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European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen proposes central arms reserve capitals could draw fromView the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. This deal on the refurbished Apple Watch Ultra (GPS + Cellular) for $359.99 on Woot (for the next six days or until it sells out) is tempting—especially considering that it’s going for over $445 on Amazon. That’s a solid price cut, but the catch is, this is a refurbished unit. That means some level of wear and tear is expected, but it has been tested to be fully functional with at least 80% battery capacity, and Woot backs it with a two-year limited warranty. If you’re OK with a few cosmetic imperfections in exchange for savings, this might be worth grabbing—just note that it’s only available for shipping within the contiguous U.S. Prime members also get free shipping, while non-members will have to pay $6. Apple Watch Ultra (GPS + Cellular) $359.99 at Woot $445.00 Save $85.01 Get Deal Get Deal $359.99 at Woot $445.00 Save $85.01 As for the Apple Watch Ultra itself, this thing is built tough. Designed for extreme conditions, its MIL-STD 810H certification means it can handle freezing temps, high altitudes, sandstorms, and general rough treatment. Apple says it’ll keep working between -4 and 130 degrees Fahrenheit, which is overkill for most people but great if you’re into extreme sports or outdoor adventures. The GPS + Cellular connectivity of this model is a big advantage, too, letting you take calls, stream music, or use maps even when you’re away from your phone—a huge plus for runners, hikers, and anyone who hates being tied to their iPhones. Also, its 1.9-inch OLED Retina screen is ridiculously bright at 2,000 nits, making it super easy to read in direct sunlight. The Apple Watch Ultra runs on watchOS 9, packing features like heart rate zone data, sleep stage tracking, advanced running metrics, and more. It also includes Apple’s safety and health tools like car crash detection and overnight body temperature tracking. Battery life holds up well, lasting 55 to 57 hours with normal use, even with the always-on display enabled, notes this PCMag review. If you want one of the most rugged Apple Watch ever made at a lower price (and don’t mind some cosmetic flaws), this Woot deal is worth considering before it sells out. But if you’d rather have a newer model without the Ultra’s bulk, the Series 10 ($359, down from $429) is the best iPhone-compatible smartwatch for most users, while the Watch SE ($249) is the best budget-friendly option, according to this PCMag "Best Smartwatches for 2025" roundup. View the full article

Bing Webmaster Tools launches new comparison features and improved interface for enhanced search performance analysis. The post Bing Webmaster Tools Adds Data Comparison & UX Improvements appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Microsoft has added the ability to compare date ranges within the Search Performance report in Bing Webmaster Tools. This allows you to compare metrics and data points such as clicks, impressions, CTR, keywords, and pages across various date ranges. What Microsoft said. Microsoft wrote: “These enhancements enable in-depth analysis, providing invaluable insights for optimizing online presence and improving visibility. This means businesses can now make more informed decisions, identify key trends, and effectively adjust their marketing strategies to achieve better results.” Microsoft also made user experience improvements in time filters, the company added. What it looks like. Here is a screenshot showing the new “compare” option in the Search Performance report in Bing Webmaster Tools: Why is this helpful. Microsoft posted a few ways these comparisons helps you, including: Identifying key trends and patterns Evaluating the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns Gaining insights from seasonal search data Setting benchmarks and goals using historical data Identifying areas for improvement in search performance Why we care. Google has offered comparing data in Search Console for a while, plus all the third-party tools offer this. But now you can compare this data directly in Bing Webmaster Tools without having to export this data to a third-party tool. This should save you a lot of time, by not having to use another tool to compare your Bing Search data. View the full article

Microsoft released Copilot within Bing Webmaster Tools to all users today, the company announced today. Initially, Microsoft had a beta release to only 10,000 trusted users of Bing Webmaster Tools but now the feature is generally available to all users. What is Copilot in Bing Webmaster Tools. Copilot in Bing Webmaster Tools promises to provide “instant, accurate and contextually relevant answers to [user] queries.” It is engineered to provide “streamline workflows, enhance productivity, and provide valuable insights,” Microsoft initially said. Copilot in Bing Webmaster Tools aims at “helping webmasters manage their search optimization efforts more efficiently, improving workflows, productivity, and providing actionable insights,” the company said. Top features. Microsoft outlined these four features as the top features for Copilot in Bing Webmaster Tools: Real-Time Question/Answer Chat: Offers personalized, instant, and accurate responses tailored to your specific site, enhancing efficiency and effectiveness in managing your SEO. Deep Data Insights: Provides comprehensive, site-specific insights into performance, helping you quickly identify and resolve issues. Learning Resources: Access built-in guidance to perform tasks, utilize tools, and improve your website’s visibility and performance. User Feedback Integration: Continuously improves based on user feedback, ensuring the tool evolves to meet user needs. English only. This feature is currently only available in English only, but Microsoft is working to expand it to more languages in the future. What it looks like. Here are two screenshots of Copilot in Bing Webmaster Tools: Why we care. Copilot in Bing Webmaster Tools may help you find answers to your data questions on how your site is performing in Bing Search, what issues your site may be experiencing, and how to use Bing Webmaster Tools. It seems this feature has improved over the last few months and hopefully will continue to improve over time. View the full article

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. A reader writes: I work in the five-person office of a large pre-school. My colleague, Amy, keeps a five-gallon fish tank near her desk with between two and four fish in it. The tank is in full view of the office door and the lobby beyond. The fish are important to the school; when our young students are overwhelmed and need to calm down, the office fish are often their first stop with their teachers, and “saying hi” is often enough to stop a crying jag. The kids love watching the brightly colored fish, who all have fun names, and Amy loves them, too. She takes great care of the fish, arranging feedings with others when she’ll be out of the office, making sure the tank’s heater and filter work properly at all times, and generally being a pretty good fish parent for someone who isn’t a hobbyist fish-keeper. I am not a fish person myself, but I love animals and have close friends who are extremely passionate about their aquariums, so I’ve absorbed a lot of knowledge from them, enough to know what constitutes good fish care, and have passed along tips when appropriate. Amy pays a teenager, Jake, who is the son of one of our longtime teachers, to clean the tank at regular intervals. Jake is polite, friendly, and seems to care about doing a good job. Except … multiple times now, fish have died within a few days of a tank cleaning. It’s not clear what the exact issue is with the tank, but I suspect the cleaning chemicals are not properly rinsed out or the tank water is otherwise chemically unbalanced. Most recently, after a mass fish casualty event, the tank was cleaned, left empty to filter for a week or so, and finally, on Tuesday, brought three fish and a snail straight from the pet store. She let them acclimate to the tank temp in their bags for a while, as recommended, and then loosed them in the water. Thursday morning, less than 48 hours later, two of the three fish died before the school day was over. After the previous deaths, Amy and I were talking about it and she was very sad about her fish, and concerned that a fish would die without her noticing and a child would see the dead fish in the tank. That’s always been a possibility, of course, but now it seems like an inevitability. I named the pattern I was seeing with Jake’s cleanings and she said she had noticed the same. I gently suggested that maybe Jake doesn’t clean the tank anymore and she agreed that it was a problem … but she would feel bad telling him he couldn’t do it anymore and causing him to lose out on the spending money he earns. As far as I know she intends to have Jake continue cleaning the tank and has not spoken to him (or his mom) about the deaths despite the frequency, and the monetary and emotional cost of replacing the fish so often. We haven’t yet spoken about the new deaths. I feel like this situation is a product of the “they’re just fish” mindset so many have that treat pet fish as disposable and replaceable, and easily avoidable with one slightly awkward conversation. I feel like my hands are tied here, because they’re not my fish, it’s not my money, and I am not Amy’s supervisor, but it’s a huge downer every time. My boss doesn’t seem like a good choice for any sort of intervention, because she treats her own office fish as disposable. Do I have any recourse here to push for a change, or should I let go and let Amy handle it as she sees fit? I think you not only have standing to speak up, you have an ethical obligation to speak up! Amy is knowingly putting living creatures into a situation where they’re likely to die within days and the only reason she’s not doing anything to stop it is because she wants to avoid a mildly awkward conversation with a teenager. Primarily this is horrible to the fish, but it’s also pretty horrible to Jake — she’s assuming that he would rather go on being responsible for killing fish (assuming that is indeed what’s happening) than handle hearing “hey, we need to do something differently with how we’re cleaning the tank.” This is not such a sensitive message to deliver that she should need to tiptoe around it to this extent. And it’s good for teenagers to learn things. This is something Jake would probably want to know. If Amy really can’t bring herself to have a pretty basic, straightforward conversation with a teenager, then she needs to stop buying more fish. The kids will survive that if that’s the decision; that’s far preferable to continuing to throw their much loved fish friends into what appears to be a near-instant death chamber. So please, talk to Amy again! Maybe you can say, “I think Jake would feel really awful if he ever realizes what’s happening and that no one just educated him about how to fix the problem. And I don’t think we can ethically continue keeping fish without fixing it. Personally I feel really awful seeing fish killed like that, and I think Jake would strongly prefer to get some guidance on keeping them alive, if it is an issue with the chemicals. If you really don’t want to talk to him, I think we have to stop putting fish in there.” If you’re up for it, you could add, “I feel strongly about it so I’m willing to help talk with him if you want me to.” View the full article

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte is the new chair for both and he has removed several members while adding a few new names at each. View the full article

Tesla sinks as investors shift away from riskier holdingsView the full article

This article is posted with permission from our partner Solo Health Collective. Learn more about Solo at: https://freelancersunion.org/solo Freelancers and independent contractors often struggle to find an affordable, high-quality health plan. Traditional plans can be expensive, lack flexibility, or offer minimal benefits for self-employed individuals. Freelancers Union partner, Solo Health Collective, is a unique health plan designed specifically for freelancers, solopreneurs, and small business owners. Here’s how it can provide significant tax advantages—and why it’s a great option for independent professionals. Tax Advantages for FreelancersOne of the biggest benefits of enrolling in Solo Health Collective is the potential for significant tax savings. Here’s how: Deductible Health Insurance PremiumAs a self-employed person, your health insurance premiums are typically tax-deductible as a business expense. This means you can lower your taxable income while maintaining necessary coverage. Health Savings Account (HSA) ContributionSolo Health Collective offers HSA-compatible high-deductible health plans (HDHPs). HSAs provide powerful tax benefits: Contributions are tax-deductible (or pre-tax if made through payroll).Funds grow tax-free through investments.Withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are tax-free, providing long-term saving Deductible Medical ExpensesMany freelancers don’t realize that out-of-pocket medical expenses—including deductibles, copays, and certain procedures—may also be deductible if they exceed a percentage of your adjusted gross income (AGI). ***always consult a tax professional to confirm eligibility and compliance based on your income, state, etc. Tailored for Independent ProfessionalsUnlike traditional insurance plans that cater to larger groups, Solo Health Collective is structured to meet the needs of self-employed individuals. It operates as a self-funded health plan through a captive insurance model, which means members gain access to group purchasing power, lower costs, and robust benefits. Key advantages include: Affordable, predictable pricing compared to other traditional health plansAccess to a national PPO network through MultiPlan PHCS, ensuring quality care anywhere in the U.S.HSA-compatible plan options, allowing members to save pre-tax dollars for medical expenses.Freelancers face unique challenges when it comes to health coverage, but Solo Health Collective offers an innovative solution that combines affordability, flexibility, and tax advantages. By setting up your plan with Solo, you not only gain access to a high-quality healthcare plan but also unlock potential tax savings that can make a real impact on your financial well-being. Want to learn more? Visit Solo Health Collective’s page to explore your options or schedule a one-on-one consultation with their support team to answer your questions and learn more about the plan. View the full article

This article is posted with permission from our partner Solo Health Collective. Learn more about Solo at: https://freelancersunion.org/solo Freelancers and independent contractors often struggle to find an affordable, high-quality health plan. Traditional plans can be expensive, lack flexibility, or offer minimal benefits for self-employed individuals. Freelancers Union partner, Solo Health Collective, is a unique health plan designed specifically for freelancers, solopreneurs, and small business owners. Here’s how it can provide significant tax advantages—and why it’s a great option for independent professionals. Tax Advantages for FreelancersOne of the biggest benefits of enrolling in Solo Health Collective is the potential for significant tax savings. Here’s how: Deductible Health Insurance PremiumAs a self-employed person, your health insurance premiums are typically tax-deductible as a business expense. This means you can lower your taxable income while maintaining necessary coverage. Health Savings Account (HSA) ContributionSolo Health Collective offers HSA-compatible high-deductible health plans (HDHPs). HSAs provide powerful tax benefits: Contributions are tax-deductible (or pre-tax if made through payroll).Funds grow tax-free through investments.Withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are tax-free, providing long-term saving Deductible Medical ExpensesMany freelancers don’t realize that out-of-pocket medical expenses—including deductibles, copays, and certain procedures—may also be deductible if they exceed a percentage of your adjusted gross income (AGI). ***always consult a tax professional to confirm eligibility and compliance based on your income, state, etc. Tailored for Independent ProfessionalsUnlike traditional insurance plans that cater to larger groups, Solo Health Collective is structured to meet the needs of self-employed individuals. It operates as a self-funded health plan through a captive insurance model, which means members gain access to group purchasing power, lower costs, and robust benefits. Key advantages include: Affordable, predictable pricing compared to other traditional health plansAccess to a national PPO network through MultiPlan PHCS, ensuring quality care anywhere in the U.S.HSA-compatible plan options, allowing members to save pre-tax dollars for medical expenses.Freelancers face unique challenges when it comes to health coverage, but Solo Health Collective offers an innovative solution that combines affordability, flexibility, and tax advantages. By setting up your plan with Solo, you not only gain access to a high-quality healthcare plan but also unlock potential tax savings that can make a real impact on your financial well-being. Want to learn more? Visit Solo Health Collective’s page to explore your options or schedule a one-on-one consultation with their support team to answer your questions and learn more about the plan. View the full article

Lazy coworkers — there’s at least one in every office. They’re the ones who come in late, take a long lunch and leave early. They always have an excuse to explain their behavior and can even be apologetic. But what good is saying sorry if the actions remain the same? These actions can be annoying, but if the lazy coworker doesn’t impact your work, then simply avoid them. Don’t hold onto resentments. On the other hand, if their laziness starts to affect your work life, then you need to address it. But first, do a little soul-searching. Are you just being judgmental? Does the lazy coworker trigger you? Before you start tattling and spreading toxic emotions, try speaking to the person. Communications are key. If it’s too embarrassing to speak about in person, reach out via email or other online collaboration tools. It could all amount to a simple misunderstanding. But if you can’t work out the issue with the lazy coworker, then what? You might have to report the person to your superior. Before you escalate the issue, though, try these 13 tips for dealing with a lazy coworker. 1. Don’t Let Your Feelings Fester Yes, ignore the petty issues. But if there is a real problem, the worst thing you can do is ignore it because then you’re just going to sit and stew. This will pollute your entire person in time. Naturally, you first need to determine if the problem is small. If it’s not, then be proactive and do something about it. Nothing rash, of course, but the first step is acknowledging that there’s a problem. Then next step is letting the person know. After that, well, it depends on how the lazy coworker responds. 2. Deal with the Lazy Coworker Head On If the lazy coworker ignores their own work and asks you to do it instead, don’t. Sometimes you need to just stand up and say, “No!” It’s as simple as that. Now helping once or twice is called teamwork. You’re all in this thing together. But once it becomes habitual, then that’s called enabling. You’re becoming part of the problem and not the solution. 3. Focus on Your Own Work While a lazy coworker can undoubtedly be a distraction, one of the easiest ways to deal with the problem is to focus on your own tasks. Continue to perform and execute your work to the best of your ability without letting your frustrating coworker drag you down. In some cases, you might find yourself taking on work that’s outside of your responsibilities. The last thing you want is for this to detract from your tasks and cause larger issues. If this is the case, be sure to communicate with your manager or supervisor so you can find a solution. 4. Offer Some Guidance Maybe your lazy coworker isn’t really goofing off; they’re just in over their head. They might need some help. That doesn’t mean you’re going to do their work for them, but it could mean that you’re going to tell them how to manage their tasks and workload so they can be more efficient and productive. 5. Understand the Potential Underlying Issues A little bit of empathy can go a long way in understanding why your lazy coworker acts the way they do. Laziness can sometimes be a symptom of a deeper problem such as personal issues, burnout or a lack of motivation. While there isn’t any excuse that justifies this type of behavior at work, consider where your coworker is coming from and approach the situation with as much empathy as possible. 6. Be Dispassionate When you can’t avoid the problem, and the attempt at guiding them back on track wasn’t fruitful, then you’re going to want to communicate more firmly what the problem is and how it’s impacting you and others. It’s important to try and resolve the issue yourself first, but don’t go into that conversation with a hot head. If you’re upset, then wait, and even if you’re angry, don’t speak from a place of anger. You want to state your case professionally and dispassionately. If this doesn’t work, well, at least you tried. Related: How to Negotiate in the Workplace: A Practical Guide 7. Talk to Someone About Your Lazy Coworker If you’ve talked and nothing comes from it, before doing something like lodging a complaint, seek outside counsel. No, you’re not going to need to hire a lawyer (hopefully!), but you can use a friend as a soundboard and maybe get some perspective on the situation. Do you have a mentor, someone who’s been around the block? They might offer insights that can help you resolve the problem. 8. Use Positive Reinforcement In the case that you catch your lazy coworker putting in true effort, be sure to acknowledge and praise their work. Even something as simple as a “Great job!” message on Slack or an email thanking them for their work can help encourage them to keep it up. If their contributions benefit the team and the project, let them know. Emphasizing this team angle can help them feel valued and motivated to accomplish their tasks. 9. Don’t Gossip About Your Coworker While it’s suggested you talk with someone about the problem, that’s different than gossiping and complaining. Yes, you’re frustrated, and so there is a tendency to get that off your shoulders by sharing it with coworkers. Gossiping might alleviate your frustration momentarily, but it’s not a long-term fix. Plus, your negative comments are likely to get back to the person, and that will only make the matter worse. If you talk to the lazy coworker directly, you can control the situation better, but if they pick up on office gossip then they’re going to get resentful and the cycle will continue. Related: The Dangers of Self-Serving Bias at the Workplace 10. Don’t Enable Their Laziness You could think that by picking up the slack you’re doing them and yourself a favor. After all, if there’s work to be done, then someone’s got to do it. Why not you? This isn’t dealing with the problem, though. It’s a passive way of avoiding it, and such inaction will backfire on you. You’ll burn yourself out, or you’ll grow resentful. Either way, what might feel like an easy way to solve the situation is really just prolonging it until it becomes something worse. 11. Keep a Good Attitude A lazy coworker that impacts your work is also going to influence your attitude. You might feel that if they’re not doing any work, well, then you won’t either! That’ll show’em! Unfortunately, this little act of rebellion will only put you in the hot seat. Instead, do your work, and try and ignore the laziness of others. But if you do feel that bitterness rising to the point that it affects your personality, then you know that action is required. 12. Talk to Your Manager About Your Lazy Coworker While it’s never ideal to bring interpersonal issues to your manager, sometimes it can’t be avoided. Again, you should try to work these problems out by talking with the person, but if they are a bad boss and don’t listen, or tell you that you don’t have the authority to tell them what to do, then go to that person in the office who does. This is especially true if their laziness is impacting the business. Then, frankly, it’s no longer an interpersonal matter, but one that could jeopardize the project or the company. 13. Keep Documentation Once you’re sure that the problem isn’t your thin skin and that it cannot be ignored without detrimental impact on the business, then it’s time to approach the manager. When you do, make sure you have a strong case. That means before going to a superior you start documenting the actions (or inactions) of the coworker, so that their infractions are clear. Don’t be a snoop, but you should collect any issues as they arise in a file. So, if it comes to it, you’ve got evidence. You might not even have to name the person, but just mention that some people are not carrying their weight. Either way, when it becomes a bottom-line issue, then it’s one that must be brought up to the boss. How ProjectManager Helps with Lazy Coworkers There’s one more thing you can do to help a lazy coworker get out of their rut: give them the right tool to make them work better. You might even spark some enthusiasm if you get them to use ProjectManager, which organizes projects and tasks, fosters team work and holds people accountable. ProjectManager gives managers a window into the lazy worker’s productivity, so it’s not like you won’t be able to track their progress. For example, there’s a workload page with a color-coded chart that shows how much each person is working and if they’ve too much or too little responsibilities. This provides transparency, so you don’t have to micromanage but still can stay updated. There’s also the Team page, which shows what everyone is working on this week. That way, no one can skate by with an empty plate. /wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Team_Manufacturing_Wide_Zoom-150_Filters.jpg Maybe your coworker isn’t lazy, they’re just not a self-starter. ProjectManager makes it easy to assign them tasks and then track their progress on a real-time dashboard, so you don’t feel the need to hover over them. Given that sort of freedom, a lazy worker might bloom into a exceedingly productive one. But a lazy coworker might just be lazy. Don’t worry. ProjectManager makes them accountable for their work. You can attach all the important files and requirements for their assignment to the task and even comment and dialogue with them at the task level, to make things clear. There’s no way they can say their dog ate the homework, where it’s all present and accountable ProjectManager. /wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Manufacturing-overlay-CTA-TAsk.jpgProjectManager let’s you assign work to others and collaborate in real time. Learn more Maybe your lazy coworker is just not equipped to handle the work, and they need better tools to get the job done. ProjectManager is a cloud-based project management software that supplies real-time data and provides a collaborative platform for teams. Give your team the right tools, and watch them go from lazy to productive. Take this free 30-day trial and see for yourself. The post 13 Ways to Deal with a Lazy Coworker appeared first on ProjectManager. View the full article

If you’re looking for ways to increase productivity in your project (and who isn’t?), then you’ll need to know how to effectively measure your progress. Tracking these key performance indicators (KPI) will help keep the team productive and the project on track. Having your eye on KPI metrics is one of the best ways to track the progress of your team. But first, let’s define some key terms and then get to the essential KPI metrics for teams. /wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Light-mode-portfolio-dashboard-CTA.pngTrack KPIs in real time with dashboards. Learn more What Is a KPI? KPI is an acronym that stands for key performance indicator. It is a measurement that demonstrates how effectively a company is achieving its key business objectives. KPI metrics are often monitored with online dashboards or tracking templates. Organizations use KPI metrics to evaluate their success in reaching targets. When you use KPIs on projects, you’re measuring team and project progress. The importance of KPIs is that they keep your project objective always on the front burner, so there’s little chance that you’ll leave them unattended. The project objectives must be communicated clearly throughout the project team, so everyone knows the KPIs they’re responsible for. What Makes a KPI Effective? For a KPI to be an effective project measurement, it first must be agreed on by everyone in the project and be meaningful to its intended audience, whether stakeholder or end-user. The KPI metric must be quantifiable and able to be analyzed. It has to be measured regularly to have any team management value. Naturally, all this is to say that the KPI is aligned with the overall objectives of the project and the organization. They must be realistic and cost-effective, and align with the culture of the organization and the constraints of the project. Two Types of Team KPIs: Quantitative & Qualitative There are two different types of KPIs: quantitative and qualitative. A quantitative KPI is measurable by numbers and a qualitative KPI is more descriptive, such as measuring through a survey to get an understanding of your end-user. 14 essential KPI metrics are listed below. Quantitative Team KPIs Overall task programs: Provides measurable insights into project performance, efficiency and resource utilization. It includes data on task completion, milestone achievement, task duration, schedule variance, etc. Workload efficiency: Refers to how effectively team members use their time and resources to complete project tasks. This KPI can be calculated differently depending on the context and goals. Timesheet submittals: Tracks employee work hours to ensure accurate payroll and helps manage project costs. An example of a time worked calculation is end time – start time = hours worked. Task dependencies: Assigns measurable values to relationships between tasks to result in better analysis and prediction of project schedules. They are quantifiable through lead or lag time, critical path analysis, resource dependencies and more. Project schedule: Involves translating the planned project activities into measurable values to help objectively analyze and track progress. Quantify this project KPI through task durations, dependencies, milestones, critical path analysis and more. Cost variance (CV): Measures the difference between the budgeted and actual costs of the project. The formula is CV = earned value – actual cost. Milestone achievement: Notes the number of milestones completed on time. The formula is (number of milestones achieved / total number of planned milestones) * 100. Qualitative Team KPIs Mentoring time: Refers to the time allocated for experienced project team members or managers to guide, support and develop less experienced members. This KPI focuses on skill development and career growth. Collaboration: Outlines the process of communication on project deliverables, whether it be in-person collaboration, commenting on tasks in a software, sending emails, etc. Stakeholder/client satisfaction: Gathers subjective feedback from stakeholders on their perception of project progress, communication and overall satisfaction. This KPI can be achieved through group discussions, informal feedback, interviews, etc. Communication: Ensures the project team and all relevant stakeholders are aligned on the project’s goals, objectives and progress. It’s helpful for building trust and understanding throughout the project. Team evaluation: Outlines how well the team is communicating and working together toward the project’s goals. KPI evaluations can take place both informally and formally to better understand how the team is working together. Project risk assessment: Identifies, analyzes and evaluates potential risks that could impact the project’s objectives. It’s a proactive approach to project KPIs that can mitigate potential problems before they arise. Deliverable assessment: Gathers qualitative feedback from stakeholders on the quality and usability of project deliverables. This feedback can help guide deliverables on future projects. How to Use KPIs In order to use key performance indicators effectively, you should blend the two types to get a complete metric for team performance. To achieve this, take these steps: Write a Clear Objective: What are you trying to measure and control? Be specific, the more pointed your objective, the better you’ll be able to measure and control. Share with the Team: Make sure those objectives are communicated throughout your project team, so everyone is on the same page. This, as noted, is crucial so that the KPIs are met throughout the project. Update: Regularly update the team, as objectives can change. A KPI is a moving target and to take a picture only once is not going to give you the data you need to get anything of value. Review Weekly: Meet weekly to make sure that as the project progresses, everyone stays informed on what you’re measuring and how. This is how you can track and control your project’s progress and communicate the most important topics to your team. Best Practices for Team KPI Tracking There are a lot of things that make a KPI effective, as noted above, but these three tips will keep your KPIs working accurately and effectively: Make sure the KPIs you created are aligned with the organization and project. Make sure they’re achievable and not unrealistic for your team. Make sure that they’re actionable. If you use an online project management software, you’ll get live data, which means your team is able to update in real time. Not only does this lead to more accuracy, but with a real-time dashboard, you can see the project’s progress at a glance with easy-to-read graphs and charts. KPI Dashboard Template While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to tracking project management KPIs, one of the easiest and most effective ways to do so is through a KPI dashboard. This powerful tool provides a comprehensive overview of project and health progress using updated data. As a result, project managers and stakeholders can see the project’s current status at a glance. Other roles that might use this KPI dashboard include functional managers, department heads, top management teams or C-level executives. KPI Dashboard Template For those interested in using a KPI dashboard but aren’t sure where to start, our free KPI dashboard template for Excel is the ideal place to start. It helps identify trends so businesses can stay alert of challenges or opportunities. In our KPI dashboard template, users will find a section on the timeline, budget, task priority, task status, workload analysis, resource planning and profits and losses. There is even a revenue and expenses breakdown by month. Feel free to customize the template so it reflects the information you need to track. /wp-content/uploads/2024/08/KPI-Dashboard-Template-Screenshot.pngProjectManager’s free KPI dashboard template. Download now How to Measure KPIs with ProjectManager KPIs are only as good as the instrument you’re using to measure them. ProjectManager is a cloud-based project management software that instantly updates as teams update their statuses. These updates are displayed on our real-time dashboard, with widgets that track your tasks, costs, teams, project health and more. Some of the KPIs you can monitor include your team’s workload. On the dashboard, you can see each individual team member’s progress. Our color-coded charts and graphs let you know if they’re on, ahead or behind schedule for time, cost, workload and tasks, with their percentage of progress calculated automatically. /wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Dashboard-TASKS-CAR.jpg When teams update their tasks and timesheets that information populates the dashboard to keep you on track when managing a project. No more having to calculate your KPIs on an overly complicated spreadsheet or by hand. /wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Reports_Wide_Zoom-150_Project-Status-Report.jpg Your KPIs are only as good as the tools you use to track them, and no project management software offers you features like ProjectManager. But don’t take our word for it, try it yourself with this free 30-day trial. Learn More About KPIs KPIs can differ from organization to organization, but the essentials remain constant. Project managers understand how KPIs are a helpful benchmark to increase productivity in teams and improve costs, cycle time and stakeholder satisfaction. But they’re more than just a performance tool, they can be used to motivate teams as well. Getting your team behind a common goal fosters positive competition. Meeting KPIs can be used as incentives and be rewarded to get even more out of your team. Watch Jennifer Bridges, PMP, to start your KPI adventure. Here’s a screenshot for your reference. Thanks for watching! Transcription: Today, we’re talking about Eight Essential KPI Metrics for Teams. But first of all, I want to talk about what a KPI is. I want to talk about two different types. I also want to talk about how we create them and a few best practices. So first of all, what is a KPI? So, KPI is a key performance indicator, and it’s a measurement that demonstrates how effectively a company is at achieving key business objectives. Organizations also use these to evaluate their success in reaching targets, but we can also use these in projects, and when used in projects, we’re looking to evaluate and measure the team’s progress. So, let’s look at two different types. We have quantitative KPIs and qualitative KPIs. And when we’re talking about quantitative, we’re measuring those KPIs using numbers. When we talk about qualitative, we’re measuring the KPIs by opinions or traits. So, the four quantitative ones that we commonly look at are the overall tasks programs. We’re also looking at the workload efficiency of the team, as well as timesheet submittals. How good or how regular and how accurate are they at submitting their timesheet? And also, looking at some of the task dependencies. And when we look at qualitative, we’re considering how much time is spent with mentoring. We’re looking at collaboration and how much time is spent with collaboration. We’re looking at stakeholder and client satisfaction, as well as communication. So, we want to use a blend of these two types. So how do we create these KPIs? How do we come up with them? Well, first of all, we write a clear objective of what we’re trying to measure and control. And then, once we do that, we share that or those with the team. And then we update those on a regular basis and we review them weekly. So, a few best practices are that you want to make sure that the KPIs that you create for your project or your team is aligned with your project and your organization. You also want to make sure they’re attainable by your team members so they don’t become demotivators. And you want to make sure they’re actionable. Now, with project management software, these can be managed and updated in real time. And when your team members can update them in real time, there is a tendency towards more accuracy. So, you can also use these in your dashboards and have a visual view so that not only you as the manager or project manager but also your team members can have insights into what’s going on on the project and the team’s progress. So, if you need a tool to manage and track your KPIs and keep them visible for your team, then sign up for our software now at ProjectManager. The post 14 Essential Team KPIs for Any Project appeared first on ProjectManager. View the full article

Hulu's lineup of original content is lighter in April than in previous months but includes the sixth and final season of The Handmaid's Tale (April 8), the dystopian drama based originally on Margaret Atwood's novel but that has long since evolved into a world of its own. According to the Hulu synopsis, June (Elisabeth Moss), Luke, and Moira make up the resistance to bring down Gilead. A sequel series, The Testaments, also based on an Atwood novel of the same name, is in development for release after The Handmaid's Tale ends. Hulu has a new original reality competition show launching in April to take on Peacock's hit series The Traitors. On Got to Get Out (April 11), 20 contestants are racing against time to steal $1 million from each other and escape without getting caught. The show is hosted by Simi Liu and includes reality stars like Spencer Pratt, Cynthia Bailey, and Val Chmerkovskiy. April also brings season two of Hulu original series No Man's Land (April 16) about the Syrian war and a new standup special from Jessica Kirson (I'm the Man, April 25). Here’s everything else coming to (and leaving) Hulu in April. What’s coming to Hulu in April 2025Arriving April 1Arrival (2016) Arrival En Espanol (2016) The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012) Black Swan (2010) Boys on the Side (1995) Concussion (2015) Concussion En Espanol (2015) Copycat (1995) Enough Said (2013) The Equalizer (2014) The Equalizer En Espanol (2014) Gifted (2017) The Good Thief (2003) Gone Girl (2014) Gulliver's Travels (2010) The History of the World Part I (1981) I Heart Huckabees (2004) Interstellar (2014) Interstellar En Espanol (2014) Jumanji (1995) Jumanji En Espanol (1995) Jurassic Park (1993) Jurassic Park III (2001) The Karate Kid (1984) The Karate Kid En Espanol (1984) The Karate Kid Part II (1986) The Karate Kid: Part II En Espanol (1986) The Karate Kid Part III (1989) The Karate Kid Part III En Espanol (1989) Little Man (2006) Little Man En Espanol (2006) The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) Made in America (1993) Me, Myself and Irene (2000) Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) Oddity Red Sparrow (2018) The Revenant (2015) Runaway Jury (2003) Sexy Beast (2001) Shark Tale (2004) The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018) Superbad (2007) Superbad En Espanol (2007) Tombstone (1993) True Story (2015) 21 Jump Street (2012) 22 Jump Street (2014) Wall Street (1987) Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) War of the Worlds (2005) Widows (2018) Wild (2014) The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) The Wolf Of Wall Street En Espanol (2013) Year One (2009) You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger (2010) Arriving April 2Beyblade X: Complete Season 1B Arriving April 3Oklahoma City Bombing: One Day in America: Complete Limited Series Arriving April 4FX's Dying for Sex: Complete Limited Series Fire Force: Season 3 Premiere (Subbed) Classified (2024) The Darjeeling Limited (2007) Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004) The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) Rushmore (1999) Arriving April 5American Monster: Complete Season 3 Bering Sea Gold: Complete Season 3 Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives: Complete Seasons 1-2 I Love A Mama's Boy: Complete Season 2 The World According to Allee Willis (2024) Arriving April 6Witch Watch: Series Premiere (Subbed & Dubbed) Arriving April 8The Handmaid's Tale: Sixth & Final Season Premiere Small Things Like These (2024) Arriving April 9Angels & Demons (2009) The Da Vinci Code (2006) Arriving April 10Court Cam: Complete Season 7 Houses of Horror: Secrets of College Greek Life: Complete Season 1 Ca$h (2010) Hesher (2010) Niko: Beyond the Northern Lights (2024) Red Dog (2011) So Undercover (2012) Spun (2002) Arriving April 11Got to Get Out: Series Premiere Garfield (2004) Garfield: A Tail Of Two Kitties (2006) Magpie (2024) Arriving April 12Fixer Upper: Complete Season 5 MythBusters: Complete Season 5 The Family Chantel: Complete Season 4 Arriving April 15Lake George (2024) Arriving April 16No Man's Land: Complete Season 2 Synduality Noir: Complete Season 1 (Dubbed) The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Complete Season 3 Arriving April 17The Stolen Girl: Series Premiere Bible Secrets Revealed: Complete Season 1 Gangland Chronicles: Complete Season 1 Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath: Complete Seasons 1 and 2 Martin Short: Complete Season 1 The Girl Who Wasn't Dead (2024) Arriving April 18The Order (2024) Arriving April 19Breaking Amish: Complete Season 4 Disappeared: Complete Season 6 Gypsy Sisters: Complete Season 3 Moonshiners: Complete Season 13 Arriving April 21Secrets of the Penguins: Complete Limited Series No Hard Feelings (2023) No Hard Feelings En Espanol (2023) Arriving April 22In a Violent Nature (2024) Arriving April 24Airline Wars: Complete Season 1 Customer Wars: Complete Season 4 Tell Me How I Died: Complete Season 1 Tiny House World: Complete Season 1 Husband, Father, Killer: The Alyssa Pladl Story Arriving April 25Jessica Kirson: I'm the Man: Special Premiere Azrael (2024) Arriving April 26Chopped: Complete Season 60 Four Weddings: Complete Season 9 House Hunters Renovation: Complete Season 16 Jessica Chambers: An ID Murder Mystery: Complete Season 1 Arriving April 29Ernest Cole: Lost and Found (2024) What’s leaving Hulu in April 2025Leaving April 6Agnes (2021) Leaving April 13She Will (2021) Leaving April 16Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (2019) Leaving April 20Totally Under Control (2020) Leaving April 24The Good Neighbor (2022) Leaving April 27Resurrection (2022) Leaving April 30After Everything (2018) Code Name Banshee (2022) Stars Fell Again (2023) View the full article

Arizona’s highest court has created a pair of AI-generated avatars to deliver news of every ruling issued by the justices, marking what is believed to be the first example in the U.S. of a state court system tapping artificial intelligence to build more humanlike characters to connect with the public. A court in Florida uses an animated chatbot to help visitors navigate its website, but the Arizona Supreme Court is charting new territory with the creation of Victoria and Daniel. Made of pixels, the two avatars have a different job in that they serve as the face of news coming from the court just as a spokesperson made of flesh and blood would do—but faster. The use of AI has touched nearly every profession and discipline, growing exponentially in recent years and showing infinite potential when it comes to things as simple as internet searches or as complex as brain surgery. For officials with the Arizona Supreme Court, their venture into AI is rooted in a desire to promote trust and confidence in the judicial system. What helped solidify the court’s need for more public outreach? There was a protest outside the state Capitol last April and calls for two justices to be booted after the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that a Civil War–era law that banned nearly all abortions, except when a woman’s life is in jeopardy, could be enforced. Emotions flared on both sides of the issue. When Chief Justice Ann Timmer took over the court last summer, she made public trust a key pillar of her platform. She had already been thinking about ways to reach out to the public using digital media for a few years, and the abortion ruling, among other rulings, helped her to solidify the idea that the court needs to be part of the narrative as people learn about opinions and what they mean. “We serve the public better by saying, OK, we’ve issued this decision,” she said. “Now, let us help you understand what it is.” Timmer told the Associated Press earlier this year that if the court had to do the abortion ruling over again, it would have approached the dissemination of information differently. In a Wednesday interview, she said that a news release and avatar video could have helped the public better understand the legal underpinnings of the lengthy decision—possibly including what it didn’t do, which she said some misunderstood. “We got a lot of backlash for it and probably deservedly so, in terms of how can we complain that people don’t understand what we did when we didn’t really do enough to give a simplified version,” she said in the January interview, explaining that people want to know the basis for the court’s decisions and what they can do, such as lobbying state lawmakers for whatever changes in law would support their positions. Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a repeal of the ban last May, and in November, Arizona voters approved a constitutional amendment expanding abortion access up to the point of fetal viability. Who are Daniel and Victoria, and how do they work? Created with a program called Creatify, Daniel and Victoria in a way bring to life the court’s news releases. Videos featuring one or the other are being posted for every ruling by the high court, and may be used for Access to Justice projects, community programs and civics information in the future. The court has been sending out releases since October to summarize and explain rulings. After seeing success with the releases, it began exploring options to convey that information through video. The AI-generated avatars were the most efficient way to produce videos and get the information out, said court spokesperson Alberto Rodriguez. Producing a video usually can take hours, he said, but an AI-generated video is ready in about 30 minutes. The court might introduce more AI-generated reporters in the future, Rodriguez said in a news release. The justice who authors the legal opinion also drafts a news release, the wording of which must be approved by the entire bench. The justice then works with the court’s communications team to craft a script for the avatars—the avatars aren’t interpreting original court decisions or opinions, Rodriguez said. Daniel and Victoria’s names and physical appearances were designed to represent a wide cross-section of people, Rodriguez said. He said they aren’t meant to come off as real people and the court emphasizes their AI origins with disclaimers. The court is exploring different emotional deliveries, cadences, and pronunciations as well as Spanish translations for the avatars, Rodriguez said. Will the avatars resonate with their audience? Mason Kortz, a clinical instructor at the Harvard Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, described the court’s new cyber employees as “quite realistic.” While their voices might give them away, he said some people could be fooled into thinking that Daniel and Victoria are real reporters if viewers are only reading the subtitles and looking at the characters’ movements and facial expressions. Kortz also said it would be better for the language of the disclaimer that is in the videos’ text description to be featured more prominently. “You want to make it as hard as possible for someone to advertently or inadvertently remove the disclaimer,” he said. Asheley Landrum, associate professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, said the avatars feel robotic. She said a format that mimics real dialogue and storytelling might be more engaging than an AI reading of a news release. “Because it’s not just about using AI or even creating videos,” she said, “but about doing so in a way that really resonates with audiences.” Still, it’s fine line. She said engaging characteristics can help to build trust over time but the danger is that content could appear biased. —Sejal Govindarao, Associated Press View the full article

Don't be afraid to try new ideas or plans--or afraid to fail. The Disruptors With Liz Farr Go PRO for members-only access to more Liz Farr. View the full article

Don't be afraid to try new ideas or plans--or afraid to fail. The Disruptors With Liz Farr Go PRO for members-only access to more Liz Farr. View the full article

Disney+ has sophomore seasons of two significant series coming in April. The second installment of Lucasfilm's Emmy-nominated thriller Andor—the prequel to Rogue One and set five years prior—tells the origin story of Rebel spy Cassian Andor and the formation of the Rebel Alliance. Diego Luna reprises his role from the film and the first season of the series. A three-episode premiere is set for 6 p.m. PT on April 22, with additional episodes dropping weekly on Tuesdays until mid-May. Also on the April schedule is season two of Doctor Who. Ncuti Gatwa stars as the Doctor, who is on a quest to get Belinda Chandra (played by Varadu Sethu) back to Earth. Millie Gibson stars as Ruby Sunday, with a guest appearance from Alan Cumming. After the premiere on Saturday, April 12, new episodes will be released weekly. Other content premiering in April includes season two of Light & Magic (April 18), a three-part docuseries about Lucasfilm's visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic, and Disney+ Original documentary film Pets (April 11) from director Bryce Dallas Howard. Disney+ will also be wrapping up weekly episodes of Marvel Television’s Daredevil: Born Again (Tuesdays through April 15) and releasing the final two installments of the six-part NatGeo docuseries David Blaine Do Not Attempt (April 7), which premiered last month. Here's everything coming to Disney+ in April. Disney Plus series with new episodes weekly in April 2025Andor (Season 2)—Disney+ Original, new episodes on Tuesdays beginning April 22 Marvel Television’s Daredevil: Born Again—new episodes on Tuesdays through April 15 Doctor Who (Season 2)—new episodes on Saturdays beginning April 12 Disney+ will also be streaming SC+, a SportsCenter show exclusive to the platform, every weekday at 6 a.m. PT and on weekend mornings. Each stream will be available for 24 hours. Movies and complete series/seasons coming to Disney Plus in April 2025Arriving April 1Lost Treasures of Rome (S2, 6 episodes) National Parks: USA (S1, 5 episodes) RoboGobo (S1, 24 episodes) Arriving April 3Oklahoma City Bombing: One Day in America (S1, 3 episodes) Arriving April 7David Blaine Do Not Attempt Not Just a Goof Arriving April 9Marvel’s Spidey and His Amazing Friends (S3, 4 episodes) Arriving April 11The Abyss 4K Pets Arriving April 12Titanic: The Digital Resurrection To Catch a Smuggler (S8, 8 episodes) Arriving April 16Big City Greens (S4, 7 episodes) SuperKitties (S2, 3 episodes) Arriving April 18Light & Magic (Season 2) Arriving April 21Secret of the Penguins (S1, 3 episodes) Arriving April 22ABC News Live Special: Last Lands (S1, 4 episodes) Sea Lions of the Galapagos Guardians of the Galapagos Arriving April 25Megastructures: Real Madrid Super Stadium Arriving April 30Chibi Tiny Tales: Shorts (S5, 7 episodes) Mickey Mouse Funhouse (S3, 5 episodes) Hulu + ESPN content coming to Disney+ in April 2025As in previous months, Disney+ subscribers will also have access to select content from Hulu and ESPN in March, including live streams of PGA Tour and NWSL events, the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships, and select NHL games. Here are a few of the other titles coming to Disney+: Clipped Tell Me Lies Interior Chinatown It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia White Collar Reasonable Doubt Prey Crazy Hearts Say Anything The Night House College Gameday Pardon the Interruption The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny Vince's Places P.K.'s Places E60 Once Upon a Time in Anaheim No Easy Victories: The 1994 New York Rangers View the full article

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. Google is testing adding links to AI Overviews that generate clicks, but these links go to Google Search...View the full article

Whether it’s time, money, or expertise, marketing resources are finite. In today’s world, with advances in AI and more efficient tools than ever, businesses expect better results with fewer resources. That means every second spent on an SEO campaign matters. To keep up, SEOs must focus on actions that truly move the needle – without wasting time or unnecessary effort. This article highlights SEO activities that have diminishing returns – where the effort eventually outweighs the benefits – and offers tips on optimizing more effectively. 1. Page speed improvements Not long ago, I had a client who was obsessed with page speed. The site’s page speed was excellent, with 100% of its pages passing Core Web Vitals on desktop and more than 95% passing on mobile. And yet, they still wanted every URL to be rated “good” for mobile and every page speed test score to be a perfect 100/100. Achieving that would have required painstaking hours digging through code and cleaning up things like unused JavaScript to rework how pages loaded. Let’s be clear – page speed is important! Plenty of data shows that improving page speed can boost conversion rates, especially for ecommerce stores. But if a page loads in under two seconds, is interactive quickly, and doesn’t have disruptive layout shifts, a site can gain only minor performance boosts by shaving off additional milliseconds. Once a site meets Core Web Vitals standards, further page speed optimizations have diminishing returns. Unless a business handles a high volume of on-page transactions daily, it’s usually better to focus on other areas for improvement. Now, if your page takes 10 seconds to load, has poor interactivity, and webpage elements move around while users try to click, then this should be a priority. But if most of your pages pass Core Web Vitals and the user experience is solid, agonizing over page speed makes no sense. The client in the example above had much bigger priorities, like cleaning up rampant over-indexing or pruning their stockpile of old, outdated content. Although this was explained to them, they ignored it, despite efforts to prevent them from wasting time on a dead end. 2. Increasing backlink authority Many businesses fixate on backlink authority, seeing it as a silver bullet for rankings while overlooking issues like: Poor keyword targeting. Content cannibalization. Weak internal linking. Link building is not dead. Plenty of studies and anecdotal evidence prove it. Building link authority can be the missing piece that pushes rankings onto Page 1, especially for new websites or brand-new pages on an existing site. But if your website’s authority is well established and content ranks the second it’s published, then building links can have diminishing returns. It can even start to work against a site that: Chases poor-quality link opportunities. Gets overly spammy with anchor text. Pursues links from places that aren’t relevant to its content. Does that mean you should stop link building altogether? No! Always take a quality link if you can get it. But depending on a website’s level of authority, more success may come from focusing efforts elsewhere – such as content strategy, public relations, or conversion rate optimization (CRO). Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. Business email address Sign me up! Processing... See terms. 3. Publishing net-new content Another client insisted on producing only new content. Refreshing old articles or removing underperforming pages was off the table. For a while, the strategy worked, and the website saw gains in nonbranded performance. However, there was a tipping point – continuously adding new content eventually led to performance declines. Why? Writing only net-new content for years caused internal cannibalization, as multiple articles covered similar topics. Relevant topics also became scarce, leading to content that was only loosely related – or even unrelated – to the company’s services. HubSpot has been in SEO news recently for this exact reason. When a marketing automation software company writes on topics around business credit cards, performance starts to move in the wrong direction. So what does this all mean? Writing net-new content can not only have diminishing returns but, if done incorrectly, can actually hurt performance. Instead, it may be more effective to focus on: Refreshing old content. Improving internal linking. Promoting existing content. 4. Refreshing old content I know – I just said refreshing old content is often better than focusing only on new content. But stick with me. There’s no debate: Refreshing old content is both a successful and necessary SEO tactic. Search engines prioritize fresh content, and some of the easiest and most effective wins come from updating existing content to be more accurate and relevant. We surveyed about 850 enterprise-level marketers and found that updating existing content provided a greater performance lift than creating new content. It should come as no surprise that the biggest growth comes from content refreshes. As noted in the previous section, creating new content was cited as the largest source of traffic loss between the two strategies. However, even content refreshes have diminishing returns. The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, states that roughly 80% of results come from 20% of the inputs. This applies to on-site content – about 80% of traffic or conversions typically come from just 20% of a website’s pages. Naturally, returns will be much higher when focusing on top-performing pages and gradually decline as you move further down the list. Does that mean you should only focus on the top 20% of your content and ignore the rest? Absolutely not! But it does help put things into perspective. While it may be tempting to squeeze more performance out of every article, refreshing low-volume or low-relevance content eventually will not provide value. Sometimes, it’s best to leave an article alone or retire it – and that’s OK. Dig deeper: SEO prioritization – How to focus on what moves the needle Where should you spend your time? Where to focus SEO efforts depends on various factors. A newer website, for example, will likely need to prioritize link building and generating new content. Meanwhile, a website with a large library of existing content and strong authority should focus more on content refreshes and leveraging existing traffic through UX and CRO strategies. With so many ranking factors at play, no single tactic ensures success. Winning in SEO requires a combination of strategies and tactics. It’s on you to allocate resources wisely. Make sure every effort contributes meaningful value, avoiding the law of diminishing returns. Dig deeper: Prioritizing SEO strategies: Where to focus your efforts View the full article

China’s energy and auto giant BYD has announced an ultra fast EV charging system that it says is nearly as quick as a fill up at the pumps. BYD, China’s largest EV maker, said Monday that its flash-chargers can provide a full charge for its latest EVs within five to eight minutes, similar to the amount of time needed to fill a fuel tank. It plans to build more than 4,000 of the new charging stations across China. Charging times and limited ranges have been a major factor constraining the switch from gas and diesel vehicles to EVs, though Chinese drivers have embraced that change, with sales of battery powered and hybrid vehicles jumping 40% last year. BYD’s news appeared to give Tesla a jolt on Monday, as the U.S. EV maker’s share price sank 4.8%. BYD, which stands for build your dreams, began pre-sales of its Han L and Tang L models, which are upgraded versions of earlier models. The Chinese company started out making batteries and has been refining its battery and energy storage technology while building an auto empire that is expanding outside China. It says its 1 megawatt flash chargers can provide power for 400 kilometers (nearly 250 miles) in five minutes. Ultra-high voltage and a large current are required to maximize charging speeds, BYD’s founder Wang Chuanfu said in a statement. “To completely solve users’ anxiety over charging, our pursuit is to make the charging time for EVs as short as the refueling time for fuel vehicles,” Wang said. The company also said that its flash-charging system relies on silicon carbide power chips with voltage levels of up to 1,500V that it developed on its own. Its Blade lithium-ion phosphate battery is perhaps the world’s safest and most efficient EV battery, with Tesla opting to use it in some of its EVs, industry analyst Michael Dunne said in a recent report. BYD reported it made just over 4.3 million “new energy vehicles” last year, up 41% from a year earlier, including 1.8 million battery electric vehicles and 2.5 million plug in hybrids. The price of its shares traded on China’s smaller market in Shenzhen has surged nearly 50% in the past six months. While BYD’s fanciest, latest premium models are expected to sell for up to about $40,000, it also makes much less expensive EVs including the Seagull, which sells for around $12,000 in China. BYD barely nudged ahead of Tesla in production of battery-powered EVs in 2024, making 1,777,965 compared with Tesla’s 1,773,443. In early January, Tesla said its sales dropped in 2024, a first in more than a dozen years, as rivals such as BMW, Volkswagen and BYD gained market shares with competitive EVs. But BYD has weaknesses as well, Dunne said, noting that JD Power’s 2024 China New Energy Vehicle Initial Quality Study ranked the BYD Seal and BYD Song Plus battery electrics at the bottom of its rankings. —Elaine Kurtenbach, AP Business Writer View the full article

New residential construction increased 11.2% to an annualized rate of 1.5 million in February, according to government data released Tuesday. View the full article

Analyze the impact of content in LLM on AI chatbots and discover strategies to optimize your website's referral traffic. The post What Content Works Well In LLMs? appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

It's no surprise that companies continue to experiment with new AI features. Artificial intelligence has been the center of emerging tech for nearly three years now, and it's not going anywhere anytime soon. But whether you love generative AI or you find it useless, I think we can all agree that using AI to write Instagram comments is pretty stupid. And yet, Meta appears to be testing exactly that. As reported by SocialMediaToday, some Instagram accounts are now seeing a new icon to the left of the text field after choosing to leave a comment on a post. When you tap this icon (a pencil with a star), you pull up a new Meta AI menu, which presents a series of comment choices, presumably based on whatever content you happen to be looking at. In one example, the bot offers three choices: "Cute living room setup," "Love the cozy atmosphere," or "Great photo shoot location." Could there be anything lazier than this? I'll admit: This news took me a bit off guard. I know Meta is comfortable shoving its AI experiments down our throats—often with no way to turn them off. But even as it becomes more difficult to avoid AI-generated content on Meta's platforms, I didn't think the company would offload the "effort" of having to write comments to the bots. I can't imagine many (or perhaps any) Instagram users are so busy or exhausted that they'd rather scroll through an AI's idea of what to say rather than say something themselves. The human-generated comments on Instagram pages are already low-effort as it is; not to mention, there are too many comments from bots on social media platforms. Do we really want more bots in the comments, only this time sent to us by real people? We need to stop letting AI make the decisionsThis is just an experiment, and likely a limited one at that. For what it's worth, I do not have the option on my Instagram account, so I guess I'm forced to think up my own comments for now. (Or at least open another app to ask a different AI to generate a comment for me.) But this experiment speaks to the current state of AI in tech: offering solutions to problems that don't exist. Writing comments isn't hard, and yet, someone at Meta thought there was a usefulness—a market—for AI-generated comments. They probably want more training data for their AI machine, which tracks, considering companies are running out of internet for models to learn from. But that doesn't mean we should be okay with outsourcing all human tasks to AI. That's what bugs me most: ceding so many of our cognitive tasks and decisions to the machines. If you're on Instagram, you're already letting the algorithm choose the content you see. Please don't hand over even more decisions to the machines, as low-effort as those decisions may be. If you do see the experiment on your end, I encourage you not to use it; both for your own sake, as well as depriving Meta of any more training data generated by its user base for free. View the full article

Greenpeace used malicious and deceptive tactics to disrupt the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline and keep it from going forward, an attorney for the company behind the project said Monday. But attorneys for the environmental advocacy group said during their closing arguments that Greenpeace had little involvement with the 2016-17 protests that are central to the case. A North Dakota jury began deliberating Monday after a weekslong trial over Dallas-based Energy Transfer’s argument that Greenpeace defamed the company and disrupted the project. What is the case about? The energy company and its subsidiary Dakota Access accused Greenpeace International, Greenpeace USA and funding arm Greenpeace Fund Inc. of defamation, civil conspiracy, trespass, nuisance and other acts, and is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. Nine jurors and two alternates heard the case after it went to trial in late February. Their verdict will include what damages, if any, to award. Trey Cox, an attorney for the pipeline company, highlighted damages per claim totaling nearly $350 million. The lawsuit is linked to the protests against the oil pipeline and its controversial Missouri River crossing upstream of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation. The tribe has long opposed the pipeline as a risk to its water supply. The pipeline has been transporting oil since mid-2017. What did the company say? Cox said Greenpeace exploited a small, disorganized, local issue to promote its agenda, calling Greenpeace “master manipulators” and “deceptive to the core.” Greenpeace paid professional protesters, organized or led protester trainings, shared intelligence of the pipeline route with protesters and sent lockboxes for demonstrators to attach themselves to equipment, Cox said. Among a number of alleged defamatory statements were that the company deliberately desecrated burial grounds during construction, which Cox said was done to harm Energy Transfer’s reputation in the international investment community. The company made 140 slight adjustments to its route to avoid disturbing sacred or cultural sites, he said. Greenpeace’s “lies impacted lenders,” Cox said. Energy Transfer suffered $96 million in lost financing and $7 million in public relations costs, he said. The pipeline was delayed by five months, and the company lost $80 million because it couldn’t turn on the spigot on Jan. 1, 2017, when oil was to start flowing, Cox said. He asked the jury to find the Greenpeace entities liable. “It needs to be done for Morton County. It needs to be done for Morton County’s law enforcement and the next community where Greenpeace exploits an opportunity to push its agenda at any cost,” Cox told the jury, referring to the county where the protests were centered. How did Greenpeace respond? Attorneys for Greenpeace said Energy Transfer didn’t prove its case or meet its legal burden for defamation or damages, that Greenpeace employees had little or no presence or involvement in the protests, and that Greenpeace had nothing to do with the company’s delays in construction or refinancing. A letter signed by leaders of Greenpeace International and Greenpeace USA and sent to banks involved in the project’s construction loan contained the alleged defamatory statement about desecrating burial grounds, which Cox equated to digging up dead bodies. Greenpeace International attorney Courtney DeThomas said the other side hasn’t shown how the one act of signing a letter with 500 other organizations damaged them, and that the letter would have been sent to the banks with or without Greenpeace’s name on it. Thousands of protesters were already at Standing Rock by the time the letter was signed, she said. Greenpeace USA attorney Everett Jack Jr. disputed the company’s claims as including costs from months before and years after the protests, with no witnesses to say that the Greenpeace entities were the cause. Jack also said no law enforcement officers or any of Energy Transfer’s security personnel testified that Greenpeace was the cause of any violence or property destruction, or was a leader, organizer or instigator in the protests. He said law enforcement “did a phenomenal job of watching the protests.” Greenpeace representatives have criticized the lawsuit as an example of corporations abusing the legal system to go after critics and called it a critical test of free speech and protest rights. An Energy Transfer spokesperson said the case is about Greenpeace not following the law, not free speech. —Jack Dura, Associated Press View the full article

In the past week, law enforcement agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have issued a warning about the ongoing threat of Medusa ransomware. Here’s what you need to know about the threat and how you can protect yourself. What is Medusa ransomware? Ransomware is a type of software that is designed to compromise your information, allowing hackers to steal it. Once these bad actors have your data, they then contact you (or the software contacts you on their behalf), and they inform you that unless you pay a ransom, your data will either be deleted, sold to the highest bidder, or released publicly for all to see. Medusa ransomware is a specific type of ransomware that is currently making the rounds. According to a cybersecurity advisory published by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Medusa ransomware “is a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS)” that has been going around since at least June 2021. The advisory states that Medusa relies on “a double extortion model”—that encrypts the data on a victim’s hard drive so they can’t access it, as well as threatens to decrypt the data and sell it to third parties or release it publicly. Users must pay a ransom in order to gain access to their encrypted files again and/or in order to ensure that the files are not disseminated to additional parties. Ransom payments can range anywhere between $100 to $1 million. The CISA says that as of February 2025, Medusa has impacted “over 300 victims from a variety of critical infrastructure sectors,” which include medical, education, legal, insurance, technology, and manufacturing. How can I protect myself and my company from Medusa? The advisory posted on the CISA’s website states that Medusa is primarily spread through phishing campaigns to steal victims’ credentials. The ransomware can also infiltrate a system through unpatched software vulnerabilities. With that in mind, the notice states that there are several steps an individual and organization can take to mitigate threats from Medusa. These include: Using long passwords on accounts. Implementing multifactor authentication (also known as MFA or 2FA) on accounts. Keeping software and operating systems on all devices up to date. Use VPNs to protect your traffic. Have multiple copies of sensitive data backed up on more than just one device. Finally, it’s always a good idea to practice common sense measures that help reduce your vulnerability to phishing attempts. This includes never clicking on a link that is emailed or texted to you if you don’t recognize the sender. Likewise, never open attachments you receive from an unknown sender. And even when a sender appears legitimate, it is always best to contact them via another channel to ensure that they, indeed, were the one who sent you a link or attachment. A common phishing tactic bad actors use is to send emails to victims that appear to be from valid or known email addresses—but when you look closely at them, you’ll see that a character or two might have been changed. For example, an “I” in an email address might have been changed to a “1”). At first glance, the email looks legitimate, but the change is a giveaway that someone is trying to misrepresent who they actually are. The CISA maintains a webpage with myriad tips detailing how to further protect yourself from ransomware. View the full article