone looking to thrive in the competitive environment of franchising. Strong support systems provide fundamental tools that help you tackle operational challenges effectively. Here are key aspects of franchisee support that can uplift your business: Extensive training programs to build your skills Ongoing assistance to navigate daily operations Marketing support to boost visibility and customer engagement Networking opportunities that promote community among franchisees A collaborative culture that adapts to market trends With these resources, franchises tend to report lower failure rates and higher levels of franchisee satisfaction. Key Characteristics of Successful Franchises When considering the key characteristics of successful franchises, a strong support system for franchisees often stands out as a fundamental aspect. Extensive training programs and ongoing operational guidance improve franchisee satisfaction and performance. Established brand recognition is vital, as franchises with a strong market presence attract loyal customers and generate higher profit margins. The best franchises also rely on proven business models that show financial viability, focusing on high return on investment potential to minimize risks for new franchisees. Furthermore, high levels of owner satisfaction often correlate with community engagement and networking opportunities, nurturing a supportive culture. Finally, franchises that emphasize continuous innovation and adaptability can effectively meet changing consumer demands and capitalize on emerging opportunities, ensuring long-term success. Evaluating Franchise Costs and Fees When evaluating franchise costs, it’s important to break down both the initial investment and ongoing fees. Initial investments can range dramatically, from around $50,000 for some service franchises to over $500,000 for popular food brands. Furthermore, ongoing royalty fees, usually a percentage of your gross sales, can considerably affect your cash flow and overall profitability, making it crucial to thoroughly review these costs before committing to a franchise opportunity. Initial Investment Breakdown Comprehending the initial investment required to start a franchise is fundamental for anyone considering this business model. The costs can vary widely, so it’s vital to break down the components. Franchise fees: Upfront payments needed to join the brand. Equipment: Necessary tools and machines to operate. Inventory: Initial stock to serve customers effectively. Marketing costs: Expenses for advertising and promotions. Operational costs: Ongoing expenses to keep the business running. For example, starting a franchise like Aire Serv might require around $50,000, whereas established brands like IHOP could need $500,000. Reviewing the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) is significant, as it provides detailed financial insights to help you make informed decisions. Ongoing Royalty Fees Ongoing royalty fees are an essential aspect of franchise ownership that potential franchisees must carefully evaluate. These fees typically range from 4% to 8% of gross sales, depending on the franchise brand and industry. You pay these to the franchisor for continued support and brand use, contributing to national advertising funds and training programs. Franchise agreements usually specify a monthly payment schedule based on reported sales. Furthermore, be aware of other costs like marketing and technology fees that can further impact your expenses. Comprehending the total cost of ownership, including these ongoing royalties and extra fees, is vital for evaluating the long-term financial viability of your franchise investment. Fee Type Typical Percentage Royalty Fees 4% – 8% of gross sales Marketing Fees Varies by franchise Technology Fees Varies by franchise Training Fees Often included in royalties Total Cost of Ownership Includes all fees Understanding Franchise Owner Satisfaction Franchise owner satisfaction plays a crucial role in determining the success and stability of a franchise system. A recent survey of 34,000 franchise owners reveals that satisfaction is closely linked to profitability. Key factors contributing to this satisfaction include: Strong support systems that empower owners Active community engagement nurturing connections Thorough training programs enhancing skills Ongoing operational guidance boosting confidence A robust company culture promoting networking These elements create a positive environment where franchisees feel valued and supported. When owners are satisfied, it reflects not just on their personal success but also on the brand’s reputation and financial viability in the marketplace. Therefore, comprehending and improving franchise owner satisfaction is crucial for long-term success. Researching Franchise Performance and Risk When evaluating a franchise opportunity, it’s important to thoroughly research its performance and associated risks. Start by analyzing key metrics like owner satisfaction, financial viability, and market presence, as these indicate long-term success. The Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) is significant; pay close attention to Item 19 for financial performance and Item 21 for financial statements. Look into historical sales performance and growth trends to gauge potential profitability. Furthermore, comprehending common risks, such as high operational costs and inadequate support from the franchisor, is critical for making informed decisions. Finally, reach out to existing franchise owners to hear firsthand about their experiences, which can provide valuable insights into daily operations and financial realities, helping you mitigate risks effectively. The Importance of Training and Support Effective training and support are crucial for your success as a franchisee, as they equip you with the necessary skills and knowledge to run your business efficiently. Thorough programs guarantee that you grasp operational procedures and brand standards, as you receive ongoing support that improves your experience. High owner satisfaction often correlates with the quality of training and resources available, which help you navigate challenges effectively. Franchises with robust support systems typically report lower failure rates and higher profitability, underscoring the importance of effective training. Many top franchises prioritize their commitment to training, recognizing that well-prepared franchisees maintain brand reputation and customer loyalty. Thorough operational training Marketing assistance from experts Access to peer support networks Continuous operational guidance Regular updates on industry standards Future Trends in Franchising As the franchising environment evolves, several key trends are shaping the future of this business model. The integration of technology is streamlining operations and improving customer experiences, during eco-friendly franchises are rising in response to consumer demand for sustainability. Furthermore, remote and virtual business models are allowing greater flexibility, opening new markets without the need for physical locations. Health and wellness franchises are likewise gaining traction, reflecting shifts in consumer priorities regarding fitness and nutrition. Adapting to these changes is essential for franchise success. Trend Description Technology Integration Streamlines processes and improves experiences Eco-Friendly Franchises Focus on sustainability and green practices Remote Business Models Flexibility and access to new markets Health & Wellness Catering to fitness and nutrition demands Consumer Behavior Adaptation Proactive response to market changes Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Most Profitable Franchise to Own? Determining the most profitable franchise to own hinges on various factors, including market demand and brand strength. Food and beverage franchises like Dunkin’ and Zaxby’s often yield high profits because of their established customer bases. Service franchises, like HVAC or automotive maintenance, likewise show strong profit margins. In the end, evaluating initial investment costs, support systems, and proven business models can guide you in identifying a franchise that aligns with your financial goals and risk tolerance. Which Franchise Is Best for Beginners? When considering which franchise is best for beginners, look for those with lower cash requirements and strong support systems. Brands like Tropical Smoothie Cafe and Aire Serv offer training and resources that can ease your entry into the franchise world. Moreover, researching franchisee satisfaction, such as with Kona Ice, can guide you toward a rewarding investment. Ultimately, choose a franchise that aligns with your interests and financial capabilities for peak success. What Is the 7 Day Rule for Franchise? The 7 Day Rule requires franchisors to provide you with the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) at least seven days before you sign any contracts or make payments. This document includes vital information about the franchise’s financial performance, fees, and obligations. Which Small Franchise Is Best? When choosing the best small franchise, consider your investment capacity and market demand. Tropical Smoothie Cafe offers extensive growth potential with over 1,500 locations, whereas Vocelli Pizza emphasizes community connections and high sales volume. For education enthusiasts, The Goddard School operates in a booming $71 billion sector. If you prefer services, Aire Serv requires a lower investment and provides vital HVAC services. Furthermore, Camp Run-A-Mutt taps into the lucrative pet care market. Conclusion In summary, selecting the right franchise in 2025 requires careful consideration of market trends, support systems, and owner satisfaction. By focusing on franchises in health, wellness, and eco-friendly sectors, you can align your investment with growing consumer demands. Evaluating costs, training, and performance will further improve your chances of success. With thorough research and a strategic approach, you can make informed decisions that position you favorably in the competitive franchise environment. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Best Franchises to Start" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

I've spend more time than I care to admit researching Selena Gomez today. The 33-year-old pop singer and star of Only Murders in The Building is at the center of an elaborate online conspiracy theory that been building steam all week. Why? In brief, many people online seem to believe Selena Gomez is a clone. Why people think Selena Gomez is a cloneIt started with the Epstein files. Last week, videos started showing up on TikTok claiming Selena Gomez was mentioned in the Epstein files. She was, but Gomez wasn't corresponding with Epstein; her name is mentioned in a July 21, 2017 message between Jeffery Epstein and Lana (NAME REDACTED) in which Epstein writes, "sorry , you would have had fun. he has diecided [sic] on selena gomez." Conspiracy theorists have been using the Epstein files as evidence to confirm basically anything since they were released in January, and that Gomez reference from Epstein is, in their minds, a smoking gun that proves she's a clone. The theory says the real Selena Gomez passed away during a kidney transplant operation in 2017, and the person we think is Selena Gomez is a genetically engineered replica. Interestingly, I can't find anyone talking about why someone would go to the trouble, but maybe it was to keep the Gomez-money-machine printing cash. To back up the cloning assertion, believers in the theory are comparing pictures and videos of a pre-2017 Gomez with her current appearance and pointing out all the ways she doesn't look and sound like she did almost a decade ago. She has a rounded face now where here face used to be angular! Her voice is different too; she used to sound bubbly and high-pitched, now she sounds like Madeline Kahn. This has led some to believe she somehow is Madelein Kahn. (Or maybe Geena Davis.) Evidence that Selena Gomez is not a cloneIt's impossible to prove a negative, but I'm still comfortable saying that Selena Gomez is definitely not a clone. Scientists have cloned all kinds of animals, from sheep to primates, so there's theoretically no reason a human couldn't be cloned. But it hasn't been done (that anyone knows about), because it's so unethical. But even if you put ethics aside, animal cloning has an extremely high failure rate: It took 79 embryos and 42 surrogate mothers to clone two macaque monkeys, for instance, and that was using fetal cells. Attempts to make cloned monkeys from adult cells went worse: 181 embryos were implanted into 42 surrogate mothers, and two baby monkeys were born, but both died within hours. The idea that a small army of doctors and scientists and 40+ surrogate mothers are keeping quiet about that one time they were supposed to give birth to Selena Gomez's clone isn't credible. Like a lot of conspiracy theories, this one doesn't even hold up to its own logic: if Selena Gomez had been cloned, wouldn't the new version be identical to the old one? Why the changes in voice and appearance? If the clone can be spotted on sight (or upon listening to her sing), why make a clone at all? More importantly, you can't clone a full-grown person. You can (theoretically) clone a human embryo, but it would have to be implanted in someone's womb, gestate, and be born. You'd have to raise it too. A Selena Gomez clone wouldn't just pop out of a giant test tube and report to the set of a late-career Woody Allen movie. Speaking of Woody Allen, the most reasonable explanation for that email is Jeffery Epstein telling "Lana" who Woody Allen had cast in A Rainy Day in New York—a movie shot in 2017 that stars Selena Gomez. The timeline fits perfectly with that movie's pre-production schedule—they announced the casting publicly two weeks later—and Epstein and Allen were longtime acquaintances. Here's why Selena Gomez looks and sounds different than she did in 2017Selena Gomez has lupus, a debilitating disease serious enough to have required her to receive a kidney transplant in 2017. No matter how rich and famous you are, you don't come out of that unmarked. The change in the shape of the face ("Moon face" as it's called) and body are well known side effects of the corticosteroids/steroids given to treat Lupus, as well as the immunosuppressants given for organ transplants. Same with her voice: Lupus causes vocal changes in about 80% of sufferers. Inflammation of the cricoarytenoid joint commonly leads to a lower pitched or raspy voice. Gomez even addressed the changes herself, noting that her "throat kinda swells inside sometimes" due to her health issues. In short, Selena Gomez looks and sounds exactly like someone who has lupus and had a kidney transplant in 2017. Ironically, if she looked the same as she did 10 years ago, it would be much stronger evidence for a conspiracy. It would be totally reasonable to ask, "did she really have a kidney replaced? Does she really have lupus?" But she clearly did and does, and you can see it on her face and hear it in her voice. Other celebrities rumored to have been cloned and/or died and been replacedWhen it comes to cloning conspiracies, we've been her before. In 1969, hippies were convinced that Paul McCartney of the Beatles had died, and been replaced by Billy Shears, the (fictional) winner of a Paul McCartney look-a-like contest. In 2003, Avril Lavigne was said to have been replaced by a body double Melissa Vandella. Gucci Mane came out of prison in 2016 looking slimmer, and fans thought he was a clone. Britney Spears is AI. Eminem is an android. It never ends. I'm not sure why people in parasocial relationships with entertainers love pretending they're fake, but they really do. Is pretending celebrities are secretly dead bad?I don't think many Selena Gomez fans really believe she's a clone, even if they post about it online. At least, they don't believe it in the same way they believe the sun is going to rise tomorrow. I doubt I could get anyone to put money on it. It feels more like it's half fan-fiction, an exciting (if ghoulish) game of what if? Believing in a world where a cabal of Hollywood mad scientists secretly cloned an actress so Hulu could produce more Only Murders in the Building is more exciting than accepting the dull, randomness of actual life. It's hard to accept that anyone, even a celebrity, can be stricken with a debilitating diseases that changes their faces and gives them unfamiliar voice, just because that's how shit goes sometimes. Because that means it could happen to you. In conspiracy-land, at least there's someone in charge of the bad things that happen. We'd rather have someone steering the bus, even with terrible intentions, than accept that there is no driver, and the exit doors are sealed shut. View the full article

Slack has taken a bold leap forward with the introduction of its Real-Time Search API (RTS) and Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, now available for all customers and partners. For small business owners, this groundbreaking update promises a transformative approach to collaboration and productivity by integrating AI agents directly into everyday workflows. Imagine a scenario where your team’s productivity soars, not just because the tools at their disposal are powerful, but because they’re also contextually aware of ongoing conversations and projects. Slack’s latest enhancement makes this vision a reality. According to Slack, every task—from coding to research to creative work—can benefit from AI agents that understand your business context and are seamlessly integrated within the workspace. This integration aims to streamline processes and enhance collaboration by eliminating the need to juggle multiple tabs or applications. Scott White, Head of Product for Claude at Anthropic, highlights the significance of this update: “Customers are increasingly seeing the value of this bi-directional integration, and usage is accelerating as a result: faster answers grounded in real team context, improved workflows, and insights delivered right in Slack, where work is happening.” The RTS API and MCP server, since their limited release in October, have already seen remarkable adoption rates. The statistics are compelling: a dramatic 25x rise in agent activity and queries demonstrates that Slack is rapidly becoming the go-to platform for enterprise AI agents. More than 50 industry-leading partners, such as Google and OpenAI, are already leveraging these assets to build contextually aware AI applications that meet diverse business needs. For small business owners, the ability to access context-aware AI agents means that routine tasks can be automated, allowing teams to focus on more strategic projects. Whether it’s developers utilizing tools like Claude Code or marketers seeking insights from ChatGPT, these agents offer real-time assistance where it matters most. By tapping into Slack’s living, real-time conversational data, small businesses can enhance their workflows, eliminate repetitive tasks, and foster a more creative environment. However, the integration of AI into daily operations does not come without challenges. Concerns related to data security and permissions remain paramount. Slack emphasizes that its technologies uphold enterprise-grade security, ensuring that businesses can leverage AI capabilities while maintaining strict control over their data. While this offers peace of mind, small businesses must also navigate the learning curve associated with adopting new technologies. Training staff to effectively utilize these AI agents will be essential to maximize their benefits. Adding to the ecosystem, a variety of specialized agents are now accessible through the Slack Marketplace. Whether your focus is on engineering, marketing, or even legal matters, these tailored agents can assist in specific areas, making operations more efficient. A few notable examples include Claude, which serves as an AI assistant capable of collating information from Slack conversations, and Manus, designed to automate tasks based on real-time insights. Matthias Ramge from Trivago shares his experience: “The ability to pull live Slack context directly into our AI workflows allows our teams to search company knowledge more effectively and enables our agents to post updates to Slack without switching contexts.” This illustrates the growing sentiment that when AI tools are embedded in daily workflows, they enhance rather than disrupt the working environment. As small business owners consider adopting these innovations, it’s crucial to evaluate their unique needs and how these tools can align with them. While Slack’s RTS API and MCP server open doors to a wealth of possibilities for improving efficiency and creativity, they also require a thoughtful approach to implementation and security. With the future of work poised to be increasingly collaborative, the integration of AI within platforms like Slack invites small businesses to rethink their operational strategies. By leveraging these advanced capabilities, teams can navigate the complexities of modern work, ultimately leading to better outcomes and a more engaged workforce. For further information on this exciting development, check out the official announcement here. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Slack Launches Real-Time Search API, Transforming AI Collaboration Experience" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Last October, 35 major donor families, calling their collaborative The Audacious Project, gathered in California and committed $1.03 billion to more than a dozen nonprofits whose proposed projects span multiple years and take on major challenges. The collaborative, housed at TED, announced the winning nonprofits Tuesday, after spending more than a year selecting the groups and helping them sharpen pitches for larger projects than philanthropic funders typically support. It’s not until the donors meet in person that they decide how much to give to each group. Jennifer Loving, the CEO of the San Jose-based nonprofit Destination: Home, said it was “shock and awe,” when they learned the donors had met their funding request to help expand homeless prevention services to multiple U.S. cities. “It’s not for the faint of heart to work on this issue in America,” Loving said, referencing the stigma around poverty. “And so you kind of brace yourself. You never know if people are going to see what you see and it was beautiful. It was really beautiful.” Connie Ballmer, cofounder of Ballmer Group along with her husband Steve Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft and owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, has been a donor since 2021, when she went with one of their sons to learn more about funding around climate change. “Nowhere that I know of can you raise a billion dollars in two days,” she said. “For an organization to raise an amount — whether it’s $40, $60, $80 million, I mean, do you know how long that takes them to do that kind of fundraising?” This year, the grantees also include the Arc Institute, a relatively new research group in California, to support its development of a virtual model of a cell that it hopes will help scientists identify treatments for complex diseases like Alzheimer’s. The South Africa-based group, Tiko, also received funding to expand its services for teenage girls, including contraception, HIV treatment and responses to sexual violence. It was the third time Tiko had applied for funding from Audacious, said CEO Serah Joy Malaba, with the hope of scaling their work to reach more girls. In total, 55 major donor families have participated in at least one round of The Audacious Project’s work. The group expands by invitation and the formal criteria that donors be willing to commit at least $10 million to the funding round. Many end up donating more, in part inspired by the commitments that others make in the room. Another donor, Tegan Acton, who cofounded Wildcard Giving along with her husband, Brian Acton, a cofounder of WhatsApp, said she participates because she believes in collective action and values the focus on funding solutions developed by people close to the problems. Acton also said she’s enjoyed seeing how different donors approach their funding decisions. “Some people come and they have a binder printed and they have a thousand tabs with little notes about every project and they’ve marked up the appendices” she said, whereas others, “show up and watch the videos and see what sparks interest.” As part of the application process, finalists record something like a TED Talk that introduces themselves and their project. Loving, from Destination: Home, said the guidance from Audacious and The Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit consulting firm, helped sharpen their plan for scaling their approach to homelessness prevention. The initiative, Right at Home, identifies people and families most at risk of losing their housing and gives them money and support so they don’t. The approach now has won significant public funding in San Jose. “Going through this process was probably one of the most rigorous things we’ve ever done,” Loving said. “I can say with total confidence that it made us smarter.” Loving’s project is a good example of the kind of big change that The Audacious Project seeks to identify. Her group had not aspired to work nationally but identified a solution they think may help other places. Rather than opening new offices or expanding, they will partner with local groups, bring them funding and ask them to participate in research to assess the impact. For the first time this year, some organizations received a second commitment from Audacious donors, including Last Mile Health. Their initial grant in 2018 helped to train many more community health workers in multiple African countries, going from 2,000 to 23,000. This time, they received $20 million to again train more of these front line health workers but also to support an ongoing project to coordinate and mobilize more domestic funding from the countries where they work. “It’s not just a philanthropic investment and then a cliff,” said Lisha McCormick, CEO of Last Mile Health. Instead, the funds will support a reworking of how governments fund their public health systems following major cuts to U.S. foreign aid, which made up a significant portion of some countries’ health budgets. Anna Verghese, executive director of The Audacious Project, said they’d considered making second round grants for a while. “The honest question that we and our donor community had to wrestle with is, what kinds of partners are we if we walk away right when that momentum is building?” she said. Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy. —Thalia Beaty, Associated Press View the full article

The Collaboration Room turns online peer networks into practical tools for pricing strategy, tax planning, succession, and psychological safety. The Disruptors With Liz Farr Go PRO for members-only access to more Liz Farr. View the full article

The Collaboration Room turns online peer networks into practical tools for pricing strategy, tax planning, succession, and psychological safety. The Disruptors With Liz Farr Go PRO for members-only access to more Liz Farr. View the full article

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today...View the full article

Even among professional athletes, nobody works out at 100% effort every single week. There are times to rest and recover, often for a week or more, and you and I can apply this principle to our routines, as well. Scaling back your strength training for a short period is called a deload. Here's how to do one, and how to know when you need it. What is a deload?Generally speaking, a deload is a short period of time—maybe a week, but this can vary—in which you do less strength training than usual. That said, people use the word in a few different ways. For some people, a deload is a complete break from training, like a vacation. You take the whole week off, and that’s all there is to it. For others, a deload is just a little bit lower in intensity than your usual work. You may be doing just as many sets and reps, but the weights aren’t as heavy. Another way to do this type of deload is to reduce volume, so that you do fewer reps and sets, but the weights may be just as heavy as usual. Which type of deload to use will depend on the type of work you’ve been doing up to this point, the reason for the deload, and your (or your coach’s) training philosophy. What are the benefits of a deload? A deload allows your body more recovery than you get in your usual training. Every workout incurs a bit of fatigue, and if you're training hard for weeks (or months) at a time, you might be so tired that you can no longer perform as well or do as much work. A little bit of fatigue is normal, but in extreme cases, your health may begin to suffer. You don't need to wait until everything falls apart to think about taking a deload. There are several ways strength athletes (and recreational lifters like you and me) plan ahead to include deloads in their training. Here are the main ones: To prepare for a competition. To do your best, you’ll need to reduce fatigue without getting rusty. Peaking usually involves a reduction in volume (fewer reps and sets) while keeping the weights heavy. To introduce new lifts or goals. You’re more likely to get sore if you’re doing something new and intense, so introducing new exercises or new types of training often makes sense during a week of lighter training (in this context, that’s sometimes called a “pivot week.”) To recover after a tough training block. Some programs will have a deload week built in; others times, you may choose to take an extra week after a program finishes and before you start the next one. As part of a long-term plan to manage fatigue. Even if your training wasn’t particularly tough, you may want to sprinkle in occasional deload weeks just to be sure you’re not getting unnecessarily fatigued. In response to perceived stress. Some programs don’t include planned deload weeks, and it’s up to the lifter to decide when they need a break. When should I take a deload?There are two schools of thought on deloads. One is to use them as-needed: you train hard for as long as you can, and then take a deload when you start to feel beat-up. The other is that deloads should be planned, so that you never find yourself in the position of wondering if it's time to take a deload yet. I wouldn't say there's a single right answer; both styles of training have succeeded for the right people. But I will say that it's hard to know when is the right time to take a deload if you're doing them as-needed. Some people will want to take a deload as soon as they start to struggle even the tiniest bit, even if their problem isn't something a deload can fix. Meanwhile, a lot of dedicated athletes will keep training long after they should have taken a break. It may be smarter to plan ahead and take those deloads whenever the calendar says it's time. How do I know if I’m doing it right?If you’re working with a coach, ask them about their big-picture plans for you. The deloads (or lack thereof) should be part of the puzzle, and have a reason for being programmed the way they are. If you’re running a program that you’ve found on the Internet or in books, take a moment to think about how your program approaches deloads. Some may include deloads, and some may not. If you’re programming for yourself, you can take inspiration from other programs that are out there, but you should also use some common sense and ask yourself how you are feeling. Deloads are a common tool for fatigue management, but they aren’t the only tool. Your program may adjust volume from week to week, for example, in a way that keeps you feeling fresh. If that’s the case, you may not need a deload at all. Even if you’re preparing for a competition, a deload is a very common way to reduce fatigue and ensure a good performance, but that doesn’t mean you always need to deload before a competition. (It’s common to “train through” a competition that is low priority, for example.) A deload is really just a training tool, so make sure you’re matching your choices about deloads to what your body needs. View the full article

Search engine optimization (SEO) — be found. Answer engine optimization (AEO) — be the answer. AI engine optimization (AIEO) — be the recommendation. Assistive agent optimization (AAO) — be chosen when no human is in the loop. Four stages where each clearly absorbs the last. The word that stays constant across the last two is “assistive,” and that’s important because it names the purpose: what the system does for the user. The word that changes is just one: engine becomes agent — a single pivot that tracks the real shift in our industry, from systems that recommend to systems that act. For me, everything else in the naming debate is a distraction. The SEO industry is fractured across at least six competing terms for what’s functionally the same discipline. Each term has a constituency, each constituency is spending energy defending its label, and while we argue about what to call the work, we’re not doing the work. So skip a step with me: I’ll explain in the next few paragraphs why AAO is a good solution — then we can all get back to our jobs. Every competing acronym covers part of the job, none covers all of it Every AI system that makes recommendations or takes autonomous action — Google, Bing, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot, and any other engine that glides into view — runs on three components: large language models, knowledge graphs, and traditional search. I call this the algorithmic trinity. The balance differs by platform (ChatGPT leans LLM-heavy, Google leans on its knowledge graph), but the trinity itself is universal. Even Google team members I’ve spoken with agree on this architecture. SEO also described the purpose the engine served, which I’ve always liked. So here’s a quick look at the competing acronyms against those three components. GEO describes mechanism, not purpose. It covers the LLM layer, includes search by necessity, but misses the knowledge graph entirely. Because “generative” is a technology label, the term expires when the technology evolves. “Generative agent optimization” describes nothing, which tells you the term wasn’t built to scale. Entity SEO covers the knowledge graph layer (entities live there), treats search as the delivery mechanism, and tangentially acknowledges LLMs. The term also fails the glossary test, which I now try my best to apply to my own writing. If a non-specialist can’t understand a term on first encounter, it was named for the speaker, not the listener. Every time I use the word “entity” to describe “brand” in conversations with business leaders, I have to explain myself. LLM optimization is honest about its scope, but that’s one-third of the job, ignoring the knowledge graph and search entirely. AI SEO bolts “AI” onto the old term, which makes it easy access for outsiders, but it doesn’t have long-term legs. Already in 2026, people aren’t searching, they’re researching, and some have agents researching for them. All of them are incomplete, and I’d argue that incomplete terminology produces incomplete strategy because practitioners naturally optimize for the leg their acronym covers and neglect the others. Assistive agent optimization (AAO) evolves neatly from answer engine optimization and covers everything we need to build a meaningful, complete strategy: “Assistive” names the purpose across the full algorithmic trinity. “Agent” names the actor that uses all three components to make a decision. “Optimization” is what we do. That’s a three-legged stool with all three legs the same length, which, if you’ve ever sat on one, is the only stool that doesn’t wobble. Dig deeper: SEO, GEO, or ASO? What to call the new era of brand visibility in AI [Research] Your customers search everywhere. Make sure your brand shows up. The SEO toolkit you know, plus the AI visibility data you need. Start Free Trial Get started with The glossary test says AAO isn’t perfect, but it’s the closest we’ve got Generative engine optimization requires the listener to know what a generative engine is, entity SEO requires them to know what an entity means in a technical context, and LLM optimization requires them to know what an LLM is — all three fail the glossary test. Assistive agent optimization doesn’t pass perfectly either because “assistive” requires half a second to process. But “agent” is mainstream vocabulary now (every tech company on earth is selling us agents), and “optimization” is self-explanatory. Two out of three words land with zero friction, and the third doesn’t need explaining after half a second’s thought. If you have a better term that covers the full algorithmic trinity — pull and push (see below) — and passes the glossary test more cleanly, I’m open, because the discipline matters more than the term. More importantly, AAO describes a role (optimize so the assistive agent chooses your brand), not a technology, and roles outlast technologies. The term that names what you do is the one you’ll still be using in five years, regardless of which model architecture or retrieval method is fashionable. Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. Here’s what changes when you adopt the AAO frame Your brand identity becomes the foundation, not a nice-to-have. When an agent books a hotel, selects a supplier, or recommends a consultant, it doesn’t scan a list of pages and pick the one with the best title tag. It evaluates what it knows about the brand itself: who this company is, what it does, who it serves, why it would be a reliable solution, and how confident the agent is in those facts. That confidence starts at the entity home — the one page you control that anchors everything the algorithmic trinity knows about you — and cascades outward through every corroborating source. If the agent doesn’t understand your brand clearly, it will pick a brand it does confidently understand. The funnel moves inside the agent. The traditional acquisition funnel (awareness, consideration, decision) used to happen with a bouncing on-and-off-your-website dance, where the search engine was one traffic source that sent people to you. Under AAO, the entire funnel happens inside the AI, without the user ever seeing a list of options. The agent becomes aware of you, considers you against alternatives, and decides — all before delivering the result. Your role is no longer to attract visitors to a funnel on your site, it’s to be the answer when the agent runs its own funnel internally. You might be thinking, “We’re not there yet.” You’re right. We’re not, for most people. But the funnel is already in the assistive engine (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode), and they bring people to the perfect click — the zero-sum moment in AI where they present one single solution to the user. Most people take the solution they’re offered. The only thing missing is the agent clicking the buy button. The web index is losing its monopoly as the source of truth. For two decades, the crawled web was effectively the only dataset that mattered: if Google hadn’t indexed it, it didn’t exist. That monopoly is breaking on two fronts. Proprietary datasets are feeding agents directly as search evolves into what I’d call ambient research, where in-app push recommendations surface your brand inside the tools people are already using, without anyone typing a query. Agents and engines already pull from APIs, booking systems, internal databases, and structured feeds that never touch a traditional web index. The web index doesn’t disappear (your website is still the entity home — the anchor), but it’s no longer the sole gatekeeper, and you should already be building your strategy on that basis. The push layer is back, too. For 20 years, we got lazy: Google and Bing crawled our sites, rendered our JavaScript, figured out what our pages meant even when we made it hard, and we published and waited. That will continue, but you’ll need to account for multiple additions. IndexNow (Fabrice Canel has been building this at Bing for years), MCP, and whatever Google eventually ships all do the same thing: they let you push structured information to the systems that act, rather than waiting for those systems to come and find it. It’s the 1990s again — submitting URLs and actively feeding the ecosystem. My guess on why Google hasn’t adopted IndexNow isn’t because it’s a bad idea — it’s a brilliant idea — but because it wasn’t Google’s idea, and Google would rather ship a proprietary version. The technical generosity we’d been leaning on comes back to bite us, too: JavaScript rendering was a favor Google extended, not a standard the industry can rely on, because most AI agent bots don’t render JavaScript. If your content sits behind client-side rendering, a growing number of agents simply never see it. (All of this maps to the 10-gate DSCRI-ARGDW pipeline I’ll lay out next in this series.) Dig deeper: The origins of SEO and what they mean for GEO and AIO See the complete picture of your search visibility. Track, optimize, and win in Google and AI search from one platform. Start Free Trial Get started with Your SEO skills still apply. The target moves from the engine to the agent. You don’t need to master every intermediate stage before adopting the AAO frame, because AAO contains AIEO contains AEO contains SEO — the skills stack — and only the target changes: be chosen when the agent acts, recommended when the user researches, and mentioned when the user asks. The compounding advantage I documented in “Rand Fishkin proved AI recommendations are inconsistent – here’s why and how to fix it” also applies here. The top performers in our data captured 59.5% of all citability by February, up from 30.9% in December — a 293% increase in concentration over two months. People who adopt this frame will be able to reliably build pipeline confidence while everyone else argues about acronyms — and the gap will widen over time. The discipline has a name, the agents are already acting, the push layer is here, and the lazy days are over. The first two articles were the “what” and the “why.” Next week, the how begins. I’ll open up the 10-gate pipeline I’ve been referencing, DSCRI-ARGDW, which stands between your content and a conversion from an AI engine. Discovered: The bot finds you exist. Selected: The bot decides you’re worth fetching. Crawled: The bot retrieves your content. Rendered: The bot translates what it fetched into what it can read. Indexed: The algorithm commits your content to memory. Annotated: The algorithm classifies what your content means across 24+ dimensions. Recruited: The algorithm pulls your content to use. Grounded: The engine verifies your content against other sources. Displayed: The engine presents you to the user. Won: The engine gives you the perfect click at the zero-sum moment in AI. View the full article

As President The President has cracked down on all kinds of immigration, tech workers and students have been caught in the crosshairs. In a bid to curb use of the H-1B visa—a program that allows employers to hire skilled talent from abroad and is widely used across the tech industry—The President imposed a whopping $100,000 fee on new applications last year. The steep cost of hiring H-1B workers has already had an impact on tech companies and other employers that have come to rely on the visa, leaving many students and aspiring H-1B workers with few options to remain in the country. Some employers have been forced to reevaluate their hiring strategy and have opted to sit out the H-1B lottery this year. For small companies, the fee has made an already challenging, expensive process virtually impossible to navigate. Amid this political climate, the immigration law firm Ellis wants to simplify work visa applications for companies—and workers—through a tech-enabled platform that uses AI to automate parts of the process, which remains complex and largely paper-based. With a new subscription service, Ellis is now offering employers a tiered option that starts at $2,000 a month, which allows smaller startups with under 50 employees to file unlimited visa applications. That includes most of the common work visa types, from the H-1B to the J-1 student visa or TN visa for workers from Mexico and Canada. Most immigration lawyers still bill by the hour or by case, which means companies can spend thousands of dollars per application just on legal fees. (On an individual basis, Ellis charges anywhere from $2,500 to $12,000 to prepare applications; the H-1B visa, for example, costs $3,000 in legal fees.) By bundling its services, Ellis hopes to encourage employers to sponsor more immigrant workers. “If you have a fixed platform fee, like you would with Ellis, your marginal cost of sponsoring a visa actually goes down, which is an incentive we’d like to encourage,” says Sampei Omichi, the founder and CEO of Ellis. There are other immigration law firms like Manifest Law that also have a flat fee option, which is more cost-effective for employers, as well as tech platforms like Boundless that provide on-demand legal support for visa applications. Some products are fully automating the visa application process, which means there is limited input from actual immigration attorneys. Ellis is pitching its platform as a more comprehensive solution for companies—and especially tech employers—that are looking for tech-forward legal support and the full services of an immigration law firm. Ellis has managed to bring down the legal costs associated with visa applications in part by employing AI agents where appropriate—and only with the oversight of full-time staff attorneys. “By automating a lot of the rote and manual work that comes with a more operational type of law, you actually open up the attorneys to do what they do best, which is case strategy,” Omichi says. “Frankly, most of their job now is acting as a therapist for the folks that are going through the immigration process.” For workers seeking visas, Ellis not only offers a smoother, more streamlined application process but also holds the promise that employers might be more inclined to sponsor their visa, even in a hostile environment for immigration. Omichi says the platform aims to provide more transparency into the process, allowing workers to keep tabs on their application through a dashboard and additional elements like shipment tracking. (Applications for the H-1B visa, for example, typically involve hundreds of pages and need to be assembled by hand and shipped out.) In advance of the H-1B lottery opening up next month, the firm also introduced an H-1B lottery odds calculator, to give applicants a sense of how likely they are to get approved for a visa based on their title and location. Perhaps most importantly, Ellis claims to have a 99.4% approval rate on its visa applications; when a visa is denied, the applicant gets a full refund of their legal fees or can file again free of charge. Over the last year, Ellis has filed over 400 applications on behalf of employees at AI startups like Adaptive and Wordware; by the end of 2026, Omichi says the firm is aiming to help 1,000 people secure visas. At a particularly volatile moment, Ellis also hopes to help workers wade through the morass of immigration policy, which can change on a dime under the current administration. “We really try to be like an extension of their people team,” Omichi says. The use of automation allows Ellis to be more responsive to its clients than other lawyers might be. In addition, the firm invests in education and resources to help both employers and workers who are scrambling to keep up with policy changes, along with giving companies a direct line to Ellis via a dedicated Slack channel. “Our job is to kind of simplify a traditionally very, very, very complex process into something a layman can understand,” Omichi says. “For employers, it means retaining their best talent. And for employees, it’s their livelihood. It’s often the most important thing in their life. If they don’t have stable immigration status, nothing else really matters.” View the full article

Energy and utilities emerge as big winners from fears that artificial intelligence will upend software industryView the full article

Discover how to create a fool-proof project schedule, including the methods, software tools, and expert tips to keep your project on track. The post How to Create a Project Schedule: Techniques, Examples & Tools appeared first on project-management.com. View the full article

In medicine, “rare” is often used to describe conditions that affect relatively few people. But when you work in healthcare long enough—especially at the very beginning of life—you realize rare diseases are not rare at all. As a neonatologist, I cared for newborns whose symptoms didn’t follow a familiar script. An infant struggling to breathe. A baby who couldn’t feed. A child whose development stalled without a clear explanation. In the NICU, there is no luxury of time. Families are desperate for answers, and clinicians are making high-stakes decisions with incomplete information. Too often, we treated what we could see while suspecting there was something deeper we could not yet name. We ordered a multitude of tests and brought in specialists to consult, but days often turned into weeks. Sometimes answers came, but often they came too late to change the course of care. Those moments stay with you, and those are the moments that brought me here to GeneDx. THE HIGH COST OF UNCERTAINTY The phrase “diagnostic odyssey” is frequently used in healthcare, but it understates the reality for families. For patients with rare disease, the path to a diagnosis often stretches across years—marked by repeated hospitalizations, unnecessary procedures, and conflicting opinions. All the while, disease progresses and the emotional and financial burden on families quietly compounds. For clinicians, that uncertainty is more than frustrating; it limits our ability to act decisively. Without a precise diagnosis, treatments are often generalized rather than targeted, care coordination remains fragmented, and families are left carrying the burden of unanswered questions. From a system perspective, the consequences are significant: longer lengths of stay, higher costs, avoidable interventions, and missed opportunities for earlier, more effective care. What makes this particularly challenging is that, increasingly, we have the tools to do better. Genomic medicine has transformed our ability to identify the underlying causes of disease—especially in pediatrics and rare conditions where traditional diagnostic approaches fall short. When used early, genomic testing can shorten the path to answers from years to weeks, days, or even hours. It can inform clinical decisions, guide care planning, and help families understand what lies ahead. Over the past couple of years, genomic technology has evolved. Costs and turnaround time have declined significantly, shifting genomics from a theoretical solution to a viable tool in everyday clinical practice. Now, it’s a matter of increasing awareness and broadening access to all patients who could benefit. OPEN TESTING ACCESS As Rare Disease Month continues, the question is no longer whether we can diagnose rare disease more effectively, but whether we are willing to make those tools part of routine care. In other areas of medicine, advances that improve accuracy and outcomes eventually become standard practice. Standard newborn screening, imaging technologies, and clinical protocols did not remain optional once their value was clear. They became embedded in care. Genomics is at a similar inflection point. The opportunity before us is not simply technological—it is systemic. Integrating genomics earlier into care pathways requires thoughtful implementation, clinician support, payer alignment, and real-world evidence. It requires collaboration across health systems, medical societies, advocacy groups, and policymakers. And it requires a shared understanding that earlier, more precise diagnoses are not an added extra—they are foundational to good medicine. A RARE OPPORTUNITY Rare disease challenges healthcare to be better—more precise, more compassionate, and more proactive. It forces us to confront the limits of traditional diagnostic models and to rethink when and how we deploy the tools now at our disposal. For me, this work is deeply personal. It is shaped by years at the bedside, by conversations with families searching for answers, and by a belief that uncertainty should not be the default starting point of care. Over the course of my career, I have worked across nearly every layer of the healthcare system—as a practicing physician, a health system partner, and a clinical leader within payer and innovation organizations. I’m bringing that experience with me as I help usher in the future of genomic medicine at GeneDx. Here I see a rare opportunity to help move genomics from the margins of medicine to its foundation, to shorten diagnostic journeys that have gone on far too long, and to build a healthcare system that delivers clarity when it matters most. Ending the diagnostic odyssey is not about technology alone. It is about trust. It is about giving clinicians the confidence to act and families the answers they deserve. And it is about recognizing that rare disease is not a niche problem, but something that impacts 1 in 10 Americans and thus, touches all of us. Linda Genen, MD, MPH, is chief medical officer of GeneDx. View the full article

Don’t let AI SEO fail in the boardroom. Align leadership, metrics, and ownership before scaling tactics. The post AI-SEO Is A Change Management Problem appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

It's been a little over a week since Discord said it will take its age verification mandate global, and despite promises that most users wouldn't need to verify, the company is still in hot water with gamers. Most recently, Discord's been discovered to have worked with Peter Thiel-backed company Persona, which itself is embroiled in multiple scandals. These include allegations that it was keeping personal identifying data from Discord users longer than was initially stated, and a reveal that the company accidentally left some of its data available to view on the open internet. Discord now says it's backing away from its partnership with Persona, but is it worth sticking around after all this? What happened with Discord's age verification rule?When Discord announced that it would soon require age verification globally, it actually followed age verification programs that had already started in regions like Australia and the UK. Discord's only known age verification partner in the United States is k-ID, which uses on-device facial scanning, but users discovered that in the UK, the company had also partnered with Persona. Discord's partnership with Persona was for an "experiment" that could have seen users submitting information that would have been "temporarily stored for up to seven days, then deleted." According to reporting from PCGamer, the information came to light following reports that some UK-based Discord users had gotten requests to submit information to Persona, which prompted concerns about their facial data leaving their devices despite the initial announcement's promise that only government ID data would go to the cloud, as well as how long any uploaded data would stay in the cloud. In a now-deleted support page, Discord clarified that the partnership was indeed real and part of an experiment, and added the note about the potential seven-day window for deletion, which contradicted statements that uploaded data would be deleted directly after age verification. In a post on X, the CEO of Persona, Rick Song, attempted to defend the workflow, saying that "on-device facial scanning" is "unfortunately too easy to bypass today," before later adding that uploaded information is still "processed and then deleted." However, Song did not provide a timeline for deletion. And data potentially leaving the user's device despite initial promises that it wouldn't was only one part of the concern. Over the weekend, a trio of hacktivists also discovered a vulnerability in Persona's data front end, which—according to analysis from independent publication The Rage and anti-malware organization Malwarebytes—left 2,456 files accessible to the open internet. Both the hackers and Persona's CEO, who have been in "good faith" communication, say that Persona itself was not hacked, and that the data was accidentally leaked and viewable to anyone with the know-how to find it (it has since been deleted). The full report of the findings has been published by one of the hackers, Celeste, and details that the leak was apparently found via a U.S. government-authorized endpoint that had somehow been isolated from its regular work environment. While the hackers did not find personal identifying information in the leaked files, they did find that Persona often performs far more than age verification on data sent to its servers. According to the leaked code, the company uses facial recognition to perform 269 separate verification checks against watchlists across 14 categories (including terrorism and espionage) and tags its reports with codenames related to known public-private partnerships for tracking anything from cannabis distribution to money laundering. Information including collected IP addresses, browser and device fingerprints, phone numbers, names, faces, and more, can be stored for up to three years, according to the hackers' findings. Granted, it's possible that Persona was not implementing all of these checks on users submitting age verification information via Discord, or keeping data for longer than the seven days mentioned on the now deleted support page. But it has not been a good look for either Persona or Discord. Discord is ending its relationship with PersonaFollowing user outrage about personal data leaving their devices or staying on the cloud for an unknown period of time, as well as the news that the company responsible for said data had apparently allowed so many of its files to leak to the open internet, Discord has begun damage control. The company told Ars Technica that only a "small number of users was included in the experiment" involving Persona, and that it "ran for less than one month." More importantly, now that the experiment is purportedly over, Discord told both Ars and The Verge that it is no longer partnering with Persona, and that it will "keep our users informed as vendors are added or updated." On Persona's end, the company clarified to Ars that it doesn't have any government contracts. CEO Rick Song also said in communication with the hackers that the leaked information was based on publicly available records, before iterating that Persona does not store data that users send to it. Song also said that Persona does not use AI, and despite being funded in part by Peter Thiel, does not have a relationship with Palantir. Is it safe to stick with Discord?While it's unclear the extent to which Persona was storing or analyzing user data, that it came as a surprise to so many users has been enough to see a massive increase in users trying alternatives like Teamspeak, which itself has taken the opportunity to criticize Discord's security. Personally, I likely won't uninstall Discord right away (if only because I need it to write stories like this), but I would think twice about uploading information if asked to verify my age. Note, however, that Discord can use metrics like your signup email to guess your age even if you don't send it personal identifying information—that's actually how it's planning to avoid pestering most of its users with age verification prompts. But even if you divest from Discord, it should be noted that, depending on the services you use in your life, you might still have to interact with Persona. While Discord will no longer work with the age verification company, Persona still has active relationships with social media sites including Reddit and LinkedIn, games like Roblox, and even payment service Square and access management platform Okta. Most notable might be Persona's relationship with OpenAI: This appears to be how Persona's code could have leaked in the first place. The hacktivists that discovered the leak found OpenAI signifiers in it—which, according to The Rage, means that OpenAI might have built an internal database for accessing Persona identity checks. This could explain how Persona's data found its way onto a U.S. government computer despite the company supposedly not having any government contracts. At any rate, as the internet becomes more connected and age verification becomes more common, flipping one switch, like divesting from a single app, likely isn't enough to fully wipe your online presence anymore. It's worth controlling what you can—Discord lets you delete information like sent messages or server channels—but it's legally obligated to retain purchase information, and also chooses to retain additional information such as database backups as well, even after account deletion. You can see a full list of retained Discord information on the company's website. In the meantime, check out these 10 tips from my colleague Pranay Parab for staying secure while online. View the full article

Deputy leader hails ‘huge opportunity’ to create sovereign wealth fund, but experts give sceptical response View the full article

You’re invited to a holiday party with a dress code—cocktail attire. Instead of panic-scrolling through a bunch of dresses that look great on someone else and questionable on you, you open your laptop. A runway show starts in your living room. The lighting is cinematic. The music hits. And every model walking the runway is YOU. Same body, same proportions, same posture. You toggle the scene from dramatic spotlights to natural daylight to a candlelit restaurant, watching how each dress moves and fits in real life before you pick the one that feels right. But this isn’t just a better shopping experience; it is a design process that’s likely to yield an outfit that appeals more to you. Historically, garment design has been a slow and expensive process. A designer hands a sketch off to pattern makers and sample rooms. Time goes by. One physical sample comes back. The designer evaluates it on a single body type. Often, that body type is very specific. Every iteration is costly and constrained by physics and time. With AI, designers can sketch an idea and instantly see it rendered across fabrics, colors, environments, and a wide range of body types. They can iterate in real time, stress-test designs before cutting a single piece of fabric, and design with diversity rather than retrofitting it later. The result is faster timelines, fewer samples, and fashion built for real people, starting from the very first pixel. HOW AI ACCELERATES DESIGN AI also gives fashion designers more authorship. The designer doesn’t have to rely solely on their intuition and experience to guess how something might work in the real world. They can simulate it with different fabrics, silhouettes, and colors, and test fit immediately. You can see how a silk bias-cut dress behaves on a tall body versus a petite one, how a structured jacket reads when someone sits, walks, or raises their arms. You can design for movement, not just a static pose. This is a sharp break from how inclusive sizing has traditionally worked. Brands used to design for one idealized sample size and then grade up or down later. Sometimes, that starting point may be a plus-size model, but even then, only one body type is considered for the design. With AI, you can start with many bodies at once, treating variation as a first-class design constraint instead of an afterthought. The tooling compounds into revenue by expanding who the product works for. On the consumer side, this changes the emotional relationship with clothing. Returns are one of the dirtiest secrets in e-commerce. People order three sizes, keep one, and ship the rest back. Not because they’re careless, but because the system gives them no better option. When you can see a garment on your body, in your lighting, and in your life, you don’t need to guess anymore. None of this means fashion becomes automated or soulless. If anything, the opposite happens. When designers are freed from the slow, mechanical parts of the process, they can spend more time on taste, storytelling, and craft. Beyond the runway, people will ultimately see your work on a variety of body types. Now you can apply your creativity to designing garments with this in mind. AI expands the surface area where creativity can play. FINAL THOUGHTS We’ve seen this movie before in other creative industries. Photography went digital. Music went from studios to laptops. Film editing moved from physical reels to software timelines. Each shift caused panic, then democratization, then an explosion of new voices and formats. Fashion has lagged because it’s physical by default. AI is the bridge that finally connects imagination to reality without so much friction in between. Yana Welinder is the founder of yanabanana.ai. View the full article

Danish group is struggling to compete with rival Eli Lilly View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Home security cameras usually come with a tradeoff. You either run wires through your walls or climb a ladder every few weeks to recharge a battery. The TP-Link Tapo SolarCam C402 Kit skips both. It’s currently $39.98 on Amazon, down from its usual $59.99, and price trackers confirm this is its lowest tracked price to date. TP-Link 𝗧𝗮𝗽𝗼 SolarCam C402 Kit, Outdoor Battery Camera w/Solar Panel Base, Wireless, 1080P, Free Person/Vehicle Detection, SD/Cloud Storage, Color Night Vision, No Hub Needed, Works w/Alexa $39.98 at Amazon $59.99 Save $20.01 Get Deal Get Deal $39.98 at Amazon $59.99 Save $20.01 Setup is straightforward: Mount the camera, position the panel where it gets steady sun, and let it handle the rest. TP-Link says around 45 minutes of direct sunlight per day is enough to keep the battery charged, and with an IP65 rating, the housing is designed to handle rain and dust. That makes it a budget-friendly option for a backyard, driveway, or shed where running power lines would be inconvenient. Video tops out at 1080p and is not ultra-smooth, but it is detailed enough to identify someone approaching your door, and its 125-degree field of view captures a broad stretch of yard without the heavy curve you get from some wide-angle lenses. At night, you can switch between standard infrared for black-and-white video or use the built-in spotlight to capture color footage. The color mode looks better when there’s at least some nearby lighting, like a porch light or streetlamp, notes this PCMag review. There is also two-way audio for speaking to visitors and a built-in siren if you want an audible alert. For storage, you can insert a microSD card up to 512GB, sold separately, or opt for Tapo’s cloud plan at $3.49 per month after a 30-day trial, which adds 30 days of video history and smart clip organization. On the plus side, it supports person, pet, and vehicle detection even without a paid subscription (which is not always the case with budget cameras). It also supports Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT, though Apple HomeKit is not included. The main compromise is the 15fps video and the fact that you are relying on sunlight, so placement matters. For $40, though, this is one of the simpler ways to add a wire-free outdoor camera that does not demand constant maintenance. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods 4 Active Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds — $157.90 (List Price $179.00) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $329.00 (List Price $349.00) Google Pixel 10a 128GB 6.3" Unlocked Smartphone + $100 Gift Card — $499.00 (List Price $599.00) Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 46mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - M/L. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant — $329.00 (List Price $429.00) Shark AI Ultra Matrix Clean Mapping Voice Control Robot Vacuum with XL Self-Empty Base — $299.99 (List Price $599.00) Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE 128GB Wi-Fi Tablet (Gray) — $379.99 (List Price $499.99) Amazon Fire TV Soundbar — $99.99 (List Price $119.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

Throughout Kim Kardashian’s two-decade career in the public eye, the reality TV star’s entrepreneurial endeavors have included shapewear clothing brand Skims, makeup brand KKW Beauty, cofounding a private equity firm, and a super popular mobile game. But with her latest venture, Kardashian is stretching her mogul credentials into beverages, which has been familiar terrain for celebrities. She has become a “cofounder” of the energy drink company called Update. Though the startup has existed for four years—meaning Kardashian wasn’t a day-one founder—Update’s CEO and cofounder Daniel Solomons tells Fast Company that she has been a steady customer since 2023 and two years ago, began to offer feedback on the brand’s formula and packaging. Update isn’t disclosing if Kardashian took an equity stake in the brand as part of her appointment as a cofounder, though Solomons says that “she genuinely loved how the product made her feel.” On Tuesday the upstart energy drink also announced a 4,000 store distribution deal with Walmart that begins on March 1. Before the Walmart deal, Update was primarily sold through direct-to-consumer channels, and Solomons noticed on his Shopify account that especially large orders were being placed by Kardashian’s team. He was able to reach out to her through mutual connections. Daniel Solomons “That organically just turned into a situation where she was really excited to get involved, reached out, and wanted to partner up and formalize it,” says Solomons. “I’m really bullish about the growth of the category and how we can add to that.” REBRANDING THE ‘TECH BRO’ ENERGY Solomons says Kardashian helped advise on Update’s new packaging and product formulation. Solomons says the startup’s initial labeling was too “masculine, tech bro” and Update wanted to aspire to a design that’s more gender neutral. The relaunched portfolio adds new grape and pineapple flavors and Update made tweaks to the berry, peach, and mandarin flavors, a process called reformulation. It is especially common for food and beverage startups to reformulate after they debut when they are able to get in-market consumer feedback. Solomons says the changes were intended to make the beverages “more true to fruit,” meaning as close to the real taste profile of, say, an actual pineapple. Update also involved Walmart, sending the retailer formula samples and packaging assets to get its feedback. Later this year, the brand expects to expand into additional major retailers and will launch more products beyond the core lineup. Solomons says Update also brings a distinct proposition to the market by using the lab-produced paraxanthine, rather than caffeine, as the active ingredient to deliver energy. There have been few studies on paraxanthine, though early research suggests that it is relatively safe. Paraxanthine is a compound that the human body produces after consuming caffeine and Solomons claims that it has a similar bitter taste profile, but doesn’t have the jittery side effects that some experience when drinking caffeine-based coffee or energy drinks. BETTING ON A BUZZY, BOOMING CATEGORY Update is aiming to get a firmer foothold in the fast-growing U.S. energy drinks and shots market whose sales grew by 65% to $23.9 billion during a five-year period ending in 2024, according to Mintel. The market researcher estimates sales will hit $33.4 billion by 2029. “It is a darling category right now,” Duane Stanford, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest, tells Fast Company. He says energy drinks sales are far outpacing coffee and tea, two rival caffeine-focused beverage categories. The market is dominated by three players that command 70% of sales: Monster Beverage, Red Bull, and Celsius Holdings. The larger players Monster Energy and Red Bull have lately reported double-digit sales increases, while Celsius’s revenue for the first nine months of 2025 jumped 75% from the prior year, as the core brand grew, but also due to the recent acquisitions of Rockstar Energy and Alani Nu, the later sold in colorful packaging and marketed heavily to women. Alani Nu was founded in 2018 by fitness influencer and coach Katy Hearn and sold five years later for $1.8 billion to Celsius. Monster and Celsius are expected to release their fourth-quarter earnings this Thursday. Energy drinks have benefited from a decades-long trend of favoring cold drinks over hot and, more recently, the skyrocketing price of coffee due to tariffs, which has led some shoppers to defect when looking for their energy fix. Celsius, in particular, has been credited with luring more female drinkers into a category that was traditionally marketed to extreme sports lovers, branding that was the core of both Red Bull and Monster. CELEBRITIES BOOST MARKETING, BUT DON’T ENSURE LONGEVITY While Kardashian’s involvement will give Update a marketing jolt, especially through any support the star may offer through her Instagram and TikTok channels that have a combined 364 million followers, there’s no guarantee that a celebrity-backed beverage brand will be a hit with consumers. Look no further than sports and energy drink brand Prime Hydration, which was founded by internet personalities Logan Paul and Olajide “KSI” Olatunji. Bloomberg reported it was set to surpass $1.2 billion in annual sales by the end of 2023, a mere two years after it launched. But sales have sputtered, with the Prime’s energy drink volume dropping 57% for the first nine months of 2025 from the prior-year period, according to Beverage Digest. Zoa Energy, cofounded by actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, got a boost when it sold a majority stake to Molson Coors in 2024. But the five-year-old brand has less than 1% of the total U.S. energy drink market, which is also where Prime stands in the category. “I suspect consumers are starting to get wary of it now,” says Stanford. “Because every celebrity has a beverage brand now. People can only consume so many drinks.” View the full article