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In 2023, several content marketing trends are emerging that you should be aware of. AI-driven content creation offers efficiency, whereas real-time personalization can greatly boost user engagement. Short-form video content is gaining traction, and optimizing for voice search is becoming crucial for visibility. Furthermore, user-generated content builds trust, and collaborating with micro-influencers can extend your reach. Comprehending these trends will help you adapt your strategies effectively. What else should you consider to stay ahead? Key Takeaways AI and Automation: Utilize AI tools for efficient content creation while ensuring human review for quality and brand voice consistency. Personalization: Implement real-time personalization strategies to enhance user engagement and drive revenue growth through customized content. Video Content Dominance: Focus on short-form videos, as they yield higher engagement rates and cater to consumer preference for quick, snackable content. Voice Search Optimization: Optimize content for voice search by using long-tail keywords and conversational language to meet changing user search behaviors. User-Generated Content: Leverage UGC and influencer collaborations to enhance authenticity, trust, and engagement, significantly impacting purchasing decisions. AI Content Creation and Automation AI content creation and automation are transforming the environment of digital marketing. With tools like ChatGPT and Jasper, you can generate large volumes of b2b content creation quickly while maintaining your brand’s voice through customized training. Nevertheless, human review is still vital to guarantee quality and authenticity, especially since 93% of marketers prioritize first-party data for effective campaigns. AI allows for the rapid repurposing of existing content into various formats, boosting productivity and maximizing content value. As marketing budgets tighten, these AI capabilities become fundamental, helping streamline processes and improve content production. Real-Time Personalization Strategies How can brands effectively connect with consumers in today’s fast-paced digital environment? Real-time personalization strategies are vital. By leveraging user behavior and interactions, you can dynamically customize content, boosting engagement rates by 20% compared to static methods. Tools like Bloomreach and Segment enable marketers to implement zero-data personalization, creating personalized experiences without extensive data collection. With 91% of consumers more likely to shop with brands that offer customized recommendations, adopting real-time approaches is critical for driving sales. Implementing tracking mechanisms for user behavior allows for immediate content adjustments, enhancing marketing message relevance. This data-driven personalization can lead to a 10-20% increase in revenue growth, making it a fundamental component of your b2b content marketing strategy. Short-Form and Video Content Dominance In a setting where real-time personalization strategies are reshaping consumer engagement, short-form video content has emerged as a potent tool for brands aiming to capture attention quickly. With 85% of viewers preferring videos under 15 seconds, this format achieves 2.5 times higher engagement rates than longer content. For b2b content marketing, embracing snackable videos is vital, as it meets consumers’ fast-paced consumption habits through quick, creative storytelling. Brands that invest in high-quality video production and repurpose existing content across various channels can greatly improve their reach. Moreover, live streaming encourages authenticity and real-time interaction, building consumer trust. Prioritizing short, engaging videos is critical for companies looking to capture and retain audience attention, ultimately driving higher conversion rates. Human-Centered User-Generated Content Human-centered user-generated content (UGC) is reshaping how brands connect with consumers by emphasizing authenticity. You’re likely to trust recommendations from peers over traditional ads, as 79% of people say UGC boosts their confidence in a brand. Authenticity Drives Engagement Although many brands rely on polished advertising to drive engagement, authenticity has emerged as a crucial factor in capturing consumer attention. With 79% of consumers saying user-generated content (UGC) influences their purchasing decisions more than traditional advertising, it’s clear that real experiences matter. Here are three reasons why you should prioritize authenticity in your b2b content marketing tactics: UGC campaigns can yield engagement rates 6.9 times higher than paid media. Collaborating with influencers improves perceived authenticity and broadens brand reach, as 91% of consumers trust peer recommendations. As skepticism regarding AI-generated content grows, 60% of consumers prefer brands showcasing genuine user experiences. Peer Influence on Trust As consumers navigate an increasingly crowded marketplace, the influence of peers has become a crucial factor in shaping their trust and buying decisions. User-generated content (UGC) considerably impacts these decisions, with 79% of people stating it affects their purchases, making it a essential aspect of your b2b content strategy. UGC outperforms traditional advertising, generating engagement rates 6.9 times higher, as brands using it see a 20% increase in ROI. Authenticity is key; 79% of consumers view UGC as more relatable and trustworthy. Collaborating with influencers can amplify this effect, as 60% of consumers trust their recommendations more than brand ads. Interactive Experiences and Tools Interactive experiences and tools are reshaping the landscape of content marketing by considerably enhancing user engagement and interaction. In the area of b2b content, these interactive formats not merely capture attention but additionally drive deeper connections. Here are three effective strategies: Quizzes and Polls: These formats can increase user participation by up to 70%, making your content more engaging. Augmented Reality (AR): Incorporating AR can boost conversion rates by 94%, allowing users to visualize products in real-time. Gamification: Implementing game-like elements leads to a 34% increase in customer loyalty and retention. Intentional Influencer Collaborations In today’s marketing environment, intentional influencer collaborations are crucial for building authentic relationships with your audience. By aligning brand values with the right influencers, you can co-create unique experiences that resonate deeply with consumers. This approach not only improves your brand’s storytelling but also nurtures trust, making it important for effective engagement in a discerning market. Building Authentic Relationships Building authentic relationships through intentional influencer collaborations is becoming essential for brands aiming to connect with their audience effectively. To maximize the impact of these partnerships, consider the following strategies: Choose the Right Influencers: Focus on micro and nano-influencers who share your brand values and have engaged audiences. Leverage User-Generated Content: Encourage your audience to create content that showcases their experiences with your brand, enhancing trust and engagement. Prioritize Genuine Connections: Collaborate with influencers to co-create products or experiences that resonate with their followers, ensuring authenticity over mere reach. In the domain of B to B content marketing, these intentional collaborations can drive meaningful connections, ultimately leading to increased trust and ROI for your brand. Aligning Brand Values Aligning brand values with those of influencers is vital in today’s content marketing environment, especially as consumers increasingly seek authenticity in the brands they support. Intentional influencer collaborations can greatly improve your B2B marketing efforts. By partnering with micro and nano-influencers, you can tap into their engaged audiences, nurturing trust and loyalty. Effective collaborations often involve co-creating content that reflects shared values, which not only deepens your connection with consumers but also drives higher engagement rates. In addition, showcasing your commitment to social causes through these partnerships resonates deeply with audiences, as 83% believe brands should take a stand. In a setting where 64% of consumers have purchased through social media, aligning values is vital for successful marketing strategies. Co-Creating Unique Experiences Although many brands still rely on traditional marketing strategies, co-creating unique experiences through intentional influencer collaborations is proving to be a potent alternative. This approach not only improves authenticity but also builds genuine connections with audiences, aligning well with current b2b trends. Here are three key benefits of this strategy: Higher Engagement Rates: Micro and nano-influencers often yield better engagement, nurturing trust among their followers. Increased Sales: With 64% of consumers purchasing via social media, influencer partnerships can greatly drive sales and product discovery. Long-lasting Relationships: Campaigns that resonate with brand values encourage loyalty and enduring customer connections. Voice Search Optimization and SEO Strategies As voice search becomes an integral part of how people interact with technology, optimizing your content for this trend is vital to stay competitive. With a significant rise in question-based searches, focusing on conversational content is fundamental. Here’s a quick overview of strategies you should implement: Strategy Importance Tools to Use Optimize for Long-Tail Keywords Increases visibility in voice searches SEMrush‘s Voice Search Report Prioritize Mobile-Friendliness Guarantees quick loading for immediate answers Clearscope Understand Search Intent Aligns content with user expectations Google Analytics Frequently Asked Questions What’s Trending in Content Marketing? Right now, content marketing’s trending in the direction of hyper-personalization, as consumers prefer customized experiences. Short-form videos dominate platforms, capturing viewers’ attention more effectively than longer formats. Interactive content like quizzes improves engagement, making Quizzes more memorable. Furthermore, marketers increasingly partner with micro-influencers for authentic connections. Finally, first-party data is essential, especially with the decline of third-party cookies, as it helps personalize content and elevate overall marketing strategies. Stay informed to leverage these trends effectively. What Are the 5 C’s of Content Creation? The 5 C’s of content creation are Clarity, Consistency, Creativity, Connectivity, and Context. Clarity guarantees your message is easily understood, whereas Consistency builds brand recognition across platforms. Creativity allows your content to stand out and engage audiences, and Connectivity nurtures relationships and community with your audience. Finally, Context helps tailor your message to resonate with your target demographic. Together, these elements improve the effectiveness of your content marketing efforts. What Are the Future of Content Marketing Trends to Watch in 2025? In 2025, expect content marketing to heavily feature AI-driven hyper-personalization, enhancing consumer engagement. You’ll likely see a significant rise in programmatic advertising, boosting ROI for marketers using these technologies. Furthermore, immersive tech like AR and VR will redefine customer interactions, potentially increasing conversion rates. As third-party cookies fade, first-party data collection will become essential. Finally, video content, especially short-form and live videos, will remain a top choice for engaging consumers effectively. What Are the Top 3 Trends and Challenges Impacting Digital Advertising Platforms? The top three trends impacting digital advertising platforms include the rise of AI-driven programmatic advertising, which improves targeting and optimization; the shift in the direction of first-party data collection, essential as third-party cookies decline; and the growth of social commerce, integrating e-commerce features into advertising strategies. Challenges arise from increasing data privacy concerns, necessitating compliance with regulations like GDPR, and the difficulty in achieving hyper-personalization, as many campaigns still lack customized offerings in spite of consumer demand. Conclusion https://elements.envato.com/photos/content+marketing+ideas To stay ahead in content marketing, it’s crucial to embrace these seven trends. AI-driven tools can streamline content creation, whereas real-time personalization boosts user engagement. Short-form video continues to captivate audiences, and user-generated content builds trust. Focusing on interactive experiences improves brand connection, and collaborating with micro-influencers can expand your reach. Finally, optimizing for voice search is necessary for improved visibility. By adapting to these trends, you can guarantee your marketing strategies remain relevant and effective. Image via Envanto This article, "7 Game-Changing Content Marketing Trends to Watch" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

In 2023, several content marketing trends are emerging that you should be aware of. AI-driven content creation offers efficiency, whereas real-time personalization can greatly boost user engagement. Short-form video content is gaining traction, and optimizing for voice search is becoming crucial for visibility. Furthermore, user-generated content builds trust, and collaborating with micro-influencers can extend your reach. Comprehending these trends will help you adapt your strategies effectively. What else should you consider to stay ahead? Key Takeaways AI and Automation: Utilize AI tools for efficient content creation while ensuring human review for quality and brand voice consistency. Personalization: Implement real-time personalization strategies to enhance user engagement and drive revenue growth through customized content. Video Content Dominance: Focus on short-form videos, as they yield higher engagement rates and cater to consumer preference for quick, snackable content. Voice Search Optimization: Optimize content for voice search by using long-tail keywords and conversational language to meet changing user search behaviors. User-Generated Content: Leverage UGC and influencer collaborations to enhance authenticity, trust, and engagement, significantly impacting purchasing decisions. AI Content Creation and Automation AI content creation and automation are transforming the environment of digital marketing. With tools like ChatGPT and Jasper, you can generate large volumes of b2b content creation quickly while maintaining your brand’s voice through customized training. Nevertheless, human review is still vital to guarantee quality and authenticity, especially since 93% of marketers prioritize first-party data for effective campaigns. AI allows for the rapid repurposing of existing content into various formats, boosting productivity and maximizing content value. As marketing budgets tighten, these AI capabilities become fundamental, helping streamline processes and improve content production. Real-Time Personalization Strategies How can brands effectively connect with consumers in today’s fast-paced digital environment? Real-time personalization strategies are vital. By leveraging user behavior and interactions, you can dynamically customize content, boosting engagement rates by 20% compared to static methods. Tools like Bloomreach and Segment enable marketers to implement zero-data personalization, creating personalized experiences without extensive data collection. With 91% of consumers more likely to shop with brands that offer customized recommendations, adopting real-time approaches is critical for driving sales. Implementing tracking mechanisms for user behavior allows for immediate content adjustments, enhancing marketing message relevance. This data-driven personalization can lead to a 10-20% increase in revenue growth, making it a fundamental component of your b2b content marketing strategy. Short-Form and Video Content Dominance In a setting where real-time personalization strategies are reshaping consumer engagement, short-form video content has emerged as a potent tool for brands aiming to capture attention quickly. With 85% of viewers preferring videos under 15 seconds, this format achieves 2.5 times higher engagement rates than longer content. For b2b content marketing, embracing snackable videos is vital, as it meets consumers’ fast-paced consumption habits through quick, creative storytelling. Brands that invest in high-quality video production and repurpose existing content across various channels can greatly improve their reach. Moreover, live streaming encourages authenticity and real-time interaction, building consumer trust. Prioritizing short, engaging videos is critical for companies looking to capture and retain audience attention, ultimately driving higher conversion rates. Human-Centered User-Generated Content Human-centered user-generated content (UGC) is reshaping how brands connect with consumers by emphasizing authenticity. You’re likely to trust recommendations from peers over traditional ads, as 79% of people say UGC boosts their confidence in a brand. Authenticity Drives Engagement Although many brands rely on polished advertising to drive engagement, authenticity has emerged as a crucial factor in capturing consumer attention. With 79% of consumers saying user-generated content (UGC) influences their purchasing decisions more than traditional advertising, it’s clear that real experiences matter. Here are three reasons why you should prioritize authenticity in your b2b content marketing tactics: UGC campaigns can yield engagement rates 6.9 times higher than paid media. Collaborating with influencers improves perceived authenticity and broadens brand reach, as 91% of consumers trust peer recommendations. As skepticism regarding AI-generated content grows, 60% of consumers prefer brands showcasing genuine user experiences. Peer Influence on Trust As consumers navigate an increasingly crowded marketplace, the influence of peers has become a crucial factor in shaping their trust and buying decisions. User-generated content (UGC) considerably impacts these decisions, with 79% of people stating it affects their purchases, making it a essential aspect of your b2b content strategy. UGC outperforms traditional advertising, generating engagement rates 6.9 times higher, as brands using it see a 20% increase in ROI. Authenticity is key; 79% of consumers view UGC as more relatable and trustworthy. Collaborating with influencers can amplify this effect, as 60% of consumers trust their recommendations more than brand ads. Interactive Experiences and Tools Interactive experiences and tools are reshaping the landscape of content marketing by considerably enhancing user engagement and interaction. In the area of b2b content, these interactive formats not merely capture attention but additionally drive deeper connections. Here are three effective strategies: Quizzes and Polls: These formats can increase user participation by up to 70%, making your content more engaging. Augmented Reality (AR): Incorporating AR can boost conversion rates by 94%, allowing users to visualize products in real-time. Gamification: Implementing game-like elements leads to a 34% increase in customer loyalty and retention. Intentional Influencer Collaborations In today’s marketing environment, intentional influencer collaborations are crucial for building authentic relationships with your audience. By aligning brand values with the right influencers, you can co-create unique experiences that resonate deeply with consumers. This approach not only improves your brand’s storytelling but also nurtures trust, making it important for effective engagement in a discerning market. Building Authentic Relationships Building authentic relationships through intentional influencer collaborations is becoming essential for brands aiming to connect with their audience effectively. To maximize the impact of these partnerships, consider the following strategies: Choose the Right Influencers: Focus on micro and nano-influencers who share your brand values and have engaged audiences. Leverage User-Generated Content: Encourage your audience to create content that showcases their experiences with your brand, enhancing trust and engagement. Prioritize Genuine Connections: Collaborate with influencers to co-create products or experiences that resonate with their followers, ensuring authenticity over mere reach. In the domain of B to B content marketing, these intentional collaborations can drive meaningful connections, ultimately leading to increased trust and ROI for your brand. Aligning Brand Values Aligning brand values with those of influencers is vital in today’s content marketing environment, especially as consumers increasingly seek authenticity in the brands they support. Intentional influencer collaborations can greatly improve your B2B marketing efforts. By partnering with micro and nano-influencers, you can tap into their engaged audiences, nurturing trust and loyalty. Effective collaborations often involve co-creating content that reflects shared values, which not only deepens your connection with consumers but also drives higher engagement rates. In addition, showcasing your commitment to social causes through these partnerships resonates deeply with audiences, as 83% believe brands should take a stand. In a setting where 64% of consumers have purchased through social media, aligning values is vital for successful marketing strategies. Co-Creating Unique Experiences Although many brands still rely on traditional marketing strategies, co-creating unique experiences through intentional influencer collaborations is proving to be a potent alternative. This approach not only improves authenticity but also builds genuine connections with audiences, aligning well with current b2b trends. Here are three key benefits of this strategy: Higher Engagement Rates: Micro and nano-influencers often yield better engagement, nurturing trust among their followers. Increased Sales: With 64% of consumers purchasing via social media, influencer partnerships can greatly drive sales and product discovery. Long-lasting Relationships: Campaigns that resonate with brand values encourage loyalty and enduring customer connections. Voice Search Optimization and SEO Strategies As voice search becomes an integral part of how people interact with technology, optimizing your content for this trend is vital to stay competitive. With a significant rise in question-based searches, focusing on conversational content is fundamental. Here’s a quick overview of strategies you should implement: Strategy Importance Tools to Use Optimize for Long-Tail Keywords Increases visibility in voice searches SEMrush‘s Voice Search Report Prioritize Mobile-Friendliness Guarantees quick loading for immediate answers Clearscope Understand Search Intent Aligns content with user expectations Google Analytics Frequently Asked Questions What’s Trending in Content Marketing? Right now, content marketing’s trending in the direction of hyper-personalization, as consumers prefer customized experiences. Short-form videos dominate platforms, capturing viewers’ attention more effectively than longer formats. Interactive content like quizzes improves engagement, making Quizzes more memorable. Furthermore, marketers increasingly partner with micro-influencers for authentic connections. Finally, first-party data is essential, especially with the decline of third-party cookies, as it helps personalize content and elevate overall marketing strategies. Stay informed to leverage these trends effectively. What Are the 5 C’s of Content Creation? The 5 C’s of content creation are Clarity, Consistency, Creativity, Connectivity, and Context. Clarity guarantees your message is easily understood, whereas Consistency builds brand recognition across platforms. Creativity allows your content to stand out and engage audiences, and Connectivity nurtures relationships and community with your audience. Finally, Context helps tailor your message to resonate with your target demographic. Together, these elements improve the effectiveness of your content marketing efforts. What Are the Future of Content Marketing Trends to Watch in 2025? In 2025, expect content marketing to heavily feature AI-driven hyper-personalization, enhancing consumer engagement. You’ll likely see a significant rise in programmatic advertising, boosting ROI for marketers using these technologies. Furthermore, immersive tech like AR and VR will redefine customer interactions, potentially increasing conversion rates. As third-party cookies fade, first-party data collection will become essential. Finally, video content, especially short-form and live videos, will remain a top choice for engaging consumers effectively. What Are the Top 3 Trends and Challenges Impacting Digital Advertising Platforms? The top three trends impacting digital advertising platforms include the rise of AI-driven programmatic advertising, which improves targeting and optimization; the shift in the direction of first-party data collection, essential as third-party cookies decline; and the growth of social commerce, integrating e-commerce features into advertising strategies. Challenges arise from increasing data privacy concerns, necessitating compliance with regulations like GDPR, and the difficulty in achieving hyper-personalization, as many campaigns still lack customized offerings in spite of consumer demand. Conclusion https://elements.envato.com/photos/content+marketing+ideas To stay ahead in content marketing, it’s crucial to embrace these seven trends. AI-driven tools can streamline content creation, whereas real-time personalization boosts user engagement. Short-form video continues to captivate audiences, and user-generated content builds trust. Focusing on interactive experiences improves brand connection, and collaborating with micro-influencers can expand your reach. Finally, optimizing for voice search is necessary for improved visibility. By adapting to these trends, you can guarantee your marketing strategies remain relevant and effective. Image via Envanto This article, "7 Game-Changing Content Marketing Trends to Watch" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

If you plan to hand out chocolate this Halloween, you might be in for more trick than treat. The price of cocoa remains high after spiking last year – a trend that has shoppers turning away from a perennial favorite sweet treat, even on a holiday that revolves around candy. Compared to the Halloween season last year, chocolate costs more this year and consumers are buying less of it. Overall candy prices have risen a whopping 78% since 2020, according to an analysis from consumer finance site FinanceBuzz, which tracked candy prices across four major retailers. A 100-piece bulk bag of Halloween candy costs an average of $16.39 in 2025, up from $9.19 in 2020 and $14.06 just one year ago. Those yearly price surges have regularly outpaced inflation, which is already putting shoppers in a pinch. In its earnings call Thursday, Hershey noted holiday sales this Halloween were “disappointing” and that it planned to study pricing, pack types and its broader candy lineup “through the lens of the consumer” in light of underwhelming sales. The company, which owns candy brands like Reese’s, Kit Kat, and York, raised prices over the summer to cope with the rising cost of cocoa. Because cocoa is a seasonal commodity, companies that rely on it lock in their prices in advance, leading to a lag time between the key ingredient’s price fluctuations and what consumers wind up paying in-store for a packaged product. Sweet tooth alternatives Price hikes have driven consumers away from chocolate, but they’ve turned toward sugar-forward candies as an alternative. In the run-up to Halloween this year, U.S. chocolate candy sales had already dipped by 8% compared to 2024, and that’s not including the sweets-buying rush closer to the Friday holiday, when the majority of Halloween candy is sold. While chocolate demand softens, non-chocolate options like gummy and hard candies are getting more popular with younger consumers, according to a seasonal report from NielsenIQ. Shoppers buying Halloween candy early broadly turned toward non-chocolate options, which outpaced their chocolate counterparts with sales up 4.5% this year through September, according to market research group Circana. In the same period, chocolate candy sales dipped by 13.7%. Cocoa in crisis Chocolate is more expensive now due to a complex interplay of factors, but climate-caused excessive heat and intense rains in particular have taken their toll in cocoa’s key regions, sending the commodity’s price sky high. In the U.S., persistent inflation and The President’s chaotic trade deals have also impacted the price of imports like cocoa, which can’t be grown domestically. Last year, the price of cocoa reached historic highs, rising past $10,000 per metric ton. Because the global appetite for chocolate hinges on a single region in Africa, cocoa is uniquely vulnerable to forces outside of farmers’ control—particularly extreme weather events that are worsening as the planet warms. The climate crisis is expected to cause accelerating agricultural losses for staple crops like corn and wheat around the globe, and cocoa is no different. Cocoa prices leveled off some in mid-2025, but the substance that makes chocolate chocolate still costs triple what it did before 2023, leaving consumers to eat higher prices or leave the sweets on the shelf. Even if shoppers stick it out with chocolate this Halloween, they might be getting less for more. Candy aisle faves like Mr. Goodbar, Rolo, and Almond Joy have quietly slipped into new packaging that no longer entices buyers with the promise of “milk chocolate.” That change in verbiage is a hint that major candy companies like Hershey and Nestlé are dropping the cocoa content in some classics with new recipe “reformulations” that rely less on chocolate’s star ingredient. If your Halloween candy doesn’t taste quite as sweet this year, it might not just be because you paid more. View the full article

Move spells more political chaos ahead for embattled Prime Minister Sébastien LecornuView the full article

Most important Wi-Fi news from the past couple of weeks - enjoy. The post Roundup: Comcast partners with DT for mesh, DT launches Wi-Fi 7, Airties’ testing platform, & LA gets municipal Wi-Fi with Cisco appeared first on Wi-Fi NOW Global. View the full article

Three Federal Reserve officials said they did not support the US central bank's decision to cut interest rates this week, citing inflation that remains too high. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Everyone's talking about AI, but smart glasses are quietly breaking big in 2025. With Meta, Apple, and Google vying for dominance, and the hardware finally powerful enough to be practical instead of mere gimmicky, smart specs are transitioning from awkward face computers for tech-heads, into something potentially useful for everyone. If you’re thinking of jumping in, the sheer range of styles, features, and price points can be daunting, so I put together this guide to help you find your perfect pair. What smart glasses can do The term “smart glasses” is almost too broad to be useful. It's been applied to everything from AI-enabled sunglasses to augmented reality display glasses, so before you buy, it’s worth considering what you want your glasses to do. Roughly speaking, smart glasses exist across the following categories, although most straddle a few classifications: Audio-first smart glassesThese are basically earbuds embedded in glasses. They usually look like "normal" glasses, and they're designed to play music, take calls, and often to let you talk to an AI assistant. They don’t have screens or AR overlays. Who they're for: Anyone who wants to take hands-free phone calls or listen to podcasts without the hassle of earbuds. Example: Reebok Smart Audio Glasses Camera-first smart glassesCamera glasses produce high-quality stills and video from almost invisible cameras. They're like a lighter Go Pro. Who they're for: Anyone who wants to capture life on the fly and/or record a concert without holding up their phone. Example: Ray-Ban Metas. Display-first smart glassesGlasses designed for video or augmented reality display high-def video and/or digital information like directions, messages, video or even 3D animations directly in your field of view. Who they're for: Cutting edge tech fans and frequent travelers. Example: XReal One Pro. Vision-first smart glassesThe purpose of vision-first glasses isn't to let you listen to podcasts, but to enhance your vision. There aren't any vision-first smart glasses on the market in the U.S., but the future could hold cyborg-style upgrades for your eyes, from automatic zoom to automatically adjusting bifocals. Who they're for: People who need glasses to see better. So those are the basics. Here are my picks for the best smart glasses in each category. Best overall smart glasses for most people: Ray-Ban Meta Credit: Stephen Johnson I've tested a ton of different smart glasses for Lifehacker, from super high-tech AR shades like the XReal One Pro to amusing novelties like the Chamelo Music Shield, but the smart glasses I wear every day are Ray-Ban Metas. They look good, they're comfortable, and they do everything I want a pair of smart glasses to do. They play music, take pictures and video, stream content, and allow access to an AI agent, all painlessly. I haven't had a chance to try out Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses yet, but my choice for most useful pair of smart glasses in 2025 are the Ray-Ban Metas. Check out my full review for more details. Ray-Ban Meta - Wayfarer Large glasses with Meta AI, Audio, Photo, Video Compatibility - Polarized Gradient Graphite Lens (Refurbished) - Matte Black $263.00 at Best Buy Get Deal Get Deal $263.00 at Best Buy Best display smart glasses: Xreal One Pro Credit: Stephen Johnson XReal's One Pro smart glasses let you watch movies, play games, and answer emails from inside your eyeglasses. You just plug them into any device with USB-C video and you're in business. The display is impressive—the equivalent of a big-screen TV at 1080p—and they include an onboard chip for rudimentary augmented reality too. On the downside, they are not everyday glasses. You can't reasonably wear them around town, and they have to be tethered to another device to work. But if you're taking a long plane trip or you want a separate display for your computer, XReal glasses are a great option. Check out my full review for more details. XREAL ONE PRO AR Glasses M (IPD 57-66mm) and Beam Pro WiFi (6G+128G) Bundle– Supports All Google Play Store Apps, Elevate Your Spatial Experience $798.00 at Amazon $968.00 Save $170.00 Get Deal Get Deal $798.00 at Amazon $968.00 Save $170.00 Best everyday display glasses: Even Realities G1 smart glasses Credit: Stephen Johnson You can't watch video or play games on them, but Even Realities G1 smart glasses can be worn every day, and give users a HUD—glancing upwards turns on a monochrome screen that can display a map, news feed, and other information. They have built-in AI that you can access instantly without anyone knowing, which opens a range of possibilities, both ethical and unethical. Unlike other AR-style glasses, G1s are lightweight and made to be worn as everyday glasses. Check out my full review for more details. Best sports smart glasses: Bleequp Rangers Credit: Stephen Johnson The $379 Bleequp Rangers don't have an AI voice assistant or any kind of display, but if you want to document your runs or bike rides, these lightweight sports glasses take 16MP still images and hi-def video, and feature open-ear audio, turn-by-turn navigation, and a walkie-talkie. It's everything you need on a long ride, and the optional battery pack gives you up to four hours of recording time. Check out my full review for more details. Best audio-only/fashion smart glasses: Chamelo Music Shield Credit: Stephen Johnson I'm not sure Chamelo's Music Shield even counts as a pair of "smart glasses," but they're so cool, I had to include them. They don't have AI, a camera, or an in-lens display, but they play music, and the lenses change from light to dark with a swipe of a finger, so you can choose the best tint for light conditions or coordinate with your outfit, but mostly, impress your friends with your slick, novelty specs. Check out my full review for more details. CHAMELO Music Shield Smart Audio Sunglasses – Matte Black Frame, Fire Lenses | Open-Ear Bluetooth Glasses for Men & Women with Electronic Tint Control, Sweat Proof, Sports Eyewear, 100% UV Protection $259.99 at Amazon Get Deal Get Deal $259.99 at Amazon Upcoming smart glasses to watch forIf you're waiting for the next-generation of smart glasses before you jump in the pool, here are some of the intriguing models currently in development. Apple Smart Glasses Nothing has been announced officially, but the tech rumor mill is churning about Apple's plans to release a line of smart glasses instead of further developing its virtual reality gear like the Apple Vision Pro. Apple's first smart glasses will supposedly be released in 2026. They’ll be like Meta's smart glasses, but better—maybe better just because they say "Apple" on them, or maybe actually better. We won't know for sure until something is officially announced. Google Android XR GlassesGoogle seems to have put the Google Glass fiasco behind it and is planning to release a pair of Android-powered smart glasses with a camera, Gemini AI support, and an optional see-through micro-display that will let you project info—messages, navigation, and real-time translation—right onto your lenses. They've already released the Android XR operating system, and glasses are expected to be available at some point in 2026. Samsung's Project HAEANSamsung’s upcoming smart glasses are still under wraps, but the rumors out there are intriguing. Unlike Samsung's just released Galaxy VR, HAEAN (if real) isn't a big VR helmet. It's a pair of glasses you could wear in public and not feel like a goof. They’re rumored to be powered by Samsung’s in-house XR chip and integrated with Galaxy AI, presumably with the end-goal of a voice and AI-centric wearable with a focus on comfort. IXI Autofocus Smart GlassesIt's too early to tell whether this Finnish start-up's claims will turn into vapor, but IXI has recently raised $36.5 million from investors to develop smart glasses that invisibly and automatically adjust to correct farsightedness, as opposed to taking pictures or playing podcasts or whatever. Lenses that automatically adjust for optimum focus would be a big deal, because the next step is glasses that improve on 20/20 eyesight—maybe by allowing long-distance views, or instant microscope eyes. No release date for these either, but "a long way off" seems logical. View the full article

Spot the robin’s egg blue of a Tiffany box, and you know there’s luxury inside. Or the sturdy brown of the UPS truck, and you expect reliable service. Yellow Minions make you smile, and Valentino’s vivid Pink PP Collection makes you want to step out and step up. Color is more than decoration. Color is a powerful tool that drives business and creates cultural relevance. The right hues build trust, drive sales, and make brands unforgettable, while the wrong ones can cost you customers and credibility. The launch of Coke Life in a green rather than familiar red can probably contributed to the product’s uphill battle with consumers. Even tinkering with a color combination as simple as the Gap’s white-on-blue logo can face business backlash, as the company found out when it tried to rebrand in 2010, but the company soon returned to the original due to the rebrand’s unpopularity. Leading brands use color strategically and employ trend forecasting to stay relevant as consumer expectations shift. Here’s how to think about color like a leading brand. COLOR SPEAKS DIRECTLY TO THE SUBCONSCIOUS Simply put: Colors drive emotions, and emotions drive purchasing behavior. The brain processes visuals faster than text, so colors trigger subconscious associations that shape perception before other messages make their way in. For consumers connecting with a brand or product, color helps them instantly categorize products and streamlines their decision-making. It happens fast—customers form judgments about products within the first 90 seconds of interaction, with up to 90% of that assessment based solely on color. In less time than a commercial break, the right color choices can earn consumers’ trust, evoke their excitement, or tap their aspiration. The wrong choices can turn buyers away just as quickly. This is why certain industries, informed by cultural appetites, gravitate toward specific palettes. In the United States, tech companies and banks often use blues and neutrals to project reliability, because American consumers associate blue with stability and trust. Consumer perceptions of color vary globally, so brands must know their markets. In some cultures, for example, a bride traditionally wears white for a wedding, but in other cultures white signifies mourning. Getting it wrong can confuse—or even repel—consumers. THE BUSINESS CASE FOR COLOR Companies that invest in a smart color strategy create lasting visual associations that foster trust and loyalty, which can be deepened even further by using signature colors—think: iconic Tiffany Blue. Such associations help consumers understand what experience they can expect from the brand and are one of the fastest ways to communicate the brand’s value and build trust. Color increases brand recognition by 87% and influences up to 85%of product purchasing decisions, according to Pantone’s proprietary research. In fact, a Rochester Institute of Technology study found that 69% of respondents said they’d forgo a product whose color was unappealing, even if they needed the product. With color so consequential to consumers, it should matter just as meaningfully to brands. When Philips wanted to signify the revolutionary nature of their OneBlade Hybrid Razor to their target demographic of young Italian men, they selected a bold, tangy yellow-green that popped off the shelf and tapped into young men’s quest for individuality. The right color strategy enhances engagement, increases brand value, and strengthens market resilience, ensuring your company remains competitive over the long term. COLOR DECISIONS ARE CRITICAL IN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Brands that forecast color trends don’t just follow the market—they define the market. This is especially crucial for fashion, technology, and consumer goods, where trends change quickly, and aesthetics and emotional appeal strongly influence buying decisions. Consumers are drawn to brands that are not just on-trend but ahead of the curve. Hitting the right color in one season is valuable, but consistently setting and capitalizing on trends cements a brand’s leadership. And in an omnichannel world, consumers expect a seamless experience, so brands need to ensure their colors remain consistent across websites, apps, and retail displays. Specially designed Barbie Pink and Minion Yellow, for instance, brought the unique experience to life recognizably and consistently everywhere these fictional characters went. Inconsistent visuals flout customer expectations, weaken brand recognition, confuse consumers, and even signal unprofessionalism or poor quality. Back in the Kodak Instamatic days, factories did not standardize the yellow packaging, with some boxes appearing darker and others lighter. Customers shied away from the darker yellow boxes, thinking they were older and contained older film. COLOR CAN KEEP YOUR BUSINESS IN THE BLACK The right color choices can mean the difference between profitability and missed opportunity. For example, Kraft’s decision to define and standardize a globally recognizable Heinz 57 Red translated into real results tableside in Turkey. The Heinz 57 Red-focused ad campaign strengthened brand discernment—with 97% of customers able to visually tell the difference between Heinz and competitors post-campaign—and supported both a 24% rise in usage of Heinz ketchup and 73% fewer non-Heinz ketchup refills by street food vendors. [KK1] Color influences perception, drives purchasing behavior, and creates instant recognition, all factors that directly impact a brand’s bottom line. Consumers make snap judgments based on color, research shows, and those judgments translate into trust, engagement, and sales. Investing in color isn’t optional in today’s competitive landscape – color is key to staying relevant, recognizable, and in the black. Sky Kelley is the president of Pantone. View the full article

The acquisition complements existing lending channels at Carrington and also adds Reliance's full servicing portfolio to its platform, the company said. View the full article

Imagine living in a house with the latest smart home system: lights dim on voice command, your thermostat learns your schedule, your refrigerator orders milk before the carton runs out. It’s practical yet delightful. It improves your daily life. Now imagine that same house built on shaky foundations: the electric wiring is aging, and the plumbing is rotting. No matter how advanced your devices are the structure won’t support them reliably. That’s the difference between AI and blockchain. AI is the smart tech; blockchain is the well-designed infrastructure that ensures everything works reliably, predictably, and with integrity. Similar to how a home needs both features and structure, our digital economy will demand both AI and blockchain. One amplifies capability, the other ensures resilience. The real promise of blockchain Just as cloud computing once seemed abstract until it powered every app, blockchain quietly is becoming the fabric woven into how money moves, contracts are enforced, and systems operate with one another. For leaders, innovators, and builders, our job is to see past the surface-level headlines and recognize structural shifts. That’s where we are with blockchain. Paying attention now determines whether you’ll lead the next economy—or scramble to adapt after the rules have changed. Two areas in particular highlight how blockchain and AI together can reshape finance: programmable money and transparency in financial records. 1. Programmable money One of the biggest opportunities is programmable money used by AI-driven agents. Programmable money is digital currency with built-in logic. It can move, settle, or trigger actions automatically based on predefined conditions and rules, releasing payment only when goods are delivered, paying employees instantly after clocking out, or compensating an AI agent the moment it completes a task. An AI agent is a bit like a personal assistant. It interprets requests, figures out how best to deliver on them, and improves over time. They can act autonomously to complete tasks and make decisions to meet your requests. These AI agents don’t only work during traditional hours, and they don’t have an “identity” according to traditional regulatory frameworks, yet they need reliable ways to be compensated in real time. Blockchain-backed stablecoins are a natural solution. Consider an example of this powerful combination in real estate: An AI agent confirms the accuracy of documents, closes a transaction, and disburses funds. If it’s a Sunday morning and payment rails like ACH or wires are closed, how does the transfer clear? Stablecoins enable settlement on digital time, not banker’s hours. This is already moving from theory to practice. For example, Google just announced an Agents Payments Protocol, which provides a blockchain-based framework for ecommerce transactions conducted by AI agents. Other leading payment companies like PayPal, Mastercard, and American Express also are embracing this technology. This is a clear example of the intersection of AI and blockchain for a pragmatic use case. 2. Financial transparency Underwriting offers another example of the importance of applying blockchain principles to AI. AI is now shaping how risk is assessed, and loans are priced. That creates real concerns about fairness, bias, and explainability. Regulators and consumers alike want to know why a loan was denied and what data drove the decisions, breaking open the black box of financial decision-making. Blockchain offers an answer. It can record AI-driven activity (data inputs, validation steps, approvals, compliance checks), creating a verifiable record across a variety of consumer products like mortgages or credit cards. Instead of a vague “application denied,” consumers would know the exact reason, like missing income verification or a high debt-to-income ratio. For approvals, the record would highlight the inputs behind the interest rate—credit score, income, loan-to-value—so borrowers know what mattered most. With the same validated data applied across applicants, regulators can verify fairness while consumers gain clarity. Together, AI and blockchain don’t just deliver speed. They deliver financial systems that are more transparent to regulators, more understandable to consumers, and ultimately more durable. The long game belongs to blockchain AI is transformative because it amplifies what we already do. It’s the smart home app that learns your lighting preferences based on circumstance. Blockchain is different. It’s the building department, inspector, and the wiring behind the walls: setting the rules for what can be built, verifying the work, and powering the entire system. For consumers, opaque financial decisions—like sudden credit card fee increases, shifting interest rates, or unexplained loan denials—have long been the norm. The combination of AI and blockchain is poised to change that bringing clarity to the individual and accountability to the system. For leaders and innovators, the blueprint for the future is straightforward: Prepare for an AI future by building a strong blockchain foundation as rapid growth in transaction activity will demand scalable, composable infrastructure Leverage transparent, fair, and accurate design principles so AI decisions can be explained, verified, and defended. Move beyond pilots by embedding blockchain into mission-critical workflows where speed, settlement, and reliability are non-negotiable. The intersection of AI and blockchain is shaping up to be a massive market reset. Those who embrace it now will define what comes next. Michael Tannenbaum is the CEO of Figure. View the full article

Cheating has long been an unwelcome but expected risk in the hiring process. While most people are honest and well-intentioned, there are always a handful of candidates who attempt to game the system. Today, however, the problem is evolving at an unprecedented speed. Generative AI has made new, more sophisticated types of cheating possible for any position, from software development to finance to design. In my work with hundreds of employers helping them hire and develop talent, I’ve seen firsthand the myriad ways candidates attempt to game the system. So, why are candidates resorting to these methods? Sometimes, candidates are attempting to secure a position they’re underqualified for, or otherwise gain a leg up in the hiring process. Other times, candidates pursue multiple full-time roles at once—a trend known as “overemployment”—which increases the likelihood that they’ll cheat. Here are the four most common approaches candidates use to cheat, and what employers across all industries can do to detect and prevent dishonesty in their hiring processes. THE FOUR CHEATING TYPES 1. Copy-paste plagiarism This is the most widespread and fundamental form of cheating. A candidate is given a task—it could be a coding challenge, a writing sample, or a case study—and they simply copy or heavily borrow from existing resources found online. In some cases, candidates even use answer keys for standardized assessments, which are often sold or shared in online forums. How to detect and prevent it: The ideal mitigation strategy for this type of cheating is to prevent it in the first place by ensuring multiple candidates don’t see the same questions. Think about the SAT, for example—thousands of versions of each question are created and dynamically rotated, but calibrated to be equally difficult. So if a question leaks, it’s unlikely that another candidate sees the same question. Assessment platforms should also crawl the web to see if submitted work matches known public answers, and flag if a candidate spends lots of time in a separate browser window. 2. Hiring a “ringer” With this method, a candidate hires a highly-qualified individual—a “ringer” or “proxy interviewer”—to take a skills assessment or even a live interview on their behalf. This is a particularly sneaky form of cheating because the person taking the test is genuinely skilled, but they aren’t the person you’re considering for the job. The problem only becomes apparent later when the person you hired can’t replicate their performance on the job. How to detect and prevent it: The best way to combat this is with identity verification and proctoring. This can be as simple as asking candidates to show a photo ID via webcam at the start of the assessment. Organizations can also use AI-powered proctoring to monitor a candidate’s behavior, flagging suspicious activity like multiple people in the room or eye movements that suggest they’re getting help—and verify this with human review. 3. Using AI to generate answers This is where AI has truly changed the game. Instead of searching for an answer, a candidate can use a text- or voice-based AI tool to get a complete answer in seconds. These AI models are not only fast, but they generate original content that wouldn’t necessarily be flagged by a simple plagiarism checker. While some organizations may be okay with candidates leveraging AI tools—especially if they’d be using AI on-the-job—others are looking to see a candidate’s skill without the assistance of AI. How to detect and prevent it: One solution is to use AI detection tools that can analyze text for patterns consistent with AI generation. A more robust approach, however, is to design assessments that require human-level reasoning and creativity—and even allow candidates to leverage AI to produce their response. With this approach, employers can see how well candidates make use of all the tools they’d have at their disposal on the job—including AI—to solve realistic challenges or tasks. 4. AI deepfakes This is perhaps the most frightening new form of cheating, and it’s making headlines. A candidate can use AI deepfake technology to create a convincing, real-time avatar of themselves that takes a live interview. This AI-generated persona would not only answer questions but could also mimic facial expressions and body language, which makes it difficult for a human interviewer to distinguish it from the real person. How to detect and prevent it: One way to spot deepfakes is with sophisticated AI-powered analysis. These tools can look for subtle inconsistencies like unnatural eye movements, a lack of blinking, or a disconnect between audio and video streams. Companies can also require a simple, real-time action from the candidate, such as holding up a specific object or moving their head in a certain way, that would be difficult for a deepfake to replicate perfectly. FINAL THOUGHTS The risks and costs of a bad hire are well-documented. An employee who lacks the skills they claimed to have will drag down a team, create poor quality work, and ultimately have a negative impact on the business. The integrity of your hiring process is a direct reflection of the quality of your future team. While the rise of AI has introduced new risks to employers, it has also given us new tools to more accurately identify candidates with the right skills for the job. Used well, AI tools can be a powerful partner in our efforts to build a fair and predictive hiring process. By embracing these advancements, we can move beyond simply detecting cheating and build a future where AI empowers us with new ways to find and hire candidates who will take innovation to the next level. Tigran Sloyan is CEO and cofounder of CodeSignal. View the full article

Stripping of titles and home from king’s brother may not calm controversy over future of monarchy, experts say View the full article

Leonardo da Vinci is often credited with writing the first resume in 1482, meaning the resume has been with us for more than five centuries. And though its layout has evolved over the years, the premise hasn’t: a piece of paper that tells someone where you’ve worked, what you studied, and maybe a bullet or two about what you’ve accomplished. That’s the problem. The resume is designed to tell us where someone has been—not what they can actually do. It shows what the last person who hired you needed done in their company that they thought you could handle. It looks backward when the world of work we live in today demands that we look forward. It inflates titles, overvalues brand-name employers, and reduces people to keywords designed to sneak past applicant tracking systems. Too often, the “best” resume isn’t from the most qualified candidate—it’s from the one who figured out how to game the system. And yet resumes persist. Why? Because they’re easy. They’re free to create. Most people (sort of) know how to make one. Employers ask for them. Entire hiring systems are built around them. They’re the definition of “meh—it’s good enough.” But good enough is no longer enough. WHAT BETTER LOOKS LIKE We’re in a labor market that is more dynamic—and more inequitable—than ever. The resume does nothing to address that. It privileges polish over abilities. It amplifies bias through names, schools, and companies that often serve as proxies for race, gender, age, and class. It fails miserably at consistency—one candidate’s resume looks like a design portfolio, another’s like a plain-text list—and leaves parsing software to guess what “counts.” No wonder amazing candidates fall through the cracks. So what would better look like? A new standard has to do what resumes can’t: Capture actual skills. Not just where you’ve been, but what you can do—and what “extras” make you uniquely you and uniquely qualified. It has to be structured, so it can travel across technologies. Standardized, so hiring managers can make real comparisons. Accessible, so you don’t need expensive software or a design degree to present yourself fairly. And anonymizable, so the three pound caloric monsters in evaluators’ skulls can’t fall back on the same biased shortcuts resumes encourage. Of course, the hard part isn’t dreaming up the new standard. It’s building the bridge. We can’t assume every applicant will suddenly have the time or access to build a digital skills profile. And we certainly can’t expect that employers will throw out their applicant tracking systems overnight (even if they might want to). We need technology that can translate existing resumes into skills-based profiles, while slotting neatly into the workflows companies already use. That’s how you shift the system: not by burning it down, but by giving people a clear path to make the switch. I know some will say the resume is too entrenched, too universal to ever disappear. They’re probably right in the short term. But history is full of standards that seemed permanent—landlines, CDs, even fax machines—until they weren’t. The resume has lasted 543 years not because it was brilliant, but because it was familiar. Familiarity isn’t a good enough reason to keep failing candidates and employers alike. If we want hiring to be fairer, faster, and more predictive, we need to blow up the resume and build something better. The future of work isn’t about paper credentials—it’s about the skills that predict how a person will perform in a role. And it’s past time our hiring systems caught up. Natasha Nuytten is CEO of CLARA. View the full article

Hypocrisy is a killer so don’t pass rules you can’t obey View the full article

AI’s explosive growth depends on a backbone of vast energy-hungry, water intensive data centers, costing hundreds of billions of dollars in resources. The challenge—and opportunity—of the moment is ensuring this infrastructure scales without hollowing out long-term value. Across the U.S., states are racing to attract data center facilities with lucrative incentives. The promise is economic growth and prestige. The reality is more complicated: hidden costs borne by communities, power grids, and ecosystems. As a venture capitalist focused on hardtech and sustainability, I see this tension as both risk and opportunity. The future of AI will belong to those who reconcile scale with sustainability, building infrastructure that powers innovation without draining the very resources societies depend on. THE ECONOMIC CASE—AND THE HIDDEN BURDEN Data centers are capital-intensive projects that can inject billions into local economies. Virginia’s 300 facilities, for example, contribute more than $9 billion annually. Illinois, with over 180 centers, has positioned itself as a hub thanks to land, fiber, and access to the Great Lakes. At the national level, the market was valued at $302 billion in 2023 and is projected to double by 2030. It’s easy to see why elected officials welcome them: construction jobs, tax revenue, and the prestige of being a digital gateway. But beneath the headlines, the numbers tell a different story. Subsidies can exceed $800,000 per job. One Alabama project sought $167 million in tax breaks for just 200 positions. Counties quickly become dependent on the revenue, creating pressure to approve more projects regardless of long-term costs. Meanwhile, resource demands are staggering. A single hyperscale facility can consume a gigawatt of power, enough to supply 750,000 homes. Collectively, U.S. data centers used 17 gigawatts in 2022 and are projected to reach 130 GW by 2030, or about 12% of U.S. electricity demand. That growth is already pushing utility prices higher. In Illinois, residential customers saw rates jump 45% in 2025, while businesses faced nearly 30% year-over-year increases. And with federal rollbacks of clean-energy tax credits slowing renewable development, much of that demand will be met by keeping fossil plants online, which undercuts climate goals. Water use adds another layer. Cooling a single large data center can require 5 million gallons per day, equivalent to the needs of a town of 50,000. Over five years, U.S. facilities are projected to consume 150 billion gallons, straining freshwater systems that are already under stress. These burdens are not abstract. They reshape household budgets, increase business costs, and raise profound questions about equity. In Newton County, GA, residents face water shortages, rate hikes, and a possible water deficit by 2030 linked to data centers in the area. In Virginia, an African American cemetery dating to 1863 is now surrounded on three sides by data centers. The social and environmental costs are real and growing. THE INVESTOR’S LENS: OPPORTUNITY IN THE CRISIS None of this is an argument against data centers. They are indispensable to AI, and AI is indispensable to the future of industry, science, and society. But the current trajectory is unsustainable. That’s why investors, entrepreneurs, and policymakers should treat this challenge as a growth opportunity. Four areas stand out: Cooling and heat sinks: With cooling consuming more than 40% of electricity, technologies like immersion cooling, direct-to-chip systems, and advanced heat sinks can dramatically reduce energy and water use. Carbon capture and utilization: Data centers can serve as testbeds for capturing emissions at the source and converting them into usable inputs. Long-duration storage: AI’s variable load requires resilience. Hydrogen systems, advanced batteries, and other long-duration storage solutions can stabilize grids. Advanced materials and compute efficiency: The frontier is not just bigger GPUs but better architectures, AI-optimized chips, and neuromorphic computing that deliver more performance per watt. These are not speculative bets. They represent areas where margins are high, corporate demand is urgent, and public capital is increasingly aligned with private investment. They are the technologies that will allow AI’s infrastructure to scale responsibly. A SMARTER FRAMEWORK FOR GROWTH Reconciling scale with sustainability requires a new playbook. Policymakers, utilities, and investors can align around four principles: Transparency: Require audited disclosure of energy and water use. Conditional incentives: Tie tax breaks to sustainability metrics, not just square footage. Geographic balance: Encourage siting where renewable energy and resilient water supplies are abundant. Community benefits: Ensure subsidies translate into tangible improvements for households, schools, and infrastructure. This isn’t about slowing AI’s growth—it’s about ensuring it creates lasting value. Done right, data centers can become engines for innovation rather than liabilities. ALIGN SCALE AND SUSTAINABILITY The paradox is clear: AI demands unprecedented computational scale, but unchecked growth risks raising bills, draining water, and delaying climate progress. The alternative is equally clear: Align incentives, invest in breakthrough technologies, and embed accountability into every deal. The winners of the AI era won’t just be those who scale fastest. They’ll be those who scale responsibly and build the infrastructure of a digital future that is as sustainable as it is transformative. Haven Allen is CEO and cofounder of mHUB and managing partner of mHUB Ventures. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Earlier this week, YouTube and Disney both warned YouTube TV subscribers that they might lose access to Disney-owned channels, including ESPN and FX, starting on Oct. 31. It's probably not the Halloween treat you were looking for, but now that the end of the month has come, that's exactly what's happened: Right now, more than 20 of Disney's channels have gone dark on YouTube TV. Why did Disney pull its Channels from YouTube TV?Not to be confused with YouTube Premium, YouTube TV is Google's Live TV service—kind of like cable without the cable box. As such, it needs to pay content providers like Disney fees to offer their channels, and that sometimes means disputes arise over how high those fees should be. While neither company has given insight into specific numbers, the gist seems to be that Disney wants to raise its fees, and Google doesn't want to pay up. It's a tough tightrope to walk. On Disney's end, the company told Variety that it feels like it's charging "fair rates," and accused YouTube of potentially depriving its paying customers of channels they should rightfully be able to watch by not playing ball. On YouTube's side of things, the company argued that paying Disney's new rates would force it to "raise prices on YouTube TV." Throw in that Disney has its own Live TV service, Hulu + Live TV, and there's also a potential anticompetitive angle at play, which Google was happy to point out, noting the proposed fee increase "directly harms our subscribers while benefiting their [Disney's] own live TV products." Which Disney Channels Have Been Pulled From YouTube TV?This isn't the first time YouTube TV has had to negotiate fees with content providers, and it's been able to avoid losing access to channels from the likes of Paramount, Fox Corp., and NBC Universal in the past. But with Disney negotiations falling through, this is one of the bigger losses of content YouTube TV subscribers have had to face in years. The full list of channels pulled from the service includes: ABC ESPN ESPN2 ESPNU ESPNews Disney Channel Disney Junior DIsney XD Freeform FX FXX FXM SEC Network Nat Geo Nat Geo Wild ABC News Live ACC Network Localish Additionally, if you're on the YouTube TV Spanish plan, you've also lost access to the following channels: ESPN Deportes Baby TV Español Nat Geo Mundo When will Disney's channels come back to YouTube TV?If there's a silver lining, it's that the loss of Disney channels on YouTube TV probably isn't permanent. A similar blackout happened in 2021, for similar reasons, and lasted less than a week. That said, a direct timeline on restoring Disney's content to YouTube TV isn't yet available. In an update to its initial warning, YouTube said that Disney is "now following through on their threat," and that "we continue to urge Disney to work with us constructively to reach a fair agreement that restores their networks to YouTube TV." As before, the platform also promised subscribers a $20 credit if Disney content "remains off YouTube TV for an extended period of time," though it's currently unclear how long "an extended period of time" actually is. Notably, $20 is enough to subscribe to a month of the Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN bundle with ads. On Disney's, end, a banner on the top of the Disney+ Help Center currently points users confused about losing access to the company's channels to a site called keepmynetworks.com, which suggests other ways of accessing Disney's TV content and urges disgruntled customers to reach out to YouTube directly, as well as post about the blackout on social media. Other Live TV services that offer Disney ChannelsWhile YouTube TV has lost access to Disney's content for now, other services continue to offer it, including Disney's own Hulu + Live TV. However, while Hulu + Live TV is cheaper than YouTube TV for the first three months ($64.99 vs. $72.99,) it is more expensive afterwards ($89.99 vs. $82.99). Because the content blackout is likely to be temporary, a potential short-term fix might be the Sling Orange plan, which offers day passes for $5 a pop, and allows access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN4K, Freeform, and Disney Channel. View the full article

Want your business to show up in Google’s AI-driven results? The same principles that help you rank in Google Search still matter – but AI introduces new dimensions of context, reputation, and reasoning, according to Robby Stein, VP of Product, Google Search. PR for AI. In an interview with Marina Mogilko of Silicon Valley Girl, Stein said AI “thinks a lot like a person would,” and agreed with her assessment that you’re investing in PR not for people to see it, but for AI. Stein said: “If you’re a business and you’re mentioned in top business lists or from a public article that lots of people end up finding, those kinds of things become useful for the AI to find.” AI Mode is “literally using Google Search as a tool, like doing Googling under the hood and then finding relevant information and it can both obviously do a standard Google search and understand the web results, but also tap into the knowledge bases and real-time info systems at Google.” SEO overlap. Stein talked a bit about how AI optimization strategies differ from traditional SEO: “And so in the same way that you would optimize your website and think about how do I make helpful, clear information for people. So people search for a certain topic, my website’s really helpful for that. Think of an AI doing that search now. And then knowing, for that query, here are the best websites given that question. [That now] will come into the context window of the model. And so when it renders a response and provides all of these links for you to go deeper, that website’s more likely to show up. And so it’s a lot of that standard best practices around building great content really do apply in the AI age for sure.” So is it (GEO, AEO, or whatever we end up calling AI search optimization) basically the same as SEO? Stein said: “There’s a lot of overlap. I think maybe one added nuance is that the kinds of questions people ask AI are increasingly complicated and they tend to be in different spaces. “And so if you think about what people use AI for, a lot of it is how-to for complicated things or for purchase decisions or for advice about life things. So people who are creating content in those areas like if I were them, I would be a student of understanding the use cases of AI and where what are growing in those use cases. I think there’s been some studies that have done around what how people use these products and AI. It was really interesting to understand.” Tools still matter. Stein pointed to Google Trends, Ads, and Search Console as underused resources for understanding new types of search behavior. “Google Trends is a really useful thing. I actually think people really underutilize that.” Why we care. Google Search is continuing to evolve. So, too, is SEO. Even Stein seemed to acknowledge that it’s not “just SEO” that matters in the era of AI Overviews and AI Mode, despite there being a lot of overlap. Because you are no longer just optimizing to be ranked – you’re optimizing to be recommended. The interview. Google’s AI Search Expert: How to Get Ahead Before AI Changes Everything View the full article

Let’s be real: No one has a perfect business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) plan. And that’s okay because perfection isn’t the goal—resilience is. A client once told me they had a mature BCDR plan. Then a hurricane hit. Their primary data center flooded. Admins needed to reach a backup site in another state, but flights were grounded, roads iced over, and their own homes were underwater too. Suddenly, you’re asking people to choose between their jobs and their families. That’s not just a logistics problem; it’s a human one, reminding us that even the best plans can fall apart in practice. But while FEMA estimates that one in four businesses never reopen after a disaster, you can take steps to avoid becoming that statistic. BCDR today isn’t just about systems and backups. It’s about people, priorities, and preparation. And while no plan is perfect, I still see the same five challenges tripping up organizations. The difference now? The stakes are higher. Cyberattacks can paralyze your entire business. And AI, while promising, isn’t a silver bullet. So, let’s talk about how to get your BCDR house in order. 1. Identity management: Who’s really on call? We used to travel to incident sites, plug in some cables, and run recovery drills. Now, it’s all remote—opening the door to new threats when your business is most vulnerable. I’ve seen attackers sneak into recovery calls using fake identities, with names just one letter off from real employees. They’ll log into calls, listen, disrupt, and make a bad day worse. This is a human vulnerability. Having the right people in place and properly accounted for—from IT to legal—is still critical. Especially when a cyberattack can take down your entire IT infrastructure rather than a single facility. Step to take: Build identity verification into your BCDR runbooks. Don’t assume your Teams or Zoom login is enough. 2. Prioritization: What’s your minimum viable company? You can’t recover everything at once, so don’t try. Nearly half of organizations need more than a week to recover from a cyberattack. In that time, you’re not making products, and your stakeholders are losing faith. I’ve seen companies try to bring back every system simultaneously. It never works. Focus on what matters most and build from there. Start first with a business impact analysis (BIA) to figure out what keeps the lights on. That’s your minimum viable company and what you need to recover first. Everything else can wait. Step to take: Run a BIA. Use it to define your recovery priorities and align them with your recovery time and point objectives. This helps you understand how quickly you need to be back up and running and how much data you can afford to lose. This is foundational to any serious BCDR strategy. 3. Incomplete recovery: Backups aren’t a plan Many clients think, “We’ve got backups, so we’re good.” No, you’re not. Backups are just data. If you don’t have the configurations and environments to use that data, it’s useless. I’ve seen clients with pristine backups, and no way to run them. That’s not recovery, it’s a false sense of security. You also need to consider: Systems available to process that data; Where the data is stored because it may be gone; The environment, since moving on-premises data to the cloud is difficult even on a good day. Step to take: Map out your recovery scaffolding—identity, network, infrastructure—and test it. Tools can help automate this, but you need to know what “usable” recovery looks like for your business. 4. Documentation: Living plans, not dusty binders Ask your team where the BCDR plan is. If they point to a binder, you’ve got a problem. IT environments change daily, and your plan needs to change with them. That means version control, real-time updates, and integration with your infrastructure workflows, whether in the cloud, a data center, or at the edge. A static document is a liability. Step to take: Treat your BCDR plan like code—versioned, updated, and tested. Use automation where possible, but keep people in the loop. 5. Testing: If you haven’t tried it, you don’t have a plan Because BCDR plans change so often, you need to test them regularly. If you don’t, it’s more theory than plan, and things will invariably go wrong when you need it most. Testing reveals the gaps. It’s where you find out if your plan works or cracks under pressure. Think of it like a military exercise. You don’t just write the battle plan. You run it. You red-team it. You revise it. Quarterly or semiannually testing is the sweet spot. Any less than that, you’re out of date. More than that, you’re probably overdoing it or not automating enough. Ask your teams when they last ran a full BCDR test. If it’s not in the last six months, it’s time to knock off the rust. The best plans just get more sophisticated along with all the technological advances we implement, and it may be advisable to lean on an outside consultant who can help you troubleshoot without bias. Step to take: Schedule regular tests; quarterly is ideal. Include realistic scenarios, not just happy paths. And bring in your comms, legal, and HR teams. BCDR isn’t just an IT exercise. PRESSURE TEST IT NOW At the end of the day, BCDR isn’t about checking boxes. It’s about protecting people, preserving trust, and proving your business can take a hit and keep going. Ask yourself: If disaster strikes tomorrow, would our plan hold—or would it fold? Don’t wait to find out. Pressure-test it now, while you still have the luxury of time. Juan Orlandini is CTO of North America at Insight Enterprises. View the full article

Picture this: You walk into a coffee shop, order a latte, and pay with your phone. To you, it feels like checking out with Venmo. And to the cashier, it’s business as usual. But behind the scenes, something different is happening: You just paid with crypto. This isn’t science fiction—it’s already happening. From Starbucks to Walmart, retailers are rolling out crypto acceptance, and consumers are responding. Surveys show 39% of U.S. crypto holders have shopped with crypto (with 9% doing so daily), while 23% of non-holders say they’d use crypto if they could shop with it. That’s millions of shoppers who want the choice to pay with digital assets, but don’t realize that they already can. A smarter way to pay retailers For merchants, crypto isn’t just another payment button—it’s a way to improve the bottom line. Traditional payment rails come with added fees and delays that can get in the way. But now, crypto processors help convert crypto to fiat currency—government-issued currency that is not backed by a physical asset like the U.S. dollar, gold, or silver—so merchants can accept crypto at checkout seamlessly. How’s that possible? It’s actually quite simple. These processors generate a wallet address for customers to pay (think of it as a crypto account number), then process the transaction, verify it on a blockchain, and automatically convert the crypto to the merchant’s preferred government-backed currency (like the dollar), depositing it directly into the retailer’s bank account. Conversion is handled immediately, and usually settled automatically at locked-in rates, avoiding any risk of the token’s price fluctuation. And then there are stablecoins—a specific type of digital currency pegged to another asset like the dollar and designed to hold steady value—which retailers are also embracing as a way to accept crypto at checkout without having to navigate potential price swings. To sum it up: Often with fewer fees than card networks and instant (or near-instant) settlement, crypto payments can improve cash flow and offer retailers global reach with fewer currency exchange headaches, and money in the bank—without waiting days for funds to clear. That means less money paid to intermediaries and more money in the sellers’ pockets. The hidden customer segment Accepting crypto also allows retailers to appeal to a growing, eager customer base. Surveys show that more than 55 million Americans hold crypto today, and they’re looking for practical ways to use it. Offering crypto at checkout signals that your business is forward-thinking and inclusive—and can draw in innovative shoppers who actively seek out merchants who accept digital assets. Big names are leading the charge. Starbucks, Whole Foods, and Chipotle accept crypto through payment processors like Flexa and Spedn. Sheetz enabled Bitcoin and Ethereum across its 750+ convenience stores, even layering payments into its loyalty program. Walmart piloted Bitcoin payments in 50 stores, using the same terminals as Apple Pay. Even PayPal now allows merchants to accept 100+ cryptocurrencies, converting them into dollars on the spot. Everyday value for shoppers For consumers, crypto payments bring tangible benefits that go beyond novelty. The added speed and savings that merchants gain can translate into special discounts and perks for customers, as crypto processors and retailers are experimenting with promotions and loyalty programs that turn everyday purchases into opportunities to earn extra value. In August, Sheetz offered a 50% discount on in-person crypto purchases during peak hours; Starbucks and Shake Shack have piloted Bitcoin rewards and NFT-based loyalty programs; Nike and Sephora have integrated crypto rewards into purchases. With crypto, checkout becomes more than a transaction—it’s a chance to unlock extra benefits. And the checkout experience feels no different. Apps like BitPay, MoonPay, and PayPal work behind the scenes so the experience of paying with crypto feels the same as tapping your phone or swiping a card. From experiment to expectation The story of retail payments is one of constant evolution: checks gave way to plastic, plastic gave way to contactless, and now crypto is quietly stepping into the mix. What once felt novel is becoming normal. For merchants, crypto is a chance to reduce costs, attract new customers, and build loyalty in ways that traditional payment methods can’t. For consumers, it’s a way to shop faster, smarter, and with more rewards. The question isn’t if crypto will become part of mainstream retail, it’s when. And for forward-thinking merchants, the answer is now. Stuart Alderoty is president of the National Cryptocurrency Association. View the full article

I keep seeing articles and conferences about “humanizing” AI in one way or another. And while I get the sentiment, I think they’re taking the wrong approach. There’s no point in making technologies more human. Being human is our job. If anything, AI is less an opportunity to humanize technology, than to re-humanize ourselves. Let’s start at the beginning. AI is just the latest, perhaps greatest advancement yet in what OG computer scientist Norbert Wiener dubbed “cybernetic” technologies. Unlike traditional technologies, cybernetic ones take feedback from the world in order to determine their functions. They work less like a machine you turn on than a home heater’s thermostat, which turns itself off when the heat has reached a certain level. This, in turn, allows the room to cool. Then the thermostat snaps on again, using feedback from the environment to keep the room within a chosen temperature range. Of course, the other kind of feedback we all know about is that loud screech you get when you point a microphone too close to its speaker. The microphone is hearing its own sound, then feeding it back to the speaker, then hearing that sound, and feeding it back to the speaker again. Each feedback loop adds more sound until it screeches out of control. People engaging with AI prompts are vulnerable to those very same “positive” feedback loops. You come up with an idea, pose it to your favorite chat, and the more supposedly “human” the AI, the more it tries to find a way to give you positive feedback. “That sounds like a great idea for a new business, Douglas. I’m intrigued! Shall I develop a proposal with possible action points?” Passive spectators Round and around we go, the initial tiny utterance of a prompt getting cycled again and again, our human nervous system stimulated and reinforced by the positive feedback. Sure, we may contribute a bit to the process, but for the most part we are passive spectators of the phenomenon, marveling at how much history, logic, and speculation the AI can bring to bear. It can even create a slide presentation or video or simulated prototype of the idea suitable for presentation to others! Go to any business conference these days, and you’ll run into more than one entrepreneur who is high on their own supply, sharing videos of their AI’s crazy visions. Lord help the folks they convince to invest. As I see it, the reason they fall prey to such positive feedback loops is that they are too ready and willing to pull themselves from the equation. The AI seems so authoritative, and so human, that surely it’s aware of what it is doing. It wouldn’t be so on board your ideas if it didn’t have some sense that it would work, right? Your agents are not your friends Wrong. Don’t accept the positive reinforcement. The AI isn’t on board with the idea so much as committed to pleasing you, in the moment, like a person if it’s been trained that way. But it’s not a human, not even close, and doesn’t hold a conception of the thing you are working on. No, you, the human partner in this feedback loop, are the only one who stands a chance of conceiving or contextualizing whatever it is you’re working on. Your agents, like your children, are not your friends. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care for them. Quite the contrary, it means you have to be the one to intervene on everyone’s behalf. You are the conscious actor in the system. The way to prevent such positive feedback loops in our interactions with technology is to assume the role of the human. Don’t get out of the AI’s way in the name of efficiency or output. It’s cool to see all that “stuff” coming out, but if you’re not intervening in the process—actively getting in the way—you’re not going to get anywhere at all. Follow your instincts Counterintuitively, perhaps, the way to do that is to become less mechanical, less results-oriented, less utilitarian, and more feeling, more process-oriented, and even less obviously useful. Yeah, slow things down. Nurture your intuition. Lean into your own experience, expertise, and sensibilities. Reconnect with your instincts. Pause and breathe. How does that make me feel? For while cybernetic machines can iterate, only living beings can respirate. Instead of cycling through data, human beings can metabolize through our bodies. We can test ideas with our gut. Something doesn’t pass the smell test. A proposal feels off. This strange moment in the digital age may just be an opportunity to reclaim the uniqueness of being living, breathing, metabolizing creatures in an otherwise digital, unconscious, contextless landscape. Making AI’s seem more human is not doing us any favors, especially when it tempts us to relinquish our roles as the living, breathing adults in the room. View the full article

The health care industry, like many others, has traditionally relied on tried-and-true conventional, one-way marketing tactics. However, that strategy is no longer enough to break through to consumers. More than 81% of consumers tune out generic ads and crave more engaged and personalized content, signaling that marketers need to adapt and stop ineffective communication that tries to pull consumers to them. Instead, we must go to our customers, meeting them precisely where their attention already lives. We know a great story has the power to transcend demographics, evoke emotion, and build lasting connections. Ultimately, brands are collections of human beings, and people connect with people. By humanizing our brands and telling compelling stories about the individuals who compose them, we unlock a profound ability to resonate and connect with our audience on an emotional level. However, where we share stories have changed: We’ve seen the audience shift aggressively to at-home streaming and social media. Understand your customers’ media habits More consumers get their news from non-traditional news sources and streaming viewership has eclipsed traditional broadcast media. We are living through the atomization of content consumption. Knowing how people watch is only half the battle. Each platform—TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Netflix and others—is a distinct ecosystem. Savvy marketers understand customer’s unique consumption habits and user behaviors, then tailor their content and approach accordingly. Too often brands hesitate, thinking they may be too small, not unique, or they question their own perspective. But everyone has a story, and every brand has an opportunity to fuel a human emotion. Look at health care. We fuel your lives, your loves, your passions, and your careers. Consider entertainment marketing Last year we launched Northwell Studios to create impactful content that’s both entertaining and purpose driven. Our work, featured on platforms like Hulu and Netflix, has garnered billions of views. But more importantly, its humanizing complex issues, pulling back the curtain on health care, and sparking crucial dialogues around often taboo topics like gun violence and mental health. For example, our 2024 HBO Max docuseries, One South: Portrait of a Psych Unit, drove community support, awareness, and donations that enabled us to open a second mental health unit. That’s the ROI every marketer dreams of. Entertainment marketing, when rooted in purpose, can be a powerful force for good, fostering positive cultural change while building brand affinity. It’s not just about reaching viewers; it’s about making a difference. Five factors to weigh before trying entertainment marketing For brands ready to embrace the power of entertainment marketing, here are five factors to consider. 1. Authenticity: Before venturing into entertainment, identify the core values and stories that define your brand. If you have a product that is authentic, resonates with people, and provides value, then you have a platform to build a brand around that. Your entertainment content should be a natural extension of your brand’s identity, not forced. 2. Partnerships: Collaborating with experienced filmmakers, producers, or content creators is essential. They bring creative expertise and industry knowledge that can elevate your content and expand its reach. Seek partners who share your vision and commitment to quality storytelling. 3. Context: Entertainment marketing is not about just putting your product in a movie. It’s about crafting narratives that resonate with your target audience and subtly integrate your brand’s message. 4. Engage to change: Allow your audience to be part of the storytelling and the brand story. That means not just pushing content out, but allowing them to create content, engage with your brand, and share their passions, and their love for your brand. 5. Measure and adapt: Like any smart marketing campaign, be sure to track viewership, engagement, social media activity, and any other relevant impact on brand awareness and business outcomes that are important to you. Data-driven insights will help refine your strategy and optimize your return on investment. Final thoughts You must be fearless and bold. And you must be willing to fail and learn from those failures. The marketing landscape is transforming. Consumers are demanding authentic connections and engaging experiences. By embracing the power of entertainment, brands can break through the noise, build meaningful relationships, and achieve lasting impact. It’s time to move beyond traditional methods and embrace the power of the story. Ramon Soto is senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer at Northwell Health. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. I look forward to the fall time change every year, because I have plans for that extra morning hour. Turning back the clock is a perfect opportunity to kick-start a morning routine, since you can get up an hour early without it feeling like you're getting up an hour early. It's a great way to lean into your winter arc. We are, unfortunately, still doing the whole Daylight Saving Time thing. But I will take advantage of that fact while I can, because the fall time change gifts us with an extra hour in the morning (even if it is cruelly ripped from our evening routines). I'm not a morning person by nature, but my day always goes better when I get my workout in early, so I'm going to take that extra morning hour and use it for a workout instead of recalibrating my body clock to wake up later. I recommend all my fellow night owls do the same. When to wake up if you're taking advantage of the time changeI mean, you could use your extra hour to sleep in—take it if you need it. But personally, I'm going to set my alarm an hour earlier than I get up, starting this Sunday (Nov. 2, the first day of standard time for 2025). An hour is enough time for a simple strength workout, or for a short run and a quick shower before officially starting your day. I reserve one day a week for sleeping in, which for me is Saturday. On days I'm resting from exercise, I'll still wake up on schedule but use my morning hour for something fun or relaxing, like reading a book. If you want to fit a full workout in and need more time than the hour gives you, this is still a good way to soften the blow. For example, you can wake up 90 minutes earlier (according to the clock) with it only feeling 30 minutes earlier than usual (according to your circadian rhythms). How to plan for morning workoutsOn the first day you wake up "early," things will be much as they always are. But now that you're becoming a morning exerciser, you'll have to come to terms with the winter darkness. It will creep in, sunrise getting a few minutes later each day, until your morning jog is, most likely, fully in the dark. If you are running in the early mornings, definitely get yourself a light to help you see and be seen. I have a Petzl Tikkina, which I bought last year because Petzl has a reputation for reliability, and the Tikkina is one of their more affordable models. It's worked great for me, so this year I will probably spring for the rechargeable battery that fits in place of its three AAA cells. The rechargeable is designed to work well even in cold conditions, which will come in handy. Also consider wearing bright colors, a reflective vest, or even something like the Noxgear Tracer to give you good visibility on the side of the road. I have a neon pink jacket that comes out on cold dark mornings. noxgear Tracer2 Visibility Vest (Small) $67.95 at Amazon $79.95 Save $12.00 Shop Now Shop Now $67.95 at Amazon $79.95 Save $12.00 At the gym, be aware that the rhythm of the place will change. There will be a different group of regulars, and it may be more or less busy than you're used to. But even if everything is the same, there’s something luxurious about being able to take your time, when normally you have to squeeze your last few exercises together and rush to work. Savor that extra hour. View the full article

Greetings and thank you once again for reading Fast Company’s Plugged In—and a happy Halloween to you. Recently, I used Apple Photos to revisit the photos I took during the 2015 Thanksgiving holiday. There were some gems in there—memories I’d like to preserve forever. But there were even more images I regretted saving in the first place. You already know the ones I’m talking about. The near-duplicates of other, better photos. The blurry misfires. The shots of people with their eyelids drooping or mouths agape. The ones I accidentally took of the floor when my thumb slipped. Did I mention that the treasured pictures of loved ones remain intermingled with detritus such as the shot I snapped of the fine print on the back of my mother’s wireless network extender when I was troubleshooting it? Of course, all of this is an artifact of the age of digital photography. For me, that began in the spring of 1999, when I bought my first digital camera. Freed from film and developing costs, I could take as many photos as I wanted (or at least as many as my memory card would hold). They quickly piled up on my hard drive in a way that had no precedent with printed snapshots. The arrival of smartphones in the following decade may have been the more momentous sea change. Suddenly, I had a decent camera with me at all times. And it synced all the photos I took to the cloud, so they were nearly impossible to misplace. As nice as it is not to lose images by accident—which I did all the time pre-smartphone—the 111,582 photos I currently have stored in Apple Photos, most of which I took with various iPhones, include vast quantities of dross. I’m spending $10 a month on 2 terabytes of iCloud storage to store them, but the cost isn’t the issue. It’s the mental tax I pay every time I have to dig through bad photos to find the good ones. Speaking of “good ones”: Starting in 2023, an app called GoodOnes tried to use AI to distinguish between your best photos and the ones you could safely delete. It later rebranded as Ollie and has since vanished from the App Store. (Its website suggests a new version is coming, but includes a link to a busted waitlist, so who knows?) I gave GoodOnes a try when it was new. Mostly, it proved to me that determining whether a photo is worth keeping often has nothing to do with the aspects AI might be able to judge, such as composition, crispness, or the expressions on faces. In many instances, it’s a deeply personal decision, and impossible to outsource. Even once you’ve decided to trash your unwanted photos, it’s surprisingly tough to do. Apple Photos is focused on safely storing images, and doesn’t seem to have given a whole lot of thought to not storing them. Every time you delete a photo, it makes you confirm your intention, explaining that you can recover it for 30 days. Doing that thousands of times wouldn’t just be a slog—it would be unbearable. (It’s possible to bulk-select photos for deletion, but they’re displayed as tiny, cropped squares, making it hard to tell if any given picture is a keeper or a dud.) This conundrum is obvious enough that Apple’s App Store has several third-party utilities designed to let you keep or delete photos by swiping, as if you were going through potential dates on Tinder. The one I like best—and am happily paying $3 a month for—is called Shutter Declutter. It’s got a likable, minimalist interface and uses notifications to gently nudge you into spending a few minutes with it. It also makes the deletion process less intimidating by presenting you with just the photos you took on today’s date in past years, though you can also jump to others if you’re feeling ambitious. Sorting through 100,000-plus old photos is so overwhelming a project that the most expedient response is to avoid ever doing it. But I can certainly find the time to review ones I took on February 3, June 12, or October 30. Already I’ve used Shutter Declutter to weed out thousands of stinkers. It’s been . . . kind of fun, especially since I also get to see some great photos I’d forgotten I’d taken. Along with using this app regularly, I am trying to follow a few personal best practices for managing my photo collection: First, I am doing my best to take fewer pictures, but better ones. Instead of firing off a dozen haphazard shots of a moment just because I can, I’d rather thoughtfully compose two or three, as if I were paying for film and processing. Secondly, when I shoot a bunch of photos—say, at a picnic or during an e-bike jaunt—I’m trying to review them soon thereafter. I usually end up deleting about 80% of what I captured, leaving me with the 20% that I’d be happy to rediscover years from now. Lastly, my Apple Photos is rife with images that are inherently disposable: close-ups of restaurant meals, most screenshots, mildly amusing shots I texted to friends or family. Rather than letting them fester, I keep reminding myself that it’s best to remove them quickly, as if I were taking out the trash. I’m never going to turn myself into a digital neat freak. But even if all I do is slow my accumulation of additional images, I will have accomplished something. After all, it would be pretty sad if I checked Apple Photos one day and discovered that instead of having 111,582 to wrangle, I somehow had 223,164. You’ve been reading Plugged In, Fast Company’s weekly tech newsletter from me, global technology editor Harry McCracken. If a friend or colleague forwarded this edition to you—or if you’re reading it on FastCompany.com—you can check out previous issues and sign up to get it yourself every Friday morning. I love hearing from you: Ping me at hmccracken@fastcompany.com with your feedback and ideas for future newsletters. I’m also on Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads, and you can follow Plugged In on Flipboard. More top tech stories from Fast Company Claude turns ideas into apps Claude Artifacts lets you make flashcards, quizzes, games, and more—just by chatting. Read More → You bought a fridge with a screen. What did you expect? Samsung is bringing auto-play ads to some of its smart fridge screens. Read More → Figma acquires Weavy, a workflow tool with ‘artistic intelligence’ Figma CEO Dylan Field on why the design platform bought a Tel Aviv startup’s tool for making AI images a starting point, not the destination. Read More → Here’s why you don’t need a magic GEO hack Instead, you need authenticity, clarity, and openness. Read More → Home Depot is using AI to help you flip your house faster The home improvement store partnered with Kai to turn photos into shopping lists. Snap a photo, get a plan. Read More → AI wrote the code. You got hacked. Now what? Security risks from AI-generated code are real—but with the right guardrails, teams can use AI to move faster. Read More → View the full article

Zillow Home Loans originated 57% more purchase mortgages versus the third quarter of 2024, with production and segment revenue growth beating estimates. View the full article

The The President administration’s widespread cancellation and freezing of clean energy funding is also hitting essential work to improve the nation’s power grid. That includes investments in grid modernization, energy storage, and efforts to protect communities from outages during extreme weather and cyberattacks. Ending these projects leaves Americans vulnerable to more frequent and longer-lasting power outages. The Department of Energy has defended the cancellations, saying that “the projects did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs, were not economically viable and would not provide a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars.” Yet before any funds are actually released through these programs, each grant must pass evaluations based on the department’s standards. Those include rigorous assessments of technical merits, potential risks, and cost-benefit analyses—all designed to ensure alignment with national energy priorities and responsible stewardship of public funds. I am an associate professor studying sustainability, with over 15 years of experience in energy systems reliability and resilience. In the past, I also served as a Department of Energy program manager focused on grid resilience. I know that many of these canceled grants were foundational investments in the science and infrastructure necessary to keep the lights on, especially when the grid is under stress. The dollar-value estimates vary, and some of the money has already been spent. A list of canceled projects maintained by energy analysis company Yardsale totals about US$5 billion. An Oct. 2, 2025, announcement from the department touts $7.5 billion in cuts to 321 awards across 223 projects. Additional documents leaked to Politico reportedly identified additional awards under review. Some media reports suggest the full value of at-risk commitments may reach $24 billion—a figure that has not been publicly confirmed or refuted by the The President administration. These were not speculative ventures. And some of them were competitively awarded projects that the department funded specifically to enhance grid efficiency, reliability and resilience. Grid improvement funding For years, the federal government has been criticized for investing too little in the nation’s electricity grid. The long-term planning—and spending—required to ensure the grid reliably serves the public often falls victim to short-term political cycles and shifting priorities across both parties. But these recent cuts come amid increasingly frequent extreme weather, increased cybersecurity threats to the systems that keep the lights on, and aging grid equipment that is nearing the end of its life. These projects sought to make the grid more reliable so it can withstand storms, hackers, accidents, and other problems. National laboratories In addition to those project cancellations, President Donald The President’s proposed budget for 2026 contains deep cuts to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, a primary funding source for several national laboratories, including the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which may face widespread layoffs. Among other work, these labs conduct fundamental grid-related research like developing and testing ways to send more electricity over existing power lines, creating computational models to simulate how the U.S. grid responds to extreme weather or cyberattacks, and analyzing real-time operational data to identify vulnerabilities and enhance reliability. These efforts are necessary to design, operate, and manage the grid, and to figure out how best to integrate new technologies. Grid resilience and modernization Some of the projects that have lost funding sought to upgrade grid management – including improved sensing of real-time voltage and frequency changes in the electricity sent to homes and businesses. That program, the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program, also funded efforts to automate grid operations, allowing faster response to outages or changes in output from power plants. It also supported developing microgrids—localized systems that can operate independently during outages. The canceled projects in that program, estimated to total $724.6 million, were in 24 states. For example, a $19.5 million project in the Upper Midwest would have installed smart sensors and software to detect overloaded power lines or equipment failures, helping people respond faster to outages and prevent blackouts. A $50 million project in California would have boosted the capacity of existing subtransmission lines, improving power stability and grid flexibility by installing a smart substation, without needing new transmission corridors. Microgrid projects in New York, New Mexico, and Hawaii would have kept essential services running during disasters, cyberattacks and planned power outages. Another canceled project included $11 million to help utilities in 12 states use electric school buses as backup batteries, delivering power during emergencies and peak demand, like on hot summer days. Several transmission projects were also canceled, including a $464 million effort in the Midwest to coordinate multiple grid connections from new generation sites. Long-duration energy storage The grid must meet demand at all times, even when wind and solar generation is low or when extreme weather downs power lines. A key element of that stability involves storing massive amounts of electricity for when it’s needed. One canceled project would have spent $70 million turning retired coal plants in Minnesota and Colorado into buildings holding iron-air batteries capable of powering several thousand homes for as many as four days. Rural and remote energy systems Another terminated program sought to help people who live in rural or remote places, who are often served by just one or two power lines rather than a grid that can reroute power around an interruption. A $30 million small-scale bioenergy project would have helped three rural California communities convert forest and agricultural waste into electricity. Not all of the terminated initiatives were explicitly designed for resilience. Some would have strengthened grid stability as a byproduct of their main goals. The rollback of $1.2 billion in hydrogen hub investments, for example, undermines projects that would have paired industrial decarbonization with large-scale energy storage to balance renewable power. Similarly, several canceled industrial modernization projects, such as hybrid electric furnaces and low-carbon cement plants, were structured to manage power demand and integrate clean energy, to improve grid stability and flexibility. The reliability paradox The administration has said that these cuts will save money. In practice, however, they shift spending from prevention of extended outages to recovery from them. Without advances in technology and equipment, grid operators face more frequent outages, longer restoration times, and rising maintenance costs. Without investment in systems that can withstand storms or hackers, taxpayers and ratepayers will ultimately bear the costs of repairing the damage. Some of the projects now on hold were intended to allow hospitals, schools and emergency centers to reduce blackout risks and speed power restoration. These are essential reliability and public safety functions, not partisan initiatives. Canceling programs to improve the grid leaves utilities and their customers dependent on emergency stopgaps—diesel generators, rolling blackouts, and reactive maintenance—instead of forward-looking solutions. Roshanak (Roshi) Nateghi is an associate professor of sustainability at Georgetown University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. View the full article