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The appointment of the mortgage veteran comes as the lender undergoes marketing and branding pivots, including its recent name change from Nexa Mortgage. View the full article

Raptive lowered its entry requirement to 25,000 monthly pageviews from 100,000, retired its Rise program, and expanded referral bonuses. The post Raptive Drops Traffic Requirement By 75% To 25,000 Views appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Comments from US president will ease concerns in Canberra that Washington was cooling on pactView the full article

Lauren Selley is the Senior Director of Production at Code and Theory, where she oversees the end-to-end delivery of digital solutions across web and mobile. With AI now embedded in her workflows, she’s spending less time on administrative tasks — and more time driving strategic decisions. The post This Senior Director of Program Management Breaks Down the AI Tools and Integrations She Uses to Bridge Gaps in Her Clients’ Tech appeared first on The Digital Project Manager. View the full article

If you haven’t logged into X for a while but still want to keep your X username, you might want to log back in soon. According to a recent post on the website formerly known as Twitter, the company will soon start selling “handles that are no longer in use” to paying subscribers. The feature, called the X Handle Marketplace, is currently only being teased, but a waitlist for it is live. Once active, it’ll allow X Premium+ subscribers (at the $40/month level) and Premium Business accounts to both request free (with their subscription, at least) handles, and directly purchase especially rare ones. Rare usernames could cost $2,500 or moreAccording to an FAQ page, pricing for rare handles starts at $2,500 and could go “over seven figures, depending on demand and uniqueness.” You’ll also need an invitation to even be allowed to purchase a paid username, although receiving the complimentary handles also comes with complications. For free handles, there are two types. The standard ones, called “priority handles,” are open for any eligible subscriber to request; X says it will usually review requests within three business days, although not all requests will be approved. But X also says it will occasionally drop select rare handles (the type it would usually charge for) as part of free giveaways, where multiple subscribers can apply for the handle and a winner will be selected “based on merit.” As for what X considers “merit” to be, that would include past contributions to the site, intended usage for the handle, as well as engagement and reach on the platform. Once you’ve got a new handle, your current username will be locked so others won’t be able to change it, and your page’s @ will change to the new one. X also says it may offer paid redirects from old usernames to new ones in the future. Note, though, that if you got your new handle for free, you’ll need to stay subscribed to keep using it. Users who paid for their handles will be able to let their X subscriptions lapse without losing them. What handles X will be giving out for freeAs for what type of inactivate handles X will be giving out, the site has provided a few examples. Generally, paid handles will be pithy, one word, “culturally significant names,” like @Pizza or @Tom. Meanwhile, free ones are more likely to be full names or multi-word phrases, like @GabrielJones or @PizzaEater. As someone who doesn’t subscribe to X, it’s the full names that have me concerned—and the ones I’d suggest logging into your account to preserve. Part of the reason I haven’t deactivated my X account yet is because I don’t want someone else to be able to make an account with my username, which is a variation on my full given name. I don’t post on it very often, but I’d rather others not be able to easily masquerade as me. With that in mind, I’ve reached out to X to ask how the website will decide when to make “inactive” usernames available to request, and will update this post when I hear back. X’s inactive account policy says that users should log in “at least every 30 days” to keep their accounts active, though, so if you’re concerned about your username being taken, it’s best to play it safe. To be fair to X, redistributing usernames from inactive accounts is not an unheard of practice for social media sites, although charging for them is a bit novel. X says the reason it’s requiring a subscription to access the X Handle Marketplace is “to prevent bot spam or misuse,” so that the site can make way for “fair and secure distribution through a controlled process.” However, as hinted at by another change coming to the site, a subscribed account does not necessarily mean a bot-free account. I’m curious to see how the X Handle Marketplace launch goes once the feature hits the (paying) public. View the full article

In a stunt that’s surely destined for Netflix adaptation, this weekend a group of thieves broke into the Louvre in broad daylight and stole nine pieces of priceless jewelry in less than seven minutes. Prediction markets are already betting on whether the robbers will be caught. Prediction markets, including popular sites like Polymarket and Kalshi, are platforms dedicated to betting on current events including elections, sports events, and even cultural moments. In the past, they’ve been used to gamble on the next pope, the incoming editor of Vogue, and even whether the “Coldplaygate” couple would each get a divorce. Now, as French police desperately search for the whereabouts of the missing jewelry, armchair experts on these sites are looking to turn their own profits by intensely speculating on whether the thieves are destined for justice. Most betters think it’s not a question of if the perpetrators get caught, but when—and they’re casting votes for the most likely date of their arrests. What was stolen from the Louvre? The heist took place at about 9:30 a.m. on October 19. According to French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez in an interview with the AP, the crew accessed the museum’s Apollo Gallery via a basket lift, cut its window panes with a glass cutter, grabbed the jewels, and fled on motorbikes. French media is currently reporting that two perpetrators were dressed in yellow safety vests on the lift, while another two were each waiting on a scooter (though authorities are still investigating and have not confirmed these details). The jewelry that was lifted included a diadem worn by Empress Eugénie featuring nearly 2,000 diamonds and more than 200 pearls; an emerald necklace and earrings gifted by Napoleon to his second wife Marie-Louise; and a diamond-and-sapphire jewelry set worn by multiple different queens. Despite successfully making off with some high-priced jewels, the robbers left one rather large breadcrumb in their wake: According to France’s culture ministry, Eugénie’s ornate gold crown was found lying outside the Louvre. Tobias Kormind, managing director of the jeweler 77 Diamonds, told the AP that it’s “unlikely” the stolen jewels will ever be seen again. “Professional crews often break down and re-cut large, recognizable stones to evade detection, effectively erasing their provenance,” he added. How prediction markets are responding On Kalshi, the question, “Will the Louvre Crown Jewel thieves face charges this year?” has amassed a nearly $11,000 bidding pool as of this writing. The most popular option among bidders so far is “Before 2026,” with 60% of the pool, followed by “Before December” with 37%, and, finally, “Before November” with 16%. Voters on Polymarket are betting within a much smaller time frame. The question, “Will any Louvre heist robbers be arrested by…?” has attracted more than $65,000 in betting volume, with the three top options being October 20, October 24, and October 31. Currently, betters have signaled a 2% chance of arrest by October 20, a 14% chance by October 24, and a 25% chance by October 31. View the full article

Lloyd Skinner is the CEO of greyfly.ai, where he uses AI to build predictive intelligence that gives project leaders actionable insight before they're hit with unexpected problems and costs. In other words, he's transforming project delivery from a reactive discipline into a proactive one. The post This AI Startup CEO Is Changing Project Delivery Into a Proactive Discipline With Predictive Intelligence Models appeared first on The Digital Project Manager. View the full article

Mike Hannan is the founder and principal consultant at Fortezza Consulting. With decades of experience coaching project leaders at every level, he has spent his career helping organizations navigate complex delivery systems, optimize portfolios, and challenge conventional wisdom. The post Consultant With Decades of Experience Shares Why AI Should Be a Strategic Thinking Partner, Not a Project Driver appeared first on The Digital Project Manager. View the full article

The reduction in force affects under 1% of Rocket's team, with the decision to streamline operations made following identifying overlapping roles post-merger. View the full article

When you set out to design a brand that stands out, it’s vital to follow a structured approach. Start by defining your brand’s mission and values, which lay the foundation for your identity. Next, gain a clear comprehension of your target audience, as this knowledge will guide your decisions. Once you have that in place, you can focus on developing a unique brand identity that resonates. This process is fundamental for building recognition and loyalty, but it doesn’t end there. Key Takeaways Define your brand’s mission and values to establish a strong foundation and purpose. Understand your target audience by creating detailed buyer personas and gathering insights. Develop a unique brand identity with consistent visual elements like logos and color palettes. Create a compelling brand story that resonates with your audience and highlights your journey. Ensure a consistent brand voice and visuals to enhance recognition and trust among consumers. Define Your Brand’s Mission and Values When you set out to define your brand’s mission and values, it’s essential to start with a clear comprehension of what your brand stands for. Your mission statement should articulate your core purpose, guiding your decisions and actions. For example, LinkedIn‘s mission focuses on connecting professionals. Next, create a vision statement that outlines your long-term aspirations, like IKEA’s goal of improving everyday life for many. Establish core values that resonate with your audience, as research shows 82% of shoppers prefer brands that share their values. This clarity is key to good branding. Strong brands leverage these elements in the branding design process, ensuring all communications reflect their foundational beliefs, ultimately enhancing customer loyalty and distinguishing your brand in the market. Understand Your Target Audience Comprehending your target audience is crucial for successful brand development. When you’re designing a brand, grasping your audience allows you to tailor your messaging and visuals to meet their preferences. Start by creating detailed buyer personas that include demographics, interests, and behaviors. This helps you identify the specific traits of your ideal customers. Engage with your audience through surveys and social media interactions; these methods provide valuable insights into their motivations. Analyze your competitors and their target demographics to uncover market gaps and unique opportunities for your brand. Develop a Unique Brand Identity Creating a unique brand identity is essential for standing out in today’s competitive market. Your brand identity includes tangible elements like your logo, color palette, typography, and messaging, which together convey your brand’s essence. Consistency across these visual elements is critical; it helps differentiate your brand in a crowded marketplace and improves consumer recognition. Conduct thorough competitor research to identify unique market positioning, allowing you to define your distinctiveness and value proposition effectively. Moreover, developing a brand style guide guarantees uniformity in visual representation and communication tone, preventing misuse of your brand identity across various platforms. Create a Compelling Brand Story A compelling brand story connects your audience to the essence of your brand, as it highlights your origins, mission, and values. To craft an engaging narrative, focus on the following elements: Personal anecdotes that reveal your path Relatable challenges that resonate with your audience Transparency to build trust and authenticity Alignment with customer values to improve engagement Consistency across channels to reinforce your identity Ensure Consistent Brand Voice and Visuals To guarantee your brand stands out in a crowded marketplace, maintaining a consistent brand voice and visuals is essential. A unified voice across all platforms builds trust, as 64% of consumers connect with brands that share their values. Establish a brand voice guide detailing tone, style, and language to confirm uniform communication. Regarding visuals, your color palette and typography should align with your brand identity, since 90% of snap judgments are based on color. Cohesive visuals, including logos, improve brand recognition and can lead to a 23% revenue increase. Regularly audit and update your brand elements based on audience feedback to keep your brand relevant and resonate with evolving customer preferences. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the 5 C’s of Branding? The 5 C’s of branding are Clarity, Consistency, Creativity, Credibility, and Connection. Clarity helps you communicate your brand’s purpose effectively, making it easy for your audience to understand. Consistency guarantees all your branding elements align, building trust over time. Creativity distinguishes your brand in a crowded market with unique visuals and messaging. Credibility establishes trust through authentic experiences, whereas Connection nurtures relationships with your audience, enhancing overall engagement and loyalty. What Is the 3 7 27 Rule of Branding? The 3-7-27 Rule of Branding outlines how to effectively communicate your brand’s message. First, you’ve got three seconds to capture attention; make it count. Next, within seven seconds, clearly convey your value proposition, ensuring it resonates with your audience. Finally, in 27 seconds, reinforce your message and establish an emotional connection. This structured approach helps improve brand recognition and recall in a fast-paced digital environment, eventually nurturing customer engagement and loyalty. What Are the 4 V’s of Branding? The 4 V’s of branding are Vision, Value, Voice, and Visuals. Vision defines your brand’s long-term goals, guiding your strategy. Value highlights the unique benefits your brand offers, setting it apart from competitors. Voice represents your brand’s communication style, ensuring consistency across all platforms. Finally, Visuals encompass design elements like logos and color schemes, creating a cohesive identity. Together, these elements help you effectively connect with your audience and strengthen your brand presence. What Are the 5 A’s of Branding? The 5 A’s of branding are Awareness, Appeal, Ask, Action, and Advocacy. First, you need to create brand Awareness so potential customers recognize it. Next, improve Appeal by showcasing unique value propositions that attract them. Then, facilitate the Ask stage by providing clear information. Encourage Action by prompting purchases or engagement. Finally, aim for Advocacy, as satisfied customers can greatly boost your brand through their recommendations, increasing visibility and sales. Conclusion In summary, designing a standout brand requires a strategic approach. Start by defining your mission and values, then explore comprehending your target audience. Develop a unique brand identity and craft a compelling story that connects with them. Finally, guarantee that your brand voice and visuals are consistent across all platforms. By following these steps, you can create a brand that not just attracts attention but additionally nurtures customer loyalty and recognition in the marketplace. Image Via Envato This article, "5 Essential Steps for Designing a Brand That Stands Out" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

When you set out to design a brand that stands out, it’s vital to follow a structured approach. Start by defining your brand’s mission and values, which lay the foundation for your identity. Next, gain a clear comprehension of your target audience, as this knowledge will guide your decisions. Once you have that in place, you can focus on developing a unique brand identity that resonates. This process is fundamental for building recognition and loyalty, but it doesn’t end there. Key Takeaways Define your brand’s mission and values to establish a strong foundation and purpose. Understand your target audience by creating detailed buyer personas and gathering insights. Develop a unique brand identity with consistent visual elements like logos and color palettes. Create a compelling brand story that resonates with your audience and highlights your journey. Ensure a consistent brand voice and visuals to enhance recognition and trust among consumers. Define Your Brand’s Mission and Values When you set out to define your brand’s mission and values, it’s essential to start with a clear comprehension of what your brand stands for. Your mission statement should articulate your core purpose, guiding your decisions and actions. For example, LinkedIn‘s mission focuses on connecting professionals. Next, create a vision statement that outlines your long-term aspirations, like IKEA’s goal of improving everyday life for many. Establish core values that resonate with your audience, as research shows 82% of shoppers prefer brands that share their values. This clarity is key to good branding. Strong brands leverage these elements in the branding design process, ensuring all communications reflect their foundational beliefs, ultimately enhancing customer loyalty and distinguishing your brand in the market. Understand Your Target Audience Comprehending your target audience is crucial for successful brand development. When you’re designing a brand, grasping your audience allows you to tailor your messaging and visuals to meet their preferences. Start by creating detailed buyer personas that include demographics, interests, and behaviors. This helps you identify the specific traits of your ideal customers. Engage with your audience through surveys and social media interactions; these methods provide valuable insights into their motivations. Analyze your competitors and their target demographics to uncover market gaps and unique opportunities for your brand. Develop a Unique Brand Identity Creating a unique brand identity is essential for standing out in today’s competitive market. Your brand identity includes tangible elements like your logo, color palette, typography, and messaging, which together convey your brand’s essence. Consistency across these visual elements is critical; it helps differentiate your brand in a crowded marketplace and improves consumer recognition. Conduct thorough competitor research to identify unique market positioning, allowing you to define your distinctiveness and value proposition effectively. Moreover, developing a brand style guide guarantees uniformity in visual representation and communication tone, preventing misuse of your brand identity across various platforms. Create a Compelling Brand Story A compelling brand story connects your audience to the essence of your brand, as it highlights your origins, mission, and values. To craft an engaging narrative, focus on the following elements: Personal anecdotes that reveal your path Relatable challenges that resonate with your audience Transparency to build trust and authenticity Alignment with customer values to improve engagement Consistency across channels to reinforce your identity Ensure Consistent Brand Voice and Visuals To guarantee your brand stands out in a crowded marketplace, maintaining a consistent brand voice and visuals is essential. A unified voice across all platforms builds trust, as 64% of consumers connect with brands that share their values. Establish a brand voice guide detailing tone, style, and language to confirm uniform communication. Regarding visuals, your color palette and typography should align with your brand identity, since 90% of snap judgments are based on color. Cohesive visuals, including logos, improve brand recognition and can lead to a 23% revenue increase. Regularly audit and update your brand elements based on audience feedback to keep your brand relevant and resonate with evolving customer preferences. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the 5 C’s of Branding? The 5 C’s of branding are Clarity, Consistency, Creativity, Credibility, and Connection. Clarity helps you communicate your brand’s purpose effectively, making it easy for your audience to understand. Consistency guarantees all your branding elements align, building trust over time. Creativity distinguishes your brand in a crowded market with unique visuals and messaging. Credibility establishes trust through authentic experiences, whereas Connection nurtures relationships with your audience, enhancing overall engagement and loyalty. What Is the 3 7 27 Rule of Branding? The 3-7-27 Rule of Branding outlines how to effectively communicate your brand’s message. First, you’ve got three seconds to capture attention; make it count. Next, within seven seconds, clearly convey your value proposition, ensuring it resonates with your audience. Finally, in 27 seconds, reinforce your message and establish an emotional connection. This structured approach helps improve brand recognition and recall in a fast-paced digital environment, eventually nurturing customer engagement and loyalty. What Are the 4 V’s of Branding? The 4 V’s of branding are Vision, Value, Voice, and Visuals. Vision defines your brand’s long-term goals, guiding your strategy. Value highlights the unique benefits your brand offers, setting it apart from competitors. Voice represents your brand’s communication style, ensuring consistency across all platforms. Finally, Visuals encompass design elements like logos and color schemes, creating a cohesive identity. Together, these elements help you effectively connect with your audience and strengthen your brand presence. What Are the 5 A’s of Branding? The 5 A’s of branding are Awareness, Appeal, Ask, Action, and Advocacy. First, you need to create brand Awareness so potential customers recognize it. Next, improve Appeal by showcasing unique value propositions that attract them. Then, facilitate the Ask stage by providing clear information. Encourage Action by prompting purchases or engagement. Finally, aim for Advocacy, as satisfied customers can greatly boost your brand through their recommendations, increasing visibility and sales. Conclusion In summary, designing a standout brand requires a strategic approach. Start by defining your mission and values, then explore comprehending your target audience. Develop a unique brand identity and craft a compelling story that connects with them. Finally, guarantee that your brand voice and visuals are consistent across all platforms. By following these steps, you can create a brand that not just attracts attention but additionally nurtures customer loyalty and recognition in the marketplace. Image Via Envato This article, "5 Essential Steps for Designing a Brand That Stands Out" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Google is starting to roll out its new Text Guidelines feature in Google Ads, a tool first announced at the Think Retail event five weeks ago that gives advertisers more control over AI-generated ad copy. Driving the news. The feature, now appearing in some accounts, lets marketers set campaign-level text parameters — guiding Google’s AI to stay within brand tone, language preferences, and compliance requirements when generating text assets. Why we care. As Google Ads leans deeper into AI-powered creative, advertisers have been asking for stronger brand safety and message consistency controls. Text Guidelines offer a way to fine-tune AI output without sacrificing automation or performance. How it works: Found at the campaign level, Text Guidelines apply only when text customization is turned on. Advertisers can define rules to steer AI-generated text assets toward specific brand or legal standards. Designed to support “brand-safe creative” and improve asset quality. The bottom line. Text Guidelines give brands a new lever to shape how Google’s AI writes for them — tightening control without slowing down automation. First seen. This rollout was spotted by PPC Speacialist Arpan Banerjee View the full article

On September 30, OpenAI launched its new Sora social network, powered by its Sora 2 video generation model. To call Sora’s launch successful is a gross understatement. Despite “invite only” access and restrictions outside North America, Sora exploded to over 1 million users in only five days. That’s faster than ChatGPT’s user base grew after its own record-setting launch. Sora is a vertical video app, aping the interface and user experience (short clips, vertical swiping to select a new video, Likes and Shares) of every other app in its category. Except with Sora, there’s a key difference–every video on the app is explicitly and joyfully fake. I resorted to begging colleagues, lurking on obscure Discord channels, and constantly refreshing my own Sora app in order to get an invite. Finally, I got in and was able to try Sora firsthand. I’m convinced that it’s the perfect social network. It could take down TikTok. Here’s why. Suspending disbelief When you first sign into Sora, the app pops up a window warning you that “You are about to enter a creative world of AI-generated content. Some videos may depict people you recognize, but the actions and events shown are not real.” The warning reminds me of the famous sign at the entrance to Disneyland. That sign reads “Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy.” Disneyland’s sign is an invitation to suspend disbelief–to enter a world in which everything is kind of real, but is also explicitly curated and fabricated to delight you; a purified, enhanced reflection of reality. Sora feels similar. After accepting the warning, you’re offered a blank box where you can type a description of any video you want to see. When you enter text in the box, the Sora app uses the Sora 2 video generator (OpenAI has never been much for clear naming conventions) to make whatever you’ve asked for, complete with synchronized audio and even music. Crucially, you can also begin to scroll through the AI creations of other users. Delightful deepfakes I didn’t expect that an app filled with bespoke deepfakes would be fun to use. Turns out, it is. Wildly so. Many of Sora’s users’ creations are bizarre, engaging, and uproariously funny. In one popular video, a chicken hangs from a drone, flying over a drab British neighborhood while rapping about his predicament in a strong Cockney accent. In another, Jesus and his disciples ride a roller coaster. He speaks in bible verses while the disciples scream in the background at every turn and drop. Some of the best videos feature celebrities. In one, the ubiquitous 1980s painter Bob Ross stands in a Target score, furiously scribbling a mountain scene on a wall. Angry employees approach him, saying professionally but assertively “Sir, you cannot draw on our wall”, to which Ross responds “I know, I’m trying to stop” while scribbling even faster. “Then stop!” the employee commands. “Just more shadow, I promise,” Ross says as the employee grows more frustrated, yelling “No sir, give me the marker.” “It needs a cloud…” Ross says plaintively as security arrives to escort him out of the building. In another clip, Queen Elizabeth speaks at a press conference. Apparently having received a critical question, she says “You know what? I’m sick of you guys!” before cackling and flying straight up into the sky with a woosh. An alarmed newscaster yells “She’s going up! Your majesty, come back!” as the crowd screams and the Queen ascends into the clouds. No one asked for reality Sora is far more fun to use than I expected. I hate vertical video apps, and have defiantly avoided spending any of my precious time on this planet scrolling through TikTok. Yet, I find myself returning to Sora again and again. Why? For one thing, the app’s incredibly realistic video generation capabilities let users create anything they want. That unlocks a huge amount of pent up creativity–as well as a hefty dose of Monty Python-esque silliness. But the appeal goes deeper than that. Social media used to be fun–a melange of quirky local news stories, cat videos, updates on the lives of people you vaguely remember from high school, and photos of your friends’ breakfasts. Today, though, social networks are filled with highly-polished, aspirational content posted by brands, influencers, and the mini Kardashians in your own social circles. Fire up Instagram or its ilk and you’re likely to see a stunning shot of a perfectly-styled, impossibly beautiful person sipping Negronis in Majorca, or a pic of your friend living it up at a fancy restaurant you can’t afford. You’re unlikely to see footage of that same friend attempting (and failing) to troubleshoot her air fryer, or spending 45 minutes on hold with her insurance company. Everything is carefully selected and curated. Increasingly, you’re also likely to see plenty of truly fake AI content masquerading as the real thing. More than 40% of Facebook content is now created by AI. Using social media has thus become a dispiriting slog through machine-generated slop and aspirational images, where you’re constantly forced to question what’s real and what’s fake–or at least highly polished and edited. It’s exhausting. No wonder that even teenagers–the most voracious users of social apps–are fed up. Pew reports that 48% of teens now believe that social media is bad for their mental health. Sora sidesteps all this drudgery by ignoring authenticity altogether. Everything is fake! There’s no need to question what you’re seeing–you can just enjoy the storytelling, the visuals, the delightful insanity and spectacle of it all. It’s a weirdly liberating experience. Rather than feeling like wading in a cesspool of AI drek, using Sora feels like watching a very clever movie. Movies are fake, after all. Yet people spend billions of hours enjoying them. And here, if you like something you see, you can leap in and make your own version of it with a simple prompt and the press of a button. Turns out, people never wanted reality. Sora captures all the spectacle, drama, and storytelling that keeps people engaged with TikTok and Reels, but without any of the shame, exclusion, and need to constantly keep your digital guard up. Plus, you can tell any story you want on Sora, physics be damned! It’s a seductive combination–fun, silliness, joy, and freedom from the limits of reality. No wonder people are already joining the network by the millions. TikTok and the other peddlers of depressing, soulless, obsessively curated semi-realities should be very, very afraid. View the full article

In the resale game, you have to be prepared to negotiate with buyers, and even accept less money than you think your items are worth. That's just how it goes—you can either hold strong to your conviction that the sweater you're selling is worth $100, or you can accept $80 for it and move on. Most non-professional sellers, myself included, end up taking that $80, because you get money and you get rid of the item taking up too much space in your home. Accepting a lower offer is just part of the process, even if it stings. But a lowball offer? You shouldn't need to waste your time with that—and many platforms, like eBay and Mercari, have automatic tools in place that save you the hassle of having to even see an offer from someone who wants to give you pennies on the dollar. These smart pricing tools are wildly helpful in managing your sales and Poshmark, my favorite resale platform, added smart selling tools of its own in July. Over the last few weeks, I've noticed the "Smart Sell" feature quietly beefing up to compete not only with Mercari and eBay, but paid third-party services that help sellers manage their business. Here's what you need to know. How Poshmark's "Smart Sell" works when you get an offer"Smart Sell" is a relatively new feature that rolled out to Poshmark sellers at the end of the summer. The initial rollout went in waves, with sellers getting access to the tool every few days over the course of some weeks. At the time, I had sold enough and had a high enough rating to be considered a level-one Poshmark Ambassador, but even I didn't get it until two weeks after I first heard about it. Eventually, I—and everyone else—got Smart Sell, which means we got the opportunity to automatically counter or accept offers on listings without having to do much of anything. How it works: You indicate (privately) the lowest price you'll actually be willing to accept for a listing, no matter what price you have it listed for publicly. From there, Poshmark's automations take over. If someone offers you below that minimum threshold, Poshmark counters on your behalf with a more reasonable price. If someone offers above it, Poshmark accepts the offer, and you make a sale. When it's enabled, you don't have to engage with offers you receive at all. It's all handled by automation. Creating a "Smart Sell" threshold so my account can automatically counter offers. Credit: Lindsey Ellefson You have the option to toggle Smart Sell on and off for a particular listing too, so you can prevent Poshmark from accepting an offer you won't be happy with on certain items. For me, that's crucial, because I'm much stricter on, say, the price I'll sell a Gucci bag for than I am on the amount I'll take for a Nike t-shirt. I'll negotiate on the t-shirt, since the difference in selling price isn't likely to be that big, but when it comes to pricier items, I'd rather wait for the right buyer (i.e. one willing to pay close to my asking price) to come along. This certainly isn't true for everyone, but I'm also a lot less strict on items that take up a lot of physical space. I'd accept a low offer on a big, fleecy sweatsuit and get that behemoth out of my closet, but I wouldn't accept a similarly low offer for a lightweight top from the same brand. For people who sell in a more professional, money-focused way, that might not matter, but for people like me who are trying to free up space for new clothes and earn a little cash to fund said new clothes, all of these details help. I don't apply Smart Sell to high-ticket items or itty-bitty ones that don't take up space, but mid-tier jeans, sweatshirts, and bags can all be handled by automation now and I'm grateful for it. You find this feature in the page that appears after you create a listing, above the options to share the new listing to your followers and any relevant Posh Parties, shown above. Toggle it on, enter the lowest price you'll accept, and hit List, just as you otherwise would to make the listing live. You aren't committed to that price either—you'll be able to adjust it later, just as you can the public price. You can also choose to turn the feature off even after a listing goes live. Smart Sell kicks in when you get a likeThe automatic offer responses and haggling were the main selling point of Smart Sell when it came out through July and August, but over the past few days, I've noticed something new and little-discussed. On listings where I've enabled Smart Sell, the automations are taking over even before I get an offer. When a user "likes" one of my Smart Sell listings, Poshmark is now sending them an offer on my behalf. These automatic buyer-to-seller offers align with the price threshold I have set for a particular item. For instance, I have a pair of pajamas listed for $14 publicly, but its Smart Sell value is privately set to $10. Every time someone likes that listing, they get an automatic offer for $12. Just like I can accept, decline, or counter an offer a buyer sends me, they can accept, decline, or counter the offer they receive. If they counter $11, the pajamas will sell to them automatically, but if they counter below $10, the bot will kick in and counter $11 for me. If they go another round, the bot will decline them. This is nice for a few reasons, although I'm still getting used to it. First, the automatic sending of offers to likers is a feature I've paid for in the past. For a long time, I used a third-party app called PrimeLister, which automated a ton of the tedious tasks associated with selling, like sending offers and sharing listings. That cost about $30 per month so I stopped using it for a while and opted to do all that stuff manually while paying Poshmark directly to promote my listings on-app instead. With the quiet rollout of the new offers-to-likers feature of Smart Sell, I not only save $30 a month on Primelister, but time and energy, since I don't have to send offers one by one on my own. Smart Sell pros and consEven with the automation I can access through Primelister and now Poshmark itself, I still spend a lot of time on the marketplace every day. I create bundles for interested buyers, send out special offers, respond to questions about measurements and condition, and try to build a relationship with the people purchasing my stuff. Smart Sell has pros and cons here. On one hand, it frees up my time to do those things, but on the other, it's pretty rigid. Because a big goal of mine is getting rid of the volume of my personal belongings, I'm constantly trying to encourage people to buy bundles, or more than one item. I discount bundles heavily and the primary appeal of them is that shoppers only need to pay one shipping fee. When Poshmark automatically sends an offer to a liker, it prevents me from sending a bundle offer to them for 24 hours. That was a big reason I stopped using Primelister in the first place. If someone likes four of the items in my storefront, I don't want four offers to go out on the separate listings; I want to put them in a bundle and send a better discount offer to them right away. Another small issue is that having active offers on listings is a good thing. If I have a pair of shoes listed for $100 and someone offers me $60, I don't decline it, even though I'm annoyed. The reason is that for the 24 hours the offer is active, there's a little badge on the listing that says Act now—offer in progress. That signals to other potential buyers that they need to get a move on because I could accept the offer at any time and they could lose out on the shoes. When the bot counters an offer, no problem; the badge stays up. When it declines one, though, the badge goes away. But those are pretty niche, low-level complaints. I can always message a potential buyer, tell them they can decline the automatic offer they got, and renegotiate and haggle with them if I need to. In most cases, these automatic offer negotiations are helpful because they're taking place with someone who has liked a single item. If the app wants to take over for me and get one listing sold on my behalf, that's great because when someone is repeatedly sending me lowball offers on a single listing, it takes time and energy to respond to them all. Every once in a while, I'll respect the hustle and—only if I have other sales to drop off at the post office—I'll even accept one. (There is a few-minute delay between receiving an offer and when Smart Sell kicks in to send a counter, so you can still accept lowballs if you want.) I will even go as far as to block repeat offenders; with all those notifications spamming my feed, I might miss out on real offers, likes, or sales. No thanks! I've noticed that with Smart Sell enabled and constantly denying lowballs, the sorts of would-be buyers who swoop in and try to get a single item for 50% off eventually give up and stop clogging up my notifications altogether. That's a win in itself. I've made some sales thanks to Smart Sell and, along with my discovery of other automation tools on Poshmark, it's helped me move away from third-party automation apps that cost money. It took me a few weeks to figure out a strategy and determine which of my listings I want Smart Sell enabled for, but now that I've got it down, I'm pleased overall. A few hiccups here and there whenever a potential buyer likes more than one item are worth it to make my selling process less time-consuming. Poshmark already sent out four automatic offers on my behalf today and the post office doesn't close for another six hours. With any luck, I'll add another sale or two to the total I'm bringing over to ship out later this afternoon—and I won't have to do anything to facilitate those. View the full article

A reader asks: I caught my employee skipping work to nap at home when she said she was meeting with a potential client. It was total happenstance; I happened to meet the potential client at a social event that night. When I asked my employee the next day why the client had no idea who I was or what our company did, the truth came out: she hadn’t met with anyone, she’d gone home to take a break and a nap. She apologized for lying, but said she’d been feeling burned out and was struggling with seasonal depression. She is my top performer and best employee all around, and we are coming off of our busy season, so a little burn-out is understandable. She volunteered that she had done something similar twice before in her six-year career with us, but I don’t know if I can trust her accounting of it — we were in a meeting about her lying, after all. I can’t quite determine how big of an issue this is. She lied about the meeting and who it was with, and she was likely prepared to lie about how it went, if I hadn’t caught her before we had a chance to debrief. We meet with a lot of potential clients, many of whom never pan out, so I don’t know how I can trust her going forward when she says she has one of these meetings. But, on the other hand, she is consistently our best performer and doesn’t just meet her goals — she exceeds them. If she’s able to do that while occasionally taking siestas, is it really my business? But if she’s lying about where she is … Ugh, this is the loop I’ve been in for two days. Help! (Perhaps helpful: we have good, but not exceptional, PTO. It’s not a culture where people take much time off, though I frequently encourage my team to take as much time as they need. This employee takes time off for doctors’ appointments and vacations, so I know she’s aware of the policy.) I answer this question over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding my answers to them). You can read it here. The post my employee lied about meeting with a client appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

How do modernist transportation planners recommend handling congestion? By recommending new vehicle lanes. What happens when you build new vehicle lanes to handle traffic congestion? The vehicle lanes fill up with more traffic congestion. As they themselves have said for decades, you cannot build your way out of congestion. But every week you can do a quick internet search to see a bunch of new attempts. ‘Induced demand’ I’ve been hearing planners and engineers say “we can’t build our way out of congestion” since the 1990s, when I began my career. The wonky term that describes why adding more lanes doesn’t eliminate congestion is “induced demand.” Transportation professionals have understood the induced demand phenomenon for decades. Consider the hypothetical (or is it?) Route 60. Route 60 has two lanes in each direction with turn lanes at each signalized intersection. Most of the real estate fronting the corridor is retail or office, but thousands of single-family homes, townhomes, and apartments are just behind the other land uses. As you might expect, people choose to frequent the shops closest to home. The department of transportation adds one more lane in each direction. After construction, people choose to visit more retail centers further from home because there’s suddenly more space on the corridor. It gets to the point where enough people have made the same choices that car traffic on the corridor is back to its preconstruction levels. In response, the department of transportation builds one more lane in each direction. Now with four lanes in each direction, the corridor is wider than the nearby interstate. And once again, people who were avoiding the traffic jams on Route 60 now choose to get back on the road and drive further. Enough people make the same choice to drive further from home and the car traffic is back to preconstruction levels. The might-be-fictional Route 60 is the same never-ending story of induced demand in communities across the country. Road expansions only temporarily reduce traffic congestion, but professionals only temporarily remember expansions don’t work. A better way It’s no secret that public agencies are strapped for cash, and it’s no secret that public agencies continue to spend depleted accounts on road expansion projects. Meanwhile, the average citizen continues to point out problems with existing infrastructure: potholes, withering landscaping, crumbling sidewalks, and poor street lighting. Taxpayers’ financial contributions deserve good stewardship. Public agencies shouldn’t be building something that can’t be maintained, let alone expanding something that’s destined to attract even more traffic and thus maintenance. Induced demand isn’t inherently bad or good—it’s just a description of an economics principle of scarcity and choice. There’s a way for departments of transportation to take advantage of induced demand by creating bicycle networks that will fill up with new bike traffic. Robust bicycle infrastructure gives people the freedom to make short trips without having to rely on a motor vehicle. And of course, bicycle infrastructure yields an extraordinary return on investment when compared to car-oriented infrastructure. Culture plays a tremendous role in the planning and construction of transportation systems. When Danish streets were convenient for high-speed vehicular traffic and long commutes, that’s exactly how people behaved. Following a fundamental shift in design philosophy, bicycling was made convenient and Danes naturally opted for the easier travel mode. Copenhagen wasn’t always Copenhagen. They deliberately redesigned streets to make riding a bike an easy option, and just like that, the bike lanes filled up with people making obvious transportation choices. America’s rural villages, sprawling suburbs, and big cities have so much potential. We’ll meet that potential as future generations lead the culture shift by using the induced demand principle for the greater good. View the full article

Google is tightening its account retention policy — canceled Google Ads accounts will now be permanently deleted six months after cancellation, marking the end of indefinite account storage. Driving the news. Under the new policy, Google will begin a cleanup of inactive accounts, sending a 30-day email warning before deletion. Previously, advertisers could reactivate canceled accounts at any time, preserving data and structure indefinitely. Why we care. This change could impact advertisers who rely on historical performance data, conversion tracking, or campaign templates stored in inactive accounts. Once deleted, all account history and assets — including campaigns, reports, and settings — will be gone for good. How it works: Canceled accounts with no active campaigns will be deleted six months after cancellation. A 30-day warning email will be sent before deletion. Reactivating an account within the six-month window will prevent deletion. Between the lines. The policy shift underscores Google’s broader effort to streamline its ad systems and purge unused data, mirroring similar moves across other Google services. The bottom line. Advertisers who want to preserve old campaign data or structures should reactivate or export data from canceled accounts before the six-month clock runs out. First seen. This update was spotted by PPC News Feed founder Hana Kobzová. View the full article

Artificial intelligence has long promised to streamline business operations, but many small businesses have found the reality to be complicated, expensive, or out of reach. Zoho Corporation wants to change that. The company announced a broad rollout of new agentic AI tools—embedded directly into its Collaboration, Customer Experience, and Human Resources apps—to help businesses save time, reduce repetitive work, and improve decision-making. Perhaps most notably, these upgrades come at no extra cost, a move that could make advanced AI more accessible to small and midsize companies struggling to adopt it. Zoho’s announcement centers on simplifying AI adoption through automation and deep integration with company data. By embedding AI capabilities directly into widely used apps like Zoho Sign, Zoho Desk, and Zoho People, the company aims to remove the need for complex setup or third-party tools. For small businesses that already rely on Zoho’s ecosystem, these updates could mean faster workflows and fewer manual bottlenecks. One of the standout updates is to Zoho Sign, the company’s digital signature platform used by more than 40,000 businesses. The new Agreement Intelligence feature allows users to automatically generate contract drafts and agreements while retaining full control over customization. This could save hours of time for small businesses that handle frequent vendor, partner, or client contracts but lack dedicated legal staff. Zoho has also added additional features to Ask Zia. The AI assistant can now analyze and summarize agreements, proofread contracts, suggest edits, and even answer questions about clauses or obligations—all without requiring external legal help. For many small businesses that need to process paperwork quickly but can’t afford legal review for every document, this type of automation could be a major cost-saver. Other AI-driven tools in Zoho Sign include automatic field detection, key term extraction, and a non-legalese summary generator that translates complex contracts into plain English. Small business users can also flag potential risks or missing clauses, identify important milestones, and detect phishing attempts in signing links—features that enhance both efficiency and security. Each of these capabilities integrates directly with existing Zoho workflows, eliminating the friction often associated with new AI tools. While these new features are being rolled out across multiple regions—including the U.S., India, Australia, Canada, and the EU—Zoho says all updates are available at no additional cost to paid subscribers of the respective apps. That pricing strategy could give small businesses a competitive edge at a time when many software vendors are charging premiums for AI-powered features. The following table provides a detailed overview of all newly introduced AI features in Zoho Sign, along with their availability across different regions. ApplicationFeatureFeature DescriptionAvailabilityAvailable Territories Zoho Sign Agreement GenerationQuickly generate contacts, agreements and documents using AIAvailableUS Automatic Field DetectionDocs automatically scanned for empty spaces relevant fields then insertedAvailableUS, IN, AU, CA, EU Document Summarization Generate contextual summary of lengthy documentsAvailable; EU to be released in September 2025US, IN, AU, CA, EU Ask Zia in Sign Prompt Zia to fetch doc data, proofread agreements, suggest edits and answer any questions associated with a contract Available; EU to be released in September 2025US, IN, AU, CA, EU Key Term ExtractionAutomatically extract key terms and clauses in agreementsAvailable; EU to be released in September 2025US, IN, AU, CA, EU Discover ObligationsIdentify obligations that need to be duly completedAvailableUS Suggest Missing ClausesSuggest clauses in traditional agreement formats like NDAsAvailableUS Highlight Potential Risks Identify potential legal and financial risks in a document AvailableUS Highlight Meta DetailsSummarize key metadata: parties involved, effective date, deadlines, governing law, etc. AvailableUS Key Milestones SummarySummary of milestones and deadlines for seamless planningAvailableUS Non-Legalese Summary Generation Plain-text summary without legal jargon for easier understanding AvailableUS Phishing DetectorDetects signing links with phishing attempts based on domain dataAvailableUS The updates also reflect a broader industry trend: the push to make AI not just a separate add-on, but a native part of everyday business tools. For small businesses, that shift can mean less technical complexity and more practical impact—especially when AI is built to handle the repetitive, error-prone tasks that consume so much time. However, as with any AI-driven automation, small business owners may need to stay vigilant about accuracy and oversight. Automatically generated contracts, while convenient, should still be reviewed carefully for compliance and clarity. And as companies rely more on AI to manage sensitive documents, maintaining data privacy and trust will remain critical. Still, for entrepreneurs and small teams looking to do more with less, Zoho’s latest move could make advanced AI feel less like a futuristic luxury and more like a practical tool for everyday work. By embedding intelligent automation where small businesses already operate—and keeping it affordable—Zoho is helping level the playing field for the next wave of digital transformation. This article, "Zoho Sign Gets New AI Features to Help Small Businesses Work Smarter" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Artificial intelligence has long promised to streamline business operations, but many small businesses have found the reality to be complicated, expensive, or out of reach. Zoho Corporation wants to change that. The company announced a broad rollout of new agentic AI tools—embedded directly into its Collaboration, Customer Experience, and Human Resources apps—to help businesses save time, reduce repetitive work, and improve decision-making. Perhaps most notably, these upgrades come at no extra cost, a move that could make advanced AI more accessible to small and midsize companies struggling to adopt it. Zoho’s announcement centers on simplifying AI adoption through automation and deep integration with company data. By embedding AI capabilities directly into widely used apps like Zoho Sign, Zoho Desk, and Zoho People, the company aims to remove the need for complex setup or third-party tools. For small businesses that already rely on Zoho’s ecosystem, these updates could mean faster workflows and fewer manual bottlenecks. One of the standout updates is to Zoho Sign, the company’s digital signature platform used by more than 40,000 businesses. The new Agreement Intelligence feature allows users to automatically generate contract drafts and agreements while retaining full control over customization. This could save hours of time for small businesses that handle frequent vendor, partner, or client contracts but lack dedicated legal staff. Zoho has also added additional features to Ask Zia. The AI assistant can now analyze and summarize agreements, proofread contracts, suggest edits, and even answer questions about clauses or obligations—all without requiring external legal help. For many small businesses that need to process paperwork quickly but can’t afford legal review for every document, this type of automation could be a major cost-saver. Other AI-driven tools in Zoho Sign include automatic field detection, key term extraction, and a non-legalese summary generator that translates complex contracts into plain English. Small business users can also flag potential risks or missing clauses, identify important milestones, and detect phishing attempts in signing links—features that enhance both efficiency and security. Each of these capabilities integrates directly with existing Zoho workflows, eliminating the friction often associated with new AI tools. While these new features are being rolled out across multiple regions—including the U.S., India, Australia, Canada, and the EU—Zoho says all updates are available at no additional cost to paid subscribers of the respective apps. That pricing strategy could give small businesses a competitive edge at a time when many software vendors are charging premiums for AI-powered features. The following table provides a detailed overview of all newly introduced AI features in Zoho Sign, along with their availability across different regions. ApplicationFeatureFeature DescriptionAvailabilityAvailable Territories Zoho Sign Agreement GenerationQuickly generate contacts, agreements and documents using AIAvailableUS Automatic Field DetectionDocs automatically scanned for empty spaces relevant fields then insertedAvailableUS, IN, AU, CA, EU Document Summarization Generate contextual summary of lengthy documentsAvailable; EU to be released in September 2025US, IN, AU, CA, EU Ask Zia in Sign Prompt Zia to fetch doc data, proofread agreements, suggest edits and answer any questions associated with a contract Available; EU to be released in September 2025US, IN, AU, CA, EU Key Term ExtractionAutomatically extract key terms and clauses in agreementsAvailable; EU to be released in September 2025US, IN, AU, CA, EU Discover ObligationsIdentify obligations that need to be duly completedAvailableUS Suggest Missing ClausesSuggest clauses in traditional agreement formats like NDAsAvailableUS Highlight Potential Risks Identify potential legal and financial risks in a document AvailableUS Highlight Meta DetailsSummarize key metadata: parties involved, effective date, deadlines, governing law, etc. AvailableUS Key Milestones SummarySummary of milestones and deadlines for seamless planningAvailableUS Non-Legalese Summary Generation Plain-text summary without legal jargon for easier understanding AvailableUS Phishing DetectorDetects signing links with phishing attempts based on domain dataAvailableUS The updates also reflect a broader industry trend: the push to make AI not just a separate add-on, but a native part of everyday business tools. For small businesses, that shift can mean less technical complexity and more practical impact—especially when AI is built to handle the repetitive, error-prone tasks that consume so much time. However, as with any AI-driven automation, small business owners may need to stay vigilant about accuracy and oversight. Automatically generated contracts, while convenient, should still be reviewed carefully for compliance and clarity. And as companies rely more on AI to manage sensitive documents, maintaining data privacy and trust will remain critical. Still, for entrepreneurs and small teams looking to do more with less, Zoho’s latest move could make advanced AI feel less like a futuristic luxury and more like a practical tool for everyday work. By embedding intelligent automation where small businesses already operate—and keeping it affordable—Zoho is helping level the playing field for the next wave of digital transformation. This article, "Zoho Sign Gets New AI Features to Help Small Businesses Work Smarter" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

China likes to condemn the United States for extending its arm too far outside of its borders to make demands on non-American companies. But when it sought to hit back at the U.S. interests this month, Beijing did exactly the same. In expanding export rules on rare earths, Beijing for the first time announced it will require foreign firms to obtain approval from the Chinese government to export magnets containing even tiny amounts of China-originated rare earth materials or produced with Chinese technology. That means a South Korean smartphone maker must ask for Beijing’s permission to sell the devices to Australia if the phones contain China-originated rare earth materials, said Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative. “This rule gives China control over basically the entire global economy in the technology supply chain,” he said. For anyone familiar with U.S. trade practice, China is simply borrowing a decades-long U.S. policy: the foreign direct product rule. It extends the reach of U.S. law to foreign-made products, and it has been used regularly to restrict China’s access to certain U.S. technologies made outside of the United States, even when they are in the hands of foreign companies. It is the latest example of Beijing turning to U.S. precedents for tools it needs to stare down Washington in what appears to be an extended trade war between the world’s two largest economies. “China is learning from the best,” said Neil Thomas, a fellow on Chinese politics at Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis. “Beijing is copying Washington’s playbook because it saw firsthand how effectively U.S. export controls could constrain its own economic development and political choices.” He added: “Game recognizes game.” The idea goes back to at least 2018 It was in 2018, when President Donald The President launched a trade war with China, that Beijing felt the urgency to adopt a set of laws and policies that it could readily deploy when new trade conflicts arise. And it looked to Washington for ideas. Its Unreliable Entity List, established in 2020 by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, resembles the U.S. Commerce Department’s “entity list” that restricts certain foreign companies from doing businesses with the U.S. In 2021, Beijing adopted the anti-foreign sanction law, allowing agencies such as the Chinese Foreign Ministry to deny visas and freeze the assets of unwelcome individuals and businesses — similar to what the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Department of Treasury can do. Calling it a toolkit against foreign sanctions, intervention and long-arm jurisdiction, the state-run news agency China News in a 2021 news report cited an ancient Chinese teaching, saying Beijing would be “hitting back with the enemy’s methods.” The law “has combed through relevant foreign legislation and taken into consideration the international law and the basic principles of international relations,” said the Chinese scholar Li Qingming as quoted in the news report. He also said it could deter the other side from escalating. Other formal measures Beijing has adopted in the past several years include expanded export controls and foreign investment review tools. Jeremy Daum, a senior research scholar in law and senior fellow at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center, said Beijing often draws from foreign models in developing its laws in non-trade, non foreign-related areas. As China seeks capabilities to retaliate in kind in trade and sanctions, the tools are often “very parallel” to those of the U.S., he said. Both governments also have adopted a “holistic view of national security,” which expands the concept to justify restrictions on each other, Daum said. Things accelerated this year When The President launched his trade war with China shortly after he returned to the White House earlier this year, Beijing readily deployed its new tools in addition to raising tariffs to match those imposed by the U.S. president. In February, in response to The President’s first 10% tariff on China over allegations that Beijing failed to curb the flow of chemicals used to make fentanyl, the Chinese Commerce Ministry put PVH Group, which owns Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger and the biotechnology company Illumina, on the unreliable entity list. That barred them from engaging in China-related import or export activities and from making new investments in the country. Beijing also announced export controls on tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum and indium, which are elements critical to the production of modern high-tech products. In March, when The President imposed the second 10%, fentanyl-related tariff, Beijing placed 10 more U.S. firms on its unreliable entity list and added 15 U.S. companies to its export control list, including aerospace and defense companies like General Dynamics Land Systems and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, among others, asserting that they “endanger China’s national security and interests.” Then came the so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs in April, when Beijing not only matched The President’s sky-high tariff of 125% but also blacklisted more U.S. companies and announced export controls on more rare earth minerals. That led to a pause in the shipment of magnets needed in manufacturing a wide range of products such as smartphones, electric vehicles, jet planes and missiles. While the new tools have allowed China to stare down the United States, Daum said they are not without risks. “The dangers in such a facially balanced and fair approach are, one, what one side sees as reciprocity the other might interpret as escalation,” he said. And second, “in a race to the bottom, nobody wins.” —Didi Tang, Associated Press View the full article

Different activities require different metrics. By Domenick J. Esposito 8 Steps to Great Go PRO for members-only access to more Dom Esposito. View the full article

Different activities require different metrics. By Domenick J. Esposito 8 Steps to Great Go PRO for members-only access to more Dom Esposito. View the full article

When your PC is acting up, one diagnostic tool at your disposal is the Windows Recovery Environment (or Windows RE). Windows RE offers a series of functions to help you root out whatever is ailing your machine. Using it, you can choose to reset your computer, run an automated diagnosis and repair tool, adjust settings to see if any are causing the issue, uninstall previous updates that might be tripping up Windows, and restore to a previous back Windows backup, among other potentially helpful options. It's a necessary feature of the operating system, meant for times when a simple shut down and restart doesn't help your PC get back to normal operations. So it's not ideal when Windows ships with a bug that not only breaks part of the OS, but also breaks the part of the OS designed to help fix your PC. As spotted by Tom's Hardware, a bug in Windows 11's October update, KB5066835, hinders your ability to access Windows RE. The recovery environment can still load if you need it, but you'll find you won't be able to select any of the options it offers to try to fix your PC. That's because this bug breaks USB device functionality specifically in Windows RE. Simply stated, your mouse and keyboard will not work in Windows RE, preventing any navigation within the recovery environment. This is obviously bad news for anyone who wants to use Windows RE to fix a problem with their PC—including, ironically, this Windows RE-specific bug. But you might think that so long as your particular issue with Windows isn't prohibiting you from actually using your computer, you could live without Windows RE for the time being. As Tom's Hardware points out, however, it's not so simple: When your PC has trouble starting up, it will automatically boot into the recovery environment. That's normally a good thing, since you'll have the tools to help diagnose and solve the issue. However, when Windows takes you to a screen where you can't use your mouse and keyboard, or interact with any elements whatsoever, you're kind of stuck. The good news is Microsoft is aware of the issue. The company has called out the bug as a known issue in Windows 11, version 25H2, and says it is working on releasing a fix "in the coming days." Windows is experiencing other issues, tooWindows is going through it this month. This same October update also broke localhost functionality, which impacted any apps that connect to services running locally on your PC. (Luckily, Microsoft did issue a fix for that bug.) Then, last week, the company also officially ended support for Windows 10, and though it still offers Extended Security Updates for any user that wants to enroll their PC in the program, it puts the security of roughly half a billion PC users into question. This Windows RE bug is just one more critical issue PC users have to deal with. Hopefully, Microsoft's next Windows 11 build introduces only fixes, and no additional bugs. View the full article

Currency gains sparked by estimated $400mn of US purchases melt away ahead of crucial election for president Javier MileiView the full article

AI group tailoring its chatbot to integrate with biomedical databases and coding toolsView the full article